Gou is a dark elf in Warhammer

"Ok?"

Malekith turned his head slightly, his gaze falling on the golden figure in the distance. Kuja was standing beside the open space, the sunlight shining on his brand-new armor, reflecting a dazzling halo.

He looked at it for a few seconds, then looked away and turned to Darkus, who was not far away beside him.

His eyes held a huge question mark.

"Want to give it a try?" Darkus spread his hands, his tone as casual as if he were asking, "Want a cup of tea?"

Malekith's expression immediately became complex, first astonishment, then shock, and then, "Are you kidding me?"

These three emotions played out on his face at a visible speed. His lips trembled incessantly, as if he wanted to speak but hesitated, then hesitated again, opening and closing repeatedly, like a fish that had been thrown ashore.

Dakos knew that if it weren't for the inappropriate setting and the presence of so many people around, Malekith would have unleashed a torrent of abuse upon him.

Just like one of their ways of getting along in private.

They exchanged passionate insults, neither giving an inch, a pure outpouring of emotion.

Finally, Malekith looked down at the Sunfire Sword in its scabbard. The legendary weapon lay quietly inside, its hilt slightly warm as if sensing its master's gaze. Then, he looked at Veszal hanging on Darkus's belt.

Darkus knew what Malekith was looking at, but he didn't look at Malekith. He simply turned his head slightly, looked at Kuja in the distance, and gently shook his head.

The amplitude was small, but clear enough.

That gesture means: Don't even think about it.

Malekith understood Dakous's meaning. He looked away, his expression returning to normal, or rather, to the expression one would expect in public. After a few seconds of silence, he took a step to Dakous's side, turned slightly to the side, and muttered something in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"Have they upgraded their technology?"

There was a hint of cautious probing in his tone.

It has a strong sense of theft.

Dakos's lips curled up slightly, but he didn't reply.

Malekith knew Kuja, and not only did they know each other, they fought side by side—in Quezar.

That battle is still etched in his memory.

Skilled in combat, he possessed his own evaluation system, capable of gleaning countless pieces of information from his opponent's equipment and every move. Kuga, even at that time, was already an extremely powerful combatant: a magical spear, immense strength, rapid reflexes, keen senses, rich combat experience, and the 'Hand of the Gods' that replaced his left hand.

A complete monster.

However, things were alright for Malekith.

Because at that time, Kuja's defenses were weak. To put it bluntly, he wasn't fully covered in armor; most of his defenses came from his scales.

That layer of skin was indeed thick and hard enough, but it was ultimately not metal.

And now...

There's no "it's alright" anymore.

It's an absolute monster.

Malekith's gaze swept over Kuja in the distance once more. Apart from a few scattered areas like the tip of its tail, the tip of its nose, and its dorsal fin that still retained their gold-plated decorations, the rest of its body was covered by a thick layer of armor. In the sunlight, the armor gleamed with a cold luster, each plate fitting together perfectly, with almost no visible seams.

The defensive capabilities are astonishing!

"Is the outermost layer ceramic?" Seeing that Dakous did not respond to the previous question, Malekith asked again in a low voice, his voice even lower, like two students secretly passing notes in class.

“It’s ceramic,” Darkus said calmly. “To be precise, it’s ceramic steel.”

Malekith raised an eyebrow.

"More than that, right?"

He could tell at a glance that the armor was definitely not a single-layer structure. Based on his understanding of materials and craftsmanship, the luster, the thickness, the overall texture…

“Underneath the ceramic steel is plastic steel,” Dakous continued, his tone still calm.

Marekis's pupils contracted slightly.

"The plastic-coated steel is covered with hardened resin."

In that instant, Malekith turned his head sharply and stared at Darkus.

Dakos also turned his head and looked at him.

Eyes facing each other.

Dakous knew that if Malekith hadn't been a native, he probably would have blurted out: "What are you doing with this nesting doll?"

Three floors, a full three floors.

The outermost layer is ceramic steel, responsible for absorbing energy impacts and providing frontal defense; the middle layer is plastic steel, providing structural strength and tensile strength; the innermost layer is hardened resin, which is lightweight, heat-insulating, and sound-insulating, perfectly conforming to the shape of the lizardman while also providing additional cushioning.

