Mechanical Alchemist-Chapter 547 - 546 Ambush Kill and Counter-Kill by Exhausting All Stratagems
Su Lun gathered intelligence on the enemy and returned to the Eternal Night.
The magical airship castle was such a large target and not very fast that there was no need to deliberately tail it; they simply followed it directly.
Just like before when they tracked the Great Pirate groups from Ruying all the way through the Western and Southern Seas, Dawn Group kept a considerable distance behind.
The people from the Godly Plane chose to barrel through, which saved Su Lun and his group a lot of trouble.
Where the magical airship passed, the monstrous sea creatures within several nautical miles would be disturbed.
Powerful monsters would try to test their strength, only to be overpowered by the mage formation and left as corpses; the weaker ones would avoid them entirely.
In short, the Eternal Night faced no threatening beasts while following those people.
Days flew by in a flash.
The Eternal Night sailed calmly on the sea, with no difficulty in tracking, but they also found no opportunity to attack.
The members of Dawn Group enjoyed several days of peace.
But no one let their guard down, for they knew a fierce battle was inevitable.
...
One evening.
The weather was not very good, and thicker fog began to drift over the sea.
This kind of weather with low visibility was well suited for hunters skilled in stealth to prey.
On the deck of the Eternal Night, everyone was also busy with their tasks.
Dora was directing the mechanics to install some new mechanical devices on the ship. These high-tech mechanical parts were meant to be used on the "Sky Fortress" in the future, but now they were implementing them on the Eternal Night for a live-action test; the shipwrights were also helping modify some of the ship's structures; the artillerymen were maintaining the cannons; Qiantiao and other swordsmen were also busy practicing their swordsmanship...
The ship bustled with activity.
Upon receiving the message, Su Lun came up to the deck.
Tanni immediately waved at him from the mast, calling out, "Mr. Su Lun, over here!"
Su Lun looked up and leapt onto the mast.
It was not just Tanni on the mast, but also Barrett and a few naval strategists. Seeing Su Lun approach, they all greeted him in turn.
They all looked gravely at the fog surrounding them.
Normally, encountering fog on a voyage was common, but there was something fishy about this one.
Tanni bluntly said, "This fog is the exhalation of a high-level sea mirage beast, filled with a special magnetic field that causes navigation compasses to point in the wrong direction. That's not unusual. But, something strange is that the fish in the sea are disturbed, indicating that there must be a particularly powerful presence nearby. My mother also mentioned that there are traces of magical essence mixed in the wind..."
"Hmm. Well done," Su Lun responded, nodding at the words, and gazed into the distance at the enveloping mist, his eyes showing great depth.
With Tanni and his mother on board, the voyage of the Eternal Night was like having divine assistance.
Both mother and son possessed rare sensing abilities, giving them an exceptionally broad range of perception at sea.
Many methods that could deceive human senses couldn't fool the natural world's animals. Tanni's ability to perceive the voices of sea beasts was especially unique. And the fluctuations of magic power in the wind, undetectable by other means, were precisely sensed by Frida.
Even if the mages tried their hardest to conceal their presence, unless they abstained from using magic, these flaws were inevitably impossible to hide.
In naval battle, the presence of Tanni and his mother gave Dawn Group an unparalleled priority in intelligence!
After a moment's thought, Su Lun spoke, not at all surprised by the conclusion, "It looks like those from the Godly Plane are preparing an ambush."
Barrett and the other advisors nodded at this, which matched their own assessment.
Hearing this, Barrett asked, "Shall we continue along this course?"
Su Lun pondered for a moment before counter-questioning, "What does everyone think?"
At his question, the expressions of those present shifted slightly.
Dawn Group wanted to outmaneuver those from the Godly Plane's thousands of mages. The enemy undoubtedly wished to decisively remove the nuisance that was them.
Although the waters of the Ancient Dragon Country were dangerous, it was evident that Dawn Group posed a greater threat.
