...

...

The two-legged flying dragon descended upon the giant bear with incredible speed in the blink of an eye!

The giant bear abruptly halted when it sensed the danger in the sky, instinctively shielding its vital head!

Rip!

A sharp tearing sound echoed, and the giant bear's back instantly dripped with blood!

Two deep gashes, down to the bone, appeared instantly on the bear's back, flesh turning red!

"Roar!"

The giant bear roared in anger!

But Frost and Thunder didn't give it a chance to react, turning around and pouncing on the giant bear on the ground without hesitation.

The giant bear swung its massive arms in fury, like two giant pillars, smashing towards the flying dragon with brutal force.

"Bang!"

The fierce impact sent Frost and Thunder flying under the giant bear's immense power, but they quickly regained their stance!

"Free shooting!"

Rein quickly reacted, ordering a barrage of rapid shots at the giant bear!

Luo De, seeing the bear being entangled, seized the moment and quickly rushed up the other side of the slope, raising his longbow to continuously shoot at the bear!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The giant bear now realized that these humans' bows and arrows posed a lethal threat to it and dodged instinctively.

But the dispersed shooting of the hunting team, with arrows fanning out towards it, left the giant bear unable to dodge entirely.

And its large size meant there were no rocks it could use as cover.

In an instant, arrows rained into its body like a downpour!

Though its fur seemed thick, it couldn't repel the sharpness of an armor-piercing arrow!

Soon the giant bear was filled with arrows, its fur dyed blood red!

The giant bear roared, trying to charge at the hunting team again, but Frost and Thunder still hovered menacingly overhead!

Every time it shifted focus, Frost and Thunder would dive from the sides in an assault!

The giant bear found itself in a predicament, unable to advance or retreat, being passively held at bay by the hunting team.

The hunting team was no longer what it used to be, with each member equipped with at least eight arrowheads, the least prepared with five armor-piercing arrows.

And Luo De had prepared even more for himself.

His quiver was almost full of armor-piercing arrows, with only a dozen ordinary arrows for practice and hunting.

This giant bear, although extraordinarily strong, couldn't withstand a four-sided assault and continuous bleeding forever.

The giant bear seemed to understand this too, roaring once before quickly turning to flee deeper into the ravine.

Seeing this, Frost and Thunder pursued without hesitation, claws eagerly extending.

However, just then, the giant bear suddenly looked back, spewing a scorching flame from its mouth!

"It actually breathes fire!"

Everyone stared wide-eyed in shock!

Frost and Thunder, caught off guard, clumsily adjusted their direction, plunging straight into the grass!

Flames continued to burn on their bodies!

The two flying dragons had to beat their wings forcefully, crashing into a pile of rubble, rolling to extinguish the flames on their bodies!

The burst of fire brought everyone's steps to a halt.

Luo De was stunned too; it was his first time seeing a fire-breathing magical creature!

"Don't let it escape!"

This giant bear was a menace; if it escaped, Luo De would be perpetually worried about establishing a coal mine here.

"Chase!"

The hunting team quickly adjusted, wildly shooting at the fleeing giant bear's rear!

Grrrr—

Frost and Thunder were enraged by the burn of the flames!

Since birth, they had never suffered such humiliation!

Ignoring the burning pain on their bodies, they charged directly in rage!

In the ravine, running couldn't compare to the speed of the sky.

In no time, Frost and Thunder caught up!

This time, wary of the giant bear's flames, they suddenly changed direction upon reaching the bear, making a feint!

Seeing the bear produce no flames, the two flying dragons attacked from left and right!

Though often quarrelsome, the two creatures cooperated harmoniously at this moment, relentlessly tearing at the giant bear!

The presence of the flying dragons also deterred Luo De's hunting team from recklessly shooting arrows, fearing they might accidentally hit the young creatures.

The fire breath seemed to be a one-time spell, as after the bear breathed it, there was no more.

It defended awkwardly against the two flying dragons' attacks, weakening steadily.

Blood pooled on the ground, and under such an onslaught, the bear quickly succumbed.

Finally, it collapsed in exhaustion, its throat still emitting hoarse growls.

Frost and Thunder, however, weren't done, biting at the fallen bear, venting their fury.

"Alright, alright!"

Luo De quickly stepped in to stop Frost and Thunder.

They could eat some meat, but Luo De still wanted the giant bear's skin.

The bear was a magical beast, and its fur surely held great value.

Fortunately, when Frost and Thunder saw it was Luo De, they regained their reason and didn't continue to contest with him.

Luo De consoled: "I'll let you have the meat later."

For the two young creatures, Luo De naturally wouldn't be stingy.

But such skin didn't hold much unique value for them, while it was quite useful for Luo De.

The two little creatures were already full, tearing more out of instinct and frustration.

Luo De ordered Rein's men to haul away the giant bear's carcass, then took out hemostatic potions to treat the two little creatures' wounds.

Looking at the flying dragons' torn and charred scales, his heart couldn't help but ache.

Actually, although the young creatures weren't fully grown, their scales had some resistance to fire.

Because they often rolled by fires, stealing food atop flames, they generally didn't mind ordinary flames burning.

Luo De felt that the giant bear's body seemed to contain magic energy, and the flame it spewed carried a special magic effect, causing the young creatures' skin to burn this way.

It seemed he needed to concoct some burn medicine.

Hmm, and some frostbite remedies as well.

This giant bear being a magical beast seemed a certainty.

Luo De immediately opened his Hunting Lord's entry to verify, and sure enough, found that the cumulative progress of magical beast hunting had already increased.

