Chapter 777: Times Have Changed

Lei En keenly saw Lifulin's expression shift, and his soul eye also sensed her thoughts, which held a faint dissatisfaction and resistance, but she quickly accepted.

Apparently, Lifulin thought she was going to sideline him and personally take control of the Holy Spear Knight Corps.

He indeed had that thought, but not solely for that purpose.

Having Thundercast Celestial Soldiers join the Holy Spear Knight Corps as company commanders is considered for two reasons. The first, as mentioned before, is to handle weapon maintenance, supply ammunition, and train Holy Spear Knights to master the gun‑cannon‑centric combat style; the second is to boost the Corps' overall strength.

According to the development stages of army building in the previous life, the Holy Spear Knight Corps equipped with guns and cannons is only in the initial "mule‑horse" stage, essentially a group of infantry riding horses.

After mule‑horse, there is motorization, mechanization, and informatization.

Lei En feels that with his abilities, he can at most develop the Holy Spear Knight Corps to the mule‑horse stage for now.

Taking another step forward to motorization—mobility via mechanical vehicles—is virtually impossible due to the limited number of brain‑splitting crystal cores; it can only be approximated through massive teleportation spells or mounts replacing vehicles, which barely achieves a similar motorization, but this requires a long construction period and huge capital, making short‑term realization impossible.

Moreover, Ai Lun E Si differs from Diqiu; army building and tactics cannot be copied wholesale.

The biggest difference is the powerful individual strength.

The Holy Spear Knight Corps has too few legendary super‑beings; most legendary blood knights chose to stay in Yongge City, and only three legendary blood knights followed Lifulin into Getan City. On the battlefield, the Corps fears no large‑scale enemy, the only concern being a close‑range assault by a legendary strongman, who would wreak havoc within the Corps' formation.

The addition of Thundercast Celestial Soldiers to the Corps perfectly fills this gap.

Each Thundercast Celestial Soldier is a legendary mage, mastering numerous spells that can aid Holy Spear Knights in developing various tactics—such as group invisibility, giant strength, protective force fields, and so on—and their melee prowess is extremely strong, comparable to legendary high‑rank, sufficient to handle the vast majority of foes below Saint Rank.

These dozens of Thundercast Celestial Soldiers serving as company commanders bring more tactical options, greater survivability, and higher sustained firepower.

The Holy Spear Knight Corps receives a comprehensive upgrade, with overall combat power increasing by more than threefold!

Of course, Lei En thereby fully controls the Corps, knowing almost every member's movements like the back of his hand, truly achieving "flat‑management".

This is also a forced measure.

After all, the Corps' main members are blood elves, not of our kind, whose hearts are inevitably different; they are not like the original‑body symbiotic Extreme Warriors, so to ensure the Corps' loyalty, Lei En must devote extra attention to them.

The Thundercast Celestial Soldiers take the lead, and with the Sunlight Blood's intangible control over blood knights, over time these blood elves will become a steadfast army.

If Lifulin has no second thoughts, no one can wrest her commander position, and she will also be given appropriate delegation.

But if she makes any small moves…

Lei En glanced at Lifulin, found that both outwardly and inwardly she showed compliance, and was satisfied, silently nodding, then smiled and said, "Let's go see the bronze steeds I've prepared for you; they're all waiting for their masters."

Several blood elves, excited, followed Lei En through the teleportation gate he opened.

The group appeared on a plateau dozens of li from Jin Gang Fort.

Soon, a herd of majestic horses whose bodies glowed with a golden hue galloped in from afar in groups. They walked on air, reflecting sunlight, sprouting transparent massive wings; their speed was swift and steady, their posture elegant, strong and powerful, instantly capturing the blood elves' attention.

"How beautiful!"

The blood elves couldn't help holding their breath, gazing at the herd, while also being enchanted by the magnificent scenery of Saen Plateau, their faces showing rapturous delight.

The blood elves who have lived their whole lives on the New Continent have never seen such a sight.

At that moment, a few of the finest bronze steeds flew out, landing steadily before them; they approached and gently nuzzled Lei En's head, appearing very affectionate.

Lei En opened the Pet Master app on his phone, took out a contract, and theatrically assigned each blood knight a bronze steed. Like the Gun‑Wing Knights, the blood knights shared the "Bronze Body" Element from their bronze steeds.

