Chapter 558: Chapter 441: Backplate Dragon
Feeling helpless, Long Yi glanced at Ai Lin, who giggled in response.
"Old Master, you’re thinking too much. Even if you accompany me to the research institute right now, waiting without eating or drinking, it would still take at least three days before the first shot can be fired," Long Yi swiftly explained. The original Light Cannon, after all, used the standard output of the Crystal Core, while this new Heavy Light Cannon uses Dragon Power. Although there technically shouldn’t be any technical problems, it’s not as simple as just positioning it on the ground and infusing it with Dragon Power.
"Three days? That long?" Kai Long furrowed his brow. He knew Long Yi wouldn’t lie to him, but these three days were still quite unpleasant.
"Three days is long? I’ve waited many times that to research this Light Cannon!" Long Yi retorted, his eyes bulging.
"Fine! Three days it is! I want to see this Light Cannon firing after three days!" Kai Long said.
"Hold on! You should look forward to something else. I was talking about a smooth three days. Scientific research isn’t like cooking, it doesn’t instantly yield results. You better wait patiently at home for my notice," Long Yi replied, somewhat exasperated by the Old Master’s impatience. He was surprised to see such an otherwise calm person suddenly become so hot-headed.
However, Long Yi could understand his frustration. As a general in the army who commanded nearly three hundred thousand soldiers, he was vexed by the army’s lack of attention in modern warfare. While an army is essential, it isn’t particularly useful. After all, if the air force of the Dragon Knights can’t win, the army has no answer. But once the air force defeats the enemy’s Dragon Knights, the enemy’s army loses its significance.
About twenty years ago, before Long Yi was born, the White Dragon Empire and the Black Dragon Empire broke out into a massive conflict. It was one of the last times in the history of world warfare that the army was deployed on a large scale. The army invaded enemy territory to distract the enemy’s air force, buying time and space for their own air force.
This tactic, which essentially used the army as bait, has largely been abandoned by military scholars. Even the Command College has redefined the army as a unit to quell remaining rebellious forces on the ground after victory by Dragon Knights.
Kai Long was faced with such an awkward situation.
But this time, the army, which had caused a lot of trouble for the Dragon Knights, finally got to hold its head high! What do you call this? This is called an old tree sprouting new branches! A dead wood meeting spring again!
How could Kai Long not be excited about this? Compared to that, what did a meal matter?
Eventually, under Kai Long’s constant nagging, Long Yi and Ai Lin went to the research institute. Of course, they ate some fast food on the way.
Dean Ma Deburg beamed when he saw Long Yi. Based on his experience, whenever Long Yi appeared, he definitely brought new toys!
When the massive Heavy Light Cannon was unveiled, Ma Deburg was stunned. Kai Long, not a specialist, didn’t understand how to gauge the power of the Light Cannon, but Ma Deburg did!
The power of the Light Cannon comes from the resonance and unleashing of energy inside the crystal. To put it simply, it’s proportional to the mass of the Light Cannon. Compared to the two crystals that Long Yi brought back earlier, this Light Cannon is incomparable in terms of raw energy output—it’s like comparing a bucket to spittle.
"This is a Dragon Power Cannon," Long Yi said. "It’s specially designed to use abundant Dragon Power for energy supply. But as you can see, we need to make a cannon barrel for this Light Cannon, as well as a special interface for transferring Dragon Power. Not to mention a targeting and firing device for the Dragon Knights. Most importantly, I need to find a suitable Dragon as a carrier."
Angidd was almost immediately at the Crystal Core Research Institute. He had even moved his office nearby because whenever Long Yi came to the institute, he always unintentionally headed straight for the Crystal Core Research Institute. Most of the time, Angidd needed to be there. So, his arrival was swift.
After listening to Long Yi’s requests, Angidd thought for a while, then said, "Your first few requirements should be pretty easy to solve. We just need to enlarge the targeting system we previously used on the armored soldiers. As for the dragon..."
Since Angidd didn’t know much about land Dragon Knights, he looked to Ma Deburg for advice.
"Maybe we could try using a Backplate Dragon?" Ma Deburg finally suggested after thinking for a while.
Backplate Dragons are medium-sized Earth Dragons about five meters long. They travel on six legs and their entire body, including their heads, is covered with thick bone armor. Compared to other species of dragon, Backplate Dragons have an extremely high weight-bearing capacity. Though they usually move at a slower pace than some of the faster dragon species, their stamina is incredibly high. Thanks to their unique dual muscle fiber structure, the two muscle systems can take turns resting. But when they need to explode with power, both muscle systems can work at the same time, giving them the ability to sprint at high speeds for a short distance.
