Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 236 The Controversy and Decisions Regarding the World Tree

When the message was sent back to Dongxia, the [Cihang] Engineering Department immediately launched a new round of top-level special meetings.

Even several bigwigs who were originally from all over the country chose to attend in person this time.

The main reason is that a major decision needs to be made, a fundamental and directional decision.

After briefly reporting the information Chen Mo had sent back, the [Compassionate Voyage] Engineering Department, as the primary responsible department, raised a serious question after thoroughly reviewing the relevant information provided by the Starry World.

Should we let this tree grow freely, or...?

The Eastern Xia people valued keeping a low profile and biding their time!

So far, psionic energy, magic circles, and undead creatures are all still well hidden.

For example, with the previous ship [Treading Waves 061] No. 1, although tens of thousands of engineering and technical personnel were involved in the related hull modifications, structural reinforcements, adjustments to auxiliary facilities, installation of the power system, etc., the magic array and central control system were handled entirely by the direct personnel of the [Compassionate Voyage] Engineering Department.

Even most of the soldiers on board only knew that the ship used advanced technology, but they didn't know just how advanced it was.

The answer is the rapid development of science and technology!
Anyway, so much new equipment has been developed over the years, so one or two more won't make a difference.

But now, the situation is different. If the information provided by the elves is true, the "sprout" will grow into a behemoth with a canopy that can cover several kilometers or even tens of kilometers in the future. So why bother hiding its light and biding its time?

Not to mention this thing can move...

Unlike previous meetings where everyone shared the same general direction but differed on details, this time, significant disagreements arose regarding the route taken within the meeting room.

Feng Ge, the chief minister of the Dongxia security department, expressed his unequivocal opposition.

"Distinguished leaders and comrades, I believe we must be extremely cautious and prioritize risk assessment!"

"Internally, there is a risk of things getting out of control."

"The information we currently have about the World Tree is too vague. We know almost nothing about its origins, growth mechanisms, specific abilities, and future performance! What if we pour massive resources into raising it, only to find that we are unable to effectively control it?"

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room, and then emphasized, "There is a risk of leaks if this is done externally."

"As you all know, the pressure on security departments to maintain secrecy is immense. With the scope of related fields expanding and the number of personnel handling classified information increasing, the string is already stretched too tight!"

"If that happens..."

"I think you're wrong!" Before Feng Ge could finish speaking, a loud voice suddenly rang out, interrupting him.

Both being top performers from the military system, Chief of the General Staff Gu Liyang and Minister of State Security Feng Ge are very familiar with each other. In private, they have joked more than once: "With your name, everyone who meets you will call you 'brother,' which is a huge advantage!"

But when it comes to official business, everyone sits in their own chair and holds their own position.

The military is undoubtedly always radical, especially when it holds a certain advantage. Not fighting is good for ordinary people and probably not bad for ordinary soldiers, but for ambitious generals, missing out on a war could mean missing a page in history.

The fact that the military has been able to be suppressed to this day can only be attributed to the effective discipline of the successive leaders of Dongxia.

Gu Liyang stood ramrod straight, and his every glance exuded the aura of someone long accustomed to a high position, decisive and ruthless. As some of his comrades who had met him described it, a palpable sense of menace emanated from him.

Within the Eastern Xia army, this man was a standard conservative. Seven years ago, when he was still a brigade commander, he proposed, in an extremely conservative manner, that the army should have one hundred combined arms brigades, the navy should build twenty large ships, and the air force should have eight thousand fifth-generation fighter jets in order to better protect the territory of Eastern Xia.

Now that he had stepped forward, his words naturally carried a powerful air.

"We know the pressure is immense, but no matter how great the pressure, we cannot stop development!"

"We can't throw the baby out with the bathwater. What's there to be afraid of from friendly nations? We've been subservient for so many years, have our enemies ever spared us? They've slapped us in the face again and again, haven't they? They've been plotting to send us back to the old world!"

"Now that we have an opportunity to cultivate the World Tree, why don't we go all out to do it?"

Faced with this aggressive questioning, a mature and composed representative from the government system took over the conversation, which also served to ease the atmosphere.

"Actually, what Minister Feng is mainly worried about is the unclear situation and inaccurate information. There are too many uncertainties surrounding this 'World Tree,' so it is reasonable to be cautious and take a long-term view."

"After all, even without this 'World Tree,' we have already gained an increasingly obvious relative advantage by developing step by step, relying on the existing system and the continuous feedback from the 'Wanderers.'"

