Another two hours passed. In total, over 140 Energy Charging Guns were manufactured. Adding those from the day, it's nearly 250. Once deployed on the battlefield tomorrow, it will surely further reduce casualties.
Jiāng Jì had one of the sergeants notify Yán Chuān to send people to collect them, expanding the gunner legion's size. The sooner they train, the better the results.
Before long, Yán Chuān himself arrived, carrying some food. "Are you made of iron, kid? You don't get tired. Here, eat something first." Upon seeing Jiāng Jì's somewhat haggard appearance, Yán Chuān instinctively began to lecture him as he handed over the food, instructing a subordinate to prepare it for Jiāng Jì.
"Heh, I was just getting hungry. Thanks, Uncle Yán." Jiāng Jì, knowing his concern, happily accepted the food and ate heartily. Awakened ones aren't made of steel; they get hungry, he had just been holding back.
Seeing him eat, Yán Chuān relaxed. He then moved to where the Energy Charging Guns were piled and observed them, his eyes brightening with each glance. "You're really something, kid. I didn't misjudge you. You've made over a hundred more. Well done!" Yán Chuān gave Jiāng Jì a thumbs-up, full of praise. "With this, we'll have 250 gunners tomorrow. The Tier 1 ferocious beasts are in for a rough time. Good, good."
"Oh, right, how's the demon-slaying cannon?" Yán Chuān wouldn't forget the powerful weapon he'd been focused on. Energy Charging Guns could only amplify results; to end the Beast Tide, they needed weapons of mass destruction.
"It's been fixed for a while." Jiāng Jì, with his mouth full of food, replied, "I counted, there are a total of twenty-seven rounds for the demon-slaying cannon, more than enough to clear out the Beast Tide."
"Excellent! The ferocious beasts tomorrow are in for a treat." Yán Chuān was overjoyed at the confirmation and clapped his hands heavily. "After this battle, you'll be the number one hero of Great Xia City."
Upon hearing this, the two assisting sergeants and the two children, Zhōu Míng and Zhōu Líng, puffed out their chests slightly, feeling honored. They had been involved in the Mechanic's work from start to finish; this achievement included their contributions.
Jiāng Jì waved his hand, "It's all for Great Xia City."
"Alright, I'll be going then. I'll send people to transport the demon-slaying cannon tomorrow," Yán Chuān said, preparing to leave.
Jiāng Jì quickly reached out to stop him, pulling out the list he had just compiled. "Wait, please help me collect these materials, Uncle Yán. I need to make something."
Yán Chuān paused and took the list to examine it. "These are all Tier 2 materials, right? Besides Energy Charging Guns, can you manufacture other weapons?" He had collected materials for the previous city lord before and recognized some of them.
Jiāng Jì nodded. "I've advanced. These materials are for Tier 2 mechanical weapon parts."
"I see... wait... what did you say? You've advanced?" Yán Chuān, who was about to agree out of habit, was instantly shocked. "Wait, didn't you just awaken this morning? It hasn't even been twenty-four hours, and you... you've advanced?"
This news shocked him more than Jiāng Jì repairing the demon-slaying cannon.
Jiāng Jì directly displayed his status panel.
After Yán Chuān finished reading, his eyes were somewhat unfocused, and he muttered, "Advanced in one day, advanced in one day..."
"Damn it," he couldn't help but curse, "You really are a monster of a genius, kid. I'm starting to believe you can truly lead Great Xia City through the siege of ferocious beasts and fulfill the hope of returning to the old land."
Jiāng Jì looked puzzled. "Uncle Yán, advancing in one day isn't much, is it?" To be honest, if not for the Mechanical Overlord talent, which granted him 300,000 experience points, advancing in one day would be nothing. Advancing multiple tiers in a single day to Tier 4 or 5 would be astonishing.
Until he left, Yán Chuān kept muttering about advancing in one day. Moving further away, he finally gathered his thoughts and cautioned Jiāng Jì, "Kid, make sure to balance work and rest. Don't collapse at the workbench."
He knew that with his advancement to Tier 2, Jiāng Jì would definitely continue to manufacture mechanicals, possibly planning to work through the night, which prompted his reminder.After quickly finishing his meal, Jiāng Jì finally had time to check the existing Tier 2 materials in the mechanical storage.
After looking around, he found that he had materials for three new mechanical products, though the quantities were a bit low. When he advanced to Tier 3 later, materials would become even scarcer, so he needed to prepare for collecting them outside the city in advance.
Following his routine, Jiāng Jì sorted out portions of the materials and asked Zhōu Míng and the others to help find the rest.
Once the materials were in place, he began manufacturing the Tier 2 mechanical products.
During this time, Jiāng Jì also took moments to check his experience bar. The experience required to advance from Tier 2 to Tier 3 had increased to 900,000.
This made him secretly thankful that each advancement only tripled the required experience. If it continued to increase tenfold as before, future experience acquisition would be difficult. If it followed the tenfold progression, it would be manageable before Tier 5, but later, with hundreds of millions of experience points required, unless he could single-handedly clear out an entire Beast Tide, experience alone would be a major worry.
However, this 900,000, while significant compared to other awakeners, was negligible to him. The Beast Tide tomorrow alone might push his experience bar halfway.
Advancing tiers would be a matter of a few large-scale wars.
...
Time passed.
The morning sun rose, and sunlight once again bathed Great Xia City, which exuded an aura of iron and blood.
At this moment, in the plaza before the city wall, several major legions had formed formations, on guard for the impending second wave of the Beast Tide.
At the very front stood about two hundred people with varying expressions. These were the individuals who had been swayed by the strange demons' words yesterday. Yán Chuān had specifically ordered them to be identified to help Jiāng Jì eliminate potential threats.
Yán Chuān looked at them with a complex expression and declared, "Our Great Xia City has no need for cowards, nor for those who wish to betray their fellow citizens."
"You people, yesterday, under the twisted demonic sound emitted by the strange demons, your minds were confused, leading you to think of handing over your compatriots for your own safety. While the demonic sound played a part, as citizens of Great Xia City, a lack of firm resolve is your fault. All consequences are self-inflicted."
"Considering your past contributions to Great Xia City, we will give you a chance. In today's battle, you will be the vanguard of the vanguard. If you survive, your merits and demerits will cancel each other out. If you die, it will be your fate. We hope you act wisely."
Among the more than two hundred people, some showed shame, while others wore expressions of fear. But at this point, they had no opportunity, nor did they dare, to resist.
After reprimanding them, Yán Chuān turned and addressed the crowd below, "Our Great Xia City dares to fight, will fight to the death. Even if we spill the last drop of blood, we will not abandon any fellow citizen, let alone engage in such pathetic compromise."
"If anyone dares to harbor such thoughts again, they won't even be given the chance to redeem themselves but will be ordered to commit suicide, so as not to inconvenience others."
His words reached every corner of the crowd.
Everyone raised their weapons and shouted in unison, "Fight! Fight! Fight! Dare to fight! Fight to the death!"
Instantly, everyone's morale surged.
"Ascend the wall." After completing his pre-battle mobilization, Yán Chuān took the lead and walked towards the city wall.
The crowd surged forward, continuously ascending the wall. Everyone stared intently into the distance, ready to enter combat posture at the first sight of ferocious beasts.