Thump! Sizzle—!
Dark purple arcane energy erupted at the tip of the cone! This time, it was no longer the "strike" of a resonant wave, but a highly condensed alchemical power with strong decomposition and penetrating properties!
The armor, weakened by the resonant spikes and possibly even slightly altered by internal stress from the previous "falling" action, groaned under the magical burst of the armor-piercing cones!
Snap! Thud!
A sickening metallic cracking sound rang out! A huge gash was torn open at the leg joint of the "Earthbreaker" that was under concentrated fire!
The energy pipes and intricate transmission structure, shimmering with a ghostly blue light, were exposed, and sparks flew wildly! This massive mining machine, like a giant whose hamstrings had been severed, emitted a low, mechanical wail. Its enormous body shook violently, eventually losing its balance and crashing to its knees. The light in its single eye flickered rapidly before finally going out completely!
"Success! Take it!" the red alchemist shouted, his shield instantly turning to block the beam of light fired from another mining machine attempting to rescue it.
The other alchemical soldiers immediately sprang into action, several alchemical chains with powerful suction claws and winches shooting out from their armor and firmly gripping the wreckage of the disabled mining machine.
Driven by a mixture of steam and magic, they began to forcibly drag the tens of tons of steel wreckage, carving out a retreat route in the chaotic battlefield!
The red alchemical warriors, like an impregnable mobile fortress, maintained their shields, protecting the retrieval team and withstanding sporadic beam attacks from other "Earthshatterers." The shields fluctuated violently but never broke!
Their actions were swift, precise, and fearless, a stark contrast to the collapsing Sass army around them.
In a short time, three "Earthbreaker" mining machines, whose armor structures were damaged by the "Resonance Nail" and the subsequent "falling" action, were successfully disabled and one was towed away by them at the cost of several soldiers (who were crushed by the mechanical claws or swept by the aftershocks of the beams)!
As the red alchemist warrior finally retreated to a relatively safe area and his crimson shield slowly dissipated, his cold blue eyes beneath his helmet seemed to glance coldly at the direction of Blackrock Territory from a great distance. Without hesitation, he commanded his troops to take the spoils and quickly disappear into the fleeing soldiers and dust.
The entrance to Anvil Canyon was once again shrouded in the wails of the Sass Empire soldiers and the stench of burning flesh. But this time, beneath the backdrop of despair, there was a chilling and dangerous glint from the Orc Alchemist Legion.
The steel sky, the core command center.
On the huge screen, the images of the red alchemist warrior raising his shield to withstand the death beam and the alchemist soldier tearing through the mining machine's armor with his armor-piercing spike were clearly replayed.
The data stream scrolled wildly beside it, analyzing the energy composition of the shield, the magical properties of the armor-piercing cone, and the performance parameters of the outer armor.
"The target alchemy unit, model 'Crimson Bulwark,' has an energy shield with a peak strength of 87.3% that of a standard mining machine's main cannon (non-ship-based). Its structural stability exceeds expectations, and it is suspected to have incorporated high-strength arcane crystals and spatial deflection technology."
"The armor-piercing cone weapon, codenamed 'Magic Energy Disintegrator,' has an attack mode of high-concentration alchemical magic power directed burst, possessing extremely strong material decomposition and energy interference characteristics, and has a significant penetrating effect on secondary armor (used by mining machines) in a resonant state."
"The remaining alchemical soldiers' outer armor is codenamed 'Obsidian.' Overall performance assessment: strength increased by 300%, speed increased by 150%, basic physical defense reaches the standard of adamantite plate armor, and it has a built-in small steam/magic hybrid power core... It is preliminarily determined to be the highest-level alchemical armed unit in the Principality of Oak."
Alice's voice was unusually solemn as she rapidly reported the analysis results.
Her grey-blue eyes were fixed on the dark red figure on the screen and the menacing armor-piercing cone.
Leonis's knuckles turned white as she gripped the sword, and holy light surged violently around her.
"They...they can actually destroy those creations! That red one...he blocked the 'Earthshatter's' beam!"
Master Della's brow was furrowed, and his beard twitched unconsciously.
"The pinnacle of alchemy... a fusion of steam, arcane magic, and unknown materials science. The Orks have concealed their true power."
Those shields and armor-piercing spikes were no ordinary items. They came prepared, their clear objective being to obtain our technological remnants!
Astaire stood like a cold statue, his projected gaze sharp as a knife:
"My lord, should we send someone...?"
All eyes were focused on the silent figure in front of the control panel.
Lind remained standing there calmly, his deep purple eyes fixed on the image frozen on the screen—the moment the crimson barrier erected its shield, and the purple magical energy that erupted as the armor-piercing spike tore through the armor.
His face showed no anger at the thwarted plan, nor any regret for the loss.
On the contrary, deep within his eyes, which were as calm as an ancient well, a tiny glimmer of interest, like discovering a new toy, quietly ignited.
"Oh?" A very faint, almost imperceptible syllable escaped from his lips, breaking the solemnity of the command room.
The corners of his mouth slowly curved upwards into a subtle arc, one that contained absolute control and a hint of...pure curiosity.
"Alchemy... 'Crimson Bulwark'? 'Magic Breaker'? Interesting."
Linde's voice carried the playful tone of a researcher discovering a rare sample, and his fingers unconsciously tapped lightly on the cold control panel.
"It seems that the Principality of Oak has more than just small toys like 'resonance nails' in its boxes."
He tilted his head slightly, his gaze seemingly piercing through layers of steel and space, landing on the wreckage of the mining machine being towed back to the enemy camp, and also on the dark red alchemist warrior.
"Finally, something... has come that I can take a closer look at."
Linde's voice was soft, yet it carried a heart-pounding anticipation.
"Aster".
"exist!"
"Order all 'Earthshatterer' units at the front line to withdraw to their pre-set defensive nodes. Suspend all offensive operations."
"Alice, conduct a comprehensive analysis of the 'Crimson Bulwark' shield and 'Magic Breaker' attack data streams to establish an independent threat model."
Try to reverse-engineer its core principles, especially... the shield energy structure that can deflect the 'Earthshatter' main cannon.
"Master Della".
"I am here."
"The second batch of reinforcements provided by the dwarven allies will be prioritized for strengthening the core shield nodes of Blackrock Fortress."
A series of extremely calm instructions were swiftly issued. There was no anger, no panic, only a meticulous response tinged with a cold excitement, as if they had found a worthy opponent (or rather, an experimental subject worthy of study).
Finally, Linde's gaze fell once again on the blinding crimson on the screen, and deep within his purple eyes, the golden data stream spun rapidly like a galaxy.
"As for the wreckage of that 'Earthbreaker' that was taken away..." Linde's voice carried a strange, almost mischievous chuckle, "Give it to them. Let them study it carefully. And by the way..."
With a flick of his finger in the air, an extremely subtle, virus-like encrypted data stream was silently injected into a background monitoring module inside the wreckage that was in a deep dormant state.
"...Help me check if their alchemical furnace is hot enough."
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