The bronze steed he chose for Lifulin was especially rare.

This bronze steed is but a hair's breadth from legendary status, taller and larger, stronger and faster—a true horse king. Its Bronze Body is already at level five, with great hope of advancing to Steel Body, greatly boosting Lifulin's defense.

Having obtained flying mounts, the blood elves eagerly rode them, soaring through the sky.

After a moment.

Lifulin landed, jumped down from the horse, and exclaimed excitedly, "Thank you, sir, for your generosity toward the blood knights. I will now return to Getan, select a group of our people, and swiftly establish the First Battalion."

"Alright, go ahead." Lei En nodded in agreement.

Within three days, the First Battalion of the Holy Spear Knight Corps was fully staffed. As the first organized army, its five hundred members were elite blood knights; to show his regard, Lei En also had Fan Du Si and five other Thundercast Celestial Soldiers join the battalion.

Fan Du Si served as the battalion commander, while the other five each became company commanders of Companies One through Five.

Each battalion has three deputy battalion commanders, each company has two deputy company commanders, and under each company are five squad leaders and five deputy squad leaders; Lei En entrusted the appointment authority for all these positions to Lifulin.

Lifulin did not decline and quickly completed the appointments.

Next, each Holy Spear Knight of the First Battalion was equipped with weapons and mounts, organized into squads as combat units, and began training on Saen Plateau.

Half a month later, the Second Battalion was also formed.

The Thundercast Celestial Soldiers worked day and night, capturing bronze steeds, producing firearms and ammunition; their efficiency rivaled that of an arms factory's production line, with weapons constantly rolling off the line and then shipped to Jin Gang Fort and Shield Island for the Holy Spear Knight Corps' outfitting.

Meanwhile, more and more Thundercast Celestial Soldiers joined the Corps, leading their troops in training.

During this period, the Hesi magical array of the Obsidian Tower was completed.

Reslin entered a seclusion state, focusing in the tower's meditation chamber on constructing a Time Stop spell model; with the aid of the Hesi magical array, this arduous task became much easier, efficiency surged, and progress was rapid.

The construction of Getan City also got on track.

Over five thousand dwarf artisans, following Lei En's city plan, built wide, level streets, dividing the city into eight districts. Each district's functional focus differs; the core is the Magic District centered on a high‑ground fortress, which will become Getan's most important area, housing a wizard tower and a combat wizard academy, with Lei En's castle and city hall also situated there.

Adjacent to the Magic District are the Inner City District and the Military District.

The Inner City District is Getan's primary residential area, located on the west side of the Magic District, covering a large area—one third of the entire city—and is the most desirable and safest zone, encompassing most of the city's central, western, and northern flat lands.

To accommodate more population, Lei En subdivided the Inner City District into dozens of residential neighborhoods, constructing high‑rise buildings inside for easier management.

Of course, this raises land prices, so the plots cannot be released all at once.

He is well acquainted with this system and has already arranged for the "real‑estate dragon" Madam Xia Lanwei to take charge. This steel dragon, having mastered the true lineage, holds the wealth code for property speculation; in recent years it has made a fortune in Mo Du, its wealth soaring, yet the biggest gains still end up in his own pocket.

The Military District is small, sandwiched between the Inner City and Magic Districts, and will become the Holy Spear Knight Corps' garrison headquarters, where they will live and train.

Next is the Trade District, located in the southern part of the Inner City.

South of the Trade District lies the coast of Shield Island; from the southern shore to the western shore, this roughly arc‑shaped area will be developed into a massive port, the Port District.

These two economy‑focused zones are linked, complementing each other.

East of the Port District is the Mechanical District, whose area is roughly equal to the port's; it will become Getan's "High‑Tech Zone." Lei En has already negotiated a cooperation plan with the Mechanical Guild, aiming to build at least twenty factories there to produce everyday goods and tools for residents.

The northern part of the Mechanical District, i. e., Getan's eastern side, is the Dwarf District that Lei En allocated for the dwarves, covering only one‑twentieth of the city's total area.

To reduce potential friction between dwarves and elves, Lei En placed the Elf District in Getan's northwest, opposite Aibolaken across the strait.

Three districts separate the two racial zones, reducing the chances for them to meet.

Lei En also did not forget the Dark Elves, leaving them a residential area in the inner city district, keeping some distance from the dwarves and Blood Elves.

