Chapter 284: The Necromancers Ambition

The ear-splitting brakes of theRadiant Crystal Vehiclescreeched in the temporary camp, its wheels carving two deep ruts into the muddy ground.

Before the truck had fully stopped, Morinshoved the door open and jumped out of the still-swaying vehicle.

He stumbled slightly but quickly regained his footing and hurried toward the'Odin'train, which lay on the tracks like a steel behemoth taking a nap.

The camp was illuminated by the lights of theArmored Trainand numerous oil lamps; sappers and nervous soldiers ran back and forth everywhere.

The air was thick with the smell ofMagic Crystalprocessing, engine oil, and sweat, along with a faint, intermittent scent of rot wafting from the distant city ofParis.

ColonelLucaswas standing at the entrance of the command carriage smoking tobacco. SeeingMorinrun over, a different expression finally appeared on his tired face.

"You're here?"

Lucas'svoice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing, strongly reminiscent of the friendsMorinused to stay up late playing games with in high school.

"I'm here."

"The conversion is complete."

ColonelLucasstepped aside, revealing the passage behind him.

"We just need to wait for dawn, find a good time, and hit that giant tower and those piles of skeletons hard."

Morinfollowed him into the special carriage dedicated to housing the'Gungnir'. The Second Mode of the'Gungnir'was clearly displayed beforeMorin'seyes for the first time.

He examined the behemoth before him, pondering.

In terms of overall size, it didn't seem much different from before; the barrel was still that thick, long barrel, and the entire weapon system fit snugly inside this reinforced carriage.

However, everything else besides the barrel had undergone a complete transformation.

The mechanical structure behind the barrel, which had previously looked somewhat like the breech of a traditional artillery piece, had vanished entirely.

In its place was a huge, complexMagic DevicethatMorincouldn't understand at all.

The thing looked like a precision instrument stripped of its casing; several magical pipelines thicker than his arm were exposed, with faintly glowing liquid slowly flowing inside.

Numerous runes were etched onto the casing of the entire device, making it look like many of the designs were temporary solutions.

"This thing has changed too much,"Morinmuttered to himself.

His gaze fell upon the objects that severalMagitech Engineersnearby were carefully inspecting.

Those must be the "shells" for the Second Mode.

But this thing was completely different from theRadiant Crystal Reaction Shellof the First Mode, which at least looked like a shell.

It couldn't even be called a "shell."

It was a square, metallic-looking alloy block, appearing more like some kind of precisely machined industrial semi-finished product.

Morinstared at the block, question marks popping up in his mind one after another.

How could this thing possibly fly?

He wasn't a relevant expert, but even if he hadn't eaten pork, he had seen the pig run.

He still had a concept of basic aerodynamics; if this square object with absolutely no aerodynamic shape were launched, it would surely tumble into a mess in the air.

"The Colonel said before that this Second Mode had something to do with me…"

Morinturned his head to look atLucas, still pondering.

"But this… iron block, how does it relate to me at all?"

Morininitially speculated that the so-called Second Mode might be a high-velocity railgun firing solid armor-piercing shells.

After all, the accelerating rune coils inside the barrel sounded exactly like that.

But the problem was, what kind of armor-piercing shell looked like this?

Just asMorinwas completely puzzled, an extremely bold, even outlandish idea suddenly popped into his head.

Wait… if this thing really had some connection to him…

Could it be… that this alloy mass would be melted on the spot, and then the metal jet would be accelerated out?

As soon as the thought emerged, Morinhimself was startled.

Wasn't this too sci-fi… no, too magical.

He instinctively wanted to approach the core device, hoping his system could "reference" it to understand its principle.

"CaptainMorin, halt!"

A nearbyMagitech Technicianimmediately extended an arm to stop him, saying with a serious yet apologetic tone, "Apologies, no one is allowed near the core component area except for the designated chief technician."

Morinreluctantly stopped.

He knew this was the rule; for a device like this "super weapon," the security clearance definitely wouldn't be low.

"Stop looking."

ColonelLucaswalked over and patted his shoulder, wearing an expression that said, "There's nothing I can do."

"Even I don't know the exact principle of this thing. I asked those MasterMagesfrom the research institute, and they rattled off nonsense about 'mass-energy conversion' and 'directional energy projection.' I didn't understand a single word."

Morinshrugged helplessly in understanding.

ColonelLucasignoredMorin'sconfusion and pointed to the map spread out on a nearby makeshift field table, beginning to explain the upcoming action plan.