In several conflicts, the group had caused heavy losses to those from the Godly Plane.
Su Lun Jue, for one, would have chosen to eliminate this trouble first.
...
"The enemy's magical airship is a large target and difficult to conceal. If they want to intercept us, they must choose to lay an ambush. If I'm not mistaken, there should be at least one mage formation of ten thousand up ahead. Moreover, their tactics will definitely target the abilities we have already revealed. It's very likely they will use their legion magic to freeze the sea, to directly restrict our ships..."
"If there are more than two ten-thousand mage formations, we might have to resort to Plan B."
"..."
Su Lun had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the Godly Plane's military tactics.
Faced with such a situation, he could predict almost all the enemy's plans.
The only uncertain factors were those beyond calculation, such as predictions, or the power of deities, which human intellect could not foresee.
And that was where the risk lay.
Knowing the enemy would set an ambush, Dawn Group's high-level members had already meticulously revisited and studied how to respond to combat.
The risks had naturally been thoroughly assessed in advance.
"Agreed!"
Hearing this, Barrett and several advisors nodded in unison, feeling it was worth a try.
Coming to the Dragon Country Waters, they were all mentally prepared to face the risks.
Hiding was not an option.
If the deities of the divine realm were not dealt with, their risks would be even greater.
Taking the initiative to resolve some troubles was a million times better than waiting for the enemy to come knocking and being forced to respond passively.
Besides, the Dawn Brigade was in such a state that even if it were to face a military unit of ten thousand mages, it wasn't without the power to fight a battle.
Onboard the ship was the "Dragon Hunter" Bartholomew, the "Blood Duke" Watson has successfully advanced to the eighth rank, and there were Number Nineteen... With top combatants present, they were not afraid of being decapitated.
The remaining combat power, such as the ship's top-tier artillery, was definitely the bane of any legion. As long as they didn't spare the ammunition, in terms of output alone, they were not a bit inferior to legion magic.
Moreover, Su Lun had backup plans.
...
The staff made a decision, and once the order was given, the members of the Dawn Brigade immediately carried it out efficiently.
Once the battle preparations were mentioned, the crew began checking all kinds of shipborne equipment and loading ammunition.
Once battle was engaged, they could react in combat at a moment's notice.
Before long, the fog around the Eternal Night became thicker and thicker.
Su Lun and all the sensory professionals released their awareness at full strength, but unsurprisingly, detected nothing unusual.
Only Tanni occasionally relied on information fed back by the fish and his mother Naga's innate sensory talent to determine the situation around them.
"To the northwest, southeast, northeast, abnormalities have been detected in these directions..."
"After we arrived, someone also blocked our retreat. We should have entered the enemy's encirclement..."
"..."
Su Lun listened while calculating expressionlessly.
These subtle pieces of intelligence might sound like nothing to others, but in his ears, they were a set of standard tactical arrangements.
The mages of the divine realm fought all year round, gradually summarizing their own set of perfected counter-enemy tactics. The advanced command courses at the Mage Academy taught systematic instruction as well.
Although conditions and location might temporarily change combat tactics, those truly proficient in those tactics could immediately deduce the enemy's troops, deployment, and strategy based on the situation.
But even with knowledge, there were hardly any flaws to exploit.
For these were battle tactics perfected after countless uses.
Unless they were avoided in advance, once encircled, there was no choice but to engage in battle.
Su Lun, as more and more intelligence came in and before seeing the enemy, had already deduced numerous crucial pieces of information, and muttered, "Looks like there are three military units of ten thousand mages each. Tsk tsk... they really do hold us in high regard."
He decisively ordered through the Dawn Brigade's internal communicator, "Everyone, prepare to execute Plan B."
Responses immediately came through the communicator as the commanding officers unanimously replied, "Yes!"
In Su Lun's mind, it was as if there was a 3D sand table, with data marking the enemy's ambush points completely.
