Chapter 523: Chapter 412: Will there be a war?
"Strong as they are, they are simply too stupid," Yake said.
"We don’t need them to be smart," Tilian countered, "the monsters created by the Hell Furnace consume themselves for energy. Even if left alone, they would self-destruct due to energy depletion within an hour."
"So, the most suitable location for this Hell Furnace would be the front line," Yake reasoned.
"Precisely," Tilian affirmed.
Yake lowered his hand, and the black smoke from the furnace gradually dissipated. He stared at the nine huge furnaces, fell into silence for a moment, then asked,
"If we were to wage war now, what are our chances of winning?"
After contemplating, Tilian responded, "Based on surface power alone, sixty percent."
"That’s too low!"
"It’s not low. In fact, my original estimate was fifty percent."
"Why?"
"Because the biggest variable in the White Dragon Empire is Long Yi. His performance directly determines the trajectory of our warfare. The problem now is, we don’t know what Long Yi is hiding. Like those girls called Dandi that we saw earlier. They suddenly appeared—if they were really created by Long Yi, then the White Dragon Empire must have started their research years ago. Remember the Golem that was immune to any dragon breath? I suspect these girls might be a type of Golem, just disguised as girls; otherwise, there’s no explanation. I believe the grandiose battle armors custom-made with the Dwarves that the White Dragon Empire showed off are just diversions. What the White Dragon Empire truly wishes to create are the Golems."
"Then we should attack now, more than ever! Wouldn’t we be in greater danger once they’ve finished their research?"
"No, Your Majesty, that golden Golem hasn’t shown up for a long time. Aren’t you curious? Why aren’t Long Yi and his allies mass-producing such a powerful Golem that’s immune to dragon breath? That Golem is likely a restored piece of ancient technology and has been damaged for some reason. Long Yi and his allies must’ve tried to reconstruct it but failed. Otherwise, Long Yi wouldn’t use these sexy beauties as a decoy."
"What are you trying to say?"
"What I’m trying to say is that, although it is the White Dragon Empire’s research vacuum period, it is also our vacuum period. Our Super Dragon Knight is still in the tuning process. The production speed of the Undead Knights is fast, but it’s still some distance away from reaching our targeted quantity. Most importantly, if the Super Dragon Knight cannot succeed, besides Your Majesty, we won’t have anyone who can withstand the power of Long Yi’s legion."
"So we just delay? When we succeed, Long Yi won’t come up with a new weapon?"
"No, we are different," Tilian interjected.
"Whatever Long Yi researched, it’s like a child’s toy box at most; it might look good but they’re nothing more than fragile toys. Once our Super Dragon Knight project succeeds, all the dragon knights the White Dragon Empire faces will be Super Dragon Knights with power exceeding the Nine Dragon Marks. Plus, they won’t feel pain, will have no fear, and will never betray! These Super Dragon Knights will rapidly annihilate all of the White Dragon Empire’s aerial power. Then, our under-development Hell Cannon will make that conservative White Dragon Empire understand how terrifying it will be to lose the dragon knights!"
"According to your plan, how much longer will it take?" Yake asked, frowning.
Tilian pondered a bit, made a gesture with his hand.
"Too long," Yake’s brows furrowed more deeply.
"Yes, but your land won’t disappear, your gold won’t disappear, and your people won’t disappear. The world that belongs to you, even if it’s a few days later, will still be yours," Tilian stated.
Yake stared at Tilian, suddenly he seized Tilian by the throat and hoisted him up, "Are you preventing me from launching an attack on the White Dragon Empire because you still feel attached to that damned Empire, my third prince, Lord Tilian?"
Tilian, with his feet hanging in the air and barely able to breathe, let alone talk, could only shake his head desperately.
"Remember, my chief scientist, who humiliated you in public; who gave the imperial throne to your Second Brother; who banished you from the White Dragon Empire! And you must also remember, who gave you a new life when you stood before me like a homeless dog! Who made you the chief scientist of my Black Dragon Empire!"
Thump!
Tilian was flung onto the ground.
Tilian, finally able to breathe again, took deep breaths. When he had finally calmed down, he slowly stood up and said, "All the things Long Yi has done to me are etched deeply into my soul. Even if you don’t trust me, you should at least trust that we share a common enemy. I can never betray you, Your Majesty, Yake!"
"Just make sure you understand!" Yake huffed coldly, then turned and left.
Tilian watched the retreating figure of Yake, his eyes flashing, his fists clenched and then slowly loosened. Suddenly, he had a bright idea. He quickly caught up with Yake and murmured, "Actually, we may try to start a fight first."
