Magical Girl's Knight Brother

Chapter 687 Black City Legion Strikes

The deep-sea threat from the direction of Yong'an Cliff is imminent, and Tang Zijun is about to set off. Before leaving, he needs to confirm the preparedness of the front-line battlefield in the river basin—especially the land front led by Scáthach.

When he followed Scáthach to the vast open space outside Black City, which had been specially leveled to serve as a temporary training ground and assembly point, the scene before him surprised even the usually composed Tang Zijun.

On the open ground, several square formations were arranged, with a number of people far exceeding his previous estimate, at least several thousand.

This was definitely not the scattered mercenaries with haphazard equipment that he remembered from Black City.

Although the composition of the group before them was still evident, at this moment, regardless of their background or equipment, they all stood solemnly, their ranks perfectly straight, like a steel jungle.

They included native soldiers clad in Black City-style leather armor, carrying heavy packs and bizarre firearms; elven rangers in light elven rattan armor, carrying longbows and short blades at their waists; and fierce mercenaries draped in roughly repaired metal armor stripped from defeated noble allies or twisted monsters, wielding massive cleavers or battle axes.

There were even some warriors wearing protective gear made of some kind of tough leather and metal plates, with a style that clearly did not belong to the Black City or Elven craftsmanship, and wielding strange energy weapons.

Most soldiers held strangely shaped firearms or melee weapons that gleamed with a dark, eerie light. The main body of the gun appeared to be some kind of black metal, but the key parts—the barrel, the energy core, or the blade—were inlaid with a deep, solidified darkness.

The crystal, which faintly emitted a purple glow, was the Dark Crystal Weapon created by the Demon Surveillance Bureau using the residual energy of the Outer Path Demons.

These dark crystal weapons, bathed in the dim light of the dreamscape, emitted a cold, restrained yet chilling energy fluctuation.

Tang Zijun keenly sensed that the energy field emitted by these weapons did indeed neutralize and dispel, to some extent, the invisible spiritual pollution and divine erosion permeating the air, originating from the whispers of the ancient rulers. This was undoubtedly the key to enabling ordinary soldiers to persist in fighting on the heavily polluted river front and even resist the spiritual indoctrination of cultists.

While their armor varied in style, the core areas—chest, joints, and head—were fitted with energy plates that emitted a stable, soft white or pale blue light. These plates were not simply metal; they were engraved with complex energy circuits, clearly a product of alchemy combined with the Bureau of Magical Investigations' modern energy technology. They not only provided physical protection far exceeding that of ordinary metals, but their emitted energy fields could also effectively deflect or weaken various energy attacks, and even offered considerable resistance to the corrupting spells of cultists.

"Attention—!" A deep, thunderous command echoed across the drill ground.

Splash!

Thousands of people moved in perfect unison. Whether they were Black City mercenaries, elven rangers, or other warriors, they all stood with their heels together, backs straight, and their dark crystal weapons instantly raised in a defensive posture. The uniformity of their movements and the composure of their aura were comparable to the most elite troops in the real world.

"Commander, the Black City Legion has assembled and is ready for battle at any time!"

A Black City officer, clad in black magic armor and bearing a hideous scar on his face, ran forward and gave Scáthach and Tang Zijun a standard military salute (clearly something he had learned on the spot), his voice booming.

Scáthach's blood-red eyes swept across the steel jungle, her face expressionless, only nodding slightly.

Tang Zijun could hardly hide his surprise. He turned to look at the queen from Celtic mythology beside him, his tone filled with obvious admiration. "It's unbelievable that this army... could achieve this in such a short time..."

Scáthach's voice remained cold, yet contained an undeniable air of control. "Time is of the essence. Only the most brutal selection and the most effective weaponry will ensure survival. The dark crystal weapons provided by the Bureau of Magical Oversight are crucial. They not only kill the corrupted, but the shadow-stabilizing field emanating from their cores" is also highly effective against the whispers and divine corruption of those unspeakable beings. This is the foundation upon which they were able to leave Black City and enter that contaminated battlefield."

She pointed to the glowing protective plates on the soldiers' bodies.

"Those alchemists and technicians from the Bureau of Magical Investigations used the special materials of the dream world and the energy nodes here, combined with energy technology from the real world, to create these magical armors." Although rudimentary, they were enough to give soldiers the means to fight back against the corrupt magic of cultists and the minions of mutated monsters.

Her gaze, like a cold iron hammer, swept once more over the standing army.

