Magic Industrial Age.

Chapter 577-575: Betrayal by Saints, High-Energy Magic Crystal (Two-in-One)

In January of the new divine calendar year 317, when the fighting had paused, Loy's actions were nothing short of earth-shattering.

A legendary dragon knight, renowned throughout the Old World, was utterly destroyed.

If it weren't for the prior agreement, this person would have inevitably met a tragic end!

It seems that, at some point, legends have become less valuable, and the resulting uproar has affected many aspects of life.

But so what?

Luo Yi didn't care; with his current strength, he had the right to not care!

For him, after lying low for so long, it was time to settle this old grudge.

He wasn't actually close to the Raymond family, and had only met Earl Carl Raymond a few times.

However, having become the master of Flower Territory and inherited the title of King of Lions, he also bore the consequences, and naturally had to do what he was supposed to do.

Besides, he actually acted with great restraint; he didn't really go after them all.

His arrival in Bremen caused quite a stir!

The Cathedral of St. Vermont acted as if facing a formidable enemy, and the Sardinian royal family dispatched their strongest warriors early on. The empress managed to gather seven or eight legendary figures from various sources.

But numbers are just numbers. If having more people is useful, then the strong are worthless.

Loy treated them as nothing and didn't care at all, but what about these legends?

They were very polite, not at all like they were there to stop Luo Yi. Or rather, the Queen's orders were just orders, not specific instructions on how to do them.
To what extent?
That would naturally mean that a general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders!

They wouldn't risk their lives to save face for Her Majesty the Queen, so there's no fool like that who would rush out to seek attention!
However, Luo Yi's goal was not achieved!
Because the Cardinal in his robes, His Holiness Saint Vermont, was not at home.

Only then did he realize that the Church of the Sun God was launching a massive purge against the thirteen vampire clans.
This extremely bloodthirsty cardinal may have also joined the war!

Luo Yi was somewhat frustrated at not finding his target, but he couldn't stay there any longer.

Someone of his caliber, a peak combatant in this dimension, is already a key target of surveillance by various countries; his every move can trigger panic.

If someone doesn't show up for a long time, they might become suspicious.

However, to Luo Yi's surprise, not long after he returned to Flower Territory, Saint John Stuart, one of the twelve cardinals of the Church of the Sun God, arrived.

……

Lion Manor, inside the study.

Loy and Saint-Yon sat facing each other. Tea was served, and Loy spoke first: "Your Majesty, we had an agreement beforehand..."
The church will not concern itself with my feud with St. Vermont!

Saint John's face was very serious and grim.

Even so, after hearing Luo Yi's words, he forced a smile: "What, you think I'm here to play peacemaker?"

"Isn't that right!"

"No, that's not it. I'm here to give you some news."

Luo Yi's expression was strange: "If it's just a message, there are plenty of channels to deliver it. There's no need for you to make the trip yourself, is there?"

Is the cardinal's time so worthless?

"It's not that my time is worthless, but this information cannot be leaked in the slightest."

Within the entire church, at most five people know the truth; even most of the cardinals have been kept in the dark.

Loy's expression also turned serious, but she became even more curious: "Could it be that Netheril can't hold back any longer and is about to make a move?"

Or perhaps the Hohenzollern royal family will unleash some terrifying magical technology?

"Is it appropriate for you to tell me such confidential information?"

Saint Yorn did not respond, but looked at Loy seriously and said, "If that's the case, the entire Old World will be informed, not just you."

So, this news concerns you!

"Can you stop keeping me in suspense? Don't you know how annoying it is to leave things unsaid?!"

Saint Yorn pursed his lips: "Saint Vermont has betrayed his faith. He has been led by the vampire prince, the abyss lord, Caesar Hall Torido, and has entered the 138th level of the abyss."

"what?"

Even Roy was stunned at this moment. He stared wide-eyed at Saint John and blurted out, "Is he insane?"

Saint-Jon also looked distressed and said, "When I first heard the news, I had the same thought as you: Has he gone mad?!"

"Wait, tell me the specifics first!"

"Actually, it's nothing much. It's just that the church is pushing for a major purge of the vampires. There aren't many here in the Old World, so it's mainly concentrated in the New World."

For a period of time, the vampires of the Glorious Empire were decimated, with at least four vampire grand dukes killed by the Church's legends.

Saint Vermont, ptooey, ptooey, that traitor from Vermont also joined the war at the beginning, and he was quite brave.

