Free Web NovelChapter 144: Chapter 136: Magic Crossbow
The three of them then discussed the situation for a while longer, assigning specific responsibilities.
Valentino would lead the Fengman Knight Order and most of the Sirich City nobles, responsible for supporting the two fronts from within the city.
But to Robson’s surprise, Viscount Di Man didn’t hold back his troops. He was even more willing to commit soldiers than Robson, bringing out the entire force of over one hundred Extraordinary Cavalry his clan had raised.
Robson himself had originally only planned to take his first and fifth regiments. frёewebnoѵēl.com
Robson thought for a moment. ’Viscount Di Man must have guessed something from the subtle clues. After all, the closeness between me and Valentino lately has been anything but normal.’
The Frank Kingdom was, after all, a traditional nation. In the past, regardless of gender, the head of the Fengman Clan had always maintained an image of cherishing their reputation.
This was mainly due to the Fengman Clan’s thin bloodline; without enough relatives, they could only rely on a good reputation and their subordinates to consolidate their position.
As the heir of the Fengman Clan, Valentino had clearly done well in this regard. Their first meeting had happened precisely because Valentino was on a mission to rescue Viscount Leo, one of her father’s former subordinates. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
In the relatively traditional society of the Frank Kingdom, the standards for both men and women were very high, and gossip about infidelity was rare.
Besides, everyone’s attention was on the Beastmen. After driving them away, they would need to recover their strength immediately. The lives of the Frankish Nobles were incredibly busy; they simply had no time for dalliances.
Given all this, the closeness between Valentino and Robson was clearly unusual.
Unlike the minor and mid-level nobles, Viscount Di Man had already reached the kingdom’s upper echelons, so his perspective on matters was naturally different.
To an outsider, a Baron marrying a Count would seem like a fairy tale. But in Viscount Di Man’s eyes, it was nothing more than a standard exchange of interests, especially considering Robson’s recent and rapid rise to fame.
From that perspective, the whole affair became quite plausible.
If that were truly the case, Viscount Di Man’s actions were understandable.
After all, the risks of going to war were extraordinarily high.
If it turned out to be a Beastman ambush, it was self-evident who Valentino would send her troops to save first.
Rather than placing his hopes in others, it was better to take all of his own troops from the very beginning.
However, Viscount Di Man’s move put Robson in a difficult position. ’After all, the other guy is going all out. Would it look right for me to hold back?’
Robson was currently on the rise, and it was best to avoid tarnishing his record if he could.
Besides, the enemy had only built a few bridges so far; the threat wasn’t that great. Robson decided to simply bring all of his troops as well.
’Besides,’ Robson thought, ’given the elite quality of my army, even if there is a risk, I just need to be able to outrun Viscount Di Man’s forces.’
Robson was confident of at least that much.
.....
After finalizing the details, they set the departure time for the morning two days from now. The two armies combined numbered just under eight thousand men and would need some time to prepare.
Early the next morning, Robson rose with the sun, mainly to see off Earl Wei Man and his retinue. This was a required courtesy among nobles.
Although Earl Wei Man had set the time for nine in the morning, the main body of the army had actually started moving out at seven.
Given the sheer numbers, an army’s procession couldn’t be accomplished in an instant.
After bidding farewell to Earl Wei Man and his party, Robson turned to Valentino.
"Shouldn’t you be getting ready?" Valentino asked, surprised to see Robson still lingering by the city gate.
"You don’t usually seem like someone with time to spare. Do you need something from me?"
Robson wasn’t embarrassed at being seen through so easily. ’Anyway, with Earl Wei Man gone,’ he thought, ’all of Sirich City is under Valentino’s sole command. By extension, that practically makes it Lord Robson’s sole command, too.’
"Mainly, I wanted to ask you for something," Robson said with a smile.
"What?" Valentino raised an eyebrow, looking at him with a hint of confusion.
"I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but those Magic Crystal Cannons on the walls... it’s not right for them to just sit there."
"Look, just sitting there, they’re completely useless. Isn’t that a waste of the kingdom’s resources?"
"It’s not like I want them for anything else. It’s just that for this war, this batch of Magic Crystal Cannons could prove to be incredibly useful," Robson said, clearing his throat.
Ever since experiencing the benefits of Magic Crystal Cannons in the field, Robson couldn’t get enough of them. In the back of his mind, he held memories of another world.
