Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 201 The Steel Behemoth Goes Offline, the Orc Army Returns North
The trainees sitting in the front row could clearly hear the hoarseness in their voices and the weariness that was hard to hide in their eyes.

Before breaking down the dauntingly complex production tasks for these technical backbones, the lord himself quietly stayed up for two nights straight, painstakingly studying the thick "59 Modification" process manual from Blue Star East Xia.

The processes that have been set up now, which seem so huge and complex, are actually only a small part of the entire production chain.

Most of the core components of the tank still need to be "imported" by Chen Mo through the Bloodline Altar!
Various core metal components, such as gears, bearings, torsion bars, springs, etc. in key positions, can only be supplied by Dongxia, as local production technology cannot yet provide these special alloy parts.

Weapon systems rely entirely on aid.

The list includes autofrettage barrels, breech mechanisms, hydraulic-gas recoil mechanisms, extractors, firing mechanisms, and so on. Some of these devices require internal machining, while others require chrome plating or plating with other special materials. In particular, the hydraulic autofrettage process used in the barrels is directly related to the weapon's power, accuracy, and service life.

These things will continue to bear a heavy burden on the altar's transport capacity for a long time to come.

In addition, there are those luxury packages that are "good enough to use without, but essential for taking off with them".

Phased array radar systems, optical observation and aiming systems, intelligent fire control units, driver assistance systems, automatic loading and automatic combat units, integrated battlefield command systems, and so on.

These high-tech gadgets are nothing short of a pipe dream for the current Han Hai Territory; they can't even dream about them and are relying entirely on their old home in Dong Xia to cover their expenses.

Chen Mo quickly compared the two plans and made the decision almost without hesitation—go for the full configuration!

Radar equals full map visibility, fire control equals automatic aiming—this is practically an official cheat code! Fewer units are fine, but being able to fight is the only real advantage.

In addition, there are upgrades and assistance provided by designers from Dongxia Weapon Industry, such as high-intensity tank-mounted laser cannons, vehicle-mounted drones, and vehicle-mounted robot dogs...

They call this thing a robotic wolf, but whether it's a wolf or a dog, let's forget about adding this feature.

Chen Mo had already planned it out: after the tank was built, he would add a row of metal brackets to the outer shell of the vehicle, hang a skull on each bracket, and place one or two bone vultures on it.

The Centaur-led skeleton strategy has already proven its tactical value; the idea of ​​tanks carrying skeletons in the future is simply amazing.

When attacking, use bone tanks in coordination; when marching, use carts to save fuel; when scouting, bone vultures go first; and when retreating, skeletons cover the rear!
The lord glanced at the list in his hand again.

Yes, there are also high-grade insulation materials, metal flaw detection equipment, maintenance equipment, special welding wires and electrodes, external coating dyes, special cutting tools, measuring tools, fixtures, repair tools, and so on.

Although it seemed so complicated and cumbersome, Chen Mo didn't feel annoyed at all. Instead, it felt like he was playing a large-scale task game, where fulfilling each requirement meant that the progress bar had actually moved forward a bit.

He could almost see the spectacular scene of a hundred or so "Starry Night 59" medium tanks, each adorned with a skull, forming a torrent of steel and white bones, crushing all enemies on the plains.

If I also put up a magic protective array, how will the enemy fight me?

"Speaking of which, there are still too few necromancers in the territory... Shouldn't we consider recruiting more?"

"Or, how about opening a crash course for necromancers?"

Chen Mo hurriedly made a note in his notebook: "Yes, the rank doesn't need to be high, as long as he can summon skeletons! Even if he's an apprentice, as long as he can supplement the tank, he's a good mage!"

In peacetime, they can serve as observers, drivers, recorders, and medics for the vehicle crew; in wartime, they become a source of manpower!
I remember Elder Ysera of the elves mentioning something about the Valley of Exile, a gathering place for down-on-their-luck necromancers. Maybe I can find some time to go and take a look after I'm done with this busy period.

