Chapter1142:TheEmpire’sDevastatingDefeat

OnthefourthdayoftheUndergroundCemetery’semergence,thewarwithintheLeviathanEmpire’sterritoryalsocametoanend.

Theresultwasbeyondeveryone’sexpectations.

Intheprolongedbattlethatlastedforadayandnight,thetitledmachinesoftheLeviathanEmpireweredefeated.

Eventhearmyofdevelopingmechanicalcannonsweresentintobattle,blowinguphalfofthecentralwatervein.OverahundredthousandsoldiersweremobilizedtofacetheSeaDragonBeast,theguardianoftheUndergroundCemetery,whichoutnumbersthemagicarmorofthefirstpowerfulcountryonthecontinent.However,theysufferedacrushingdefeat.

(TranslatedbyGravityTales馃槚)

ThisbattlemadeLudwigXII’seyesturnred.

Fivespecifically-tailoredmachinesknownas"titledmachines"weremadefortheempire’shero-rankedwarriors.TheyfacedoffagainsttheEmeraldSeaDragonBeastthatresidesinthecentralwatervein.

TheremainingmagicarmoredlegionfoughtagainsttheunmannedweaponsdeployedbytheEmeraldSeaDragonBeast.

Thebattlelastedforadayandanight,andultimatelytheEmeraldSeaDragonBeastemergedvictorious.

Theimperialmainarmysufferedcasualtiesofmorethantenthousand,markingthehighestdeathtollsincetheLeviathanEmpireenteredthescientificdevelopmentera.

Twoofthetitledmachines,the"MammothElephant"andthe"SabertoothTiger,"representingthelandassaulttype,weredestroyed.

Morethanhalfoftheempire’sninemajortitledmachinesweredestroyedbynow.

Threeoutofthefirstmagicarmylegion’sspecialjoint"WhaleShark,"reconnaissance"YellowFinch,"landassaultmainforce"MammothElephant"and"SabertoothTiger"werewipedoutfromtheempire’swarsequence.Theremainingthree,"RoyalKnight,""SwordFighter,"and"DarkNight,"weremostlyinjured.

Fromthedivineera,aweaponfromtheUndergroundCemeteryduringtheDragonTribeWargavealessontotheproudLeviathanEmpire,thestrongestmilitarynationonthecontinent,whichsufferedamajordefeat.

TheEmeraldSeaDragonBeastonceagaindivedintothecentralwatervein,collectinghundreds,ifnotthousands,ofdestroyedunmannedweaponfragments.Itseemedthattheywouldberepairedandreturnedtothebattlefield.

ThetroopsoftheLeviathanEmpirewhodiedinbattlewillneverbeabletocomeback.Thiswasacompletelyunequalwar,withagapbetweenthetwosidessimilartotheEmpire’smagicarmoredlegiondominatingthetribalalliancewithprimitiveweapons.

Overnight,LudwigXII’shairturnedhalfwhite.

Hecouldn’tunderstandhowsuchpowerfulwarweaponscouldexistinthisera.Howdidthesedestructivegiantweaponsoperateduringtheperiodofdecliningmagic?

EversincehisnieceAintriggeredthatnuclearexplosionforbiddenspell,thecommonknowledgeofthewholeworldseemedtohavegoneastray.

Can’ttheLeviathanEmpireconstructgiantweaponsoverahundredmeters?

No,theycan,buttheproblemiswhatpowerandcorecanbeusedtodrivesuchmassivewarweapons.Humanthinkingcapacitycannotpossiblysynchronizewiththescaleofthesemagicarmors.

"Thisisnotright,notrightatall!"

"Nolivinghumancouldevercontrolsuchapowerfulweapon!"

"Why,whatisthematterwiththatEmeraldSeaDragonBeast!"Ludwigcriedinfrustration,tuggingathisbeard.

"Thereasonisprobablysimple:theonecontrollingthatweaponisnotalivinghuman,it’satechnologyunknowntous,"saidthepersonwhocouldsaveLudwigXIIfromhisworriesfinally.

TheSagePoincar茅oftheEmpireandthefirstalchemist,Asmid,enteredLudwigXII’sstudywithoutbeinginvited.

