Extreme Cold Era: Shelter Don't Keep Waste
Chapter 122 Steam Knight

Chapter 122: Chapter 122 Steam Knight

Steam Knight, this has been the hottest topic in Langton this year.

As the absolute main force and trump card on the battlefield in the past, knights were also a symbol of a nation’s military strength, the cornerstone of the noble class, and the foundation of feudal rule. Their influence was enormous throughout the Empire and even the entire old world.

Even as the steam era arrived, and the old era’s swords and blades were gradually phased out, knights still maintained a significant presence in the armies of various countries.

After all, these Extraordinary beings were truly capable fighters, and even when faced with muskets and cannons, they were not without the power to fight.

However, the liberation of productive forces destroyed the foundation of the knight system, and knights gradually lost their status as the cornerstone of the feudal ruling class, becoming merely a specialized military branch within the army.

Moreover, as the power of muskets and cannons on the battlefield grew larger, knights, while not completely eliminated from the battlefield, gradually fell from their former absolute main role to a marginal position.

For nobles of knight lineage and ordinary knights alike, there was some degree of unwillingness in their hearts regarding this situation.

Yet under the turbulent tide of era change, there are always those who must sacrifice and be eliminated, no matter how unwilling, it is difficult to resist the wheel of the era.

Trying to stop a cart with one’s bare arms only leads to being completely crushed in the end.

So even though some tried to equip knights with various new weapons to let them still play a role on the battlefield, it ultimately didn’t have much effect.

Knights now are just more effective cavalry on the battlefield or guards for important figures.

However, no one could have predicted that Perfikot would kick the wheel of the era, causing it to veer off course, and the era of knights returned.

The astonishing power of the Steam Knights allowed the battlefield’s former absolute main force and trump card to regain their past status.

During the time Perfikot was away from Langton, the bigwigs in the Military Department obtained her design drawings and, sparing no cost or effort, replicated the Steam Knights. When those old knights who once dared to charge on horseback tried the power of the Steam Knights, they organized a military exercise.

Using one Guard regiment against five Steam Knights.

According to the Empire’s military system, a Guard regiment consists of two to three battalions, each battalion has six to eight companies, each company comprises about 120-150 soldiers, primarily infantry. When fighting independently, they are attached to an artillery company, with the total force usually numbering over two thousand soldiers.

As the elite and cream of the military, Guard regiment soldiers must meet strict requirements for height and physique, and have undergone rigorous training, possessing high military quality and combat capability.

Under normal circumstances, even encountering such a force in the wild directly, it would not be something mere five knights could shake.

With a knight’s combat capability, it normally requires at least a full Knight Order to potentially defeat a Guard regiment head-on.

But in this exercise, the mere five Steam Knights crushed the Guard regiment’s defenses like breaking dried twigs, piercing through the three-line defenses set by the Guard regiment, and took out their artillery positions and command center.

Even though it was just an exercise, differing greatly from real combat, the strength of the Steam Knights was unquestionable.

The old generals of the Military Department almost immediately reached a consensus and passed the resolution to form a Steam Knight Order, which was reported to the Empress’ Privy Council for discussion.

Considering the unified opinion from the military, even the Empress could not ignore it. After carefully hearing out the opinions of these old generals, the Empress finally approved their application to establish a Steam Knight Order.

Furthermore, the Imperial Guard Knight Order would also be fully outfitted with Steam Knight armor.

Besides this, both the Royal Family and the Military Department requisitioned a large number of alchemists from Langton City, not only tasking them with forging Steam Knight armor, but also ordering them to research the armor to find ways to reduce its manufacturing cost and the burden on the knights themselves.

Although Perfikot had provided them with simplified drawings, it still required a great knight to be able to wield the powerful armor.

Even though for the Victor Empire, famously known as the empire on which the sun never sets, forming a Knight Order entirely composed of great knights and equipping them with Steam Knight armor wasn’t an unbearable burden, the old generals in the Military Department hoped to push further, enabling regular knights to wear Steam Knight armor.

The Royal Family and Military’s significant movements clearly couldn’t hide the related information about Steam Knights.

Especially since Eldest Princess Annie and the military, aware of the high-level plan concerning the impending apocalypse, chose to use Steam Knights as the Empire’s military deterrent, thus requiring the widespread promotion of Steam Knights’ power.

Consequently, not only Langton and the Victor Empire, but almost all countries in the old world learned about the existence of Steam Knights promptly and understood their astonishing power.

Virtually overnight, Langton City was roiled with stormy winds, with various nations sending out their best spies, eager to gather intelligence on Steam Knights from the Empire, ideally acquiring the designs and the designer.

But with Perfikot far in the Northern Territory and the drawings being the Empire’s most confidential secret, rigorously safeguarded by the military, all nations could only watch as the Empire’s Steam Knights debuted and flaunted their might, with no effective means to replicate them.

This undoubtedly increased the topic’s appeal about Steam Knights, causing discussions about them to become rampant.

For any knight, having the opportunity to wear the Steam Knight armor and become a Steam Knight would be a tremendous honor.

Under such circumstances, if asked whether they are ready to wear the Steam Knight armor and become a Steam Knight, surely any knight’s answer would be affirmative.

Naturally, Captain William was no exception.

In fact, before coming, he was already harboring great expectations to become a Steam Knight.

He had learned through various inquiries that Perfikot was the designer of the Steam Knights, and now being under her command clearly granted him greater opportunities to get close to the Steam Knight armor than others.

And indeed, he was not disappointed. At the first moment upon seeing Perfikot, he saw the Steam Knight armor and learned an astonishing number— seventy sets!

This was already enough to arm an entire Knight Order!

Imagine, five Steam Knights were enough to demolish a Guard regiment’s stronghold. If a whole Knight Order’s worth of Steam Knights charged together, what a staggering sight that would be!

Calling it a nation-exterminating force wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

So, when Perfikot asked him that question, Captain William immediately knelt on one knee before Perfikot and said to her, "I am ready to become a Steam Knight and dedicate everything to you!"