Chapter 46
At the border facing the Silven Kingdom across a stretch of forest, on the front lines of the Pike Kingdom. The magic beasts, which had appeared only sporadically at first, suddenly multiplied and began hammering at the kingdom's walls.
But the Pike Kingdom held firm from atop their sturdy battlements, somehow managing to repel them.
"...We're holding them off somehow, but it's not easy."
"We need to find a way to resolve this quickly..."
"They seem to be coming from the forest. Once reinforcements arrive, we should assemble an elite unit and..."
"What about cooperating with the Silven Kingdom?"
"Ugh..."
The Pike Kingdom was plotting ways to deal with the magic beast outbreak while fending them off. But once again, the beasts suddenly doubled in number.
"This... is impossible..."
It was far beyond what the wall guards and frontline soldiers could handle. An unforeseen crisis struck before the first reinforcements even arrived.
"Why have the magic beasts suddenly increased so much?"
The Pike Kingdom began searching for the reason behind the surge and soon found their answer.
"The Silven Kingdom... diverted the beasts heading their way toward us...?"
"Isn't that a blatant disregard for our kingdom!"
"Declaration of war! Vengeance in blood...!"
But the Pike Kingdom was too busy holding off the beasts to pursue it. Instead, they sent a formal protest demanding that Silven at least launch an assault on the forest if they were going to dump the beasts on them.
"Well... the beasts flocking to our side has nothing to do with us, and we're preparing to assault the forest. Pass that along."
Silven's perfunctory reply was the last they heard; they made no further moves.
"Those other kingdoms are done for..."
"The other kingdoms are in similar straits...!"
The other kingdoms lacked the capacity to help, as they were dealing with their own surges of beasts at borders or within their territories. A few kingdoms and empires aside, the situation was much the same everywhere.
"...Fine... Request aid from the Empire."
In the end, the Pike Kingdom's plea reached the Boern Empire.
"Pike Kingdom. Grimdell Kingdom... Valheim Kingdom... What a mess."
The Empire, having successfully assaulted the magic beast forest in the north and gained some breathing room, was now flooded with aid requests from other kingdoms beyond just Pike.
"We can't just sit by while the other kingdoms suffer."
"We should prioritize the most urgent cases and support them in sequence."
"Grimdell Kingdom has been allied with the Empire for a long time..."
"Hmm... Pike has substantial resource deposits..."
"Looking again, Pike seems to be in the most dire straits..."
Ultimately, the Empire decided to dispatch troops.
News spread through the Empire that the operation to assault the magic beast forest in the north had ended successfully.
"That's a relief."
The front page of the newspaper featured the northern victory. The back pages covered news from other kingdoms—unlike the swift success in the north, they were struggling.
"What will happen to the other kingdoms?"
"Who knows..."
Kingdoms that held out against the beasts would cooperate or receive aid to assault their forests. Afterward, war would erupt between Pike and Silven, gradually spreading. Meanwhile, the Demon God Cult would begin its full activities, sowing chaos within the Empire.
Brown pondered the unfolding events, but there was nothing he could do about it right now.
...First things first, work.
For starters, shotgun shells were being switched to paper casings to conserve metal. More precisely, the base for the powder was metal, with the rest paper. A step backward from full metal casings, but feasible for shotguns, which allowed more flexibility in ammo design.
Next, prototypes of bolt-action rifles were being produced. He planned to test them and refine any issues. Being metal-cased, they would avoid the chamber gas exposure problems of paper cartridges.
Meanwhile, other lab members were designing rear-loading cannons and shells. Brown offered a silent thanks to the historical magitech researchers who had laid the groundwork, and to the one who had revived faltering magitech with the steam engine—like a lifeline of oxygen.
Alright, next up...
What he had planned ahead: lever-action rifles, or semi-automatics like the M1 Garand. Pump-action shotguns. Once metalworking advanced further, gas-operated automatics would be possible too.
Of course, that required efficient resource transport. With steam locomotive tracks under construction, it was just a matter of time.
The Empire's knights, through firearm testing, had discovered that aura could reinforce gun barrels. Most knights and the military dismissed single-shot firearms as useless for knights. But a few took interest.
"Wouldn't it be worth trying firearms?"
"How many times have I heard that?"
"No, really, this could be good. Hmm..."
"Current firearms can't handle it."
At the time, firearms were percussion cap rifles or matchlocks.
"True, but if the firing rate improves just a bit, wouldn't knights find them useful?"
"We'll talk when that happens."
But guns evolved: revolvers, double-barrel shotguns.
From ramming powder and shot down the muzzle, to loading pre-made cartridges. Reloading sped up dramatically. Watching this, a high-rank knight spoke up.
"Now it's actually viable, right?"
"Yeah, faster firing, but still..."
"Shorten the barrel, and they could carry and use it without snagging."
"Can you grip cartridges with gauntlets on?"
"Just take 'em off."
The high-rank knight, who had been quiet, stood up.
"If we commission now, we might get knight-exclusive firearms sooner."
"What..."
"Yeah. Let's go. The weapons lab is... where again?"
The mid-rank knight tried to stop him but was dragged along by the hand.
"This the right way?"
"It is. Let go of my hand first..."
"Exciting, huh? Knight-exclusive guns... Heh."
As he jotted notes on paper, a junior approached.
"Mr. Brown? Two knights are here to see you."
"Knights?"
Why would knights seek him out?
"John Brown? You here?"
Before his questions could resolve, knights entered the lab: one oddly excited, the other grim-faced.
"You can't just barge in..."
His junior fumbled nervously, but
"We'd like to commission knight-exclusive firearms. Interested?"
Brown nodded without thinking.
"Knight-exclusive firearms..."
"High firepower, fast reload."
"That sounds like..."
"First, do you know aura strengthens gun durability?"
"News to me."
"Anyway, knights primarily infiltrate and disrupt enemy lines. We want firearms suited to that."
Through their talk, Brown gained new insights. Next, he pondered what they wanted: heavy, rapid-fire power. And what he could make now that fit.
Shotgun...?
Perfect for close-combat knights. Plus, ammo design was flexible.
He considered break-action shotguns too—short barrels for easy carry.
Semi-auto shotguns came to mind next, but their complexity meant long development.
Finally: lever-action, pump-action, or revolver shotguns.
Hmm...
"It'll probably be a shotgun for now... I'll think it over."
"Yes. Thanks."
"Oh, and... can it reload easily with gauntlets?"
"Hmm... I'll consider it."
After the knights left, Brown kept brainstorming.
Detachable magazines. Or tube mags with speedloaders. He envisioned a knight wielding his design in battle.
A greatsword-mounted shotgun, charging enemy lines and unleashing hell.
Oh...
He'd settled on shotguns for now, but other ideas surfaced. A common game scene: knights in mechsuits wielding massive guns, shrugging off attacks while pouring fire.
Whoa...
Another thought hit.
Can't aura be used as a power source?
"Uh... McCallson?"
"What? I'm busy."
"Knights' aura as a power source..."
"...! Don't say that so casually!"
"Why?"
"Some mages once researched using human mana like magic stones. Since then, using human mana or aura as power is taboo. Watch your words."
"But mages use defensive magitech..."
"Magitech is different!"
"But... uh... yeah..."
Brown slunk back to his seat, dejected.
"...So why bring it up?"
"Using aura as a power source..."
McCallson, hearing him out, replied.
"Won't work."
"Why?"
"Aura and mana start similar but differ fundamentally. To do what you say, you'd need mana mastery or magic stones."
"Yeah..."
Brown returned to his seat, glum again. McCallson began calculations based on his idea.