Chapter 634: Openly Repairing the Road, Secretly Crossing Chencang
Bang!
A heavy sandbag burst apart violently. A pale fist calmly withdrew.
The senior Cole Elf mages collected data, watching the Cole Elf Dragon Warrior undergoing physical strength tests with anticipation.
The Dragon Warrior, unaware of the fate awaiting him, was still excitedly showing off his unprecedentedly strong physique.
Hess looked at the Cole Elf Dragon Warrior lifting over a thousand kilograms effortlessly. As he scanned the warrior's powerful but lean muscle structure, memories of humiliation surged in his mind.
It was a bitter defeat!
Hess's one and only failure since childhood!
Hess clearly remembered that it was thanks to Matthew's powerful physique that he could wear the heavy, high-defense Thunder Magic Armor and survive several lethal attacks.
The combat effectiveness brought by physical enhancements was perfectly displayed in both Matthew and the Dragon Warriors.
Hess even suspected that Matthew had learned his secret technique—Shadow Clone Slash—during their brief fight, possibly as part of some transformation process.
Glancing at the mages who still seemed clueless, Hess could already read their thoughts from their slightly crazed eyes.
Hess understood the methods of mages but didn't believe they could quickly unravel the secrets of the Dragon Warrior transformation.
Bay Territory's transformation technology likely involved individuals of Grand Arcanist level or higher.
The Cole Elf Kingdom couldn't deal with Grand Arcanists or floating cities in the short term.
This meant that with their current technical reserves, they couldn't solve the mystery of the Dragon Warrior transformation either.
Hess glanced at the mages crowding around, then turned to leave without hesitation, giving his subordinates some final instructions:
"Continue deploying surveillance units. Allow some adventurers to join us..."
"Let them confuse Bay Territory's vision and minimize our scouting losses."
Hess had a gut feeling that Bay Territory's ambitions in the Death Desert went far beyond what they had shown so far.
Therefore, he believed Bay Territory should be watched even more closely, without the slightest slackening, even amid their intense cleanup efforts.
Soon enough, Bay Territory made a major move.
February 15th.
Death Desert.
Bay Territory Town.
Clear skies.
As usual, not a single cloud in the sky—only an expanse of pure, azure blue.
The town walls were bustling as adventurers eagerly watched the scene ahead.
Bay Territory's golem train slowly approached, hauling over a hundred large shipping containers.
The sharp sound of brakes gradually faded as the golem train came to a stop.
The waiting large mechanical arms and cranes inside the station immediately sprang into action.
"Move faster! Don't dawdle!"
"Watch your head—I'm not picking up your brains."
"Quickly connect the signals and assemble this big guy."
"This is a rare opportunity. We must prove our worth."
"Don't touch that, you idiot! Cough, sorry, I shouldn't curse..."
"They still need more training. So much room for improvement."
"This isn't the old days. Don't die so easily."
"..."
The goblins issued sharp commands non-stop through the communicators.
They had a unique affinity for operating these golem machines, quickly mastering them and even proposing innovative suggestions.
Of course, some of their ideas were too radical or advanced.
Bay Territory would evaluate these after further study and offer appropriate rewards.
These suggestions were stored for future use as productivity evolved.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
Under countless curious eyes, a colossal machine was rapidly assembled.
Its chassis was made of six sets of treads, allowing agile movement in all four directions.
Twelve mechanical arms of various sizes required over 32 skilled goblin engineers to operate.
Its massive control center resembled a three-story building.
The interior was packed with machinery and exuded a strong magical aura.
Laura, with her keen perception, noticed the giant machine was connected to tracks embedded in the ground below.
She could confirm that this massive piece of construction equipment was powered by magical energy from the rails.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Victor's magi-steam engine began its half-minute preheating sequence.
The intense rumble stunned many nearby adventurers.
At the command of the goblin engineering commander, the engineers operated the machine—named "Tyrant"—to adjust all its arms and components.
Once all parts were confirmed functional, the mighty Tyrant began moving forward.
Hundreds of mechanical saw blades easily tore through the stone-hardened surface.
Suction pipes absorbed the debris, which was immediately crushed and processed.
Behind the saw blades, square steel frames were laid down to fill the excavated space.
Then, new-generation magic cement was sprayed from large pipes to cover the metal framework.
Before the cement fully solidified, several thick cables were laid in.
These integrated cables, carrying both magical and data channels, would link all Bay Territory's cities through magical and mechanical means.
A concrete layer would be added on top, with grooves left for rail placement.
The Tyrant absorbed the materials delivered by the golem trains and transformed them into a seamless magical rail system.
Wherever the Tyrant passed, a three-meter-high magic rail wall was left in its wake.
This prevented burial by desert sands and reduced maintenance costs.
The golem trains following behind had received a special "head" modification.
They, too, had seven or eight mechanical arms to rapidly lay rails onto the magic track.
They also reinforced the tracks for immediate use.
Only two large construction machines were needed.
Less than 300 construction workers.
And the integrated magical rail line was built.
This construction process truly opened the eyes of many adventurers.
They never expected Bay Territory's construction abilities to be this advanced.
Some even speculated whether Bay Territory would one day develop integrated agricultural golems for planting and harvesting.
One had to admit—many adventurers had rich and forward-thinking imaginations.
"Guys, stop gawking. New tasks are here."
