Suina swept her arm down and gave the order.
Female Warriors, long poised for action, heaved basket after basket of top-grade anthracite into the furnace's firebox.
Roaring flames leapt up, hungrily licking the boiler's belly.
The water inside began to heat, gurgling like a restless kettle.
The workshop's temperature soared; sweat soaked everyone, yet no one budged.
Seconds crawled past.
The pressure gauge's needle inched upward—slow, steady, unstoppable.
When it crept into the red danger zone, the whole boiler shivered.
A thunderous, earth-shaking growl filled the air as the metal beast prepared to wake.
"Pressure's enough!"
Suina shouted.
"Open the valve!"
A bold Artisan threw his weight against the massive wheel connecting boiler to piston.
Hiss—
A white dragon of high-pressure steam blasted into the cylinder!
Clang!
The huge piston lurched, dragging its connecting rod and flywheel with it—
—then, after one deafening crash, froze.
Silence swallowed the workshop.
Had they failed?
Suina's face drained of color.
Just as despair began to settle…
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The heavy flywheel, carried by momentum, dragged the piston through a second stroke.
Fresh steam surged in again.
The wheel spun faster, smoother.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The rhythmic pounding rang through the Military Workshop.
Success!
"It works! It's moving—it really is!"
Someone yelled first; then the whole hall erupted in cheers.
Suina stared at the spinning wheels, joy lighting her eyes.
She spun round, seized Wu Liang, and kissed him hard.
"Wu Liang—we did it! We actually built it!"
He kissed her back, laughing loud.
Patting her shoulder, he announced:
"Right! From this day on, our Black Rock Tribe steps into the Steam Age!"
His eyes blazed as he watched the roaring steam engine.
This was only the beginning.
With this, limitless power was theirs.
Steam hammers, steam lathes, steam trains, steam warships… a vast industrial tide was about to surge.
"Suina!"
Wu Liang looked at the thrilled woman in his arms.
"We've only finished the prototype—don't celebrate yet. I've got your next project ready."
"What is it?"
she declared, pride ringing in her voice.
"Name it—even if you want the moon in the sky, I'll forge it for you!"
Wu Liang grinned and pointed to a huge granite anvil nearby.
"Use this engine to build me a steam forging press!"
"Yes, sir—leave it to me!"
…The engine's roar marked the start of Great Desolate Mountain's industrial revolution.
After countless trials and tweaks, the Military Workshop, centered on that first engine, launched a rapid expansion.
Following Wu Liang's new order, Suina—fired up—led her Artisans into building the forging press.
With the engine's mighty power, tasks once done by muscle alone became effortless.
Giant iron ingots were hoisted by steam arms; precision parts took shape on rudimentary steam lathes.
Three months later the first simple steam forging press was complete.
When its multi-ton hammer, driven by steam, crashed down with an earsplitting howl and shattered a half-meter slab of granite into flying chips, the workshop exploded in cheers.
"So… so strong!"
Suina's eyes shone with fascination.
"Excellent—I knew I could count on you, Suina."
Wu Liang nodded in satisfaction.
"With this we can forge bigger, tougher components—whether for weapons, armor, or still more precise machines."
Yet the engine's success brought the next bottleneck into view: resources.
Smelting iron or copper, making cement or glass—all devoured minerals by the mountain, and steam multiplied that hunger.
Keeping a handful of engines fed each day swallowed staggering amounts of coal.
The coal mine in Black Wind Valley and the iron deposits around the Tribe had to be expanded.
Prospecting for other ores must begin at once.
That night he gathered every core member of the Tribe.
"Our growth is swift—good—but our supply must keep pace."
Wu Liang got straight to the point, indicating a huge new map of Great Desolate Mountain drawn from Scout reports.
"Beneath our feet lie countless treasures: iron, copper, coal, tin, lead, zinc—and rarer still, gold, silver, mithril, star-iron… the very roots of our future strength."
"Starting tomorrow, the Tribe launches the Great Exploration Plan!"
His gaze swept the room.
"Sa Lan!"
"Here!"
Sa Lan stood ramrod straight.
"Expand the Scout Battalion to five hundred. Your task: scour every corner of Great Desolate Mountain and find every vein worth having."
He handed her a thick sheaf of drawings.
"These sheets show common ores and the basics of geology—every Scout will know them by heart. Be my eyes and bring back resources!"
"Yes, sir—mission accepted!"
Sa Lan answered.
"Akomann!"
"Present!"
Akomann stepped forward.
"I give you a thousand of our best soldiers—the Prospecting Guard. Protect the Scouts, clear any beasts or dangers, and when a major lode is found, set up an outpost and start preliminary mining at once."
"Understood!"
Akomann replied crisply.
"Florgloria, Lolia!"
"Here, Chieftain."
The two very different beauties answered together.
"Logistics will decide the field teams' fate—food, medicine, tools, clothing must flow without fail. Gather every spare laborer and be ready to march to new mines. This task is yours."
"Rest assured, Chieftain,"
Florgloria said, gentle yet firm.
Order by order, the whole Tribe mobilized around the Great Exploration.
At the meeting's end Wu Liang looked to High Priestess Eliza.
Eliza, several months pregnant, rested a hand on her rounded belly, eyes still clear and wise.
"Eliza, in your condition I'll give you no field work—but a task no less vital."
"Speak, Liang. I'll see it done."
she answered, smiling.
"Our Tribe must have culture as well as craft."
His expression turned grave.
"The literacy classes have done well, yet they're not enough. I need a school to teach our people systematically—reading, writing, arithmetic for the young, and deeper lore: physics, chemistry, geography."
"I want you as its first headmistress."