That was a world of artillery fire and tanks. The predecessors of his past life had already demonstrated the results that could be achieved by concentrating heavy artillery.
Now, Robson was beginning to understand the thinking of those famous generals from his past life: artillery doctrine, overwhelming firepower, caliber is justice, and range is truth.
Unfortunately, rare pieces of equipment like Magic Crystal Cannons were only fielded in small numbers by some Earl Clans in their own cities. The vast majority were procured directly by the kingdom’s government.
Robson was just starting out, and the few Magic Crystal Cannons he possessed were all gifts.
He had captured three Magic Crystal Cannons from the Beastmen before, but their technology was nothing to write home about.
Even with Robson, an expert with perfect skills in Magic Crystal Cannon repair, and Falan, a Mage who had once been a Great Mage, they had only managed to repair one of them.
According to Falan, the Magic Arrays inside the other two cannons were basically just scribbled nonsense. It would take at least a week to dismantle them and reorganize their fundamental logical Magic Patterns. Falan even claimed that the Magic Crystal Cannons Robson had imported from the south had flawed logical Magic Patterns as well.
According to Falan, the Magic Crystal Cannons of his past life were nothing like these.
That being said, where was Robson going to find the time to slowly modify the cannons?
It was an impossible demand.
That’s why Robson had set his sights on Sirich’s defensive cannons. Dismantling them would be much faster than rebuilding one.
"Ha? Magic Crystal Cannons?" Valentino actually laughed out loud.
"You want to dismantle the Magic Crystal Cannons? Why don’t you just ask to move the city walls to the front lines while you’re at it?" Valentino said, her expression comically exaggerated.
"Of course the walls can’t go to the front, but the cannons can. Do you remember the results I achieved at Qimo Fortress?"
"That was all thanks to the Magic Crystal Cannons. I actually think most people in this world misunderstand how to properly use them."
"This time, the enemy is conducting a river crossing. Their attack corridor will be extremely narrow. For Magic Crystal Cannons, that’s a perfect battlefield," Robson said, shaking his head.
Seeing Robson’s serious expression, Valentino set aside her mockery.
"Are you serious?" Valentino asked, looking up at him.
"Completely," Robson nodded.
"Tsk! I have no idea where you get these wild ideas," Valentino said.
"Does that mean you agree? If so, I’ll take some men to start dismantling them right away," Robson said with a grin.
"As if," Valentino rolled her eyes and said irritably.
Then, Valentino’s tone shifted.
"The Magic Crystal Cannons are a crucial part of the city’s defenses. If we lose them, we’ll be at a serious disadvantage should the enemy attack."
"It’s not that I don’t trust you," Valentino said, "but we can’t take risks with something like this. There’s no room for error."
Robson was disappointed to hear her refusal, but there was nothing he could do. ’The idea was outrageous to begin with,’ he thought.
He couldn’t very well tell her he had a Mount & Blade System, could he?
"However," Valentino said, "while I can’t give you the Magic Crystal Cannons, there is something that’s been gathering dust in the warehouse. I wonder if you might be interested."
"What is it?"
"Magic Crossbows. But they’re a local... ahem, a model that the Marquis had someone research."
"The main idea was to make them cheap and mass-producible. You know about the Tilia Kingdom’s military expansion, right? Back then, the entire Human World was keen on equipping its armies with Magic Crossbows."
"However, the technical challenges were immense. And now... well, they’re still working on them."
"This batch of Magic Crossbows has some... minor issues, but they’re definitely usable." Valentino had been about to call them shoddy goods produced by her own grandfather, but she caught herself out of consideration for the Marquis’s dignity.
"Minor issues? How minor?" Robson asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.
’Sometimes, "minor" and "major" were just a matter of phrasing,’ he thought. ’These are weapons men will be staking their lives on. It’s best to know exactly what the problems are beforehand.’
’He couldn’t risk getting to the battlefield only to discover the things couldn’t even absorb Magic Crystal Stones. That would be a catastrophe.’
"The main issue is with power conversion. The Marquis’s Mages couldn’t figure out how the Tilia Kingdom solved their recoil problem, so the Magic Arrays are incompatible."
"When an ordinary Soldier fires one, the recoil is strong enough to make their arm ache. That’s why Earl Wei Man didn’t take this batch with him," Valentino explained.
"Ache, you say? I’ll go take a look tonight."
