Chapter 368: Chapter 261: Struck it Rich (Third Update)
Boom.
When the series ignition was initiated, a continuous, thunderous roar erupted from the launch site of the thirty rocket artillery units, resembling a landslide and a tsunami. Rockets with tail fins shot out of the barrels, spraying spiritual power, and soared straight up into the sky.
The Elders at the scene were quite astonished, not expecting that this puppet weapon named Rocket Artillery would launch with such immense momentum.
Far away, the rockets, spewing tongues of flame and accelerating into the air, streaked a silvery-gray trail across the night sky.
In just over twenty seconds, a total of 960 rockets were fired, making it look like a meteor shower was falling from the sky.
The predetermined target was a small hill, and after a brief flight, all rockets began to fall in parabolic trajectories.
...
The next moment, the small hill shook violently.
The acid liquid inside the rockets splattered upon impact. This acid, provided by the human-faced moth and even more corrosive than strong acid, splashed around, covering trees and soil which then shook, dissolved, and sank.
The lush trees that had been growing on the hill now quivered like ocean waves and collapsed directly under the corrosion of the acid.
Black smoke rose into the sky, nearly erasing all life from the small hill.
The massive amount of poison acted like a demon, devouring everything around it.
When all the dust had settled, the entire hill was covered in charred scars, craters, and trenches corroded by the poison, resembling wounded flesh, the sight of which was startling.
“This puppet’s weapon is interesting,” said Tang Peiqing, his eyes lighting up, finding this inventive method of attack fascinating. He had lived for hundreds of years and had never seen a puppet like this before.
“Did Puppet Hall really come up with this? I’ve underestimated them.”
“I did not expect Master Su to be so capable. He hasn’t been in charge of Puppet Hall for long but has already produced such a formidable puppet.”
“This kind of large-area strike is indeed extremely lethal in battle, especially against the lower disciples.”
“Such a puppet must not be cheap to produce. If it’s too expensive, then its practicality drops considerably.”
The Elders began discussing among themselves. The simultaneous firing of the rocket artillery had overturned their prior assumptions. The unimpressive-looking rocket artillery had effects that were nothing short of astonishing.
Taoist Qiu’s face showed a smile. Although he did not speak, his face was filled with satisfaction.
“Not bad. This rocket artillery might not be effective against inner disciples and the Secret Realm, but the threat it poses to outer disciples is foreseeable, just as you said, making it suitable for use in major battles. How much would these puppets cost? The Sect needs a batch to serve as a reserve,” Zhu Zhangqi finally spoke up, realizing that for Ghost Ridge Palace, this rocket artillery was a good weapon even as he was more concerned about the cost.
In the past, the puppets produced by Puppet Hall were often expensive, usually costing several thousand spirit stones, even painful to use in the Secret Realm.
If the price is too expensive, then their importance will be greatly reduced, as even targeting outer disciples one has to consider cost-effectiveness.
“Master, our rocket artillery itself costs 400 spirit stones, and each rocket costs 10 spirit stones, making a full volley cost 320 spirit stones,” said Su Jie, calling out figures that made Zhu Zhangqi gape.
Because Su Jie had doubled the price of the rocket artillery, which only cost 200 spirit stones, and the rockets, which only cost 5 spirit stones.
Even taking into account the cost of the human-faced moth acid liquid, this was still too much.
“That’s so cheap.”
Zhang Junwei was stunned, finding the price surprisingly low.
Compared to the combat puppets previously made by the Puppet Hall, the price was like a fracture.
“Exactly, that’s how cheap it is. Moreover, Master, our rockets can carry different kinds of venom, not just acid. Various types of insect poisons can also be incorporated.
Imagine, Master, during a war if we had two hundred units of this rocket artillery, firing a volley of 6400 rockets covering the positions of the Righteous Cultivators with different types of poison-filled warheads…it would definitely catch them off guard and result in heavy casualties,” Su Jie further persuaded, painting the scene vividly.
The Elders, imagining that scenario, suddenly looked very intrigued.
If these puppets really were that cheap, then they had seriously underestimated the effectiveness of the rocket artillery.
“Can different warheads be loaded?” asked Tang Peiqing, his eyes lighting up. As the master poisoner of Ghost Ridge Palace, no one could surpass him in terms of utilizing poisons—not even the Sect Master compared to Tang Peiqing.
“Certainly,” Su Jie nodded affirmatively. Blue Star’s rocket artillery could be equipped with cluster munitions, missiles, fuel-air explosives, mines, illumination rounds, electronic jamming shells, and chemical gas shells. Ghost Ridge Palace also had a wealth of Poison Insects to meet these needs.
The many Elders became interested; these Elders, who played with insects, lacked many things, but creating some insect poison was not an issue for them.
“Two hundred units…that’s too few. Let’s go with three hundred…no, five hundred units,” Zhang Junwei thought, not hesitating much but rather increasing the order quantity.
“Sheesh!”
Taoist Qiu heard the figure and plucked out a few of his beard hairs.
“That many?”
The Elder standing beside him was also stunned, their jaw dropping.