However, when news came that you had killed the Green Dragon Knight Quentin Perkins, he started behaving strangely, but the Church didn't seem to care.

No one could have imagined that such a small oversight would lead him to contact the vampire prince, set a trap, murder three legendary figures of the church, reap their souls, and ultimately sink into the abyss.

Luo Yi frowned and said, "You mean, he was intimidated by my strength and chose to defect?"
How could this be?! I didn't even completely eliminate Quentin, let alone intend to kill him outright!

He paused, then continued, "Don't tell me this person hasn't even mastered resurrection magic? Is the Church's 'Great Resurrection Magic' a fake?"

"That's not true, but you only know one side of the story!"

Resurrection spells can never be used indefinitely. For example, if you resurrect someone using the same method once, it will be useless the second time.

"But the Vermonter who defected truly lived for a thousand years, long past his lifespan, so resurrection magic was useless to him."

"So what if you get beaten to death?"

Luo Yi added, "He was the one who bestowed blessings upon the Lord of Light. Even after he died, his soul could return to Heaven and be reborn as an angel!"
"It's still better than going to the abyss, isn't it?"

“Who says it’s not?!”

There has to be a reason, right?

Saint John was silent for a moment before finally saying, "We have also discussed this issue. It is Vermont's claims and views that have not been accepted or adopted by the Church."

Frustrated and unsuccessful, he acted impulsively and did this foolish thing.

"But betrayal is betrayal, and the Church will make him pay the price!"

"Then why did you rush over to tell me?"

"This is the matter! I need to make this clear to you first, and you should understand the rest..."

Saint John's ambiguous words startled Loy, but he understood after just a slight squint.

"Understood. What do you need me to do?"

"All you have to do is do nothing and not express any opinion."

"understood."

……

Saint John came quickly and left even faster, quietly, almost unnoticed.

Then, just three days later, news spread like wildfire that Saint Vermont had died and gone to heaven.

However, it wasn't Luo Yi who made the move; instead, she perished in the siege of the vampire duke, leaving no trace of her body.

Then, the Church arranged the funeral, posthumous title, and final judgment with the utmost speed, followed by the selection of the new twelve cardinals, and continued the fight...

Everything was there, but every step was incredibly fast, and in a short time, everything was settled.

From this day forward, Saint Vermont is dead, killed by vampires!
As for the traitor with the same name, Vermont, he will forever be the target of the church's persecution.

Roy could understand the Church's actions; after all, if word got out that one of the twelve cardinals had chosen to betray them, the resulting crisis of faith would be terrifying.

This would cause countless people to doubt the greatness and divine power of the sun god, and consequently, their faith would waver!

This is a serious consequence that even the church cannot afford!

Instead, it would be better to use the death of Saint Vermont to inspire ordinary clergy and intensify the purge of vampires.

In fact, in the Glorious Empire, the Church not only mobilized the power of churches in various places, but also the imperial power and other races, creating a situation of exclusion.

As a result, life became even more difficult for vampires, who were treated like rats in the street, hated by everyone.

However, in February of the new Divine Calendar year 317, another major event occurred, completely covering up these events.

That is, the Empire announced that it would implement the 'Unrestricted Submarine Program'!
To put it bluntly, the Empire's magic submarines will no longer have any scruples and will attack ships on the endless ocean and the silver sea without restraint.

The war has progressed to this point, and both the Allied Forces and the Empire are nearly exhausted in terms of resources.

The difference is that the Empire can rely on its advanced industrial system for production, while the Allied Forces have a vast rear supply line.

The Imperial Navy proposed this submarine attack plan, which was aimed at the warships of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

According to the plan given to Hohenzollern III by the navy, if they could destroy 600,000 tons of Sardinian navy every month for five months, they could cut off the supply system.

At that time, the Kingdom of Sardinia will be plunged into a state of food and clothing shortage, and a great famine will occur in the country, thus forcing the queen to make a choice and withdraw from the war!
Without the support of the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Bonaparte Empire alone would truly be unable to withstand the pressure.

Is this plan feasible?

Yes, there is. If everything can be completed according to plan, perhaps the goal can be achieved!
After all, while the Kingdom of Sardinia has colonies all over the world, its mainland consists of only three islands. Its area is truly small, and resources are genuinely scarce.

However, military matters are military matters, and purely military analysis can never replace politics.

The 'Unrestricted Submarine Project' offended not the Kingdom of Sardinia, but the Glorious Empire first.

