World-Ending Demon Emperor
Chapter 757 - 370: Zhuang Zhixuan’s heart is racing! Turing Duo is despicable!

Chapter 757: 370: Zhuang Zhixuan’s heart is racing! Turing Duo is despicable!

In the southern waters of Tianshui City.

Three cannon warships were conducting a firing test at a distance of one thousand five hundred meters.

Of course, for this budding navy, such a distance was nothing short of a fantastical tale.

Suo Lun was a liberal arts student and had no understanding of ballistics; he could only let these people grope their way forward.

To make for a slightly better starting point, the first batch of artillerymen that Suo Lun recruited were either former trebuchet strongmen or elite archers. These people had at least some expertise in long-range attacks.

These one thousand people spent the previous month learning mathematics and geometry.

In the absence of cannons, they had used heavy crossbows and trebuchets to study projectile trajectories.

It was not until over half a year ago that the first batch of cannons was manufactured, along with Ashi Yuanba’s hand cannons. Only then did this group of artillerymen get to touch the cannons for the first time and then fire them.

Over the past six months, each group of artillerymen had more than a hundred firing experiences. Their hit rate on land was already considered quite good.

But firing at sea was still a first!

"All in position, aim!"

Seventy cannons on one side of the three cannon warships were all aimed at the target ship one thousand five hundred meters away.

At this distance, hitting a large target on land was occasionally successful.

With the sea conditions being so complicated, Suo Lun had no expectations of a hit; what mattered was getting the feel for it.

Dozens of artillery teams were sweating profusely as they filled the cannons with gunpowder and solid cannonballs.

"Fire!"

At the command!

"Boom boom boom boom..." Dozens of cannons, though not fired in perfect unison, completed their firing within a few short seconds.

Inside the ship, it truly felt like an earth-shattering noise, and the whole warship shook violently.

At this moment, Suo Lun’s heart was lifted with concern, fearing that the ship couldn’t withstand the recoil of the cannon fire and some parts would simply fall apart.

Fortunately, what Suo Lun feared did not happen.

After intensive shaking and rocking, the warship was not damaged.

At that time, a master shipbuilder approached and whispered, "My lord, many parts of this ship are built irrationally. According to my guess, given a normal combat frequency, this ship will probably only last three or four years."

Suo Lun’s heart ached, as just the hull of the warship beneath his feet, excluding the cannons, cost him nearly fifty thousand Gold Coins, which equated to seven or eight hundred million in renminbi—and it might be scrap in just three or four years.

Often, mistakes are only known after they have occurred. Moreover, it was certain that more flaws of this ship would continuously be revealed in actual combat. However, progress is summed up by continually discovering and learning from these mistakes.

"It doesn’t matter. If this ship can be used for three years, it’ll be worth it, and by that time, we will already own the entire Rage Wave Kingdom," said Suo Lun.

Then, Suo Lun asked, "How was the effect of the first broadside?"

Because of the smoke from the cannon fire, it was impossible to see clearly whether the target was hit.

Queen Yan Chuo, riding on a griffin, had a clear view from high above.

The first broadside of seventy cannons at a distance of one thousand five hundred meters had a hit rate of zero.

This was a very normal outcome; miracles don’t happen so easily.

The only thing to do was to gradually improve during firing tests, finding patterns and getting the feel for it, so that the hit rate would go up.

Of course, this kind of feeling required feeding hundreds to thousands of cannonballs—all costing money!

Eight minutes later!

"Boom boom boom boom boom..."

The three warships conducted their second broadside.

Seven minutes later, they carried out the third broadside.

The fourth time, the fifth time...

Finally, by the seventh round, the cannons hit the target ship one thousand five hundred meters away, and there were two cannonballs that hit.

Suddenly, the interior of the warships burst into celebration, having finally scored a hit.

But many worried whether this was just luck, a mere fluke.

However, the events that followed proved it was not a coincidence, as the hit rate continued to increase, and at times, there were as many as six hits.

Once they found this elusive feeling, the efficient magical feeling arose.

The artillerymen felt their blood boiling, not sensing any fatigue at all.

