Long-Range Artillery Bombardment

Following the command, the switches at all levels quickly closed, and a powerful current surged through the thick, water-soaked cable. Heat began to flow in the river water, and bubbles rose continuously, gradually forming a thin white mist.

The numbers on the monitoring screen fluctuated rapidly before finally stabilizing, indicating that the Vermilion Bow system's charging power had reached 800,000 kilowatts. If converted to the kinetic energy of the PLZ-05 155mm howitzer, this is equivalent to firing 41 shells per second.

But this only happened in a second; such a massive influx of energy would take a total of 172 seconds to complete!

A deep humming sound began to grow deep within the Vermilion Bow cannon, as this steel behemoth gathered its power. The sound continued to grow, gradually enveloping the entire riverbank.

A massive hoisting device was erected behind the Type 59 Modified. Dozens of powerful dragons, using their Dragon Claw or gripping the hoisting ropes, slowly lifted a slender, date-shaped projectile.

However, it is only slender relative to the dragon. This official ammunition, named "Plain Gift," has a caliber of 800 mm, is almost entirely composed of solid metal, and weighs 80 tons.

As the sling was raised, Plain Gift was placed on the sabot at the tail of the Vermilion Bow, and with a heavy "click," it was locked in place.

"Wow!" In the cockpit, Miao Xin looked at the data transmitted back by the Rainbow Drone, and the soul fire in the Skeleton Pig's eye sockets twitched. "Target distance: 403.1 kilometers. Can we reach it?"

"Of course it's within reach, the Vermilion Bow can shoot 600 kilometers." Su Ming looked at the constantly changing system parameters on the screen.

"That far?" Miao Xin had been cramming on knowledge lately, and her tone was filled with confusion. "Even with extended-range projectiles, a typical cannon's range is at most a hundred kilometers, right?"

"Do you think this thing of ours," Su Ming pointed to the area above the porthole, "Can be considered a 'regular cannon'?"

"... Too."

The ballistic coefficient (BC) of a projectile is proportional to its cross-sectional density. Even with the same initial velocity and projectile shape, the 80-ton "solidated Plain Increase" has a cross-sectional density that is enough to extend its effective range to several times that of a 155mm shell.

Caliber has always been the standard of justice!

With the charging countdown less than 100 seconds, the hoisting equipment at the rear has been withdrawn, and the surrounding area has been cleared.

"You're in charge of aiming and firing the shell at a 45-degree elevation," Su Ming said. "Leave the rest to me."

"Um."

Miao Xin's bony fingers trembled slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and began to slowly adjust the orientation of the "Type 59 Modified - Vermilion Bow" combination according to the guidance signals from the distant drone.

With each movement, the riverbed beneath our feet emitted a dull groan.

"You get nervous too?" Su Ming teased gently.

"You talk as if your palms aren't sweaty!" Miao Xin retorted.

On the superconductor side, the lower critical magnetic field Hc1 has already been breached. As the magnetic field strength increases sharply, it begins to approach the upper critical magnetic field Hc2. Although there is still a distance before it loses quench, the "magnetic flux vortex" phenomenon in the conductor increases significantly, and the yellow warning light illuminates.

For a superconductor to operate with zero resistance, it must maintain all three parameters—magnetic field, electric current, and temperature—within specified limits. Exceeding any one of these limits will cause the enormous current energy that would otherwise be applied to the Plain Increase to explode directly within the coil!

"Zijin, lower the temperature!" Su Ming said into the communicator.

Zijin swiftly raised her hand, activating the magic arrays covering the power units of the Vermilion Bow. Large swathes of flames rose from the outer shell, crimson tongues of fire licking the air frantically, and the surrounding river water was scorched to boiling point, with steam billowing into the sky!

Flame Shield; away

The dwarves on the distant hillside who witnessed this "burning in flames" scene were instantly engulfed in a frenzy of cheers and shouts!

From beginning to end, they didn't understand what this behemoth was doing, but the ability to unleash such a massive flame was a totem of power! In the cockpit, Miao Xin's Soulfire was so frightened that her pupils dilated. "What the hell are you doing? Using a flame shield to cool things down!?"

"This is a failed spell invented by Lanmo," Su Ming explained. On the control panel screen, the operating temperatures of each unit began to return to the green range. "Although it can generate a fire shield, the heat that constitutes the fire is forcibly drawn from within—before killing the enemy, it can freeze itself into an ice block."

"... Next time, just let me know in advance, it's kind of scary," Miao Xin said, displeased.

She maneuvered the Type 59 Modified to raise its elevation angle, and its massive bony feet slowly retreated in the riverbed silt, embedding the heavy base of the Vermilion Bow deeper into the soft silt, like a giant tree taking root.

"Hejian Cannon, Level Two Preparation, Complete!"

The Dwarf Kingdom, the "Pomegranate" Mine.

The thick, inky night began to thin, revealing the massive outlines of the mountains below.

As Nitelai once again unleashed his Crystal Cascade Magic Cube Domain, a muffled groan echoed from underground. A large number of Magic Power crystals within the vein exploded under his influence.

The hard rock layer crumbled and cracked like a fragile biscuit, the explosion spreading outwards in a ring until it reached the edge of the area. Most of the Magic Power crystals were completely wasted in the process; they were either consumed directly or destroyed by the blast wave. However, a small number of Magic Power crystals survived and were collected by swarms of Crystal Spawn Insect with gleaming blue compound eyes that burrowed into the ruins.

The first wave of "mining" targeted convenient shallow veins, and the speed was incredibly fast. Countless Magic Power crystals, carried by the Crystal Spawn Insect, flowed like streams onto the Crystal Dragon's back, and in a short time, more than 200,000 crystals were collected.

The array masters of the Plundering Clock have also been working. They not only repaired the two array cores that were damaged in the previous attack by the "Jiangling" missile, but also replaced the crystals in the array cluster that had run out of energy.

"We've finally made up for the losses." Nitelai looked at the fullness of the energy circuit. "Next, let's continue strengthening it, increasing the array's strength tenfold, and then we can go settle the score with the Final Bone Mad Machines!"

The Death Knell tilted its head slightly. Although the sun had not yet risen, the Dawn had already gilded the sky with a layer of light gold. The three sharply defined "alchemy pets" were bathed in this light and approached again like ghosts.

Nitelai had already tried attacking, but these slippery magical creatures always hovered at the edge of the attack range, dodging various spells with nimble movements. A large-scale attack could certainly bring them down, but it was clearly not worthwhile to expend too much energy on these few small magical creatures.

But now, all these magical creatures have crossed the four-kilometer boundary. This means they are beginning to take greater risks, approaching to scout our forces. "Bone King, this must be the start of some action," Death Knell judged.

"Another attack like the one we just had?" Nitelai asked. "Whatever, we're already in the mining area." His tone was full of smugness. "Let's see if the Final Bone Mad Machines can attack faster, or if we can replenish our energy faster!"

Before long, a blinding glimmer of Starlight suddenly appeared at the edge of the sky. A cylindrical object with long, narrow wings spread out was tearing through the air and rapidly approaching.

Its tail emitted a blinding glow as it adjusted its wings, clearly trying to correct its trajectory and make the final aim. Although the attacker was several times larger than the previous missile, it was a lone missile, and its speed had plummeted to just over one times the speed of sound. This slow and singular attack left the two "Clock Hand" masters on the Crystal Dragon's back, who were waiting in full force, feeling a sense of disappointment.