558 Addicted to Studying (1/2)
”For the white tower!” Shi Dong woke up from the dream, and upon opening his eyes, saw a war horse raising its front legs to step on him. The knight on the horse, wearing a white-silver visor and waving a saber, howled angrily at him and looked at him from atop the horse. The visor made of white silver was cold and cruel, like the face of a god.
At that moment, his pupils contracted, and his old and skinny aged body suddenly swelled up. The mechanic heart pumped artificial blood to his body at explosive speed and adrenalin burned inside him. He sprung up from his wheelchair and drew his sword from the back of the chair. Then, he wielded his sword to fight the knight.
This was the beauty born from death.
The air was torn up by the sword, which went forward and cleaved the horse. Suddenly, little rocks fell on his face, waking him up from his dream. Then he saw his sword, which had pierced the wall. Yet the horse, which should have been dead, was still galloping on the field, carrying the knight, who was still shouting war cries. They went through the wall and lead the army into the stronghold they were now in.
The sound of war cry was deafening.
He awoke from his dream and stumbled into his chair, pain consuming his body. He heaved a sigh and asked, ”Did he fall asleep again?”
”Yes.” The curtain was drawn open. The old men were sitting around the table, not knowing what to do. The place they were in was within the stronghold, yet it had turned into endless grassland.
The land cracked open and fire spurted out from the hell. Giant armored cavaliers roared. The soldiers wore primitive armor from the first generation, on the back of which the aether stoves were burning oil mixed with aether, puffing out irritating black smoke.
On the chest of the armor, the emblem of the red bird was engraved, and on the shoulder part with patches of bear skin, rivets stuck out like thorns.
This was the first-generation powered armor which had been abandoned long ago. With this armor, the solder couldn't make any precise movements and could only go forward and backward. The critical aether stove was implanted on the back, exposed to the enemy from behind. To wear this armor, one needed six servants who had studied engineering to help him on the hoist platform.
The cavaliers could not bend themselves with the exoskeleton on. The servants brought wrenches and screws with them to fix the armor on the exoskeleton and seal the joints with a welding gun. The armor was like a moving coffin and could bury the rider if the field was muddy.
Notwithstanding all its disadvantages, when the cavaliers wearing them formed a square to fight, the formation could inflict massive damage upon any enemy.
Then, 60 armored cavaliers stood in the front of the field, with heavy chains connecting them and heavy shields in their hands forming a massive iron wall. On the opposite side of the field, numerous war horses galloped toward them, carrying heavily armored riders who held their sabers high to charge forward.
”Masks of the Iron Flow Army and the first-generation powered armors… Is this the Nebuchadnezzar War?” Shi Dong wiped his face with a hot towel and felt much more awake.
The Nebuchadnezzar war was the civil war of Asgard more than 100 years ago. The two sons of the king fought for the throne with the help of the Red Bird clan and the White Tower clan, respectively. This war was recorded in history and became an important historical event known as the ”The Last Eulogy of the Heavy Cavaliers of the Old Times.” This was the first time that powered armor had been the field.
They fought against the Iron Flow Army, who were heavy cavaliers called King of the Battlefield. The monster-horses and experienced cavaliers cooperated so perfectly that they were the nightmare of every army.
The Red Bird Clan asked the Chainsaw Fraternity for help, who, settling down in Asgard for not long, needed to prove themselves eagerly. The cooperation of the two sides culminated in a war that left the whole world in shock. The powerful armor was officially introduced to the battlefield.
That was the clash of iron against iron, and the old times against the new times.
The Iron Flow Army was wiped out and the White Tower Clan lost everything, driven from the center stage of the country and exiled to the wilderness a hundred years later.
The numerous disadvantages of the powered armor were exposed during the war, such as its cumbersomeness, instability, and reliance on the environment and back-up service. Yet, the victory proved its potential. After that, heavy cavaliers were replaced by powered armor, then disappeared from history.
”Told you not to dig ancient history.” The old men heaved a sigh. ”What good can it do to teach him about those ancient battles?”
”I've been teaching him defense these two days!” Shi Dong shrugged. ”This was supposed to be a negative example. He must have been reading casually. Dreams are unstable, don't worry.”
The old men looked at one another, feeling helpless. For most people, things in dreams were unlogical and unstable, full of weird changes. However, Ye Qingxuan's dream was absolutely an exception.
When sleeping, people would be relaxed. They would put down all guards and common sense, exposing their most vulnerable parts. The musicians of the School of Mind preferred to change their targets' mind after they fell asleep because people were unguarded in sleep, making the job easy.
But this dream of Ye Qingxuan's was in no way normal.
No vulnerability and flaw at all, and armored to the teeth. The weather, wind, the cracked land, the crushed grass and succus, the sunlight, the machinery of the numerous powered armor and each and every gear, spring and pulley of them….
Everything was so real, except that they could not be touched. It was like the Replay of Images conducted by dozens of magic musicians, reading records in the aether and replay everything.
”There are always exceptions.” Shaking his head, Shi Dong looked at Ye Qingxuan.
This was not expected by any of them.
Ye Qingxuan's resistance to the drug was incredibly strong, thanks to the Stone of Sage and the sub-originator, which had improved his body's resistance against foreign substances. He had a lot of Dream of Emerald, of course. Yet, after a week of crazy training, he just closed his eyes and fell asleep without any warning sign.
Then the problem began.
If he were an ordinary guy, it would be no problem. But he was a dream weaver, representing the realm of dreams. The best musicians were themselves the realization of the dreams in the world.