Mobilizing Troops

At the present stage, without the capacity to produce firearms, cold weapons were the only type of weapon that could quickly increase their combat power and be manufactured within a short time.

He had to rely on cold weapons to hold the ten important bases, the Main Base, and the Railway Line, buying time to develop firearms!

Against so many monster birds, only firearms offered any chance of victory!

Under Li Qingsong's orders, all the steel produced by the Steel Factory—steel with high hardness and toughness, suitable for making cold weapons—was requisitioned and urgently transported to the Metal Processing Plant.

The several thousand clones who had been carrying out other tasks all broke into a run, rushing into the Metal Foundry with solemn expressions and heading straight for their workstations.

Production began immediately.

A large amount of metalworking equipment started up. Amid the piercing sounds of cutting and grinding, the first long saber was produced in just one hour.

The saber was about seventy centimeters long and six centimeters wide, with a slight curve and a sharp edge suitable for chopping and slashing.

With the appearance of the first saber, it was as though some switch had been flipped. The production line began pouring out one long saber after another like a stream.

An hour later, two hundred long sabers had been completed.

Small trucks specially used for transport drove over and sped these sabers to the front line.

Two hundred clones threw away the Steel Pipes in their hands and immediately took up the sabers.

Li Qingsong felt slightly relieved.

At least they had proper weapons now.

But this little was clearly far from enough.

It did not matter. More factories were currently producing more types of weapons.

Inside a factory that had been urgently converted to produce shields, several hundred clones stood solemnly before various machines, operating them without pause.

One moment, the steel was heated to the proper temperature; the next, the forging equipment moved in, and then it entered the subsequent processing stages.

At this moment, the several hundred clones seemed to have become one person. Under their control, the production line itself seemed to possess a spirit, running with extreme smoothness.

Thus, large numbers of shields were produced in a steady stream. In just one hour, two hundred shields had been completed and sent directly to the front line.

Factories producing Long Spears, Short Blades, Knee Pads, Elbow Pads, gloves, and armor were all working at full capacity.

At this stage, there was clearly not enough time to produce spacesuits with sufficient protective capability. Since that was the case, they could only make external protective gear and make do with it for now.

At this moment, the hundreds of factories within the Main Base were all linked together. More than ten thousand clones moved as though they were extensions of a single arm, all working at full capacity under Li Qingsong's control. Their coordination was exceptionally smooth, and their efficiency reached its peak.

In just two days, a total of four thousand sets of combat equipment—enough to outfit all combat personnel at the Main Base—were transported to the front line and worn by every combat clone.

Production continued afterward without the slightest pause.

Producing only four thousand sets was not enough. Li Qingsong intended to produce ten thousand, twenty thousand, and arm the clones at the other bases as well.

Even that would not be enough. He also intended to produce one hundred thousand, one hundred and fifty thousand sets, so that all reserve clones would have equipment ready the moment they were activated.

On top of that, he had to account for equipment losses and replacements.

In that case, they would produce two hundred thousand sets!

Hundreds of enormous factories roared day and night. Tens of thousands of clones bustled back and forth between their workstations and communal dormitories—the Steel Factory, power plants, Chemical Factories, agricultural bases...

Every factory that made up the Main Base was mobilized by Li Qingsong at full capacity and thrown into this war preparation effort.

After completing the equipment needed by the Main Base's combat personnel, trains began rumbling as they transported the equipment to the ten core Mining Bases.

In addition to cold weapons, there was also a small amount of Explosives.

They had originally been intended for industrial construction, but there was no time to worry about that now. They had to be used first.

Under these circumstances, eight thousand clones were armed in just four days.

It was also at this time that the clones dispatched as scouts to closely monitor several nearby flocks of monster birds finally brought back bad news.

These flocks of monster birds were slowly moving, foraging as they traveled. Unfortunately, they were heading directly toward his cluster of bases.

Or perhaps the large amount of complex organic matter present in the base cluster had attracted them?

Li Qingsong did not know the specifics. But it did not matter. They were coming either way.

Altogether, these monster bird flocks likely numbered more than seventy thousand. They were approaching from all directions, and after some time, all eleven important bases, including the Main Base, were expected to come under attack.

In particular, No. 1 Copper Mine Base, located on the outermost edge of the base cluster, was expected to be reached by a flock of monster birds in just five hours!

"Five hours? That's enough!"

Upon receiving this latest intelligence, Li Qingsong began deploying his forces once more.

At present, No. 1 Copper Mine Base had only five hundred fully armed clones. Facing more than ten thousand monster birds coming from that direction, it was clearly not enough.

There were plenty of clones at the Main Base, but only five thousand complete sets of equipment.

Li Qingsong directly dispatched three thousand clones. They boarded trains with food, oxygen, drinking water, and other supplies, heading straight for No. 1 Copper Mine Base.

At the same time, with the initial emergency production complete and finally having a little spare capacity, Li Qingsong specially selected half of the remaining Armed Clones at the Main Base—one thousand clones—and had them pair off and fight on the desolate, lifeless ground of Luoshen Star.

This was not real combat, of course, but merely training. The moment a clone's life was genuinely threatened, it would immediately stop.

Among the five hundred pairs of fighting clones, Li Qingsong tested all kinds of combat and defensive methods: the attackers' chops, slashes, and thrusts; the defenders' blocks, shield raises, and transitions between different movements; and much more.

Thus, a vast amount of fighting technique was rapidly generated and gathered in Li Qingsong's mind, then instantly extended to every clone through his control.

At the same time, Li Qingsong mobilized the remaining thousand clones, dividing them into two teams of five hundred and beginning group combat exercises.

He likewise began testing all kinds of tactics during the process, such as having one team focus solely on defense while the other focused solely on offense.