The army of 25,000 marched across the wilderness. The large-scale troop movement could not be concealed in the end, and the news quickly reached Abar's ears through scouts on the grassland.
Upon learning that Paul Greiman was about to lead his army straight into the heart of the steppe, Abar did not panic. Instead, he immediately ordered all his trusted generals and tribal chiefs who were loyal to the Royal Tent to gather at his newly built Blackstone Fortress for a meeting.
Blackstone Fortress, nestled on the banks of a river in the heart of the grasslands, is Abar's core stronghold, painstakingly built over three years. Unlike traditional yurt settlements on the grasslands, this city is entirely modeled after human cities: towering rammed-earth walls surround the city, and orderly streets divide the area into residential, administrative, and workshop districts. There is even a stone palace modeled after a human lord's castle. All of this was built with the help of a large number of captured human artisans and slaves. Human craftsmen captured by Abar during their raids were forced into the city's construction. From the rammed-earth walls to the stone carvings of the palace, every detail bears the imprint of human architecture, yet also carries the rugged style of the grassland tribes.
Abar's ambitions extended far beyond building a city. He knew that the grassland tribes had long existed in a loose alliance, lacking unified command and management, which was the root cause of their repeated defeats against humans. Therefore, based on Blackstone Fortress, he established bureaucratic institutions such as the "Military Affairs Department," "Pastoral Affairs Department," and "Workshops Department" within the city, modeled after human kingdoms: the Military Affairs Department was responsible for coordinating the military forces of the various tribes, the Pastoral Affairs Department managed the allocation of grassland pastures, and the Workshops Department was led by human artisans to forge weapons and agricultural tools.
Through these institutions, Abar attempted to consolidate the previously fragmented tribal forces under his control, gradually breaking free from the loose structure of the tribal alliance and creating a truly centralized orc empire.
As his trusted lieutenants and tribal chiefs arrived at the council palace in Blackstone Fortress, Abar stood before a map of the grasslands hanging within. He looked down at the tribal leaders, some seated, some standing; some wore expressions of worry, others retained the defiant spirit of their grassland tribes. The Great Chieftain spoke: " Paul Greiman has brought a human army, intending to destroy our beautiful grasslands. But we are no longer a disorganized mob. Blackstone Fortress will be our foundation, and we will defend it to the death. The purpose of this gathering is to devise a strategy to show those humans that we, the masters of the grasslands, will always be them!"
A murmur of discussion erupted within the palace, while Abar's gaze fell upon the " Rocky Mountains Pass" marked on the map. It was the only way for the human army to enter the grasslands, and also the first location in his plan to thwart the human attack.
Before long, the discussion took a turn for the worse. Several tribal chiefs frowned, their voices filled with worry: "Human firearms are too powerful. They can penetrate our armor from a hundred paces away. If our cavalry charges forward, they will be crushed before they even get close!"
"Last time I fought against the human army, they scattered one of our hundred-man squads with just a few volleys. This time it's an army of over 20,000. How are we supposed to stop them?"
Anxiety spread like wildfire, even causing some of his trusted subordinates to hesitate. Seeing this, Abar slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "What's the panic! Humans have firearms, and we have new ones too! Aru, take everyone to see your work!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a tall, thin orc carrying a toolbox stood up—this was Aru, the armory master. Though he lacked the imposing physique of a warrior, his eyes gleamed with intelligence. Aru had once been highly valued by Abar for inventing a method to produce milk powder, allowing the orc army to quickly replenish their energy by simply mixing it with water, greatly improving troop mobility, without needing to carry heavy fresh milk on marches. He stepped forward respectfully and said, "Please follow me, Chief and all. The new weapons are in the training grounds outside the city."
The group followed Aru out of the palace and into the open training ground on the west side of Blackstone Fortress. In the distance, two oddly shaped machines stood in the center of the field, completely different from traditional crossbows and catapults. Aru walked to one of the machines and began to explain: "This is a new type of crossbow. Traditional crossbows rely on manpower to draw the bowstring, with a maximum range of 150 paces, and require more than a dozen people to operate. I've modified it into a 'counterweighted' type, using cast iron blocks as counterweights. A pulley system drives the bowstring, requiring only three people to adjust the counterweights to fire. The range reaches 300 paces, and it can fire five barbed iron arrows at once, with three times the penetrating power of traditional crossbow bolts!"
As he spoke, Aru gestured for his men to demonstrate. Two orcs hung a fifty-pound cast iron block on the counterweight of the ballista, while another orc adjusted the angle and pulled the trigger. With a "whoosh," five iron arrows whistled out and pierced the wooden target three hundred paces away, their fletchings still trembling slightly.
Then, Aru led everyone to another, even larger machine, a new type of catapult: "Traditional catapults are powered by human or animal power, and can only throw stones weighing up to fifty pounds with a range of one hundred paces. I modified it into a 'balanced counterweight type,' with a catapult arm on the left that holds the stones, and a large iron box filled with sand hanging on the right as a counterweight. By adjusting the weight of the sand in the iron box, the range can be controlled. The heaviest stone can be thrown is two hundred pounds, with a range of two hundred and fifty paces! Moreover, I added a leather 'bullet pouch' to the end of the catapult arm, which can better secure the stone and make the landing point more accurate. It can also throw burning oil barrels to burn human tents and equipment!"
After the demonstration began, several orcs placed a 200-pound stone projectile into the cartridge case and adjusted the weight of the sand in the iron box. As the trigger was pulled, the catapult arm swung up sharply, and the stone projectile flew into the distance with a whistling sound, crashing into the open ground with a loud "boom," kicking up a large cloud of dust and creating a crater half a person deep in the ground.
Seeing the power of the new weapon, the eyes of the tribal chiefs, who had been worried, gradually lit up, and their discussions became excited: "This thing is amazing! With a range of 300 paces, it can go toe-to-toe with human firearms!" "A 200-pound stone projectile, if it hits a human's position, can break through their shield wall!"
Abar stood to the side, a satisfied smile on his face. He knew that Aru's new weapons would not only boost morale but also add an important defensive line to the orc army in the upcoming war.
The tribal chiefs' excited chatter rose and fell. Abar walked to Aru's side, his gaze still fixed on the two new machines. " Aru, these ballistae and catapults are indeed quite powerful, but right now the most crucial thing is production. Have you estimated how many we can build before the human army leaves the pass?"
Upon hearing Abar's question, the surrounding chatter instantly subsided, and all eyes turned to Aru. Aru patted his chest, " Great Chieftain and all leaders, rest assured! The human artisans and orc apprentices in the workshops have mastered the crafting techniques. I've even broken down some steps into assembly line operations: some specialize in forging counterweight iron blocks, some are responsible for assembling pulley systems, and others are polishing crossbow bolts and stone projectiles. The efficiency is three times faster than before!"
"Currently, the workshop can produce 8 ballistae and 5 catapults per day. At this rate, and with the additional manpower I've deployed to the workshop, we can definitely produce 500 units before the human army arrives—300 ballistae and 200 catapults!"
Abar's smile widened upon hearing this. He patted Aru on the shoulder and said, "I'm relieved to hear that. Immediately order the workshops to ramp up production. If we need any supplies, we can ask the pastoral administration and military affairs departments for them. We must complete the target of five hundred aircraft on time!"
"Yes! Mission accomplished!" Aru replied loudly.
Upon hearing the number five hundred, the tribal chiefs in the surrounding area were completely relieved and began to volunteer for the battle.