Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 364 Obtaining the Top-Tier Unit: Warhammer - Sulfur Gun

Although Demst is a bit of a joker, he is still very reliable.

Just as he said, since joining the territory, he has always taken on the most difficult combat missions. But even so, he has never messed up a single task assigned to him by Su Li.

He brought back all 12 chests of treasure from the ghost pirate ship, and Su Li immediately asked with great interest, "How was the profit this time?"

Durmst shrugged: "Most of the supplies on the pirate ship have rotted away, including weapons, nautical equipment, and cargo hold inventory. They would turn to dust at the slightest touch. But the 12 chests of gold coins are immortal. Among them are more than 11000 Imperial Gold Crowns, more than 8700 Arabi Ancient King Coins, and more than 2300 Dwarven Oath Gold!"

"Ancient royal coins of Arabia?" Su Li immediately became interested; this was the first time he had ever seen so many of these coins.

This is the first time I've seen so many, but it's not the first time I've seen this kind of currency. The empire's external connections are still very smooth. Adventurers, caravans, and even colonists expand everywhere and always manage to bring back all sorts of currencies from all directions.

Su Li even possessed the currency of Zhen Dan. This world was indeed vast, and the endless sea was teeming with ferocious and brutal sea monsters, but nothing could deter the knights' adventurous spirit.

These powerful knights piloted their warships, cutting through the waves, even reaching the Lustia rainforest. No danger or hardship could deter their pursuit of wealth.

Therefore, the currency knights of Arabia were very familiar with it. Demst said nonchalantly, "This should be an armed cargo ship or a pirate ship that travels between Arabia and the Empire. You know, there is not much difference between the two in essence."

"Arabi's ancient royal coins are of very high purity; they are a type of gold coin. The exchange rate with the Imperial Gold Crown is roughly 100:120. There are trading centers and banks in our Blacksend City and Flashspear City, where the Chamber of Commerce, the Halfling Guild, and others provide exchange services."

"There are always caravans that need these currencies. They travel far and wide, and can even trade with the ancient kings of the tombs. The gold coins stored in the tombs of those ancient monarchs are the most valuable. The currency of China is the least valuable. Those arrogant dragon princes never even exchange gold coins with us. They only provide copper coins, which they exchange for our gold, spices, weapons, warships, and a whole host of other riches. But what can we do? They are so magnificent and prosperous. Their silk and porcelain are renowned throughout the Old World. Even their copper coins are highly sought after."

Su Li then waved his hand and said, "Then take these Arabi gold coins to Black Forest City and Flashspear City to exchange them for the Golden Crown. I remember that the Gray Market Trading Company built a bank building in Flashspear City for currency exchange. Their trading company and the Ramsey family must need these currencies."

For the time being, the Black Forest Territory's focus has not extended beyond the Empire, or even beyond the border princely territories; it pays little attention to them.

Right now, the territory needs the Empire's golden crown more to improve its economy and make investments.

This pirate ship was incredibly profitable, one of the biggest opportunities ever. The 12 chests of currency combined yielded a fortune exceeding 40000 gold crowns.

The most important thing is the remaining 2300 gold crowns. After arranging things for Demst, Su Li turned to Bairga and said, "My friend, I plan to use these 2300 dwarven covenant golds to buy some valuable equipment in your kingdom."

“Valuable equipment, my big friend, you’ve come to the right place.” Bairga replied excitedly, “We dwarves have all sorts of treasures, from exquisite jewelry and dwarven handicrafts to powerful weapons, armor, and even artillery and steam tanks. Whatever you want, we dwarves can provide. What are you interested in?”

Su Li also had a deep understanding of the dwarves' craftsmanship, and he calmly replied, "Ordinary weapons and armor can be made in this armory we are inspecting. As for cannons, my territory has set up a cannon guild, which can also produce them slowly. What I am more interested in are some more advanced items."

After a moment of careful consideration, Bairga solemnly said to Su Li, "I do not recommend that you continue to purchase rare-grade weapons and armor from us. The equipment of ordinary knights is unlikely to bring about a qualitative change. No matter how much you strengthen it, it will still require a process of quantitative change. Only by accumulating strength can you unleash its full potential."

"Therefore, I suggest you purchase a batch of advanced and extremely powerful dwarven war machines, which will greatly enhance the overall power of your troops. For example, the organ cannon has at least nine barrels and can blast an entire army apart in one go."

"But my top recommendation is for you to buy our dwarf helicopter."

"Dwarf helicopters?" Su Li's eyes lit up. "I've heard a lot about this kind of advanced unit. Can your kingdom provide such troops?"

