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M?c Lam (Mò Lín) of the M?c Clan (Mò Jiā): Specialized in defensive structures, upholding the tenet of "Jian Ai Fei Gong" – Universal Love and Rejection of Aggressive War. They believed in loving everyone equally, without distinguishing between kin or stranger, rich or poor, or nationality, only accepting war for self-defense. They were renowned for their unparalleled Organism Art (Mechanism Technique).
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???ng Ng?c H?i (Táng Yù Huí) of the ???ng Clan (Táng Jiā): Specialized in constructing underground tunnels, bunkers, and various forms of hidden weapons (ám khí).
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C?ng Du Ban (Gōng Yóu Bān) of the C?ng Clan (Gōng Jiā): Specialized in construction using wood and various other materials.
The King favored M?c Lam the most and kept them in the new capital, as the King appreciated the M?c Clan's philosophy of fairness and universal love. He encouraged the M?c Clan to develop and build many schools to spread this ideology, inviting talented and ethical people without distinguished backgrounds to participate, in order to build a new workforce to aid the nation later. Thanks to this, the M?c Clan flourished in cities large and small, becoming a crucial power in the entire dynasty.
The ???ng Clan was sent back to the old capital, entrusted to Phong Tr?n to re-establish the Underground City, making it an impregnable fortress. The old capital's previous failure was due to the enemy attacking through the underground city, rising from the earth to launch their assault, which led to the new capital's fall.
The C?ng Clan moved to the West, joining the Doanh Th??ng Army to help with military construction against the Western Wolf Kingdom. They were highly regarded by the Doanh Clan. They built many factories focused purely on production. Unlike the M?c Clan (which was limited by its philosophical and political depth, focusing only on defense), the C?ng Clan concentrated solely on production; they would manufacture anything requested.
Despite being highly favored, the M?c Clan did not rejoice, as they viewed all people, king and commoner alike, as equal. They continued their work diligently and industriously. Disciples of the M?c Clan poured into the new capital from all over, participating in the construction of a magnificent city, utilizing various construction tools, especially Humanoid Organisms (Mechs) capable of hauling or carrying heavy loads. They only needed to be fitted with energy stones or have their clockwork mechanisms wound to store energy. These Organisms were prioritized for use in dangerous areas to minimize risks to human life.
The research and development of the Humanoid Organisms made them increasingly useful and their cost progressively cheaper. They were involved in almost every sector of the city, from hauling heavy objects, mining, repairing houses, building roads, and improving the citizens' living conditions. However, they were limited—they could not perform tasks requiring high intricacy and precision, proving clumsy in small and light work.
Sponsored by the King, Humanoid Organisms were produced in large numbers; almost every craftsman had one, helping the city's construction consistently exceed the initial schedule.
Meanwhile, a new threat was forming on the Northern front. While the Jade Kingdom was in recovery, the Northern Barbarian Alliance, seeing the country had just lost its king and the capital was severely looted, seized the opportunity. They formed an alliance of 50 tribes and launched a combined attack from the North, pushing South, recapturing many large and small cities. The King of Jade immediately summoned his officials and generals to discuss strategies against the invaders, from direct confrontation to indirect tactics, and so on.
It was precisely at this critical moment that the Northern Garrison General secretly dispatched his Deputy Commander, Aeris, a master of the magical Golden Trident and capable of communicating with all things, leading 1,000 Flying Cavalry (on flying horses) straight to T?ng Ti?u Thành (Song Xiao City) to coordinate with the M?c Clan.
M?c Lam also volunteered their efforts to protect the stronghold, as this was their specialty. The King accepted and assigned the M?c Clan a city on the Northern Barbarians' line of advance. The M?c Clan immediately summoned over 1,000 people, including M?c Clan disciples and the M?c Clan Orthodox lineage, to T?ng Ti?u Thành. The city was strategically located on a 300-meter-high hill with a wall over 10 meters tall, making it exceptionally suitable for defense.
The M?c Clan used all their available resources to build an army of 10,000 Humanoid Organism troops, armored and fortified on the city wall and in front of the gate, assisting the soldiers by providing cover and transporting weapons and tools.
