Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"Burp~" Shangluo burped, and all the mirage he had just eaten came out. He felt his stomach was empty, as if there was nothing in it.

"I think this is definitely no problem from a safety perspective."

"I know this, Lord Shang. This stuff is safer than a bottle of Coke. But what you agree with, Lord Shang, is that these mirage foods have no nutritional value. Whether it's abalone or lobster, eating them is almost the same as drinking soda."

"It's no big deal. It's not nutritious. People who eat abalone don't really go for the nutrition, they just go for the taste. And King Ao Zang, I think this doesn't need to be covered up, but should be said out loud. Everyone who eats vegetables should know about it. Because it has no nutrition, you won't get fat, and you won't have the three highs. You can eat as much as you want. I think this can actually be sold at a higher price than normal meals."

"Really? Is there such a thing?"

"Ah," Zheng Shijie shook his head. "Mr. Ao Zang, the konjac sold at Yiluhua Department Store is actually very popular. Konjac has almost no nutrients that can be absorbed by humans, and people buy konjac just for this reason."

"Eh? Why?"

"Because unlike you dragons, humans can't control their body size that easily, but they can't control their mouths either. Many people are willing to pay a premium for this kind of healthy food that they can eat to their heart's content without getting fat."

"Then, how do we explain this?" Ao Zang asked the two, "I can't say these are also konjac, right? Everyone has eaten konjac. Now the curtain has not fallen, we can't just tell everyone that the taste of these foods is made with 'mirage'."

"Hey~~" Shangluo waved his hand, "It's called Nano Algae."

"Nano algae?"

"It's not clear, let's just say it's nanotechnology. Take nano algae for example, its molecules are an organic nano polymer."

"Hey, hey, hey." Zheng Shijie pushed his glasses. "After all, I graduated from a related major. Shangluo, the natural nanostructure of organic matter is not uncommon. The structure of eggshells has a complex nanostructure. Nano is just a scale. It doesn't mean that adding the word 'nano' to something will magically give power to ordinary things. Nano metal is fine, but what is nano algae?"

"Great! Great!" Ao Zang clapped his hands vigorously. "As expected of Lord Shang Tian, ​​he can think of something that we country dragons can't think of. Yes, just say this is nano seaweed, why didn't I think of it. Just say this is an organic health food made from nano seaweed."

[Hey, Shangluo, I think this old dragon is playing dumb. The discovery of 'nano algae' should have really surprised him, but he was definitely avoiding the important point when he first mentioned it. Isn't 'disrupting the market' more important than 'nutritional content'? ]

"Oh, you're right." This was one of the few things Shangluo didn't notice, because he didn't eat much of these things. Thinking about it carefully.

"That's not right!" Before he could say anything, Zheng Shijie reacted, "Old Long, this is a bit unfair. How many abalones like this are there in a year? You find a batch of mirage girls blowing bubbles, give them to everyone to eat, and then sell them as soft-boiled abalone? Your calculations are almost breaking my eardrums."

"Authentic?" Ao Zang took a sip of tea, "I am a dragon, not a loach, what authenticity do I need?"

"I don't think so. You have to follow the rules when it comes to supply—that's the case with North Sea stone crabs. They're so abundant on the seabed, and all the talk of 'difficult fishing' and 'difficult sea conditions' is just bullshit. They're really just trying to control production so everyone in this industry can get rich. Now you're suddenly releasing so much production capacity, claiming it's more 'green and healthy,' how can anyone else do business?"

"Hey, you can buy food from the Dragon Palace."

"Come on, these ingredients of yours can't be processed by heat, right? This abalone might have been made directly after being spit out, even the slices are already cut. What's the point of having a restaurant then? Wouldn't the entire catering industry go bankrupt? If that happens, the entire food industry in the capital will be shaken up, don't blame me for not reminding you. Although it's just a cold dish, cold dishes are also important."

"So, I'm here to talk to Lord Shang Tian about this." He looked at Shang Luo, "I say, Lord Shang Tian, ​​what do you think?"

"I say." Shangluo suddenly raised his head, "King Ao Zang, I think there is one thing you haven't explained clearly."

"Oh? What's the matter? Please give me some advice, Lord Shang Tian."

"How do you make this steamed lobster taste like steamed food? Steamed food also has a fragrance after cooking, right? I see that there seems to be a smell of a spoonful of oil in the pan after steaming. So if it can't be heated, where does the smell come from?"

“Of course it is.” Before he finished speaking, Ao Zang knew that Shangluo had figured it out. “Of course it is. Ahahaha, ahahaha.”

