Kingdom Simulator: I, a Fallen Noble, Build a God-Level Kingdom!-Chapter 59: Blitz on Highmount Fortress

"Boom—"

The massive boulder Romon had targeted was instantly pulverized into dust; the power of the energy beam didn’t diminish in the slightest as it blasted straight into the ground.

The earth was ripped open in an instant, leaving a massive fissure, and tremors radiated outward in all directions. Even the townsfolk in Stone Town could feel the earthquake.

Romon watched the scene unfold through his goggles, overjoyed beyond expectation.

He had previously set a rule for the dwarves: upgrades to the Magitech Drones couldn’t be superficial. Each new generation had to feature innovative advancements that truly set it apart.

He hadn’t expected the third generation’s firepower to exceed his expectations by such a margin.

Moreover, the vertical takeoff speed and aerial maneuverability were also remarkably fast. With this, as long as the durability tests were passed, they could immediately begin mass production.

Up to this point, Thune Territory hadn’t established systematic training for operators; the drones were still being tested personally by dwarf "engineers." This was mainly because the second generation still had some flaws. But with the third generation, it was a different story—now they could really form dedicated combat squads.

Romon then conducted a series of tests on flight range, endurance, resistance to damage, and so forth—essentially, he was satisfied with everything.

After all, this was the result of burning through future cultural points for a burst of advanced technology.

He had already tried it before: the ritual sacrifice thing could only be done once per person.

For example, his first ritual yielded over thirty cultural points, but nothing significant after that. The same held true for other people of high social standing.

He had gathered all these people for a mass ritual, which basically meant burning through their potential in advance.

In simple terms, Thune Territory’s cultural points wouldn’t see any explosive growth for a long time to come.

They would have to rely on slow, steady progress through theological matters.

But none of that mattered—Romon had now solved his most pressing problem.

With the third-generation drones, as long as there were enough of them, even a king-class priest wouldn’t pose a problem. In fact, he could continue expanding and make Thomas Nightingale call him "Grandpa."

"Lukoff, how many did you produce this time?" Romon took off his goggles and asked.

Lukoff did a quick mental tally and replied, "Because we needed to test them, we built a total of 300 units this batch. We wanted to run simultaneous tests to identify issues more quickly, so the third-generation could be officially launched sooner. It’s just... doing things this way requires a lot more funding for R&D..."

"Excellent, I like your thinking. Don’t worry about saving money for me." Romon waved his hand grandly, handing the goggles and joystick to Lukoff. "Get all the test operators together and come with me. We’re going to give these a proper test run."

...

Half an hour later.

On the western border of Thune Territory, near the Misty Forest.

All the dwarf craftsmen were assembled, each wearing tactical goggles and holding a control stick.

Romon stood before the dwarves and said, "Ahead—beyond the forest and over the hill—that’s where Highmount Fortress lies! They dared to attack us! We have to show them we’re not to be messed with! Now, on my command: all units, take off at full speed—blitz Highmount Fortress!"

"Yes, sir!"

The dwarves responded in unison, and 255 Magitech Drones launched from the edge of the Misty Forest, flying toward the distant Highmount Fortress.

Such a long-range operation was the ultimate test of the Magitech Drones’ control range. In Romon’s eyes, it was killing two birds with one stone: it ensured their safety while also probing the limits of the third-generation machines.

After the initial 255 Magitech Drones took off, Romon slowly put on a new pair of goggles, picked up a remote controller, and piloted the 256th Magitech Drone to follow behind.

He intended to observe the battle and command the operation from the drone’s point of view, using the goggles.

The swarm of Magitech Drones flew low, skimming the treetops—he even spotted a pack of bloodthirsty wolves on the hillside.

The wolves looked up, curiosity in their eyes. The alpha wolf seemed to sense something, glancing back in the direction of Stone Town.

Soon enough—

The Magitech Drone swarm, traveling at nearly 200 miles an hour, swooped down on Highmount Fortress.

From above, the architectural style of Highmount Fortress was completely different from Stone Town’s. Stone Town’s buildings were fairly standard and typical for another world, but Highmount Fortress featured rounder structures and gleaming, silvery walls.

As for the overall size, it was comparable to Stone Town.

When the buzzing of the drone swarm filled the sky above Highmount Fortress, the elite defenders of the fortress immediately became alert.

They rushed outside to investigate, but at that moment, Romon gave the order: "All units, open fire!"

In an instant, pale blue beams flooded the sky, pouring down at a 45-degree angle and hammering the inside of Highmount Fortress.

In just a single volley, a tenth of the fortress’s buildings were leveled.

The leaders of Highmount Fortress hadn’t even had time to react before the city suffered massive destruction. By the time they realized what was happening, Romon was already preparing his next move.

