Chapter 844 The smell of gunpowder smoke

Chapter 844 The smell of gunpowder smoke

"Don't you need me to sign the contract? I don't have that many inheritance crystals now."

Leng Yue said doubtfully.

"No, just do me a little favor later."

Lu Chen said with a smile and handed Leng Yue a contract that he had drawn up before.

Leng Yue glanced at the result and said thoughtfully, "Okay."

She put away the mysterious origin of the black goat cub, saluted Lu Chen and then resigned.

Around the tent where Lu Chen rested, there were twenty or thirty explorers who wanted to approach without leaving a trace, but they were all secretly greeted away by the excited Kaka.

…………

The eastern border of the Sistine Empire, east of the Red River.

This place is originally an endless wilderness with no human habitation within a radius of two thousand miles. However, when I looked out from a high tower on the border of the Sistine Empire recently, I could vaguely see the dark buildings popping up in the distance on the horizon.

Those buildings seemed to be growing, becoming taller and denser every day. Information was constantly transmitted back to the capital, making the big shots in the capital aware of the seriousness of the problem.

The country of steam and machinery really wants to go to war. They have begun to build bases on the front line. The railway is constantly being built forward, and it will advance ten miles every day.

In the gorgeous palace, the current monarch of the Sistine Empire, Charles Sistine, was sitting on the throne and frowning.

In just half a month, he seemed to have aged a lot. Faced with internal and external troubles, even though he was a capable monarch, he was still a little anxious.

The day before yesterday, he secretly met with Ji Wujiu, the director of the Inquisition of the Morning Embrace Church, and learned shocking news.

That lazy Peter is really not lazy this time, but has disappeared, and his life or death is unknown at the moment.

This is a major event that shakes the country. If Peter does not show up in the royal capital for a day or two, he can use various excuses to excuse it, but as time goes by, anyone will notice that something is wrong.

Peter's character is not mentioned, but he is still the Pope after all. He usually goes to the church on time every day to check in and show up, and sometimes he even puts on a show in front of the crowd to consolidate the faith of the people of the empire.

Now that he has come and disappeared, this news is the worst-case scenario, whether it is learned by the Eternal Night Church or by the Kingdom of Steam and Machinery.

Charlie even wondered whether the country of steam and machinery decided to go to war after learning about Peter's disappearance.

Now the northern border of the Sistine Empire is resisting the strange torrent of the Sea of ​​Nothingness, which has already dispersed most of the Night Watch force. If they only rely on the flesh and blood of the imperial soldiers, can they really start a war with that country?

"Baron, what do you think?"

Charlie asked the people in the audience. The person who was shouted was a burly man over two meters tall. His skin was dark, but it was not pure black. He was obviously a mixed race.

Balon was extremely tall and tall, wearing heavy armor. He also carried a pair of heavy hammers in the main hall. When he walked, the floor in the palace was somewhat unbearable.

He gave Charlie a standard knightly salute and replied: "Your Majesty, we can't start a war now. At least we have to wait until the weird storm in the north passes before we can have the strength to fight."

Baron Kabasi is the commander-in-chief of the Sistine Empire, a hereditary duke of the empire, and one of the Knights of the Dawn, titled Hammer of the Empire.

He is both a clergyman and a high-ranking imperial official. He rarely appears within the church and mainly trains troops on the frontier.

"How effective is our army?"

Charlie asked, of course the Sistine Empire has a standing army, but it has been reduced too much in recent years, and now the total number is only three hundred thousand.

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, you should understand that the existence of the standing army is only used to suppress ordinary unrest within the empire. We cannot really expect children to fight."

Baron's speech made Charlie and the imperial officials present frown. Those who could be in the meeting hall today were all sensible people, but it still felt uncomfortable to hear what Baron said.

"I understand. Let's continue disarmament next year and let the children disarm and return to their fields. Matters within the empire will be handled by the law enforcement officers."

Charlie rubbed his brows tiredly. The years of comfort in the Sistine Empire had made people forget about war. In fact, the existence of armaments was indeed no longer necessary.

