Holding the Line

"What is that?!"

The armor landed with quite a commotion.

The mechanics who hadn't gone far before turned around when they heard the noise.

The more professional your perspective, the better you'll understand the level of technology involved in this Six-Armed Mech.

When they saw the nimble Octopus Mechanical Arm behind Mr. Tuster, they already guessed that this unassuming old man's skill level probably far exceeded their expectations.

Master Pierre's gaze froze, as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight, muttering, "Eight-Cylinder Micro Steam Boiler? How is that possible?"

The most advanced individual mechanical boilers in the Oma Empire's military only have four cylinders. Six-cylinder boilers are still only in the laboratory stage. This armor in front of us actually has eight cylinders?

Professionals have no reason to doubt the number of exhaust pipes they see, because unless this armor is made of paper, even the Six-Cylinder Boiler in the Royal Academy of Sciences laboratory simply cannot power such a behemoth!

The mechanics were completely stunned, showing no other expression whatsoever.

The golden antler helmet slowly opened, and old man Tuster looked at Rein and sighed, "Rein, you've caused so much trouble."

He said, with a hint of apology, "I thought that after thirty years, I should have let go of everything. But seeing those guys protecting Breidan, I still couldn't control my temper."

The main reason I agreed to come this time, besides wanting to see this "mechanical airship," was to help Rein.

Thirty years of torment, having tasted all the bitterness and sweetness of life, he had no desire to prove anything to others. So, even when others looked down on him, the old man had no intention of arguing with them. But when the topic turned to the enemy who had caused his family's ruin, it stirred up the demons in his heart, and that resentment finally erupted.

But he also felt that doing so might affect the friendship between Rein and the Princess, which made the old man feel guilty.

Rein shook his head and said, "No, Grandpa Tuster, go ahead and do it. No matter what happens, I will support you."

"Good!"

Hearing this, Tuster laughed; he knew, of course, that Rein could understand him.

But I always cause trouble for others and don't do my part, so the old man feels bad about it.

During this time, although he was not allowed to participate in the manufacturing of the Mechanical City, he was not idle.

As for the "secretly disassembling the Steam Sphere" mentioned earlier? It was naturally for research purposes.

"Perfect timing, this old man also wants to show you just how amazing this treasure you found really is."

When Tuster spoke of machinery, his eyes instantly lit up with excitement as he said, "To figure out the function of those 'Steam Sphere,' I tested this armor. I discovered that the pressure that this Steam Sphere can withstand is roughly the same as the main power boiler of a 'Ghoul-class' Mechanical City. Only such super-powerful energy could push the Mechanical City into the sky!"

Upon hearing this, Rein instinctively exclaimed in surprise, "So amazing?"

He stared in disbelief at the dark, iron lump that was about half a meter in diameter.

This tiny iron ball can actually provide the same power as a "Ghoul-class Steam Boilers" with a volume of hundreds of cubic meters?!

"Yes! Don't let the unassuming appearance of the iron ball fool you; the advanced technology it contains is far beyond what our current pressure-bearing devices can match."

Grandpa Tuster didn't explain much. The eight Mechanical Arm quickly climbed onto the control cabin, and then with a series of crisp "clicks," they snapped into the control slots perfectly. He said, "I'll demonstrate for you, and you'll understand just how powerful it is!"

The Six-Armed Mech's boiler started up, and then it crouched down to gather power.

Suddenly, a loud "bang" of pressure gas explosion rang out.

Then, something shocking happened!

Rein felt a gust of wind before his eyes, and a chilling, bone-deep pressure of true energy made him unsteady on his feet.

In the blink of an eye, the six-armed armor in front of them had vanished without a trace!

Hmm.

"In the sky!"

As Rein stared at the dent in the ground caused by the wind, his pupils contracted sharply. Then, looking up, he saw the six-armed armored figure leap into the air, directly jumping over the city wall dozens of meters high and flying away!

"Holy crap, that's amazing?!"

Rein couldn't help but curse under his breath.

He was one of the few people in the world who had ever seen the "Muscle-bound Deer God Battle Armor". He still vividly remembered the scene of the old man using this armor to wreak havoc in the Beast Tide at the "Plague Base".

