Chapter 126: The Yordle Insurance Scam Scheme

Amid the clamor, the engineers opened the rear gates, revealing a coastline where numerous wooden ship targets—massive, towering vessels that looked like obsolete, invincible warships—lay anchored in the distance.

A fierce sea breeze whipped inside, causing the massive tarp covering the "Son of Lant" to rattle violently. Engineers at various consoles operated giant mechanical arms, which reached out to strip away the covering.

When the massive machine was revealed to Louis, he was dumbfounded.

Wasn't this that "Punk Gundam" he had seen at the exhibition? It was just a bit larger than the model.

Opposite the Son of Lant, there seemed to be a portrait of an enemy—a cartoonish, two-headed, super-obese giant that was exceptionally ugly. One head sported a tiny braid, while the other featured a large, single horn.

It stood as tall as a six or seven-story building! Its frame was as blocky as a cube, and its tonnage likely exceeded that of a dragon of the same volume by twofold! No wonder this thing was called the "Dragon Slayer." If it stacked all sorts of buffs and went into a frenzy, wouldn't it be just like the Hulk?

One swing of its club would surely knock a dragon senseless! It was the epitome of brute force overcoming all finesse.

However, Louis felt this thing didn't quite look like a Goron; it likely possessed both Goron and dragon bloodlines. Could this thing be a hybrid?!

[This must be that "Dragon Slayer 'Gundam'."]
[So, this is going to be a battle of true and false "Gundams."]

"Pah! Don't insult my Gundams! These aren't Gundams! Are Gundams this ugly? Huh? Are Gundams hybrids? Huh?!"

Looking at the gargantuan machine, which stood as tall as a building, Lilith and Yingling’s eyes lit up with stars. "So cool! So exciting!"

"Cool, my foot!" Louis rolled his eyes hard.

At this moment, the engineers had already climbed onto the "Gundam" to tune the Son of Lant, while several ace pilots glanced at Louis before heading up to assist.

Lant suddenly slapped his forehead and hurriedly handed a memory crystal to Louis. Louis channeled his consciousness into the crystal and discovered it contained all sorts of data on the Son of Lant, including test results from its initial construction—proprietary manufacturer secrets. He was surprised to find that some of the designs for the Son of Lant bore a striking resemblance to Harold's magic puppets.

As Louis processed these memories, the Yordle engineer, Mr. Lant, excitedly pulled him aside to talk about his masterpiece, shouting for the pilots and engineers to demonstrate it.

"I am so looking forward to this, noble Prince Louis. The Son of Lant is a super-weapon built to deal with the 'Fallen Angels.' It is very special; one must resonate with it to operate it perfectly."

Lant shouted excitedly, "To select the most suitable ace pilot, we even established a great project—the 'Yordle Complementarity Project'."

*Don't insult my Evangelion!*

"We have repeatedly researched your resume. You are the most suitable pilot!" The surrounding engineers also had glowing eyes.

Archie, smoking a cigar on the side, couldn't help but smile triumphantly—he had taken Louis's file from the Saint Oak Academy and modified it according to the requirements of the Complementarity Project; it would be a miracle if he *weren't* suitable!

At this moment, a magic circle suddenly appeared on the massive array crystal on the Son of Lant's chest. A beam of light shot out from the circle, and a Yordle ace pilot spread his arms, closed his eyes, and was sucked into the crystal by the beam, gradually merging with the Son of Lant.

Immediately after, what looked like a game controller rose from within the crystal. The Yordle pilot solemnly grasped the controller and gave an "OK" sign to the crowd below.

Louis was stunned.

*You're telling me this is the Complementarity Project?*
*The Complementarity Project involves using a game controller?!*
*What exactly are you complementing?!*

"So cool!" Lilith and Yingling’s eyes sparkled.
"Cool, my foot!"

Before Louis could complain, the engineers below began waving flags. The Yordle pilot received the signal, stretched his little neck to look at the view outside the cockpit, and began tapping away at the game controller with a clatter.

This otherworldly super-Eva finally began to move.

With a series of metallic clanks, steam erupted from the chimneys on the Son of Lant's back and from every crack in its body. Louis blinked hard—so, this crystal array was used to boil water?