In this era, the rise of human extraordinary people has formed a systematic chain, and a top extraordinary person can kill countless mortal armies.

That's why the Sistine Empire has been continuously disarmament over the years, because it is really unnecessary and the army cannot handle the disaster in the dark night.

"What is the current combat strength of the country of steam and machinery? Baron, you have seen it on the front line. Tell me what you think."

Charlie continued to ask.

Balon's face was expressionless, "Your Majesty, do you want to hear the truth or lies?"

He also looked at other officials when he spoke. It was obvious that he was not just speaking to the king.

"Don't do this. This is a serious matter. Of course I have to listen to the truth."

Charlie felt bad.

"The fact is that we don't have the strength to fight at all, especially after losing the person in charge. Once the war starts, the country of steam and machinery will be able to reach the royal capital in less than two months."

Balon said bluntly, causing everyone present to change their expressions.

"How is that possible! How can those heretics who have abandoned their faith be so powerful? Mr. Baron, please stop being alarmist!"

The financial officer of the empire angrily retorted, believing that their Sistine Empire had always been the orthodoxy of this world. The country of steam and machinery had only been independent for 150 years. How could they be a group of heretics without faith and rival their great power?

Baron looked at the Imperial Finance Officer, "The group of heretics you call faithless have now created things that you can't even imagine. My father has long mentioned that we should learn the advanced technology of the country of steam and machinery. Then It’s not a black magic, but an excellent technology that can improve people’s livelihood.”

He paused. "Over there, they call it science."

"Isn't it just a magic that can make scrap metal move on its own? Can those things be a match for our battle-hardened night watchmen!?"

The person who spoke was a Duke. His ancestors had a divine envoy-level night watchman. Now he is also an extraordinary person, worthy of reaching the special level. He is currently the governor of a province in the empire.

"Duke Brightman, I think you are too blind to the power of extraordinary beings. First of all, we do not have that many night watchmen in the Sistine Empire, because this is a profession that is very demanding on talent. Secondly, according to me Observe, if you want to be effective on the battlefield, you must at least be a dangerous night watchman."

Balon looked at the Duke and explained: "The people of the Night's Watch do not receive military training. They may be good at dealing with weird disasters, but they are not good at large-scale wars, and the abilities of the Night's Watch are mostly They are all against single targets, and their recovery speed is also slow. Only night watchmen who can play a significant role on the battlefield are high-risk and above, and how many are there in the empire in total?"

Duke Brightman frowned, "I heard that many people in the country of steam and machinery are mortals. They don't have extraordinary beings. When our night watchers go to the battlefield, shouldn't it be a complete massacre?"

"Maybe what I said is a bit blunt, but I still have to say, Duke Brightman, you are so wrong. If you went to the front line with me, you should know that once the war starts, we will only be massacred. "

Baron said lightly, "Their technological and industrial development has reached a level that we cannot understand. At the same time, they have not completely given up their extraordinary power. It is the ultimate beast created by technological industry and weirdness, the ultimate killer on the battlefield."

He took out a huge picture scroll and showed it to everyone in the hall. On the picture, there were tall workshops located in the fields. Judging from the flowers, plants and trees, those workshops were probably a hundred meters high.

But what is daunting is that in the whole painting, those houses do not look conspicuous at all, because there are several towering figures standing next to them.

It was a sky peak built of gray-black steel skeleton. A human-shaped steel giant stood there, spewing overwhelming white steam from its joints. The person who painted this painting was obviously a master. The sense of oppression was even from the distance. The picture scroll was also conveyed to everyone.

"As you can see, this is a monster created by the country of steam and machinery. According to the news I have received, mass production of such a steel behemoth has begun in the country of steam and machinery."

When Baron's voice fell, the hall fell into silence, and everyone's expressions could be seen with a hint of shock and confusion.

They couldn't imagine how human craftsmanship could make steel into such a huge monster.

The Sistine Empire also refined steel, but it was only used for the construction of some houses and small items used by the nobles. Most of them were made by craftsmen who polished them quietly.

But the steel giant on the screen is just a skeleton, fifty or sixty meters long. How did they complete the casting?