“Of course!” Bairgar raised his chin, his reddish-brown beard twitching with excitement: “The dwarf helicopter is one of the most revolutionary inventions of our dwarf race and even the entire Old World.”

"Since the decline of the War of the Longbeard, the mountain passes and underground tunnels between the various dwarven fortresses have been filled with the threat of greenskins and ratmen, forcing the dwarves to seek more efficient ways to break through by force. Finally, when the dwarven engineers saw the dragons flying and hunting among the mountains, they had an inspiration: since the land routes were difficult to open up, why not try flying in the sky?"

"Ultimately, they combined the steam engine that powered the drilling rig, the millstone used in the mill, and the canvas to build the earliest rotorcraft. This early version was improved over the centuries after its successful test flight, developing into a more powerful, faster, more capable, and more protective version, which is still in service today."

"The early mission of the dwarven helicopters was to transport supplies and information between various fortresses and settlements. Their aerial advantage made the greenskins and ratmen on the ground almost helpless against these aircraft, and their speed advantage allowed supplies and messages—especially distress signals from besieged settlements—to be delivered in time to other settlements that were able to provide support, thus preventing the dwarves from suffering the tragic fate of further territorial losses."

Su Li nodded slightly. The reason why Bairga strongly recommended this dwarf helicopter was obviously because he had taken into account the relationship between the two parties.

Dragon Rock Fortress is not like Redbeard Fortress and Gray Rock Fortress; they are too far from Black Forest Territory.

The decline of the dwarves is something even the stubborn and inflexible dwarves acknowledge. The Gray Mountain dwarves are no exception. Su Li still remembers when he first chose his territory from the governor of Maleburg, the governor explained: Gray Mountain is riddled with dwarven tunnels, though many have been abandoned. However, some dwarven fortresses still stand on the highlands of Gray Mountain, like small islands surrounded by a sea of ​​beastmen, goblins, bandits, and mountain trolls. If a route could be established and contact made, their engineering skills could greatly aid the territory's construction.

In this situation, Dragonrock Fortress is undoubtedly the most isolated island in the deepest part of this monster-infested sea, and even if their king leads an army of 8000 dwarves on an expedition, they are not necessarily safe.

Using the dwarves' helicopters is indeed the best way to strengthen ties.

Despite being made primarily of millstones and canvas, and powered by the cheapest steam engine, it is extremely reliable, and there are very few reports of dwarf helicopters crashing.

Moreover, after centuries of improvements, the dwarf helicopter's function has expanded beyond just transportation.

"In later developments, dwarven helicopters were quickly put into use in combat," Bairga said excitedly. "The new helicopters, with their brand-new heavy metal fuselages, were almost immune to the threat of arrows from the ground and used their deadly weapons to spread death and chaos across the enemy lines."

"The default weapon of a dwarven helicopter is a steam cannon, a deadly weapon that can spray deadly steam spray and a large number of lead pellets into the enemy ranks, tearing them into steaming shreds; some crews have replaced the steam cannon with an even more deadly sulfur cannon, which sprays ignited liquid sulfur at the enemy, causing deadly mass casualties. This offensive has proven very effective against hordes of goblins and ratmen, as the gruesome deaths of their comrades in the high temperatures directly cause these demoralized races to rout."

"To further enhance the helicopter's lethality, the dwarven engineers added a bomb bay to the helicopter for dropping bombs. However, the early versions of the bombs required the pilot to operate the aircraft while igniting the fuse and dropping the bomb. Later improved versions placed the bombs on the stabilizing wings on both sides of the aircraft and installed contact fuses, which made the operation much simpler."

"Dwarven helicopters are now a standard part of the forces in all the dwarven fortresses, which have built dedicated helipads for these rotorcraft to take off, land, and be resupplyed and maintained. Many dwarven air squadrons have also distinguished themselves in battle, such as the Skyhammer Squadron of Stromgarde Pass and the Black Hammer Bomber Squadron of Karazar-a-Karak, which are rising stars in recent years."

"We can provide you, big guy, with a Skyhammer helicopter squadron. There are four rotary-wing helicopters equipped with sulfur guns. Although their area-of-effect damage is slightly less than that of bombers, their range, damage, and accuracy are extremely high. They can inflict fire damage and deal considerable damage to elite enemy single units. Even champion-level or even god-chosen mountain trolls, once targeted by sulfur gun helicopters, can be blasted to pieces after a fierce battle."

"Our lowest price for a Warhammer squad like this is 3000 Dwarven Oath Gold. But since we're friends, we can sell it to you at a 8% discount."