The pinnacle of the Organism Art in defense was the invention of a weapon called the Chain Repeating Crossbow (Liên Chau Pháo N?). The crossbow could hold over 50 iron balls, ranging from ordinary ones to armor-piercing and even exploding iron balls (which had special fire-related inscriptions). It could fire 1 to 10 rounds at a time. The crossbow was compact, light, simple, and easy to use, so training time was extremely fast. Just a few days of familiarization were enough to learn how to use it. Its effective range was 100m-200m, comparable to regular crossbows. Although the individual damage was not high, the concentrated attack power was more than enough to defeat the enemy. Therefore, civilians, both male and female, participated in training, forming the Crossbow Militia (N? Dan Binh).
The M?c Clan also improved regular bows and crossbows so that archers could shoot faster and further, reaching 300m-400m. The arrows were also inscribed with special wind-related characters, helping them fly farther. Furthermore, the city's elevated position significantly increased the range of both the iron balls and arrows.
They also designed large stone-throwing siege engines, marking the ground with clear angles and firing power settings to train the operators, noting exactly what angle and force were needed to hit the marked numbers on the ground.
The Northern Barbarian army continually won, with civilians surrendering wherever they went. Their strategy was quite simple: send a Great Ancient Strongman (C? Nhan ??i L?c S?), over 5-10 meters tall, fully armored, and possessing incredible strength. He would walk to the city gate, ignoring the storm of arrows and impact of cannonballs, use his divine strength to tear the small city gate off, and carry it away. Within half a day, the city inhabitants would surrender. Each Northern Barbarian army squad had between 5 to 10 such Ancient Strongmen.
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Next, they would herd all the inhabitants of the small cities into the large cities. If these large cities opened their gates, they would quickly face famine due to too many mouths to feed. If they didn't let them in, the people from the small cities would starve or die from disease outside the walls, unburied, and spread epidemic. Either way, they would win, without the need for complex siege weapons.
But this time was different. At the gate of T?ng Ti?u Thành, the Great Ancient Strongman used all his might, yet the door did not budge. Two more men came to assist, but they also failed to move it. The entire small city waited silently for M?c Lam's command. All the armor-piercing iron balls and armor-piercing arrows were fired simultaneously, turning the three Ancient Strongmen into hedgehogs.
The Northern Barbarian armored troops, all 5m tall men, wielding large spears, threw them onto the city wall, piercing multiple people at once. Many spears stuck straight into the wall, which could be used as steps to climb up. They charged to assist the retreating Ancient Strongmen in the rain of arrows and bullets.
The civilians, trained as the Militia, participated in the defense. Seeing the terrifying power of the armored troops, they were terrified, retreated in panic, and abandoned their posts. This caused the morale of the defending soldiers to waver, and the number of arrows and bullets fired noticeably decreased.
M?c Lam saw his side losing ground and immediately asked M?c T? to prepare to transfer energy to him if he became exhausted. Then, he linked with the prepared Humanoid Organisms defending the city via an invisible and incredibly strong energy thread. Only those who had cultivated the Spirit Sight (Th?ng Linh nh?n) and achieved some success, such as X-Ray Vision (Th?u th? nhan th?), could see it. Cutting these threads also required a special ability called Penetrating Spirit Technique (Xuyên Th?u Linh Thu?t). This skill of controlling the Humanoid Organisms was collectively called Puppet Control (?i?u khi?n R?i); the greater the number, distance, and complexity, the more energy and soul power it consumed.
Suddenly, the city gate opened, and 2,000 Humanoid Organisms rushed out, carrying Crossbow Militia weapons. They ran out in neat lines, and the city gate immediately closed behind them. The Humanoid Organisms stood, sat, and lay down, continuously firing iron and exploding bullets into the Northern Barbarian's elite troops. Even their full armor could not withstand the barrage; the iron bullets embedded themselves deeply into the Humanoid Organisms.
The Armored Troops immediately charged, trying to exploit the city gate before it could fully close to breach the defenses. The leading Humanoid Organisms stopped firing, dropped their Crossbow Militia weapons, separated, and ran in different directions. As soon as the Humanoid Organisms were destroyed by the Armored Troops, they immediately exploded. The explosion force was not great, but strong enough to spray thousands of iron balls outwards, forcing the Armored Troops to stop and dare not advance further, shifting their focus back to the original target: the Ancient Strongmen.