A blank sheet of paper is easy to paint on.

Lei En willfully followed his own vision, aiming to build Getan into a great metropolis of his past life.

As time passed, streets crisscrossed, skyscrapers rose from the ground, and this city, unlike any in Ai Lun E Si, gradually took shape.

The city's inhabitants gradually increased.

Humans who migrated from the Augustus Duchy and the Empire, Blood Elves from Revenge Island, dwarves emerging from Shi Jie Shan Mai, and transcendent adventurers on the New Continent—all hailing from various human realms—converged in Gotham City.

Lei En also made contact with some Imperial factions, selecting a trustworthy few and opening cooperation opportunities for them.

Housing and shops multiplied, and ships and magical airships came and went.

The Mechanical Guild's factories were also erected.

The manor and fields in the eastern suburbs, after being purified by priests, were largely cleared by the first wave of residents, who began the inaugural sowing.

More than two months passed, the weather grew hotter, and summer arrived.

That day, a sudden disturbance erupted in the military zone.

People saw a herd of bronze steeds soar into the air, streaking across the sky above, then swiftly flying into the city's highland fortifications and vanishing.

The Holy Spear Knight Corps was dispatched.

It seemed to be a battalion.

The Getan residents murmured, curiosity and doubt evident in their eyes. The earliest among them had entered Getan three to four months ago and noticed that since last month the Holy Spear Knight Corps had taken charge of citywide patrols, displaying formidable combat power.

Some long‑time transcendent adventurers on the New Continent, relying on their strength to cause trouble, ended up being used by the Holy Spear Knight Corps as examples of authority.

Their weapon was a never‑before‑seen Soul Gun.

With only a handful of Holy Spear Knights firing a volley, they easily wiped out enemies several times their own number. The gunfire, the power, and the tragic fate of the offending transcendent left the onlookers forever scarred.

Last year, the Mechanical Guild began selling submachine guns externally.

This low‑consumption, high‑rate, long‑range Soul Gun caused a huge sensation upon release, quickly becoming the favorite weapon of transcendants.

Especially the Gunner class, which could fully unleash the submachine gun's power; with one gun in hand, their strength surged, completely overturning the Gunner's lowly status among transcendants.

Even novice Gunners dared to challenge Mid-stage, even High‑stage transcendants with the gun in hand.

Many newcomers who had just undergone their first Soul Transformation chose to become Gunners.

Even those not Gunners, if they had money, would purchase a self‑defense gun; the booming sales even created a shortage.

The emergence of the submachine gun completely altered the combat style of transcendants below Legendary.

When Imperial and New Continent transcendants clashed, it was common to see someone suddenly draw a submachine gun and unleash a rapid barrage—tat‑tat‑tat—turning enemies into sieves, or both sides pulling submachine guns for a duel.

This made every transcendent uneasy.

Now transcendants, like spellcasters, are extremely sensitive to distance and will not let anyone approach easily.

If you have a gun and I don't, I'll end up passively taking hits.

Protective magical items that auto‑activate saw their prices skyrocket with the advent of the submachine gun, some soaring dozens of times. Yet such items are rarer and costlier than the gun itself; even the wealthy cannot obtain them, and the few that are bought break after a few shots, offering far less protection than the submachine gun's power.

In short: the times have changed!

Everyone knows the submachine gun was invented by Lei En, Speaker of Weizelan, who built a new city on the New Continent; many transcendants, especially Gunners, came to Gotham City by reputation and indeed witnessed a true Soul Gun.

After some inquiry, people learned that the Holy Spear Knight Corps' Soul Gun is called "Avenger 47".

Moreover, there is the even more powerful "Lambo's Gun", and the "Bolt Gun" that only Extreme Warriors and legendary Holy Lance Knights can equip!

Gunners are fanatically obsessed with these Soul Guns, frantically seeking ways to obtain them, even concocting shady schemes, all of which end badly.

The ill‑intentioned ones, no matter how they hide, are soon uncovered.

The lightest are expelled from the city; the worst are beheaded as a warning.

After a round of intimidation, no one dares to scheme against the Holy Spear Knight Corps again.

Now an entire battalion of Holy Lance Knights is deployed—its scale unprecedented—prompting Getan's residents to revel in misfortune, wondering which unlucky soul will run into their gunfire?

Severe Ka wen, today fell ill again… tragedy!

(End of Chapter)