Boiling Beast Bloodline
Chapter 1578 - 486 The Conspiracy of the Arcane Beast Army_2

Chapter 1578: Chapter 486 The Conspiracy of the Arcane Beast Army_2

"Karu, you must keep today’s matter confidential, including your Prince of Sacred Arms title! When necessary, I’ll be the one to bring it up!" After careful consideration, Emperor Gabe decided that this issue, closely linked to the mass production of mutant Arcane Beasts—an exceedingly strategic military unit—was something worth safeguarding. Feeling a bit uneasy, he hurriedly cautioned his younger brother.

"Don’t worry, Big Brother, I understand!" Liu Zhenhan knew well the concerns of this Witch King. This issue was akin to the concept of Mudfoot Giants—if confidentiality was possible, it was best to maintain it—against the Demon Clan naturally, but Aegean itself was an exception.

"Big Brother, could our future mutant Arcane Beasts all be aerial ones? We already have plenty of ground-based units, but only air forces truly stand out! Mobility-wise, they’re unbelievably fast, soaring freely through the blue skies and white clouds!" Liu Zhenhan thought to himself that his clever older brother was making the right move, allowing him to "legally" trick him once again.

"Aerial Arcane Beast Knights? Not much of a point, right? Although we certainly have a lot of ground-based units, our aerial forces aren’t exactly lacking either! Besides, our traditional knights are all close-combat experts, not ranged attackers. Turning them into airborne knights would be tantamount to undermining half of their skills." Before the Witch King could respond, the Winged Knights nearby, driven by their occupational instincts, had already started vehemently protesting.

In truth, this wasn’t just a concept held by the Demon Clan—it was also conventional wisdom among military experts on the Aegean Continent.

For the past ten thousand years, the air force had steadily declined as a mainstay combat unit on Aegean Continent—modern military doctrines viewed them as primarily valuable for rearward raids behind enemy lines or for gaining air supremacy. Beyond these roles, their greatest utility was as vanguard units or scouts.

The root of this habitual thinking lay in the relatively barren operational modes of air-to-ground combat!

As weapons for aerial combat, long-range attackers were naturally preferred, though for certain rearward raid missions, close-combat fighters couldn’t be completely ruled out. Ideally, they would excel at both disciplines, but such dual-talented warriors were exceedingly rare. Those capable of such feats were invariably elite fighters.

The limitations of the air force did not lie in air-to-air combat. Rather, the challenge arose from air-to-ground operations. When attacking ground-based units, the realistically effective combat altitude couldn’t exceed 150 yards; yet at this height, aerial knights were easily struck down by ground-based firepower. Raising their altitude beyond the range of ground weaponry resulted in them staring down at the ground only to see a cluster of ant-like dots. Unless mounted on Magical Beast steeds or supported by particularly exceptional archers, aiming to fire accurately would essentially boil down to pure guesswork for the average airborne knight.

Low-altitude dive attacks were a good way to evade ground-based firepower while completing the mission, but in the era of cold weaponry, air forces were fundamentally unable to execute sustained and cohesive offensive coverage. Doing so would be utterly meaningless.

As far as standardized long-range weapons for air warfare—whether javelins, darts, crossbows, or bows and arrows—the ability to maintain accuracy in high-speed motion is exceptionally difficult to achieve, requiring the skill level of superior marksmen. Not everyone could reach this standard!

On the contrary, ground-based archers, immune to the challenges of movement, were more adept at calculating leads and aiming accurately.

Throughout history, visionary military strategists did occasionally propose innovations to improve air forces. For example, adapting the burning oil used in castle defenses into aerial incendiary bombs to strengthen precision strikes by air forces!

Yet regrettably, among known incendiaries, aside from highly purified alcohol and certain specially crafted fire oils that ignite instantaneously, ordinary burning oils used during castle defense required some time to fully combust. On this point, the Aegean Continent’s "Essentials of Strategy" had long provided clear annotations—the phrase "pile kindling atop" meant gathering firewood to stoke the oil into a blazing inferno!

Highly purified alcohol and specially crafted fire oil were prohibitively expensive and impossible to produce in large quantities, rendering them incapable of forming a combat-ready advantage! As for ordinary burning oils, attempting to spark a flame amidst high-altitude piercing winds, then throwing phosphorus powder to ignite a small spark that could spread into a massive sea of fire among enemy ground ranks—that was nothing short of myth!

This was precisely why air forces gradually faded off the main stage of warfare—the unit severely lacked decisive, one-hit-kill lethality! Everyone knew the Dragon Knights were powerful, but the truth boiled down to the strength of the Giant Dragon mounts rather than the knights themselves. Without inventing a new generation of powerful airborne weapons, this awkward status quo would indefinitely persist!

Green Firenze had prioritized cultivating aviation troops early on for one key reason—the discovery of the exceptionally rare Tamerlarya oil melon, coupled with ample reserves of Life Spring that had nowhere else to be utilized!

Nowadays, Green Firenze found itself unable to avoid developing its air force, given the emergence of Phantom Beasts—which heralded the arrival of heavily fortified airborne bastions, epitomizing absolute air supremacy! Moreover, the alliance of Sif Elves and Brokeback Peak Green Giants meant that even without Life Spring, high yields of Tamerlarya oil melons could be maintained! Add to this the possession of thirteen Turtle Beads from the Desert Drunken Turtle creature, each capable of soaking in clean water for four hours to produce over a hundred pounds of high-purity alcohol, and detailed efforts ensured Summer Palace Warriors were constantly stationed by enormous iron barrels, timing every step to perfect the alcohol distillation process. While the primary use of this alcohol was to enhance weapon refinement power, what else might these stockpiles eventually serve? Certainly not drinking!

With the addition of formidable bombing weapons, complemented by twelve Mirror Cannons, the Magnetic Storm Magic Lamp, and a roster of brilliant warriors capable of both close and ranged attacks, Liu was undoubtedly out of his mind if he didn’t build an air force—especially with Eastern Pantars and Bimon Golden Rings, two top-tier warriors capable of excelling in all ten major combat disciplines, from reconnaissance to roles as "military prostitutes," proving adept in any company they’re placed in.