53 – Crudia Mountaineer Mercenaries – 6
‘Well? I aimed a wooden stick at the plate armor. Is it like an artifact?’
After a while Manfred thought so.
-Kwaaang!!!
The wooden doll swayed back and forth with a loud sound.
Manfred thought the bomb had exploded at the moment and ducked to protect Maris, but Maris was not at all frightened because she had seen the musket several times during her stay in Arcadia.
Manfred, who had come to his senses, looked around. There was no sign of a bomb exploding. Smoke was just rising from the hole in the small stick. Mannfred didn’t know muskets, but he knew stuff like them. It was a siege cannon.
“This is the sound of gunpowder exploding. Cannon… Is it a small portable cannon?”
“That is the correct answer.”
“But it doesn’t seem to have much power, does it? The wooden doll is standing still.”
“Let’s go closer and see.”
Hearing that, Manfred went closer to the wooden puppet and looked at it, wondering if it was Gingamin. OK…
‘A hole in the plate armor!?’
I unexpectedly found a hole in the plate armor.
Manfred inspected and touched the plate armor here and there. No matter how you look at it, the latest plate armor from Taspiria Peninsula was right. Even so, 10 ducats were expensive items. It had nothing to do with what he was wearing.
‘To think that the plate armor could be pierced so easily… If that was me, my heart would have been pierced.’
Manfred couldn’t believe it. If he went to the battlefield without knowing the information about this item, he might have died.
“Can I try shooting that thing?”
Charles then removed the remaining gunpowder from the chamber and loaded it with new gunpowder and bullets. Manfred, who had been watching him closely, nodded. It took a lot of process to reload, similar to the Taspilia Peninsula crossbow. Compared to its destructive power like a crossbow, its rapid rate of fire seemed to be its weakness.
Soon after setting up, Charles handed the musket to Manfred. Manfred pointed the tip of his musket at the wooden doll.
“Since the Hwaseung is riding, press the trigger on the lower part and it will fire.”
Follow those words and press the trigger…
-Taaang!!!
With a tremendous recoil, Mannfred was slightly pushed back and a bullet was fired. Manfred was able to feel the destructive power of a weapon called a gun through the recoil. And surprisingly, the bullet had hit the wooden doll earlier.
‘This time, the armor was pierced… ‘
He suspected that the armor had been drilled in advance, but seeing as the armor pierced the same way when he shot himself, it seemed that he had not drilled a hole in advance. To pierce the plate armor was a truly remarkable thing.
“I almost died if I went to the battlefield without knowing that these things existed. However… ”
Manfred looked at Charles.
“I still don’t know why you show me these things. What on earth does Charles want from me?”
“Musket. The loading process is difficult and complex, but hitting enemies is overwhelmingly easier than arrows. It takes 14 years to train a skilled archer, but only two weeks to a month to train a musketeer. If you catch any rural youth and train them for a month, they will become shooters.”
Hearing those words, Manfred’s heart went cold. Anyone can use such a powerful weapon? If so, wouldn’t the game of war change drastically?
“You seem to have a gut feeling. In the future, the shape of war will change. around the musket. Lords who have the ability to secure muskets will reorganize their military system around muskets, while those who do not will cling to traditional supermen like knights and wizards. Mr. Manfred, here’s the problem. What type of soldier would go best with a musket?”
“… ”
what is it Could it be Chang or Halbert? The moment I thought so, Charles said.
“The hint has to do with the reason I want to take over your mercenary.”
“page… window?”
The Crudia Mountaineer Mercenary Corps, led by Manfred, uses long spearmen as their main force. Does that mean that the type of soldier that goes well with a musket is a long spear? That question was quickly answered by Charles.
“Yes, that’s right. As you can see, muskets take a lot of time to reload. The musketeer fires once and the lancer guards the musketeer while he reloads. Even though their attack power is low, they are extremely good at protecting something. And who is the best and most reliable pikeman in the world?”
