Chapter 666: We Love "Inventions"
Countless mutated monsters, driven by the Awakened Jungle, swarmed toward the Catachan city walls.
As far as the eye could see, it was a twisted and grotesque scene.
The pressure bearing down was immense, an oppressive force almost too heavy to endure.
In the war room, the commanders couldn't help but furrow their brows.
The Catachan tribes' current situation was likely what Bay Territory would eventually face.
The prospect of being enemies with the entire world had caught even Bay Territory's battle-hardened commanders off guard.
Being mentally prepared was one thing—seeing it with their own eyes was another.
They watched the mutated monsters assault the walls with brute, irrational force, engaging in brutal melee with Catachan soldiers.
The Catachan fighters were indeed brave and fierce.
Even with their relatively crude and outdated melee weapons, they managed to hold the line.
But lacking adequate armor and medical supplies, their casualties kept rising.
Even some of the goods traded from Bay Territory were being "bled dry" under the relentless assault.
Yet, the combat prowess and tenacity of the Catachan warriors still earned the respect of Bay Territory's commanders.
Even under their critical gaze—
The only real flaw the Catachan troops had was a lack of coordinated teamwork.
In every other aspect, they were nearly impeccable.
Seeing them suffer such losses stirred not only sympathy, but also heightened vigilance toward the mutated monsters and the Awakened Jungle.
Angela paused the magical projection, drawing everyone's attention, and spoke in a grave tone:
"I'm sure you all understand what kind of enemy we're facing."
"They are everywhere, endless, never resting, with terrifying endurance."
"If we break down their combat effectiveness, we can identify a few key points."
"Within a 200-meter radius, all plants and mutated creatures either actively or passively become weapons and reinforcements."
"They construct large-scale biological weapons with plant conglomerates as the brain, twisted plants as nerves and skeletons, and mutated beasts as flesh and blood."
"Don't treat them as separate threats. View them as one integrated organism..."
With Angela's briefing, the officers gained a clearer understanding of their enemies.
They flipped through various data, especially recent battle intel and thousands of years of Catachan combat experience.
Everyone found it daunting, but remained confident.
After allowing time for reflection, Angela calmly continued:
"The goal of this meeting is to devise effective strategies to fight and resist them."
"We need to focus on two key outcomes."
"First, drastically reduce their living forces to lower our combat risks and burdens."
"Second, figure out how to build a sustainable defense perimeter."
"These two objectives are not contradictory—they can support and enhance each other."
"Catachan once had tens of millions in population, yet after thousands of years of defense, they've been on the back foot, constantly bleeding lives."
"So we only have one viable path."
"And that is relentless offense!"
Many of the commanders suddenly nodded in understanding.
Yes—Bay Territory's defense was formidable.
Even against multi-directional attacks from the Cole Elves, it had held strong and counterattacked fiercely.
But Bay Territory still controlled too little land, had too few resources, and was severely outnumbered.
No matter how solid their defenses, they couldn't match thousands of years of Catachan experience.
If even the Catachans couldn't hold, Bay Territory had no reason to take that doomed route.
After all, Bay Territory's greatest strength had always been overwhelming offense!
Seeing that everyone was on the same page, Angela pulled up the map and pointed to several red zones near Bay Territory.
"These are the nearby nests and clusters of large mutated monsters—our next strike targets."
Everyone immediately understood Angela's intent.
With Bay Territory's current firepower—
No matter how many regular mutated monsters came, they couldn't break through their defenses.
Once those zones were cleared, they'd only need minimal troops to maintain control.
The freed-up forces could then be used for further offense.
Just as everyone thought this was the main offensive plan, Angela surprised them again.
She pointed to the other side of the map, about 300 kilometers beyond the current Bay Territory front, and said with calm certainty:
"This is just a diversion. Our real target is this active volcano!"
"Mount Asu!"
"According to intel, it houses a massive Catachan demon nest."
Seeing the name, the commanders were momentarily stunned.
They hadn't expected such a distant and ambitious goal!
The Catachan demons were extremely important assets to the enemy.
They were essentially their strongest strike-type mutated monsters!
Even more so than other large mutants, Catachan demons were considered prized weapons.
That made Bay Territory's objective clear once again:
Use offense to suppress the enemy's strongest force!
As the officers continued strategizing and brainstorming, Angela smiled and added an extra surprise:
"To handle the various enemy types and dangers of the Catachan jungle—"
"The territory has selected a batch of interesting inventions for you to review and consider."
Inventions from the territory?
The commanders' eyes lit up. They had to check it out!
Who knows what surprises might be waiting!
Whoosh!
A jet of flame shot out over 20 meters.
Like a giant fire serpent, it wrapped around a distant mass of twisted plants.
