Heaven Dou City, Royal Hunting Ground.
The Royal Hunting Ground lay fifty kilometers southwest of Heaven Dou City. Its terrain was varied and its area vast. It was a place for members of the Imperial Family to hunt and train.
Under normal circumstances, no Commoners were permitted to approach it. Ten thousand soldiers of the Royal Knights were responsible for patrolling and guarding it.
The Royal Knights could also be considered the strongest force under the control of the Heaven Dou Empire's Imperial Family.
Today, however, the over-twenty-meter-tall eastern gate of the Royal Hunting Ground stood wide open for the first time in a long while. More than a hundred carriages formed a long procession, their iron-rimmed wheels creaking across the sturdy wooden drawbridge in a lively clamor.
After three months, the first batch of one thousand Godly Zhuge Crossbows that the Tang Sect had built for the Heaven Dou Empire's Secret Troops had been completed. Their final test-firing had also been finished, and they were delivered to the Royal Hunting Ground.
Besides the Godly Zhuge Crossbows, the carriages also carried rhinoceros-hide armor tailored specifically for the Secret Troops. This rhinoceros-hide armor was even more valuable than metal armor. Not only was it tough and highly protective, but it was also lightweight and did not hinder movement.
This leather armor had been custom-made according to each member of the Secret Troops' physical measurements. It could only be crafted piece by piece by groups of several artisans, so production simply could not be sped up.
Otherwise, given the proficiency of the Strength Clan's Blacksmith Shop, forging one thousand Godly Zhuge Crossbows and their matching bolts would never have taken three months.
After the carriages entered the Royal Hunting Ground, they were guided by Royal Knights soldiers to a drill ground packed