Bai Yuan was genuinely shaken.
When San Shier had first arrived at Gao Family Village, Bai Yuan had dismissed all talk of Dao Xuan Tianzun as nothing more than cult nonsense—no different from the Unborn Mother, the Eternal Mother, or any other recycled heresy that sprouted whenever the world went hungry.
But now…
He was starting to believe.
In truth, no one in antiquity was a true atheist.
A single miracle—even a small one—was more than enough to crack centuries of skepticism.
Nearby, Gao Chuwu, Zheng Daniu, and several others clustered around the catapult, buzzing with excitement as they stared at the throwing arm, which now stood stiffly upright like a frozen crane.
Gao Chuwu scratched his head, utterly sincere.
"This thing… after throwing once, the big scoop just stays up there. Looks kind of useless now, doesn't it?"
Li Da, the only official artisan in the village and the man with the most experience dealing with actual mechanisms, immediately spotted the problem.
"It needs to be pressed back down," he said, pointing. "And locked into this mechanism again before it can be used a second time."
"How do we pull it down?" someone asked.
Li Da glanced at Gao Chuwu.
"Isn't that obvious? Chuwu, you climb trees like a monkey. Go up first. Tie the Divine Rope around the scoop. Then we all pull together."
"Good idea!"
Gao Chuwu didn't hesitate. He scampered up the throwing arm with practiced ease.
The arm, when fully upright, stood more than two zhang tall—but to Gao Chuwu, it was just another tree. He quickly tied the leftover Divine Rope—originally used during city gate construction—around the scoop's neck, then slid back down.
Several villagers grabbed the rope.
"Heave—ho!"
"Heave—ho!"
"One! Two! Three!"
They pulled together, muscles bulging, feet digging into the dirt. Slowly—agonizingly—the massive arm came down.
Li Da and Gao Yiyi, the two blacksmiths, stepped forward in perfect coordination and slammed their hammers down.
CLANG!
The mechanism locked.
For half a breath, there was silence.
Then—
"We did it!"
"We know how to use the immortal weapons now!"
The villagers cheered wildly.
Bai Yuan finally snapped out of his daze.
He no longer cursed anything as a "cult," either aloud or in his heart.
Waving his hand sharply, he barked orders like a man reborn.
"More people! Everyone, push this catapult to the open ground behind the city gate. Aim it outward. When the bandits arrive, we'll smash them to death with stones!"
"Alright!"
A large group rushed forward.
Li Daoxuan, watching from above, briefly worried they wouldn't be able to move it. Then he saw the villagers calmly fetch tree branches as thick as a child's arm, lay them neatly on the ground, and roll the catapult atop them.
Rollers.
Heavy-labor wisdom.
They pushed it forward with ease.
Li Daoxuan nodded to himself.
These people may be illiterate, but when it comes to moving heavy things, they're professionals.
As Bai Yuan watched the catapult being positioned, a thought crept into his mind.
One is good…
But one doesn't feel like enough.
No sooner had the thought formed—
Gao Yiye's voice rang out clearly:
"The Heavenly Lord says that since everyone has learned how to use them, he will bestow a few more! Those behind the city wall, make way!"
Bai Yuan startled and spun around.
The villagers scattered in all directions.
Then—
Another catapult descended from the sky.
Perfectly aligned.
Dust billowed as it landed.
Then another.
And another.
And another.
In the blink of an eye, twenty catapults stood in a neat row behind the city wall.
Green.
Blue.
Gray.
Red.
Gaudy. Outlandish. Completely unapologetic.
Bai Yuan stared.
"...!!!"
This spectacle was so absurd it shattered his sense of reality.
At once, everything clicked.
The enormous city wall.
The strange materials.
The irreverent colors.
Of course.
They were all immortal constructions.
At that moment, the villagers once again dropped to their knees out of habit.
"We humbly thank Dao Xuan Tianzun!"
Even Bai Yuan's tenants knelt.
Then his guards.
Their knees trembled, surrendering to gravity and faith alike.
San Shier tugged Bai Yuan's sleeve.
"Master Bai, there are twenty more now. They need operators. You'll need to rearrange things."
Bai Yuan jolted awake, forcibly stuffing the floating exclamation marks back into his mind.
He shouted immediately, authority restored.
"You two blacksmiths! During the battle, stay behind the wall. Guard the catapults. When I give the order, smash the mechanisms with your hammers!"
Li Da and Gao Yiyi answered in unison.
Bai Yuan considered for a moment, then pointed toward a group of elders and women.
"The rest of you—join the blacksmiths. You'll reload the scoops."
The group hesitated. They were old. Weak. Women.
Bai Yuan pointed at the Divine Rope.
"You don't need individual strength. Pull together. Once it's down, load smaller stones. That's enough."
They tried.
It worked.
Li Da and Gao Yiyi glanced at the frontline, then stripped off their crude Two-Plate Armor.
"Chuwu! Daniu!" they shouted. "These are for you!"
The two young men grinned and put the armor on without ceremony.
Tall. Strong. Armored.
They now looked like proper warriors.
Bai Yuan watched quietly, unease flickering.
Concealing iron armor was a capital crime.
But then again…
What crime had the bandits committed?
None, according to the Governor—things would settle themselves by next spring.
If the Governor learned of this armor, he'd probably say the same.
Time passed.
The sun dipped lower, wobbling drunkenly across the sky.
In the modern world, Li Daoxuan's takeout arrived.
Shredded pork with garlic sauce over rice.
A complimentary 300ml mini Coke.
He ate happily, alternating bites and sips.
Then—
Noise erupted inside the box.
Li Daoxuan glanced down.
"Oh," he said mildly.
"The main bandit force has arrived."