Castle of Black Iron

Time would not wait for anybody. The 906th year of Black Iron Calendar was a relatively peaceful year in Taixia Country since the third holy war broke out. This year, Since Immortal Qianji killed a heavenly demon knight and several shadow knights at the bank of Weishui River, the attack of demons on the east was curbed. As a result, the human army and demon army were in stalemate across the year. Although skirmishes still happened every day and the combat between ground troops in Helan Mountain continued, there were very few combats that over 1,000 knights joined.

Such a situation was relatively peaceful than that two years ago.

Although the fire ceased at the bank of Weishui River, fiery oil became hot across the country this year. Over 16,000 fiery oil production bases were increased this year. Across the country, Xuanyuan Hill, major clans and local governments all held great expectation and passion about fiery oil. As fiery oil production bases spread over the country, in the banner of combating demons and safeguarding Taixia Country, a tide of new industry represented by fiery oil planes and weapons officially came into being. The entire country started to burst its energy like a machine being started with fiery oil.

Only in one year, independent air cavalries corps had been established in each province, at least their framework had been formed. The top four armies of Taixia Country had been ready for establishing wholly new full-mechanized corps. Such a grand situation might only be matched by those industrial revolutions of humans before the Catastrophe. Many people would like to share profits from this pie, including rune alchemists and traditional mechanical engineers as they all racked their minds to invent fiery-oil instruments or weapons. Therefore, a myriad of fiery-oil weapons and machines appeared across the country...

Only in one year, there had been over 100 kinds of dual engines in Taixia Country. Besides, a large quantity of fiery-oil engines also appeared in order to fit various types and demands. The varieties of planes in the air also surged to hundreds from only a few. Even many provincial armies were matched with planes in local types. The top four armies which were well known by its powerful system and production ability started to develop new types of fiery-oil planes and weapons independently.

In order to unify the outfits and logistic supply system of provincial armies, Xuanyuan Hill had to deliver strict, unified supply standards about fiery-oil weapons and equipment to the top four armies. Provincial armies and top four armies were forbidden to use illegal fiery-oil weapons or equipment.

Nobody would deny the fact that Fiery-Dragon Bounty Territory was the holy land of air cavalries. However, the industrial production capacity in Youzhou Province and Fiery-Dragon Bounty Territory was poor. As long as the items produced by Fiery-Dragon Bounty Territory were pushed into the market, they would soon be imitated by other provinces, prefectures and clans who had greater industrial production capacity. The latter might even bring more, better variants.

When the tide of the industrial revolution was in its climax, provinces and prefectures across Taixia Country started to face sharply different problems brought by famine.

In those provinces and prefectures being severely afflicted by famine, local governments had already opened the official storage to relieve the disaster while local officials were in panic. By contrast, the 2-year famine facing some provinces and prefectures had been relieved. Unimaginably, Youzhou Province and Fiery-Dragon Bounty gained an unprecedented harvest last year. Those official fields of Ninghe Prefecture that Zhang Tie rent brought a bumper harvest to the entire prefecture, which further stabilized and relieved the famine facing Yanzhou Province. As a result, all the forces across Northeast Military Region were gazing at Fiery-Dragon Bounty Territory and Ninghe Prefecture. Before the grains of Fiery-Dragon Bounty Territory and Ninghe Prefecture entered the warehouse, most of them had been purchased at high prices by people dispatched by major clans across the country.

Northeast Military Region recovered its vigor firstly from the famine that spread over the country. Therefore, Cheng Honglie the commander of Northeast Military Region was even awarded by Xuanyuan Hill and became a good model for the other military regions across the country.

In the same year, Zhang clan of Huaiyuan Palace was not peaceful. After Immortal Qianji recovered and returned to Youzhou Province from Xuanyuan Hill, his "disappearance" became a popular topic across the country. Closely after that, Zhang Taixuan the head of Huaiyuan Palace was possessed by a devil when in cultivation and committed suicide. Then, Huaiyuan Palace split up and Zhang family of Jinwu Palace became independent. After that, Immortal Qianji gained Dongtian of Great Wilderness Sect in South Border and three top sects of Taixia Country sent black invitation cards to Iron-Dragon Sect, which aroused the fury of the rest of people...