“Crudia Mountaineer Mercenary Corps… ”
All the puzzles are now put together. This man wasn’t trying to take over his mercenaries for no reason. At first, I thought it was the child of a thoughtless nobleman, but I was looking very far away.
“To be honest, musketeers can be brought in and trained. But the problem is the long spear. Unlike muskets, which can quickly produce skilled marksmen, pikemen are time-consuming to train. So instead of raising new pikemen, I tried to preoccupy the existing pikemen.”
Manfred felt himself drawn into Charles’ pace. This man speaks well. At this rate, it seemed like it would roll in and cause trouble. So Manfred came to his senses and decided to bring the pace.
“ha ha ha!”
Manfred laughed out loud. Maris and Charles looked at Manfred. Manfred’s men were also puzzled.
“I heard good information, Charles. Our ransom will be very expensive in the future.”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t that very good news? Thank you. We should hurry up and acquire a large quantity of those muskets and train new recruits to become musketeers.”
“… ”
Manfred smiled meaningfully. I thought I ate one. If the battlefield will change in the future through muskets, the price of the long spearmen, who can protect the muskets, will also rise tremendously. But that didn’t mean it had to be taken over by Charles Jean Rochepole. Wouldn’t it be better to use muskets independently for your own mercenaries?
Manfred thought. This somewhat cheeky and naive kid gave them a top military secret in order to take over them, but since they have already heard the military secret, all they have to do is eat the secret and get away with it. Of course, my conscience stings a little, but what can I do? What he was not comfortable with.
Thinking so, the moment Manfred was about to leave, Charles said.
“What are you going to do with the ratio of muskets and long spears?”
“what… ?”
Come to think of it, I had never thought about it. The number of the Crudia Mountaineer Mercenaries was about 500. Then, how many musketeers are suitable? 100 people? 200 people?
“What about a formation that mixes pikemen and musketeers? Surely you don’t think that the musketeer simply shoots from the front and then falls back and repeats? If we did, we would be trampled by enemy cavalry approaching from the flank.”
Come to think of it, that was also true. I understand that a polearm can protect a musket. So, how on earth do you plan formations to protect the maximum number of musketeers with the minimum number of pikemen?
“You must have properly prepared the route to purchase the musket, right? There are probably no musket workshops around Crude or Swadia. Do you intend to import muskets from Taspiria or from Arcadia to Crudia? Then, the supply ship will be attacked by hostile forces?”
“… ”
That was also true. How did you get the musket in the first place… It wouldn’t be difficult to find dozens of tablets, but when you reach hundreds of tablets, it becomes an army size, so it won’t be easy. What the hell am I supposed to do?
The moment I thought so, Charles continued.
“Since you’re my friend’s father, I’ll just call you father.”
“That, so be it.”
“Father, I will take care of everything. Few people know as much about gunpowder weapons as I do. Maris also listened to me and earned 900 ducats. Right, Maris?”
“yes.”
“But you are a student. War and business are quite different. How can a person without military experience be appointed as a superior? I don’t know if it’s rich. don’t do this You appear to have quite useful knowledge, but I will pay you well, so come under me.”
Then Charles smiled.
“Why don’t you have any military experience? I have the experience of leading 3,000 people to victory in a war involving tens of thousands of people. The best mercenary must meet the best commander. I am qualified to lead the Crudia Mountaineer Mercenary Corps.”
It was an incredible story. That a 17-year-old has a career leading 3,000 people? Are you the same age as Maris?
“Hey, didn’t you say you were a fallen nobleman? How on earth do you have a career like that?”
“I once fought as a guest in the military camp of Her Highness the Crown Prince.”
“… for a moment.”
It is said that there is an academy cadet who played an active part in the former crown prince’s army. I didn’t memorize the name, but I knew that fact…
“The Battle of the Imor River?”
“Yes. That Charles Jean Rochepole is me.”
This time it was Manfred’s turn to surprise. The war hero who shook the world upside down is the kid in front of you?
Manfred could now realize how arrogant he had sounded.
He is not a human being who can be hired with his own property.
Kekekekeke