Chapter 431: Tanks Are Magic!

"This... what is this thing? Is this still Yangyue World?"

Fortunately, the steeds they ride are all well‑trained, and they've been longtime comrades fighting side by side with them.

If they switched to the ordinary pack horses favored by the caravan, they'd probably bolt at the mere sight of such commotion.

Even so, though they themselves felt a chill in their hearts, they couldn't help but, while trying to calm them, cover the mounts' eyes with cloth strips.

Don't mind that howling thing; just pretend it doesn't exist…

But avoidance is useless; standing before them is the regular army of the great powers, the sole land‑war force that even in the game hasn't neglected training.

And we can't abandon traditional arts; no matter how dire, if we can't equip everyone with a gun, we must at least give each person a tube— that's the bottom line!

Then, after a few crisp "pop" sounds—no warning at all—dozens of rockets slammed straight into the knights' heads.

"Damn, what is this again, how does pulling it out make it go boom?"

Thus the second drawback of magic appeared—large‑scale magic drains a lot of mana.

Having turned off their shields earlier to save energy, they now couldn't deploy them in time and were blown into a helpless tumble by the rockets.

Amid the rising clouds of smoke and the wails of their subordinates, Bogo was already on the verge of crying without tears.

I'm tired, let it be destruction…

But as a leader, he still kept his Dao‑heart at the crucial moment, ordering the knights to raise their shields in time.

Unfortunately, the next second, whether that shield was a shield or a target became a huge question mark.

Because the five iron behemoths finally moved, rotating their turrets toward the red‑flamed dome, and first unleashed a burst of explosive armor.

Oh, explosive armor, I thought it was... what, explosive armor!?

Although Ji Ming is fundamentally a military novice, he can assure that real tanks never suddenly shed their armor, exposing an inner structure that radiates blinding red light as if a destruction mode were activated.

Then, after the visible surge of light, a dark‑red projectile, shimmering with magical hue, shot from the equally glowing barrel like a meteor streaking across the sunset.

Five specks of light flashed on Bogo's retina; after a brief bewilderment, he opened his mouth as if seeing a ghost and shouted words that left everyone gaping.

"Stop! Everyone cease the flow of magic! That is..."

Unfortunately it was already too late; after a graceful arc, the shell struck the dome.

And it didn't smash through like an armor‑piercing round; the moment it touched, it dissolved like a sugar cube.

Consequently, the eerie dark‑red glow spread rapidly like fresh paint, gradually eroding the entire formation.

Everything was quiet, so the subsequent successive sounds, like watermelons cracking, rang out especially clearly.

But there are no watermelons on the battlefield, so those were actually knights one after another who were "infected," their heads blown apart by chaotic magic and thoughts.

That shell, of course, wasn't ordinary; the formation it contained is the infamous "Break Magic" notorious among mages.

As a centuries‑old forbidden curse, Break Magic has no direct lethal effect, but for the caster it is an absolute destined nemesis.

Because the instant it contacts other magic, it initiates a chain‑reaction‑like process, activating all the mana that composes the spell and tracing back all the way into the caster's Sea of Consciousness.

But a human body cannot contain such volatile, uncontrolled boiling energy, so the Sea of Consciousness may completely lose control, causing the head to explode outright.

Unless the caster is quick‑eyed and swift‑handed, cutting off the supply at the first moment—severing the magic they released—the Break Magic, unable to continue tracing, will vanish as it loses energy.

Or if the caster is powerful enough, they can suppress the Break Magic's "infection" with their own will; if that fails, a born‑hard‑head can simply be immune to the explosion, rendering it ineffective.

In any case, to the caster it is a cockroach‑like disgusting presence, and for unskilled low‑level mages it is a lethal poison.

Unfortunately, this group of magic‑martial hybrid knights, clearly leaning toward martial skill, are exactly the unskilled casters, and facing the sudden barrage of five Break Magic shells is a terrible misfortune.

And the tank that can fire such special shells isn't some Model 59; if it needs a name, perhaps call it the 59m (i. e., an improved 59‑type tank magic (mo) version).