"This is completely different from a trebuchet, completely different..." an artillery officer excitedly said, "Trebuchets depend on luck, but with cannons, you really have a feeling, a trajectory, something you can calculate."

Such a wonderful feeling allowed the artillerymen to sense their improvement rather than just leaving their shots up to fate.

In this manner, the three warships tirelessly conducted sea firing tests.

And they were determined to practice at a long distance of one thousand five hundred meters.

Finally...

Four hours later, the target ship couldn’t withstand that many hits any longer and sunk straight down.

...

Days went by.

Every single day, the three cannon warships were engaged in frenetic training.

From one thousand five hundred meters to one thousand meters, to eight hundred meters, five hundred meters, four hundred meters!

From solid shot to chain shot, and then to scatter shot. Though grape shot was still very immature, it too was tested.

It wasn’t just these three cannon warships that were engaged in maritime combat drills—dozens of other regular warships also mounted cannons on their decks and came to this area for sea firing tests.

Unfortunately, even though Suo Lun spared no expense in purchasing iron and steel, the number of cannons manufactured was always limited and could not equip every ship.

With only about twenty days left until the great battle, Suo Lun’s twenty-five thousand navy were seizing the last of their time to engage in frantic live combat drills.

These men were all desperate, but what they would look like against Yan Mo’s army of a hundred thousand was anyone’s guess.

Only heaven really knows!

Because practice and actual warfare are completely different things.

Moreover, Yan Mo had a hundred thousand naval forces, four times more than Suo Lun, especially his Rock Pirate Fleet, which was unbeatable under the heavens!

So Suo Lun had absolutely no confidence in this battle.

He had even considered that if he were to lose this battle, he would have to relocate the entire Magic Mirror Industry and the gunpowder factories to inside the boundaries of Tianshui City and temporarily give up sea trade altogether, opting for the much more costly land routes instead.

If it truly came to that, Suo Lun’s income would be halved, and many expansion projects would have to be put on hold.

Before, Suo Lun was advancing on all fronts, with the manufacture of cannons, weapons, the restructuring of the army, the building of warships, the production of gunpowder, and the construction of castle defenses all happening at once.

But once income was cut in half, he would have to prioritize these construction projects, only selecting the most crucial to continue.

Therefore, if he were to lose this battle, the time it would take for Suo Lun to defeat Zhi Li would be significantly delayed, even introducing many uncertainties.

So for this battle, Suo Lun could only pray.

Because there was no precedent for the use of cannons in naval battles, what the outcome would be was truly unknown!

Do your utmost and leave the rest to fate!

...

Time flew by!

It had been nearly ten days since Tuli Yang and Turing Duo entered Wangcheng Zidu as a couple.

During these ten days, Zhi Li gave Tuli Yang an unprecedented reception, hosting a small banquet every three days and a large banquet every five days.

This deeply moved Tuli Yang, while Turing Duo gradually opened up to him, revealing how Suo Lun had humiliated, hurt and violated her.

Hearing this, Tuli Yang was enraged, with a sky-high killing intent!

One day, after drinking and getting half-drunk with Turing Duo, she cried out, "Yang, I am no longer a virgin. I have been defiled by Suo Lun. Will you despise me?"

If Suo Lun heard this, he would definitely have been overcome with an urge to kill.

Indeed, he had many chances to possess Turing Duo’s body, and it wasn’t just once or twice that she offered herself willingly.

But, Suo Lun had been with Zhi Ning yet he had never touched Turing Duo.

After hearing Turing Duo’s words, Tuli Yang’s tears gushed forth, his eyes seemed ready to split, and he cried out hoarsely, "Suo Lun, I will tear you to a thousand pieces."

Then, he cried passionately, "A man who cannot protect his woman is powerless. How can I bear to blame you? In my heart, you are still the most beautiful, the most pure woman."

Turing Duo cried, "Yang, my body has healed, and I can now bear you children. I know you desire me deeply, but... the shadow of Suo Lun’s torture always looms over me. Those terrifying abuses, those cruel torments give me nightmares every night. They have also instilled a great fear of love between a man and a woman in me, so please give me some more time, okay? When the shadows in my heart fade, I will give my body to you, to bear and raise your children."