Because nowadays, the most frequent merchant ships sailing on the endless ocean and the silver sea belong to the Glorious Empire.

When I'm making tons of money, you want to cut off my source of income?

That's no less than killing one's parents!
Therefore, the Glorious Empire chose to sever diplomatic relations with the Habsburg Empire, citing the destruction of the merchant ship "Hausantunik" by its submarine.

Undoubtedly, this news caused a huge uproar, far more shocking than the death of one or two legends.

This means that the industrial powerhouse, which was built up by the Habsburg Empire, has finally stood on the opposite side of the empire.

The complete breakdown of relations between the two sides also signifies the further strengthening of the allied forces and the entry of the Glorious Empire into the war.

This news caused widespread panic, and even within the empire itself, signs of instability emerged.

Fortunately, after a series of fierce battles and heavy losses, both the Empire and the Allied forces were exhausted and unable to continue fighting.
The battlefield is relatively calm, and it is even visibly calm for a long time to come.

However, are the Empire and the Allied Forces just sitting around doing nothing?
That's impossible!
The stalemate on the battlefield made diplomacy incredibly frequent, with back-and-forth exchanges and alliances becoming the norm.

The Glorious Empire's statement and alignment have indeed garnered a large number of supporters for the Allied Forces, strengthening the confidence of many duchies and kingdoms.

In addition, there was the rampant presence of spies, with espionage and counter-espionage battles unfolding in every major city, creating a great deal of white terror and causing widespread unease.

Of course, Luo Yi couldn't feel any of this, since he didn't live in these cities.

For him, the most direct result was that more and more people were fleeing, both within the Empire and on the side of the Allied Forces.

It wasn't just the lower classes; there were also many high-ranking scholars, magicians, extraordinary experts, and various other highly skilled talents.

With such a great opportunity, Luo Yi naturally didn't hesitate and recruited many talented people, filling them into various projects and greatly advancing the project progress.

During this period, the various projects that Luo Yi had wholeheartedly supported finally began to bear fruit.

What surprised him most was the groundbreaking progress of the 'high-energy magic crystal'.

Speaking of this project, Flower Collar has quite a bit of technical expertise.

In particular, they traded with the underwater world and acquired many exotic materials.

The current second-generation magic tanks do not use moonstone magic crystals, but magic pearl magic crystals, which have at least doubled the energy density.

Even so, it was still not enough for the third-generation magic tanks.

Therefore, a long time ago, Flower Territory began research on high-energy magic crystals, led by Lilia and assisted by Lady Linda, and tested many materials.

Then came the addition of Ms. Bridget Lyman, who brought with her a wealth of data from her previous experiments.

The combination of these two aspects has brought about tremendous innovation.

According to Ms. Bridget Lyman, deep-sea magic pearls are actually the best carrier in terms of magic energy density.

Even using precious materials such as gemstones and crystals, it couldn't be any better.

However, Ms. Bridget Lyman creatively invented the Magic Pearl Linkage Method.

Simply put, it involves stringing together magic pearls to allow the magic energy inside to flow, thereby creating a cluster effect that greatly increases the density of storable magic energy.

The same number of magic crystals, when linked together in this way, directly resulted in an exaggerated three-fold increase.

Furthermore, Ms. Bridget Lyman incorporated the concept of modularity and specially created a honeycomb-shaped magic storage device.

Simply put, it's a rectangular box into which each magic pearl is pressed, with the gaps filled with magic pearl powder to increase its fluidity.
The surface of the box is engraved with stable magical runes using classical alchemy, driven by dissipated magical energy.

Thus, the new high-energy magic crystal assembly was completed. Its volume was not much different from the original, and the cost only increased by 20%, but the magic energy storage capacity quadrupled.

Lilia conducted an experiment, placing it on a second-generation magic tank. Under normal conditions, it could even maintain the shield for a full four hours.

If subjected to saturation attacks, it can withstand attacks for up to half an hour as long as its defenses are not breached, which can be considered a leap in performance.

More importantly, the modular design also has the advantage of quickly replacing high-energy magic crystals, and Lilia is already revising the blueprints for the Land Warfare King.

She plans to leave enough space for tank crews to change equipment inside. While it doesn't have to be plug-and-play, as long as the replacement time is kept under thirty seconds, the endurance won't be a problem.

But that's not all!

If the 'Second Generation High Energy Magic Crystal' was an alternative approach, then the 'Third Generation High Energy Magic Crystal' presented by Ms. Bridget Lyman is a truly revolutionary design.