Three layers stacked together, that's not armor.

That's a mobile fortress!

It's a miniaturized Red Dragon equipped with armor plates!

And it's an upgraded version.

Malekith's lips moved again; this time he truly wanted to say something, but didn't know where to begin. Seeing that the time was right, Dakota stopped teasing him, took a piece of paper from his pocket, and handed it to him.

Malekith looked down at the paper, then looked up at Dakos.

It's not them, it's us.

The slight upturn of his chin and the meaning in his eyes conveyed everything clearly without words. Malekith said nothing, but simply watched.

Then his expression became more varied once again.

This richness was completely different from before. It was a richness mixed with surprise, realization, annoyance, and a complex emotion that was hard to conceal. He stared at the handwriting on the paper, his gaze quickly scanning from top to bottom, then re-examining it from bottom to top, as if to confirm whether he had misread it.

A moment later, he let out a disdainful snort.

"Such an important matter, and you didn't even call me?"

His disdain was met with a slow and sarcastic remark from Darkus.

"Now that you mention it, I'm reminded of the raiding ship."

The sound of paper being crumpled into a ball suddenly rang out.

But then, there was the rustling sound of paper being unfolded again.

Just like Cao Cao's rice bowl.

All I can say is that the group was formed too early.

Malekith hasn't finished watching it yet.

All I can say is that Darkus's sarcasm was precise, hitting the very spot that left him with no room for rebuttal.

He didn't speak again, but just lowered his head and reread the contents of the paper.

Today marks the twelfth day since the lizardmen arrived in Ulthuan.

In other words, after Lord Mazdamudi stepped off the ship, the Slan priests and elven spellcasters spent a full ten days launching a research and development frenzy that would go down in history.

In these ten days, materials science has undergone earth-shattering changes.

Ceramics, plastic steel, resin, batteries—new samples are created every day, and new possibilities are confirmed or disproven every day.

Those material structures that once existed only in theory are now being realized by the Slan in an almost formulaic way. The system, based on the magic that Renn discovered on the Dragon Islands, has shown amazing universality: metal, ceramics, resin, plastic, anything can be put into it, and anything can be given new forms.

“So, we’ve entered the Crystal Age?” Malekith looked up at Darkus, who shrugged slightly, his expression suggesting: More or less.

The conversation has now come to an end.

Marekis lowered his head again and continued to review the contents of the paper, a list detailing the main achievements of the past ten days.

Thanks to the various applications of materials and crystals, a variety of new objects have emerged.

Miel upgraded the truck's power system again; in Dakous's view, he seemed to have an almost obsessive pursuit of faster and stronger performance. Perhaps before long, even heavy-duty vehicles like the Great Wall and the 100-ton King will be able to be produced?
Arslan, who was in charge of the preliminary preparations for the Naval Aviation Academy, has also entered the real preparation stage.

The specific method was somewhat...unexpected.

He removed the engine from the car.

Arslan, along with a group of spellcasters and Val's priests, carefully placed the roaring power core into a wooden shell. The shell was shaped into a streamlined form, with long wings extending from both sides and a huge propeller mounted on top.

Thus, propeller-driven airplanes came into being.

Ah, another piece of content worthy of being included in a chronology and a textbook.

Arslan piloted that propeller plane and completed the first unconventional flight belonging to the elves?

The reason it is considered "unconventional" and why it is marked with a "question mark" is because if propeller planes are considered aircraft, Duruci already had an aircraft before Arslan: the raider.

Moreover, this is a fantasy world.

Although it's getting a bit sci-fi now, with the strange and unusual concepts that Darkus brought, which are swaying the technological path of this world in an unknown direction, it is still ultimately a fantasy world.

In a fantasy world, there are naturally giant eagles, dragons, and other creatures born to soar through the skies. Elves draw near to them, ride them, and fight alongside them—it's another form of flight.

Arslan's wooden airplane appeared clumsy and fragile compared to those others.

But that's not the point.

In fact, the emergence of propeller-driven aircraft was never part of Darkus's plan. His original idea was to replicate the power system of raiding ships onto winged aircraft, using arcane spheres imbued with magical winds to drive magical jet engines, skipping the propeller era and directly entering the jet age.

