Chapter 590

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Protagonist:

Chen Yi

The real combat footage was only obtained two weeks later; it was the final memento of a brave war correspondent, or rather, a photographer driven to desperation. The battlefield search team formed by the Wuguan Inspection Team found it in the grass; the camera lens had already been submerged in water and required a certain degree of repair.

Chen Yi waited another two days, and after confirming that the Martial Arts Hall had recovered all forward bases and remaining weapons, he set off on the return journey to Jiangning, making a brief stop at the Holy Qiao Kingdom along the way and obtaining two "Aging" Scrolls.

Chen Yi reciprocated the kindness, giving away two full containers of yellow- or green-series Scroll Paper for free. The Timothy Great Mage smiled like a benevolent Santa Claus, thanking Chen Yi repeatedly for his proposed idea — without a doubt, using someone else's Red Robe Mage to do this sort of thing, he felt not a shred of psychological pressure.

Thinking about it, it made sense; whether through coercion or inducement, he got what he wanted, while the other minor principalities lost at least one Red Robe Mage each.

From the perspective of the Holy Qiao Kingdom, even without any benefit, they were willing to do this.

Rather than spending all day anxiously monitoring the political leanings of the various minor states, it was better to directly wipe out their armed forces.

A country without a large number of Mages, even if the entire populace were soldiers, would only amount to the level of a Barbarian Army — what could they possibly do?

"You wait another two months, and I'll definitely get you five or more Aging Scrolls," Mage Timothy swore solemnly.

These were precisely the "Aging" Scrolls invented by the Legendary Mages; if swapped for other high-level Scrolls, Level 9 would be unattainable, and Level 10 existed almost only in legend — even Level 10 Scroll paper, there weren't more than a few sheets left on the entire Continent.

Level 12 Scrolls, by conventional thinking, even if they were area-of-effect Magic, would be sufficient to wipe out a country, including the Knights and Mages within it. Yet, to deal with Dragons, the Legendary Mages actually produced Level 12 weakening Scrolls...

Chen Yi recalled the footage and always felt that although that Dragon was powerful, it wasn't worth two or three Scrolls' worth of consecutive weakening.

Logically speaking, an evil dragon that required two or even three "Aging" Scrolls to weaken ought to be a hundred times more powerful than the current Chen Yi.

Chen Yi kept this thought to himself and did not show it.

Just as the Russians were willing to pay any price to secure a sea outlet, Chen Yi was likewise unwilling to give up the West Continent; given the current situation, the time when he would face a Dragon directly would not be too far off.

The next day.

The combat footage was sent to Xijing for a small-scale viewing and study.

Afterwards, many people including Chen Yi were invited to a conference room inside Hai Zi to watch and study it again.

The room held no fewer than fifty generals wearing gold stars; among them, the youngest was already over fifty, 2.5 times Chen Yi's age, and the committee members in the front rows were even older — if not for the environment and attire, this conference room would practically be a senior activity center.

Chen Yi, having watched the combat footage more than ten times, let his mind wander; the generals, however, watched very seriously. From their perspective, they themselves were the country's last line of defense; if they could not resist the "evil-doing" Dragon, the country would be finished.

To a certain extent, a sense of mission makes one confident and progressive, but most senses of mission are false. Like officials who believe social order relies on the power bestowed by their superiors, ignorant merchants who think banknotes come from their own cleverness and connections and investments, founding heroes who believe national unification and war victory are the greatest contributions they made to humanity...

Nothing is independent.

Even Chen Yi needs his family's support, the country's power, and his personal faction to accomplish things.

The generals' methods were no more numerous than Leonid's, which is why their brows were furrowed so deeply.

"Play it again."

The Army old man narrowed his eyes; his cloudy eyeballs didn't move a muscle, like a wax museum sculpture.

The conference room staff hurriedly complied.

Presently, S-300V surface-to-air missiles once again danced through the air.

The footage shook violently, but the clarity was decent, especially the first three minutes, during which the Dragon's massive body and combat posture could be clearly distinguished.

While Leonid was alive, the missile battalion conducted two launches: one was a four-round salvo, the other an eight-tube ripple fire; in total, one missile hit the dragon's body, and one exploded at close range.

From the perspective of a Divine Art Knight, that hit missile was eight or nine times out of ten the Dragon's own test, or disdain for the power of this "cylindrical spear."

Logically, the missile's launch speed was already fast enough, and even its kinetic energy alone was not something a flesh-and-blood body could withstand, yet looking at the Dragon baring its teeth, it was either grimacing in pain or laughing.

It should be pain from the explosion, right?

Chen Yi thought: the S-300V warhead weighs a full 150 kilograms, with nearly two thousand pre-formed fragments; an explosion within five meters would inevitably scatter directionally; judging by tests on small lizard bodies, it should at least knock off a layer of scales.

"Hard to hit." Still the same old man from just now; this time a roasted cigarette was already clamped in his mouth.

"The Russians used anti-aircraft missiles; why not try high-power ones? How about the YJ-83?" The naval commander in a dark blue double-breasted uniform was precisely referring to an anti-ship missile.