"The assault route has been chosen. We'll circle around using the city's western ring railway, then find an opening to enter the city from the northwest ofParis, following this railway line all the way to theBir-Hakeim Bridgeyou mentioned earlier."

His finger heavily tapped a bridge over theSeine Riveron the map.

"It's only about one kilometer from theEiffel Tower, the river surface is open and unobstructed—it's the best firing position."

"However…"

Lucaswithdrew his hand, his expression turning solemn again.

"All of this must preferably wait until dawn."

Morinnodded; he had no objections to this.

As they spoke, continuous gunfire and the faint, intermittent roars of undead creatures could still be heard coming from the direction of the easternParisurban area.

The troops of theSaxon First Army Grouphad retreated to the city outskirts, but the awakened undead clearly had no intention of stopping there.

They were like a black tide, having completely submerged the entire city and now attempting to expand outward, devouring all living things.

Fortunately, theFirst Army Group's Fortification Troopsand reserve units reacted quickly, having seized the time to construct relatively complete defensive positions on the city outskirts while the main forces were entering the city during the day.

TheSaxonsoldiers who had withdrawn from the urban area were currently relying on these positions, desperately blocking the tide of the undead inside the city with the support of rear artillery and airships.

Dragons of flame spewed forth from flamethrowers, lighting up sections of the defensive lines in the dark night and turning swathes of undead into charcoal.

However, none of this tragic spectacle seemed to draw the slightest attention from the mastermind behind it all.

Inside theEiffel Tower, theNecromancer Chardonnetwas completely immersed in his "artistic creation," unable to extricate himself.

Feeling the unprecedented, ocean-vast negative energy within him, an expression of obsession and rapture appeared on his face.

He had never imagined that wielding such immense power could feel so wonderful.

He even felt that throughout the entirety of magic history, noNecromancerhad ever reached the height he had achieved today, capable of creating such a vast and magnificent Undead Army.

This unprecedented sense of accomplishment causedChardonnet'sambition to grow wildly, like burning weeds.

Since theParis Catacombs, the sanctuary of death and bones he had coveted for so long, were completely under his control… his gaze inevitably turned toward the even greater marvel beneath his feet: theEiffel Tower.

He dared not imagine how terrifyingly his power would be amplified if he could fully control this mightyMage Tower.

Necromantic Domain!

That forbidden path, which only existed in legends and could completely transform an area into a Kingdom of the Dead, might no longer be an unattainable dream.

IfChardonnethad harbored even a slight thought of "defendingParis" before, that thought was now completely swallowed by his desire, which had swelled to its limit.

Chardonnet'sconsciousness wandered and probed within the magic network inside the tower.

He first focused his attention on the tower's core, the man who had merged with the entire structure—MasterEiffel.

He could feel MasterEiffel'spowerful spirit, which was as unbreakable as bedrock.

At the core of that spirit remained only one pure and stubborn thought: destroy allSaxonpeople and defendParisat all costs.

This tenacious will madeChardonnetfeel momentarily helpless about where to begin.

"Hmph, what a stubborn fellow…"

Chardonnetsnorted coldly and quickly abandoned the idea of directly corruptingEiffel.

But he was not discouraged, because he knew that the tower held another, far larger and yet more "fragile" treasure.

His attention quickly shifted to the countlessMagesouls that were also integrated into the tower, existing as energy nodes.

Since theEiffel Towerwas completed, it had become the final resting place for theMagesof theGallic Republic.

Over seventy percent of the members of theEye of the Loire Mage Corpschose to dedicate their souls to this wonder when their lives came to an end, becoming a part of its protection.

These countless souls were themselves an incredibly powerful force.

However, within the entireEye of the Loire Mage Corps, there was no other mage more skilled thanChardonnetat studying life, death, and souls.

And due to the forbidden nature of his research field, he himself had always been strictly restricted and monitored by theMage Corpshigh command.

After all, this wasParis, the capital ofGaul.

If it were any less important city, theMagesofGaulmight have turned a blind eye and allowed him to conduct some "academic research."

But now, everything was different… The arrival of war and theSaxoninvasion had shattered every restraint placed upon him.

A strange smile appeared onChardonnet'spale face. He whispered in the empty main control room with a voice almost like a sleepwalker's: "MasterEiffel… perhaps I can't do anything about your stubborn stone head…"

"But these 'old friends' inside the tower… that's another matter entirely."

"Hehehehehe."