Chapter 580 — Advance, Unfold
Blade of Dawn · Page 3 of 4
Beyond providing energy and shield reinforcement, the Steel Ambassador's arcane crystal could also serve as a relay node for magic-web communications; its output was far below that of a fixed relay tower, but sufficient to ensure battlefield communications. Just as the cutting-edge magitech warship "Pathfinder" could provide communications coverage for an entire fleet, so the Steel Ambassador could ensure that a land force fighting at the front did not lose contact with its allies.
Beyond these fixed functions, as a chariot whose very purpose was "multi-purpose support," the Steel Ambassador also reserved capacity for expansion modules: around its chassis were slots and runic drag chains connected directly to the chariot's power spine, allowing external magic-web units to boost energy output, or allowing the runic drag chains to deliver rapid recharging directly to heavy units such as the White Knights...
Of course, these convenient functions came at a price. To mount that massive crystal, and to support the energy-hungry custom shield system, these chariots converted from the Warhammer Type I had their main guns removed outright, retaining only a few thermal ray guns and a single infantry-grade grenade launcher at the front as self-defense firepower; their crew capacity dropped from six to three, and the freed space went to additional magic-web units and the oversized power spine. These changes left the chariot almost devoid of offensive capability — but Gao Yang said that on a battlefield of complex conditions, a multi-purpose chariot with outstanding support capability could accomplish far more than a single main gun.
On this wasteland, that was especially true.
On the open ground where the forward base stood, above the "wall" formed by the large transports and multi-purpose chariots, soldiers had already taken cover behind the vehicle bodies to form a temporary defensive line; inside the wall, the Pathfinders were unloading prefabricated tents and simple panel buildings from the following heavy trucks and rushing to set up camp. At each node of the wall, the "Steel Ambassadors" lit the arcane crystals atop their hulls, and as the crystals kindled, a faintly shimmering shield closed around the perimeter of the convoy.
"Magitech..." Suo You watched the camp's defensive mechanism take shape bit by bit and could not help murmuring in admiration. "At first I thought this was merely some modification and... recombination of Gondor's magical arts, but now it seems it has taken an entirely different path."
"The fall of the Gondor Empire taught us a lesson — no matter how advanced the technology, if it is confined to a few elite individuals, confined to a small scope and unable to be popularized, then it must lack reliability and resilience against disaster, and it is doomed to struggle against its own developmental limits," Gao Yang said with a smile. "Of course, one of the reasons we took the path of magitech was also sheer necessity — after all, we don't have a Deep Blue mana well."
"A Deep Blue mana well..." Suo You said softly. She watched the "Steel Ambassadors" spreading their shields and broadcasting arcane energy, her gaze settling on the crystals atop those chariots. "Perhaps... these things are worth no less than another Deep Blue..."
That was undoubtedly high praise.
And for an elf from the Silver Empire who had witnessed the glorious age of Gondor to say such a thing lent it an even more extraordinary meaning.
Gao Yang merely nodded slightly, then raised his head and gazed at the majestic tower that pierced heaven and earth in his field of view.