After calculating the coordinates in detail, he ordered again, "Dora, have the artillery troop prepare to lock onto the target coordinates. West by northwest 12.3°, around 5,300 meters; north by northeast 17.4°, 4,700 meters; directly to the north, 6,500 meters; cover these three fixed coordinates with heavy firepower, aim to break the enemy's camp with the first round of cannon fire!"
Dora immediately responded, "Yes!"
Moments later, feedback came through the communicator again, "Cannon angles have been adjusted, coordinates locked, ammunition loaded, ready to fire at any time!"
As these words were spoken, the communicator fell silent, and the ship was as still as death.
Everyone was waiting for Su Lun's command.
The fog enveloped the ship from all sides, and the gigantic black-sailed ship seemed to be heading into the mouth of a monster that swallowed clouds and spat fog.
The atmosphere of deadly silence gradually spread.
On deck, some of the lower-ranked crew members were already so nervous that their hands gripping their weapons were sweating.
Now that they had entered the enemy's encirclement, there was no longer any luck to be had, only battle.
At that moment, Su Lun, with a flash of sharp light in his eyes, gave the direct command, "Fire!"
In an instant, hundreds of cannons on both sides of the Eternal Night, along with several super-large "God Destroying Cannons" on the deck, simultaneously spat forth tongues of flame.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"..."
The sound of cannons merged into one, deafening.
...
The folks from the divine realm watched the Dawn Brigade headlong into the encirclement, naturally thinking they hadn't been discovered.
In order to conceal their presence, they hadn't activated any high-level magic barriers, either.
And this was the biggest flaw!
Flaw enough to severely damage a military unit of ten thousand mages!
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Su Lun was clear about everything concerning this "three units encircle one" tactic—the troops, positions, and the most appropriate timing for an attack...
So, the moment they entered the encirclement, yet before they could delve deeper, he ordered the attack to be launched.
This distance was beyond the mages' reach but well within the range of the cannons.
Su Lun also knew that the first round of cannon fire would have the best killing effect, so he didn't skimp on ammunition, pouring out high-grade alchemical rounds worth millions as if money was no object.
Having been through so many prolonged battles, he had already summarized his experiences.
As long as they could win, the gains would definitely outweigh the outlay.
After all, the higher the level of ammunition, the more formidable the enemy it must face, and the richer the spoils of war will be.
The first round, the second round, the third round...
In an extremely short amount of time, the cannons had unleashed a barrage of fire on targets within range.
The targets were not visible, it was entirely Dora's precise calculations of the cannon trajectories that enabled the blind firing.
However, the cannonballs seemed as though they had eyes, striking their targets with precision.
It was exactly as Su Lun had calculated.
The three cannon targets included two desolate islands and a temporary camp on the sea surface. They were all originally concealed by highly advanced military magic devices that made them invisible, so close that even high-ranking professionals couldn't detect them.
But unexpectedly, what the mages from the divine plane thought was their perfect concealment was caught off guard by this round of cannon fire.
"Boom," "Boom," "Boom"...
The sound of cannons on the Eternal Night was dense like a thunderstorm; the shock waves from the firing of the shells alone stunned large swathes of fish in the nearby waters.
Around the three coordinates where the shells fell, towering flames erupted.
Thousands of alchemy shells landing were comparable to the simultaneous release of thousands of seventh or eighth tier formations, causing a thunderous explosion.
Last time it was long-distance ship bombing, and the mages might not have felt much. This time it was a close-range bombardment of an utterly unprepared camp, and the mages were immediately blasted into disarray, with heavy casualties and deaths.
Just this round of cannon fire alone had killed at least ten to twenty percent of the mages, with countless more injured.
But, after all, it was a battle-experienced mage legion of ten thousand, and their response was extremely fast. The moment the sound of the cannons erupted, the commander knew they had been discovered, and various magical restrictions surged forth instantly.
"Damn it, how were we discovered? No matter, execute the original plan and encircle them!"
"Ice Legion, freeze the sea surface immediately!"