Backplate Dragons are herbivores and quite docile. In times of danger, they typically curl up into a ball. Natural runes form on their bone armor, and when infused with Dragon Power, the armor becomes indestructible. Tests have shown that a fully defensive Backplate Dragon can withstand the breath of a Black Dragon for up to half an hour, and most dragon bites can’t damage the bone armor of a Backplate Dragon infused with Dragon Power.
Most of the time, Backplate Dragons serve as the main transportation in convoy teams. In extreme cases, a single Backplate Dragon can pull a load equivalent to over twenty horses. The knights of the Backplate Dragons are seldom called Dragon Knights; they’re referred to as Logistics Soldiers, a title that hardly brings honor to many of them.
Currently, the White Dragon Empire has less than three hundred Backplate Dragons, which are scattered across the three armies to handle transportation duties.
"Bring one in!" Long Yi immediately ordered.
The message was relayed to Kai Long, and soon a Backplate Dragon Knight came into the research institute riding his Backplate Dragon. After Little Zi completed a reliability check on him, this somewhat shy young man stood in front of Long Yi and his associates.
Young, probably around twenty years old, he looked at the group of people around him, his face filled with confusion. His Backplate Dragon seemed to share his sentiment. After being transformed by the White Dragon, the size of this Backplate Dragon seemed to have increased a bit, now about six meters in length, and its six feet were incredibly sturdy. Its bone armor had turned white. As a native dragon species of the Human Realm that had received the power of a Pureblood Dragon, the Backplate Dragon had become significantly stronger. However, looking into its eyes, Long Yi knew that this herbivorous creature was not suited for fierce offensive tasks.
Fortunately, it wouldn’t have to undertake any offensive duties. The sole task of the Backplate Dragon was to bear the weight of this cannon. The offensive duties fell onto the Dragon Knight.
"Brother, do you know who I am?" Long Yi leaned in to ask.
"I know... I know... You’re Sir Long Yi." The young man stammered, barely catching his breath.
"Here, breathe into this paper bag. You’re about to faint." Long Yi handed him a paper bag.
After a while, the young man’s breathing steadied. He looked at Long Yi, his face blushing as he said, "Thank you..."
"When did you enlist?" Long Yi asked.
"About six months ago..." the young man replied.
"What tasks have you been carrying out?" Long Yi continued.
"Transportation squad." The young man lowered his head in embarrassment. Standing before him was the great hero, Long Yi, the idol of all Dragon Knights! Yet, he was just a theoretical Dragon Knight, a member of a transportation squad. It was terribly shameful!
"Don’t feel ashamed. In a war, anyone who completes their task is a hero. It’s because of your silent contributions that we on the frontlines can fight freely without any worries!" Long Yi reassured.
"Yes, Sir!" The young man stood at attention, shouting with excitement.
"At ease, soldier. This isn’t a formal occasion, so calm down," Long Yi chuckled. "However, now there’s an opportunity for you to test my new weapon. If successful, you could potentially become a critical part of our main forces on the battlefield. Interested?"
"I am! I am!" The young man eagerly replied.
"Let me finish first. If you become a key player, it means you will be despised by the enemy. Every time you appear on the battlefield, you will become the primary target. Even so, are you still interested?" Long Yi questioned.
The young man paused for a moment before his face became incredibly solemn, "Although I’ve never been on a battlefield, my brother was an armored soldier. He killed a Flying Dragon with his bare hands during a previous battle. However, he was bitten by a Crystal Beast during a subsequent battle and lost an arm, disqualifying him from being an armored soldier anymore. And, that was because of the assistance from his comrades, otherwise, he may be lying in the Heroes’ Cemetery now. Yes, I do not know the dangers of the battlefield, but I have long been prepared."
Long Yi smiled. Clearly, he didn’t need to say any more to the young man in front of him.
The Backplate Dragon was very docile, and with its rider close by, it simply lay on the ground and fell asleep. When it curled up, it looked like an overturned wooden basin, even its head was protected. This actually made the task at hand much more convenient for everyone.
Taking measurements, sketching drafts, making design plans – they spent an entire day on just the initial preparation to mount the equipment. It seemed that the initial hope of firing the cannon in three days was overly optimistic.
Long Yi couldn’t keep an eye on everything all the time, as he had other matters to attend to.
There had once been an explosion during the war, caused by the collision of four kinds of forces--the power of the Black Dragon, the Giant, Hell, and Light. And the Demon Power acted as a catalyst in the process.
The explosion had stunning effects.
Long Yi decided to look into the content related to this Annihilation Bomb. (To be continued. If you like this work, your recommendation, monthly tickets on qidian.com are welcome. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
