Ifrit, a term derived from Arabic, refers to a kind of spirit or demon in Islamic and Arabian lore.
Born from fire, it possesses the power to control flames. It can burn and destroy life, yet also bring warmth and light, embodying both destructive and sacred aspects.
The genie dwelling within a magic lamp is a variant of the Ifrit, one with greater stability and control.
The Ifrits summoned onto this battlefield all originate from magic lamps crafted through alchemy by the secret Magi of the Persian Empire, each one engraved with Magecraft imprints.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
These blazing creatures, their limbs forming and dissolving within the flames, hurled searing fireballs at the Roman legions advancing in shield formations across the open ground. The moment a fireball struck, it erupted violently.
Neither the Magecraft inscriptions on the shields, limited as they were in magical resistance, nor the flesh and blood of Roman soldiers could endure the scorching torrents of flame.
For a time, the Roman legions pushing toward the heart of the Persian army were forced to a halt. One centuria after another, despite their tight defensive formations, was blasted open as if struck by artillery, their lines torn apart. Immediately afterward, they were bombarded from all sides by the Meteor Legion's arrow rain, falling one after another along their charge.
Watching the fire spirits circling overhead as they slaughtered indiscriminately, with his own soldiers continuously dying in the flames, Samael's cross-shaped pupils flickered as he swung his arm forward decisively.
At once, the grating sound of metal grinding echoed from the ranks atop the low hill. Dozens of bronze cannons, engraved with dense divine runes, were pushed forward and lined up at the front.
"Ten o'clock direction! Distance, 870 meters! Bronze Roar, three volleys!"
Locking onto the positions of the secret Magi, Samael spoke coldly. Soldiers on both sides dropped to one knee, adjusting the gears and calibrations on the barrels, while the Magi standing by split into three groups, channeling mana into the cannons in sequence.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
As layers of intricate Magecraft arrays lit up in succession, the divine patterns covering the bronze cannons began to glow. The surrounding Ether concentration surged severalfold in an instant. Crimson beams of mana shot across the battlefield like the scythe of death, tearing through the Persian flank and striking near the figures clad in white robes and hoods, their garments embroidered with flame motifs.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions erupted one after another. The ground shook violently as dust clouds rose dozens of meters high. Blood splattered and dyed the sand red, while fragments of flesh and scattered organs flew through the air. Severed limbs littered the battlefield.
Even the secret Magi, caught completely off guard, suffered dozens of casualties. Many fire spirits, having lost their controllers, roared before twisting apart and dissipating.
"Don't stop! Follow my marked Magecraft points and keep up the rotating bombardment!"
Watching the Persian army fall back into chaos, Samael nodded in satisfaction. He lightly tapped the cannon barrel and, without turning back to the Magi and artillery crews behind him, issued a steady reminder.
As the air once again began to hum and tremble, familiar Magecraft arrays formed and converged in succession. A trace of nostalgia flickered in the ancient serpent's eyes.
Though the Olympian gods had declined and been driven out of Greece by Mount War God, they had ruled for centuries upon centuries. They still retained some hidden reserves.
These magecraft-enhanced bronze cannons, remnants of Atlantis's lost black technology, were one such example, originally created by the Trojans.
In the past, when Zeus and Poseidon contested authority, the Sea God, along with Apollo who was dragged into the conflict, was punished and sent down to the mortal world to undergo hardship. By chance, they helped the Trojans build their city, constructing a fortress that was nearly impossible to breach from the outside.
Even during the Trojan War, Troy still maintained the tradition of worshiping Apollo and Poseidon.
Although the war against the Giants left psychological scars on the Olympian gods, time passed, and it did not stop Poseidon, who was slowly recovering his form in a divine core state, from secretly aiding the Trojans backed by Olympus, leaving behind methods to counter Mount War God.
Unfortunately, for various reasons, Rome, which inherited Troy's legacy, only retained a small portion of Atlantis's bronze-age black technology creations, and had gradually lost both the craftsmen and techniques needed to reproduce them.
These bronze cannons were essentially the entire stockpile the Divine Ancestor had kept in storage.
For this campaign, Samael had gathered all the hidden assets the Roman Empire could muster.
No one knew how to operate them. No one understood the tactics. That didn't matter. He did.
After all, Samael had not only replicated and personally operated Uruk's [Dingir Batteries], but had also faced the full array of Atlantis's black technology head-on.
This much is nothing more than the scraps they had left over from back then.
Unfortunately, with Atlantis serving as a cautionary example, the Olympian gods did not leave the Romans much in the way of black technology.
Otherwise, there would have been no need to rely on absurdly dangerous things like the bronze giant Talos or the true-body Machine Gods, the kind of monstrosities that could easily spiral out of control.
In fact, whether it was the sky-covering autonomous weapons in Echidna's arsenal, the elusive black warships and giant cannons of the Deep Sea Fleet, or simply mass-producing the powered armor used by the Olympus Imperial Guard, any few of those would have been more than enough for the Roman legions to sweep away the Persian army in front of them with ease.
Still, that was only wishful thinking.
Technology needed supporting infrastructure, and Atlantis had sunk into the sea long ago, feeding fish for who knew how many years.
With nothing but the Roman Empire's manpower and primitive resources, reproducing that kind of extraordinary magitech black technology was basically impossible.
Still, all things considered, Poseidon had done at least one good thing. He had kept the gap between the Roman legions and the Persian army from becoming so vast that it could not be overcome.
Just as Samael was drifting through those thoughts, dense chanting rose from within the Persian army. Layers of light screens lifted into the air, while overlapping Magecraft arrays spun into motion, firmly blocking the bombardment from the bronze cannons.
Right after that, magic carpets rose into the sky from the Persian camp. Hundreds of casters sat cross-legged atop them, each gripping a magic lamp and rapidly chanting divine words. Like bombers taking flight, they dove toward the low hill where the bronze magitech cannons had been deployed.
Tsk. So they finally recovered and figured out this thing's strengths and weaknesses?
Samael watched the Persian army gradually restore order even under bombardment, then patted the cannon barrel and shook his head helplessly.
In the end, magitech cannons that used Ether as both their driving force and ammunition still had not escaped the framework of Mystery. They could still be defended against with Magecraft barriers.
Their advantage was simply that they skipped the time needed for chanting and constructing Magecraft arrays. They fired quickly, and their range exceeded that of ordinary Magecraft, letting them strike from a distance and catch the enemy off guard.
At the same time, their weaknesses were just as obvious. They needed operators, they were hard to move, and they were easy to turn into fixed targets.
The enemy was not stupid either. After taking one round of punishment, they reacted immediately and sent over the Persian Empire's trademark flesh-and-blood air force, those carpet-riding bombers, to carry out an aerial bombardment.
And in a situation like this, there was no need for Samael to say anything. Pompey, already thoroughly familiar with conventional battlefields, immediately redeployed Magi and priests to engage the Persian casters head-on along the central front.
The war once again entered a deadlock.