ALL NOVEL
Chapter 80: Metal Fortress
Upgradable Unit: Metal Fortress
Melee Damage: 90-110 (Armor break)
Charge Bonus: 60-80
Armor: 135-145
Defense: 35-45
Speed: 100-150
Morale: Excellent
Discipline: Excellent
Recruitment Cost: 9270 dinars
Maintenance Cost: 2750 dinars per week
Additional Information: It is powerful, but can you afford it?
“It is fucking expensive!” Shu Yichao hissed when he saw the stats of the Metal Fortress.
The maintenance cost of a single Metal Fortress was enough for him to sustain a platoon of Elite Horse Archers! It would indeed be difficult for him to maintain an army of Metal Fortresses.
But still…
While the Metal Fortresses were extremely slow, and they weren’t equipped with the Elite Horse Archer’s prized archery skills either, there was a kind of beauty to them—the beauty of strength.
Shu Yichao had previously realized that the troops he recruited were much stronger than the NPCs in terms of stats. Even the superior Milanese armor he had obtained from the Venetians only had 70 armor.
Based on that standard, the Metal Fortresses were worthy of being called the ultimate tank.
Troops usually had to be upgraded at specific locations, but exploiting bugs was a basic maneuver for a Beacons of the Otherworld veteran.
“Upgrade!” Shu Yichao dumped a huge sum of money and tapped on the screen in front of him.
A moment later, hundreds of heavy cavalrymen appeared before him.
They were armored from the top of their heads all the way to the soles of their feet. Other than the small slit for their eyes to peek through, they were practically metal cans. Even their steeds were covered in layers of armor, revealing only a slight bit of their hooves.
Even the light reflecting off their armor could blind a person’s eyes.
A glance at these metal monsters was enough to fill one with fear and helplessness.
“Just like before, it’s yet another Frankenstein,” Shu Yichao remarked.
The Metal Fortresses were dressed in the Song Dynasty’s foot soldier armor and phoenix-winged helmets. Inside their helmet was a Mongolian-style mask armor that showed only their eyes. They wielded heavy tomahawks, metal cudgels, and clubs.
Basically, it was a mishmash of parts from different cultures and eras.
Noticing Shu Yichao’s stare, the Metal Fortresses exchanged looks.
Without any hesitation, they got off their steeds and collected a few armor parts from each person. It didn’t take them long to put together a complete Metal Fortress set for Shu Yichao.
“All of you are too polite.” Shu Yichao was overjoyed. “I’m embarrassed to accept your gift.”
He swiped off all the armor parts and quickly put them on. Once that was done, he leaped onto his horse, grabbed his red-tasseled spear, and began his charge toward the enemy’s base.
“Let’s go, my brothers! Let’s show Popo the consequences of messing with us!”
“Your Majesty,” a messenger carrying the Polish-Lithuanian flag reported, “the Khitans have commenced their attack!”
The report was redundant, for the furious dust storm, the neighing of the horses, and the loud horse hooves were signs of the imminent storm.
“Isn’t the Khitan Caesar too confident in himself?”
The king was rendered speechless.
You traveled here from afar; shouldn’t you pitch a tent and rest up instead of diving into battle?
To prepare for this battle, he had taken the effort to look into the previous Scourge of War’s battle tactics.
The most classic move was to provoke the enemy with horse archers before feigning defeat to lure the enemy out of their base. While the enemy was chasing them, heavy cavalrymen would suddenly rush out from the flanks to crush their formation.
To prevent his troops from falling from the same trap, the king had strictly ordered his troops not to charge on their own accord without his permission.
Yet…
Is that all?
He felt like he had winked at a blind man—he had done something redundant.
The massive dust storm did cloud his vision, but he was a veteran with several wars under his belt. He could gauge how many troops the enemy had by looking at the scale of the dust storm.
“Charge!”
With a wave of his hand, the king ordered the 5000 vanguard winged hussars to commence the first round of charge. Since the Khitan Caesar wasn’t resorting to any war strategies, he couldn’t be bothered either.
Let’s just get rid of the Khitans in a direct confrontation.
Tak tak tak tak tak!
The 5000 vanguard winged hussars began to accelerate, forming a long triangular formation reminiscent of a spear plunging into Shu Yichao’s army. They emanated an indomitable aura as if they were the kings of the battlefield.
Their deafening war cries and thunderous horse hooves shook the world, making everything else pale in comparison.
The distance between the two forces swiftly closed.
The winged hussar charging at the forefront felt an urge to rub his eyes. Something gleaming amidst the dust was irritating his eyes.
