Chapter 437 - 437: The Hound of War

Several days after returning to Ironhold, Lucen's father had informed him that they were about ready to declare war on Inevir.

Learning of this, Lucen sped up the production of Fenrir. Two days later, Lucen's group was out of Ironhold, ready to test the Fenrir prototype.

Unlike the tanks of his old world, Fenrir was larger, rougher, and built like a mobile fortress around an enormous cannon.

Layers of blackened enchanted steel overlapped across its hull like the scales of some ancient beast.

Small fragments of orichalium had been worked into every armor plate. The rare metal could absorb part of the mana contained within an incoming spell, weakening the attack before it reached the enchanted steel beneath.

There had not been enough orichalium to construct the entire hull from it. Even if there had been, the metal could only absorb a limited amount of mana before becoming saturated.

Even without the orichalium, Fenrir had been built to endure tremendous punishment. Its layered armor and reinforcement runes would prevent even a fifth-mantle aura user from immediately breaking through.

However, several attacks concentrated upon the same section could eventually breach the hull.

Its enormous turret rested upon a reinforced ring covered in impact-absorption runes. The cannon extending from it was shorter than those mounted within Norvaegard's fortresses, but its barrel was considerably thicker than that of an ordinary field cannon.

Lucen had also mounted two steam-powered Gatling guns upon Fenrir, one on either side of the turret. Both could be aimed and fired from within the armored hull.

Two exhaust pipes rose from the rear of the vehicle.

Fenrir was an intimidating sight to behold; its large frame was able not only to house the steam engine, but also to place several soldiers inside to operate it.

At present, six ordinary soldiers occupied the prototype. One served as commander, while the others were responsible for driving, aiming the cannon, loading ammunition, maintaining the steam engine, and monitoring the mana crystals and replaceable rune plates.

Similar to when he demonstrated the guns, he was now using only ordinary soldiers to test out Fenrir. They had no aura mantles or mana circles.

"Truly a sight to behold!" Robert said excitedly as he grinned.

"Of course! Who do you think made the damn thing?" Durik declared as he scratched his beard.

"Huh? You make it sound like you created it? You're just the hands that piece together the parts of the design Lucen and I made."

Durik's fingers stopped in the middle of his beard. "Just the hands?"

"A highly skilled pair of hands," Robert clarified.

"You brat! You do understand that without us, this thing would still be trapped inside your head and would never see the light of day?"

Robert folded his arms. "I never denied that constructing Fenrir required a capable craftsman. But that's that, and this is this. Without my and Lucen's minds, you won't be able to even begin to imagine such a thing."

"If you only imagine things without making anything, what's the point? You shItty brat!"

"There's no point in talking to hands." Robert shrugged his shoulders.

"Allow me to show you these hands of mine." Durik's gloves, which had many special kinds of rune engravings, started glowing.

"Hoh, you think I'll back down." Robert started calculating spells in his mind as he took out several vials.

Before either of them could make a move, Lucen spoke. "How about, instead of doing all that, we begin the field test?"

Durik and Robert continued staring at one another. After a short pause, the two loosened their shoulders.

"Fine, I want to see how this iron fortress moves," Durik said.

"Heh, very well, let us begin the field test," Robert responded.

Lucen turned his attention toward the field ahead. The first part of the test would focus entirely upon Fenrir's movement.

A path had been prepared across uneven ground, with several sharp turns followed by a steep slope, a shallow trench, piles of broken stone, and a wide patch of mud. The last part was through a few trees.

Lucen raised the communication orb connected to the one held by the commander inside the vehicle.

"Begin!"

"Understood," the commander answered through the communication crystal.

A moment later, the valves at Fenrir's rear opened. Steam erupted from them with a deafening hiss, briefly surrounding the vehicle in white vapor.

The giant fortress started moving forward. The metal treads jerked once before biting into the ground.

Fenrir's immense weight pressed them deep into the earth, leaving two broad trails behind it. Stones caught beneath the metal plates shattered as the steam engine drove the wheels forward.

At first, the vehicle moved little faster than a walking man.

However, it did not struggle beneath the weight of its armor. Mana flowed from the central crystal into the rune formations covering the wheels and axles, reinforcing them against the strain.

Fenrir gradually gained speed. The ground trembled beneath its advance. Black smoke poured from the exhaust pipes, while the enormous cannon remained pointed directly ahead.

