NOVEL WEB Chapter 122: Anger_1
The competition kicked off, and the two teams quickly sprung into action, rushing towards their respective designated construction sites.
Yan Xing kept his eyes on the Heavy Tamping Golem from the Golden Oak Chamber of Commerce.
Quite a behemoth!
It stood nearly four meters tall. Its upper body was an iron humanoid, while the lower half resembled a crab, but with only four legs.
Its feet were set into four disc-shaped bases, each half a meter in diameter.
To call it a Heavy Tamping Golem... in truth, if you just replaced its disc-shaped bases and gave it a weapon, it would unquestionably be a valiant warrior on the battlefield!
Moreover, the way it glanced around suggested it possessed a certain level of awareness.
But it's not professional! What I brought here is a professional road roller.
Yan Xing gave the Heavy Tamping Golem a very apt evaluation: It's obviously a weapon of war that has become a civilian tool simply by wearing special shoes.
However, the power source and power transmission principle of this Heavy Tamping Golem were quite interesting. At least from the outside, no force transmission devices like pressure levers were visible.
"Branch President Gale, where did you buy this Heavy Tamping Golem? Could you give me the contact details of the manufacturer?" Yan Xing asked Gale, holding up his wine glass.
Gale replied with a nasal snort, "HMPH!"
Seeing Yan Xing's interest in the Heavy Tamping Golem, Count Theodore explained, "This kind of heavy golem is produced by the Goblin Alchemy Factory. Do you know about the Goblin Alchemy Factory?"
Yan Xing shook his head.
Upon seeing that Yan Xing was unaware of the Goblin Alchemy Factory, Count Theodore chuckled. "It seems you truly have been living deep within Thunderous Swamp all this time, not even knowing about the renowned Goblin Alchemy Factory. You should know about Cloud Tower, right?"
Yan Xing replied, "I'm aware of that. I've seen an introduction to Cloud Tower in Lord Earl's magic library. Cloud Tower is a separate space created by a group of powerful Alchemists, who are masters of highly sophisticated Magic and Alchemy."
Count Theodore nodded. "Yes, Cloud Tower houses this world's most exquisite Magic and Alchemy. However, the Alchemists inside, researching Magic and Alchemy, consume funds and resources beyond our imagination. The Goblin Alchemy Factory is an establishment of Cloud Tower. Goblin craftsmen possess quite impressive manufacturing capabilities, as well as shrewd business acumen. They serve Cloud Tower, providing funds for the Alchemists, collecting materials, and also enjoying the protection of Cloud Tower. If you want to buy a Heavy Tamping Golem, there's a Goblin Alchemy Factory in Nuta City. You can inquire with them. But I must tell you, the items sold by Goblins are incredibly expensive, truly very expensive!"
Oh... So there is a Goblin Alchemy Factory in Nuta City! With Cloud Tower backing the Goblins, could I purchase magic energy generators and Low-Level Magical Puppets directly from them?
Yan Xing wanted to ask more about the Goblin Alchemy Factory. However, at that moment, Earl Theodore pointed towards the contest site before them and said very seriously to Yan Xing, "What is your road construction crew using to carry soil?"
Yan Xing looked and replied, "Those are woven bags. I find that using woven bags makes it convenient to transport soil, to stack and build the roadbed, and it also helps protect the soil from being washed away by water."
The entire contest site was extremely lively. Nuta City's elite occupied the stands, while the commoners of Nuta City filled the space below. Everyone had seen how the Golden Oak Chamber of Commerce's road construction crew operated, so all eyes converged on the Eternal Domain road construction crew.
Then, they all noticed something peculiar.
The Eternal Domain road construction crew was digging soil from beside the roadbed. The iron shovels in the farmers' hands appeared very sharp, easily slicing out chunks of earth. However, they didn't load the clods of earth directly onto the three-wheeled alchemical vehicles. Instead, they worked together to shovel the soil into gray bags. Once the bags were full and sealed, they were then placed in the cargo bed of the three-wheeled alchemical vehicles.
The Eternal Domain road construction team was noticeably slower in the process of gathering soil because the Golden Oak Chamber of Commerce's construction team loaded excavated soil directly into single-wheel barrows. Their digging speed was very fast. As soon as the wheelbarrows were filled, they were promptly pushed towards the roadbed, and soil was piled up heap by heap. A section of roadbed naturally grew higher as heavy golems continuously used their feet to compact the piled-up mounds.
The Golden Oak Chamber of Commerce's road construction process was extremely smooth and swift.
The Eternal Domain road builders continued to methodically fill the bags with soil. Once the three-wheeled vehicles were loaded, the Werewolf drivers drove to the side of the roadbed and activated the self-dumping mechanism, tipping a vehicle full of soil-filled woven bags onto the ground. The farmers and Werewolves stationed by the roadbed immediately grabbed the woven bags from the ground, neatly stacking them and then using loose soil to fill the gaps between them.
The self-dumping tri-wheel vehicles had a strong transport capacity. Using soil packed in bags to construct the roadbed seemed to be faster than the Golden Oak Chamber of Commerce's method of simply dumping and tamping loose soil.
Both teams seemed to be neck-and-neck in terms of construction speed, but in terms of the costs involved... the Eternal Domain team was clearly investing more. After all, those bags used for carrying soil didn't just blow in with the wind. Constructing 100 meters of road, who knew how many bags would be needed.
What's more, the Eternal Domain road team used more alchemical vehicles. Although this increased their transport power, it also increased the consumption of Rare Alchemical Resources. The cost of building just this one road would be many times higher than that of the Golden Oak Chamber of Commerce's team... perhaps even tens of times higher!
Chairman Gale was the first to raise an objection. He said to Count Theodore, "The Eternal Domain road construction team has used highly dishonorable methods in this competition. I admit that using bags to transport soil and build the road is convenient and quick, and since the bags contain the soil, it won't get washed away by water. Such roads will be more durable and less likely to be eroded or damaged by water. But at what cost? Even using the cheapest cloth to make these bags, the cost of building 100 meters of road will require 400 Gold, 500 Gold, 600 Gold... or even more! This is no longer building roads with soil; this is literally paving roads with Gold! Lord Mayor, please put an end to this farcical competition. Even if the Eternal Domain team wins, their quote to you will undoubtedly be much higher than mine. And they should not be allowed to continue this wasteful use of fabric."
The elites in the stands were also engaged in heated discussions. Although cloth was considered a cheap material for them, the cumulative consumption of cloth used in making bags for road construction was unfathomable. How many bags would be needed to build 100 meters of road? Thousands? Or even tens of thousands? The elites could not calculate it at that moment. But even a few thousand bags would amount to a considerable sum of money. Using cloth for road construction was simply a tremendous waste.
The commoners watching from below were even more agitated upon seeing the Eternal Domain road team using cloth bags filled with soil for construction. In a society with low productivity, clothing was a luxury for many commoners. A set of clothes might be worn by the father, then the son, and after some patching, could even be passed down to the grandson.
And now, someone is using valuable fabric to fill with soil for road construction! Has this person gone mad?