This is the path Darkus truly wants to take.

To put it bluntly, it's about taking a shortcut to success. Air forces are often jokingly referred to as pampered soldiers, but in this world's context, once an air force is established, it will be the pampered soldiers of the pampered. The nature of aircraft is different from that of raiding ships; without a doubt, the pilots will be entirely composed of spellcasters.

The spellcaster becomes a pilot.

What else could they be but pampered soldiers?
This is also why he didn't want to establish an air force.

But an air force is still necessary; it's an indispensable part of the system. Wasn't that the case during the Pacific War? Aside from the British forces, which were largely inactive, there were no air forces, only air corps.

The Battle of Malaya was the first instance of air power engaging and ultimately sinking a battleship at sea. The destruction of the main force of Fleet Z signaled the opening of the southern gateway and also marked the end of the era of battleships and heavy artillery; the sky had triumphed over the sea.

So Dakous's idea was to establish an army aviation force and a navy aviation force, but a breakthrough in materials science changed this equation.

With the continuous emergence of new materials, the path of using fuel to power jet engines seems to be truly viable. The combination of high-temperature resistant ceramics and lightweight resins is sufficient to support a completely new power system.

It's just a matter of time.

As for training aircraft, aren't there Pterosaurs and Giant Eagles?

Those readily available flying creatures can serve as teaching tools for beginners.

But then again, propeller planes seem to have a reason to exist.

What about reconnaissance aircraft that can stay airborne for extended periods and are equipped with a large number of detection instruments?

Missions requiring prolonged hovering over the battlefield to gather intelligence are handled by elves who lack magical talent but possess physical prowess, quick reflexes, and sufficient training…

In addition, it can open a path for elves who cannot cast spells, plus jet aircraft that do not require magic to operate...

That would make sense.

do not know.

Dakos genuinely didn't know that, as a manager in charge of the overall situation, technology is different from politics. In terms of technological research and development, his way of thinking is not just about finding the right path, but about taking every path.

The optimal solution is found among the various paths, specifically the combination that best suits the elf and lizardman system.

If the sky is like this, the ground is even more ruthless.

Marekis's gaze swept over the contents of the paper again—the records of ground equipment, armor made of new materials, vehicles powered by new energy sources, and weapons of new concepts—each pointing in the same direction: change.

Darkus's greatest talent: transformation!
With the upgrade of the truck engines, the Val priests quickly produced armored vehicles.

This posed no challenge for them, or rather, the difficulty lay only in whether or not to do it, not in how. The principle was outrageously simple: attach armor plates to a truck.

And so, a boxy, armored steel behemoth was born.

Something interesting happened during the test.

Kuja participated in the test.

The specific testing method... is quite straightforward.

The golden-clad general, clad in three layers of heavy armor, stood straight in the square, waiting for the armored vehicle to arrive.

Waiting to get hit.

As a result, that collision almost sent him flying into some other world where there were no grand plans.

The scene unfolded like this: an armored vehicle charged at full speed, and Kuga assumed a fighting stance, his legs planted firmly on the ground, ready to take the hit. Then, with a loud bang, Kuga was sent flying.

It wasn't an exaggeration; it really took flight. The massive body, clad in three layers of heavy armor, traced a not-so-graceful but absolutely awe-inspiring arc through the air before crashing heavily to the ground a dozen meters away. Fortunately, the plaza was clean, and not a speck of dust was raised.

Meanwhile, on the armored vehicle, a large dent was etched into the front armor plate, the engine emitted a wheezing sound under the strain, and the entire vehicle trembled in place for a while before finally calming down.

The crowd fell silent until Kuja got up from the ground and walked back to his original position expressionlessly, at which point they burst into enthusiastic applause.

The next test used a different object.

Ankylosaurus joined.

The behemoth, clad in brand-new plastic steel armor, strode heavily toward the center, and the armored vehicle charged forward at full speed once again.

This time, they successfully stopped it.

The Ankylosaurus, with its heavy body encased in new materials, forcefully stopped the armored vehicle in place. The wheels spun wildly, the engine roared, but it couldn't move forward an inch.

Of course, the ankylosaurus wasn't much better off.