"Whatshouldwedonext?Themoraleofourmainarmyiscrumbling,"LudwigXIIfeltpowerlessforthefirsttime.

AsoneofthegreatestemperorsinthehistoryoftheEmpire,secondonlytothefirstknightofthefoundingcontinent,hehadneverencounteredsuchapredicamentbefore.

"Idon’tcareiftherearelivingordeadpeopleinsidethatweapon,Iwilldestroyit!"LudwigXIIclenchedhisteethangrily,realizingthatinthiswar,heandtheEmpirehadnowayout.

Iftheenemycontrolledthecentralwatervein,itwouldmeantheyhadagriponthelifebloodoftheeconomy.

Injustfourdays,thepriceoffoodintheentireLeviathanEmpirehaddoubled.Itwasclearthatiftheenemytookcontrolofthecentralwatervein,evendoingnothingwouldcausetheentireempire’seconomytocollapse.

Sothisbattleisafightthatmustbefought,whetheryouwanttoornot,andwemustwin.

Ifwelose,thegloryoftheLeviathanEmpirewillbecomepermanenthistory,andtheterritoriesnewlyconqueredbythemagicarmoredlegionmayallbelost.TheywillbenailedtothepillarofshameinthehistoryoftheLeviathanEmpire.

"Don’tdespair,wehaveawaytowin."Nomatterwhen,youwillneverseeanydespairorgloomyexpressiononPoincar茅’sface,eveniftheopponentistheancientweaponofthedivineera,theUndergroundCemetery.

Sia’sworldfollowsacertainlawoftheworld.EventheseeminglyunreasonableEmeraldSeaDragonBeastdoesn’tgainitspowerfornoreason.

Atthecostoftwodestroyedtitledmachinesandovertenthousandcasualties,Poincar茅finallycalculatedthebiggestflawoftheEmeraldSeaDragonBeast.

Thatflawisits"power."Yes,eventheseeminglyunscientificEmeraldSeaDragonBeastneedspower.Itsoverahundredmeterbodydoesn’tpossessthestrengthtoconfronttheentireLeviathanEmpire’smagicarmoredlegionandfivetitledmachinesfornoreason.

JustliketheblackirongiantisanEarthChild,theEmeraldSeaDragonBeastisanaturalruleroftheoceans,abletodrawpowerfromthesurroundingwaterelementtofightatanytimeandanywhere.

Therefore,eventhoughtheenemyhasgainedoverwhelmingstrategicadvantages,theydidn’tpursuetheretreatingImperialmagicarmortroops,butonlysentoutnumerousunmannedweaponstodriveawaythesedefeatedsoldiers.

Duringtheperiodofmagictidedecline,whywereonlytheGuardiansofthefirstandsecondlevelsoftheUndergroundCemeterysentoutforworldconquestfirst?Itisbecauseofthespecialnatureoftheirbodies.

Thebigstrongirongiantgetspowerfromtheearthwheneveritwalksontheground.

ThecreaturecalledEmeraldSeaDragonBeasthasthesamepowerinthewaterandocean.

Duringthistimewhenmagicisgettingweaker,itaffectsthem,butit’sonlycausingmoredamageinbattleswithinalimittheycanhandle.

Aslongastheydon’tcomeacrosssomethinglikethefacelessgod,whichisevenolderandmoremysteriousthanthem,boththeblackirongiantandtheEmeraldSeaDragonBeastarealmostunbeatable.

"So,YourMajesty,areyoureallywillingtopaythispricetowin?"Poincar茅placedhisplaninfrontofLudwigXIIandwaitedforhisanswer.

Ifthisplansucceeds,itcanindeeddeliverafatalblowtotheEmeraldSeaDragonBeast,oratleastdriveawaythisancientweapon.

Butinreturn,theLeviathanEmpirewillalsosufferaveryheavyprice,whichinsomewaysmaybeevenmoredifficulttoacceptthanthethousandsofcasualties.

"This...youwantmetoaskthatboy’sdaughterforhelp!!!!"

Ludwigroared,expressinghisangryunwillingness.