Magic Industrial Age.

Chapter 541, Section 539: First Battle a Success, Traveling for a Month (Part Two)

One of the principles that Loy believes in is: If you are prepared, you will succeed; if you are not prepared, you will fail!
In other words, you need to conduct research, make plans, and have contingency plans before doing anything. It's best to have extra plans in case of emergencies.

In this way, even if problems arise, we can remain calm and handle them rationally.

Therefore, the investigation of the Blood Moon Forest demiplane never stopped before the expedition.

The Blood Moon Forest is not some hidden demiplane; it has appeared multiple times in Herka's history, and a considerable amount of information has been leaked about it.

Furthermore, Lady Palacios even unearthed information about the origins of this demiplane from newly acquired ancient texts.

That came from a dark god named Mara, who, in ancient times, controlled the divine roles of darkness, witchcraft, necromancy, and slaughter.

And for this reason, they were worshipped by many dark races.

Vampires, werewolves, barbarians, dark elves, fallen angels, ghouls, liches, zombies, and so on are all major sources of his followers.

He was known for his brutal killings and bloody rule, and instilled fear in countless races.

At its peak, it also reached the level of intermediate divine power, and with its vast divine power, it extracted fragments from the astral plane, modified them, and finally formed its own dark divine kingdom.

However, He later became too arrogant and blasphemed the goddess of nature, which caught the eye of the young sun god.

The sun god at that time hated evil and was always at the forefront of the lawful pantheon. This time was no exception, and he even went to greater extremes.

He launched a direct divine war against Mara, swiftly destroying Mara's temple, ruining Mara's idols, and hunting down Mara's followers.

He struck with ruthlessness and decisiveness, leaving Mara completely bewildered.

After realizing what had happened, Mara was furious and wanted to cause trouble for the sun god, but little did he know that the sun god was just waiting for him to rush out of his kingdom.

Then, in that battle, the sun god accomplished the first act of god-slaying, and his fame spread throughout the Old World.

Thus began the monumental feat of dominating the Old World and unifying the faith.

So what does all this have to do with the Blood Moon Forest?

That's right, the Blood Moon Forest was originally the Kingdom of Mara!

After Mara's death in battle, his followers fell into infighting and engaged in bloody battles based on race.

The ultimate victor was undoubtedly the vampires, and the Toridor clan within the vampires became the rulers of this demiplane, a position they hold to this day.

It was also through inheriting a portion of Mara's legacy that demigods were born among the vampires, and that they were able to establish themselves and gain influence on a certain level of the abyss.

The reason why the vampires were still allowed to operate in the Old World and why the major human powers did not truly exterminate them lies in this.

Having connections makes a difference in treatment.

Getting back to the main point, after figuring out some of the details of the Blood Moon Forest, Luo Yi immediately convened a battle meeting.
He summoned all the generals of the Flower Territory, gave each of them a document, and asked them to analyze the situation and write a battle plan.

These generals were selected through rounds of rigorous screening, and they all possessed some ability and were willing to learn.

If this were a knightly general from the past, he would probably be scratching his head in dismay.

However, the final submitted plans varied in quality; some were complete, some were comprehensive, and some were perfunctory.

Regardless of the type, Luo Yi made them go on stage to give speeches and then answer questions, explain, and refute others.

That's right, Luo Yi was actually training their abilities, hoping to let them accumulate more combat experience in this way.

It should be said that the effect is quite obvious.

Amidst the competition, a battle plan written by Vincent Ackerman gradually gained acceptance.

Analyzing the situation in Blood Moon Forest, everyone unanimously agreed that this battle lacked both home-field advantage and favorable timing and location.

They also have no idea how many dark factions there are, what their ruling structure is, how many powerful individuals they have, how many combat-ready soldiers they have, or what kind of magic they excel at.
Without knowing anything about the enemy, one should not underestimate the enemy and act rashly, and it is even more unsuitable to travel long distances!
In addition, the Blood Moon Forest, as its name suggests, is densely forested with many trees and poor roads, making it difficult for even magic tanks to advance quickly.

Therefore, the most suitable approach is to fight a protracted war!

Prioritize stability, proceed cautiously step by step, and gradually advance, leveraging the firepower advantage of magical weapons to eliminate the enemy's manpower.

Of course, Luo Yi also had some additional ideas, namely, training troops!
This expansion has increased to three divisions, totaling 30,000 men, with more than 20,000 being raw recruits. They need to be sent to the battlefield and see blood before they can become elite veterans.

