Exploring Technology in a Wizard World-Chapter 1425 - 1423: Black Knight

"Whoosh~"

There were about thirteen or fourteen black dots, moving extremely fast, slicing through the air with a sharp screech. At first glance, Xia Zuo saw them far away, but within seconds, they were overhead, and suddenly they plummeted downwards.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The ground shook, the incoming "black dots" crashed deep into the soil, sending up columns of dirt several meters high, dust flying everywhere.

It was only then that Xia Zuo saw clearly that the so-called "black dots" were watermelon-sized spheres, entirely black with a faint metallic sheen, possessing extremely high hardness, as they landed without any deformation.

Fortunately, the soldiers he brought with him were all elite and Magic Knights. As soon as they spotted the black metallic spheres, they quickly took evasive action, so no one got hit; otherwise, if not dead, they would have been severely injured.

What on earth are these?

Xia Zuo looked at them in confusion, gazing towards the direction from which the black metallic spheres had flown. From the flight paths in the air just now, he could deduce that these spheres had traveled a considerable distance—likely dozens of miles, or even over a hundred miles away.

Could these be projectiles from a catapult? But that shouldn’t be the case, and catapults can’t throw so far either... Xia Zuo couldn’t make sense of it, frowning deeply.

A soldier looked over, asking, "Sir, what should we do with these iron lumps?"

"Move them far away... no, leave them here, don’t touch them, stop resting, we must set off immediately..." Xia Zuo issued two contradictory commands in succession.

Seeing the soldiers hesitate before moving towards the horses to carry out the latter order, Xia Zuo blinked, raised his hand to stop them, thought deeply and said seriously, "These flying strange objects are definitely unusual. We can’t just leave them here. Come, cut one open for me and see if there’s any special mechanism inside or some trick."

"Yes, Sir." The soldier obeyed quickly, dismounted his horse, and took a great sword from the saddle, then walked over to the black metallic sphere.

Approaching the black metallic sphere, the soldier raised the great sword and measured it up, looking somewhat unsure. After all, the hardness of the black metallic sphere was exaggerated, and his strength was merely average—he truly wasn’t confident he could cut it open. After some consideration, the soldier gave up, grimaced, and handed the great sword to a nearby Magic Knight.

The Magic Knight glanced, shook his head, didn’t take the great sword but instead removed the heavy cutting sword he carried on his back. Taking a deep breath, the Magic Knight gripped the heavy cutting sword with both hands, raised it high above his head.

"Ah——"

The Magic Knight shouted, visible violet light like water rising from beneath his feet, quickly spreading along the magic rune on the armor surface, lighting up his knees, waist, chest, shoulders in succession, finally reaching his arms and pouring into the heavy cutting sword.

"Swish!"

The heavy cutting sword was enveloped in rich violet light and, amid the Magic Knight’s loud shout, made a dazzling arc as it was swung down hard, landing squarely on the black metallic sphere on the ground.

"Clang!"

A metallic echo resounded as the cutting sword clinked against the black metallic sphere’s surface, then was bounced up by a massive recoiling force. The Magic Knight grunted, retreating four steps before stopping, blood oozing from the palms of his hands as his tiger mouth was already shattered, yet the black metallic sphere remained unscathed.

Previously attempting to slice the black metallic sphere, the soldier looked at this outcome, with a mix of relief and astonishment in his eyes.

He suspected the black metallic sphere would be difficult to cut but didn’t expect it to be this hard.

In fact, everyone present didn’t expect this outcome.

The injured Magic Knight stared wide-eyed at the black metallic sphere, noticing two seconds later that his attack seemed to have triggered something, as faint red light began to glow on the sphere’s surface, slowly revealing intricate patterns.

Then, as if creating a chain reaction, the other dozen or so untouched black metallic spheres lit up together, the surfaces turning bright red, resembling flames burning.

Those present were astonished, not knowing what was happening, instinctively turning to look at Xia Zuo, asking aloud, "Sir, look..."

Staring at the glowing black metallic spheres, Xia Zuo, for some reason, felt overcome with immense fear, his entire body hair standing up instantly, an endless sense of danger enveloping him.

It felt like he had made a terrible mistake... a thought flashed in Xia Zuo’s mind, and he couldn’t help but shout to everyone, "Watch out!"

"Huh?" Everyone present was startled, some confused while others quickly reacted.

Many soldiers rushed towards Xia Zuo, intending to shield him with their bodies from the unknown attack, while some Magic Knights quickly lifted their feet, kicking at the nearby glowing black metallic spheres, attempting to kick away this possible "source of danger."

Just then, a "crack" sound as the black metallic sphere’s surface fractured, releasing blinding light and intensely hot flames from within.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom..."

The ground shook repeatedly, with columns of fire dozens of meters high rising, the explosive power combining, shockwaves colliding with each other, mercilessly sweeping over everything around them.

Xia Zuo felt a roaring sound by his ear, as if thunder exploded beside him, leaving him dizzy and his vision blurred. In the haze, the surrounding air pressed against him, the bones in his body creaking under the unbearable pressure, like a giant was gripping him, squeezing his organs like jam from a bottle. At this moment, a pendant beneath his clothes suddenly emitted warm energy, enveloping his body, resisting the external force.

"Ugh!"

The two contending forces reached their peak, causing Xia Zuo to wobble, coughing up blood while losing balance and collapsing to the ground. After a while, when the two forces dissipated and the surroundings calmed, his dizziness eased, and he shook his body to stand up, looking around.

What he saw was a horrific sight.

Near him, the ground was littered with dead soldiers, many of them Magic Knights who had perished protecting him. Those nearby had bulging eyes, with blood oozing from their eyes and nostrils—shattered to death by the shock. Those further away, their bodies charred and unrecognizable, even the iron armor melted away.

Further still, dozens of people near the black metallic spheres were blown to pieces, and the surviving ones were severely injured, blood flowing profusely.

The scene was extremely tragic.

"Ptooey—ptooey—"

Xia Zuo spat out the blood in his mouth, rubbing his brow to ease the dizziness, and turned his gaze, sensing something, towards the distance.

On the horizon, dust rose in large clouds, the ground shook rhythmically, and pebbles bounced into the air. "Clack, clack, clack!" The urgent sound of hooves became clearer—that was the approach of a cavalry troop.

Soon, the cavalry arrived nearby; at a glance, there were more than a thousand of them. Then the cavalry split to the left and right, skillfully surrounding Xia Zuo’s severely damaged team.