"We don't need to rush; we can be more prudent and proceed gradually..."

These pragmatic and prudent remarks resonated with some people. Prioritizing avoiding mistakes and seeking victory through stability is indeed the primary direction for the operation of a large bureaucratic system.

But Gu Liyang wouldn't listen to any of that; he went all out almost without thinking.

"We don't know if this Tree of Life can grow into the World Tree, nor do we know how long it will take to grow into the World Tree, and we don't know what special abilities it will have even if it does grow into the World Tree!"

"With so many unknown factors and so many steps that require time to explore and verify, if we don't do it, are we going to leave it to our next generation?"

"Let me be blunt again: we are only able to maintain our domestic research on the application of this unique spiritual energy system of the Starry World thanks to the full support of the [Wanderers], who have sent back two-thirds of the spirit crystals produced in the Vast Ocean Territory!"

"I think everyone here understands how precious and fragile this system is!"

"If we don't seize the time and go all out now, what if the pressure on [Wanderer] increases tomorrow and the supply of spirit crystals runs out?"

"What if a wanderer spends a long time in another world, or has children, and develops other thoughts?"

"What if something happens to our child that we don't want to see, like an accident?"

"Even if we assume that [Wanderer] is healthy and can supply us with spirit crystals for a hundred years, this tree takes ninety-nine years to cultivate. Every minute you waste right now could cause Dongxia to lose the World Tree forever. What should we do then?"

Gu Liyang's rapid-fire questions echoed throughout the conference room, silencing the entire room.

"The premise of taking things slowly is that if we don't do it today, we still have enough time and opportunity to do it tomorrow. But does our current situation meet that requirement?"

"I believe we can't afford to waste a single moment!"

"I don't want our descendants to one day look at history books and lament that their ancestors had a chance to touch the myth and lead the times, but because some people wanted to 'seek victory through stability' and 'take things slowly,' they missed it forever!"

"If I don't want future online novel authors to write time-travel stories, the first thing they'll do is come to this meeting today, give us a good scolding, and get rid of that 'unresolved feeling' in their hearts!"

Those words carry a lot of weight!
Yes, there may be a hundred doubts and a thousand risks involved, but when Gu Liyang firmly raised this banner for all ages, no one in the audience could raise another question.

Of course, everyone also heard the old man sitting in the center give a soft "good"!
This one word is worth a thousand sentences from Chief of Staff Gu.

Sure enough, the old man then gave concise and powerful instructions, making a final decision: "We, this generation, will shoulder the risks! Let's not leave the problems to future generations!" "Plan carefully, ensure meticulous protection, actively explore, and develop boldly!"

The sixteen-character policy brought this heated debate to a close, and the direction was set: unity of purpose from top to bottom.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In fact, prior to the meeting, based on the high importance attached to the information sent back by Chen Mo and a certain prediction, the Eastern Xia military had already taken precautions and launched a series of peripheral preparations.

For example, as early as two weeks ago, the military issued a "Notice on Holding a Comprehensive Military Skills Competition for the Entire Army".

The following is a brief excerpt:
All military regions, all services and branches, national defense military academies, armed police forces, reserve forces and militia forces.

To thoroughly implement the military strategic guidelines for the new era, comprehensively promote the transformation and upgrading of military training, effectively test the effectiveness of combat-oriented training, and stimulate the enthusiasm of officers and soldiers for training and combat readiness, in accordance with the annual military training plan and with the approval of the Supreme Military Command, it has been decided to hold an all-army military training competition. The relevant matters are hereby notified as follows:

I. Guiding Principles – Guided by the goal of building a strong military in the new era, firmly establish combat effectiveness as the sole standard of comparison, and adhere to the principles of rigorous and demanding standards that closely reflect actual combat... (Two hundred words omitted below)

II. Organization and Leadership – A comprehensive military skills competition leadership group will be established to be responsible for the organization, leadership, overall coordination, and decision-making on major matters related to the competition. The leadership group will have an executive body… (details omitted).
III. Competition Time and Location...

IV. Participating Units and Personnel...

V. Competition Items...

The details will not be repeated here, but in short, the notice covers six major categories and more than forty subcategories of competition subjects, ranging from command skills to individual combat, from unit tactics to specialized positions, and from comprehensive support to information warfare. It emphasizes a series of requirements, including that all levels of units attach great importance to the competition, organize it meticulously, focus on actual combat and conduct scientific training, strictly adhere to regulations and prioritize safety, and establish support mechanisms and create a conducive atmosphere.