The two little ones, Frost and Thunder, had contributed significantly, so Luo De instructed the Guards to carry the two little ones back to the manor on stretchers to rest.

With the coal mine found, Luo De had lost interest in further hunting.

He personally returned to the manor at once and immediately sent for Lawrence, instructing him to gather a hundred slaves to go to the mountain area to build houses and construct roads.

Set up the mine and begin coal mining at the fastest possible speed.

Unlike iron ore, coal does not require smelting; after mining, it can be screened, washed, dried, and crushed for direct use.

However, when the Blacksmith Shop uses it, it needs to undergo coking to be made into coke.

Luo De needed to construct a coking furnace to heat bituminous coal at a high temperature, removing volatile substances, sulfur, and moisture, to obtain high-carbon coke.

In the future, the Blacksmith Shop's forging would no longer use charcoal; coke would become the main fuel.

Luo De didn't waste much time talking to Lawrence, telling him to first arrange for the road to be built before proceeding to the next step.

This would be a long process.

Preparations needed to be made in advance.

After making these arrangements, Luo De called Hammer from the Blacksmith Shop and Old Waller the Carpenter to his side.

Luo De instructed: "From today onwards, when you forge iron and do carpentry, start introducing modularization and standardization."

"Lord, what is modularization? Standardization?"

Hammer asked cautiously.

The old carpenter Waller beside him was also full of curiosity.

The experiences over the past half year had made these craftsmen respect Luo De greatly.

They listened humbly to the new concepts Luo De introduced.

"You are already engaging in modularization, which is division of labor and cooperation."

Luo De patiently explained,

"Taking forging as an example, some people are responsible for initial forging, some for fine forging, quenching, cutting, assembling, and inspection, each with dedicated personnel."

"Only one or two supervisors need to understand the whole process; others only need to be proficient in their respective areas."

"This allows apprentices to get started quickly and lowers the barrier for apprenticeship."

"As for standardization, it requires each part of the plate armor you forge to have fixed modules.

For example, breastplates, helmets, shoulder guards, arm guards, and leg guards form the most basic standard for one set of plate armor."

"I require that you draw up a complete blueprint for plate armor and Chain Armor, with dimensions and designs for the larger parts, and specifications for rivets and buckles on the smaller ones."

"It will also include dimensions for Longswords and Shields, eventually forming a complete set."

"You and the other blacksmiths will decide on these, and in three days, I want to see a draft."

"Afterwards, everyone will craft according to this pattern, and inspectors will check according to this standard."

"It doesn't need to be perfect, just a suitable medium standard, so every soldier can be equipped."

"In the future, the selection and training of soldiers will also follow the armor standards you set, including repairs, where the repairers will also adhere to your standards."

Luo De took a breath, giving Hammer a moment to digest.

He smiled and said, "From now on, you're also part of the military standards-setting team, understand?"

Hammer stared blankly at Luo De.

Luo De had suddenly summoned him and said so much at once, making Hammer momentarily unable to react.

He felt he understood, yet also didn't.

Luo De smiled wryly.

Many things the modern people of his previous life would find straightforward may sound complex in this era.

Luo De didn't blame them, patiently explaining to both: "The concept is actually like a mold."

"I want you to create a template now, and in the future, they can forge according to your template."

"Oh, oh."

Hammer nodded, his gaze clearer this time.

Luo De reminded again, "I hope you incorporate this concept into your work, then allocate who will handle which part; if you lack manpower, have Lawrence adjust for you."

Once modularization and standardization are fully implemented, 'apprentices' can be trained for each position, forming an assembly line system that greatly increases the average output of each blacksmith.

"Alright, alright, my Lord, I'll need to think about it."

Hammer responded hesitantly.

Luo De nodded with a smile, turning to Old Waller,

"The same applies to carpentry; whether making Shields or Long Spears, War Axes, fixed personnel will be drawn to cooperate with them."

"Alright, Sir, I'll go back and discuss with them." Old Waller scratched his head.

"If you don't know how to draw blueprints, ask Avril to teach you."

Luo De added: "If Avril doesn't understand, tell her to come find me, and I'll make time to teach her in the evening."

So-called blueprints were essentially three-view drawings with cross-sections, just marked.

These geometrical knowledge pieces were vividly remembered by Luo De from his studies.

It might not be standardized, but it's sufficient.

"Alright, go and digest it properly."

Luo De waved them off, and Hammer and Waller bowed before retreating.

The discovery of coal enabled Luo De to improve production efficiency, leading to plans for many things.

With coal mines, railways, and factories could be developed.

"Damn it, how is the steam engine made again?"

Luo De felt his mind was a jumbled mess.

The advent of the steam engine could significantly increase energy efficiency.

Luo De knew the principles, but hadn't learned much about the specifics.

He had mastered the basics of gears, drive shafts, pulleys, and transmission belts.

During his time as an illegitimate child, he would occasionally recall and even quiz himself.

But for more complex matters, he had to rely on entries, which left him scratching his head without them.

He was so anxious that he couldn't help but thump his head.

"Damn it, just remember it already..."

Though the steam engine seemed simple in theory, the actual operation was quite complex.

This winter seemed hopeless.

With the hydraulic forging hammer unusable in winter, Luo De pondered alternative solutions.

Manual pedal or wind-powered forging hammers?

Just as Luo De was contemplating, Rein, who was responsible for processing the giant bear's corpse, suddenly rushed over.

"My Lord, I found this inside the giant bear's stomach."

Rein opened his hand to reveal an oval-shaped orb, interwoven with red and yellow, in his palm.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.