There are still many things that are not particularly important in Sarlayan's schedule.
These include the secret meeting with Nefarian, learning from the Earth Guardian Azadas how to master the earth...or shaping power, and many aftermath matters in Draenor including the treatment of Anzu, etc.
However, compared to major events like the Battle of Ulduar that may affect the survival of the world, these things can only be considered minor problems, and there is no need to rush them.
The passing of Anasteria made Kael'thas realize the importance of family, and Sarlayan was also touched by this. He planned to rest peacefully for a while and spend time with his family in the territory.
And there are some things that can only be done at home.
Through this local offensive and defensive battle with the Dakkar trolls, Stellagosa, Vereesa and others who had personally participated in the war provided some feedback on the battlefield to Sarlayan.
The impact of swarms of Direhorns on the battlefield is no joke, and this is just the tip of the iceberg of Zandalar's true combat power.
Today's Quel'Thalas has enough firepower, but it lacks heavy units with strong battlefield propulsion like Direhorns.
To this end, Sarlayan specifically asked for the opinions of barrage netizens and obtained a brand new concept from them.
tank.
Because Quel'Thalas's fertility and population problems have never been solved, the high elves spend as little as possible on the battlefield.
If resource loss can be used as a substitute, Sharlayan will never use human lives to pile up, because Quel'Thalas cannot afford to die.
The Shenying family has long been involved in the R&D and production of the automobile industry, and today it already has a certain industrial foundation and related technical talent reserves.
Danmaku netizens believe that it is time to further expand the vehicle industry and shift the research and development of transportation vehicles from civilian to military use.
Tanks are an important concept proposed by Danmaku. Using this heavy ground unit with both firepower and defense in conjunction with infantry can effectively enhance the battlefield advancement capabilities of the high elves.
"Install the magic cannon on a vehicle with enhanced armor defense..."
After returning to Unicorn City, Sharlayan first went to visit Stellagosa who was in a dormant state to recuperate, and Tinagosa who was accompanying him.
Since Valeela and Onyxia have not returned yet, Sarlayan shut himself into the office to think alone... In fact, he was discussing with Danmaku the development ideas for tanks and other battlefield vehicles.
The battlefield vehicles proposed by Danmaku are roughly divided into two categories.
One is an armored vehicle used for transportation and high-speed maneuvering operations.
The armor of this type of vehicle is much weaker than that of a tank, but it is more maneuverable and can flexibly shuttle to all corners of the battlefield.
Armored vehicles that do not carry any weapons are specially used to transport supplies and troops. They can also be loaded with magic weapons of different specifications on the armored vehicles as needed, ranging from magic machine guns to magic cannons.
According to the information provided by Kael'thas, while Sarlayan was busy running around, the developers at the Weapons Research Institute were also not idle. They had already overcome the technical difficulties of the magic machine gun.
The advantage of this kind of automatic firearm is high-speed continuous fire, which does not require high shooting accuracy. It strives to use up the stored energy and ammunition in a short time and use fierce firepower to suppress the enemy.
Compared with single-shot rifles, machine guns have obvious shortcomings: they consume too much.
Whether it is live ammunition or energy bombs, a machine gun with an extremely fast firing rate will consume a large amount of resources in a short period of time, which is destined to not be as popular as a rifle in the hands of every soldier.
If the magic machine gun is installed on an armored vehicle, it can have both mobility and short-term fire suppression capabilities.
And if the inconvenient magic cannon is installed on an armored vehicle, this heavy armored vehicle can be transformed into a self-propelled gun, which can more flexibly shuttle through the battlefield and go to various occasions that require artillery support.
Saryan was quite interested in armored vehicles that could be flexibly matched, but he was more concerned about the tanks that the barrage repeatedly emphasized.
Strictly speaking, a tank is actually a variant of an armored vehicle.
This type of tank is divided into three types: light, medium, and heavy. The armor of light tanks is relatively thin, and the caliber of the magic cannon they carry will be relatively small. They are more maneuverable than medium and heavy tanks.
Medium tanks intervene between light tanks and heavy tanks. According to the barrage, medium tanks with both mobility, defense and firepower are the main force on the battlefield.
