Chapter 144 – The Night Before the Storm (4)
Chapter 144 – The Night Before the Storm (4)
“So it’s impossible to make a gun exactly as it is written in the Bible!? Didn’t it say that the Bible is just a reference to the word given by God!”
“While we can’t even duplicate it properly, we want to transform it to suit our circumstances? That is arrogance, arrogance!”
It’s late at night when the sun has already gone down. However, the meeting hall where the Dwarf artisans gathered was noisy. Leon, who had come here without knowing why, glanced at Hans with eyes wondering what the hell was going on.
This situation was even more awkward because Leon, who was mainly active in the great forest, had no contact with the dwarves.
“What the hell is this situation?”
“Well, don’t pay too much attention to their discussion. The dwarves who want to make a weapon to replace mana with a divine substance called gunpowder are discussing it.”
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Hans scratched his head and briefly explained the situation.
After the dwarves received a book about firearms from Seonghyeon, the dwarves quickly researched and developed gunpowder weapons. In recent years, the dwarves of Eden have been obsessed with an almost maddening obsession, to the point that they are more into gunpowder than metal.
One of the numerous controversies that arose in the process was how far the efficiency of gunpowder could go.
The dwarves were divided into several factions, some argued that gunpowder was a miraculous power that would replace everything, and some argued that gunpowder could not completely replace or surpass mana in reality.
“I was fortunate enough to be born with the blessing of mana, but in fact, unlike elves, dwarves and humans are not born with the blessing of mana. Those are just a minority. That’s why I have no choice but to immerse myself more.”
“I heard about the power at first glance. I heard that even a large demon can be crushed to death with heat and shock.”
“It is true that it is very powerful. But the limits are clear. Of course, I may be wrong, but I came to think that gunpowder cannot replace mana.”
Hans nodded as Leon talked about what he had heard.
At the same time, he told me what he thought. In Hans’ view, gunpowder weapons had their limits. As long as superhumans who can handle mana to the limit dominate the world, gunpowder cannot become mainstream after all.
At first glance, it was similar to the relationship between the Awakeners who appeared on the modern Earth and the army armed with existing weapons, but there was one major difference.
The Awakeners of modern Earth are less than a generation old, have a smaller percentage of mana-wielding superhumans, and are weaker on average, and Earth’s firearms are no match for those dwarves who have barely made flint muskets. It was so strong that it couldn’t be.
The dwarves knew that, so even the dwarves who believed in gunpowder were fighting with the faction that the firearms in the book Seonghyeon gave you had to be modified to suit the local circumstances, and the faction that it was blasphemy.
“Then why did you bring me to such a discussion? I know nothing about gunpowder.”
“Actually, I asked for that. Great.”
Leon looked at Hans with dizzy eyes. For those who were gifted with mana from the moment he was born and devoted to training it, in fact, the destructive power of gunpowder was not well understood.
Even the elves of Eden could use arrows loaded with mana right away, so they didn’t bother sticking to small firearms. Just hearing that, a dwarf appeared behind them and cleared his throat.
“It’s called Garon.”
“You me?”
“To be precise, I asked for some people who are active outside.”
Garron smiled faintly and brought out something. From Leon’s point of view, it was a uniquely shaped tool. When you hold the handle with your hand, a silver bar shorter than your forearm sticks out a snout with a black hole.
“It is not craftsmanship to chatter without use. That’s what scholars do. There is a limit to how much we can talk about practicality, so we were looking for an opportunity to experiment.”
Garon told Leon what the dwarves were testing. He’s already tested his practicality against the parasitic bees, but that’s just a fight against the beasts.
In order to obtain more complete data, he decided that he had to compete with real people who eventually used mana.
“You never know what will happen out there. I will teach you how to use it, so if a dangerous moment comes, try using it.”
“What a nice gift. Let it be well received.”
Leon had no reason to reject the request. If an emergency comes, the time to protect your body will surely come.
In particular, Leon, who had tasted bitterness in the previous clash with the mercenary captain, was acutely aware that his strength, which he had not put much effort into training, was still lacking.
“Does it really work? As a result of the experiment, it is a bit weak to pierce the defense using mana from the front…”
“If you don’t use it from the front, you won’t know. If you shoot in the vitals of an opponent who is not paying attention, the opponent will be embarrassed.”
Hans and Garon murmured as they saw Leon’s back as he took the pistol and the belt with the holster for holding the pistol.
It is still in the verification stage, but the firearms they created will give unprecedented physical impact to the people of the continent who judge everything with mana.
***
“It explains the powerful influence that the beginning of farming had on our human history. It was a way to get a stable food supply in large quantities without having to wander through dangerous forests and fields all day in search of food.”