In the conference room, officers were engaged in heated discussions around the map, technicians were exchanging ideas with great enthusiasm while holding blueprints, and the lord stood aside, lost in thought, a gentle and warm smile on his face.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Time passes day by day.

The last week of September in 1428, known to astrologers as the Red-Eyed Vulture Week.

With sheer courage and determination, General Goldenmane's troops broke through the East Pass after paying a heavy price. The Green Pine Kingdom's army suffered heavy casualties and was forced to adopt a defensive posture, relying on cities and rivers for protection, allowing the orcs to advance unimpeded and plunder the vast plains.

Just like the historical cycles of the past many years.

Seeing this scene on the battlefield, Chen Mo strongly suspected that the reason why the Emerald Kingdom so easily abandoned the East Pass and South Pass first, and then abandoned Cloud Mist, was because so many years of resistance against the orcs had exhausted them and made them suffer terribly.

Now, with the human race in the midst of a civil war, they've been quick to get rid of this burden legitimately.

Hmm, the more I think about it, the more it seems to be true.

Of course, only the Emerald Duchy itself knows the truth.

Meanwhile, beneath the walls of Tianshuang City, the catapults of both sides were exchanging bombardments for an increasingly longer period, but ammunition was beginning to run out.

Although battlefield recovery is possible, there will always be losses.

Because the city's stone resources were not as abundant as those outside, Tianshuang City took the lead in making changes, drastically reducing the use of stone projectiles. After all, no one stipulated that catapults had to launch stones; launching some dirt was also acceptable.

Since we can't hit the enemy, it's just for show. Why waste those stones?
Under Xia Er's arrangement, Skyfrost City simply wrapped up some soil, wood chips, and garbage and used them as ammunition for catapults.

Sometimes the packaging breaks apart in mid-air, scattering in all directions, looking more impressive than solid bullets.

After the orcs on the other side discovered this, they followed suit and began to add lightweight materials to the projectiles they were throwing in large quantities. This immediately increased the "throwing density" on the battlefield.

The two sides traded blows back and forth, making for a very exciting fight!
Outside Qishan Mountain, at the Orcs' Southern Camp, the Han Hai Army remained in a state of lurking, without even any localized conflicts occurring, and the entire Razor Corridor was quiet and peaceful.

Meanwhile, at Hanhailing, after two full weeks of intensive research and development, the engineering and technical department burned a large number of scrap metal parts and finally produced the first engine with a shell and internal components that fit together almost perfectly.

During this period, Tongxu, as the chief engineer, spent almost every day and night in the workshop, making changes and repairs bit by bit. Without understanding most of the principles, he forced himself to complete the effective assembly of the first engine by relying on a foolproof, comparative operation.

When the filtered, clear fuel is injected into the engine, the moment the start button is pressed, a tremendous roar erupts like a wild beast awakening.

Stable, powerful, and continuous operation sent all the technicians involved into a frenzy of joy! They hugged each other wildly, jumped up and down, and cheered and shouted in hoarse voices!
This 59 modified Starry Night special edition finally has its own core driving force.

In mid-October of 1428, the orc army, which had split up, launched several attacks on the cities of "Ke Di Cheng" and "Bao Jie Cheng". Because they had no good way to deal with the city walls, they suffered heavy losses and had to temporarily retreat from the city's perimeter to continue expanding their search and plundering range in the wild.

During this period, the human and orc air forces fought a fierce exchange on the Newper River. In the end, the Green Pine Kingdom's air force, with the support of ground mages, won a pyrrhic victory, extinguishing the orcs' hopes of conquering the area south of the river.

On the battlefield of Skyfrost City, due to the continuous hurling, both sides' catapults suffered extensive damage.

It should be noted that replacing stone projectiles with clay or wooden projectiles actually placed an additional burden on the catapult.

