Nuclear-powered Sword Immortal

Chapter 95: Chapter 95: Discuss at Length

"I understand, I will issue the orders right away."

Nian Buwang’s spirit was lifted.

"There’s also no need to be too deliberate."

Gu Jinlai said, glancing at the Heavenly Gang Sect’s sprawling compound that looked like a city within a city, "How is the clean-up going?"

"The Heavenly Gang Sect occupies a vast area, and it would have taken a lot of time to clear out all their resources with just us. However, when we entered the Heavenly Gang Sect, we found that many of the resources had already been neatly cleared away..."

"The Lin Family."

Gu Jinlai stated.

The Lin Family had taken over Yuanhua City. Although they had just captured it, they had already inventoried the various spoils of war.

"Exactly, we almost reaped the benefits without lifting a finger."

As he said this, Nian Buwang’s voice contained an uncontrollable sense of astonishment and delight, "Yuanhua City is larger than Lingxiao City and, in addition, it boasts an iron mine. Its average revenue is higher than that of Lingxiao City. The Heavenly Gang Sect alone had no less than six million taels of gold and silver. If we include those resources and treasures, the total gain is over 1.5 million taels."

"Good."

Gu Jinlai replied.

Waging war is about fighting for money.

Cannon fire, a million taels of gold.

In this period, the two military workshops were operating at full capacity, various resources kept flowing in, and each bullet transformed was money.

Furthermore, with Gu Jinlai recruiting new troops and instructing the Gu Family to train elites, and with the expenses of the Qiushan project, the gains from annihilating the Three Great Families had already been mostly spent.

This influx of over ten million taels’ worth of resources came at just the right time.

"I’ve already ordered Gu Chifeng to lead people to join up with the Lin Family members. On their return, they will plunder Linfeng City. Aside from the precious items, you can discuss how to distribute the rest with your family when the time comes,"

Gu Jinlai stated, "However, all craftsmen must be brought to Lingxiao City. Both military workshops and the personnel of Qiushan need a substantial influx of new workers. Only if our military workshops are large enough can we ensure sufficient combat power."

At this point, he was already considering the production of basic firearms.

The manufacturing process of firearms was not complicated.

What was more complex was the production of ammunition.

If soldiers could be equipped with rifles, even new recruits with just a few months of training would be no less effective in combat than elites.

"Gunpowder is an issue. At present, the industry level of the military workshops can only produce black gunpowder at its limit. Smokeless powder can only be produced by me... and I do not have so much free time to co-spirit such a large amount of gunpowder for ordinary soldiers,"

Without the technology for smokeless powder pointed out in his military workshops, firearms could not be widely equipped.

"With finished products available, it’s only a matter of time before the relevant technology tree is developed. I just need to wait patiently."

...

Although the Star State Governor did not have absolute control over Star State, the 26 cities were nominally under the authority of the State Lord Mansion.

As the left arm and right hand of the State Lord Mansion, the Meteor Star Guard had an extremely comprehensive intelligence system within Star State.

The defeat of Zhang Luu and Su Bieli’s Meteor Star Guard and Heavenly Gang Sect coalition at Monument Mountain spread rapidly to the Meteor Star Guard in less than a day.

After layers of verification, by the next morning, the Star Patrol Envoy Tang Qing had already hurried to Su Wen’s study.

"Director, there’s news from the Meteor Star Guard..."

Tang Qing spoke with a solemn expression.

Seeing his face, Su Wen had already guessed what was coming.

"Impossible!"

He exclaimed in a low voice, "Where!?"

Tang Qing quickly presented the intelligence.

Even Su Wen, who was the director of the Star Patrol Department and one of the three giants in the Meteor Star Guard, second only to Star Lord Xin Tianqi, couldn’t help but show a look of disbelief as he read the report.

"Chain Fire Guns!? Just ten of them firing a large number of metal hidden weapons in a very short time was enough to rout them!?"

Su Wen roared incredulously, "Are these people all useless!?"

Firearms!

They had them!

Daqian had been equipped with firearms for a long time.

However, these firearms were slow to fire, affected by environmental factors, and not to mention their negligible power.

