Chapter 14

Taking advantage of the darkness and chaos, Da Fei rushed into the corridor that seemed to be a dormitory and entered the next cabin. Then he quietly squatted by the wall next to the door, not even daring to breathe heavily.

At this moment, the boss should be back in position, right? Da Fei secretly peeked back, and indeed, the boss's silhouette was blocking the corridor exit again. At the same time, the reconnaissance skill did not trigger an alarm, meaning it could not detect anything behind it.

Da Fei let out a sigh of relief. Now it was time to search this cargo hold, hoping to find something useful.

Da Fei carefully began his search, staying close to the wall. This cabin did not have a rotten smell; instead, there was a faint smell of engine oil.

— System Notice: You have discovered a damaged ballista. (Large item, cannot be carried)

Da Fei was taken aback! A ballista? The famous war machine ballista?

Da Fei carefully examined it, and yes! This was indeed a damaged ballista! The ballista known as the "boss killer"!

— System Notice: You have discovered ballista ammunition. (Large cargo, cannot be carried)

— System Notice: You have discovered mechanical repair tools.

— System Notice: You have discovered a fishing rod.

There was ammunition! There were repair tools! Could this ballista be usable? Of course, how could an exploration ship set sail without armaments? With strong winds and long distances at sea, bows and arrows are not very effective; ballistas are the main weapons! This must be the ship's gun deck! The game's ships are designed to be historically accurate, just like in movies where sailboats line up and open their gun ports to bombard each other, comparing who has more guns and who can take more hits!

If that's the case, there might be more than one ballista in this gun deck! Da Fei continued his search in the dark and indeed found 16 more ballistas, 8 on each side, all with ammunition, but none in good condition, all severely damaged!

The entire gun deck seemed to have no enemies. At the end of the gun deck was a tightly locked iron door, with no way to proceed. According to the usual game conventions, the only way to break the deadlock when there's no way to proceed is to kill the boss.

Bro got it!

As an experienced player, what is the purpose of such a scene in the newbie village? Of course, it's to teach new players about war machines and give them a ballista! In such an empty newbie village, the reconnaissance skill appeared in a unique way, and the ballista should be no different!

If a player with a normal start chose the war machine skill, they would probably be in the city's machine workshop, taking on tasks or working as an apprentice to earn money to buy a discounted ballista. The only difference here from the city's workshop is that there is no mentor, and one must learn on their own!

The old rule is to find the war machine skill book, which must be hidden somewhere in the cabin!

With the skill book in hand, one can repair these ballistas. The ballista has powerful effects with built-in knockback and piercing abilities, making it possible to defeat the powerful zombie at the door.

Of course, even if it's not for killing the zombie boss, for Da Fei, who is determined to go out to sea for trade, war machines are essential combat skills. When reconnaissance and navigation skills are not enough to deal with pirates, the ballista is the last line of defense. And when encountering sea monsters, a powerful self-defense weapon like the ballista is necessary.

Here, let me introduce the skill of war machines.

— War Machines: Increases the durability and effectiveness of ballistas, siege engines, and medical tents. Can also repair damaged war machines.

The sub-skills of war machines are usually Ballista Master, Siege Master, Tent Master, Battle Repair, and Explosive Ammunition. War machines cover three types of machines, and the sub-skills that can be combined with other skills are numerous and varied, such as Triple Ballista, Burning Ballista, Enchanted Ballista, Sulfur Rain, Plague Tent, Plague Siege Engine, and Machine Destruction. To fully master this system requires a significant number of skill points.

War machines are not affected by the hero's attack and defense attributes or other combat skills, and each player can only carry one of each type of machine, so there's no need to spend too many skill points on a single machine. Generally, players choose to specialize in Ballista Master or Tent Master. As for Siege Master, that's too much to think about, as sieges are not something current players should consider.

Now, let's talk about the ballista.

— Ballista: Attack 5, Defense 5, Health 100, Base Damage 1-2, Attack Speed 5, Movement Speed 1, Special Skills: Knockback, Piercing.

— Knockback: Enemies hit by the ballista have a certain chance of being knocked back.

— Piercing: After the ballista kills one enemy, the remaining momentum will hit the enemy behind.

These are the ballista's base attributes. Each level of the war machine skill increases the ballista's attack and defense by 5 points, base damage by 1 point, and health by 100 points.

Although the ballista's attack and defense are not affected by the hero's attributes, the ballista's damage is related to the hero's attribute points. Unlike normal units, the ballista's damage = ballista base damage × hero's strategic attribute total value!