Fenrir did not stop, no matter the obstacles in front of it. The uneven ground did not even slow it down; it could move up and down a slope, and it crushed the stones in its way.

When it arrived at the area with the trees, it did not stop and pushed the trees into the ground. Not a single scratch could be found as it did so.

Fenrir emerged from the trees with several broken branches caught upon its hull. Apart from the mud covering its treads, the vehicle looked no different from when the test had begun.

Robert looked at Fenrir with his usual manic expression. "Magnificent! A fortress of Iron moving!"

"It truly is a magnificent sight," Durik, the old dwarf, could not help but agree.

Lucen spoke through the communication orb. "Stop Fenrir, and report."

Fenrir gradually slowed before coming to a complete stop. Steam continued rising from its rear while the engine rumbled within the armored hull.

"There are no problems. Even when passing through the trees, there was little to no resistance."

"Good. We'll begin testing the weapons."

Several rows of wooden figures had been arranged across the other side of the field to resemble an Inevirian formation.

The figures in front carried thick shields, while armored targets stood behind them with spears and swords. Several wooden cavalry targets had also been mounted upon wheeled frames, allowing them to be pulled rapidly across the field.

Other groups sheltered behind stone barricades or weak magical barriers. The twin Gatling guns were intended to tear apart massed infantry, stop cavalry charges, and overwhelm lower-ranked aura users attempting to close the distance with Fenrir.

Lucen raised the communication orb. "Begin with the Gatling guns."

"Understood."

Steam hissed through the pipes running toward the two weapons. Their clustered barrels began rotating, slowly at first before accelerating into a blur.

The cavalry targets were released. Counterweighted mechanisms pulled them across the field while the figures behind the shields began moving forward.

"Fire!"

Both Gatling guns erupted. Their combined roar echoed across the field as hundreds of bullets tore into the formation.

Muzzle flashes flickered continuously from the rotating barrels, while spent casings rained across Fenrir's armored hull.

The shield wall disappeared first. Bullets punched through the wooden shields and the steel armor behind them.

The cavalry targets were torn apart while being dragged across the field, their wooden horses collapsing beneath the barrage.

The weaker magical barriers flickered under the continuous impacts before shattering. The figures behind them lasted only moments longer.

Soon, only those sheltered behind the stone barricades remained. The Gatling guns gradually slowed.

"The Gatling guns are about to overheat." One of the soldiers spoke.

"Cease fire," the commander responded.

The barrels gradually stopped rotating. Heat shimmered around them as thin smoke rose from the metal.

Durik examined the weapons. "The barrels need better cooling. They can fire in short bursts, but anything longer risks damaging them."

"We'll fix that in the later batches. For now, let's continue the test. Prepare the main cannon."

Robert, who had recently increased his strength to the fifth circle, lifted his hands. Fifth-circle mana surged from Robert as a translucent barrier formed around the stone barricades.

"This is the strongest defensive spell I can currently create," Robert said as he lowered his hands. "Let's see whether Fenrir can break it."

Heavy gears turned as Fenrir's turret rotated toward the target. A metallic thud came from within as the loader pushed a shell into the chamber.

"Cannon ready," the commander reported.

Lucen nodded his head and spoke. "Fire!"

The cannon discharged. Thunder tore across the field as flames erupted from the barrel. Fenrir rocked backward, its treads digging deeper into the earth while the impact-absorption runes around the turret blazed blue.

The shell struck Robert's barrier. For a single heartbeat, the fifth-circle spell held. Then cracks spread across its surface, and the entire barrier shattered. The shell continued onward and exploded against the stone barricades.

A cloud of dust swallowed the targets. When it cleared, nothing remained except a wide crater.

"Hahaha! Gentlemen, we have created a truly astonishing weapon of war! A movable fortress!" Robert spoke enthusiastically.

On the other hand, Lucen was not yet satisfied and spoke through the communication orb. "Fire a second shot!"

"Understood." After hearing that command, the soldiers in Fenrir moved for a second shot. It took around fifteen seconds for them to finish, as the second shot was fired.

The same, before a loud, thunderous roar erupted as the shell flew in the air and hit the ground, causing an explosion of dirt.

"Are you satisfied now?" Durik asked Lucen.

"This will do for now. So let's start mass-producing them, for war is about to come, and Fenrir will be our hound that will bite Inevir's throat."