"Yes!"
"..."
Various legion magic devices and defensive spells were instantly activated after the first round of cannon fire, completely concealing the three temporary camps. Subsequent shells caused much less damage and fewer casualties.
Even so, this was a loss that the several ten-thousand-strong mage legions had never experienced before. They had never lost twenty percent of their forces without even seeing the enemy in any previous battle.
It was such an abrupt loss that it felt eerie.
How were they discovered?
And furthermore, if the enemy had discovered the ambush in advance, why did they still come?
Several eighth-tier mages in charge of the command turned livid with rage.
As the lights of the mage towers shone, one by one, legion spells were released.
At this point, there was no other choice but to fight according to the plan.
...
The fog at sea was an obstacle to the Dawn Legion, as well as to the mages.
A gust of wind blew just moments after the cannons fired, instantly dispersing the mist.
Since it was already evening and the light was not sufficient, various flashing techniques also lit up the sky.
All of a sudden, there was a clear line of sight.
On the sea surface, everyone on the Eternal Night saw the warm yellow glow of the magical shields light up at the coordinates where the shells landed, and they knew they had hit their targets. They cheered exuberantly.
Mages without legion defense were as frail as paper under the bombardment of the cannons. That round of cannon fire had undoubtedly killed many of the enemy. The cost of the ammunition was well worth it.
However, it wasn't long before a "crackling" sound of ice forming suddenly echoed in everyone's ears.
Several lookouts at the top of the masts issued a warning simultaneously: "Everyone, pay attention, the sea surface is freezing over!"
Su Lun and Barrett had already been standing at the top of the mast, and as they watched the whitening sea surface spreading like a tide far in the distance, their expressions were grave, yet unsurprised.
Tanni leaned lazily against the mast, her accumulated Sword Qi barely contained and on the verge of bursting out.
She looked at the frozen sea, not intimidated but rather muttering with a face full of the eagerness for battle, "Yo, Su Lun~ you guessed it right again, these guys actually chose to freeze the sea surface."
Su Lun couldn't help but feel amused and silently complained: 'You dozed off during the meeting, now everyone knows but you.'
But he also responded, "Because if they don't control our ship, their main force simply can't catch up."
The sailing speed of a sea emperor class warship like the Eternal Night was unmatched by any sea vessel, and it was absolutely impossible for those gods from the divine plane to chase them with their main force.
So, only by restricting the ship's departure could they catch everyone in one fell swoop.
Besides, it wouldn't take much effort for the legion magic to freeze over the sea surface, with a nearly one hundred percent chance of deployment.
Su Lun was extremely familiar with those tactics; guessing them was quite normal.
Just as they were chatting, the white line on the distant sea had already spread over. Ice was coming from all directions, and the Eternal Night had nowhere to escape.
Suddenly, with a jarring crash, the Eternal Night was instantly encased in ice.
The frost spread from the sea surface to the ship's hull, draping this dark-sailed vessel in a shroud of white gossamer.
The temperature in the air dropped by dozens of degrees all around, and the warm sea breeze instantly turned icy cold and bone-chilling.
Looking down, everyone saw the ice layer growing thicker, with no possibility of breaking through.
Though the ship could no longer move, the cannons continued to fire.
Both sides began a long-distance bombardment.
But at this distance, it was supremely advantageous for the Dawn Legion.
The cannons could easily and accurately cover with firepower.
But for the mages, they had reached the limit of casting spells; even with the enhancement of a legion's magical devices, the might of their magic was greatly diminished.
Moreover, although a magic legion was formidable, when it came to long-distance bombardment, the indefatigable cannons and alchemy bullets were much more practical than mages manually casting spells.
Because they were suppressed by concentrated firepower, those three ten-thousand-member magic legions had to constantly uphold their magic shields, which prevented them from advancing quickly.
This granted the members of Dawn Group ample time to respond.
The enemy was numerous, but for the moment, they did not have the upper hand.
...