Tuli Yang was immediately touched and said, "It doesn’t matter, I’m not in a hurry, I’m willing to wait for you forever, I will stand by you, and together we will overcome the shadow that Suo Lun, this devil, has cast over you."

After that night, Tuli Yang swore in his heart that he must avenge his wife and shatter Suo Lun into a million pieces.

The first thing he did was to contact a liaison from Underworld Society to inquire about the price of assassinating Suo Lun. After learning that the sky-high price was 970,000 Gold Coins, he had no choice but to lay low for a while. Moreover, Underworld Society indicated that even with this price they might not accept the contract because they had failed in their first attempt to kill Suo Lun and would be very cautious about a second attempt.

Although Luan Yang City was once the wealthiest of the feudal lords, several wars had left Luan Yang City financially crippled, unable to gather 970,000 Gold Coins.

So, with no outlet for his rage, Tuli Yang began to openly denounce Suo Lun in Wangcheng Zidu, exposing his darkness and ugliness.

He also declared in advance that Suo Lun was about to suffer an unprecedented defeat; Yan Mo’s army of a hundred thousand would utterly destroy Suo Lun’s navy, cutting off all of Suo Lun’s hopes for a rise to power.

Then, Tuli Yang repeatedly made public statements that he would steadfastly pledge loyalty to Zhi Li His Highness. He declared irreconcilable opposition to Suo Lun, resolved to fight to the end!

Within a mere ten days, Tuli Yang had replaced Gui Xingfu to become the foremost adherent of Zhi Li and the number one feudal enemy of Suo Lun.

...

That evening, Zhi Li hosted another banquet for Tuli Yang.

"Tuli Yang, you might need to prepare yourself mentally," Zhi Li said.

"For what, Your Highness?" Tuli Yang asked.

Zhi Li said, "Your father may have already been killed by Suo Lun..."

Upon hearing this, Tuli Yang sat frozen, his voice breaking as he said, "No, that’s impossible! Suo Lun must be holding my father hostage to extort Luan Yang City; he wouldn’t kill my father."

Tuli Ming was not only Tuli Yang’s father but also his idol. In Tuli Yang’s life, the significance of his father even surpassed that of his wife, Turing Duo.

If his father Tuli Ming were dead, it would be as if the sky had fallen for Tuli Yang.

Zhi Li said, "I intended to rescue Lord Tuli Ming, and I don’t know how many people had been sent to Tian Shui City, but all attempts have been in vain. Recently, however, one of our high-ranking undercover agents in Tian Shui City informed me that Lord Tuli Ming might already be dead."

The wine glass fell from Tuli Yang’s hand to the floor as he said, "Why would Suo Lun want to kill my father? It’s impossible!"

Zhi Li said, "Once, I sent dozens of experts to Tian Shui City to attempt a rescue; they located a secret dungeon and fought their way in. At that time, we didn’t know your father was inside the dungeon; it was just a routine search. But Suo Lun’s men, thinking the dungeon was about to be breached, decided to go all out and killed your father."

Tuli Yang’s face twisted with spasms, then he burst into a loud wail, crying until he was heartbroken.

"Suo Lun, I will definitely shatter you into a million pieces, a million pieces!" Tuli Yang roared in desperation, drowning himself in alcohol.

In just a quarter of an hour, he was overwhelmed by sorrow and drink and completely passed out.

Just at that moment, Zhi Li clapped his hands and said, "He’s completely out cold now; come out!"

Then, Turing Duo, wearing a tight-fitting long dress and with a voluptuous figure, walked out, her gaze complex as she looked at her unconscious husband.

Zhi Li’s eyes burned with desire as he fixed his gaze on Turing Duo’s body, licked his lips, and rasped, "I like to play with other men’s wives the most."

Upon hearing these words, Turing Duo’s beautiful face trembled slightly.

Note: Here’s the second update of over four thousand words, asking for your support, thank you everyone!

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