Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?-Chapter 447 - 62: The Situation

The demigods had mostly departed, leaving only two at the scene: the Dragon of Imagination from the Saxon Family, Bruno, and Red-haired Otto, bearing the Sealing Furnace Fire from the Weisbach Family.

These two, one possessing mind reading ability, and the other having had dealings with Aske, knew that he was not so easily dealt with. Therefore, they were not fooled by his rhetoric.

However, with the Emperor present, the two demigods did not press further and merely watched Aske with a smile.

Eleanor and Peggy felt awkward under the gaze of the two demigods, while Aske remained composed. The contrast made the demigods think even more highly of the young man.

He really was quite impressive, capable of keeping his cool and skillful in handling situations. No wonder he could lead so many ladies of the group.

The Emperor then lavished praise on the Azure Longsword members, after all, had it not been for their leveling of the Verona City the night before, it would have been the Saxon Family’s two giant dragons undertaking the risky charge today.

After the praises came the reward—10,000 Lorraine Gold Coins.

Aske: ...

Demigods: ...

Isn’t that a bit too little?

Bear in mind, the Azure Longsword group helped the Falcon Family take down Stuttgart City and they got paid 7,800 Gold Coins! This time it was Verona City, the Church Court’s stronghold they’ve been unable to breach for so long! And they’re only being awarded a mere 10,000 Gold Coins?

You are, after all, the Emperor of the Empire; so is your offer supposed to be on the same level as the Falcon Family?

Ignoring the stunned expressions on everyone’s faces, the Emperor continued his effusive boasting, essentially saying, "This price is very fair," "It’s because you completed the Venice mission so excellently that I am giving you a higher reward this time," and "Had you not flattened Verona City, your reward would have been even more significant."

Aske felt too weary to retort. What kind of reasoning was that... How did flattening Verona City relate to the Emperor’s interests? Don’t tell me he was already scheming to have the Church Court cede Verona City to the Empire before even winning the battle? Being stingy was one thing, but this was ridiculous...

Perhaps sensing the thoughts of Aske and others, Bruno and Red-haired Otto exchanged a few secret mutters through mind communication. Then the former said:

"Well then, in addition to the reward His Majesty has given, I will sponsor a bottle of ’Thunder III’ magic potion as a gesture of friendship."

The Emperor frowned, feeling the price was a bit too generous. Just as he was about to speak, the Dragon of Imagination continued with a smile:

"This is a personal reward for Lord Aske, for reminding me of something on a certain matter."

Well, since it was a private reward from the Dragon of Imagination, the Emperor could not say much and thus continued to encourage Aske with a smile.

Of course, Aske was well aware that the magic potion was simply compensation for the mission, not some personal reward. If not for the mind-reading Lord Bruno’s presence, the stingy Emperor’s mother might even take flight... Forget it.

So it went on amiably between sovereign and subject, with the host and guests in harmonious cheer. Only after sending off the Azure Longsword members and the bearer of Sealing Furnace Fire did the Emperor’s face fall once more as he inquired:

"What’s the situation to the south of Verona City?"

"The two giant dragons have checked it out." Bruno also presented a grave expression, "From Verona to Bologna, there’s no sign of any large-scale mine laying or trench defenses."

They both sensed the gravity of the situation. Now that the Church Court was no longer showing any intention of delaying, did it mean that they had already...

Not daring to think too much, the more panicked they became with each thought, they decided it was best to prepare for the worst scenario immediately.

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The Italian peninsula, Tuscany Region, Monta Argentario military stronghold.

This is an island stretching into the Tyrrhenian Sea, tightly linked to the mainland by three natural land bridges, housing Solomon’s most cutting-edge military research and industrial zone. freewebnoveℓ.com

Pope Innocent, at this time, was being accompanied by a group of Cardinals as he inspected the newly developed weaponry.