Firstly, because the projectile is too light, the slinging speed of the projectile arm will be much faster. The pressure that the rapid swing and stop puts on the launching arm and the launching rod far exceeds the load when launching heavy objects.

Worse still, because the weight thrown was insufficient, the energy could not be effectively transferred and released, resulting in the enormous destructive energy being absorbed by the catapult's own structure.

It's like you've practiced the shot put motion countless times. Now, when you throw a peanut with the same force, most of the force that couldn't be thrown due to the weight difference will be fed back into your own arm.

In short, the fact that the catapults on the Starry Continent have survived this long means that the building materials used for them are of extremely high quality.

As more and more catapults broke down or went into repair, both sides were forced to reduce their bombardment and switch to a lower-intensity, long-range exchange of fire. Fire arrows were fired from the city walls, while the orcs hurled lances.

It looks more lively than before, but the actual effect...

Now both sides can attack freely and leave the city to retrieve their weapons, since there is still a distance of several kilometers between them.

The current schedule is archery and spear throwing demonstrations on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; greetings with a limited number of catapults on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays; and rest on Sundays!

The atmosphere was very harmonious.

Meanwhile, at the weapons testing ground in the Xuan Shui Swamp, the first tank, without any weapons installed and only consisting of its outer shell and running system, was completed and began its first round of ground testing.

Although the guy broke down after walking more than ten kilometers, the lord still generously gave a grand commendation to the entire "Starry Night Project 59" team.

Next came the second and third rounds of testing. Each time, a problem was solved, and Hanhai's medium tank was making progress little by little.

In November of the year 1428, the weather had begun to cool down.

The beastmen hated this kind of weather.

Orcs, who come from the wasteland, are actually quite cold-resistant, but they are more accustomed to coping with the dry cold of the northern air environment. Even the howling north wind cannot take away the heat locked under the orcs' thick fur.

However, the cold in the south where humans live is a kind of cold with extremely high humidity, a damp cold where drizzle often falls and water vapor can be directly emitted from the air.

Wet fur offers no protection and can even draw heat from the body, causing rapid hypothermia. As a result, in the southern winter, orcs experience a truly unbearable, bone-chilling cold.

In the words of the shamans, the cold of the wasteland comes from the wild wind element, while the cold of the human plains comes from the dark ice element.

"The howling north wind of the wasteland is the breath of our ancestors, which will make the blood of the beastmen boil!"

After a cold autumn rain, the orcs began a large-scale retreat. Various raiding parties concentrated the people and supplies they had plundered into the camp and slowly escorted them eastward, preparing to move to their main camp.

Meanwhile, Sargeris knew that the great war was about to end. Relying on their long-standing tacit understanding, he launched several small-scale attacks under the walls of Skyfrost City. These attacks were ostensibly probing but were actually performances. Each time, he left behind a dozen or so corpses, filmed a few siege scenes, and then retreated in frustration.

In any case, Bloodhowl almost perfectly completed its mission of guarding the flank of the orcish army in the south. Although it did not receive any credit, its hard work was considerable.

With the credit from the spring hunt, his status will likely rise even higher upon his return.

Meanwhile, in Xuan Shui City, Fan Xing Wu Jiu completed the first weapon attack test.

The weapons test was conducted on a very small scale, with only the lord, a few military officers, and a few chief engineers from the technical department participating. The test results were not disclosed to the outside world at all.

However, judging from the almost floating steps of the participants after the test, the result should be quite good.

Meanwhile, after the testing was completed, the lord issued an order to the industrial team to produce at full capacity. At the current pace, if production is at full capacity, at least four to five Starry Night 59s can be produced each month.

Subsequently, as the process becomes more proficient and other industrial equipment is added, the production speed will inevitably accelerate further.

In just a few months, we can assemble a tank battalion.

Lord Chen Mo is now full of pride and satisfaction!

Of course, next, there is one more crucial question: the orcs' autumn hunt is about to end, and their army is about to retreat. Should the Vast Ocean Territory get involved?