Therefore, the first thing the Royal Guard did after crossing the spatial rift was to build camps and pave roads.

It took them three days to clear out a large area of ​​land deep in the forest and build a forward war base.

Though small, it has everything you need. Not only does it have a magic energy pool for power, but it also boasts a small airport and runway.
And temporary monster lairs.

That's right, for this battle, Roy brought the Flower Territory's air force, the First Flying Squadron, and the Griffin Knights.

After a long period of training, it's time to show our skills on the battlefield.

It's worth mentioning that the griffins, under the training of the King of Fury, Silas, were very obedient. After being paired with a group of knights, they were used as bombers by Roy due to their amazing carrying capacity.

Those knights were a portion of the old noble knights who were eliminated during the military reforms.

Their minds are rigid; they are not very willing to learn and are still immersed in the glory of the old aristocracy.

Even Roy struggled to command them, but when they heard about recruiting griffin riders, they were all incredibly enthusiastic.

There's no way around it; the Raymond family has wanted to form the Griffin Knights for quite some time now.

Throughout their lives, from childhood to adulthood, they have always been proud to become griffin riders.
Given this opportunity, I'd be willing to give up my salary.

As for the first-generation aircraft, they will follow the Empire's original tactics, forming teams of three to be responsible for aerial combat.

To be honest, Luo Yi was keen to optimize and improve the first-generation aircraft.

Forget about supersonic cruise, stealth, beyond-visual-range strike, super maneuverability, etc., just let's start with breaking the supersonic barrier, high-altitude high-speed, and air-to-air missiles!

The problem is that the technology of the first-generation machine is still in the digestion stage, and Luo Yi really can't find any outstanding mechanical mages, so he has to give up.

Extending outwards from the camp gate, a straight, wide road, large enough for three tanks to drive side by side, was quickly formed thanks to the hard work of the corps soldiers.

Because the cement developed by the empire requires a certain amount of time to harden, this road uses asphalt pavement.

First, the trees were felled, then the land was leveled, followed by the laying of roughly the same size pebbles brought from the flower garden, and finally, tar extracted from the pine trees was poured on top.

Finally, the tanks dragged huge, heavy rollers back and forth across the surface until it was smooth, and the asphalt road was complete, allowing tanks to roam freely.

At the soldiers' pace, they could advance ten miles a day, and in three days they would have reached thirty miles away.

Here, the construction team is surveying the terrain again, preparing to build a second fortified camp.

It was here that the Flower Territory Guard and the Dark Blood Clan clashed for the first time.

However, to everyone's surprise, this battle was so one-sided!
As the soldiers of the Imperial Guard were laying the road, they heard a commotion in the jungle.

Three days of peace made them lower their guard, thinking it was just some magical beasts approaching.

But when the wolf howls came, they realized something was wrong.

At the squad leader's command, they dropped their tools, picked up their weapons, and fled for their lives.

Bats flew through the air at great speed, leaving trails as they pounced on the imperial guards.

Although the Imperial Guard soldiers were fleeing, it was an orderly retreat. Immediately, several of them turned around, opened fire with their semi-automatic rifles, and fired a series of bullets.

Unfortunately, the difference in strength was too great. These vampires at the forefront were at least third-tier transcendents. With a burst of blood-red light, they transformed into a magical shield, which blocked the bullets.

Then, the bats swarmed the soldiers, transformed them into human form, and plunged their sharp teeth into their necks to suck their blood.

In a very short time, several guards lost vital signs and were dead beyond any doubt.

However, this was the vampires' final act of violence.

boom!
With a deafening roar, a cannonball exploded in mid-air, its blinding holy light causing the once arrogant vampires to scream in terror.

This is a tracer bullet!

The equipment that Roy obtained from the Empire came in handy at this moment, while the magic tank that fired tracer rounds finally emerged from the bushes nearby.

Not just one, but a full four!

They advanced along the road at a slow pace, but their main guns fired in quick succession without hesitation.

Of course, they weren't tracer rounds, but ordinary shells are still extremely lethal.

At the end of the road, dense trees were snapped in half by the explosion, wood chips flying everywhere, leaving behind a scene of devastation.

Two heavy machine guns opened fire, sealing off the surroundings and the sky. Even if the vampires could fly and split into bats, a large number of them would be wiped out.