"As for them, I gave them a choice: either rot in despair or take up arms and find a glimmer of hope in the slaughter. I only taught them the most basic knight's breathing technique, which can stimulate potential and resist pain. Those who could persevere naturally became what they are now."

Her tone was calm, but Tang Zijun could imagine how cruel the selection process must be.

In Scáthach's eyes, only warriors who can withstand her rigorous training and survive the struggle between life and death are qualified to become her sword.

"So you don't need to thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank them themselves, and the expert team from the Magic Supervision Bureau. They practically emptied their entire inventory. I heard they used all the dark crystals obtained by magical girls across the country from defeating the Outer Demons to support this effort in completing these equipment."

"...All of them? Shangguan really didn't mention this to me." Tang Zijun clicked his tongue inwardly. He had previously learned about the Demon Supervision Bureau's research on dark crystal weapons, but for him, the improvement brought by dark crystal weapons was too small, so he didn't take it seriously.

For him, dark crystal weapons and mirror cores were similar—both were pretty gems that didn't significantly enhance his combat power. But in the hands of a magical girl, these things were treasures that could increase her magic power, but nothing more.

Perhaps the only purpose of these dark crystal weapons is to provide the agents of the Demon Surveillance Bureau with a way to protect themselves, giving them the possibility of fighting ordinary heretical demons, although the effect is not very strong.

However, Tang Zijun had to admit that she had overlooked the ancient humans in the dream world. The dream inhabitants looked just like humans, but their physical abilities were far superior to those of humans, not to mention that they could cultivate through breathing techniques.

If they were equipped with dark crystal weapons, their combat power would be no weaker than the legions established by the gods in mythological times.

Don't forget that Odin's Valkyrie legions, Hades' undead army of the underworld, and the ancient ghostly armies were all composed of powerful individuals selected from among humans and equipped with gear forged by the gods.

Looking around at the army before her, Scáthach seemed to recall her own guard from the Land of Shadows, but she quickly shook her head, banishing those thoughts, and continued speaking.

"I told them to travel light. As the saying goes, 'an army marches on its stomach.' Katie has already set off ahead of time, driving the train to the designated location. Without a mount, they must march as fast as possible."

Tang Zijun couldn't help but ask, "Why not let Katie lead them directly into the river front? The surface world isn't infinitely large, but it can still hold this many people, right?"

"That's what I thought at first too, but Katie's commotion is too great. When she starts moving, everything around her gets startled. If we want to catch those cultists off guard, we can't do it this way."

Scáthach shook her head slightly and continued, "Moreover, Katie has something more important to do. The location I sent her to is precisely the point where the border between the Ghost Mist Forest and the Riverfront is severed."

"If we successfully take the front line of the river, those cultists will definitely flee to the Ghost Mist Forest in a frenzy. I need to cut off this escape route in advance, and letting them know Katie's movements in advance will also disrupt their plans."

"Well, I'm not too familiar with strategy, just keep that in mind." Tang Zijun looked at Scáthach. "However, it's not a short distance from Black City to the river front. Even if you march at full speed, it will take a long time, and you might encounter mutated monsters along the way."

"You can rest assured about that. The road between Black City and the Riverfront has been cleared. With your little girlfriend and the Feather Clan girl watching over us from the sky, we won't be attacked suddenly."

"6

...." Tang Zijun glanced up at Qin Nan and He Li sitting on the city wall in the distance, then looked away. "Is she the only magical girl participating in this battle?"

"Tan Zhixin needs to take care of the branches of the Tree of Life, and Black City also needs some manpower for defense. Compared to attack, the power of magical girls is more suitable as a defensive turret, so I left them behind and have them all under the command of Gloriand," Scáthach replied.

She then looked at Tang Zijun and said seriously, "Our battle is nothing. The real difficulty lies with you. If you cannot solve the problem of the ocean, then even if the escape of the Pleasure Creepers is delayed, it will be meaningless."

After completing all the pre-battle preparations, at Desk's command, the Black City Legion left the city gates in perfect unison and, led by Scáthach, quickly advanced towards the river front.

Beneath the city wall, Tang Zijun alighted and mounted Langya, gently patting the front of the carriage. "Time to fight side-by-side again, old buddy."

The engine of the Langya responded with a loud roar. Not far away, Tan Zhixin, Xiao Xiao, and Chang Lei all watched as Tang Zijun twisted the handlebars.

Scáthach took away almost all of Black City's defense forces. Not only Black City, but even the outposts on the edge of Ghost Mist Forest were short-handed, which is why Chang Lei stayed here.

For this seasoned, greedy senior official...

One person guarding one city is enough.

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