Leveraging the reverse‑engineered magical imprint manipulation from the mag‑driven armor tech, the research team led by Chief Master Zhang Hai first achieved a combined application of Yangyue technology and Huaxia technology.

Although its design remains primitive and it can only launch a few specially‑crafted magical shells so far, such a spectacular debut proves the direction is undeniably correct.

But for the knights, this was as if the heavens had collapsed.

"No! No! No!"

The few remaining knights who heard Bogo's command and cut off the magic in time were utterly despondent in the face of this scene.

Yet after a frenzied roar, even though they could no longer think, they kept their eyes blood‑red and pressed on with this now meaningless charge.

Ah, what?

The soldier brothers, seeing their plight, pulled out a dozen or so tubes to give them a proper treat.

That's that.

Thus, with more than eight hundred fully‑armed cavalry, enough for a viscount to soar upward, tip‑toeing to brush the capital of an earl‑level power.

In this way, within a single battle they were exhausted in just a minute, not even having time to move an enemy finger.

Nevertheless, as the knight commander, Bogo's body was indeed sturdy.

Clearly half of the incoming rockets were aimed at him, yet his half‑charred body could still breathe, earning him the legendary title of bomb‑resistant king.

But, sprawled among the corpses, he had no room to resist, only watching the group of resolute Pioneers approach with weapons, seemingly shouting something.

Hm?

Damn! Turns out my ears got blown away too, damn…

Before his consciousness sank completely into darkness, that was Bogo's final thought.

"Heavens..."

Watching the once vigorous, mountain‑crushing magic‑martial iron cavalry reduced to a heap of scrap metal and flesh, Andrei felt his blood turn cold.

She is a tiger, not a fool; if using brute force for profit in everyday life could be called clever, now sticking her neck out like this is just courting death.

Moreover, regardless of how you look at Squirrel Military Industry, it is a White Eagle People enterprise; Huaxia's government can make it the primary support force, but a second force that isn't White Eagle would be indefensible.

Thus, the four nearest registered super‑powers quickly either flew, ran, or simply rode a skeletal warhorse engulfed in flames to the battlefield.

These super‑powers were indeed formidable, relying on talents inherited from reality; a single individual could beat hundreds of allied troops with ease.

But if the White Eagle's displayed strength is only this, then even after Huaxia has deployed regular troops and magical tanks, it's clearly insufficient.

So, in the already darkening sky, a massive flock resembling birds swooped in from the horizon, and once over the factory complex, a torrent of projectiles rained down.

If Huaxia's research on magic engravings was the first to immediately combine them with real weapons, then what White Eagle did was to use them to realize the wonderful ideas that could not be fully realized in reality.

For example, flight backpacks.

With the aid of engravings and magic crystals, they successfully produced a backpack-type vehicle that allows any user who is a mage to fly stably.

Perhaps starting today, 'air defense' will become a mandatory point for every defensive position and fortification in the Yangyue World.

So the White Eagle People have come; as the conjugate father-son Royalty, shouldn't they have come? As its great filial son, shouldn't Silla have come?

The Royalty have come; as his archrival, shouldn't the Gaul have come?

The Silla people have come; likewise, EastJapan, the eldest son of the Eagle family whose filial piety moves heaven, shouldn't they have come?

The Royalty and Gaul have both come; as fellow three giants of the Europa Alliance, shouldn't the Iron Cross have come?

The Europa Alliance is fully assembled; as the one that stands opposed to it, shouldn't Russia have come?

Everyone has come; shouldn't our great and powerful India come over to stir the waters?

Hey!

Thus, inadvertently, this deployment under the banner of support actually became a muscular display by the officials of various countries after four months of de facto cold war.

However, there's nothing particularly surprising about it; Dad is still Dad, son is still son, the comprehensive national strength lies there, and the order of seniority cannot be changed.

On the contrary, Ji Ming found it rather enjoyable, after all, to him these could all be considered his 'industry'.

The Southern Allied Forces, surrounded by the mighty troops of various countries, felt there was really no need to keep fighting; having been whittled down by everyone to just two thousand remnants, they chose to surrender.

"Dad, we've surrendered, Dad."

