Chapter 335: Get Me One Too
Chapter 335: Chapter 323: Get Me One Too
When the Dragon King grew angry, Shang Meng didn’t dare to even breathe.
Philos, the King of White Bones, conferred with Jimmy, the Dragon Nest’s steward. They decided to prioritize harmony, agreeing that neither side would use Magic or equipment. It would be a pure contest of physical strength to compare their performance.
The Snowman rarely appeared in public, but everyone now realized there was more to him than met the eye.
He appeared to be Dragon King Pasha’s steward, but at times, he seemed to be the one making the final decisions—a fact the Dragon King appeared to be completely accustomed to.
Ever since the debut of the Brass Furnace Dragon, the Dragon King had been deeply dissatisfied with the imitation created in his image. He had visited several times on his own initiative to check on its progress, offering a multitude of opinions.
Unfortunately, the design and construction of the Furnace Dragon were fraught with practical difficulties. Thus, in response to the Dragon King’s opinions, White Castle could only thank him for his suggestions and promise to take them into consideration.
This, too, earned the Dragon King’s displeasure.
Now, Pasha wore an arrogant expression, striding forward with his head held high as if victory were already in his grasp.
Philos, meanwhile, told the White Castle Scholars, “Don’t worry. Just think of it as a simple performance test.”
“Pasha created a Sub-Dragon in the Dragon Nest the way of the Dragons, while White Castle created the Furnace Dragon the way of the Yao Race. Today will be the first time we validate both approaches against each other.”
Shang Meng was worried. “According to the simplified Dragon Race equation, which is based on studies of Dragon corpses, a Dragon’s strength is directly correlated with its weight and volume. The main variables are coefficients determined by their Dragon Blood and Dragon Language Magic… In terms of pure physical strength, while that Sub-Dragon is quite strong for an Extraordinary Creature, it’s in a completely different weight class than the Furnace Dragon.”
“Of course, my equation itself isn’t perfectly accurate.”
She added, “The Dragon King looks extremely confident, so there may be other variables at play. But mathematically speaking, the Sub-Dragon doesn’t stand a chance.”
“Well said, Miss Shang Meng.”
Philos nodded. “Allow me to share something with you all. As for this meeting of two Dragons, a certain great personage may also be watching.”
The Skeleton Man raised a bony finger, pointing toward the sky.
The Scholars fell silent.
Shang Meng’s fingers clenched involuntarily.
Yao God, who rarely concerned himself with worldly affairs, was gazing upon this contest between Dragon and Dragon.
‘Will we lose? Can we win?’
She struggled to banish the chaotic thoughts and calm herself.
‘We will win.’
Mathematically, the Sub-Dragon had no chance of victory. The result had been calculated before the contest even began.
“Everyone, don’t be nervous.”
Philos’s tone, however, was light. “This experiment is the first formal dialogue between the biological Dragons of the Dragon Nest and the artificial Dragons of White Castle. This isn’t a battle to the death; it’s a progress report, comparing the different research paths within the Yao Race.”
“If we win, it proves our path has been the correct one all along. It will be a milestone victory for White Castle!”
“And even if we fail, we shouldn’t be discouraged. It would be a powerful course correction for our past research. The Dragon Race equation could be further refined, and the powerful Sub-Dragon would become our new template and subject of study.”
The Apostle, a long-time veteran on the front lines of research, raised a fist. “No matter what happens, we’ve already won. A win-win!”
The Scholars knew he was just teasing, but his words helped them all relax considerably.
Philos’s gaze fell upon her. “Now, Miss Shang Meng, go and activate the new model Furnace Dragon.”
“Yes.”
Shang Meng walked to the secondary Casting position and gripped the Brass Rudder, turning it.
With a series of loud CLANKS, the wooden planks in the center of the floor slowly retracted, revealing a massive dragon head gleaming with a metallic sheen.
The four horns on its head were retracted flush against its body like scales. It had no wings, just a thick, powerful neck. Its surface, forged entirely from Refined Iron, made it look like an oversized Earth Traveling Boat.
However, its underside featured three sets of iron wheels. Each set consisted of three enormous, equally sized wheels, which were coated in a thick, resinous mud.