Then, the military units noticed a small problem: compared with the previous competition categories, a compound bow precision shooting event was added this year.

This is really awkward, nobody has one of these anymore.

The higher-ups have said that we must attach great importance to this and conduct training scientifically. Since this subject exists, we cannot neglect to practice it.

You need a bow to practice...

The military's logistics department, after careful consideration, organized a large-scale bidding process. Based on the scale of the participating units, the first round of orders totaled 300,000 composite bows.

Training for the military must be done to the highest standards. This order, once it hit the market, immediately created a huge stir.

It's important to know that the military's requirement was the highest of the high-end, with each bow having more than thirty parts, including four sets of shock absorbers, and five different configurations for the draw weight.

The more complex the requirements, the more downstream manufacturers are involved, and in a short time, related sports equipment manufacturers, metal parts manufacturers, fiberglass and carbon fiber manufacturers, etc. have all taken action.

When the shortlisted companies saw the final bid documents, they could hardly believe their eyes.

The minimum tensile strength is seventy pounds, which is barely considered normal.

The largest purchase quantity was a 300-pound bow, which was already outrageous, with a pulling force of nearly 140 kilograms. Currently, no master on the entire planet has been heard of who can handle such force.

This model has received a total of 100,000 orders.

That's not all, there are also orders for 500 pounds, 700 pounds, and even orders with a maximum tensile strength of 1,000 pounds on display!
It's not that it's impossible to make. With the current materials and technology, as long as you pay enough, we can make it even if you add a few thousand pounds. The problem is that you can't stretch it!
Is this bow for robots?

The bidding department said, "Never mind that, that's the requirement."

What else is there to say? Let's just create it!

In the Starry World, the day after he sobered up, Chen Mo met with the two elders of the Elf Clan again to apologize for his outburst the previous day.

After all, I am the host, and I feel very sorry for leaving my guests behind while I am drunk.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Chen Mo changed the subject.

"The Elf race and my Han Hai have had several exchanges, and both sides have shown great sincerity. The cooperation can be described as very pleasant."

"Liushuang has been telling me about the care the elves have given her. If it weren't for the elves' support back then, she would probably have been sent away as a trade item for her family long ago."

"I will always remember this kindness, and I am very grateful!"

Hearing Chen Mo's words, Iona and Ysera seemed to realize something, and their hearts began to pound.

Sure enough, the next moment, Chen Mo clapped his hands lightly. Soldiers from the First Brigade of the First Army of the Hanhai Army, who had been waiting outside the hall, carried in one after another heavy and huge metal boxes.

"Here are a thousand bows, five different sizes, two hundred of each!"

"Friendship is friendship, and business is business!"

"I must make it clear that in order to obtain these weapons, I made many sacrifices to the supreme monarch and paid a great price!"

"Now that these bows are handed over to the elves, I have fulfilled my promise regarding the 'Seeds of the Tree of Life' provided by you!"

Iona and Ysera looked at Chen Mo, the young lord's expression was calm, his eyes open and honest.

Indeed, although this batch of composite bows is nothing to Dongxia, the altar's transport capacity is of immeasurable value.

Theoretically, transporting one less bow could have allowed for the transport of several kilograms more gold, chips, special equipment, or superweapons. From this perspective, Chen Mo's statement that he paid a huge price is entirely correct.

At Chen Mo's signal, the elven archer Loma Wind Chaser stepped forward, opened a box, and took out a composite bow that was entirely black, with smooth lines and full of precise mechanical beauty.

With just one glance, Iona and Ysera immediately sensed the difference.

The weapons delivered this time, in terms of their design, materials, craftsmanship, and even the wheels, bearings, and complex cable systems on the bow, all exude a chilling sense of power.

The subsequent test firing completely confirmed their judgment. The best archers of the Elven race took turns trying out different specifications of composite bows, and whether it was stability, accuracy, or arrow velocity, they were all a big step up from the previous product!

When the elves expressed their gratitude to their lord for the successful transaction, Chen Mo smiled and revealed the follow-up that the elves had been eagerly anticipating.

"I hope you're satisfied with this deal."

After careful consideration, Chen Mo emphasized again: "The contract regarding the 'Seed of the Tree of Life' is now successfully concluded."

"If the elves still need compound bows in the future, I can continue to try to obtain them."

"However, that would be a completely new deal."

(End of this chapter)