For example, Da Fei, who is now level 6, has 5 attack, 0 defense, 0 magic, and 0 knowledge, making his total strategic attribute value 5. The ballista's damage is 5-10, reaching the damage level of a level 4 unit. This formula means the stronger the hero, the better they can use the ballista.

So, even if the hero is not primarily focused on combat skills, as long as their level is high, they can still effectively use the ballista. Therefore, even if Da Fei wants to be a merchant, learning the ballista is not a waste.

If one reaches Master level in war machines, the ballista's attributes will be: Attack 30, Defense 30, Health 600, Base Damage 6-7. With a total attribute value of 5, Da Fei's ballista damage would be 30-35, approaching the damage level of a level 7 unit! If one learns the sub-skill Ballista Master, the ballista can fire two shots in quick succession, doubling the damage!

In other words, starting with the ballista is like carrying a level 7 unit with you. It doesn't occupy the hero's tactical slot, adding an extra unit. For new players in the early stages, this is a powerful ranged firepower, allowing them to challenge stronger wild monsters, especially those that normal players wouldn't dare to touch.

During the beta test, players who started with the ballista or medical tent were collectively known as the "mechanical flow" start, with obvious advantages.

If a player reaches level 30, the total strategic attribute points gained from leveling up alone would be 50, making the ballista's final damage 300-350, far surpassing any conventional unit, with a damage level that is mind-blowingly high! One shot can easily kill a level 7 unit, and ordinary small units would be pierced through by one shot. At sea, being hit by a ballista would severely test the quality of the ship!

In short, the ballista, known as the "boss killer," is a boss-like existence! Of course, players can only carry one.

Speaking of which, let's talk about the ballista's drawbacks.

Although the ballista is a boss-like existence, it is large and difficult to aim, with a low hit rate against moving enemies and a slow firing speed. Once the enemy gets close and flanks the ballista, it's helpless, especially against flying units.

During the beta test, the ballista's role on the battlefield was to act as a 600 health sandbag, attracting the first round of bombardment from the enemy's magic units. In the later stages, the ballista's presence became less significant.

The biggest drawback is that the ballista's movement speed is only 1, meaning it can only move 1 meter per second, making it as slow as a turtle. Even with Master-level logistics, it doesn't get much faster. It can only travel on major roads, not minor ones! Of course, the solution is to disassemble the ballista into parts and pack it, but before a battle, it takes a long time to reassemble. If the enemy discovers and charges during the reassembly process, it's as if the skill was never learned.

Furthermore, repairing the ballista requires carrying spare parts, which is expensive.

Finally, players with a ballista can only win battles, not lose them. Once they lose... well, they no longer have to worry about the slow movement issue.

In short, the ballista can provide players with significant combat support in the early stages, making them feel incredibly powerful, but it can also lead to a crushing defeat. How to use it depends on the player's development strategy.

For Da Fei, these drawbacks do not apply. Because naval battles and land battles are completely different concepts.

A ship is a mobile fortress. As long as he can get this ship, the ballista will fire from the gun deck. The enemy would have to destroy the gun deck to take out the ballista, and the outer hull of the gun deck is the thickest armor on the ship. So there's no need to worry about the ballista being destroyed at the start.

The movement issue is not a problem either, as the ballista moves with the ship.

The accuracy issue is even less of a problem. The target in naval battles is pirate ships, and even if one's eyesight is poor, there's no need to worry about missing the target, right?

In fact, historically, various super-cannons were equipped on ships. Ships are the true home of the ballista, so Da Fei is determined to learn this skill!

...

After half a day of searching, Da Fei finally found a book in a box. Found it! Upon closer inspection, it was not a golden skill book but a "Ballista Maintenance and Repair Technician's Manual"!

— "Ballista Maintenance and Repair Technician's Manual": Auxiliary item. Equipping this item grants the skill to disassemble and reassemble ballistas.

Ha! It's an equipment item similar to a black magic book! That's how it works!

In the game, players have several auxiliary item slots in addition to the traditional weapon, armor, ring, and accessory slots. Various items that boost skills, morale, and luck are equipped in these slots.

Although he didn't find the war machine skill book, the effect of this equipment book was even better, as it didn't require skill points to learn; it took effect as soon as it was equipped! If he had found the skill book, he wouldn't have enough skill points and would just be staring at it.

It seems that the purpose of this scene is exactly as Da Fei expected: to have him disassemble all the damaged ballistas and use the good parts to reassemble a new ballista! This is indeed a gift of a ballista! What is the ballista for? Of course, to blast the zombie boss at the door! It's blocking the door with its back to him, just waiting for Da Fei to take it down! Even without the support of the war machine skill, the ballista's 100 health is not a joke!

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