Actually, everyone was originally reluctant, but Huaxia first coughed up the 'Geneva Convention', and White Eagle, seeing that, also said everyone were respectable people.

Gaul went even further, touring around saying 'Those who surrender are good people; those who surrender shouldn't be killed!' and then harshly spoke ill of the Royalty.

Thus, everyone looked at each other, 'Alright, what can I say,' and reluctantly accepted.

As for the Lingxi Observation Team responsible for providing the reason for each country's deployment, having watched all this, they now have only two words in their minds: 'Holy shit!'

They knew the Pioneers, as a power capable of carving out a domain, definitely had a couple of tricks up their sleeves, but they never imagined your tricks could be this big and this numerous.

After one battle, with onomatopoeia and transitional words nearly exhausted, several thousand troops just sank into the sand, as if it were a joke.

"We need to hurry and report to Your Majesty; the southern part of Brilliance might be undergoing a major change!"

They bade farewell politely yet elegantly, fearing that the observation team left behind would hurriedly flee back to the fleet, weigh anchor, set sail, and vanish into the vast ocean.

After glancing at the White Eagle warship already under construction for some time in the darkness, the representatives of various countries also had varied expressions, but nobody spoke, and they just dispersed like that.

A storm that was brewing merely revealed a corner of its iceberg in the barbaric lands far from civilization, while in the heart of civilization it remained utterly tranquil.

As the jewel on the crown of Qixia City, it had long since developed into a sun castle, a palace architectural complex, giving off a warm, reassuring hue wherever one goes.

But even the most beautiful architecture has its shadows, just as the Brilliance royal family, having endured five hundred years of wind and frost, will always need a place to hide filth and bury the unsightly.

"Your Majesty, we'll be there shortly."

After a closed-door discussion with Ji Ming's divine selection, the Sun King spent a full seven days preparing mentally before finally mustering the courage to come here.

Even after reaching the doorway, he nervously tidied his attire for half a day, confirming he looked presentable before letting his attendant push open the gate.

This is a small courtyard arranged quite warmly, with platycodon, wisteria, and heather planted in the flowerbeds, now in full bloom under the faint magic.

Faced with such beautiful scenery, the Sun King merely let out a long sigh, paced back and forth before the flowerbeds for a while, then finally could bear it no longer and reached for the gardener's shovel.

Unfortunately, before the shovel's tip could dig into the soil beneath the flower roots, a woman's voice full of vigor shouted to stop his action.

"You dare!"

"Damn it, I dare!"

However, although the Sun King spoke harshly with his mouth, he obediently put the shovel away.

Appearing at the house's doorway was an elderly woman who looked at least twenty years younger than him, and with full attire and makeup she could even appear ten years younger still.

After gesturing for the attendant to scram, the Sun King pointed at her nose and, like an old male role in Peking opera, hurried over with rapid, tiny steps.

"You you you you..."

However, that old woman was not scared off by him; as if she had long known his purpose, she even stepped forward another pace.

"What's wrong with me?"

"You..."

The Sun King, as if gathering strength, paused a moment, but only managed to utter four words.

"You have guts!"

"I don't dare~"

The old lady was also sharp-tongued; after drawing out her tone, she immediately began a tit-for-tat retort.

"Compared to you, who consorts daily with girls who can sample ten fragrances a day and are even younger than your own granddaughter, I am still far behind."

If it were usual, the thick-skinned Sun King would surely laugh heartily in admission, and say strictly speaking, he should be even younger than his own great-granddaughter.

But today, the Sun King, having his shortcomings exposed face-to-face by her, immediately flushed red.

"You!"

After pausing for several more seconds, he then loudly denounced.

"After decades of marital affection, you still dare to scheme against me like this!"

An elderly woman who can find a secluded corner in the king's castle and enjoy its peace alone—who else could she be but the king's woman?

To some extent, from Princess Mengquan to Elinor, the fundamental reason they receive special treatment is also because of her.

Because no matter what, love will ultimately have a measure, and it will inevitably have an order.

If calculated this way, she is the most important and earliest companion of Anton VI in this lifetime.

Due to her excessively high magical talent, even requiring a very special magic array for full protection, she could only safely bear offspring—Lady Meriel.