They couldn’t breach the Protective True Qi of Qi Refinement experts, not to mention that elite soldiers in Iron Armor could charge and render the firearms useless.

Even if the Chain Fire Guns mentioned in the report fired rapidly, so what?

"Director, Gu Jinlai is a Heavenly Master, and we should not view the power of firearms crafted by a Heavenly Master through an ordinary lens! According to the testimony of the survivors, even a Hugging Pill Master would be unable to escape death if continuously hit by their firearms,"

Tang Qing said, pausing slightly, "Su Bieli perished because he charged too fast and was focused down by a barrage of gunfire before even entering combat."

"And what about Su Fangzheng? Zhang Luu?"

"Su Fangzheng was killed by Gu Jinlai and his disciple Su Nanxing working together."

Tang Qing replied, "According to the survivors, his disciple, Su Nanxing, has broken through to Refining God. At that time, while Master Su bore the brunt of gunfire, charging toward Gu Jinlai, he was about to unleash his Supreme Sword to kill Gu Jinlai when Su Nanxing took him by surprise, so one wrong move and everything was lost. As for Zhang Luu..."

He paused, "Although no one witnessed it firsthand, he... was likely killed by Gu Jinlai in a frontal assault."

"A frontal kill."

Su Wen had at least some understanding of Zhang Luu’s strength.

In the ranks of the Refining God Immortals, he definitely belonged to the top tier.

Having fought his way up to the position of Star Master from a Meteor Star Guard, and being battle-hardened, the fact that Gu Jinlai managed to kill him was both surprising and expected.

"It seems he has transformed the foundation of the Red Blood Sect and the cooperation with the Demon Martial Artists completely into cultivation resources."

A gleam of insight flashed in Su Wen’s eyes.

As the Director of the Patrol Department, he knew much more than anyone else.

Even the collaboration between the Red Blood Sect and the demons as well as the involvement of Second Young Master Qi Fenglei was something he had heard of.

It’s just that there was no evidence, so it remained a secret.

"Gu Jinlai was originally a demon martial artist; with a large quantity of demon blood essence, his strength naturally soared. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have become so emboldened,"

Su Wen slapped the table heavily, "Zhang Luu knew that Gu Jinlai was a demon martial artist and still entrusted him with an important position. He’s brought trouble on himself and even caused the death of Xiao Tong! A death well deserved!"

Considering his words carefully, Tang Qing said, "Director, this matter has caused quite an uproar. It will soon spread across Star State. If we do not handle it properly..."

"Handle it!? Gu Jinlai must die!"

With emphatic certainty, Su Wen declared, "This time, no one can save him!"

A cold glint flashed in his eyes, "To some extent, this matter originated from me, and I will be the one to personally rectify it."

"Director!?"

Tang Qing looked at Su Wen in surprise, "You’re going to take action personally?"

"If Gu Jinlai can kill Zhang Luu head-on, ordinary Refining God cultivators are no match for him. Even if we send three to five Refining God cultivators together, he may not win, but he might escape. To ensure there is no room for failure, I will personally wield my sword and fight this battle."

Su Wen stated.

After listening, Tang Qing exhaled slowly, "With the Director taking action himself, Gu Jinlai... is as good as dead."

"Su Qing."

Su Wen called out.

Outside, a young man with Hugging Pill cultivation entered, "Family Head."

"Gu Jinlai is ultimately from the Star Lord Department. Go, take my token to see Director Cheng Wanli, and tell him that I will personally go to Lingxiao City to execute Gu Jinlai."

"Understood."

The man named Su Qing took the token, bowed, and left.

No sooner had he walked out than another young man hurried in.

Seeing Su Wen and Tang Qing, he spoke urgently, "Director, Star Patrol Envoy, urgent news from the border! Vice Sect Master of Purgatory Sect Lin Xiao, leading two thousand elites and two thousand soldiers, seized the opportunity when Yuanhua City was undefended and launched a surprise attack. Yuanhua City has fallen."

"Yuanhua City!?"

"Purgatory Sect!"

Hearing this news, both Su Wen and Tang Qing’s expressions changed dramatically.

Especially Su Wen...

Yuanhua City was his territory.

First, Gu Jinlai had slain the master of the Heavenly Gang Sect, and now even the city had fallen. In an instant, anger in the Director of the Star Patrol Department soared to its limit.