"Baron, is this thing strong? It looks very bulky."

Charlie looked solemn and asked his trusted legion commander.

"These giants on the front line have not moved, but I have sensed the strange origin cores in them. They are at least special grade. According to reports from my informants in the country of steam and machinery, they once carried out this kind of operation called After analyzing the test of Titan Soldier Type IV, I conservatively estimate that there are probably no more than twenty special-level night watchmen in the empire who can defeat this Titan Soldier one-on-one."

Balon's voice was heavy, "And what's even worse is that the damage that these giant soldiers can cause on the battlefield is far greater than that of the Night Watch. They are demon gods born to be developed for the battlefield, and the heavy firepower they carry can easily sweep across the battlefield." All cities, and because they are driven by dual-core energy, as long as the energy reserves of the country of steam and machinery can keep up, the Titan Soldier Type IV will almost never stop."

There was a burst of gasps at the scene. It was really that Baron's narration was too terrifying.

A combat machine, a man-made thing, could actually rival the empire's elite?

What’s even more outrageous is that it is actually mass-produced! ?

If Balon had not lied, then the Sistine Empire indeed did not have the strength to fight and would be directly crushed on the frontal battlefield!

"Do these things need people to operate them?"

The financial officer of the empire asked the important point.

"The only good news is that these machines still need people to control them. Those pilots are not necessarily extraordinary. Our night watchmen may be able to bypass the steel shell and use special methods to spiritually obliterate the pilots inside. "

Balon explained, "But I think we should be prepared for the worst. The country of steam and machinery should not leave such fatal loopholes. If there were, they would not be able to hunt such a large number of super weird origins, let alone Dare to start a war with us without hesitation."

Duke Brightman thought for a moment, "But this is still a breakthrough point worth trying, isn't it? The shortcut to defeating this heretical creation should still start with humans."

Balon nodded, "That's true, but we don't know if it's difficult to select the pilots who operate the Titan Soldier. If we don't destroy the Titan Soldier, but just kill the pilots inside, then the Kingdom of Steam and Machinery can still send new ones." Pilots control it, and compared to our Night Watch, I believe their pilots are much cheaper."

Charlie's expression was not very good after hearing Barton's words. The Imperial Marshal always spoke very straightforwardly, but he was also very good at finding the key points of the problem. Objectively speaking, they were indeed no match for the Sistine Empire.

Originally, he thought it was the events in Haibei that were dragging down the empire and Peter's disappearance, but now it seems that even if the Church of Morning Embrace has no losses and can use all its combat power, this will be a difficult battle.

Peter is very strong, and Mr. Ji is also very strong, but their power will eventually run out, and no one knows whether the country of steam and machinery has a bigger weapon against their top experts.

"Your Majesty, please make your decision."

Balon saluted and said that he could only conduct objective analysis, but the final decision must be made by the king.

Now that Peter is away, and Mr. Ji Wujiu is not good at these things, King Charles must make a judgment on national affairs.

King Charles is a mortal, but being a mortal does not mean that his mind is inferior to that of an extraordinary person. The successive monarchs of the Sistine Empire are all mortals. This is because of an ancestral precept.

King Charles pondered for a moment, "Send people to the country of steam and machinery to investigate. I want to know what they want."

Charlie was gloomy in his heart. If the country of steam and machinery only wanted resources, territory, and population, he could give in. As a family that had ruled the empire for thirteen hundred years, the Sistine family knew far more than others. The secret is that the desire for power is not as strong as outsiders think.

There is only so much land that can survive in the Land Abandoned by God, and the populations of the two empires are not large, and they are in a state of vast land and sparsely populated areas, and Charlie does not think that the country of steam and machinery wants to massacre the people, even if he cedes Without territory, the lives of those people will not get worse.

And if what Balon said is true, perhaps those people who are included in the country of steam and machinery will live a better life.

Charlie thinks that the other party can offer it if he has conditions, but it must not be that matter.

"In compliance with your wishes, I will send two special agents to infiltrate there."

Balon saluted, not disputing Charlie's sound judgment.