"All units, spread out and surround Highmount Fortress. Don’t let even a fly escape. You’re authorized to return fire immediately. Lethal force permitted."

As soon as he spoke, the dwarves maneuvered their Magitech Drones into a ring, forming a tight blockade in the skies above Highmount Fortress.

At this point—

The soldiers and adventurers inside Highmount Fortress snapped out of their shock. Staring at their devastated homes, their eyes burned with fury.

An expert archer, skilled in marksmanship, immediately nocked an arrow and fired at one of the Magitech Drones. Ordinary arrows couldn’t harm the drones—Romon had spared no expense on their materials, after all.

However, a professional archer could infuse their arrows with magical energy, so the drones still needed to dodge—perfect for testing their evasion capabilities.

"Whoosh—"

The arrow whistled past, nearly grazing the engine of a Magitech Drone. Though it missed, the act itself fell squarely under Romon’s rules of engagement.

The drone that had just dodged instantly retaliated, firing a beam at the archer.

"Boom—!"

The archer was already wary and tried to dodge, but the third-generation drone’s attack radius was wide, and so was the blast zone. With a single shot, the archer and the two people beside him were obliterated.

But that was the only attack. The other Magitech Drones, having not been attacked, simply maintained their encirclement.

Still, a few stubborn defenders of Highmount Fortress tried again to challenge the power of technology, only to be reduced to charred corpses.

After a few such exchanges, the defenders finally understood: as long as they didn’t attack, the monsters in the sky wouldn’t open fire.

Yes—monsters. The people of Highmount Fortress still had no idea what these third-generation machines even were. This was a true cultural chasm—a level of technological domination they couldn’t even comprehend. Primitive and backward, the people of this other world had no inkling of magitech’s might.

It was like infantry facing tanks for the first time, or encountering bomber squadrons.

The lord of Highmount Fortress, Mangton, trembling, stepped forward and stood beneath the swarm of Magitech Drones, shouting up, "Who are you? What do you want? I can give you anything I have—just don’t hurt my people any further!"

Mangton was rational enough to see that the enemy was encircling them but not slaughtering indiscriminately, only retaliating when attacked. Clearly, they intended to teach Highmount Fortress a lesson.

Thinking back on recent events, he hadn’t offended anyone—he had only sent a scout to Thune Territory. That scout had never returned, clearly dying out there.

"Lukoff, use your Magitech Drone to guide him. Bring him here," Romon ordered from near the Misty Forest.

On command, the drone Lukoff controlled broke formation and slowly descended in front of Mangton.

Mangton assumed this was some kind of envoy and called out, "What is it you want?"

He’d be lying if he claimed not to be afraid. He’d just seen the destructive power of these drones with his own eyes. At this range, even if he were made of iron, he’d be blown to pieces.

The Magitech Drone, of course, didn’t answer—it couldn’t. At present, it wasn’t equipped with any remote voice function.

Without further ado, Lukoff piloted the drone to hover at head height with Mangton, then slowly turned and floated toward the outskirts of Highmount Fortress.

Mangton was confused at first, but every time he lagged behind, the drone would circle back and wait for him. After a few such cycles, he finally understood.

"You want me to follow you?"

Mangton frowned. This was undoubtedly walking into the lion’s den alone—would he even make it back alive? But if he refused... would that mechanical monster simply turn and blast him into a bloody smear on the spot?

And with so many of those machines in the sky, would they just flatten Highmount Fortress entirely?

He could never allow that. Highmount Fortress wasn’t just home to his townsfolk; his wives, children, and friends were here as well.

He was ambitious, always scrambling to elevate his family’s standing. He couldn’t let it all go up in flames.

After an intense internal struggle, Mangton spoke up: "I’ll go with you. But all those things in the sky must leave as well. You have to withdraw from Highmount Fortress immediately!"

Watching Mangton’s lips and gestures, Romon could roughly guess what he meant.

He instructed the dwarves, "After this, remember to upgrade the third-gen drones with long-range voice comms. For now... all units, listen up: expand your dispersal radius and make it look like you’re withdrawing from Highmount Fortress—but keep the blockade tight. Don’t let so much as a mosquito slip out."

The dwarves carried out the order at once. The Magitech Drones, which had been hovering directly over Highmount Fortress, immediately scattered in all directions. Since the fortress was perched atop a mountain, all the drones had to do was pull back and descend to a lower altitude—they could still maintain an effective encirclement.

But Mangton had no way of knowing that—he didn’t have x-ray vision.

When he saw the mechanical monsters seemingly comply with his demand and withdraw from above Highmount Fortress, he steeled himself for sacrifice and followed Lukoff’s Magitech Drone.

He stepped out through the fortress gates. There were paths leading away from the mountaintop in all directions, but the Magitech Drone chose the eastern route.