Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 1001: Section 648: Eastern Observations (Part 4)

Chapter 1001: Section 648: Eastern Observations (Part 4)

Malin was very satisfied with the destructive power of the large mortar, the only dissatisfaction being its range—it was too short. For the Mecha, it was not a problem, but for the infantry, among the wounded in the trench line in front of Malin, most were injured either by the shockwave or by debris from various chaos parts falling on them.

According to old Kay, after he was knocked over, a leg fell from the sky and hit his face, causing him to faint from holding his breath. He only woke up after being transported to the hospital when the battle ended.

Kazdoff’s little brother, who visited, said that old Kay snored loudly, causing complaints from soldiers in the same ward, and was woken up by embarrassed him.

Malin’s Mecha made the Eastern Kingdom’s military very envious, but considering they were really out of money, Malin finally recommended them the No. 1 Mecha. Although it had a semi-exposed cockpit and its weaponry couldn’t compare with Malin’s unit in terms of lethality, after confirming the efficiency of the No. 1 Mecha, the Eastern Kingdom still spent money to buy a squad of six No. 1 Mechas from Malin. Moreover, Malin not only sold them six additional Mechas at a half-price but also helped them replace the shoulder equipment for free, installing a 60mm thick bulletproof glass in front of the cockpit.

These days, technology makes thin glass a challenge, but producing thicker glass is not a problem.

And this time, it was heard that the Crown Prince of the Eastern Kingdom would personally lead this Mech Squad to avoid last time’s embarrassing situation of artillery being ’given’ to the Chaos.

This indicates that the pressure on the royalty is immense. Although the Eastern Kingdom has not yet embraced Northernism, in today’s era where everyone can carry a gun, the nobles surely understand how cheap their lives are—sometimes, their lives are only worth a bullet.

Speaking of which, although the Dwarf Great Craftsman expressed some confusion about why the Eastern Kingdom would buy outdated equipment, Malin told him that as long as they demonstrate a strong suppressive power against the Chaos Infantry in battle, this Mecha is useful. In Malin’s view, those powerful chaos units naturally require their No. 6 or No. 7 Mecha to counter, and some even stronger guys need Legends for confrontation. Fundamentally, these low-model Mechas are designed to combat Chaos Infantry.

Moreover, this sale of Mechas, Malin’s intention was to test these Mechas in the new environment of the Eastern Kingdom, and a test with twelve units should yield significant test content. If these No. 1 Mechas can indeed bear the responsibility of combating Chaos Infantry, then Malin would initiate the modernization enhancement of No. 1 Mechas, and they would form a firepower unit with rapid-fire cannon platforms covering high and low positions.

And today’s battlefield tour gave Malin a deeper understanding of the bizarre and monstrous entities opposite the Eastern Kingdom—even bow-legged ones have appeared. It’s not unjustified to lose in the major offensive turning into a major retreat previously, after all, fighting an army with units like bow-legged that don’t exceed the firepower limit, their advantage is completely magnified.

Remember, these chaotic individuals are all death-defying lunatics who see war as a source of joy. What does the Eastern Kingdom have to compete with such people?

However, it’s also good because these chaotic elements were within Malin’s imagination. The most difficult scenario Malin imagined was the Eastern Kingdom facing the Eastern Army Group of WWII Germany. Bow-legged entities dragging bean chariots could serve as tanks, utterly not in Malin’s line of rivals.

Before boarding the group, Malin had a brief meeting with the Crown Prince, where both sides reached an agreement on aid—Malin would provide the Eastern Kingdom with various equipment in a semi-purchase, semi-donation manner over the next three years. Previously, the Eastern Kingdom had already acknowledged the teachings of the Lord of Justice in the Great Wilderness, reconciling to exchange for reinforcements from the church of the Lord of Justice. This time, they outright agreed to let Malin’s Church of the Goddess of Harvest freely preach in the Eastern Kingdom—the Eastern Kingdom is a standard granary, and previously, the church required royal supervision to spread its teachings here. Now, allowing free preaching is tantamount to relinquishing the faith tax extracted from the church.

It’s Malin’s first time hearing of a secular kingdom taxing a True God church for faith.

Only then did he learn that this Eastern Kingdom acts variably depending on who they face. Like the Lord of Justice, they forbade preaching because of enmity, but in the reconciliation, the Eastern Kingdom never mentioned it. Yet, with a less combative deity like the Goddess of Harvest, the Eastern Kingdom started to profit, requiring taxes from local churches and congregations annually based on the number of followers.

The reason for the tax is quite justifiable—to defend the Eastern Kingdom as the only nation in the Western Human World with tangible contact with the core Dark Zone, as protecting the Eastern Kingdom is safeguarding the entire Western Human World.

However, there are numerous tax collectors, such as the church, where the locals collect this tax, and the congregation tax is collected by the royalty.

Because of this, the Church of the Goddess of Harvest has never been able to develop significantly in the Eastern Kingdom, much like the church. Malin held this meeting in a church near Kerch, the most dilapidated temple building in the whole town, with the High Priest’s robe patched all over and his face sallow like the followers. In contrast, the neighboring Church of the War God appeared much more respectable, with the High Priest having a little paunch!

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