Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 535 Material Requirements

This war was merely a microcosm of the war between the Krant and the Empire.

In fact, while Levi was directing the resistance at the front lines in Delin, intelligence personnel in other places were also reporting that large numbers of mutated creature legions from Delin were advancing in all directions, and they were not even sparing their own cities.

According to intelligence reports, these mutated creature armies attacked other cities near Delin, mercilessly killing all resistance fighters, and even the surrendered civilians fared no better. Intelligence sources stated that the surrendered Krant civilians were led by these mutated creatures into a terrifying and eerie building, and then vanished without a trace.

Even the Sasha Alliance was not spared from this calamity, with a large army of mutated creatures heading to the Sasha Alliance's territory to launch an attack.

The most unfortunate were the people of Krant, caught between Francis and Delin, who faced either the threat of the black mist and the demon army or the mutated creature legion from Delin.

Yeah, that's pretty bad.

Many Krants have already left their homes and gone to Port-de-Lay and Deburg to seek the Empire's protection.

Their choice is quite normal. The Empire is, after all, made by humans, but the demons and mutated creatures that lurk in the night are not human!
The situation was urgent, and the empire had to convene another high-level meeting to discuss its next course of action.

At the meeting, most people were inclined to sit back and watch the two sides fight, since, as things stand, the mutated creature army is extending towards Francis, while the demon army there is also spreading towards Krant, and a battle between the two sides is inevitable.

The empire, on the other hand, can sit back and watch the two sides fight it out, and then make its move when both sides are exhausted.

However, this time, Li Wei explicitly expressed his opposition.

"I think doing this is like raising a tiger to cause trouble."

Li Wei stood up, looked at the crowd around him, and frowned.

"What we know so far is that these mutated creatures are all ordinary creatures that have been modified through some kind of mutation. This means that all creatures will become soldiers of Krant. As for the demon army, although they can only survive in the black mist during the day, we also know that these demons manifest by possessing living beings. And the more powerful the demon, the more powerful the life form it needs as a source of possession."

As he spoke, Li Wei stretched out his hand and drew a circle in the air.

"So, everyone, think about this: if Krant's mutated creature army really fights against the demon army, do they have a chance of winning? I'm afraid that once these mutated creatures enter the black mist, they will be directly possessed by demons! At that time, given the physical strength of these mutated creatures, it's unimaginable how powerful the demons that possess them will be!"

"…………………"

Upon hearing this, everyone present imagined the scene and then shuddered.

The painting is so beautiful, I can't help but look at it.

"Besides, who's sure they'll attack each other instead of joining forces against the Empire? After all, you've seen it yourself; the biotechnology on Krant's side is completely out of control, and it's not even certain whether it's being controlled by humans. Couldn't they turn around and join forces to wipe out the Empire first, and then decide the victor between themselves?"

As he spoke, Li Wei took a breath.

"Beyond tactical considerations, there's a deeper meaning. You see, our enemies are no longer Franciscans, Krants, or Sashas, ​​but monsters, demons, aliens. They don't care if we're Imperials, Franciscans, Krants, or Sashas; to them, we're just two-legged humans. Besides, these places were originally Imperial territory, and their inhabitants were originally Imperial citizens. Since our goal is to reclaim Imperial lands, isn't protecting the Imperial people our duty?"

"That's right."

Upon hearing this, Her Majesty the Queen nodded and spoke.

"As Count Levi said, we cannot entrust the fate of the empire to the unrealistic delusion that demons and monsters will kill each other. If they unite against us, the situation will only be worse."

"But Your Majesty, do you mean we should wage war against both sides simultaneously...? Wouldn't that put a lot of pressure on our empire?"

General Haig also expressed his concerns, as soldiers know that fighting on multiple fronts is the worst thing in war, and Krant serves as a cautionary tale. Moreover, given the Empire's current position…

"The Duchy of Tiris has sought to evacuate and hopes to seek refuge in the Empire."

The Foreign Minister mentioned it briefly—if he hadn't, almost everyone would have forgotten about the unfortunate Duchy of Tiris, which was right next to Francis.

"The black fog cannot be stopped. Judging from the current speed of its spread, it will reach the territory of the Duchy of Tiris in no more than three months."

"Count Levi, what are your thoughts?"

The Queen looked at Levi and asked a question. Levi pondered for a moment in response to the Queen's question.

