Chapter 16: The R&D Elite Set

Recalling the magic circles he had seen on the battlefield earlier, along with that terrifying rain of fire from the sky, Andre winced in pain and asked Boris, who was walking beside him, “Boris, why haven’t we seen any mages on our side? I recall the enemy launching magical attacks before!”

Hearing this, Boris, as if recalling something, showed a clear expression of disdain. “Heh, those so-called mages back home? Don’t even mention them!”

“They’re different from the mages of the Black Eagle Empire. Our mages are traditional and noble prodigies of magic, not like the Black Eagle Empire’s expendable battle mages. These old relics wouldn’t dare risk themselves on the front lines.”

At this, Boris spat disdainfully, “Damn it, those whiny mages are even more cowardly than the nobles. At least the nobles have some honor. What are these mages left with except cowardice and selfishness?”

“The Black Eagle Empire established a National Magic Academy twenty years ago dedicated to training battle mages, but our so-called mages still cling to their family’s few treasured tomes, refusing to change!”

Andre was at a loss for words. He always thought the existence of mages was common knowledge in this world. But it seemed the mages on both sides were vastly different.

If he had to put it simply, the mages here were like old artisans, still following the traditional master-apprentice system and valuing orderly inheritance.

Meanwhile, the Black Eagle Empire’s mages had advanced to something like vocational technical schools, systematizing knowledge and mass-producing battle mages!

Thinking of this, Andre rolled his eyes. It felt like they had nothing at all.

The enemy had mages, strange multi-legged armored vehicles, and even soldiers called Fear Knights clad in powered armor.

But on their side, all he could command were ordinary foot soldiers. Without the players, this battle would have been impossible!

Seeing Andre fall silent, Boris glanced at his expression and assumed he was also frustrated about the mages. So he quickly offered some reassurance:

“Captain, don’t worry too much. Although our mages have always been unreliable, the Church is still dependable!”

“We have military chaplains and battle nuns, and sometimes even support from living saints.”

“We’ve just been caught off guard by this ambush, so the Church hasn’t sent any living saints yet. If even one living saint showed up, those damn Black Eagle bastards would be finished!”

Andre blinked, unsure what to say. Damn it! Seriously?

He wanted to ask again what kind of bizarre world he had traveled into—living saints? What exactly were they?

The phrase immediately brought to mind the shining Emperor-like figures from Warhammer 40K, those golden warriors capable of sweeping away armies with ease.

If such monsters actually appeared, then this battle would be nothing more than a sideshow for these lowly soldiers.

Compared to Andre’s relatively calm situation where he could even chat, the Black Eagle soldiers faced something else entirely—they felt as if they were confronting a horde of monsters.

Just moments ago, a continuous stream of soldiers had charged out of their trenches, bayonets fixed, roaring as they plunged into the smoke.

But when they turned back, those soldiers had vanished without a trace.

They felt as if the spreading smoke was some terrifying beast devouring their comrades.

They couldn’t imagine how many Cambrian soldiers were hidden within the smoke. How could so many have charged in without even a splash?

“Captain, we leave them to you! May victory forever shine upon you!”

Hearing heavy footsteps and the grinding of gears behind him, a frontline officer quickly saluted and addressed the lead powered armor soldier, gazing enviously at his suit.

If given the choice, he would rather be a Fear Knight than an ordinary soldier.

Wearing that iron shell greatly increased survival chances on the battlefield, and it was also a symbol of honor.

Unfortunately, the selection for Fear Knights was extremely strict—only one knight was chosen for every ten candidates. When he applied, he was eliminated solely because of his height.

Seeing the officer salute, the leading Fear Knight replied with a slightly casual salute:

“Don’t worry. We’ll use the sword in our hands to teach those hillbillies a good lesson! Long live victory!”

As soon as he finished speaking, he and the twelve Fear Knights behind him leapt out of the trench in swift unison.

“Alert! Watch out, enemy powered armor soldiers!”

Seeing the larger red dots on the minimap, Andre, who had some battle experience, quickly identified the enemy’s troop type.

Without hesitation, he shouted to the player at the front and hurriedly clicked to research new equipment on the system interface.

Before this, Andre had already eyed several elite suits in the battlefield game. Compared to ordinary soldiers, these elite suits undoubtedly provided significant combat power boosts.

However, unlocking any elite soldier suit required a steep cost of 10,000 influence points, which had deterred Andre.

But after the recent chaotic skirmish, his influence points had skyrocketed, surpassing 10,000.

So, to counter the enemy’s powered armor soldiers, he quickly unlocked the Flamethrower suit.

There were five elite soldier suits in total: the Sentinel, clad in heavy armor with a heavy machine gun; the Tank Hunter, armed with an anti-tank rifle; the Flamethrower; the Trench Raider, wearing a strange helmet and chest armor wielding a morning star; and the Invader, who could call in artillery strikes with a signal flare.

Among these, the Flamethrower and Trench Raider were best suited for close-quarters combat against powered armor soldiers.

The Tank Hunter could definitely pierce powered armor, but who would want to wield a two-meter-long rifle for close combat?

The Sentinel’s machine gun barely had a chance to penetrate powered armor; the Invader’s artillery strikes risked blowing everyone up; and the Trench Raider might not be able to match the enemy’s heavy armored greatswords.

After much consideration, Andre decided the Flamethrower was the most reliable choice.