3000 dwarven oath gold, discounted by 20%, is 2400. Su Li took a deep breath instantly. Goodness, you, Bairga, must have calculated that with Blackwood Territory and your savings, you have exactly 2400 dwarven oath gold, right?
The dwarves really went to great lengths and calculated to the extreme in order to reclaim these ancestral pledge gold.

However, after thinking about it, Su Li did not refuse.

This Warhammer squad is actually somewhat similar to the Sky Lanterns of Aurora, as they can also provide vision in the air and offer a morale boost.

In terms of damage output, it's far less exaggerated than Bairga described. This Skyhammer helicopter squadron in the Sulfur Gun version isn't a professional bomber squadron; their main characteristics are [Heavy Armor], [Flame Attack], [Dwarven Craftsmanship], [Armor Piercing], [Multi-Shot], and [Rapid Fire].

However, since the armor-piercing rounds aren't specifically designed for armor penetration, they're only effective against large units. They're adequate against high-health, low-defense monster infantry like trolls, or large, green-skinned warriors riding warboars. But against truly colossal units like the Chosen Chaos Knight or heavily armored dragons, they prove relatively ineffective.

This is also related to the battlefield where dwarves use the battlefield, since the dwarves' main enemies are forces with low morale and low defense, such as greenskins, trolls, and ratmen.

If this Warhammer squad were incorporated into the Blackwood Territory's army, its most important role would be to provide long-range fire support during the Chosen Ones' duel. After all, their field of fire is truly excellent, almost unimpeded.

It can also move quickly on the battlefield, helping our side to quickly gain an advantage of numerical superiority in local areas.

This is quite important to the followers of the Sun Goddess. The Sun Goddess's knights love to use various tactical deployments to put their side in an overwhelming position. Even without being commanded, they can freely fire in the air and effectively snipe conspicuous units such as green-skinned trolls, Anarek spiders, and goblin wolf riders.

So after thinking for a moment, Su Li smiled and extended his hand to Bairga, saying, "Then it's decided! With the Warhammer Squad joining us, our connection will be much closer. Otherwise, it would take me several days to send an envoy to Gray Mountain."

Bairga extended his strong right hand and shook hands firmly with Su Li, laughing heartily: "This is a deal that will bring honor to the dwarves. The Sons of the Mountains will all praise your wisdom, my big friend. With the Warhammer Squad, some of our important transactions can be completed much faster. For example, a set of rare armor, a rare weapon, or a few horse vultures."

The helicopter's most important role for the dwarves is still in transporting goods between fortresses. Even if this squad were to relocate to Blackwood Territory, its strategic position would not be significantly affected.

Upon hearing Bairga's description, Su Li couldn't help but think of the strategic importance of the Dragon Rock Forge, and then asked, "If I have enough vibranium, could I ask the Dragon Rock Forge to forge a peerless suit of armor?"

“Of course,” Bairga replied immediately. “The significance of the Dragon Rock Forge lies in its ability to elevate the grade of forged equipment by one level. As long as it consumes perfect-grade vibranium, it can forge equipment of rare quality. If the Black Forest Territory gathers enough materials for a set of perfect-grade armor, the War Hammer Squad can send it to Dragon Rock Fortress, and we will forge it into rare quality.”

"Of course, due to the special consumption of the Dragonstone Forge, we need to invest a lot of dwarven blood and materials to operate the forge. Therefore, if you need to use the Dragonstone Forge, you need to pay a loss fee of 1000 dwarven oath gold."

"1000 dwarven oath gold?" Su Li couldn't help but raise his expectations.

“That’s right, it’s 1000 Dwarven Oath Gold, not 1000 Golden Crowns.” Bairga’s tone was very solemn: “After all, the Dragonrock Forge is a sacred relic left over from ancient times. We dwarves don’t use it lightly, as each time we open it, the consumption is enormous.”

That would have been incredibly costly, and Su Li almost completely gave up on the idea of ​​going to the Dragon Rock Forge to forge a rare-grade armor.

1000 Dwarven Oath Gold can be exchanged for 10000 Gold Crowns, which is already considered exorbitant for crafting rare-grade armor. More importantly, no trading center or bank offers Dwarven Oath Gold exchange services; they only collect it, never sell it, making it a completely unavailable commodity.

Since entering the Black Forest Territory, Su Li has fought countless battles and gathered numerous opportunities, yet the total amount of dwarven oath gold he has accumulated is only around 5000. This includes war reparations from the Green Dragon.

If the daily intelligence doesn't support him finding an abandoned dwarven vault, he simply won't be able to find much dwarven covenant gold.

These gold coins were so valuable that Su Li used over 5000 dwarven oath gold coins to successfully build a branch of the Artillery Guild and a top-tier dwarven unit, the Warhammer Helicopter Squadron, for his territory.