Since the start of the war, not a single shot has been fired or a cannon has been fired in the Vast Ocean Territory. This is partly due to Lord Chen Mo's busy internal affairs, and partly due to the tactical choices made by the orc army.

Since the enemy did not pose a significant threat to Han Hai Territory and Tian Shuang City, Chen Mo naturally did not want to provoke them. What if he provoked them and they became enraged?
The real issue is that the weather is getting colder, and the orcs are definitely going to retreat. Now is the time to consider whether or not to cause some trouble.

Speaking of which, something extremely absurd happened some time before that.

Seeing that the Vast Ocean Territory and Skyfrost City had survived the Spring Hunt and were safe and sound once the Autumn Hunt began, the Green Pine Kingdom actually sent a proper-looking official proclamation.

The proclamation began by asserting sovereignty over both powers.

Yes, Chen Mo almost thought he had fallen under the illusion of the fluorescent silkworm, but the proclamation bearing the seal of the Green Pine Kingdom was right in front of him. The Green Pine Kingdom declared that the Vast Ocean Territory and Skyfrost City should be under the jurisdiction of the Green Pine Kingdom.

The Green Pine Kingdom believes that, based on their successful occupation of Cloud Mist Territory, they naturally inherit all the rights and obligations of Cloud Mist Territory. This includes nominal jurisdiction over Vast Ocean Territory and legal ownership of the exiled forces of Skyfrost City.

Under this self-serving premise, the Green Pine Kingdom "generously" expressed "high praise" for the "heroic" resistance against the orcish attacks by the Vast Ocean and Skyfrost over the past year, and attached "generous" rewards with the document - more than a dozen gold coins for each territory.

It's better to take on one or two more missions from the mercenary guild in the Vast Ocean.

On the other hand, the Green Pine Kingdom, acting as a superior and leader, condescendingly "ordered" the two forces to immediately devote themselves to the "great cause of all humanity resisting the orcs," and to launch an attack on the orc legion "actively" and "without fear of sacrifice" in order to alleviate the pressure on the core area of ​​the kingdom.

Chen Mo estimated that even the Green Pine official who drafted the document wouldn't believe such an abstract and shameless order.

Just last year, Liushuang was still fighting to the death with them. Now you want us to obey your orders and fight the orcs to the death to relieve the pressure on you?
"You've got a good plan."

Chen Mo immediately threw the document aside and ordered his subordinates to hold back.

If it weren't for this disgusting farce, Chen Mo might have continued to follow the principle that annoying the orcs was a way to relieve his own stress, and launched a proper attack to harass the orcs' supply lines, train his troops, and collect some spoils of war.

But after receiving this extremely insulting and absurd "order," Chen Mo completely gave up the idea of ​​starting a war.

The enemy of my enemy may not be a friend, but at least we can treat them as strangers and just pass by them!
As the war drew to a close, Chen Mo considered it for a moment and then made a phone call to Liu Shuang.

Now that a communication tower has been erected in Skyfrost City, the two sides can communicate directly. However, Chen Mo is very busy, and Liu Shuang is very sensible. This lord's dedicated line is used more as an intelligence line.

Faced with Chen Mo's question, Liu Shuang didn't hesitate for a second: "I'll listen to you!"

"If you could only choose between hunting orcs and hunting pine trees, which would you choose?"

The young princess answered without hesitation, "I want to get turquoise... turquoise zircon!"

"Alright!" Chen Mo responded decisively. "Then you, Skyfrost City, don't need to participate in this operation targeting the orcs' retreat. Focus on restoring production, training new recruits, and building up strength. Our goal is to find an opportunity to fight back in the future!"

After ending the call, Chen Mo turned around and gave the long-awaited orders to his field army commanders, who had been eager for battle for months.

"Let's pick a few points in the orcs' territory and attack them!"

Which nodes should we choose?

Of course, those orc command nodes that weren't located by listening devices!
(End of this chapter)