All of a sudden, he was confronted by a metal monster.
“What’s that?!” the winged hussar screeched with widened eyes.
…
Shu Yichao put down his red tasseled spear.
The Metal Fortresses were so powerful that he didn’t need to do anything. His only job was to lead the Metal Fortresses’ charge, or rather, stampede.
Bam!
The winged hussar who bumped into Shu Yichao hurriedly plunged his lance over, which produced a dull thud before it snapped into multiple pieces amidst a creaking sound. Then, he and his steed crashed into the swiftly-charging, armored Galewind…
He experienced centuries in advance how it felt like to crash into a tank.
Psh!
A human couldn’t withstand such tremendous force. His body exploded inside-out, causing his blood and innards to spill over his comrades. Like a popped water balloon, there was nothing left of him.
And that was the plight of all winged hussars who encountered Shu Yichao on the frontline.
It was just the first clash, but a huge bunch of the winged hussars had already been vaporized.
“AHHHHHHHH!!!”
“DEMONS!!!”
“THE SCOURGE OF GOD!!!”
The winged hussars behind crumbled into despair. They had never seen anything like this!
They were valiant knights who wouldn’t hesitate to lay down their lives to protect their nation, even if it spelled fighting a losing battle that would result in them dying in vain.
But to be vaporized just like that? That was a whole different level of cosmic horror!
“Run!”
“RUNNNNN!!!”
“That’s the Scourge of God! Our Lord is punishing us for our sins!”
The winged hussars were on the verge of mental breakdown. So were their steeds.
The steeds at the forefront neighed in fright as they did everything they could to escape, only to crash into the still-charging steeds behind. The pandemonium quickly rippled across the winged hussars, as they began trampling on their own allies.
The winged hussars tried to rein in their steeds, but it was to no avail.
They were like little chicks standing in the path of a gigantic plow; they could only watch in despair as Shu Yichao and his shiny army of Metal Fortresses trampled them into the ground.
Peace.
A disconcerting blood fog lingered in the plains.
【Morning, my host!】
System 12345 yawned as it lazily sent a string of messages to Shu Yichao.
【Have you reached your destination? Have you started courting Cassivia yet?】
【After joining her Knight Order, you must make sure to embrace her with your warm heart. From time to time, charm her with your beautiful looks. Tempt her into approaching you, whether it is sparring or giving you special training. Try to find some alone time with her.】
【As the two of you spar, it’s inevitable that the two of you will inevitably touch each other. She might try to cuss you out for that, but you’ll silence her with your lance… Hehehe!】
【Eh?】
It looked at the screen and saw a red mist with countless silhouettes flashing across.
【Is that the colored mist to commence the competition? My host, where are you?】
It was a little worried when it couldn’t see Shu Yichao’s ravishing face.
【Which one is you?】
Soon, System 12345 started to panic.
【Something’s wrong. This isn’t a jousting competition.】
In no world would a jousting competition have hundreds of cavalrymen attacking one another! Furthermore, the ‘participants’ were wielding tomahawks and clubs instead of dull lances typical of such competitions. A single strike of those massive weapons could cleave anyone’s head and open their heart!
【My host, where are you?! It’s so dangerous here!】
【Damn it, damn it, damn it! They are clearly fighting a war!】
System 12345 was on the verge of tears.
【I’ll send Cassivia’s location to you. Run over and seek refuge with her!】
“What’s going on?”
Shortly after Shu Yichao and the king’s army started fighting, Cassivia and her Holy Knight Order arrived at the scene.
“The Khitan Caesar is fighting with our king’s troops!” a soldier reported. “It’s too chaotic to discern the situation, but the Khitans appear to have the upper hand. They have survived the initial charge and maneuvered their way to the back of the king’s army formation…
“It looks like the king is on the verge of succumbing.”
The Holy Knights had never felt better. This was excellent news. Everything was proceeding in the direction they had hoped.
The king was going to be defeated soon.
The Khitans had charged at an army of 20,000 with several thousand cavalrymen; they were probably on the verge of collapse too.
If they could circle around the Khitans and charge at them now… this country would be theirs!
“Since that’s the case, what are you waiting for?” Cassivia drew her sword. “Holy Knights who have devoted their blades to our Lord, follow me to purge the heretics! May the Lord eternally bless us!”
The Holy Knights cheered.
Cassivia led them to the back of Shu Yichao’s army formation. They were prepared to unleash a devastating charge at a critical moment.
It’s about time.
Cassivia raised her sword and roared, “Holy Knights, charge!”