"I still recommend evacuating the civilians, then concentrating our superior forces to destroy Delin and the mutated creatures first, and then turning around to deal with the demons."

"But how can we prevent them from turning all the animals into monsters?"

"If all else fails, burn it all down."

Li Wei gave a decisive answer, and everyone present was surprised to hear it.

"It's all burned?"

“That’s right, the forests and grasslands were all burned to the ground. Without their habitats, the animals were forced to migrate to more distant places, which also allowed them to escape the clutches of those mutated creatures.”

Li Wei certainly understood how insane this idea was, but for now, he couldn't think of a better solution. Besides, even if they were burned, nature's regenerative abilities were quite strong. In a few years at most, these plants would grow back.

But people don't just grow out of thin air.

"Then what about in the air?"

General Hao raised another question.

Ground forces can be hindered by setting fires, but in the air... the loss of the Blue Heart proves that the enemy's air force is definitely not easy to deal with.

"At present, there is not much we can do. The only way out is to install more anti-aircraft guns on airships and warships."

Li Wei sighed silently.

"So how do we deal with those monsters that report firing beams of light? With missiles?"

"I will go back and ask the R&D staff there, but at present, the military factory is full of orders and production cannot be increased."

"The Empire can provide all support unconditionally. Just tell us what parts you need, and we will find someone to make them."

The Queen also gave an answer.

"Increase production speed as much as possible... whatever it is, be prepared!"

Clearly, the Empire now understands the benefits of gaining air superiority. Faced with the threat of demons and mutated creatures, they have begun modifying their aerial units.

Her Majesty the Queen has given instructions and made decisions; the others naturally need to do their own things.

The next internal problem became... how to deal with the enemy's air units.

Li Wei also offered his opinion on this matter.

"I believe that the Empire's current airships are designed and built entirely for naval warfare, which is not cost-effective for air combat. Therefore, I suggest that... airships do not need to consider long-range attack modes, but only close-range defense."

"So how do we deal with the enemy?"

Li Wei also gave an answer when General Haig asked him questions.

"It's simple, use mechs."

Indeed, Li Wei felt that with its current weaponry, the airships were far too inefficient at directly engaging monsters capable of firing energy beams. The reason was simple: the enemy's attacks were more accurate and faster. The airships' artillery accuracy was too poor; they were effective at bombarding ground targets, but ineffective against aerial units.

In addition, the speed of the airships is too slow, and they don't have enough time to rush to the enemy and engage in close combat. Therefore, Li Wei thinks that it would be better to just turn the airships into aircraft carriers.

All mechs are equipped with jet engines and deployed on the ship; when air combat is needed, all mechs are deployed. The air-to-air warship only needs to retain some close-range defensive weapons.

"You mean, airships are completely abandoning air attacks?"

"The problem is you can't hit it."

Seeing the displeased General Hao, Li Wei helplessly spread his hands, while General Hag opened his mouth and then closed it.

Indeed, when airships use their cannons to attack air units, the hit rate is ridiculously low. The enemy can take you down with a single shot from several kilometers away, while your barrage of fire won't even get you a hair on their head.

What a joke!

On the contrary, the mechs equipped with jet engines performed well in this battle. Although they also suffered considerable losses, they did manage to block the attacks of the mutated bird flocks.

that's enough.

"So what we need to do now is install turrets on all the airships and clean the decks of the warships so we can fit more mechs?"

"That's how it is for now... Hmm, I'll go back and see if they've built anything good over there."

Levi provided John with a number of interesting jet engine-based gadgets, missiles being just one of them.

Now he just hopes that the other party can be more cooperative and create more and better things.

So after the meeting, Levi rushed to the military factory and found John to ask about the situation.

John looked bitter when Levi asked him the question.

"The factory has been working overtime to produce missiles during this period, and we haven't had time to test your ideas yet."

“I see…” Levi was somewhat disappointed upon hearing John’s reply.

John paused for a moment when he saw Levi's disappointed expression, then clapped his hands.

"Ah, but I did think of one that's already finished, but..."

"only?"

"It's just that your plans have changed, so it's been temporarily put on hold..."

"what?"

"An airplane."

"airplane?"

Upon hearing John's answer, Levi paused for a moment, realizing that he had indeed told them about developing a jet aircraft very early on. At the time, they said they didn't know how, and Levi told them to find some aircraft designers. Later, he got too busy and forgot about it.

