The vampire, upon receiving the order, did not hesitate. He pulled the sharp-eared ring on the alchemical bomb and tossed it from a height of over one hundred blades.
Before everyone's eyes, that black dot plummeted rapidly, and then…
Boom~
A flash of fire erupted. Thick smoke rose from the grassland, while dirt and shredded grass sprayed dozens of blades into the air.
The explosion thundered like lightning cracking overhead. Even at a distance of more than one hundred blades, everyone could feel their ears ringing with a buzz.
The ground shook violently. One goblin, startled, gave a shudder and fell flat on the ground, face-first into the grass.
A shockwave burst forth from the explosion's epicenter.
Boom~
Szzzz~
A gale roared outward. The grasslands nearby bent wildly like autumn wheat caught in a storm.
Li De, well prepared, raised his Dragonscale Shield and wasn't affected by the shockwave.
The goblins around him, however, were not so fortunate. They grimaced and bared their teeth, clearly battered by the stone-laced shockwave.
"Hahaha!"
Li De looked at the thick smoke rising from the center of the explosion and could no longer contain his delight, he burst into loud laughter.
"Good! Well done!"
As the smoke began to clear, Li De immediately led the others forward.
Arriving at the blast site, they saw a massive bowl-shaped crater, seven to eight blades wide and at least three blades deep.
The surrounding soil had been blasted outward, and smoldering grass roots were hissing with thick smoke.
The mingling scent of mud, grass, and gunpowder gave the air a pungent, acrid odor.
"Not bad, very good," Li De said with great satisfaction at the sight. The alchemical bomb that the goblins had rushed to complete had not lost any of its destructive power.
It had fully met his expectations.
Turning to the dragonfire scarred goblin Patriarch beside him, he couldn't wait to ask,
"Mohr, can alchemical bombs now be mass-produced?"
A bitter smile appeared on Mohr's face.
"Majestic, to mass-produce alchemical bombs we need a stable production environment. Our current facilities are too small, at present, we can produce at most 100 alchemical bombs per day."
One hundred?
Li De nodded. Although the number was far below what he had envisioned, it was still barely enough for the current stage.
After all, his air force was far from fully formed, it was still in the preparation phase.
As he pondered, Li De suddenly realized he had overlooked a critical issue. "Mohr, what is the cost of a Tier 1 alchemical bomb?"
He had been so eager to see the finished product that he'd forgotten to ask about this vital point.
For products to be mass-produced, cost was absolutely essential. If it was too expensive, then the usefulness of alchemical bombs might not be as high as he had imagined.
Hearing the question, Mohr looked slightly embarrassed.
"Majestic, because alchemical bombs require high energy-density magic crystals, the cost is a bit high.
A Tier 1 alchemical bomb costs 25 Gold Pucks."
Twenty-five Gold Pucks?
Li De raised an eyebrow. That was indeed higher than he had expected.
But after glancing at the massive crater again, he felt reassured.
For a price like that to produce a bomb capable of exceeding Tier 2 spell damage, and even somewhat comparable to Tier 3 spells, it was entirely worth it.
Still, this meant he'd need to focus more on making money in the future.
"Why does it feel like the more money I earn, the less I seem to have?" Li De couldn't help but feel a little helpless.
Just half a month ago, he had struck a huge deal with the centaur tribe, earning 13,000 hides of Barren Plains Rhino, a massive profit.
Each hide could produce at least five magic scrolls. Thirteen thousand hides meant 65,000 scrolls.
Setting aside costs, the profit per scroll ranged from 6 to 9 Gold Pucks, depending on retail or wholesale.
Even assuming an average of 7 Gold Pucks, once the Crimson Mage Tower completed production, the profit would be no less than 450,000 Gold Pucks.
Of course, it might take the Crimson Mage Tower one or two months to fully process this batch of magic materials.
In comparison, producing alchemical bombs at 25 Gold Pucks each meant this profit could only cover fewer than 20,000 bombs. That didn't seem like as much profit as he'd imagined.
Although his ability to generate income had increased significantly recently, Li De felt like he was surrounded by endless money pits.
As his holdings expanded, so did his income, but the monthly expenses were skyrocketing.
Magic material consumption from the Dawn Mage Tower, construction costs for Dawn City, salaries for the army and City Hall employees, monthly logistical support for the Lionmane Tribe, daily expenses for the Crimson Mage Tower, construction of the ancient alchemical magic array...
After thinking it through for a moment, Li De couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. Thankfully, the Magic Factory was a financial juggernaut. Otherwise, trying to sustain all these gold-devouring beasts would be nearly impossible.
For a faction to develop in a healthy way, it could only rely on economic strength.
Seeing Li De furrow his brow, Mohr nervously spoke up.
"Majestic, if we begin mass production, we might be able to reduce the cost a little. Eventually, perhaps 24, or even 23 Gold Pucks per bomb could be enough."
Li De waved his hand.
"No need to worry. Just focus on restoring mass production capability as soon as possible. I'll handle everything else."
The power of the alchemical bomb was over ten times greater than that of a Tier 1 magic scroll of the same level, so although the cost was high, it was still acceptable.
Hearing Li De's calm response, Mohr let out a huge sigh of relief. The cost of alchemical bombs had indeed always been a major factor limiting their widespread adoption.
And not just alchemical bombs, everything related to alchemy was extremely expensive, which was precisely why alchemy had been in decline.
Those without money couldn't afford to study it, and the wealthy nobles chose instead to learn magic, which wasn't any weaker and brought higher social status. Who would still study the practically invisible art of alchemy?
Besides, it was unstable. Researching alchemical bombs was no less dangerous than improving magic, it could send you straight to the afterlife at any moment.
So although this high-risk profession produced items with impressive power, few gave it much value. The cost-performance ratio was simply too low.