Shangluo continued, "Look, spiciness is not essentially a taste, but a kind of pain. Spiciness stimulates the mouth and produces a taste similar to 'hotness', so it is spicy. Then can we say the opposite: as long as we can simulate the stimulation of temperature on the mouth, can't we make the taste of 'hotness', which does not exist, just like spiciness?"

"Eh?" Zheng Shijie clapped his hands. "Right! So Lao Long, you don't just want to dominate the cold dishes, you can also simulate hot dishes, right? Then the catering industry is not as simple as an earthquake. With your mirage, all the restaurants in the world can be closed!"

"Ahem" Dragon King Long coughed to cover up his embarrassment, "I say, Lord Shang Tian, ​​you watch..."

"I don't think it's impossible." Shang Luo looked at him, "I think you can express your opinion. But I shouldn't be the one making the decision. This is a matter for the court, so you should discuss it with the court. I will create opportunities for you, and the rest is up to you to convince the court."

"Really??? Lord Shang Tian, ​​do you really agree?"

"Nano algae, right? That's not all bad. Of course. But Dragon King, you just said that this is just a small detail of the technical exchange between you and the West Sea, that is, Atlantis? Then the Crab General will also..."

"Ah! That's right. Lord Shang Tian, ​​you are well-informed, and you may have seen the Crab General! It seems to be called the Phlogiston Submersible in Rome, and they all wear carapace armor. If Lord Shang Tian wants to see it, we can call three to five hundred of them to show you how to act like a tyrant to cheer you up."

"How many?!" Phaethon was shocked. The Phlogiston Submersibles were Rome's trump card. The process of the Imperial Guards transforming into Phlogiston Submersibles had just begun. So far, there were only more than a hundred of them in the entire Rome. "So, you have three to five hundred Phlogiston Submersibles???"

"Crab generals. With 8 naval forces, there must be tens of thousands of crab generals. It's no problem to call on three or five hundred of these outdated West Sea technologies at once. Is there anything strange about this?"

Chapter 1096 Crab General

"Why are your phlogiston submarines coming in groups?" It would have been fine if there were only eighty or ninety of them, but now there were tens of thousands of them, and even the knowledgeable Shangluo was shocked.

In shock, he pressed his hands into his arms and covered Victoria's mouth, who was about to scream, to prevent others from hearing her.

Shangluo remembered that this thing was a rare high-level combat unit in Rome. The Titus operators who were accompanying Victoria to live in her house were phlogiston submariners at their level.

As well as the crew members on the ship that exploded with the entire submarine, they also became phlogiston submariners. Although the operating structures of the two are different, the principles are the same - after special people are selected, they use the power of phlogiston to travel through the spirit world and use the power of the spirit world with the help of phlogiston. The most intuitive manifestation of this power is "invincibility".

They are invincible, and can be resurrected in various ways after being killed. Some of them remain motionless, with only their armored avatars on the front line. Some of them split into six, and can be resurrected continuously on the front line as long as they are not killed at the same time.

This undead army can make endless trials and errors on the front line. Even if they are killed 100 times, they can come back from 100 deaths and accumulate 100 times of experience, so as to try to kill the enemy in the 101st attempt. If they cannot be killed in the 101st attempt, there are still 102nd and 103rd times.

Although these phlogiston soldiers are not as versatile as the Qigong soldiers, they are obviously much more useful than the Qigong soldiers in Roman combat scenarios, such as in the spirit world. Because in the spirit world with uncertain rules, information is more important than strength. The fault tolerance rate of the phlogiston soldiers is obviously much higher than that of the Qigong soldiers, because the Qigong soldiers are only one soldier after all, while the phlogiston soldiers can exchange their lives for information.

Even if some places have "kill at the first sight" or "kill at the first sight", for the phlogiston submariners, it's just a matter of running for a while from the resurrection point or somewhere else.

But the Dragon Palace actually has a lot of these things, or even a lot of them. If there are really 10,000 of these things that can't be killed, then the Dragon Palace has now mastered enough power to challenge the King's Division - because their lives are as free as the King's Division's shells.

[Wait. According to previous habits, did our Lord Ao Zang hide something again? ]

Before Shangluo could ask, Zheng Shijie said, "That's not right. King Ao Zang, if you really had an endless supply of soldiers and generals, would you treat us to a meal here? Or are these soldiers and generals actually defective?"

"Of course there are no flaws. The technology of the East Sea is far ahead of that of the West Sea. Those phlogiston submariners will reveal all their equipment after death, but our crab generals will be reborn with their shells. But... um... there are indeed some characteristics."

"for example?"

"For example, the armor of the Crab General is actually the same as the abalone you just ate, both of which are made of mirage. So they can only be reborn from the foam when the Mirage Girl is deployed on the front line."

"anything else?"

"Yeah." Ao Zang took a sip of tea, "I've said this much, so I don't need to talk about the biggest problem."

