A mid-level (middle-aged) office worker's laid-back industrial revolution in another world - Chapter 165

Translator: Jasper Kadowaki | Editor: NovelMultiverse

In the forest a little ways away from the city where the Elvis manor stood, two men clad in robes sat around a bonfire. 

“Well, then. Are the preparations mostly complete?”

“…A bit of a failure.”

“What? After we’ve come this far? We can’t stop now, you know?”

“…The raid on the city…May be delayed.”

“I thought we’d go at nightfall.”

“…Around the third bell…”

“That’s quite a delay.”

“…We have no other choice.”

“Well, we did eat up a lot of time just getting here… And the numbers we brought here ended up less than what we planned on.”

“…We have no other choice.”
“Around four hundred… You could compliment me on preparing in just three days, you know?”

“…I’d say you’ve done fine.”

“All right…If we just need to intimidate them, I guess we’re not necessarily aiming for an outright victory?”

“…The casualty numbers…won’t matter.”

“…If we’re going in during the daytime, I don’t see things turning out well.”

“…We’ll use Chibi.”

“Really…Well, we can put him in the vanguard…Then, when we give the signal, we’ll have him retreat.”

“…That’s fine.”

The two men extinguished the bonfire and disappeared into the darkness.

————————

Takeo and Frederick entered the parlor. 

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” said Takeo. 

“Ah, so that’s the Shojoo… Is it?” asked the king. 

“Alan-san – I should ask you, have you ever heard of a ‘rifle’ or a ‘gun’ in the royal capital?” asked Takeo. 

“No.”

“If I remember correctly, we border the Katoranda Empire and regularly go to war with them, right?” I asked. 

“Yes. If we are talking about recently, there were no attacks last year, but we did have a standoff… At least that’s what was recorded,” said the king. 

“I see. Were there any accounts that mentioned anything concerning a “gun”, or a new type of weapon being used?” asked Takeo. 

“Well…I haven’t looked into it in detail…But, I don’t think so,” said the king. 

“…I see. Well, then, I will start by explaining this rifle. This is a weapon that fires bullets, which strike the enemy. According to Shopkeeper Taylor, it is a Katoranda Empire-made weapon designed to allow people without magical abilities to fire projectiles,” said Takeo. 

“However, it looks like it can only fire one bullet at a time, and the time it takes between shots would render it quite useless,” said King Azupal while looking at a bullet in his hand.

“…I see…” said Takeo, squinting and listening to the king. 

“Hm? What is it?” asked the king. 

“It’s just that you had the same response as Elvis-san,” said Takeo. 

“Is that right?” asked the king. 

“Yes, I said the same thing,” said Grandpa Elvis.

“Indeed, this weapon by itself isn’t much of a threat. After all, all it does is fling this piece of metal. Let me see… Well, then. I will tell you all a general summary of the history of guns in the lands where I come from…” said Takeo, and began stating the history of guns that he had mentioned, before.

..

.

Takeo explained the history of guns from their invention to the creation of the small rifle. 

“I see. It took 550 years from the invention of this modern rifle… Not only that, it took four people in a group to fire one… Right?” asked the king. [Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]

“Yes, the biggest weak point for all guns, including this rifle, is the time it takes to reload. Therefore, a solution must be thought of to overcome this problem. On top of that, this small rifle is easy to carry around, so certain tactics around waiting for reloading developed using the actions of a few people,” said Takeo. 

“I see… So it would take just a few people to assassinate someone,” said the king. 

“Assassination… Well, that’s true, but… The biggest difference that this caused was that the way wars were fought was changed. Right now, cavalry and infantry performing charge-like attacks are thought of as crucial to warfare,” said Takeo. 

“That’s right. That’s why many of our battles lately end with a standoff,” said the king. 

“Usually, how far away are the armies in these standoffs?” asked Takeo. 

“Hmm… 300 meters, maybe… The mage’s attack ranges are at around 200 meters, after all,” said the king. 

“I have estimated that the firing range of this small rifle is at about 400 meters,” said Takeo. 

“What?!” exclaimed the king. 

“If the standoffs continue as they have been, bullets will come flying before any charges can begin,” said Takeo. 

“I see… How much power do they pack?” asked the king. 

“Well… We tried firing it at plate armor, and it made a large dent,” said Takeo. 

Shopkeeper Taylor appraised its power as equivalent to an upper-mid-level magical attack,” said Takeo. “However, it doesn’t yet have the strength to pierce armor. To confront this issue, I think that a good defensive method would be to prepare a metal shield that’s thicker than plate armor,” said Takeo. 

“I see,” said the king, nodding. 

“So, for now, I’ve told you the history up until the creation of this small rifle. Alan-san, don’t you find something strange?” asked Takeo. 

“Hm? …What is it?” asked the king. 

“This bullet… It’s factory-made. And in my world, this small rifle is the product of 550 years of progress,” said Takeo. 

“Hm… You mean the news of this,” said the king. 

“Yes, it’s strange that news of this has not yet reached the royal capital,” said Takeo. 

“You’re right,” said the king. 

King Azupal and William nodded. 

“The small rifle has not been overvalued nor undervalued. As of now, it’s only considered a flinging mechanism for those who can’t use magic,” said William.

“Hmm, yes. It would be a fearsome threat if mass-produced, though,” said the king.

“Yes. In a battle of cavalry and infantry against mages of the same number of troops… Which would win?” asked Takeo. 

“That would be the mages,” said the king. 

“Why is that?” asked Takeo.  

“The mages have a longer range, and so they can attack before their opponents charge,” said the king. 

“So, then, it’s possible that the previous battle tactics will not work against troops with these new weapons,” said Takeo. 

“That’s true… How would you face the new threat, Takeo?”

“Well… I suppose I would line up one or two rows of the metal shields along the sides of an army, approach slowly, and then finally charge,” said Takeo, “Another thing to consider is that if these bullets are factory-made, they will need to be replenished, eventually. So, I would thoroughly destroy the rearguard supplying the bullets for reloading… But, I don’t think this would guarantee a victory.”

“So that’s how it would go… Do you have any other effective strategies?” asked the king. 

“If you have time, I would increase the number of mages, and arrange for an exchange of shots… I think? The opponent would not be able to reload in time. Our side would simply need to take turns and recover physically to continue fighting. It would take some time, but if you consider it a fairly equal war of attrition, you would have to expect significant casualties,” said Takeo. 

“Hmm, yes. So, Takeo, your basic strategy is to cause problems for the enemy by cutting off their resupply lines,” said the king. 

“Yes. I’m not an expert on warfare, so I’m not sure about how one would lessen the casualty rate during a drawn-out battle, though. If the enemy tires out first, I believe they will sue for peace. After that, the battle would shift to one of officials and diplomats. That can be worked out between the two countries, I assume,” said Takeo. 

“That’s true,” said the king. William and King Azupal nodded. [Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]