“You dare call *this* a Dragon?”
Dragon King Pasha looked disgusted. “It’s even worse than the first version. The more you modify it, the uglier it gets.”
Shang Meng explained, “These are improvements made for practical application. Since it can’t fly yet, wings would be pointless. The body is too massive; if it walked on four legs like a normal beast, its speed would be compromised, the power loss would be immense, and the construction would be incredibly complex…”
“Enough, enough. I have no interest in any of that.”
The Dragon King flicked his broad tail. “Let’s begin.”
At a glance from the Dragon King, the Sub-Dragon paced out from behind him and took its position before the new Furnace Dragon.
The new Furnace Dragon was greater in both weight and length, yet the Sub-Dragon showed no fear. It flexed its bulging shoulders, its claws gripping two protrusions on the Furnace Dragon’s head.
Just then, an operator climbed inside the Furnace Dragon, ready to begin.
After both sides nodded, the duel of the two Dragons officially began.
The Sub-Dragon let out a low roar, its muscles swelling and veins bulging across its body. The power of the Dragon Race surged through its flesh and blood into its coarse, powerful claws as it sought to topple the monster before it.
On the other side, the new Furnace Dragon vented a huge, vertical plume of white steam from its head. A small triangular flag popped up on its front, and its steel body pushed forward with cold, mechanical force.
The power of flesh and blood met a body of steel in a direct confrontation.
Through the eyepiece of a lens, Shang Meng’s view was perfectly clear.
She saw the Sub-Dragon’s incredible musculature, taut as twisted hemp ropes, with thick veins snaking across it like earthworms. The draconic creature was a display of the Dragon Race’s aesthetic and explosive power.
It clenched its sharp teeth, its eyes glaring at the metal head with such intensity it looked as if they might start Bleeding. Two long jets of white steam snorted from its nostrils.
Even so, the Sub-Dragon was forced back step by step by the Furnace Dragon, its feet carving two deep trenches in the earth.
Shang Meng was surprised.
This was only first gear, running on just four large Fire Steam Furnaces, and the Sub-Dragon already couldn’t hold its ground.
As a second triangular flag popped from the dragon’s head, the Furnace Dragon vented even more white steam. This time, its body simply steamrolled the Sub-Dragon, dragging it forward at speed. The Sub-Dragon was left completely stunned, and when the Furnace Dragon finally stopped, it was thrown to the ground, its eyes dazed and vacant.
Dragon King Pasha’s expression froze.
‘Math doesn’t lie,’ Shang Meng thought. ‘This is the disparity in sheer mass… And this is only second gear, with six furnaces. Third gear, with eight furnaces, is the new Furnace Dragon’s most powerful state.’
The match was lost so decisively that the White Castle Scholars barely had time to react. The entire area fell into a strange silence.
The Scholars were thinking, ‘Is the Sub-Dragon really that weak?’
Pasha was thinking, ‘That Furnace Dragon is so hideous, so how is it so powerful?’
Philos’s voice broke the dead silence.
“This was just the pushing test. For the next phase, let’s try a deadlift. The ability to deadlift is the best measure of how strength is utilized.”
The results came in quickly.
Furnace Dragon’s deadlift capacity: 60,000 shi.
Sub-Dragon’s deadlift capacity: 1,000 shi.
The difference this time was a staggering sixty-fold, a figure even the Scholars found difficult to believe. The Sub-Dragon’s performance metrics were far weaker than anyone had anticipated.
Philos suggested, “Shall we try another test?”
“There’s no need! The gap is immense!”
Pasha conceded defeat readily.
He didn’t scold or blame the Sub-Dragon. Instead, he expressed his bewilderment at the new Furnace Dragon.
“The Furnace Dragon that could barely even move before… how did it become so powerful?”
Philos said with a laugh, “Miss Shang Meng, you were the mathematical designer for the modification project. Why don’t you explain it to Mr. Pasha? It will be clearer coming from you.”
Shang Meng gathered her thoughts and began, a little nervously, “The new model Furnace Dragon is an improvement based on the fundamental functions and mechanisms of the traditional Brass Furnace Dragon. The goal was to make the Furnace Dragon easier to use and more adaptable to its environment.”