They stumbled and ran, then took off their armor and kept running. At a distance of over 1,000 meters, a magical golden trident from Aeris flew out, its dazzling golden light tearing through the air, piercing one of them, killing him instantly. The trident immediately returned to Aeris's hand, only to be thrown again. All three Ancient Strongmen were killed.
Seeing this method was ineffective, the Northern Barbarian army grew furious. They quickly set up camp, cut down trees, and constructed siege weapons. Meanwhile, Aeris and his 1,000 Flying Cavalry had arrived at T?ng Ti?u Thành in time. Immediately after, the commanders were invited into the great hall of the Lord of T?ng City to meet the M?c Clan. Aeris quickly got straight to the point: "I am the Deputy Commander of the Northern Garrison General. I was sent here to hear the plan to resist the Northern Barbarians."
M?c Lam said: "Deputy Commander, the Northern Barbarian lands are filled with hardship and obstacles, so the people there are resilient and strong. We cannot fight them directly. Their combat method is lightning war: looting small cities, then forcing the inhabitants into large cities to create food scarcity and spread disease, thereby quickly taking the city."
"However, this fighting method has one drawback: such rapid movement prevents the logistics from keeping up with supplies, food, and supporting tools."
Aeris asked: "So, what is the solution?"
M?c Lam replied: "The solution is to repair the city gates, just as you saw: three Great Ancient Strongmen could do nothing. We have nearly 1,000 M?c T? (a term for M?c Clan disciples). I request that you transport them to the small cities to assist with construction."
Aeris said: "I have considered this, but where will the resources—wood, metal, and stone—come from?"
M?c Lam answered: "Sir, just destroying a few houses is enough resources for the repairs. However, we need your word to ensure the City Lords agree to assist, which will expedite the process. Furthermore, you need to contact those who can speak with animals and the forest spirits to ask them to relocate, preventing the enemy from hunting in the forests. Even the river gods, shrimp, and fish must go."
"If that is not possible, you can order hunters to go into the forests, kill everything, and bring it into the city. Harvest crops, grains, and wild fruits early. If they cannot be collected in time, burn everything. We must ensure not a single bit of food is left for the Northern Barbarians; sooner or later, they will have to retreat."
Aeris listened, pondered for a moment, and tried to find arguments against the plan, but M?c Lam responded quickly and persuasively. Aeris was completely convinced. He immediately returned to headquarters to report to the Northern Garrison General, and then went to the small cities, carrying the General's command token, compelling all small cities to follow the plan. The flying horses transported the M?c T? (M?c Clan disciples) to the small cities to reinforce and repair the city gates and walls.
Aeris used his ability to speak with animals and fish to find the dwelling places of the Druids, the protectors of the forest, and persuaded them to move. Some agreed, others stayed and hid deep in the forest, and still others formed an alliance with Aeris, ready to attack the Northern Barbarian army in support of the Jade Kingdom forces. Even the Forest God participated.
The Northern Barbarian army's invasions usually lasted for 3-5 years before they withdrew, but with the new defense method introduced by the M?c Clan, the Northern Barbarians stayed for less than one year. By winter, they all retreated, restoring peace to the Jade Kingdom. Despite this, they always observed in secret and launched surprise attacks on vulnerable or poorly defended strongholds. They remained the enemy of the Jade Kingdom for generations, always maintaining a state of war.
After the Northern Barbarians, the Southern Man Barbarians (Nam Man) caused trouble in all the old cities that once belonged to the Southern Man Great Kingdom, which the Jade Great Kingdom had conquered. The Southern Man people intended to take advantage of this opportunity to revolt, but the M?c Clan proposed a peaceful solution, bringing the country back to peace. They granted the Southern Man people certain privileges and benefits to their leadership class, extinguishing their will to rebel.
The M?c Clan's reputation grew increasingly large. Almost every city had a M?c Clan Academy, and the number of disciples reached hundreds of thousands, making them the most powerful and largest clan in the Jade Kingdom. The ???ng Clan and C?ng Clan grew envious and strived to invent equally remarkable products. The ???ng Clan created extremely safe underground tunnels with countless traps, while the C?ng Clan created automated mechanisms capable of carrying people, such as wooden horses, wooden oxen, and especially Wooden Birds that could carry two people, flying continuously for three days and nights.