Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 519 This is outrageous!

With Francis's matter concluded, Livy returned to the Mist City and attended a closed-door military meeting of the Empire's high command.

During this meeting, Her Majesty the Queen finally finalized the Empire's current military objectives.

Conquer Krant!
The Imperial army will depart from Port Drei, conquer Deburg, and then penetrate directly into the heart of Crante, attacking the Crante capital, Delin, thereby completely conquering Crante and returning it to Imperial territory. Once Crante is conquered, the Imperial army will be able to advance south and take over the Sasha Alliance.

Francis's surrender changed many things. First, his alliance with the Western European Empire naturally collapsed. Meanwhile, in the Western European Empire, with winter approaching and resources scarce, the people were deeply dissatisfied, leading to numerous demonstrations, protests, and riots. Therefore, the Tsar decisively decided to withdraw from the war and signed a non-aggression pact with the Crontes.

Having lost the support of the Western European Empire, the Duchy of Seth was ultimately annexed by the Sasha Alliance. Currently, the war is essentially over, ending in victory for the Kingdom of Krant and the Sasha Alliance.

Except for one problem: the Empire's declaration of war.

For this reason, Krant is currently rushing to move most of its troops to Deburg to block a possible imperial attack.

Simply put, Krant also wanted to learn from Francis and build an unbreakable defensive line between Port-de-Lay and Deburg.

Hmm... After annexing Francis, how come you've even picked up Francis's bad habits?

The general consensus was that if the enemy concentrated their forces, we could simply find a way to bypass them.

But Her Majesty the Queen did not think so. She demanded that the Imperial Army completely crush Krant's defenses from the front and take Deburg!

Her Majesty's intention is that the spirit of the Krant people rests on this heavily fortified defensive line. If this line can be completely destroyed, the morale of the Krant people will be utterly crushed. In this way, the Empire's subsequent conquests will encounter little resistance.

Li Wei had to admit that Her Majesty the Queen was right.

But………

"This is difficult."

Imperial General Haig was forced to raise objections.

"The Krant were able to break through Francis's defenses because they have the ability to dig tunnels underground, and they've been planning to bypass Francis's lines for a long time. Although the area between Port Dre and Deburg is mostly plains with no mountains, according to our intelligence, the Krant army has already laid an ambush there. If we launch an attack rashly, we'll only find ourselves on the defensive!"

As he spoke, General Haig also frowned.

"Moreover, according to intelligence, the Krant army has deployed tens of thousands of firebirds to patrol this route, making air attacks unlikely to be effective. And once spotted by those firebirds, given the speed of airships and air battleships, escape is impossible."

General Haig was right. Airships and airships weren't very fast, at least not much faster than the Firebirds. If the Firebirds really swarmed in like a dark mass, using a bird-sea tactic, then everything else would be for naught.

Upon hearing General Haig's words, everyone present began to ponder deeply.

Just then, Li Wei spoke up.

"Excuse me, may I say a few words?"

"Sir Levy, do you have any good ideas?"

Looking at Li Wei, General Haig asked with great interest. He and Li Wei had worked together in the battle to retake Port Derley, and he knew that Li Wei had many strange and wonderful ideas in his mind.

"The problems General Haig just mentioned are nothing more than the following: the enemy's defenses are very troublesome and their patrols are very tight. Once an attack is launched, it will be like stirring up a hornet's nest, turning into a major battle, right?"

That's about it.

General Haig nodded. Just as Li Wei had said, the front line at Port Derlai was a hornet's nest, ready to explode at the slightest touch.

Of course, if the empire were to disregard the cost, it would certainly be able to win.

But this raises a problem—in essence, just like when they quelled the rebellion in Melisia, the empire not only had to win, but had to win decisively, in order to deter those petty villains.

Otherwise, if the empire wins but suffers heavy losses, others will see and think, "Oh, your empire isn't so great after all..."