The final heavy tank is an out-and-out steel monster, trading mobility for thick armor and extremely lethal large-caliber artillery.
However, due to its very poor mobility, it is usually only used in the most important decisive battles.
The world where Barrage is located has a complete set of tank evolution routes. Although the actual research and development and production still require the craftsmen of Quel'Thalas to try and become proficient in it, it can at least help Sharlayan avoid many unnecessary detours.
After talking about tanks, the barrage also mentioned many other war weapons.
Some of them are real objects that have been verified in their world, and some are fantasy products that are still in theory.
The world where the barrage netizens live does not have any supernatural forces. The ideas that are difficult to realize in their world may not be impossible to realize in Azeroth.
Sarlayan: "Gundam?"
According to the information provided by the barrage, Sarlayan drew a huge humanoid mechanical structure on the drawing.
"Isn't this thing just an enlarged version of the arcane puppet? Is there any point in making it so big?"
[This is a man’s romance! 】
【Pooh! Just think about this Gundam thing, it's completely impractical to make it into human form. 】
[The feet are just for decoration, the big shots above won’t understand! 】
[In my opinion, Guntank is the right direction of evolution, Gundam? No dogs are made! 】
[Perhaps theoretically you are right, but Gundam is so handsome! 】
[Handsomeness is useless! Who cares whether you are handsome or not on the battlefield, practicality is the most important! 】
Amid the barrage of chatter, Sarlayan drew the prototypes of Guncannon and Guntank one after another.
"Hmm..." After lowering his head and thinking for a while, Sarlayan pointed at the blueprint of the steel tank: "Is it really necessary to make the upper body into a human form? Can't it just be in the tank form?"
[Unlike useless feet, flexible humanoid hands can do many things that tanks cannot do. 】
【Bullshit! Why do you say your feet are useless! If you have the guts, don't walk! 】
【Cerebral palsy! We are talking about war weapons, don't ramble on there! Compared with all-terrain-adaptable tracks, feet are really just decoration! 】
Seeing that the barrage was getting more and more intense, Sarlayan brought the topic back with a wry smile.
"Leave aside Gundam or Guntank, let's talk about the aerial battleship you mentioned before."
[If you tell me this, I won’t feel sleepy anymore! 】
…
Until Valeera returned from Silvermoon City after completing her report on Backlight Blade, Sarlayan was still sitting alone in the office, writing and drawing thoughtfully.
"……What is this?"
Picking up a drawing that Sarlayan had just finished, Valeela's mind was filled with questions: "A ship? And...it seems to be floating in the sky?"
"That's right."
Sarlayan, who had been having a brainstorming session with the barrage for several hours, finally stopped and rubbed his brows tiredly.
"This is a brand new war weapon that I came up with on a whim. I call it an aerial battleship."
"Well..." Valeera lowered her head and thought for a moment before speaking: "Referring to the principles of the floating cities of Dalaran and Maldraxxus, it is not impossible to make the ship fly into the sky, but... what is the meaning of this? ?"
"Why do you have to make it in the shape of a ship? Wouldn't it be great to have a floating city that has been proven in practice?"
Sarlayan shook his head: "This involves a problem of fluid mechanics."
"The floating city is just a flashy product. The air resistance suffered by a large lump of stone when flying in the air is too great, and its maneuverability is not as good as this streamlined design of an aerial battleship."
"Fluid...mechanics?"
The term Sarlayan mentioned involved Valeela's knowledge blind spot. She smiled bitterly and shook her head: "...Forget it, I'm too lazy to delve into it. You should discuss these issues with the technical staff of the Weapons Research Institute."
Valeela, who was obsessed with making things worse, didn't bother to look at the other drawings on Sarlayan's desk, and instead mentioned a piece of information that Welles had told her before.
"I don't know if you have heard that Yin Nasi's mother was released from confinement not long ago."
Sarlayan's thoughts were still focused on the research of war weapons. It took a few seconds after Valeela finished speaking before he came back to his senses.
"...Huh? Then why didn't I see her at home?"
Valeera shrugged and said, "It's simple, because after she walked out of the laboratory, she left Quel'Thalas in a hurry and never returned home."
