War (4)
“When do you think they'll arrive?”
“Probably gonna have to wait anywhere from two weeks to a month.”
“Hm. Hope they're at least competent.”
The new recruits weren't coming right away. Still, once they did show up, things would get a bit easier around here.
Well, for now... shells first.
He focused on the task at hand. The design for the wick incendiary shell was just about wrapped up.
Next up, the howitzer.
Brown planned to repurpose the existing cannons. By improving the mounts to raise the angle, they could function as howitzers. It would extend their range too, and in the current situation, they could be deployed to the front lines quickly.
This should do it.
After finalizing the howitzer concept, Brown headed over to Karen.
“Karen, you busy?”
“Oh, Brown? The smokeless powder still isn't...”
“Yeah... I actually wanted to ask one more favor.”
He showed her the blueprint for the wick incendiary shell.
“Ah... so you pack gunpowder inside the shell and ignite it?”
“That's right.”
“Nice way to boost lethality with a single shell.”
“It is, but with a wick, there are too many variables on the battlefield, don't you think?”
“Well... yeah, probably.”
“That's why... ”
Brown explained delay fuses or impact fuses to Karen.
“Think you could manage something like that?”
“Uh... y-yeah...”
“Haha, thanks as always.”
“Ehehe...”
Karen smiled today, too.
Brown wrapped up his chat with her and went to see the Research Director.
“Ha. Exploding shells, huh.”
Approval from the director came through. Now it was just a waiting game until the prototypes arrived. As always, work progressed smoothly.
It'll take a little time, though.
Once those incendiary shells hit the front lines, a lot more people would die. That part nagged at him, but Brown had mostly made his peace with it.
As long as it reduces casualties on our side.
That was how he'd frame it for now.
If there was one place desperate for news from the Weapons Research Lab, it had to be the military brass. And right on cue, fresh intel arrived.
“Heard the news?”
“About the front lines?”
“Nah, something from the lab. New weapon in development.”
“Whoa~.”
“Extended cannon range and exploding shells.”
“Shells that... explode?”
“Like magic... or something?”
“Extended range is intriguing too. Wonder when we'll see it.”
“Might be sooner than you think. Just a modified version of existing cannons, they say.”
“Man, I can't wait to check it out.”
The military was buzzing with excitement over the lab's updates. But not everyone was thrilled. Take the 21st Arsenal, the main factory churning out the lab's designs. They constantly adopted cutting-edge tech like steam engines and machinery, and right now they were cranking out percussion cap rifles. Prototypes got built there too.
“Ugh, take a look at this.”
“Yeah, easy to think up.”
“Sheesh.”
The latest prototypes: wick incendiary shells and improved cannon mounts. The mounts weren't too bad, but the shells? Tricky. Needed space inside for powder and shrapnel, plus a hole for the wick.
They were racking their brains over it. They had the skills, sure—just that the lab's orders were always a pain.
“Let's just make 'em.”
“Hole for the wick...”
“Patch it with paper or something.”
“Hollow hemispheres joined together...”
“Cannon mounts...”
They prepped for prototype production.
“Ugh... if this passes, we'll have even more to produce.”
“Lord help us. Busier than ever.”
“On-time quitting? Forget it.”
Bad news for them. They were already swamped filling military orders. New weapons would crank up the pace.
“War time—what can ya do.”
“For wartime, it's awfully peaceful here.”
“Peaceful my ass. Front lines are probably calmer.”
“Couldn't agree more.”
A touch of gloom settled over them.
Brown headed to work as usual. Even in wartime, the streets looked no different from before the war. Folks commuting to their jobs, same as ever.
“Heh, another victory report today.”
“Proof the Empire's still going strong.”
Others chatted over newspapers. Probably headlines screaming another Empire win. The war was flowing the Empire's way without a hitch—pushing fast toward the Heyrn Kingdom's capital.
But the advance would slow soon. The kingdom had countermeasures for cannons now... which boiled down to ignoring them.
Heyrn had figured out cannon fire wasn't enough to quickly breach walls. They ditched countermeasures and focused on magic and siege defense. The Empire, wary of losses, avoided reckless assaults too.
Of course, howitzers and incendiaries—or stronger cannons—would change that.
Not happening overnight, though.
The lab got war updates too, so Brown had a sharper, faster read than the papers.
How'd it go in the original story?
He knew the Empire won eventually. Wars between other kingdoms followed. But he'd only heard about it—never read the source—so details were fuzzy. After a moment's thought, he asked his escort.
“Arwin, when do you think the war ends?”
“Hm...”
She pondered before answering.
“By the end of summer, maybe?”
What happens to her?
In his memory, she ended up tangled with the Demon Worshippers as a mercenary in the original. But now she was guarding him. No clue how that diverged.
Not because of me, right?
Brown shook off the stray thoughts and arrived at the lab.
“Ah, Brown, you're here.”
“Good morning.”
“Tch.”
“Sigh.”
“Hehe. Prototypes arrived at dawn—wanna test 'em?”
“Oh, already?”
Come to think of it, enough time had passed since the order.
“Hold off a bit. Newbies coming today too.”
“Already? Wow, reinforcements.”
“Man, good news keeps rolling in.”
Meeting new people was always fun—especially juniors.
It was a familiar thrill from his past life's military service, part-times, and jobs.
“Wonder what their personalities are like.”
“Personality doesn't matter. Just don't drag us down.”
“Not... me.”
“Why'd you trail off looking at me?”
“Nah, you're a bit prickly but skilled, so it's fine.”
“Haha, geniuses always attract envy and jealousy. I forgive even your dull-witted spite.”
“Eek... don't fight...”
Soon, the newbies arrived.
“These are your juniors. Teach 'em well.”
“Yes, Director.”
““Please take care of us!””
Two guys, one girl. Two magitech majors, one alchemy.
“Welcome to the Weapons Research Lab.”
““We'll work hard!””
“First, what you'll be doing here...”
“Hold on, before that...”
Brown stopped Karen with a whisper.
“Show the howitzer and incendiaries first?”
“Sounds good.”
Ahem.
Karen cleared her throat and continued.
“First, something to show you all. Follow us.”
The team grabbed the prototypes and headed to the cannon test field.
“Alright...”
They aimed the cannon at a distant field, lit the long wick, and retreated.
The wick burned down as time ticked by.
“This is what you'll see endlessly at the lab...”
“Ooh...”
The flame vanished into the barrel. Moments later...
-BOOM!
Flames erupted—not from the muzzle, but the cannon body itself. The cannon... exploded.
Silence fell for a beat. Karen recovered first.
“...We push on through failures like this, challenging endlessly..!”
The newbies nodded in sudden enlightenment.
“Ooh, so that's how you forge weapons—through countless failures!”
“Showing us this to ignite our pioneering spirit...”
“I won't fear failure—I'll challenge without end!”
“Ahh, that's the attitude.”
“Hehe... exactly.”
McCallson and Karen struggled to keep straight faces as they encouraged them. Brown...
Ah.
Flashes of his own past weapon demos raced through his mind.