"Incompetence!"

Su Wen roared, "Isn’t Zhou Que of the Heavenly Gang Sect there to garrison it? Moreover, there are still over a hundred masters and several thousand soldiers in the city. How could they lose it so easily!?"

"Venerable Daoist Zhou Que of the Heavenly Gang Sect did indeed gather his troops to resist immediately... However, before the battle even began, the flying Cold Feather Sword descended from the sky, and Venerable Daoist Zhou was beheaded with a single strike. Suddenly... chaos ensued, and the Yuanhua City garrison was left without a leader. Combined with sabotage from within and enemy collusion, that’s what led to the fall of Yuanhua City."

"The Cold Feather Sword?"

Inflamed with anger, Su Wen’s expression momentarily stiffened, "The Divinity Transformation Elder Shi Chen of the Purgatory Sect, the one known as ’Thousand Mountains Bird Flying Extinct’?"

"Yes."

The Meteor Star Guard nodded gravely.

The Purgatory Sect had not only sent Vice Sect Master Lin Xiao but also a Divinity Transformation Great Cultivator.

Zhou Que was killed immediately by a flying sword, and as the masters of the Heavenly Gang Sect had left, Yuanhua City was undefended. This was...

An unjust defeat.

Su Wen couldn’t help but calm down.

With the situation worsening to this point, reclaiming Yuanhua City seemed difficult.

Just as Su Wen was brooding and his face clouded with gloom, another man dressed as a garrison commander quickly approached, "Director, urgent news from Yuanhua City! Gu Jinlai launched a surprise attack on Yuanhua City, decisively defeating the Purgatory Sect. The Purgatory Sect fled in disarray, and Yuanhua City has changed hands!"

"Gu Jinlai launched a surprise attack on Yuanhua City, decimating the Purgatory Sect?"

Su Wen was startled, and then without any hesitation, he swept his sleeve firmly, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

He spoke solemnly, "With Shi Chen entering Star State, eight or nine out of ten, he intended to kill Gu Jinlai as housekeeping! Gu Jinlai launching an attack on Yuanhua City is akin to throwing himself into the net, delivering his neck to Shi Chen’s Cold Feather Sword. He is bound to die; how could he possibly take Yuanhua City!?"

"This... The news has been verified through multiple sources and is accurate."

This newly arrived garrison commander spoke, also somewhat incredulous, "According to many experts, when Gu Jinlai reached the outskirts of Yuanhua City, indeed there was a sword breaking the sky, its sound thunderous, shooting ten miles. However... following a thunderous roar outside the city, nothing further happened. Later, people claimed they saw Purgatory Sect Elder Shi Chen pale-faced, weak, and fleeing in panic. Afterward, Gu Jinlai climbed the city walls of Yuanhua City and, using the advantage of the Chain Fire Gun, slaughtered the Lin Family elites and crushed the defending Lin Family forces."

"Shi Chen made his move, yet he turned pale-faced, weak, and fled in panic?" _{𝒏𝙤𝙫𝒑𝙪𝙗.𝙘𝒐𝙢}

Su Wen couldn’t help but widen his eyes, "Fled!?"

"Fled."

"How... could it be..."

"Not only Shi Chen, but Purgatory Sect’s Lin Xiao also followed soon after, hurrying to escape without daring to engage Gu Jinlai. The Lin Family’s two thousand elites and two thousand soldiers suffered heavy losses..."

As the garrison commander spoke, disbelief shone in his eyes, "This battle has probably depleted all assets of the Lin Family of Linfeng City."

Hearing his resounding and certain words, Su Wen and Tang Qing looked at each other, stunned into silence.

"Direc... Director..."

After a while, Tang Qing finally spoke hesitantly, "Lingxiao City... Are you still going?"

"I..."

Su Wen’s face underwent several changes, then as if struck by a realization, he exclaimed, "Quick! Retrieve Su Qing immediately! We need to reconsider this matter... for the long term!"

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(Thank you to the Alliance Hierarch from the upper dark halls of Jiujiusongxuanmo for the generous reward; additional Chapters will be added as soon as I have backlog to make up for it.)