CHAPTER 435: CHAPTER 50 COMBAT CONFERENCE

"So, what is this thing?"

In the camp of the Emperor’s Alliance, everyone was staring blankly at the wreckage on the ground.

Half an hour ago, they had heard that the Temple Knights’ mortar position had been flattened by The Azure Longsword Mercenary Corps and the Richartnal Knights working together, and His Majesty the Emperor, in high spirits, had announced that tonight there would be a celebration for the entire army at Verona City.

But the first knight troop that entered the city was completely wiped out, and only one low-ranking soldier from the second troop survived. This guy was clever enough to grab some of the wreckage of the thing that had attacked them and bring it back.

This pile of wreckage... it looked like a mechanical spider? But the torso was completely deformed, as if something had exploded from inside. The metal fractures were incredibly sharp, and there was still the smell of gunpowder lingering on them.

"This should be a spider mine," said Duke Wolf, as everyone looked to him, the person "supposed to be most familiar with the Church Court."

"A spider mine?" the Emperor frowned.

"It’s a simple robot in the shape of a spider," explained Duke Wolf. "Someone controls it remotely, and it scurries up to your feet, then explodes."

"The Church Court can now make robots?" Duke of Bavaria asked sharply.

Robots were already in play—how far behind could synthetic humans be? Had the Angel Army already assembled a battalion?

"Ah, no, no," Duke Wolf said. "The inside of this spider mine is at best an advanced microcontroller; there’s not much technology involved in the mechanical structure, the main thing is the control algorithm... But the algorithm is with the operator, and just with this wreckage we can’t reverse engineer..."

The Emperor automatically ignored the latter part of the speech and asked, "Can the Power Armor Knights withstand the attack from this spider mine?"

"It depends on the explosive charge," Duke Wolf said. "Judging from what the surviving soldier said, it should be possible. These spider mines appear to have adjusted their charge structure to stick to the legs of the Power Armor and detonate nearby. They seem specifically designed to target our knights. After all, for the sake of bulletproofing, the most susceptible parts—the chest armor and helmet—are the thickest, followed by the arms, and finally, the legs..."

"Also, I have a question," the Duke of Bavaria asked. "Are these mines easy to produce?"

"Alas, the hardware is not the issue, as I said, the main technical challenge is the algorithm," Duke Wolf sighed.

"And the algorithm can be replicated on a large scale," the Duke of Franconia added in his characteristic sardonic tone. "In other words, Verona has manufactured a large number of spiders and woven a large, meat-grinding net with them, just waiting for us to fill it with soldiers... or demigods. I think it’s time to deploy the Giant Dragons."

The Emperor said nothing but then heard the Duke of Carinthia speak.

"If there really is a large number of these spider mines in the city, then no matter if it’s any soldier, knight, transcendent, or demigod—as long as their feet must touch the ground, they are not safe."

"We either choose to launch a costly assault, or we are successfully delayed by the Church Court, and neither outcome is probably what any of us here want to see. Based on the evidence at hand, Your Majesty’s Giant Dragons may indeed be the best current solution to our problem."

These words were quite insightful. The Saxon Family of the Royal House previously argued that there might be anti-aircraft artillery lurking in the city, so they were reluctant to send out the Giant Dragons.

Duke of Carinthia pointed out that since spider mines targeting ground units had appeared, and anti-aircraft artillery targeting air units were only His Majesty’s speculation, what to do next was clear.

If His Majesty was unwilling to expose the Giant Dragons to any potential risk, did that mean the knights and soldiers under our command deserved to die?

The key issue here was that Holy Solomon, as a "feudal Empire," had interests of the Emperor’s family that were not aligned with those of the duke families.

Everyone hoped to gain the most benefit while simultaneously wishing others would pay the greatest cost. As the Emperor naturally held the advantage in terms of name and status, the dukes had to band together for self-preservation in order to negotiate with the Emperor.

The Duke of Carinthia’s assertion provided everyone with a plausible excuse: "Your Majesty’s Giant Dragon is most suitable for battle at this time."

If under these circumstances the Giant Dragon isn’t deployed, and instead we are asked to send our men, then we must begin to question the intentions of the Saxon Family.

Therefore, representatives of the major families quickly echoed in agreement, with even Duke Wolf nodding silently. Emperor Otto’s face turned an iron shade of blue, his eyebrows nearly shooting up to his hairline in obvious inner fury, before he finally said,

"Fine, I will dispatch the Giant Dragon tomorrow to launch a probing attack on Verona City!"

He strode back to his desk and declared sharply, "At the same time! I ask that you all swiftly ensure your family’s Demigods arrive. Regardless of whether the Giant Dragon falls prey and crashes or the Spider Mines are successfully destroyed, we need to quickly break through Verona City and then immediately head south!"

This statement indeed carried the Emperor’s resolve and decisiveness. The dukes bowed one after another, replying,

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The meeting concluded, and the dukes dispersed. The Duke of Bavaria returned to his temporary residence and, after a moment’s hesitation, kindled a fire in the fireplace.

A while later, a person emerged from the roaring flames of the fireplace—none other than the Demigod ancestor of the Weisbach family, Red-haired Otto of the Sealing Furnace Fire, his body showing no signs of being scorched by the fire.

"In short, that is the situation." The Duke of Bavaria succinctly briefed him on the day’s meeting. The Red-haired Otto listened expressionlessly and nodded,

"Then let the Saxon Giant Dragon be deployed. We have reached a consensus on this matter. You just wait for the outcome."

"Hmm." The Duke of Bavaria nodded. Then, the Red-haired Otto’s gaze shifted as he suddenly asked, "Where is little Eleanor?"

"She should still be with The Azure Longsword Mercenary Corps," answered the Duke of Bavaria.

"Did she take the Will IV last time? Has she advanced to Lv.10?" asked Red-haired Otto.

"She has advanced," the Duke hesitated, "Ancestor, do we really want to send Eleanor into battle?"

"Yes," replied Red-haired Otto, "Are you worried about her, little Otto?"

"How could I not be worried? After all, swords have no eyes, let alone bullets," the Duke of Bavaria sighed.

"Little Eleanor is unlikely to come to any harm," Red-haired Otto said with a casual smile. "Don’t forget, that girl from the Lysine Family is also in the team."

"The Church Court dares to confront the Empire head-on, but would they dare to touch a direct descendant of the Lysine Group? Are they not afraid of provoking another civil unrest in Italy? Innocent is no John XII, the incompetent one. And of course, the current Your Majesty is not his father either."

The Duke of Bavaria smiled wryly; such words could likely only be spoken by a Demigod ancestor.

"That means, as long as Eleanor and Miss Nora stay together, there’s no need to fear the threat from Synthetic Humans," the Duke of Bavaria mused aloud. "But if they were to fight separately..."

"That’s another layer of insurance," Red-haired Otto intoned languidly. "That young man named Aske..."

"He’s a smart man; he won’t let Eleanor come to any harm."