“The new Furnace Dragon uses ten large Fire Steam Furnaces for power—eight for primary use and two as backups. This is thanks to improvements from the artisans of the Fireplace Race; a large Fire Steam Furnace is about five times as powerful as a standard one. Furthermore, after the Dwarf artisans modified the furnace mouth, power loss was significantly reduced.”
“Then there’s Engineer Tie Yang. He created the borax-infused Black Mud, which allows the iron wheels to bear the Furnace Dragon’s weight while keeping its body stable. That is what gave the new Furnace Dragon the ability to move.”
“Mr. Shang Xun, the inventor of the Fire Steam Carriage, repeatedly tested the chassis’s power-to-weight ratio, allowing the super-heavyweight new Furnace Dragon to function as a vehicle.”
“Master Chui Wujing modified the Furnace Dragon’s outer shell, allowing the Dragon Horns and Dragon Claws to retract. During experiments, they can be deployed with ease once aligned with a Casting position, which is of great significance to White Castle’s Magic experiments.”
“There’s also Prophet Black Forger. He provided large quantities of high-quality Black Mud; without it, this improvement would have been impossible. Moreover, relying on his innate sensitivity to heat, Mr. Heiduan helped with the design, allowing for precise control of heat dissipation…”
“In addition, many other Scholars participated in the new Furnace Dragon’s development. It would have been impossible to create without everyone’s ingenuity and teamwork.”
Philos added with a laugh, “And let’s not forget Miss Shang Meng’s numerical calculations and the Dragon Race equation.”
Pasha furrowed his brow, his draconic eyes full of confusion. “The Dragon Race… equation? What is that?”
After listening, he seemed to only half-understand. “The strength of the Dragon Race is related to weight and volume, with coefficients from Dragon Blood and Dragon Language Magic… It sounds like it makes some sense. It’s true that the bigger a Dragon is, the stronger it is.”
“With Dragon Blood Magic in play, if the Furnace Dragon were to face the Sub-Dragon in actual combat, it would be a different story. The odds would likely not be in its favor,” Philos added, trying to smooth things over.
“Don’t patronize me.” Pasha was also proud. “I know that if the Furnace Dragon is equipped with the Conqueror’s Purple Rose, its lethality won’t be an issue at all.”
He knew full well that for the Sub-Dragon he had cultivated with his own Dragon Blood, its Dragon Language Magic was barely better than nothing.
“Can you guys build one that can fly?” Pasha asked suddenly.
“…”
Philos was left speechless. “Apologies, but we can’t do that.”
“Well, hurry it up then.”
The Dark Sun Dragon stretched its claws. “If you ever make a Furnace Dragon that can fly, be sure to let me know. Get one for me, too. I don’t care if it’s ugly. I’m mainly impressed by its power. Power is beauty!”
“…”
“I’ll be back. I’m leaving.”
Pasha, with Snowman Jimmy on his back, led the Sub-Dragon away and vanished without a trace.
Only after the Dragon King had completely vanished did the people of White Castle erupt in loud cheers.
“Our Dragon won!”
“We really won!”
“The Furnace Dragon is the future of Dragons!”
While everyone celebrated, Shang Meng found the operator inside the Furnace Dragon. She began to review the specific data from the experiment, recording every detail.
She was busy until nightfall.
Shang Meng finally looked up from the numbers on the page. She rubbed her eyes. The night had never seemed so clear; the moon hung in the sky, with the stars standing quiet watch beside it.
Suddenly, her eyes widened slightly.
‘Oh no!’
‘I forgot, today is our wedding anniversary!’
Shang Meng hastily bid farewell to Philos and ran frantically toward the gate.
But there, under a Hanging Lamp at the White Castle gate, she saw her husband, Senlu. With his hands in his pockets, he waved a paper bag at her.
“I bought your favorite meat pies and Sour Tree Raspberries.”
Shang Meng ran to him and said excitedly, “We won! Our Dragon’s performance beat a real Sub-Dragon!”
“Wow! That’s incredible. My wife is so brilliant.”
Shang Meng began to gush, telling him all about the day’s experiment as they walked home shoulder to shoulder under the moonlight.