"You've already finished? How did you put it on hold?"

"Since you've already installed jet engines on the mechs, we feel there's no need to continue developing the aircraft..."

“……………………”

That's true. Compared to mechs, airplanes have too limited uses.

but……………

"What about speed?"

"Hey?"

"Which is faster, a mech or a plane?"

"At present, airplanes are definitely faster, but their disadvantages are also obvious: they cannot land anytime, anywhere, and once damaged, they are prone to losing balance and crashing..."

"Um…………………"

That's normal; that's how airplanes are.

However, without comparison, there is no harm. Compared to mechs, the shortcomings of airplanes are... somewhat fatal.

However, one thing that airplanes do have is an advantage, especially jet aircraft.

That's really fast.

Mechs are, after all, humanoid, and loaded with a bunch of weapons. Their weight is considerable, so even if they fly using jet engines, they won't be very fast.

As mentioned before, the heavier your machine, the greater the thrust required, the larger the jet engine, and the heavier the machine.

Not to mention that the mechs also need to be equipped with a bunch of weapons.

Endless loop.

In Li Wei's view, the speed of the mechs is currently about the same as that of a helicopter, and it is far from achieving the speed of a supersonic fighter jet.

Supersonic fighters—no matter how powerful those mutated birds are, they can't fly at supersonic speeds.

And fighter jets are really cool.

In Li Wei's time, who hadn't dreamed of piloting a fighter jet and soaring through the sky?

If only we could combine airplanes and mechs into one... um?

Li Wei raised an eyebrow at this thought.

"Can we build a transforming mech?"

"Transformation? I'm sorry, sir, I don't quite understand what you mean..."

"It can transform between a fighter jet and a mech."

Li Wei recalled the shape-shifting robots in his world—some could transform into radios, trucks, and even helicopters and ambulances…

“I think I understand what you mean, but sir, this requires a lot of parts to construct, and there is another big problem.”

"What's the problem?"

"Material."

John reached out his hand and raised his eyes.

"Mechs are required to be sturdy and impact-resistant, so they need to be made of thick alloy steel plates, which slows down the mech's speed, even if it transforms into an airplane..."

"That's right!"

Before John could finish speaking, Levi's eyes lit up and he clapped his hands loudly.

"How could I forget this? The materials!"

"……………grown ups?"

“I ask you, John, is it possible to reduce the weight of mechs and increase their speed by using light yet strong steel?”

"This...of course it's possible, but...how could such a material possibly exist?"

"I'll find out when I ask."

Li Wei almost forgot that he had an ancient chemical materials expert on his side.

“A light yet hard metal?”

The saintess's voice coming from the other end of the microphone sounded somewhat surprised.

"Really? Does such a thing exist?"

Li Wei didn't have high hopes, but he thought the saintess might bring him some surprises or ideas.

However……………

"Of course you have them, don't you?"

"……………………Is there???"

Li Wei was shocked to hear the saintess's matter-of-fact answer.

"Of course, based on your description, mithril fits this description perfectly. It's extremely lightweight; a suit of mithril armor feels as light as a silk garment. It's also incredibly sturdy; ordinary swords and blades have little chance of damaging it..."

"Does this thing require some kind of magic to smelt? Or is there a special smelting technique?"

Li Wei remembered that in the game, many similar materials had rather complicated requirements, sometimes even requiring players to complete a lot of prerequisite quests.

"No, it's just that the ore veins themselves are a bit hard to find, and the smelting methods are not much different from those for ordinary metals."

"The ore vein itself? Where does this kind of mithril ore usually appear?"

“There are usually mithril veins near dragon nests, and most dungeons are also built on mithril veins... You don’t have mithril? That’s really surprising.”

"Surprised?"

"Of course, I saw that your airships can fly, and I thought it was because you didn't have a need for it."

"…………………"

So when the saintess looked at their airships and aerial warships, she was mainly thinking, "I don't understand, but they must have their reasons for doing this?"

"When you have some time, you should write down all the materials you know."

Li Wei silently muttered a complaint.

"But now, I need you to come with me to a place."

"Where?"

“Dragon's Nest, didn’t you say there’s mithril nearby? We just killed a dragon, so if there’s a mithril mine there, that would be perfect.”

Fortunately, I killed that dragon before, and now it seems that its death was not in vain.

(End of this chapter)