In the Name of Empress-Chapter 582 - 347: They Are Exhausted

"Is this the power of the Strong Army-Breaking Level?"

When the third and even larger super war machine appeared on the horizon, Roland knew Francis City was beyond saving.

The first war machine was a transformable super bomber, and the second was a humanoid war machine over a hundred meters tall.

Their combat power was strong, but mostly effective for mass destruction; their single-target damage wasn’t as high, and the Transcendents could still hold their ground.

With Christine’s support, the human Transcendents formed their own armies, some dealing with frontal assaults, others maneuvering behind, and still others distracting and disrupting, actually halting the war machines’ advance.

The officials of the Prudon Kingdom sounded the alarm, organizing the citizens for orderly evacuation.

Nationwide militarization isn’t a good thing during peacetime, but it becomes the most efficient during a major disaster.

Tens of thousands of citizens were evacuated in sequence from several exit points. Though panicked and frantic, the order remained intact.

The ammunition carried by the Iron Bird Bomber wasn’t much. After bombing the City Hall and the Great Cathedral, it chose to land and transform into a slightly smaller land war machine, fighting alongside the super-large land war machine.

The massive blades, tens of meters long, mercilessly smashed through all obstructing buildings, including the thick city walls and bastions.

But they couldn’t break through Roland’s defenses.

The war machines used cold weapons purely to conserve energy, their flexibility and skill far inferior to those of human Transcendents.

The Transcendents agilely dodged the swinging blades, and if they couldn’t, Roland shielded them with hard blocks.

Though unable to effectively counterattack, Roland didn’t panic at all.

Unless these war machines had controllable small nuclear reactors for power, they could only be burning oil, coal, or running on electricity.

The Alamanni Empire rejects magic and has never developed Magic Crystal Stone technology, which can be ignored.

The two war machines didn’t have exhaust pipes, ruling out internal combustion engines and steam engines.

The only answer was pure electric drive.

Pure electric drive may be good, but insufficient power is a fear ingrained in one’s bones.

In such fierce combat, they’re like electric car owners stuck on the highway, anxiously watching their stored energy deplete.

There were no charging stations here, and Roland was curious to see where they would refuel.

This anxiety of refueling, Roland had personally experienced before crossing over.

To what degree do these conscious war machines possess intelligence, are they capable of autonomous decision-making, or do they run on fixed programs?

The war machines’ task was simply to smash, while Roland had much more to contemplate. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Though the Transcendents delayed the war machines’ advance, they could not completely stop the slaughter.

Realizing that the Transcendents were too slippery to catch, the war machines turned their blades on the city and its evacuating citizens.

Sections of the city walls toppled, and houses shattered like toy boxes.

Rubble flew, and unlucky citizens were struck, some dying on the spot, others collapsing in agony.

The elderly, weak, women, and children who couldn’t move became the primary targets for the war machines’ slaughter.

Otto VI, who opposed negotiations, stood on the ruins of City Hall, eyes vacant, muttering something, his mind clearly not normal.

Seeing his queen cut in two by a blade, writhing on the ground, he finally awoke from the nightmare.

"No, Josephine! Ah!"

His wail was no different from any ordinary person who had lost family in this night of hell.

He seemed to age ten years in an instant, unable even to gather the body of his long-time companion.

The war machines crushed his queen, Josephine.

Otto’s eyes filled with a crimson rage, but each attempt to charge forward was thwarted by his loyal Guard Captain.

"Hans, let me go! I am the king, that’s an order!"

"Your Majesty, you must take responsibility for the country and explain this incident to the whole world; you can’t act recklessly for the dead!"

"Explain to the world?"

Already pale, Otto’s face turned completely white.

How could he explain?

Resigned, he abandoned the thought of rescuing his beloved wife’s body fragments, numbly being escorted to a safe place by the guards.

The destruction of Francis City was too rapid; even the citizens who had managed to maintain order finally lost their sanity in despair, pushing away the soldiers trying to maintain order and fleeing frantically.

Everyone’s eagerness to escape led to no one being able to get out.

The gate was congested and blocked, those inside the city despairingly awaited their end, cursing profanely.

They cursed the damned war machines and the king’s incompetence, the prime minister’s uselessness, turning them into sacrifices.

Seeing the hellish scenes along the way, hearing the curses of the citizens, thinking of his beloved wife’s tragic death, Otto’s mental state completely collapsed.

Just hours ago, he had fantasized about using the war machines to suppress opposition from other nations, to win benefits for the country and gain leverage to secure the crown for himself.

It was all over.

Even if he managed to survive, this disaster would leave him disgraced.

Thinking about explaining to major countries afterward, or even making humiliating concessions, Otto’s hand trembled.

Successive kings of Prudon had mostly been strong rulers, allowing them to grow from a small city into a major power influencing the entire continent’s affairs.

If he messed this up, how would he have the face to meet past kings?

No, these things couldn’t happen to him.

At this moment, the Iron Bird Bomber took to the skies again, starting to bomb along the streets, creating more chaos.

Otto’s spirit focused sharply; he pushed away the Guard Captain forcefully, leaping high by stepping on a collapsed nearby house.

In the air, he grabbed hold of a bomb, diving toward a nearby building.

"Don’t think about harming my people! Ah!!"