Magical Girl's Knight Brother

Chapter 608 The New Path of Knight Magic

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Looking at Scáthach with that meaningful smile on her lips, Tang Zijun had a feeling that this girl wasn't up to anything.

However, he didn't ask her directly. He knew Scáthach's temperament well. If she wanted to tell him, she would have done so. Since she only gave him half the answer, she definitely wouldn't tell him clearly no matter what he did.

As for not staying up late, Tang Zijun looked at the huge pile of parchment and paper documents on the table and was really a bit overwhelmed.

Under the influence of the devastating winds, most human settlements came to a standstill. Aside from raising insects to barely survive, people had no choice but to risk their lives venturing into the wild to try their luck. The lords and nobles in the cities offered no assistance, let alone any effective jobs. But Black City was different. There were countless jobs available, and manpower was scarce everywhere. From quarrying and manufacturing to even the most basic city cleaning, almost everyone was working themselves to the bone. Gloria was practically ready to stand at the city gates and grab anyone wanting to join Black City; any refugee who passed the gate's screening would be placed in a job the very next minute. There was no other way; Black City was truly facing a severe population shortage.

Especially after several alchemists from the front lines of the river region expressed their desire to relocate their alchemy factories to Black City a few days ago, the industrial zone has grown even larger. After visiting the machine shop and machine tools, these alchemists acted as if they had received a blessing from the god of alchemy, insisting on staying here to contribute their talents.

Tang Zijun knew what their goal was. Unlike other superhumans, alchemists' advantage lay in strengthening themselves through various manufacturing processes, whether it was potions or other alchemical creations. These were the skills they relied on for survival, and for the vast majority of alchemists, these things could not be passed on to outsiders.

Their desire to join Black City was likely driven by a desire to study machine tool theory, attempt to replicate similar devices, and ultimately gain a higher position. Tang Zijun wasn't particularly concerned about this; on the contrary, he welcomed their joining. They were only dealing with basic machine tools, things that would be obsolete in the real world. Modern factories were moving towards integrated, unmanned, and automated operations; there was no need for such outdated equipment.

Furthermore, given the current turbulent times, even if those alchemists learned the principles and manufacturing of machine tools, what could they possibly do? Could they possibly transport this thing away? Besides, is there any better place in the world than Black City right now? Tang Zijun expressed her doubts.

Moreover, the saying "learning has no end" is not just an empty phrase. They're already this excited just from seeing machine tools; if they saw Katie, they'd probably be completely awestruck. However, thanks to the addition of these alchemists, Black City has finally transitioned from the era of "knightly magic" to the era of "steampunk." The first batch of equipment after the factory's conversion has been produced and distributed to the city's defense forces. Weapons are still under development, but professional armor has been completed. The armor is primarily made of scales with a carbon steel core; each piece is crafted from the hardest metal. While the armor itself is relatively heavy, it's just right for the already physically strong individuals of the Dream World. However, Tang Zijun hasn't made up her mind regarding weapon selection, or rather, the expert team from the Magic Supervision Bureau is embroiled in debate. Some hope that the Dream World can adopt a mobile force, utilizing firearms, artillery, and missiles—powerful heavy industrial weapons. At the very least, this would eliminate any fear of the Ghost Mist Forest threat.

I remember a long time ago, before magical girls were revealed, a madman foolishly stumbled upon a secret location and startled the sentry at the time. The sentry thought it was haunted and reported it to his superiors, who severely criticized him, saying that there are no ghosts in this world.

Subsequently, the area where the heretical demons were active was transformed into an artillery firing range.

After that, all I can say is that the heretic departed peacefully.

Therefore, the automation of firearms will greatly improve the security of Black City. In addition, the Bureau of Demonic Supervision itself has advanced research on this type of weapon, which will be of particularly high efficiency in assisting Black City. This can be regarded as the Belt and Road Initiative in another world.

However, this idea has also been questioned by some people. First of all, there is the special nature of the dream world itself—this world is very susceptible to interference with electromagnetic signals. If it is only about firearms and ammunition, it is fine, but if it is about precision guidance and radar, then it will be impossible to continue.

In other words, automated weapons can indeed temporarily boost the world's combat power, but the skill tree has a very low ceiling. Eventually, it will be necessary to switch to another path. By then, it will be difficult for Black City to transform, and it may fall into an even greater state of stagnation.

Therefore, those experts still hope that the dream world can forge its own path, vigorously develop a unique supernaturalism that is half-industrial and half-physical, based on alchemy, magic, and martial arts, and create a multi-racial core development that is not monopolized by gods.

Simply put, it means using the technology of the Magic Bureau as an auxiliary tool, and focusing on developing another development model for knights and magic.

This is easier said than done. The first challenge is the relationship between this world and the gods. The dream world itself was created by the gods, and the mountains and rivers of this world are the result of the gods sacrificing their bodies. The influence of the gods permeates every place and exists in everyone's heart. Taking this step is not easy, especially under the influence of those conservative sects.

Tang Zijun hasn't had time to visit the Storm Church's Lawyer at the Riverfront yet, but quite a few church members have come to the Riverfront. They are mostly small sects, the kind that don't rank much at the Riverfront. Now that they see Black City developing, they immediately try to establish churches here under the guise of promoting their sects.

Grílando was naturally furious about this. Did others not know? She knew perfectly well that Black City now had a full four deities (she included Tanya and Trova as well)! Who gave those church members the right to interfere?

However, these people represent their respective faiths, and are believers in righteous gods like the Gods of the Void Mirror. It would be inappropriate to simply kick them out. So, after hearing the report, Tang Zijun arranged for Gloria to take them to the Church of Nature.

Unlike other churches that merely display statues of deities, the Natural Church in Black City, though not luxurious, genuinely houses a branch of a god. Its undeniable divine power and vitality left the worshippers speechless. They finally understood why Black City could grow crops—it was under the protection of the "God of Nature." With such a powerful deity present, they naturally couldn't build any other churches. Those worshippers who wished to build side chapels were politely refused by Gloriand. Faced with Gloriand, a former mercenary, the previously aloof members of the church all adopted an exceptionally humble posture.

This also shows that the influence of gods on the civilization of this world is undoubtedly enormous. Based on this, how to proceed with the next stage of development is the most pressing problem Tang Zijun needs to solve. Ultimately, Tang Zijun decided to seek advice from Scáthach, the Queen of the Land of Shadows. As the divine teacher who has nurtured countless legendary heroes, Scáthach is highly authoritative in this area. After listening to Tang Zijun's thoughts, Scáthach pondered for a moment before sharing her own ideas. "Firearms are ultimately just external forces. They may improve combat power in the short term, but ultimately, it depends on one's own strength."

"What do you mean?" Tang Zijun frowned.

"The wasteland world serves as a cautionary tale," Scáthach said. "They relied too much on technology, resulting in severe shortcomings. Of course, this is related to the unique characteristics of that world, but we cannot rule out their own inherent problems."

"The laws of the dream world are complete. Although they are currently in chaos due to the fall of some gods, the foundation of the laws remains. The people of this world also possess enormous potential. We can appropriately enhance their potential to grant them greater power."

"So, does that mean the residents of the dream world are still destined to walk the path of knights and magic?" Tang Zijun asked.

"You could say that, but I prefer to call it the 'New Knight Magic Path'."

Scáthach sat in the chair, slowly crossing her left leg over her right, and continued speaking.

"For too long, extraordinary abilities have been firmly held in the hands of a few, like the recipes alchemists hoped to take to their graves. But what if we could break free of these shackles?"