That's like picking up a sesame seed and losing a watermelon.

Therefore, war has always been an extension of politics.

Look at the Western Empire of Europe; it's barely holding onto its own homeland. Even the Sasha Alliance, though it conquered the Duchy of Seth, is plagued by internal conflicts. With so many dead, many are beginning to question whether the Sasha Alliance's initial military invasion of the Duchy of Seth was a wise decision.

You have to understand that the Duchy of Seth agreed to even the most humiliating conditions back then. If we hadn't taken a hard line and had instead proceeded gradually, the Duchy of Seth might be ours now without a fight.

Now, the Sasha Alliance has suffered many casualties in the fight against the Duchy of Seth, which many people consider a complete waste of resources.

The empire clearly wanted to avoid falling into a similar situation.

"But if we use airships and airships, we'll be attacked by flocks of firebirds?"

"Yes."

"That makes things simple."

Li Wei said this with a slight smile.

"Wouldn't it be enough to just have shells that can fly farther?"

"Sir Levy, you mean that...missile you mentioned earlier, right?"

General Haig finally realized what was going on, after all, Li Wei had mentioned this to them in meetings more than once.

"That's right. The maximum payload can reach 200 kilograms, and the effective range of a single missile is approximately 100 meters, with a range between 50 and 100 kilometers. Of course, some calculations are required during launch, and the accuracy is not high, but..."

Li Wei said, spreading his hands.

"As long as enough are launched, it won't be a problem, right?"

"I remember you said that the shell... was basically like putting a thruster on it and letting it fly on its own, right?"

That's about it.

"And the price?"

"One missile is roughly equivalent to a Hound-class mech."

"this……………"

Hearing Li Wei's answer, General Haig was somewhat surprised. He frowned, clearly unsure how to respond. After all, artillery shells are generally quite inexpensive. Of course, ordinary shells can't fly that far, but they're certainly not that expensive either…

One cannonball can take down a Hound-class mech? That's just too much.

One mech may not seem like much, but it's not a disposable one!
This is a one-time thing, okay?

"General Haig."

Just then, the Queen's voice rang out.

"If we had such weapons, could we break through Krant's defenses?"

"If this is true, there shouldn't be any problem..."

General Haig pondered for a moment, then nodded. If, as Li Wei said, these shells could travel fifty to one hundred kilometers, that would be more than enough to take down Krant. It would just be a matter of firing a few more rounds. The main problem was that these shells were far too expensive… one shell cost as much as a Hound mech. Were these shells made of gold?

General Haig knew that wars were all about money, but this was far too expensive!
Sir Levi.

Her Majesty the Queen looked at Livy.

"Could we witness the power of the shells you described?"

“Of course, no problem.” Levi wasn’t surprised that the Queen wanted to see the power of the shells. He contacted the military factory via communicator, but instead of telling them that the Queen wanted to see it, he told them that he planned to test-fire one to show the military, and if it went well, they would get more orders. The people at the military factory didn’t suspect anything and quickly got to work.

The Queen and the rest of the officers then traveled to Delicatul aboard the Sky Eye.

Yes, that's right, Li Wei chose to conduct his experiment in Olivia.

Of course, other members of the royal family and soldiers went to the military factory to observe their launch operation.

“You seem to really like this cannonball that flies so far, Sir Levy.”

The Queen sat in a chair, gazing at the distant hillside where a building stood—formerly a warehouse, which Levi had bought to use as a test firing range. The others were at the observation post in the distance, where tables and chairs had been set up. The Queen, now seated with binoculars, looked at the distant warehouse, chuckling jokingly.

This wasn't the first time she'd heard Levi mention this "missile." The Queen's impression was that Levi seemed quite interested in it.

"The missile itself is secondary; the jet engine is quite useful, which is what attracted me in the first place. The missile was just a byproduct of the development process."

"Jet engine?"

"It functions similarly to the propulsion system of an airborne warship, but is much faster."

