A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 497 My elder brother is a mage!

The five aircraft were all different models. The "Heavy Gunner" had only gone halfway before stopping in front of the enemy's position.

Its behavior soon reflected its name:

The "Heavy Gunner" grabbed a specially made round cannonball from the carriage that was moving alongside it. If this cannonball were fired from a gun barrel, probably only a naval gun could carry it. But now it held the large projectile in its hand, leaned its whole body backward, and made a standard throwing posture.

Suddenly, a whistle-like sound emanated from its body. As a large amount of high-pressure steam was released, its power accumulation was completed. It raised its legs, retracted its arms, then stomped heavily, twisted its waist axis, and threw itself out with its hands.

The entire movement started slowly and then accelerated, culminating in the extension of the arm component, which gave the cannonball astonishing kinetic energy. The shadow swept across the trenches at high speed, and thanks to the giant's excellent vision, it accurately aimed at the Imperial Army's rear camp.

After the second and third missiles destroyed an artillery position and a building that appeared to be a command post on the opposite side, the "Heavy Gunner" finally resumed its pace and caught up with the other four mechs.

The other mechs had their own attack methods; some wielded chain hammers, while others simply used their enhanced hands to relentlessly hammer the enemy. Once these mechs, each as tall as a small building, stepped into the trenches, the Imperial Army's previous deployments seemed to crumble like paper. The National Guard followed the path they had trodden, swarming in and easily breaching three lines of defense.

In the Imperial Army, the accompanying mages, dressed like the other officers, finally stepped forward. However, they still did not take direct action, but instead ordered the cannons that could still fire to be reloaded as soon as possible.

There are still quite a few artillery pieces remaining, not only on the position but also scattered behind the three trenches.

The Imperial Army mages communicated using the [Electronic Communication] spell, and after confirming that the anti-magic devices would not be able to reach the battlefield in time, they quickly took control of the artillery near them.

In an instant, dozens of cannons roared in unison. Not only did they fire at the same time, but each one also locked onto its target and even landed at the same point.

The machine at the forefront, named "Dragon Horn Helmet," was hit hard. Although the cannons fired at the same time, the caliber and the distance to the target were different. As a result, solid shot and explosive shells hit its chest armor one after another, like hammer blow after hammer blow.

The first few shells concentrated their attack, causing the shield to reach its maximum absorption capacity and shatter. Then, the shells embedded themselves in the "Dragon Horn Helmet's" breastplate. Soon, the second and third shells were precisely focused and achieved significant results, hitting the power source in its chest cavity. Energy leaked out, and at this moment, its steam began to surge wildly from the gaps in its body. It lost its balance and mobility and fell to the ground.

After it fell to the ground and exhausted its steam, it began to spew flames, seemingly indicating that an explosion was imminent.

The soft mud splattered across the fields, and the Imperial soldiers breathed a sigh of relief; at least these steel giants were not invincible.

After witnessing the Empire's counterattack, the other mech assault troops stopped charging recklessly and instead consciously dealt with targets such as bunkers and artillery as quickly as possible. Soon, the Imperial army launched a second wave of attacks, repeating the same tactic of overwhelming force with brute force, destroying the second machine with dozens of shells.

These assault troops had little time left; by this point, they had almost exhausted their reserves of phlogiston and transmutation dust. The "heavy gunner" stopped on one knee between the first and second trenches.

Fortunately, their mission is complete, and the National Guard is unstoppable.

The Imperial Army command issued a retreat order, and they fought their way back. Excluding the influence of the heavy machine gunners, their firepower still outmatched that of the National Guard, especially since each company had about five new automatic rifles, deterring the enemy from pursuing them rashly.

"Retreat. Retreat to the Alpha Line." The only remaining command on the public channel of [Radio Communication] was the retreat order, and the accompanying mages mounted their horses.

Now all the mages in the Imperial Army have been reformed. They no longer have special uniforms and are mixed in with the officers. Only their name tags have inconspicuous special markings, so that at least the Valuans can't see who the spellcasters are from the artillery positions.

One of the accompanying mage priests looked back at the devastated battlefield before riding away:

Damaged and shut-down giants lay burning or steaming on the horizon; on the battlefield, gray and blue-and-white uniforms mingled, belonging to Imperial soldiers embroiled in hand-to-hand combat, unaware that the main force had begun its retreat, or even if they knew, they were unable to escape; small groups of National Guard soldiers successfully broke through, but under the pressure of Imperial fire, they could not keep up with the enemy's retreat.

Thick smoke rose again as the Imperial army burned all the gunpowder they couldn't take with them and the grain they had looted during their retreat.

The accompanying mage looked around at the soldiers and officers, who seemed indifferent to today's defeat. Indeed, what they had lost was merely the Valuwa people's homeland, and the burned grain had been looted from them. Most importantly, behind them lay a safe zone protected by an even stronger defensive line.

The accompanying mage was somewhat puzzled as to whether the defensive line was well-constructed or poorly constructed.

Druid and the mage beside him also took in the entire battlefield. The mage commented, "Not bad, it's probably [Guided Shot]."

The major general, not understanding that it was a spell, asked, "Huh?"

"It's just a first-level spell! But they've made it so sophisticated that they can not only cast it on multiple cannons simultaneously, but also control the firing point almost perfectly," the mage explained to Drouot.

"Although the shields on the colossal constructs could withstand at least two third-circle spells, the spellcasters in the Imperial Army did not directly attack, but instead used cannons to retaliate, concentrating their attacks to break through the magic and steel plate defenses."

"Could you also use that [guided firing] method on our artillery?"

"I'm sorry, I haven't heard of any of our mages learning this spell. Even for hunting, the [Magic Missile], which can curve and track targets, might be a better choice. We're not like the Imperials' academic school." The mage's answer disappointed Drouo.

In this battle, neither side's mages directly attacked, instead providing support from the rear. Drouo also wanted to replicate Paul's glorious feat of killing several Imperial spellcasters with a single shot, but unfortunately, he hadn't seen any confirmed Imperial spellcasters appear throughout the entire battle.

But they were there and played a crucial role in destroying two giant assault machines. The cost of manufacturing one of these machines was equivalent to equipping an infantry division, which made Drouo both heartbroken and relieved. In the end, his unit's "heavy artillerymen" had only run out of power and had not suffered any major damage.

The mage beside him seemed completely unconcerned, even appearing quite relaxed. Drouot despised spellcasters like this. He sensed during this battle that a behind-the-scenes power struggle existed on both sides, making both the guards protecting their homeland and the Imperial Army fighting for glory pawns in the spellcasters' game. They no longer fought each other head-on, but decided their victories through a game of chess.

Although those chess pieces would indeed bleed and sacrifice themselves, judging from the expression of the mage beside Drouot, he showed not the slightest sympathy or emotion.

Drouot missed his two spellcaster subordinates, Paul and Pascal, because at least they were competent soldiers and patriots with flesh and blood.

While the two men were lost in their own thoughts in the command post, a soldier came to report: "Among the Imperial soldiers we captured, one wishes to see the commander."

"What, is he a high-ranking nobleman?" Drouot perked up a bit. Valois was short of money, and the National Salvation Committee was also encouraging the army to squeeze some money out of the fattest prisoners.

"No, he claimed to be the younger brother of a mage. The spellcaster is from the Tower of Stars."

Ok?

Drouot and the mage beside him both looked at the soldier: "Did they say his name?"

"His real name is Franz, and he says he has an older brother named Rorschach. According to Franz, he is a very powerful spellcaster."

(End of this chapter)