"Send a Type 052C over there?"

"Over there, you could only use inertial guidance plus active radar; the speed is just a bit lacking."

"Once in combat state, speed can reach 1.5 Mach; that should be enough, right?"

Actually it's quite a bit slower; 1.5 Mach is roughly four to five hundred meters per second, while the anti-air S-300V missile has a max speed of 1700 meters per second.

The latter failed to hit the target; the former is even more out of the question.

The two generals discussed back and forth for a while and concluded: "We'll send eight destroyers over there for close-range saturation attack."

"If that fails, eight destroyers are a total write-off." The Air Force general laughed and said.

The naval commander immediately retorted: "Then send your planes over there for close-range firing; I think that would be easier to hit, and the Russians have even repaired the airfield."

At this point, Committee Member Liu suddenly interjected: "The Moscow side says the West River City-State and Chen Family Martial Arts Hall forcibly occupied their military base; it appears this is indeed the case?"

He concealed his hatred and the trap very well.

Ever since his Human Development Research Society resume from his youth fell into Chen Zhongguo's hands, almost any bad thing the Research Society did could be pinned on Committee Member Liu, and the other committee members deliberately distanced themselves, making the situation increasingly dire.

If asked who he hated most this year, it should be Chen Yi.

As for before, there were naturally others.

Chen Yi couldn't argue with Committee Member Liu in front of so many people; in this sort of occasion, there was no reasoning, only impropriety. He therefore replied lightly: "Under the Russians' strong demand, I actively cooperated with the Mixed Brigade to build military facilities. However, as everyone can see, the Mixed Brigade was wiped out; to guarantee the effective operation of the military base, especially the existence of its defense, we temporarily used them."

"Temporarily used? Then what next? Return them or continue occupying?"

The generals, quite sensitive to this, immediately turned their heads to look at Chen Yi.

The latter shrugged and countered: "What do you want me to do?"

Chen Zhongguo's mouth twitched, barely suppressing a laugh. He thought: my family's grandson is indeed clever; those who can see through an old fox's trap are all formidable hunters.

Committee Member Liu also paused for a moment; he couldn't very well demand Chen Yi return the base to Moscow, so he hmphed twice and said: "In any case, don't cause international disputes; you must prioritize the domestic, prioritize Earth."

Prioritizing Earth means the West Continent is secondary; Chen Yi raised an eyebrow and did not pursue the matter further.

Committee Member Liu's eyebrows and beard both furrowed; how many years had it been since no one dared to put on airs in front of him?

"Cough cough, then let's watch the video again to see if there are any oversights. If there are any questions, ask them now." Committee Member Zhou had organized this meeting; they had to reach a conclusion.

On the large screen before them, the scene of the tiger rampaging in the sheep pen played again—or it might be more apt to describe it as children teasing earthworms.

The missile launch vehicles, helicopters, and the cargo ship version of helicopter carriers transporting them were hit one after another; the convoy traveling on the dirt roads of the West Continent was battered to pieces, and the soldiers scattering in flight could only hope for the giant dragon's mercy.

From the footage, mercy, this kind of faith, probably did not exist in the giant dragon's world.

Apart from a few lucky ones, at least over 1,600 people remained there; among the survivors, more than half were soldiers who had not advanced with the troops.

As soon as the video ended, Wei Shiyuan from the Army asked: "What was that fire just now?"

"The giant dragon's breath," Chen Yi, who had already watched the video, explained.

"What is breath?"

"Just understand it as a large flame thrower." Chen Yi paused, then continued: "Based on the damage to the armored vehicles and cargo ships on the screen, we judge the breath's maximum temperature exceeds 6000, which is the temperature of the sun's surface. The range and distance, as you all see, 300 meters is certain, covering over 500 square meters. The relatively good news is that its breath frequency is low, and moreover, during the breath process, its flight speed drops greatly. Later hits were almost all in the breath state."

The so-called good news was not uplifting; the general who had first smelled smoke said at this moment: "If conventional missiles cannot take effect, then our remaining choices are not many. Since it is on the Other Continent, I feel we can consider unconventional weapons; after all, if we lose the ground, no matter how good a place is, it is useless."

The implication of this person's words was nuclear weapons.

Chen Yi's gaze narrowed, still saying nothing.

No matter how powerful a weapon is, it must be transported through the channel; in the subway, destroying something is extremely easy.

The usage of unconventional weapons immediately sparked intense discussion; someone formulated an implementation plan: "First, an evacuation plan must be made, then troops must be prepared to hold the position; additionally, local native residents can be mobilized to form an armed force among the residents. The launch distance and location must be chosen well; isn't it said that the Red Cross Society attacks rockets? We can modify the satellites above to directly attract it at high altitude, then detonate it; if we are lucky, the pollution will be extremely low."

Chen Yi raised his eyebrows and quietly left the conference hall.

Several Standing Committee Members and the general before him noticed it, but no one spoke, as if his coming and going was truly free and easy. (Unfinished. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian. com) to cast recommendation tickets and monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation.)