One had to know, a low-grade lower-level Magical Artifact was priced just over one hundred Spirit Stones, while a mid-grade Magical Artifact had an average price of seven to eight thousand Spirit Stones.
The cost for five hundred units of Rocket Artillery was about 200,000 Spirit Stones, and the cost of the rockets fired in a single volley was 160,000 Spirit Stones.
This volley was equivalent to scrapping 1,500 low-grade lower-level Magical Artifacts at once, or alternatively, scrapping twenty mid-grade Magical Artifacts.
Moreover, the acquisition of these rockets, each vehicle must be equipped with five or six batches of ammunition, the procurement cost alone would nearly reach a million Spirit Stones.
Such a price was almost an unbearable burden for individual Cultivators, including the Elders.
“The upcoming battle with the Righteous Sect might very well determine the life or death of our Ghost Ridge Palace. If we hold onto our money now and lose the battle later, would we rather give it to those Righteous Sects as spoils of war or pay them as war reparations?”
Zhang Junwei’s words were unquestionable; with these words, he hammered down the final decision.
Su Jie could no longer hide the smile on his face; such a quantity of orders far exceeded his expectations. After a quick calculation, Su Jie couldn’t help but get excited.
“Complete the production within three months.”
Zhang Junwei issued the command, hastening preparations for the great battle against the Righteous.
Hearing this, Su Jie knew, given the production speed of the Puppet Hall, that after becoming proficient, they could manage to produce two Rocket Artillery units per day—this was about the limit. However, many of the simpler tasks could be handled by employing Outer Disciples, while the disciples of the Puppet Hall would take care of the core components; this shouldn’t pose too great a problem.
“Sect Master, I, Su Jie, guarantee to complete the task,” Su Jie directly nodded and promised, making a commitment.
“In the future, the Puppet Hall should research more of these beneficial puppets.”
After encouraging Su Jie with a few words, Zhang Junwei then led the team away.
As soon as Zhang Junwei left, the disciples of the Puppet Hall couldn’t hold back anymore, and they all started cheering.
“Master is mighty!”
“Such a large volume of Rocket Artillery Puppet production, our Puppet Hall has never been given such attention by the Sect before.”
“Unbelievable, the sect used to not even ask for our puppets—we used to have to beg the Sect for funds.”
Tears welled up in the eyes of these Puppet Hall disciples, as their department was no longer marginalized within the Sect but had gained its attention.
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Zhu Zhangqi also shared in everyone’s joy, but then couldn’t help expressing his concern: “Master, we charge so much for the Rocket Artillery and rockets, if the Sect finds out…”
Su Jie scowled and said, “Where is it expensive? Isn’t this our cost price?”
Zhu Zhangqi subconsciously said, “Aren’t the cost of our Rocket Artillery two hundred Spirit Stones, and the rockets can be made with just five Spirit Stones each?”
Having never conducted business before, Zhu Zhangqi thought merely of completing the Sect’s tasks. The Puppet Hall always operated at a loss; the idea of making a profit never crossed his mind.
“Doesn’t labor cost money? Aren’t my design patents worth money? What about the storage fees for puppets during the period, management fees, fire loss, utility, and spoilage costs…”
Su Jie counted on his fingers, explaining each item to Zhu Zhangqi.
Many things Zhu Zhangqi couldn’t understand, but he felt that Su Jie made many good points and was essentially beyond contradiction.
Munitions trading was one of the most profitable businesses; how could Su Jie pass up such an opportunity to make money?
With the great battle imminent, Ghost Ridge Palace would not be stingy with procurement costs. Naturally, Su Jie intended to make a profit; otherwise, why go through all the trouble of producing Rocket Artilleries?
And now, the order for five hundred Rocket Artillery units was enough to make Su Jie’s fortunes, easily earning him several hundred thousand Spirit Stones.
If the Sect found out about this, the worst that could happen would be a punishment for Su Jie, confiscating some of the Spirit Stones.
As a Demon Cultivator, who doesn’t seek benefits for themselves? Many Elders sought benefits for themselves, such as Taoist Qiu, who had pulled strings for Su Jie at the Refining Hall to borrow spiritual materials, was also a way of seeking benefits.
Having earned so much this time, Su Jie had no intention of keeping it all for himself and quickly issued a new decision.
“Starting from today, the work of our Puppet Hall will not be unpaid. Based on the division of labor and the number of puppets produced, we will reward everyone with varying salaries. I will issue detailed rules in a few days.”
Upon hearing Su Jie’s words, the Puppet Hall disciples, after a few seconds of daze, cheered even louder, continuously offering compliments.
“It’s really great that the Master has come to our Puppet Hall.”
“Does this mean we can make money by producing puppets in the future?”
“Long live Master Su!”
The faces of these Puppet Hall disciples were excited. In the past, not to mention making a profit, they even had to pool money to produce puppets, pouring in a lot of funds.
It can be said that the disciples still remaining in the Puppet Hall had an extraordinary passion for puppets; otherwise, ordinary disciples would have left at the prospect of having to spend their own money.
Amid the compliments of these disciples, Su Jie ended his day’s journey contentedly.