𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟗𝟕: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐖𝐚𝐫 (6)
The High Elf army had officially entered the territory of the Democratic Republic. Their seemingly endless forces had now surpassed 1,000,000, with the addition of 1,000 magical cannons, twenty aerial battleships, and 200 Iron Golems.
The Republic’s citizens cheered at the High Elves’ overwhelming military might, hoping that this momentum would help them reclaim the northern territories and restore the glory of freedom.
Meanwhile, in the northern territories of the Republic, liberal revolutionaries and Republic Resistance fighters had been continuously harassing the Empire’s supply lines, resulting in a constant war of attrition. They particularly targeted railway lines.
The railway lines were so long that even the vast Imperial army could not cover them all. However, the transport trucks sold by the Winchester Principality had been adopted as official vehicles, helping to minimize supply delays.
As the Imperial army struggled in the Republic, Oswald, who had been promoted to captain, arrived at the city of Mariupol, where the Imperial Maesterium was located.
“Captain Oswald?”
“Yes, I am Captain Oswald. Are you Sergeant Kavansky?”
“Yes, sir.”
Oswald, dressed in an Imperial officer’s uniform, and Sergeant Kavansky, dressed in a non-commissioned officer’s uniform.
“Follow me, the vehicle is waiting.”
A Jeep, recently put into production by the Winchester Principality, was parked in front of the Mariupol City Station. Oswald had heard that the Maesterium had recognized the Jeep’s efficiency and had purchased a license to produce it, with two production lines now operating in the Maesterium.
As expected from a place where the Empire’s weapons experts gathered, the Jeep was equipped with a Wahl submachine gun.
‘𝘑𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴. . .’
Oswald decided to produce both heavy machine guns and mortars here at the Maesterium. If he could produce mortars, he could create ‘Oswald Cannons’ or ‘Tiger tank’ main guns that could be used by squads and platoons, which would be a valuable asset.
‘𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪-𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘴?’
Since they did not yet have the technology to build jet engines, monoplanes seemed like a feasible option.
‘𝘐𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤, 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘦.’
Currently, even the Eastern Titans had biplane technology, so building monoplanes would give them a significant advantage over the East.
‘𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸-𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴.’
However, the Elves’ magitech far surpassed their own, making it impossible to build aerial battleships like theirs. The Elves’ magic was a direct inheritance of ancient rune magic, giving them access to more powerful spells than modern magic.
In particular, when runes were used to inscribe magic circles, the effects were multiplied, allowing their aerial battleships to be both massive and highly maneuverable.
Of course, they also used floatstones as the core of their aerial battleships, but even considering that, the size and weight of their vessels suggested that floatstones alone could not keep them afloat.
Guided by Sergeant Kavansky, Oswald toured the Maesterium headquarters, including his future quarters and the dining hall.
To be honest, Oswald had only visited Mariupol a couple of times while playing the Final Chapter, so he paid close attention to Sergeant Kavansky’s instructions.
“Now, let’s introduce you to the people you’ll be working with.”
As they followed Sergeant Kavansky into the underground section of the headquarters, they saw many researchers working on various experiments.
“Director, this is the new arrival. . .”
“Captain Oswald! We’ve been expecting you. I am Brigadier General Krakhma, Director of the Maesterium.”
“My respects, sir!”
“At ease, Captain. Let’s get down to business. I’ve had my team develop a new naval gun based on your Oswald Cannon and Tiger tank main gun. I’d like you to take a look.”
Moments later, they arrived at a large, triple-barreled gun turret. Its design resembled the main guns used on battleships during World War II.
‘𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥?’
Even at this scale, it dwarfed the Oswald Cannon in size and grandeur.
“It’s a 15-inch (381mm) caliber naval gun.”
“That’s amazing, have you added a recoil damping function and borrowed the Tiger tank’s rotating turret?”
“Of course! I knew you would notice.”
“But it looks like it can rotate 360 degrees. Can it be mounted on a ship?”
“Of course it can. Why not?”
Brigadier General Krakhma then showed them a ship with the gun mounted on it. It was a large ship with only two guns mounted front and back, but its displacement was a mere 10,000 tons.
“I would have given it a 180-degree angle and made it bigger and more numerous.”
“Oh? What do you mean?”
Oswald then used Blood Daemon to materialize a small-scale model of the USS Texas. It was a New York-class battleship with a displacement of 28,000 tons, equipped with five twin 381mm main guns, twenty-one 125mm secondary guns, and four quadruple anti-aircraft guns armed with the Archduke K6 heavy machine gun that he would soon produce.
“Th-this is the Blood Daemon I’ve heard so much about?”
‘𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘺. . . 𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸?’
“Pay attention to this instead.”
“This is?”
“This is the design for a new battleship that I’ve been working on. It will have a full-load displacement of 28,000 tons.”
Brigadier General Krakhma’s jaw dropped as he imagined the actual ship in his mind.
“It’s a monster. . . Are those main guns. . .?”
“Yes, I modified the 15-inch naval gun to a twin mount and installed them.”
“Hmm. . . Can you demonstrate its firepower?”
“Of course.”
They immediately went to the firing range for a demonstration of the mini-battleship’s firepower. Since it was small, the researchers could gather around to observe how it maneuvered and fired.
They witnessed the ship’s guns moving 180 degrees while facing different directions, firing countless rounds in one direction.
Next, Oswald used Blood Daemon to create a miniature model of a port city and demonstrated how the mini-battleship could bombard it, unleashing a devastating barrage of fire.
“This. . . This is revolutionary!”
“I will prepare the blueprints so that we can increase the size.”
“Hmm. . . I wonder if we can put you to work right away.”
“Not a problem. I’m eager to build these as soon as possible.”
“Hahaha! Then I’ll be counting on you, Captain!”
Oswald planned to gradually increase their military power by producing weapons, culminating in the Gigant.
🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