After the impact, the enormous creature swayed several times, its limbs went limp, and finally collapsed to the ground with a thud. It took it a while to recover before it got up again.

Biological tanks and mechanical tanks fought to a draw in the first battle.

The applause from the onlookers grew even louder.

Getting here is just the beginning.

This "beginning" refers to the elves starting to exert their power.

They then drove the steam-powered engineering vehicles to the square for a major upgrade, dismantling them piecemeal. The steam system was completely removed, leaving only the chassis and tracks. Then, they began loading things onto them—not weapons, but entirely new power systems.

The other group went even further, successfully overtaking others by developing an anti-gravity tank while the Valkyrie was upgrading the tracked tank chassis and power system.

The reason they were able to overtake others on a curve is that they didn't need to develop a chassis or powertrain system. Another reason is that the project had been on the project plan for a long time, but research and development had not yet begun.

The reason is simple: although the theoretical framework is not advanced, the materials cannot support it.

Now, we have the materials.

Thus, they achieved a true leapfrog development.

While the Val priests were still upgrading the chassis and power system of the tracked tanks, an anti-gravity tank was already hovering above the square.

The principle is simple, and simple for the sorceresses. The Arcane Orb provides anti-gravity, allowing the tank to levitate; the raider's propulsion system provides thrust, allowing the tank to move; and the top is equipped with a Twisting Cannon as a weapon.

It doesn't need a chassis, tracks, or any complicated mechanical structures.

Directly from theory to reality.

Flame Crystal Anti-Gravity Tank.

The name "Flame Crystal" was coined by Darkus, or more accurately, it was plagiarized.

The initial version was very basic.

The turret cannot rotate; the entire vehicle must be turned to aim. The armor is not thick enough, so it relies entirely on the energy shield to compensate. The flight time is limited; it cannot fly for long before it has to land to replace the Arcane Sphere.

But Darkus looked at the hovering tank, a certain light gleaming in his eyes.

In his view, while this tank is basic, it has significant room for upgrades. Further improvements could include stronger shields, thicker armor, longer range, a rotating turret…

It was no less than the name he remembered.

Flame Crystal Anti-Gravity Tank.

It's worth having.

Of course, every advantage has its disadvantages.

The advantage is that this tank is entirely powered by magic, unlike the others which have huge air intakes on both sides. Although it has a protective force field, the force field does not mean invincibility; once the air intakes are hit, the entire vehicle will be rendered useless.

This tank, lacking the Flame Crystal anti-gravity effect, has this weakness. It hovers in the air using magic, without an air intake.

In addition, this tank can also be equipped by the Lizardmen.

This is very important.

The lizardmen live in an environment crisscrossed by rivers and dotted with swamps. Trucks and tanks are fine to drive in temple cities, but once they enter the wild, heavy-duty behemoths like ankylosaurs are much more practical.

But anti-gravity tanks are different.

It does not need to stay close to the ground when moving and can ignore the terrain.

Therefore, there is no such thing as useless technology, only reasonable positioning and usage environment.

The downside is that this tank is entirely powered by magic.

This means it is destined to be unable to be deployed on a large scale; spellcasters are a scarce resource, and arcane orbs are expensive consumables...

Unless it is physicalized or hybridized.

In terms of tactical use, it is closer to a kind of special equipment or fist, like the German triple armored battalion in Dakous's memory, which deployed limited elite forces to the most critical positions.

Fortunately, the anti-gravity tank is fast enough and doesn't require a lot of people to take care of it.

After a moment, Dakotas turned his head and looked at Malekith beside him.

"How about it?"

Malekith was still staring at the paper, his expression complex. After a moment, he looked away, giving a dismissive smirk.

"It's nothing special."

As he spoke, he crumpled the paper in his hand into a ball again. This was the third time he had done this. He crumpled and unfolded the poor list over and over again.

Then he turned to Dakota, his tone suddenly becoming serious.

"So, my dear Darkus, my omnipotent Darkus, what shall we do next? What is my task?"

Before Darkus could speak, he continued to attack.

"Also, I've been putting up with you for a long time."

He looked Dakos up and down, his gaze sweeping from head to toe and back again.

"Are you dressed like that for hunting later?" (End of Chapter)