"Ah." Shangluo remembered, "This thing is weak to fire, right?"

Ao Zang nodded and said, "Yes, it's heat-sensitive. It will melt when exposed to heat. So it's not very useful outside of seawater. High temperatures are everywhere on the battlefield. Even just being close to a fire will instantly evaporate the shrimp soldiers and crab generals."

"That's really the fighting power of a small fry." Zheng Shijie gave an unceremonious evaluation.

“But it works in the sea.”

"That's true. According to the basic laws of physics in our world, seawater under normal conditions cannot be heated above boiling point. Boiling seawater will bubble up instead of sinking to the bottom of the sea. So as long as the entire ocean isn't boiled dry, you little bastards lurking in the sea will be fine. From that perspective, it's truly a genius design."

Even from an evolutionary perspective, even with a natural disaster like a meteorite hitting the Earth, even if the entire continent were completely burned to ashes, creatures living in the deep sea would still be immune to mass extinction. As long as you dive deep enough, you can survive mass extinction like the Nautilus. However, they are afraid of high temperatures, which makes them become fragile fish outside of the sea. Hey, Shangluo, do you think this is a form of concealing one's shortcomings?

"Yes, and no." Shang Luo drank his tea silently. "Although he said everything, there is still a small part, which is the most important part, that he didn't say."

[Huh? What?]

"These shrimp soldiers and crab generals will indeed turn into crispy fish if they leave the sea - but dragons can create clouds and rain. If the shrimp soldiers and crab generals can't pass through, then let the East China Sea pass through."

【? ? ? 】

Shangluo glanced towards Ao Zang, and both sides understood what he meant.

"Oh, King Ao Zang, what's left is our strategy for attacking Japan." Shang Luo asked, "As the Great Marshal of the Demon-Subduing Army, let me first tell you the purpose of this operation: Although this time we are sending troops to Japan, it is actually to conquer Xu Fu. So I will ask the princes and generals who come to the king to ask them where to start the troops. So, I wonder what King Ao Zang thinks? What I mean is, do you have any 'bottles and jars' that need to be paid attention to?"

"Marshal, I hope you won't kill anyone. After all, those are assets that the Dragon Palace has not yet recovered."

"Well, it's okay. This doesn't conflict with the operation itself. But if the Japanese side doesn't cooperate, what do you think, Lord Aozo?"

"Then the 8 naval forces of the Dragon Palace will clear the way for the royal army. We will be sensible."

Shangluo knew that what he meant by "opening a path" was "if the shrimp soldiers and crab generals can't pass, then let the East China Sea pass."

A large area of ​​Edo Castle was reclaimed during the sea reclamation and embankment construction. In fact, an 8-meter tsunami could send most of Edo Castle and the coast of the Edogawa River into the sea, where there were enemies waiting for them.

Shangluo nodded: "So it's said that there will be no meeting. In fact, we have said everything that needs to be said. I thought that we would have to wait until the various royal armies gathered together before we could arrange all the plans."

"Regarding this, Lord Shang Tian, ​​Donghai has a request: Can we not attend the general meeting of the royal division? The Dragon Palace of Donghai needs to be hidden for the time being."

"why?"

"Because if we don't hide it, the next time there is a tsunami or typhoon along the coast, the Dragon King Temple will be destroyed."

"That's fine," Shangluo nodded. "Then the 8 navy just needs to communicate with me. I will command the rest."

Chapter 1097: Dragons Transform

At nightfall, a van quietly drove out from the back door of Yiluhua Department Store.

Phaethon was still driving, but now Ao Zang was also in the car. The car was heading to the shore, where the shrimp soldiers and crab generals dispatched by Ao Zang were waiting for Shangluo to see.

In order to prevent the heat-fearing soldiers from evaporating due to some accidents, the review time was chosen in the cool night after sunset.

Darkness can also help keep it secret. Dong Hai hasn't shown up in front of everyone yet, and all these things that suddenly appeared need to be kept strictly secret.

"So why did you become like this again?" Phaethon, who was driving, glanced at Shang Luo who was sitting in the passenger seat.

He turned into Otohime again.

"I need to practice transformation more. The lightning technique in this state is quite powerful, and it is the most practical combat skill I have learned so far. I have learned the most powerful ones before, but they were always like dancing on the edge of a knife. But the dragon transformation is different. In this state, my control over lightning is almost instinctive, and I can control it properly even if it is a thunderbolt."

"Ah, that's true." Phaethon nodded. "If it was like before, when you were not accurate in dealing with the lightning spells, I wouldn't dare to stand next to you. Who knows if a sudden gust of wind would cut off my scalp."

