Ascension from Dual Professions

Chapter 263: Chapter 250: Proper Use of the Mechanical Body, Personally Entering the Fray

The rebel army was no stranger to these Centaur-like Mechanical Bodies.

During the recent fighting, the Resistance Alliance had frequently used them to attack small strongholds. Their ferocious momentum and immunity to most Magic had caused the rebels to suffer considerable losses.

However, likely due to cost, their total numbers were low. At most, only two or three would appear on any single front, and they were always used sparingly—only as a battering ram when a battle turned against them.

But what were they seeing now?

A full thirty Centaur Mechanical Bodies, formed up and charging straight for the County City gate, completely detached from the main army and without any supporting troops?

’Are these guys crazy? They’re playing their trump card right off the bat?’

But regardless of whether the enemy had gone mad, the rebel commander at the defensive line before the city gate had to react.

He had no time to look up and see what was happening on the city walls. Acting on pure battlefield instinct, he blew his whistle, rousing his subordinates who were still trembling in the wake of the thunderous roar from moments ago.

”Don’t just stand there gawking! Dump the stone stakes! Move, move, move!”

Spurred by the shrill whistle, the panicked Soldiers snapped out of their daze. They scrambled to overturn several carts, spilling the hard, irregular stones inside to cover the road to the city gate.

This was a tactic for countering heavy cavalry: use uneven, hard stones to force the enemy to slow down, then add layers of cheval de frise. It was enough to stop most mounted enemies.

This time, however, their efforts were doomed to fail.

Because the one controlling these Gun Cavalry was their true creator—Jon!

Observing the rebel positions through his Foresight Skill, he couldn’t help but let out a wry laugh at their tactics.

’They’re really treating Mechanical Bodies like actual cavalry?’

He had to admit, the Centaur-like frame of the Gun Cavalry was genuinely misleading, making people use and treat them just like cavalry.

This was true for both the Resistance Alliance and the rebel army.

But the very reason Mechanical Bodies were destined to become the absolute masters of future battlefields was that they defied conventional logic.

’I can’t blame them. After all, creations of steel are fundamentally different from flesh and blood. These people are just too inexperienced—’

A deep blue light flashed in Jon’s eyes as a massive amount of Magic Power surged into the special Crystal Energy Disc used to control the Mechanical Bodies.

’But since I’m here, allow me to teach you a lesson.’

Then, to the astonishment of both armies, the thirty Gun Cavalry came to a sudden halt in the middle of their relentless charge. The dampening structures in their leg joints absorbed their entire momentum, venting it with a loud HISS of steam.

This maneuver, which completely defied all logic, was utterly staggering to everyone who witnessed it.

’They can do that?!’

In the entire history of the Yino Continent, no cavalry unit had ever been able to go from a full charge to a dead stop in an instant!

But the quicker-witted among them soon realized that even though these lance-wielding Mechanical Bodies ran on four hooves, they weren’t true cavalry. Of course, that meant traditional anti-cavalry tactics wouldn’t work!

But even with this realization, it was too late to adapt.

Under Jon’s command, the three-in-one Fortress at the center of the Giant God Workshop camp fired again. A deafening roar tore through the sky.

Three shells fell in succession, blanketing the entire road to the city gate.

Unlike the previous three shells that had purified the city wall, these ones didn’t explode with shrapnel to cause direct kills. Instead, a wave of Repulsive Force erupted, blasting everything in the vicinity away.

The fortifications and obstacles the rebel army had struggled to erect were all but obliterated by the three shells. Some unlucky souls were even too close to the blast points and were bludgeoned and bloodied by the flying stones and wooden stakes.

But now, no one cared if these people lived or died.

Because the Gun Cavalry that had stopped moments before were on the move again!

From motion to stillness and back to motion again—it was as if their charge had never stopped!

Their steel hooves thundered across the ground, a war drum beating in every person’s heart.

THUMP THUMP! THUMP THUMP! Closer! They were getting closer!

A wedge formation of thirty Gun Cavalry slammed into the chaotic rebel lines. Every fall of their heavy hooves was met with the sickening crunch of breaking bone and short, piercing shrieks.

The gale from their high-speed Impact kicked up gravel and severed limbs, which mixed with billowing dust and sprays of blood mist, filling the cold air with the thick stench of iron and death.

”Hold the line! Form up! Use heavy weapons!”

The rebel commander’s voice was hoarse and powerless, like the final struggles of a drowning man.

He could no longer spare a thought for anything else. His bloodshot eyes were fixed on the churning vortex of death before him as he shouted one command after another, trying to organize some semblance of a counterattack.

However, he was answered only with greater chaos.

The Soldiers, like lambs scattered by a wolf pack, shoved and fled in terror, desperate to escape the mercilessly advancing steel behemoths.

