Chapter 368: Superweapons and the Mage Corps
In addition to the bipedal mechs, there were two other superweapons here: a 150mm Earthshaker heavy howitzer and a 300mm 12-barrel Firestorm rocket launcher.
The 150mm heavy howitzer did not use steam to launch projectiles but a traditional ammunition system.
This design was mainly due to limitations. The larger the caliber, the more severe the steam leakage and the higher the required air pressure. With current technology, 100mm was the upper limit, and even then, it would affect the range.
Furthermore, using steam would require adding steam engines and complex pipelines, which would be a logistical nightmare. Integrating it into a tank was not feasible either. The weight and size of a 150mm heavy howitzer would make the tank weigh dozens of tons, making it much less cost-effective than towing.
Traditional ammunition did not have these problems. Its range easily surpassed steam cannons. The only problem was the higher consumption. After all, explosives, propellants, and fuel all relied on Magic Horn Trees. Even with the territory’s constant cheats, it was impossible to grow them indefinitely. This was also why the infantry used bolt-action rifles and slow-firing water-cooled machine guns, while suppressive weapons used steam as their power source.
Compared to the familiar heavy howitzer, the rocket launcher’s data stunned Owen after reading it. This thing’s destructive power was probably greater than even legendary spells.
A 300mm rocket could turn an area the size of two football fields into a sea of fire. For a small town, one shot would basically wipe it out, and a 12-shot barrage was even more terrifying.
Furthermore, through careful design, the time difference between rockets landing, coupled with the specially designed circular trajectory, could use the flames from consecutive rocket explosions to create a scene similar to a fire tornado. Therefore, even if the enemies within the kill zone did not die from the flames, they would die from the vacuum and the rapid temperature and pressure changes caused by the burning explosion. In short, this thing was a super-sized thermobaric bomb, with multiple shots, and its power could not be described as ferocious, but rather as exterminating.
The only problem was that this thing was very heavy, so its movement speed was slow, and it was flammable and explosive, which further limited its movement speed. Therefore, its battlefield survivability was very poor, and it was necessary to send out enough soldiers to guard it closely. Otherwise, a single bullet could trigger a huge disaster.
At the same time, the fuel and incendiary agents required for the Firestorm rocket launcher were not of ordinary quality. Even though the territory now had more advanced equipment and a considerable number of mage alchemists, production could not be easily increased. Therefore, unless the battle situation was out of control, this superweapon would not be easily deployed.
After witnessing these superweapons, Owen barely managed to suppress his urge to find a faction to challenge right now. Then, after some words of encouragement, he went to the third floor of the ruins with great anticipation.
Upon entering, Owen noticed the spatial anomaly here. It was not just a simple Hogwarts space expansion spell; it also incorporated Secret Realm fragments, almost permanently expanding the space. It seemed the Mage Corps had also made significant progress.
The members of the Mage Corps were quite diverse. Initially, it was mainly composed of witches and sorceresses. Later, as Owen continuously brought people back from the Academy City, the mage, alchemy, and other systems gradually became more complete. Then, over the past thirty years, they had absorbed quite a few spellcasters from adventurer backgrounds, making the system even more comprehensive.
Currently, the largest number of members in the Mage Corps were witches and sorceresses, mainly researching potions, curses, summoning, herbs, and biology. If it weren’t for the Witch Hunters absorbing many elites, the men in the Mage Corps would basically have no way to survive. They would be verbally destroyed in debates and physically destroyed in battles.
Even so, the men in the Mage Corps always showed respect to the women and never argued with them. They were very, very gentlemanly.
The men in the Mage Corps were mainly wizards, mages, and alchemists, focusing on spells, runes, and alchemy, leaning towards science. Therefore, they did not need much space and only occupied a small corner of the entire third floor. The rest was either an ecological garden built by witches imitating greenhouses or a Voodoo Land. Not to mention that raising magical creatures also required a large space.
What could Owen say about this? He could only blame the men for being incompetent, unable to even compete with the women.
Although it was a bit messy, the Mage Corps had indeed achieved quite a bit, such as the Secret Realm sealing and Essence Extraction Device.
The former could stabilize Secret Realms and reduce fluctuations, preventing them from opening frequently. After all, some Secret Realms were not only dangerous but also lacked value, so they could be sealed.
As for the Essence Extraction Device, it basically absorbed the dissipating Existence Force while fighting monsters in Secret Realms. Its efficiency was not very high and it was difficult to have much effect on complete Secret Realms. However, for unstable small Secret Realms, this thing was a superweapon. The expanded space of the third floor of the ruins was filled in this way.
Apart from this, the Mage Corps did not have any particularly outstanding achievements. They were not even as good as the female spellcasters who continuously provided the Witch Hunters with various equipment and supplies.
Next, Owen inspected several other subordinate cities to familiarize himself with the changes in the entire territory as quickly as possible.
The city built by the Wild Bull Tribe with large rocks and logs was full of a primitive atmosphere. Simply put, the style was rather crude, and the barbarians also fit the style here, each one bold and unrestrained, not as difficult to approach as the rumors said.
In fact, this was because their living conditions had improved. Compared to their previous struggle for survival in the far north, this place was like heaven to them. Therefore, the conversion rate after joining was very fast, so fast that by the time the Grand Shaman realized something was wrong, it was already too late.
By the way, the Grand Shaman, who was already old and frail thirty years ago, was still alive because he had obtained part of the Druid inheritance left by Owen and had modified it into abilities more suitable for shamans to use today. This was also why he was willing to accept his fate even though he had noticed something was amiss. Here, he not only found hope for completing the incomplete shaman inheritance but also saw the future of the barbarians. Therefore, minor problems were no longer problems.
However, the Wild Bull Tribe still had a problem: they lacked a tribe leader. The Grand Shaman was only suitable to be a spiritual leader. When it came to war, they still needed a tribe leader to lead the charge.
It was impossible for there to be no outstanding individuals among the 100,000 barbarians in the territory. In fact, Owen immediately obtained a list after asking Maya. So he called all the barbarians on the list and planned to choose one from among them to be the leader of the Wild Bull Tribe.
In the end, Owen chose A Gu Li, the tallest, biggest, and strongest, to be the leader of the Wild Bull Tribe.
Anyway, he had cheats, so it didn’t really matter who was the leader, as long as it wasn’t someone who couldn’t be helped.
He skillfully applied a character template to enhance him, then left him in the city to learn governance and military command.
Choosing which character template to use took quite a bit of brainpower from Owen. After all, it had to be someone who was both capable in literary and martial arts. Therefore, he chose Xu Huang.