Yake halted, looking down at Tilian.
"What did you say, Master Chief Scientist?" Yake asked, a smile playing on his lips.
"I’m saying we could start a small-scale war to test our military, especially the strength of the Dragon Knights," Tilian proposed.
"Why? You just listed a bunch of reasons to prevent me from going to war, and now you’re telling me we can?" Yake looked skeptical, yet he didn’t reject Tilian’s idea outright, signaling him to continue.
"In life-or-death situations, people often have sudden flashes of ingenuity," Tilian replied.
On hearing this, Yake broke out into hearty laughter.
"Good! Tell me with your ingenious brain, why we can go to war now?" Yake asked.
"Because we need to probe the true strength of the White Dragon Empire," Tilian continued. "Now the White Dragon Empire knows we are creating undead soldiers using necromancy, but they have no idea about the strength of these undead soldiers. We know that Long Yi and his team are developing battle armor to fight our undead soldiers, but we have no idea about the strength of this armor—all the data from the previous operation was statistically unreliable. Our greatest reliance is on our powerful Dragon Knights. Although the Super Dragon Knight project is progressing slowly, our man-made Dragon Knights are certainly capable of handling most battlefield situations. Moreover, the White Dragon Empire has yet to launch any Dragon Knight modification projects. I think our Dragon Knights should be able to overpower the soldiers of the White Dragon Empire in any battlefield situation. Therefore, I believe we need to take the initiative and force Long Yi and his team to show their hand by applying pressure on the battlefield."
Indeed, these words largely aligned with Yake’s expectations. Although he was eager to kill Long Yi and flatten the White Dragon Empire, even his conceit couldn’t ignore the fact that the formidable White Dragon Empire, which had withstood the Black Dragon Empire for so long, wouldn’t be easily defeated. Especially now, given the new variable that is Long Yi.
"So you mean, this is just a probe?" Yake asked.
"It’s more than a mere probe," Tylan replied.
"If the White Dragon Empire doesn’t present any special resistance, we can transform our dominance with the Dragon Knights into an all-out attack. But if the White Dragon Empire does unleash some form of retaliation, we can immediately withdraw all our Dragon Knights, returning to the status quo," Tilian explained.
"Have you considered the possibility of the White Dragon Empire launching an attack first?"
"No, as long as the dominant status of the Dragon Knights in this world remains unchanged, no one dares to confront us head-on, and that’s our greatest advantage," Tilian answered.
"Hmm... so these White Dragon bastards are in for some real trouble! Hahahaha!"
Upon his return to the Imperial City, Long Yi made use of his status to enter the heavily guarded Imperial Research Institute. At that moment, the institute was unusually quiet. The research on the power crystal core had concluded, and they had entered the mass production phase featuring minor improvements. The crystal core of the Molten Beast, thanks to Little Zi’s help, required absolutely no modification and was ready for continuous production. Most of the early work on the important task of Golem restoration was complete.
Hence, the institute was enjoying a rare period of tranquility.
The news of Long Yi’s unexpected arrival spread simultaneously to the heads of the major research institutes. Given Long Yi’s track record of producing marvels out of the blue, everyone was intrigued, craning their necks to see what wonder he had brought with him this time.
"Little Zi, help me find Dean Ma Deburg, Professor Ding Ge, Dean Angidd. Tell them I’ll be in the battle armor warehouse," Long Yi said as he walked.
"Alright, Brother Long!"
Soon, the three avatars of the Female Demon managed to gather the three important figures in the battle armor warehouse. Long Yi was engrossed in examining the crystal placed on his workbench at the time.
The crystal core was more than a meter long, completely transparent, with one crystal core on its rear, from which no energy activity could be sensed.
Dean Ma Deburg rushed over but didn’t dare to touch it as he didn’t know what it was. But his face was almost pressed against it.
"What is this? Crystal core weapon? Derivative crystal of the crystal core? No! It’s not just a derivative crystal. Look at the complex energy structure inside. This is definitely not something that can be created out of thin air!"
"This is plane technology. I begged for it and here it is, not bad, right?" Long Yi boasted.
"Stop beating around the bush! What exactly is it?" Ma Deburg asked impatiently.
"It doesn’t matter what it is, it’s important to see what this thing can do first." Long Yi grinned mysteriously, took out the power core, and clasped the crystal in one hand. There was a steel plate at one side of the warehouse, and Long Yi pointed the light cannon directly at the steel plate.
"Time to witness something amazing!" (To be continued. If you enjoy this novel, please head over to qidian.com to cast your recommendation, monthly vote, etc. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users can read at m.qidian.com.)