Many creeping tendrils were instantly charred by the sweeping blaze.
Jifan carefully adjusted the nozzle's height and turned to Mayoufu beside him, rolling his eyes:
"Figured it out yet? How the hell do you turn this thing off?!"
Sweating profusely, Mayoufu nervously flipped through the manual.
He pushed up his glasses and opened the golem schematic projection.
After scanning the diagrams, he slapped his forehead and shouted excitedly:
"See the red button to your right?!"
Jifan eyed the group of six or seven buttons and, trusting him, pressed the red one.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The already powerful fire serpent instantly turned into a raging fire dragon, blasting out over 30 meters and igniting untouched forest.
"Ding! Extreme Flame Jet Mode activated!"
"Warning: recoil is intense—please hold on tight!"
"This mode lasts 15 seconds. Countdown: 15, 14..."
Jifan braced against the tremendous recoil, wincing at the sweet but unnerving voice.
"Don't press that one..."
Mayoufu's voice finally reached him.
"You're telling me that NOW?!"
"Just tell me which one shuts it down!"
With hair slightly curled from the heat, Jifan's rage was now hotter than the flames.
Mayoufu gulped and looked down.
By the time he looked up again, the flamethrower had shut off on its own.
The rest of his words hung in the air:
"The green one shuts it off..."
Jifan twitched at the corners of his mouth, then lazily handed the empty fuel flamethrower over.
He gave Mayoufu a solid clap on the shoulder and said with a deep sigh:
"Next time you apply to test a prototype, prep better, yeah?"
Wincing from the slap, Mayoufu sheepishly nodded and began inspecting the device.
After a few seconds, a thought struck him. He looked up at Jifan's retreating figure and yelled:
"Hey! So... did it pass the test?!"
Jifan waved without looking back and said with a smirk:
"Yeah, yeah, it passed. Move it on to the next prototype phase."
"But this time, prep ahead of time."
Mayoufu, who hadn't dared hope, immediately cheered.
Clang!
He accidentally punched the still-hot nozzle.
"Aaaaargh!"
Hearing the screams behind him, Jifan glanced back at the goof clutching his burned hand and signaled to a teammate.
Still laughing!
The teammate stifled a laugh and moved to tend Mayoufu's injury.
Despite Mayoufu's antics, Jifan had growing expectations for the seemingly simple flamethrower.
Of course, he wasn't talking about this rough prototype.
He meant the refined, upgraded, and reinforced Bay Territory precision model!
In a nearby lab, civil engineers were hauling semi-automated machines.
These were for manufacturing various specialized inventions.
Over two years ago, before Bay Territory's research institutes were even founded—
The territory's invention incentive system had already made many "inventors" quite eager and excited.
Many earned huge bonuses and a 10% share in cost savings and profit increases from their inventions.
The bonuses gave immediate rewards; the profit shares ensured steady income.
As a result, the number of inventors in Bay Territory hadn't dropped despite the growth of research institutes.
On the contrary, inspired by success stories, the number was growing fast.
Especially after Bay Territory provided thorough and foundational education—
These inventors, now grounded in theory and technique,
Supplied Bay Territory with many unique goods.
Like the miniature magic communicator.
Matthew used it as the prototype to develop the magic wristwatch nearly everyone in Bay Territory now used.
To maximize its utility—
Matthew studied real-world practices and invented signal relay and amplification towers.
These magical signal towers were being built or expanded across outposts, walls, and transport lines.
They supported "Message," "Projection," and "Stealth Transmission" spells.
Greatly improving Bay Territory's communications and regional control.
Then there were the wildly popular magic trucks.
The inspiration came when Orianna rode a golem train—
And wished it could leave the tracks and traverse other terrains.
With her hands-on skills, Orianna teamed up with Yaya—another toy-loving soul—for a creative frenzy.
Though their prototype had issues, the research staff helped refine it.
That very effort inspired the creation of "Yaya-01."
Together, they completed a groundbreaking super war vehicle!
Now, flush with cash, Yaya and Orianna happily inspected the inventions entering round two.
Orianna, with her technical eye, admired a massive drum:
"This one's good—a jumbo dryer for huge plants. Speeds up dehydration."
Yaya's thinking was quirky as ever, fitting her personality. She blinked adorably, shook her head, and mumbled:
"The opening's too small. Can't dry bigger fish..."
Orianna rolled her eyes and made a modification gesture, then nodded with a smirk:
"Widen the mouth and add an outlet. Then you can dry and snack on fish at the same time."
Yaya's eyes sparkled, and she rubbed her hands together in delight:
"Let's take it! It's not just for fish jerky—we can make other dried snacks too..."
Orianna already knew Yaya had a foodie's brain, but she never doubted her instincts.