In such restless situations, the year 906 of Black Iron Calendar passed by silently and the 907th year arrived in an irresistible way...

...

On January 18, after the new year, it was still snowing heavily in Xuanyuan Hill. In the weapons testing field of the base of God's Decision Army, one of the top four armies of Taixia Country in the east of Xuanyuan Hill, Xuanyuan Changying, some generals of the top four armies and the commander-in-chief who came to Xuanyuan Hill for submitting his report were sitting in a rainshed temporarily built on a hill and watching the programs prepared by His Majesty...

In a royal prince's robe with dragon pattern and a cloak made of fiery fox's hide, Xuanyuan Changying looked pretty awe-inspiring in wind and snow.

"Your Majesty, they're coming..." After being warned by a general of God's Decision Army, Xuanyuan Changying took his telescope and looked at the sky in the north, followed by the some commanders of military regions. The others directly looked over there by gleaming eyes.

By the telescope, Xuanyuan Changying saw two lines of black points in the sky at over 10,000 m high flying towards them in heavy wind and snow. Only after a short while, the image in the telescope had been recognized as two lines of planes.

Being utterly different than the earliest air cavalry planes produced in Fiery-Dragon Bounty Territory which had been matched for air cavalries at the frontline of Weishui River, these planes were absolute giants.

Each plane was longer than 70 m, wider than 60 m and higher than 8 m. On each wing, there were four high-power engines.

There were totally 8 planes. Like two rows of big birds, they were more shocking than airships. Undoubtedly, they could move faster than airships.

Watching the increasingly clearer planes in the sky, all the commanders at present changed their looks. As for these high-level officers of Taixia Country, they had been used to airboats and airships; however, it was their first time to see such huge planes.

Only after a short while, the two rows of planes had arrived above the Weapons Testing Center. In their earsplitting booms like trains running in the sky, everyone at present saw each plane opening an exit at their bottom and starting to lay eggs. The moment the eggs touched the valley between two mountains, fiery dragons had rushed into the sky while covering over 6 square miles' land...

The burning fiery dragon melted ice and snow and burned the land red. Some iron frames standing in the valley gradually turned red and soft as they started to melt. At the same time, a dark gray smoke started to suffuse over the entire region.

Even though it was far away, people on the top of the mountain could still feel hot waves from the burning fiery dragon.

Over 10 minutes later, when the fiery dragon and the dark gray smoke disappeared, the valley had been scorched black, leaving no vigor anymore.

All the commanders were petrified by such a drill. Each of them was clear about the significance of those planes. Each of them was estimated to carry over 50 tons of ammo, which was even higher than that of heavy airships. However, their speed was many times faster than airships. Such planes were definitely sharp weapons at the battlefield and would cause a great loss to the ground demon corps in only one air raid. No matter how fast ground demon corps could move, they could never match that of such huge planes. Therefore, such planes could fix the loophole of airships in an air raid. Even if they were not used for the air raid, they could also bring great convenience to logistic troops in transportation.

It was not an end yet. With the warning of a general of God's Decision Army, all of them transfixed onto the end of the valley in the far.

Right in the end of the valley, a square formation of forty odd-looking semi-caterpillar track heavy trucks was driving forth.

They were strange because of rows of huge pipes above them.

When they were about 20 miles away from this valley, the forty heavy trucks parked at the same time. Closely after that, they started to raise their pipes towards this valley.

After reaching an angle, their pipes stopped moving. After half a minute, huge "rockets" were shot out of those huge pipes with flames. They fell in the same region of the valley which had been burned black, covering it with high-temperature flames again...

"Commanders, how do you feel about the two sharp weapons?" Xuanyuan Changying put down his telescope as he asked those high-level officers with a smile...