Regardless of the power source, once this six-story-tall behemoth started moving, it looked like a mobile building billowing white smoke, and it was actually quite imposing. Louis became expectant. Soon, the pilot adjusted the giant machine, and the building-sized mecha began to walk in a circle, moving like an elderly man afflicted with polio, leaning on two crutches.

"Perfect!" the engineers cheered excitedly.

The ace pilot put down the game controller, wiped the sweat from his brow, and gave an "OK" sign.

Louis’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

*That’s it?*
*What exactly did you complement?!*
*An old man?!*
*You complemented an old man into existence?!*
*Can this thing even enter the arena?*
*Is this a duel? It’s a scam!*
*Will it scare that Goron to death?*
*I'm worried it'll trip and never get back up if it takes two more steps!*
*And what did I just see? Was that pilot using the Vulcan cannon as a crutch?!*
*He was using that as a crutch, wasn't he?!*
*Huh?!*

After walking two laps, the behemoth transitioned from a "polio walk" to an "old man with crutches" walk. This made the engineers extremely excited.

Louis rubbed his face. Look on the bright side—at least it could walk, right?

It seemed to be moving to the next stage of testing. The little Yordle pilot frantically tapped the controller, and the Son of Lant stuck its butt out, extending the cannons on its back. The cannons were arranged haphazardly, like rebar in ruins, making Louis’s eye twitch. He couldn't help but ask Archie, "Aren't you afraid of the artillery firing into the stands during the match?"

"Don't worry, Louis," Archie said leisurely, puffing on his cigar. "It won't hit the stands. My Dragon Coliseum has a labyrinth magic array. The Royal Knights have already tested it with plenty of artillery and howitzers. The shells are fine—let alone shells, even a dragon ten or twelve stories tall can't fly out once it flies in. You can show off your skills to your heart's content."

"But... Mr. Lant," Louis looked at the chief engineer, "In this era... ahem, I mean, haven't shells been invented? Why use these retro cannons and iron balls? At least install a howitzer or a rifled cannon?"

"Structural issues, structural issues," Lant sighed. "However, these cannons don't use gunpowder anymore; they are powered by lightning."

"Lightning?"

As he spoke, chief engineer Lant waved his hand, and the ground crew began waving flags. The ace pilot received the order, gave an "OK" sign, poked his little head out, and started tapping the game controller again.

Immediately after, the cannons on the Son of Lant's back shifted position, aiming at the ship targets on the distant sea.

Then, a scene unfolded that left Louis dumbstruck—arcs of electricity were crackling across the barrels of the cannons!

Within a few breaths, the cannons fired a dozen iron balls at the targets on the sea with a thunderous roar.

"Holy cow! Railguns! This thing is actually legit! No wonder they aren't using rifled cannons or explosive shells, just cannons and iron balls! This alone is impressive enough!" Louis reached out, wanting to slap himself for his earlier complaints. These Yordle engineers were geniuses!

The Solondo Empire currently possessed steam-powered ironclad warships and steam airships, and those targets were obsolete, massive, multi-decked warships. Although they lacked steel armor on their decks and sides, they wouldn't be sunk by just a few shots.

But with this kind of firepower, that was no longer certain—this was terrifying! If one of these shots hit a dragon, wouldn't the dragon be knocked senseless?!

However, shouldn't projectiles fired by a railgun carry terrifying kinetic energy and therefore be unnaturally fast? Why were the barrels aiming upward? And why were the shells following a parabolic arc?

The dozen shells slowly traced several parabolas and landed on the ships—only one hit. It looked like they were not only firing at an angle but also using manual aiming. The power seemed about the same as a smoothbore cannon.

Louis blinked hard.

Another dozen shells were fired; this time five or six hit—it seemed they really were manual aiming. The targeted ship threw off a few small wooden splinters—it really was just a smoothbore cannon!

The Yordle engineers cheered excitedly.

Yingling and Lilith’s eyes sparkled: "So cool!"

"Cool, my ass!!" Louis’s face twisted; he couldn't watch any longer.

"It's time for you to show off your skills, my ace pilot!" Archie suddenly jumped over, looking earnest as he held up two fingers and wiggled them flexibly.

Seeing this, the engineers also looked at Louis with solemn expressions and held up their fingers.

Louis: "???"