"Your Holiness, this is the newly developed military multirotor drone ’Delilah,’ loaded with high explosives and Wizard Stone Fragments," the Cardinal in charge of the drone project introduced eagerly.

"In addition to conventional military shooting, it can also dive towards High Rank Transcendents, adhering to their chest or back, using high explosives to penetrate the flesh and embedding Wizard Stone Fragments inside their body, causing Spirituality to go out of control and power to burst."

Below, at the testing ground, a Synthetic Human was holding Firearms and looking around when a large number of drones flew in from the perimeter.

The Synthetic Human began to shoot with the gun but soon enough a drone swooped to its back and stuck to it with the rapidity of thunder—

Bang!

The Synthetic Human was blown up.

"My question is, we know Transcendents do not rely on Firearms," Innocent said indifferently, "Can you ensure these drones can evade their Abilities and successfully hit the target?"

"Your Holiness, this might be somewhat difficult," the Cardinal carefully replied, "But the advantage of this type of drone is that its mass production costs are very low, the only expensive part is the Wizard Stone fragments."

"If that’s the case, then as military equipment, we should focus on vertical segmentation," Innocent said, "Divide the drone models into two types: high-end models with Wizard Stones to enhance their mobility, specifically targeting Demigod Transcendents for assassinations. Standard models should have the Wizard Stones removed to reduce costs as much as possible and increase production capacity."

"Understood, this part of the work is already being done by the design bureau," the Cardinal promptly responded.

The group left the drone area and arrived at the next Synthetic Human zone. The respective responsible Cardinal stepped forward to introduce:

"Past designs for long-range precise guidance and massive firepower bombardment have been found easily negated by various Extraordinary Abilities, so we’ve designed the new type of Synthetic Human ’Raguel,’ which excels in close-quarter decapitation. It also looks identical to ordinary Nislock Types, so it can easily blend in with the regular Synthetic Human troops. When a Transcendent approaches it using close combat, it will then launch a surprise attack, inflicting heavy damage."

In the experimental area below, a group of Synthetic Humans that looked exactly the same were shooting towards a central target while steadily advancing.

Suddenly, one Synthetic Human swung its arm, and before the observing Cardinals on the platform could see clearly, the target had been shattered.

"What weapon?" Innocent asked, scrutinizing the shape of the target’s fragments.

"A high-frequency vibration sword," the Cardinal replied, "Hidden in the forearm joint, it springs out to inflict damage during an attack."

"Don’t use the high-frequency vibration sword; it costs too much," Innocent shook his head, "In fact, no matter how cutting-edge the robot is, without an Anti-Demon Magnetic Field, it can’t withstand a single blow from a Demigod."

"Attrition rate is not a key indicator; what we need to consider is the cost of attrition. What ten Synthetic Humans costing 100,000 marks each can do should not be attempted by one high-end Synthetic Human costing one million marks," Innocent said meaningfully, "That way, whether it’s production or ongoing maintenance, related costs can be reduced. The Empire is not a formidable enemy; we don’t need to engage in an arms race with them."

"Academia and research should also be clearly planned out," he turned his head, speaking to the Cardinals, "Research can pile up funds in pursuit of perfection, but industrial production must consider cost-effectiveness. Performance must meet basic strategic requirements, with cost-effectiveness being paramount, and fault tolerance secondary."

For some reason, listening to Innocent’s directives, everyone suddenly remembered that night when Verona City fell.

Under the surveillance of electronic camouflage drones, in data sent back to servers by the Temple Knights, everything they used against the Blood Clan girl named Peggy—whether it was Spider Mines or Temple Knights, regardless of whether they were equipped with alloyed skeletons, adaptive Force Field Shields, Electronic Evasion Devices, or other high-end equipment—

All of it was promptly rendered useless by her Ability.

"His Holiness is right," the Cardinals unanimously agreed, praising Innocent’s wisdom.

High-tech equipment is too expensive; let’s stick to a strategy of a steel flood that’s more cost-effective!

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