Li Wei gave a brief introduction.

"I also installed this thing on my mech. It can fly and run, and it's even faster than an airship."

"That's interesting."

Upon hearing Li Wei's words, the Queen glanced at him curiously.

"I never expected you could come up with so many strange and wonderful things."

“This wasn’t my idea; it was Mr. John Dunn’s idea.”

"John Dunn?"

"A young inventor, I met him once before..."

Levi briefly explained to Her Majesty how he met John Dunn, and the Queen nodded slightly after listening.

"It reminds me of the early days of the steam industry, when many inventors in the private sector came up with amazing results... However, it's only you, Sir Levy, who could achieve this. If it were me, I probably wouldn't have any interest just hearing about cannonballs that could fly farther."

"My situation also arose by chance."

Li Wei shrugged.

"Moreover, anything can become terrifying when it reaches a certain limit. If we go any further, we could hit Delin directly with a single shell from Fog City."

"In that case, it would indeed be an effective way to curb war..."

The Queen also began to think about it. Clearly, as the ruler of a country, she could sense how much such a weapon would change the entire battlefield.

and………

Do you think this could be used for Francis?

Although the Queen didn't say it explicitly, Levi knew she was referring to the demon army. The Queen had heard Levi and the Saintess's explanation and knew that those who entered the black mist would be possessed and turned into demons. Clearly, for the Queen, the war with Crant wasn't a major problem, but the demon army was the real trouble.

"It should be possible. After all, missiles are machines, not flesh and blood, and cannot be possessed by demons."

"hope so."

Just then, the attendant next to him took the communicator, and Levi took the receiver, through which John's voice came through.

"Sir Levy, we are ready!"

"Has the target location been locked?"

"Yes, the weather is nice today, so there shouldn't be too much of a difference."

"That's good, launch it."

"Yes."

A moment after John's reply, Levi heard a loud "boom" through the microphone.

.....................

It probably didn't explode on the spot.

Thankfully, John's voice rang out again soon after.

"Sir, the missile has been successfully launched."

"I see."

Li Wei nodded, put the microphone back, and then looked at the Queen.

"Your Majesty, the missile has been launched."

"Oh? How long will it take?"

"It might take five or six minutes."

According to previous tests, the current missile speed is about Mach 1, and the distance from the launch site to the test site is about 100 kilometers, which is neither long nor short.

"Then let's wait and see."

As she spoke, the Queen chuckled softly.

"This is the first time I've ever seen a shell that I have to wait for."

Hearing the Queen's joke, the people around her laughed as well. Indeed, for them, even mortar shells wouldn't take that long to hit their targets. On the battlefield, the enemy wouldn't give you five or six minutes to fire.

Time ticked by, and Li Wei, with his hands behind his back, looked up at the sky. He hoped the missile wouldn't go too far astray. Although Li Wei could use his [Puppet Master] for terminal guidance, he felt it was better to let them handle it themselves.

After all, you can't always be the one piloting the missile.

Just then, Li Wei suddenly had a thought.

"coming."

As he spoke, Li Wei raised his head and looked up at the sky, and upon hearing his words, the others also hurriedly looked up.

Then they saw a dark shadow streak across the sky and crash heavily not far from the building at the test site.

then……………

"boom-------!!"

A massive mushroom cloud shot into the sky, the ground trembled violently, and the scorching heat created a powerful gust of air that rushed towards them. Many people were caught off guard and nearly blown to the ground. The steam-powered soldiers immediately stepped forward to shield Her Majesty the Queen behind them.

Then, the smoke slowly rose, and Li Wei saw that the warehouse where the missile had exploded was nowhere to be seen. Even the once flat hillside had been blasted into a hole the size of half a football field!

Seeing this, Li Wei was dumbfounded and speechless.

He wasn't unfamiliar with test firings; the missiles hadn't been this powerful before.
What are they doing?
(End of this chapter)