While checking the materials inventory of the flower shop, the lady was surprised to find that there was even a treasure called Divine Power Crystal.

She applied on a whim, and Luo Yi actually granted her the offer.

Then, she mixed the divine power crystal powder with magic pearl powder and other substances to create a mixed magic material.

Its capacity to withstand magical energy is so exaggerated that even the initial prototypes had an increase of more than tenfold.

If the proportions are fine-tuned to achieve the best results, there is still a significant leap forward.

Then, by linking them together using the 'linkage method', the increase is more than forty times, and the magic energy output is almost equivalent to a miniature magic energy pool.

Let alone ordinary tanks, we could even equip them with some fantastical mechanical weapons.

For example, powered mechs, humanoid Gundams, and space fighters.

Of course, the scarcity of divine power barriers means that they cannot be widely popularized, and the cost is high.

But Loy still granted permission without hesitation to support Ms. Bridget Lyman's 'Divine Power High-Energy Magic Crystal' project.

The breakthrough of the 'High Energy Magic Crystal Project' has brought tremendous benefits.

Putting everything else aside, Lilia immediately produced the project proposal for the third generation of King of the Ground Force.

This was actually planned all along, but now some details have been added or removed, and it's been finalized.

For example, the shield of a single-layer deflection field is still a bit weak, and it can now be added to a double defense.

The outer layer deflects the energy, while the inner layer reduces kinetic energy. The two layers of defense work together to achieve excellent results.

Furthermore, the addition of reconnaissance magic and the application of infrared night vision, all integrated into the imaging magic mirror,
This provides a panoramic view, thus completely solving the driver's visibility problem.

It is worth mentioning that with the addition of the King of Magic Eyes, the manufacturing technology of magic mirrors has also made breakthroughs, and the image-forming magic mirror is the best product.

Finally, Loy also added a radio communication module.

This means integrating Hill Douglas's project into it, allowing for internal communication within the tank and enabling adaptability on the battlefield.

Thus, the third-generation king of land warfare finally showed the form that Loy had hoped for.

There are also second-generation fighter jets, whose capabilities are constantly being improved.

For example, with sufficient power, hypersonic flight would achieve speeds of at least Mach 3 or higher.

For example, adding an aerodynamic magic shield can enhance defensive capabilities, making it no longer a fragile character that breaks at the slightest touch.

For example, to enhance its air combat capabilities, it could equip it with the research findings of Marius Gray, such as close-range air-to-air missiles.

There has also been a breakthrough in His Excellency Offhen Benitez's individual equipment project.

He hasn't finished developing the individual exoskeleton yet, but he has indeed integrated the individual magical energy shield onto the bulletproof vest.

Inside the ceramic bulletproof vest, a layer of magical metal is added, and a set of defensive magic shields is engraved. Combined with a portable 'second-generation high-energy magic crystal', a set of individual magic energy shields is formed.

It sounds simple, but it's actually quite technically demanding, even involving a combination of classical alchemy and mechanical science.

It's not finalized yet, but it can already activate magical shields using magic power according to the soldiers' needs.

Loy also witnessed the practical demonstration of Orpheus's performance; the shockwave from the explosion was still too much for him, and the dummy was thrown out.

However, thanks to the magical shield, I wasn't seriously injured after landing.

It can be said that the breakthrough of the "high-energy magic crystal" project has brought about changes in all aspects.

Even with the arrogance of His Majesty Ferro, the King of the Magic Eyes, he couldn't help but admire after seeing so many benefits.

It can be said that from that day on, many of the projects of Flower Territory had already stepped into the foreground of the Habsburg Empire.

These achievements gave Luo Yi some ideas.

……

Lion Estate

In the study,
Luo Yi flipped through the documents in her hand and suddenly asked, "Virgil, you said that Vermont escaped into the abyss and that the vampire prince gave him protection. Does that mean he's planning to stir up trouble in the Old World again?"
Will they cause me trouble?

Should I strike first and give them a little shock?

Bored, Virgil looked up, completely bewildered: "What do you want?"

"What do you say, what if we fight our way into the abyss?"

Virgil the Red Dragon was stunned. It took him a long time to move. He touched Roy's forehead and said, "Let me see, are you delirious from the fever?"

"They even ventured into the abyss, which is a bottomless abyss!"

"Are you crazy, or is there something wrong with my ears?"

PS: Long chapter, updating earlier!
(End of this chapter)