A clear, pleasant voice came from their magical wristbands, immediately drawing their attention.
"Bay Territory's directive construction and expansion tasks have been released. Interested adventurers, please check and accept."
The enlarged display image piqued the curiosity of many.
For many, this was the first time discovering how feature-rich the magical wristbands truly were.
They soon found many construction tasks listed.
Excited, the adventurers began chatting eagerly.
"Told you so. Bay Territory wasn't gonna keep us digging in that same patch forever."
"Haha, get ready. We're heading deeper into the Death Desert."
"Wonder how far they'll push this time. We might go farther than those exploring the ruins."
"Huh? That actually makes sense. Maybe we'll charge ahead of them this time."
"Heh, I say we just do our jobs, train hard, and get stronger..."
"Plenty of settled adventurers said that following Bay Territory's directive missions is a guaranteed moneymaker..."
"Hey, there's even a guard mission too! If we tag along, we'll be safe."
"Let's move out!"
"..."
Led by Bay Territory's security teams, a large group of adventurers boarded golem trains and took various tools, heading deep into the Death Desert.
Five magical rail lines advanced in different directions across the desert.
With constant supplies and the protection of tens of thousands of adventurers, construction progressed smoothly.
Any magical beasts encountered were taken out by the adventurers before Bay Territory's guards even had to act.
The Cole Elf scout teams observed from afar.
They dared not linger, using image crystals to record Bay Territory's progress before fleeing.
The flying wyvern squads constantly overhead put them under immense pressure.
Yet the wyvern riders remained cautious, never initiating attacks despite their strength.
Instead, they acted as Bay Territory's eyes in the sky, guiding battle squads upon spotting suspicious targets.
The Cole Elves had tried to counter the wyvern units, but every proposal was rejected by the council.
Yaya and Matthew's current combat power outclassed even ordinary Legendary dragons.
Under their command, Bay Territory's wyvern forces were practically unstoppable.
Interestingly, Councilor Kaledor, humbled by repeated defeats at Bay Territory's hands, was now begging the Elven Council for more resources.
"If Bay Territory's wyvern army is that powerful, why not expand the Kaledor Dragon Knight division?"
Led by Tigris, a faction of councilors supported this idea.
Even without a full-scale war, countermeasures against Bay Territory's growing capabilities were necessary.
The sun began to set.
Just when adventurers thought the Bay Territory convoy, having advanced 20 kilometers, would continue under the Crimson Moon—
The two core construction machines halted near a tall sand dune.
As adventurers grew puzzled, their magical wristbands updated the mission contents.
"Ding. Day 1 guard mission complete. Your performance score: 4. Reward: 12 gold coins, 4 merit points."
"Excellent performance. Thank you for your contribution."
"Ding. Your task list has been updated. You may now view tasks suited to your interests and skills."
Laura opened her task list out of curiosity and found a wide variety of distinct missions.
Combat-focused: monster clearing, magical beast hunting.
Recon-focused: scouting, joining patrol squads.
Construction-focused: building houses, city walls, operating engineering golems.
Development-focused: land reclamation, ditch digging, operating agricultural golems.
Research and production-focused: these had no detailed info, only merit and ability level requirements.
To her surprise, Laura discovered that even with her current merit rank, she couldn't view the research missions.
She glanced into the distance and saw Jifan commanding various tasks, shaking her head subconsciously.
She didn't think her relationship with him was good enough to ask him to bend the rules.
So, hoping to better understand Bay Territory, she chose a patrol mission and threw herself into it.
"Stay alert. Monitor both sky and ground at all times."
"Quickly construct secondary energy pools for storing future energy."
"Closely monitor suspicious adventurers. If they act oddly, detain them immediately."
"Inventory all supplies. Ensure proper storage and safety..."
"..."
After assigning all tasks, Jifan didn't rest. He inspected the housing and wall construction at top speed.
He ensured everything would be ready before the Crimson Moon appeared.
To build better and faster,
This group of adventurers had received Bay Territory construction training. They knew how to efficiently build houses and walls.
Under the direction of Bay Territory engineers,
Large bulldozer golems flattened the edges of the sand dune.
The leftover sand was fed into the now streamlined and grouped Tyrant machine.
With added special substances and semi-automated processes, the sand was transformed into magical cement.
As large trenches were completed, Bay Territory engineers opened the water valves laid along the magic tracks.
Clean water gushed out, filling the trenches and supplying cement production.
Mixed cement was pumped to the top and poured into pre-built house molds.
In less than a minute, a three-story house shell was poured and shaped.
Prepared adventurers used quick-set generators to solidify the cement quickly.
Ten minutes later,
The cement had fully hardened. The adventurers dismantled the mold and moved on to assemble the next house mold.
Bay Territory staff entered to conduct safety and quality checks.
Once approved, the next group installed doors and windows.
The entire building process was fast, efficient, and beautiful in its labor intensity.
Adventurers worked hard not only because more work meant more pay.
But also because anyone who met the quota within the time limit would receive a house for free.
"This is a builder's benefit. Whether or not you join Bay Territory."
"Even if you later join Bay Territory, the house is still yours. You can rent or sell it to the territory."
"It can be passed down for three generations!"
With high and generous rewards, every adventurer gave it their all.
With the cooperation of over ten thousand adventurers—
In less than four hours,
A newly built town rose atop the massive dune.