Harpies were terrifying monsters. They had the bodies and faces of women, but their arms were wings and their legs were eagle talons.
According to apocryphal lore, an elven maiden had once caught a fleeting glimpse of the God-King Corellon's visage. Unable to forget him, she waited ceaselessly in the forest for Corellon to appear once more.
Yet she waited until her dying breath and never saw him again. Upon her death, her lingering resentment transformed into the very first harpy.
Of course, another, more scandalous account claimed that Corellon had seduced and abandoned her, driving the elven maiden to become a monster consumed by malice.
Anbaixiu didn't put much stock in that second tale.
Take this for instance: if the Goddess of Magic slept with one of Her mortal followers, but only did it once and never showed up again, would you call that being seduced and abandoned? Dammit, that was called divine grace.
The Goddess of Magic wasn't even famous for her beauty, yet that still counted as divine favor. Meanwhile, Corellon was hailed as the fairest of all deities. One only had to look at Catherine—even if Catherine's charms were magnified a hundredfold, she still might not match Corellon's beauty.
For a god like that to sleep with you once was already an incredible blessing from your ancestors. Blaming him for abandonment? Did you expect to become Queen of the Gods or something?
So it was most likely the first version: an elven maiden suffering from unrequited love for the God-King, eventually degenerating into a monster.
Because of that twisted origin, harpies were inherently wicked. They used enchanting melodies to bewitch men.
Anyone whose will wasn't resolute enough would completely lose the capacity to think upon hearing a harpy's song, becoming food for the flock.
Ahead of the *Black Tide*, a sheer cliff came into view—a massive nesting ground for harpies.
Talk about a pillow falling from the sky just as one grew drowsy. Not bad at all; this was the perfect chance to test the *Black Tide*'s combat capabilities.
"Approach slowly. Let the harpies attack first."
Under Anbaixiu's command, the *Black Tide* decelerated and glided toward the harpy nest in open provocation.
The appearance of such a terrifying behemoth instantly provoked the flock into flight.
Their numbers were quite substantial—a dark, swarming mass of at least a hundred.
Harpies possessed low intelligence. Though they had never seen such a colossal vessel, they flapped their wings and charged anyway to defend their roost.
Several harpies had already begun to sing, their melodious voices weaving enchanting magic into every note.
Ordinary prey would have stood dumbstruck at the sound, ready for slaughter. Unfortunately for them, the trick was useless against the undead.
The harpies lunged onto the *Black Tide*, raking their talons against the armor and throwing off trails of sparks, yet they only managed to leave superficial scratches.
Anbaixiu turned to Erha, who was currently a blob of liquid mercury, and said, "Go test out the ship's magitech cannons."
In life, Erha had been a ranger, and becoming an undead hadn't dulled his marksmanship.
He had used a magitech rifle before; operating a magitech cannon was essentially the same principle.
Erha darted eagerly to the weapons bay on the flank, draping himself over the control console and sprouting several silver tentacles.
A section of the *Black Tide*'s flank armor slid open, revealing a massive cannon barrel.
With a booming crash, an explosive shell shot out, blasting two harpies into a mist of blood.
"Thrilling!" Erha shouted in excitement.
Magitech rifles were terribly weak by comparison—punching a single hole through a person was nowhere near as fun as a magitech cannon that blew targets to smithereens in a single shot.
Switching to canister shot, one blast sent over a dozen harpies plummeting from the sky, bleeding profusely.
Switching to bone-colonizing virus rounds, a single shot made multiple clusters of bone coral burst into bloom. Erha was having the time of his life, blasting the harpies until they scattered in panic.
Multiple gun ports along both flanks of the *Black Tide* slid open. Volley after volley of shells ripped through the sky, inflicting devastating casualties on the harpies.
The *Black Tide* didn't rely on just a single machine spirit. Anbaixiu had installed corresponding Simulated Souls throughout all the critical sections of the hull.
Except for the outermost purely mechanical plating, the internal gears were all part of the undead mechanism.
All told, though the airship could only carry a dozen or so living passengers, it housed over six hundred Simulated Souls.
The primary machine spirit handled master control, while the other undead souls coordinated their functions.
Judging by current results, it worked splendidly; their aim was remarkably accurate.
Watching this, Melina said eagerly, "Father, I want to try too!"
Instead, Anbaixiu handed Melina a different remote control and told her, "This one is even more fun."
As Melina flipped the switch, a drone rose from the deck of the *Black Tide*.
Compared to the palm-sized drones from before, this new model was far larger, boasting a fuselage nearly two meters long and a wingspan of 1.6 meters at its widest.
Equipped with dual miniature magitech cannons capable of cycling ammunition automatically, and carrying five alchemical bombs for low-altitude bombing runs, it boasted a top speed of Mach 1 while maintaining exceptional agility.
Building the *Black Tide* had drained a good chunk of Anbaixiu's fortune; he had incorporated nearly every concept he could imagine.
Melina steered the drone in pursuit of the fleeing harpies. Truth be told, Melina possessed an exceptional talent for combat. In no time at all, she grasped the drone's flight and targeting controls, shooting down harpy after harpy with ease.
Watching from the side, Dahei said with envy, "Master, can I have a turn too?"
Anbaixiu chuckled. "I saved something else for you. Follow me."
Hastings followed Anbaixiu to a small compartment where several suits of distinctively styled armor hung on the walls.
Pointing at the suits of varying shapes, Anbaixiu said, "This is the Strike, this is the Aegis, this is the Blitz... Pick whichever you like."
Hastings eagerly chose the Strike Armor; the name sounded domineering enough.
The moment his hand touched the suit, its components detached automatically and fitted themselves seamlessly onto Hastings's mechanical body.
"Permanent Fly, Thunderwave, and Ray of Frost, an elongated two-handed greatsword, plus an improved miniature magitech cannon on the shoulder—that's the Strike Armor's loadout. The armor's defensive rating is solid, so charge in without fear."
The moment Anbaixiu finished his explanation, the hatch beneath Hastings's feet fell open, dropping him straight down.
The enormous chunk of metal plummeted toward the ground. Just as it seemed on the verge of smashing into pieces, Hastings finally mastered the controls.
Activating Fly, his jetpack kicked in with sudden thrust, propelling Hastings toward the scattered remnants of the harpy flock.
The monsters were almost wiped out; if he didn't hurry, there would be none left.
Pilot and suit plunged into the fray. Greatsword swinging, Hastings cleaved through harpies one by one while his shoulder-mounted cannon fired in rapid succession—though his marksmanship was truly mediocre, missing several shots even at point-blank range.
Even so, Hastings thoroughly enjoyed the sheer thrill of piloting a mechanized suit.
By the time the last harpy was eliminated, everyone returned to the cockpit unsatisfied, longing for another round.
Anbaixiu was equally pleased with the test run. The *Black Tide* still had several secret weapons it hadn't even deployed yet.
This warship alone was enough to sway the outcome of an entire war.
Chapter 358