But... the armor back then wasn't this powerful.

Even though the old man's mecha had those eight miniature boilers, it was barely enough for the heavy armor to dodge nimbly, and even running seemed a bit clumsy.

But what do I see now?

A leap of a thousand meters, soaring dozens of meters into the air!

How much power would it take to move such a huge lump of iron?

"Is that Steam Sphere really that powerful?"

Rein was so shocked that he couldn't speak. Without any hesitation, he jumped onto the city wall, eager to see just how powerful the old man's improved armor really was!

At night, both monsters and corpses are most active.

At that very moment, another large group of undead arrived outside the city.

The "Karatva Basin" is a paradise for all kinds of dragons and large monsters, and this wave of "Living Corpse Dragon" makes it feel like you've entered a dinosaur skeleton museum.

Ankylosaurus, Bagada Dragon, Stegosaurus, Allosaurus, Triceratops, Quetzalcoatlus, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Edmontosaurus, Hadrosaurus, Poseidon Dragon, Argentinosaurus.

Rein could name almost all the skeleton dragons, although they were much larger, their appearance was roughly the same as he remembered.

Among the legions of dinosaur carcasses that are generally several meters to tens of meters tall, several Corpse Dragons that are hundreds of meters tall can be seen.

These enormous creatures can easily cross the walls of the Mechanical City. If they are not stopped outside the city, they will cause large-scale damage to the buildings inside.

In general, the combat power of a monster is judged not only by its rank, but more importantly by its size!

The larger the size, the greater the absolute strength; the higher the health and defense, the stronger the combat power.

This is also why Rein was worried that establishing a territory in this basin would lead to annihilation, as dinosaurs are generally much larger than magical beasts of the same level!

This would be a huge problem for a typical Mechanical City wall.

"Level 1 Long-Range Cannon! Fire a salvo!"

"Level 2 Cannon, prepare to fire."

"."

There were hundreds of cannons of various calibers on the city wall, and the gunners fired in volleys in turn as they listened to the orders.

Lately, everyone has gotten used to monsters attacking the city at night. Each person is doing their job, and their teamwork is becoming increasingly seamless.

The gunners on the city wall were almost all elite Royal Mechanist brought by Storm General Baron, and they were well-trained.

It must be said that artillery is the best weapon against zombie hordes; a single volley of artillery fire can shatter large swathes of bones.

However, the power of artillery is inversely proportional to its firing rate; the more lethal the artillery, the longer the firing interval. For high-level undead, small-caliber artillery has limited destructive power.

Even with alternating firing in groups, a small number of monsters still managed to break through the range of the cannonballs and surge towards the city walls.

However, everyone has already dealt with it as usual.

"The 'Decapitation Squad' and the 'Reaping Squad' are preparing to leave the city!"

Seeing this, no one said much. The High-tier Extraordinary under the Princess's command had already put on their armor and were ready to go.

Although there wasn't much interaction, Kolman's warriors nearby also mounted their magical beast mounts.

They would rush out of the city as soon as the city gates opened, and intercept any who managed to escape the artillery's range.

Just after this round of artillery fire, everyone suddenly heard a hissing sound of steam billowing out.

Those High-tier Extraordinary keenly sensed something, looked up, and immediately froze in place.

To everyone's astonishment, a dark figure flew over their heads and landed steadily outside the city gate with a loud thud.

At this moment, the Mechanist Legion brought by Ymir on the city wall were all stunned.

"What is that?!"

"It looks like Mechanical Armor."

"Huh? When did we get this kind of armor?"

"Not ours"

"It looked like it flew right over our heads?"

"Although I also thought it was unlikely, my eyes told me that it really flew over."

"."

The Royal Mechanist are Omar's most elite Mechanical Cavalry legion, and they are equipped with the most advanced military equipment!

That set of Mechanical City equipment was also their proudest strength.

But at that moment, everyone awkwardly realized that the Six-Armed Mech didn't belong to their side. Moreover, it appeared to be far more technologically advanced than the luxurious mechanical equipment they were wearing!