"So I have to practice more - next time I'll see if there are other incarnations I can use. There are thunder tribulations, fire tribulations, and wind tribulations in this world. In addition to thunder tribulations, there are also wind tribulations and fire tribulations that can be used. If I can find a corresponding incarnation to transform, it will save me a lot of effort in practicing magic on my original body."

"You really know how to save trouble. This is a method that couldn't be more convenient."

"No wonder Sun Wukong wanted to learn this. Sun Wukong only studied with Patriarch Bodhi for a few years, and I guess he was mostly learning the 72 transformations. I wonder how many templates Sun Wukong has in reserve. If there is any kind-hearted Patriarch Bodhi, he would send me all the templates for the 72 transformations at once."

"How can it be that good? Since there is no such lucky chance, it is not impossible for you to collect them one by one. I see that you have several swords on you." Phaethon suddenly stopped speaking halfway.

"Hmm?" Shang Luo also looked outside, "Did you see it too? It seems like someone is following us?"

“That’s quite courageous.”

"Hey, how do you know they're not 'gutsy'?"

"Because the people who need to use a vehicle to follow you obviously don't have the strength to capture you. I can only think that they are either bold or have no idea about your background - so what are they doing here?"

"Most likely someone from the Dragon Palace. I think Ao Zang was cautious enough before, but I didn't expect that someone would still have a problem with him."

"Do you want me to get rid of them?"

"No need, let them come. Normally I wouldn't bother to care, after all, this is an internal matter of the Dragon Palace. But now that someone has helped us round up these troublesome people one by one, I don't have to do it myself - speaking of which, in this Dragon Palace, the princess and the prime minister are both at odds with the Dragon King, so who is supporting him? Is there really anyone supporting Ao Zang?"

"I think he sent the troops here for you to review tonight just to show you that he can still command the Dragon Palace."

"Why do I feel like he's taking advantage of me, and he wants me to help him solve his internal problems." Shang Luo shook his head, "Okay, since you want him to send troops, you have to give him some face. I'll take this order. It's a good opportunity to stretch my muscles and let those daring fry have a taste of thunder tribulation."

"I see you have a hammer in your hand and want to hit someone, right?"

"That's right. If I don't hammer people, how will the world know that I have a hammer in my hand?" He rubbed his hands happily, and black lightning flashed between his hands.

On the shore, on a plain stretch of sand, everyone got out of the car. Ao Zang picked up the phone and started talking to the person on the other end.

In the distance, there was a faint blue glow. A square formation of about 400 big guys were walking up along the seabed.

They had been waiting for a long time on the seabed near the coast. After receiving the order from the Dragon King, they appeared along the shallows. The six-legged chassis was equipped with a glowing fuselage, and the claws on both sides also had a tube made of carapace.

The wide six legs make it walk on the soft sand as if on flat ground, and the solid body makes it have a huge passenger cabin. A glowing glass ball is placed in the middle of the "Crab General", which seems to be the driver. But the ball is airtight and the specific posture of the driver inside cannot be seen - maybe there is a glass ball inside.

"Tianjun, please look, this is the Crab General."

"Looking at it this way, it does look a bit like the Roman phlogiston submersibles."

The most similar ones were the marines coming off the submarine. They were also wearing thick armor and did not reveal their faces. After the armor of the marines was broken, they were like a boss whose equipment was destroyed and scattered all over the ground, with only their souls returning to the ship. It seems to be similar here.

If it weren't for the fatal flaw of "weak fire", then these "crab generals" made of mirage gas would indeed have completely surpassed the outdated Roman technology. But from Ao Zang's demonstration just now, this thing can't even withstand the heat of cooking, let alone the heat of the battlefield. If it weren't for the cooperation of the Dragon Palace's cloud and rain, this thing would be killed by a fire bomb.

But on the other hand, if it is coordinated with the waves, it would be a force that even the king's army would be wary of.

"Well, this is very good. It looks like it could be of great use. Let them come closer. I want to see it for myself."

"Then please allow me to send a little rain. These crabs will be more comfortable in the rain."

"please."

The rain had been ready and it fell in an instant. The silent crabs rode the rain and moved forward silently, leaving only the rustling sound of their footsteps on the beach.

Shangluo was about to say something when suddenly a gunshot rang out.

"Hey, this is really brave. Someone actually wants to shoot me." He was about to turn around to see who was going to attack him, when he saw a blurry shadow quietly appearing from the rain behind him. He could vaguely see that they were four masked tortoise-shell men, who moved swiftly and did not look like tortoises at all:

"Xiao Yi! Princess Xiao Yi! Why are you here? Weren't you captured by that old dragon? Come on, come over here!"

"You have quite a few soldiers, including the Four Little Ones. Is your master a mouse?"