The stone stakes and cheval de frise meant to stop cavalry had been turned into a chaotic field of debris by that bizarre artillery barrage, and now they only served to hinder the Soldiers’ attempts to rally.

A few Professionals allied with the rebels tried to intervene and turn the tide, but to little effect.

A Frost Mage conjured several sharp Ice Cones, firing them at the foremost Gun Cavalry.

However, the Ice Cones merely shattered against the refined alloy shell with a few sharp TINGS, turning into a useless shower of ice shards. Another Warrior leaped high, roaring as he unleashed a scorching Fiery Flame Slash. Immense Power burst forth with the flames, but the Gun Cavalry’s automatic parry module identified the attack, and it ran him clean through—armor and all—with its lance.

They were utterly powerless before this organized, high-speed torrent of steel.

These sporadic ”mosquito bites” did nothing to halt the Gun Cavalry’s advance.

Every sweep of their sharp alloy lances unleashed a storm of blood, easily tearing through any flesh that stood in their way.

They ruthlessly carved through the battlefield, driving panicked Soldiers into dead ends against the city wall or into the trampling masses of their comrades, creating even greater panic.

The uniform, earth-shaking THUMP-THUMP of their hooves was like the drumbeat of death itself, pounding on the rebels’ very souls and utterly crushing the last vestiges of their will to fight back.

As the situation developed, no further signal was needed. The long, drawn-out call of a war horn sounded from Paris’s main position, signaling the attack. The entire Resistance Alliance camp stirred to life.

Jon waved his hand, signaling the Workshop apprentices and Radiant Knights beside him to prepare to move out. He then turned to look at Esra, whose face was pale.

”You did very well, Esra. Now hand over control of the Fortress to someone else. You and Dolores will come with me.”

”Y-yes! Mr. Jon!”

After personally controlling two rounds of shelling against the city wall and the enemy’s formation, the bespectacled girl was still trembling slightly, but it was a vast improvement from her earlier state of being too frightened to speak coherently.

’Pressure really does bring out a person’s potential. Mr. Claudio wasn’t wrong about her... But why do I have to be the one to play the villain?’

Jon grumbled internally at the thought, his gaze shifting to the distant city wall.

Although he had used the disparity in information and technology to catch the enemy off guard, this wall—the product of several centuries of the Heta family’s labor—would not be so easily breached. Once the enemy recovered from the chaos, a hard-fought battle would surely follow.

But that wouldn’t have much to do with a simple Workshop owner like him.

After all, the spectacle of the Fortress’s bombardment combined with the Gun Cavalry’s stop-and-go charge tearing the enemy defense to shreds was already enough to stun the world.

The most direct evidence of this was in the mission logs for ”Rebellion of the Scepter” and ”Comprehensive Counterattack III.” His influence had reached 96 and 553, respectively. For the latter, his faction Contribution Points had skyrocketed to 143,374 and were still climbing at a visible rate.

At this point, even if he, Jon, were to lie back in the camp and drink tea, he would still be credited with the greatest achievement in this battle. Whatever gains the Resistance Alliance made from now on, a share would have to be his!

But he couldn’t afford to be so passive. After all, a shameless old schemer was hiding behind the rebel army. To lure that person out, he had to be willing to put up some real bait...

And just as Jon was gazing at Red Crying Castle, shrouded in smoke behind the towering city walls, Leona’s clear, fervent voice rang out.

”Your Highness! The Radiant Knight Order has assembled and awaits your command!”

Jon turned to look at her. The knightess was leading a fully armored, red-maned warhorse. Her ice-blue eyes, so similar to his own, burned with pure fighting spirit and loyalty.

Behind her, the Knights stood as still as statues. Their Sun-emblazoned armor reflected a fervent glow even under the overcast sky.

Next came a young apprentice’s voice, which, though a bit muffled by a faceplate, carried an irrepressible excitement and determination.

”Lord Jon! We are ready!”

It was a boy named Aaron, a recent addition to the Workshop. Sutton had mentioned more than once how smart, diligent, and eager to learn he was.

Behind him, sixteen apprentices—all except those needed to operate the Fortress—stood in neat formation and echoed his sentiment. Dolores and Esra were among them, their eyes filled with trust as they looked at him.

Jon looked at each of them, meeting their eyes one by one, before issuing his commands in a solemn voice.

”Fortress operators, target the enemy emplacements on the walls! Maintain suppressing fire!”

”Members of the Knight Order, protect the apprentices’ flanks! Advance in an orderly fashion, using the Mechanical Bodies for cover!”

With that, he deftly vaulted onto a Mechanical Warhorse, his final two words landing like a hammer blow.

”Move out!”