Just then, Ymir looked at Rein, who had jumped onto the city wall and was standing beside him, and clearly understood something.

She suddenly realized that the previous conversation was probably true.

Grand Mechanical Master?

That's incredible!

Ymir's expression changed slightly as she asked, "Doctor Rein, what is this?"

With a gleam in his eyes, Rein introduced, "This is Grandpa Tuster's personal combat armor, the 'Muscle-bound Deer God'."

Ultimately, a mechanic's skill is what matters most.

Before he could explain further, the first wave of rotting corpses had already reached a point not far from the city gate.

The Six-Armed Mech piloted by Mr. Tuster wielded a giant shield in one hand and a double-edged greatsword in the other.

However, before he could even make a move, the two Sixteen-Wheel Alchemical Musket on his shoulders had already unleashed long arcs of light, lashing out like whips at the surging tide of corpses.

And then, that was it.

The light whip swept across the horde of zombies, sending bone dust and blood flying everywhere it passed. It wasn't just penetrating wounds, but area-of-effect explosive damage. It directly shredded those seemingly indestructible undead into a pulp.

Upon seeing this scene, everyone on the city wall stared in disbelief.

It was as if time had stood still.

Everyone could clearly hear the "glug" sound of swallowing saliva.

Is this thing still considered a firearm in terms of power?

Although the ballistic trajectory was linked into a "light whip," the rattling sound of bullets still did not escape everyone's ears.

Then, they watched as that burst of bullets wiped out the entire horde of zombies.

Although this wasn't the first time he'd seen the old man's Vulcan Cannon, Rein was still incredibly impressed.

At this point, he also became a competent commentator, repeating what Karl had explained to him earlier, "That's a Sixteen-barreled Vulcan Cannon, and the bullets are Tuster Tust's unique alchemical bullets— Phosphorus-Rich Element Bullet."

The crowd on the city wall listened in silence, their expressions devoid of any emotion other than shock.

Tap, tap, tap, tap-click!

At that moment, the bullets in each ammunition box were emptied, and the gunfire stopped abruptly.

At that moment, a nimble "Raccoon Mech" ran over and helped the six-armed giant replace the ammunition box.

Rein then introduced, "The one helping to load the ammunition is Karl, the grandson of old man Tuster. He's also a very skilled mechanic, and the mech he's wearing is called 'Little Raccoon'."

At this moment, the city gates had already opened, and the thousands of Kolman Beast Rider and royal Mechanical Knight who rushed out from behind the Six-Armed Mech were also stunned.

This steel monster stood in their way, "stealing" all their work.

Amazing, isn't it? These "city people" from the Oma Imperial Capital can easily see through it.

Leaving aside the six-armed antler mech that resembles a steel war god, even this Raccoon Mech looks far more advanced than the most advanced mechs they wear.

After all, the Oma Empire was at the forefront of steam technology, and all sorts of strange and wonderful technologies on the market came from there.

But now, they themselves feel like "frogs in a well".

Their civilian equipment is actually more advanced than their military gear?

How is that possible?

The horde of corpses continued to surge toward the city from afar.

After several rounds of artillery fire, those that managed to reach the city gates were all enormous creatures whose bodies could withstand the cannon fire.

At this moment, the six-armed antler mech put away its musket, and its four free Mechanical Arm slowly drew out four black longswords from its back.

Then, another burst of white steam erupted from its back, and the tall steel body charged forward!

P. S. Don't dwell on why Tuster didn't publicly display his power before, and why he waited for the protagonist to force a show of power? It's been repeatedly emphasized that he suffered the loss of his family! He's withdrawn! He doesn't want to talk to others, only helping Rein! It's a miracle he didn't take revenge on society if it were anyone else; please don't project your thinking onto normal people. What hardships hasn't he endured? Would he immediately retaliate just because someone said a few words to him? This outburst was because he talked about his enemy. And you say the Princess should know all the information? Of those who saw the mechs at the Plague Base, how many survived? Where did the information come from? Even if the survivors knew, after thirty years of hiding their identities, who knows who's behind the mechs?