As for the Imperial Guard soldiers, they were already fully armed, some carrying heavy machine guns, others wielding Garand semi-automatic rifles.
Using tanks as cover, they fired in all directions, and whenever they sensed movement, they would first unleash a burst of bullets.

If all else fails, throw another grenade.

At this moment, the vampires and werewolves from the three legends finally arrived.

They launched their attack from the sky and the ground, some using blood magic, some transforming into bats to charge, and some howling as werewolves, nimbly leaping about.

In terms of courage, they certainly lived up to it; each one of them was fearless and did not disgrace their masters.

In terms of strength, they are quite formidable, having been trained by legendary figures; they wouldn't be presentable if they were too weak.

The problem is that they are typical scattered and disorganized groups, fighting in disarray.

Let alone coordinating with each other, it would be good enough if you could dodge without blocking the attack route of your allies.

Facing the Imperial Guard soldiers, though they were stronger, they couldn't withstand the concentrated fire. It felt like waves crashing against rocks, looking fierce but ultimately being shattered on the beach.

As for the tank's main gun, they were even less able to stop it, and the tracer rounds fired every now and then filled them with terror and unbearable pain.

Perhaps the only noteworthy thing is that many of these dark werewolves and Bruch vampires are armed.

Whether it's a revolver or a pistol, it's mostly held in both hands.
Furthermore, although they only possess dark magic, they are naturally awakened and have enough power to activate firearms.

They were firing with great enthusiasm, the 'bang bang bang' never stopping, and they even had a knack for quick reloading.

The problem is that, apart from ricochets, which can occasionally injure infantry behind tanks, they are truly useless against tanks.

But if they hesitate even slightly, several guns will fire dozens or even hundreds of bullets, turning them into sieves.

As for the powerful members of the vampire clan, they did take action.

The three legendary figures personally selected vampire marquises, possessing calamity-level strength.

However, the Flower Territory was not without its own arrangements; the King of Fury, Silas, and the Flame Sword Saint, Otto, were stationed there to guard the area.

Although they were missing one natural disaster, they showed no sign of weakness.

The two even started vying for the third Calamity, each believing they could take on both of them.

Silas, the King of Fury, activated two levels of berserk mode, blocking Theodore Iverson, the Dark Werewolf, while also attacking Fiona in mid-air from time to time.

Otto, the Flame Sword Saint, carried a magical artifact specially designed for him by Loy, which resembled a flamethrower.

Every time he uses it, it's ignited by his fire-type battle aura, and then it explodes.

The narrowed nozzle provides an enormous amount of kinetic energy, like a cannonball being fired, blasting Otto out and giving him instantaneous high speed.

That was so fast it was almost unbelievable, even for Ural, a vampire marquis, who was caught off guard.

Meanwhile, Otto, the Flame Sword Saint, relying on his speed, would occasionally charge at Fiona, and once he got close, he would deliver a vicious blow.

Marquis Fiona was furious. He felt like he had become a performer whom anyone could flirt with, one after another.

But she couldn't really fight back yet, because she suddenly realized that she couldn't beat either of them.

If you attract their serious attention and attack them with all your might, you'll be the one who suffers.

However, she only needed about fifteen minutes to stop worrying about it.

Because on the ground battlefield, the combined forces of vampires and werewolves have already fled in panic.

Without the constraints of the ground battlefield, the three dark race members lost all will to fight and fled at top speed.

Thus, the Flower Territory Imperial Guards achieved a resounding victory in their first battle!
……

Castle,

The three legendary powerhouses stared intently at the magic mirror, their eyes unblinking, and the air was filled with a deathly silence.

After a long, long time, the burly, towering Dark Werewolf progenitor spoke another blunt truth: "The difference is really that big?"

The elderly vampire, unusually, agreed with him, saying, "It's at least the difference between a third-rate mercenary group and a knightly order!"

Have you noticed that, apart from the few mortal warriors killed in the initial ambush, none of the subsequent ones seem to have died?

"And what we lost were all our elite troops."

He paused, then added, "This isn't a difference in strength; it's a generational gap in discipline and weaponry."

"So how do we fight now?"

The burly man added, "While Theodore Iverson's werewolves may not be as formidable as my personal guard, they are definitely among the top three in strength."

The old vampire muttered, "The vampire squad from Ural may not have the highest rank, but their teamwork is already the best."

"So, what's the next step?"

Both legends turned their gazes toward the Grand Duke of Toledo, who sat atop the central throne.