Three ten-thousand-member magics legions, equating to three ninth-order combat powers, were opponents that the current Dawn Group could not confront head-on.
But the people on deck were not panicked in the least.
Because at least until now, everything that had happened was within their prior predictions.
Su Lun looked at the encircling enemy and said to the people on deck, "Deploy the bait, activate the alchemy formation!"
"Yes!"
People on the deck responded in unison.
The eight sixth-order alchemists who had already set up the eight-pointed star alchemy formation activated it immediately upon Su Lun's command.
Blazing white light shone forth, and Su Lun threw a piece of blood-stained flesh into the midst of the formation.
It was not just any flesh; it was part of the body of the sixth-order silver dragon they had previously collected from the capital of Silver Dragon King, Aike.
This alchemy formation didn't serve much purpose otherwise; its sole function was to spread scent over an extremely long distance.
That's right!
Su Lun's "Plan B" was to lead disaster elsewhere, to employ a borrowed knife to kill!
Their choice to break into the encirclement was intended to severely damage the people from the divine plane.
Now that the teleportation formation on Rainbow Island no longer existed, every person from the divine plane that died meant one less threat.
If there was only one ten-thousand-member legion, Dawn Group was prepared to take it on directly.
But there were three now, so the choice was either to flee or to seek outside aid.
If they could lure the eighth-order silver dragon, Su Lun felt that the current three ten-thousand-member legions would most likely suffer heavy damage. At that point, with two powers clashing, there would definitely be an opportunity to exploit.
The plan carried a certain element of gamble because Su Lun was not certain where the silver dragon was, nor was he sure it would definitely come.
But there was no great risk involved.
Even if the silver dragon was not drawn out, it didn't matter.
After all, they were all prepared to escape.
Because he still had the pocket void realm,
He knew that the people from the divine plane would need intelligence to devise their battle plans.
The enemy arranged for three ten-thousand-member legions to ambush Dawn; this was already considered a "fail-safe" high allocation.
But the enemy possessed one piece of intelligence they had not grasped: Su Lun could directly insert the ship Eternal Night into the pocket void realm and teleport away in an instant.
Therefore.
From the beginning, the tactic of freezing the sea to limit the ship's movements was completely ineffective.
...
The folks from the divine plane probably thought they had trapped Dawn Group's ship on the ice, securing victory in all aspects.
So they were not rushing as they adjusted their encirclement formation, moving forward slowly under fire, seeking victory through stability.
This approach did indeed reduce casualties but also gave Dawn Group more time to deploy the bait.
Su Lun and the high level fighters of Dawn Group played along, staging a scenario where they led the charge, preparing to break through the encirclement.
However, since it was an ambush, the ten-thousand-member legions naturally did not leave any chances.
Despite repeated charges at weak points, the enemy resolutely held back each assault, preventing Dawn Group from escaping with a large force.
But while the battle was fierce, Dawn Group did not suffer significant losses.
Apart from Qiantiao and a few eager fighters who charged a few waves, most of the commotion was from the artillery battles.
Some black tech was also used successively, such as the "Mana Laser Cannon," "Large Caliber Annihilation Cannon," "Penetrating Particle Cannon"...
With such suitable enemies to practice on, all sorts of laboratory products designed to counter magic restrictions were tested in this battle.
Some new equipment performed marvelously, while some did not meet expectations.
But in any case, it was only after actual testing that they found out what was lacking and acquired feedback data for improvements.
It was these war workshop mechanics who created these pieces of black tech, buying Dawn Group a great deal of time.
The two sides clashed for a good half hour like this.
Just as the ambush circle tightened and they began small-scale hand-to-hand combat,
A furious roar of a dragon came from a great distance.
Su Lun, looking at the familiar silver figure in the sky, felt joy in his eyes, "At last, it's here!"
The other members of Dawn Group also felt joy upon seeing this.
The silver dragon's arrival meant "Plan C" was in motion.
This would multiply their victories several fold!
