Ashen Dragon-Chapter 585 - 31 Position

Chapter 585: Chapter 31: Position

Chapter 585 -31: Position

“Hum—”

The steam whistle emitted a piercing roar as the steel behemoths bellowed across the wilderness, spewing rolling clouds of white smoke.

Compressed steam in the boiler drove the engine, its high-speed tracks rolling over the uneven, corpse-covered wasteland.

The appearance of these Steam Tanks greatly boosted the morale of the Imperial Soldiers embroiled in a tough battle, prompting them to cheer from the trenches.

“It’s the old chums!”

“Fantastic!”

“I saw them at the parade! Those are Steam Tanks, the cutting edge of the Department of Technology’s weaponry!”

Massive steel bodies, fierce ramming horns, thick metal barrels—when they charged at full speed, even the earth trembled beneath them.

These steel giants were the ultimate expression of the Empire’s violent aesthetics!

The demons, puzzled by this strange Iron Lump, swarmed it nevertheless, attempting to tear apart the Empire’s peculiar creation.

However, the moment those massive horns smashed into the demons, the outcome was already sealed.

“Boom—” ƒreewebɳovel.com

With the engine’s roar and the demons’ wails, the Steam Tanks crushed the demon hoard without a moment’s hesitation.

The chassis barely jostled, flattening any blocking demons into flat, mingled chunks of flesh.

Moreover, in a particularly cunning move, the Empire’s logistics personnel coated the tanks with Holy Water to target the demons from The Abyss.

The demons let out miserable screams at the slightest graze, their bodies scalded and charred black.

“For the Empire, crush them!”

“Ohohoohoohoo!”

The current versions of the Steam Tanks were cramped inside, their operators mainly Dwarfs, Halflings, Goblins, and shorter Humans. Packed into such an enormous Steam Tank were more than twenty pilots—a veritable mobile fortress!

Take the “Emperor’s Furious Wrath”—the earliest constructed and the one leading the charge—its chief operator was a Dragon Vein Goblin named “Bill.”

Bill skillfully pressed the clutch, changed gears, then pushed the lever to its limit with all his might, cursing fiercely, “Damn it, smash them!

I don’t want to see a single demon approaching our darling! No one gets to damage it!”

It was the first real battle for these drivers, but their operations were extremely smooth.

After all, they had practiced countless times on the training ground just for this day, each movement now hardwired as muscle memory.

Facing the death of their kind, these Coward Demons and Inferior Devils, although frightened, dared not defy the orders of higher-ranked demons—the command was an imprint deep in their souls.

They screeched and roared, continuing to gather from all directions, trying to entangle these Iron Lumps with their numbers.

Agile Bab Demons scurried on the ground, attempting to jump onto the chassis, while Kwase Demons flapped their wings in the sky, seeking to rip apart the exterior armor with their sharp claws.

“Don’t let them near! Damn demons!”

“Ratatatatata—”

“Boom! Boom!”

But intense flashes of fire erupted from the line of machine guns atop the Steam Tanks, bullets pouring out like a torrential downpour, while the secondary cannons spewed out their fiery tendrils.

Instantly, the land around the Steam Tanks was blanketed in gunfire. Within mere breaths, the invading demons nearby were wiped clean by the concentrated firepower.

It was evident, the creator of the Steam Tanks—Marquis Gilmore Sparrow—was a devout follower of the “Multi-Turret Cult.”

These dozen steel beasts burst from the bunker, accompanied by the roar of their engines and the surge of steam, recklessly charging into the demon hordes and instantly shattering the demons’ surging offensive.

And the Imperial Soldiers followed in the Tanks’ trails, reclaiming strategic points and launching a vigorous counteroffensive against the demons.

The infantry marched over the flattened ground, trampling the indistinct remains of demons, roaring with rage.

“Charge!”

“For the Empire!”

The tide of battle turned in an instant. However, the Demon Hunting Spiders soon noticed these extraordinary “Iron Lumps.”

Almost instantly, those spider monsters rubbed their mouthparts, emitting eerie cries. They stood on their four rear legs, their compound eyes filled with intense magical light.

“Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!”

Flames, cold, electricity, petrification—a barrage of magical beams emitted from the eyes of the spiders, targeting the Steam Tanks from various directions.

But the pilots had anticipated this and the Dragon Vein Goblin at the controls turned the joystick with all his might, orienting the tank sideways with its thickest armor facing forward.

He cursed loudly, practically screaming the order, “Damn it! Quick! Activate the Antimagic device!”

Immediately, complex magical runes emerged on the robust armor of the surrounding Steam Tanks, with several invisible light membranes enveloping the body.

The magical beams struck the outer membrane and were instantly nullified, with some beams even reflecting back, causing considerable casualties among the demons.

“Launch the smoke screen barrier! Don’t let those things from your eyes harm my darling!”

The exhaust ports atop the tank suddenly opened, spewing billowing steam and waste smoke, cloaking the Tank within a smokescreen.

Thus concealed, the great steel beasts continued to march through the smoke, relentlessly unleashing their firepower.

Most demons were blown to pieces or crushed into meat patties by the huge horns before even seeing the enemy.