The vampire duke, whose expression was already gloomy, looked even more displeased. He knew all too well that times had changed and the methods of warfare had changed as well.

If they cling to their old fighting methods and face an iron army, they will only be utterly crushed.

But at this moment, he dared not admit it, nor could he admit it, because if the two in front of him ran away, then he would really be left to fight alone.

However, just as he was wondering how to answer, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he thought of something.

His expression remained unchanged, but a smile appeared on his lips as he said casually, "This battle will not be easy!"

"However, as I said, this is ultimately the Blood Moon Forest, my territory."

Therefore, I have plenty of ways.

The old vampire couldn't help but roll his eyes: "Stop bragging! If you're so capable, explain yourself clearly so we can put our minds at ease."

"Haven't you noticed their fatal weakness?!"

"A fatal weakness? Where is it? I can't see it."

"They opened the portal using the fragments of the Blood Moon, so that portal is their weakness."

As he said this, Grand Duke Toredor released a burst of blood magic, using the magic mirror to control the magic eye in the void to change its perspective.

The images on the magic mirror flashed by rapidly, following the straight road towards the base behind.

At the same moment, his confident voice echoed throughout the castle: "If we can't win the war of mortals, we'll fight the war of legends."

"As the army advances, both Karen, the vegetarian, and that bastard son will have to follow along."

"Once they've created some distance, we'll unleash our full power and attack the portal."

"I believe there will be legendary experts stationed there, but even if that old dragon is there, it will still be three against one for us."

Winning or losing doesn't matter; we're going to destroy this portal.

That would effectively confine the entire human army within this demiplane.

"At that time, without logistical support, and with ammunition dwindling with each battle, I could overwhelm them even if I used the Dark Tribe to overwhelm them."

"But what about those legendary powerhouses? Aren't you afraid they'll fight us to the death?"

"Hehehe, with the gate closed, I can advance or retreat at will. At worst, we won't confront them head-on; we can wear them down even if we have to exhaust them."

"All of this you've said seems to be based on the premise that their legendary powerhouses leave the teleportation portal, but what if they don't leave?"

This was the question posed by the burly man from the iron tower, and it touched upon the very heart of Grand Duke Toledo.

Then he burst into laughter and said, "If all their legends were stationed at the portal, that would be even better."

The three of us launched a direct attack on their vanguard, letting their tanks escape. Their infantry was formidable, but we were legends!

"Although it's shameful to attack these mortals, I'm not going to be shameless this time. I'm going to kill them all."

"Attacking from both ends, focusing on one front while neglecting the other, excellent idea! Excellent idea!"

This was a compliment from the aged vampire, which made Grand Duke Toridor look quite pleased with himself.

At that moment, the scene froze, revealing the situation in the military camp. Then, the expressions of the three legends suddenly stiffened, as if they had been frozen in place by a monster spell.

On the magic mirror, a scene of a large army setting off was displayed.

Aircraft cruised, tanks led the way, magical heavy trucks carried supplies, and infantrymen marched forward on foot.

Long lines of soldiers stretched along the road, but everyone could see that these soldiers were extremely vigilant and ready to fight at any moment.

Of course, these are not the focus of the three legendary observers.

They were looking at the center of the formation, where four tanks were bound with fist-sized iron chains and eventually tied to a large array made of magical steel.

They were not moving very fast; below them were round sleepers that they were constantly replacing.

Most astonishingly, at the top, four mages stood at the four corners, steadily channeling their magic power.

At the center, the portal, resembling a reflection of a blood moon, was bound by more than a dozen magical chains.

Then, as the massive magic circle moved forward, the portal was also dragged along.

Therefore, what Grand Duke Toledo could think of, Lloyd certainly thought of as well, and he could not possibly leave such a big weakness.

His solution, however, was somewhat unconventional: he ordered a large army to set off and drag the portal along with them.

Although it is very difficult and requires a lot of magical materials, Loy has neither a shortage of money nor a shortage of materials.

And that's how this 'traveling by moonlight' came about!
After a long silence, the werewolf progenitor finally spoke: "This will work?"

The aged vampire echoed, "Nobody said this wouldn't work!"

"Does that mean the so-called weakness is gone?"

"So, Alessandro, didn't you say there were other ways? Tell me again?"

At this moment, Grand Duke Toredor: "..."

PS: Another two-in-one. I seem to really enjoy writing long chapters now, finishing the plot in one go, and it feels so satisfying!
(End of this chapter)