This helicopter unit is equivalent to human half-griffin riders; they are the highest-ranking organized units of their race.

Therefore, Su Li could only say regretfully, "If I gather all the necessary supplies, I will contact you."

In normal times, it's best to craft perfect armor yourself in your territory and rely on probability to produce rare-grade armor.

Unless he has enough dwarven pledge gold, he can have a helicopter squad deliver it to Dragonrock Keep, ensuring they produce a 100% rare set of armor.

Bairga was in high spirits after completing the transaction and laughed heartily, "My friend, mission accomplished, I won't waste any more time here. Next, I'm going to Grayrock Fortress and Redbeard Fortress."

Su Li nodded and said, "All good things must come to an end. My friend, let's each work hard and look forward to fighting side by side in the future."

"Hahaha! Well said, but it won't be long before we fight side by side. You'll probably be sending a cavalry unit to join us soon." Bairga clenched his steel fists, his fighting spirit high: "It's time for our allied forces to sweep away those filthy, despicable, damned scum in Gray Mountain."

"My trip to Gray Rock Fortress and Red Beard Fortress was to persuade them to form an allied force and clear the trade routes, so that supplies from Blackwood Fortress could reach Dragon Rock Fortress all the way."

Upon hearing this, Su Li was also filled with excitement and immediately said, "Then this battle will be no small feat. To carve out such a passage through a sea of ​​monsters, the number of dwarves required might be no less than 5000!"

Bairga nodded emphatically and said, “Our king, inspired by the High King, is also working diligently to strengthen the state. The Gray Mountain dwarves have recovered their numbers, and their military strength has grown again. It’s time to wipe out the monsters of Gray Mountain. I’ve heard that you humans are also on an expedition?”

“That’s right.” Su Li frowned slightly: “It seems that the righteous camp is thriving, with a full-scale counterattack and overwhelming momentum against evil.”

But he suddenly had a bad feeling; if everything went too smoothly, it wouldn't be in line with the style of this world.

An overly tranquil and idyllic life can actually make people uneasy.

I have a feeling that the evil forces might be brewing a huge storm. Everything right now is just the calm before the storm.

But he held back from saying the rest, because unlucky words are never well-received.

A tremendous sense of pressure compelled him to take immediate action and quickly strengthen his power.

So he composed himself and solemnly said to Bairga, "Our territory will certainly support your request. I will order the garrison at Grey Lady Pass to act alongside you."

Garson is located at the Grey Lady Pass. He was originally a mercenary, but he has outstanding command skills and is also very tactful, able to handle relationships with everyone.

Let him command the army and cooperate with the dwarves; there will definitely be no problems.

The dwarves didn't expect the human knights to provide much assistance on the front lines. The key was that these roaming knights could gather a lot of intelligence for them and also cover their flanks on the battlefield.

Then, at the crucial moment, they unleash a devastating attack, deciding the outcome of the battle. And most importantly, they help the short-legged dwarves hunt down the fleeing monsters.

One major reason why the war between the dwarves and the monsters has been so protracted and why the dwarves have gradually lost ground is that the dwarves' legs are too short. Even if they win a direct battle, they cannot expand their gains.

After the monsters escape, morale and the army can be regrouped and the battle can begin again.

The scale of the righteous faction is no match for that of the monsters. Whether it's greenskins or beastmen, they can quickly replenish their ranks anytime, anywhere.

The dwarves, however, have an extremely low birth rate and have yet to recover from the trauma of the War of the Longbeard thousands of years ago. Such a protracted war against monsters, even with repeated victories, is insufficient to turn the tide. But defeat would mean the loss of thousands of dwarves, and an entire clan and fortress would vanish silently into the annals of history.

After Bairga left, Su Li said to Hilde, who was following him, "Let's also gather our troops and prepare to head to Stormshade Fortress."

Before venturing deep into the underground lair, Hilder had considered the matter thoroughly, saying, "My lord, should we also recruit one or two squadrons of dwarves to form an alliance with us?"

"After all, in such narrow terrain and close-quarters combat, the dwarves, who are more robust and resilient and better at melee combat, have an advantage over us knights. Moreover, dwarven rangers can clear some places that are difficult to climb."

Although dwarves belong to the Free People's Corps in the Blackwood Territory's military order, elite dwarves possess elite-level strength.

Some dwarven butchers even fight exclusively in mercenary groups, which hardly affects the production of their territory.

Su Li did not refuse the suggestion, saying, "Have two squadrons of dwarves from Doglin follow us into the lair. Also, I remember there are two giant butchers in the territory?"

(End of this chapter)