“That’s why I said it was a very humane act.”
“Please understand. Because we did not have such a rich forest governed by the World Tree. Isn’t that something very rare these days?”
He fluttered the hem of his robe and smiled, pointing at the forest he could see wherever he looked. Seren, an elf who was an executive at the central meeting and Ersilla’s aide, who was actually talking to him, looked at him disapprovingly.
He was younger than Rhodes, but he was one of the important people called the King’s confidant.
“Isn’t food the basis of everything? If the elves also get enough food through farming, they will change from the inside out.”
He smiled confidently. The content he was given as the branch manager on behalf of Rhodes was, of course, the same order as his predecessor: to attract this mana user group of over 100,000 as controllable allies.
However, unlike his predecessor who was a soldier and recklessly pushed hardline measures, he conceived a more detailed plan like a research mage who studied magic and was confident in the plan.
The first plan was to change the eating habits of the elves naturally with outright support. The elves, who had already been shaken by new food materials or stimulating spices that had flowed in from the outside, were shaking at a rapid pace.
For the elves to cut down trees in the forest and make fields on their own was in line with Ersilla’s purpose, so there was nothing to be hindered.
‘There are many different aspects to humans, but if you tear it apart and fix it from the bottom up, you can completely dye it. I’ll show you more, so be greedy and curious, you naive guys.’
He looked down on the elves of the Great Forest. Even the target of the contempt was Seran, who was from the central meeting right next to him.
As the basis for this, the experience of witnessing many forces or races that he witnessed while participating in the Great War eventually mixed and harmonized and was completely stained by one side was strongly influenced.
It is already clear which side is dominant in this case.
Some of the traitors who destroyed their allies with mysteriously strong power, and the elves of Eden are annoying, but they can’t fight right now. If so, just take some time. After all, those traitors were, at best, small-town fugitives with nothing.
He was convinced that the elves of the Great Grove would fall and become corrupted by what they sow without meager resistance and without a fight, and would not support the traitors in the end.
“It’s a big deal. Branch manager!”
“Hmm?”
However, it wasn’t long before something happened that cracked his strong conviction.
A piece of news hurriedly flew to Deneb where he was. It was so shocking that he opened his eyes wide as soon as he heard it.
“Now, what are these guys who claim to be Eden doing?”
“The strange ants reported earlier brought heavy bags full of them and scattered them in the elven villages, claiming that they could live with them without any problems.”
“That can’t be!”
He jumped up in amazement at his subordinate’s report. Among the many hypotheses he conceived, none of them suggested that the elves in Eden had a large amount of surplus food.
“No matter how fast everything grows on this land, it is a land full of abundance, but this spring was the first time farming started in the great forest. Besides, those who are assumed to have recently absorbed a large number of migrants can’t even take care of themselves… No.”
Excitedly speaking, he suddenly hardened his face and sat back down.
“Well, it’s known that there are other guys behind them in the first place. There are quite a few people who take advantage of the fact that our king was an ally of the elven heroes and took advantage of the fact that he came into contact with the elves first.”
With a faint smile, he became convinced that there was a national level force behind Eden that would provide massive supplies. Of course, it was an illusion, but in fact, the variety of support that Seong-hyeon periodically buys for a few thousand won at the general store was just right.
“Contact the troops at the strategic location and instigate that the elves of the Great Forest are entangled with other human kingdoms behind them, and that they are bandits… No, they are evil bastards who send soldiers to kidnap their fellow countrymen. The elves of Eden are their minions. There are several cases where thieves have already infiltrated the Great Forest, so there is nothing strange about it.”
“Doesn’t subdue them right away? I haven’t yet found out where all those people live, but still…”
“Their strength is formidable, and the elves still have strong antipathy towards us humans. The subjugation operation is properly attempted again when public opinion is created that they are hypocritical traitors who eventually betrayed their own people by being seduced by other forces.”
Aware of the defeat of the kingdom army led by Commander Alex, he decided to take a more cautious approach. In the end, the most important thing is the will of the grove elves.
Depending on which side they support, the advantage changes. In other words, how to shape public opinion has become the most important.
“Let’s go Ruri. We’re on a mission.”
“This isn’t a suspicious mission, is it?”
“No. Did you know that the number of outside intruders invading the Great Forest is increasing? I’m going to warn the villagers about them.”
What was mobilized for that was the dispatched Joint Knights.
Ruri, who had been doing nothing to find out about her husband Leon in the city, finally got back on the horse and headed to the villages on the border at the words of her colleague Lua, who had come to see her on a mission.