Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 628 Main Battle Armor
Northern wilderness, river valley outpost.

The train tracks, which started from Xinghuo City, have been laid all the way here, and in the future, there are plans to cross the central part of the wasteland and eventually reach the newly completed Big Bear Lake base.

Compared to the extremely busy north-south line and the Eastward Expansion Base line that transports large amounts of supplies day and night, this short railway line to the north seems rather deserted—only one Magic Power Train travels between the two places, and it is mainly used for the rotation and transportation of stationed troops.

Even most of the people knew very well that the railway line to the north was built for only one purpose—to defend against foreign invaders.

But the outpost was much busier than usual today. Two chief engineers from the Royal Capital Alchemy Weapon Experimentation Center had come to conduct a closed test of a new weapon.

Fran McCauley, the Falcon Shield, was also invited to participate in the testing as a special advisor to the New Union's Northern Army.

These days, the research project on the Lizardman population that he was involved in was progressing slowly. In order to ease their mindset, the other members of the team either chose to teach at the Spellcaster Academy or were invited to participate in some seminars at the Academy of Magic Sciences. He was not very interested in this. After all, he had had enough of the magic capital. In comparison, applying to join the army and participating in their combat exercises and weapons tests would be very interesting.

For example, today's test of a new type of armored vehicle is being conducted in a closed environment at an outpost.

Although it is unclear what the specific creation is, it is inextricably linked to the application of magic energy and the creation of souls. From the first time I witnessed the power of the Annihilation Spear, to seeing even more powerful magical weapons in the North... rapid-fire magic guns, sniper magic guns, magic revolvers, magic bomb guns, beam energy cannons, portable magic cannons, and magic ship cannons.

Harvey's Magic Weapons Research and Development Center continuously upgrades and updates existing weapons almost every so often, while also finding time to develop various new weapons. After rigorous testing, these weapons are quickly deployed to the battlefield, yielding precise feedback on their practical application. It can be considered the heart of this war machine built on a national scale.

What we're testing today isn't actually a truly "new" weapon. It's supposedly a bold improvement on alchemical vehicles and war beasts. I've seen and experienced both of these things many times before, so there's nothing new about them... but being able to exchange ideas with the two kingdom chiefs is still a good gain.

Although Chris and Benoît are alchemists, they are also research mages with exceptionally solid theoretical foundations. They have served as experimental assistants under Harvey for many years and have been in contact with the most cutting-edge applications of magical energy and theories of soul creation. They can be considered pioneers and "professor" level figures.

"I've heard that today's weapon is a new type of war beast, an improvement on the combination of artillery and alchemical vehicles?"

Chris and Benoît exchanged a glance, then gave the shield a mysterious smile and said in unison, "Mr. McCawley, let's keep you in suspense for now... The technicians are doing the final adjustments, and we'll be able to see its true form soon, so please be patient."

FaShield shrugged in understanding, then smiled and said, "If I'm not mistaken, it must be His Majesty Harvey's idea again, right?"

Chris nodded, pointing to the new vehicle that was slowly driving out of the enclosed hangar. "Of course, His Majesty proposed the development plan for armored vehicles long ago."

This...this thing looks completely different from a regular open alchemical wheel vehicle, and it doesn't move like a war beast with its sturdy mechanical legs, but it clearly "stitches together" the advantages of both—it looks like a square box, fully armed with camouflage-painted steel plates, with only half of the bottom exposed...the wheels?
“Those are armored tracks. Compared to wheels and mechanical feet, they are more agile and faster when moving on rough terrain.” Chris pointed to a thick cannon barrel protruding from the roof and said proudly, “That’s its core value.”

It was only then that the Shield realized that they had actually mounted the cannon directly onto this armored vehicle. In addition... two cluster-shaped gun barrels extended from each side of the vehicle, clearly magic-powered machine guns that could rotate and adjust their firing angle. This was simply a terrifying war machine armed to the teeth.

It was easy for FaShield to imagine the soldiers piloting armored vehicles charging into the enemy horde of Lizardmen.

The cannon on the roof can almost bombard enemies at point-blank range. The area-of-effect explosion of the exploding shells can quickly clear any obstacles in its path. The magic machine guns on both sides of the vehicle provide flank protection. The dense barrage of bullets can turn any enemy that enters the firing range into a sieve.

Even the rear of the vehicle has several round holes, clearly designed for the soldiers inside to observe the rear and fire, making it a design that is almost all-around and without blind spots.

The rain of black crystal spikes and spears could hardly damage the vehicle's thick steel armor; it was estimated that only a concentrated barrage of red light from the enemy could penetrate its external protection.

Benoît seemed to see the Shield's confusion and explained with a smile: "A normal single red lightning attack can at most cause minor damage to three layers of steel armor. Although the explosive impact caused by a cluster of red lightning is more violent, it still cannot penetrate the protection... nor will it overturn the vehicle directly."

Fa Dun swallowed hard, staring at the two deep furrows carved by the armored tracks in the hardened ground, and asked dryly, "How much does this armored vehicle weigh exactly?"

"Twenty thousand pounds!"

"Even without considering the magical minerals mixed in, the steel used to forge this armored vehicle alone would be enough to forge a pure steel suit of armor for every member of an elite knight force of several hundred."

Fa Dun steadied himself, feeling a surge of excitement and anticipation rising in his chest... He couldn't wait to see what kind of devastating impact this armored vehicle would have on those massive, fearless alien monsters once it was officially deployed to the battlefield.

"An armored vehicle is designed to carry eight personnel, including two drivers (one principal and one assistant), four people responsible for operating the weapons and firing, and two people responsible for detection, observation, and receiving command signals."

Chris proceeded to describe the vehicle's details in great detail, his emotions running high.

Because of his status as a military advisor, FaDun was not bound by confidentiality regulations and whispered in the ears of the two men, "Is this the trump card weapon that was created for the upcoming general attack on the main fortress of the second floating island at the Ice Sea Base?"

Benoît nodded repeatedly and said in a low voice, "Unfortunately, mass production is not possible at present. According to His Majesty's plan, even if the military factory operates at full capacity, it can only produce five finished products per month. They also have to be disassembled and transported to the front line of the Ice Sea over long distances. The amount of material transportation consumed is astronomical."

(End of this chapter)