Chapter 87
The commotion in the southeastern elf kingdoms, suspicious movements of western kingdoms, and the impermanent superiority of weapon systems.
There were many reasons to conduct the expedition as quickly as possible.
Viktor had heard that Volker was proud and stubborn, so putting pressure on him with rapid advances was just an additional benefit gained while not pushing too hard.
He had expected that as a count who had risen to the position of corps commander, Volker would need to be pressured at least once or twice more before showing a weakness, but.
Volker immediately showed an enormous weakness.
"Deputy Corps Commander Axel Lübeck. We will attack the Ceres Gate here. I'd like the 5th Corps to deploy troops here, in Al Cante, to distract the enemy."
"...Understood."
"We'll conduct joint operations later, so it's necessary for the 5th Corps soldiers to become accustomed to the sounds of gunfire and siege cannons. We'll provide a few guns and cannons, so please take appropriate measures."
"...Yes."
Axel, commanding the 5th Corps in Volker's place, revealed his complex feelings in his expression but followed Viktor's "request for cooperation" without being greedy.
He showed slight signs of discomfort at Viktor's instructions, and.
Especially when mentioning Volker, he hesitated, seeming to still feel pangs of conscience, but.
"Thank you for your cooperation."
"Haha, isn't it natural for an imperial officer to be loyal to Her Majesty!"
"That's right! Her Majesty said the Red Dragon Corps and 5th Corps should cooperate to pressure the Esperian Kingdom, so of course we must follow!"
"..."
Most of the officers, led by Florian, easily sold out Volker.
While this was convenient for Viktor personally in gaining the 5th Corps' cooperation, from the perspective of an imperial officer, they did not appear to be reliable allies.
As promises must be kept, they wouldn't suffer disadvantages due to insubordination, but.
"...Then, let's conclude the meeting here."
They also wouldn't become the main actors boasting of victory.
If rewards were to be given, they should go to the soldiers who suffered under such officers.
"I look forward to working with you."
"Yes, Corps Commander!"
"...Yes."
Of course, Viktor didn't show it outwardly and shook hands with them while smiling brightly.
After sending off the 5th Corps officers, while reorganizing the troops in Adense fortress, the only one that maintained its form,
"General. Additional supplies have arrived, they say."
"I see."
Additional supplies sent from the capital arrived.
Viktor checked the supplies with a few officers, including Anna.
Most of the carts were filled with consumables like food, gunpowder, and earplugs, but,
"...What's this?"
"Oh..."
One cart contained 10 new types of guns along with a letter from Dominic Smith.
"...He's asking us to check the performance of the prototypes."
The letter contained Dominic's request to use these guns and provide feedback, along with confident phrases that Viktor would surely be satisfied with the performance, written in a simple hand.
"Prototypes... Is this also a gun?"
"Hmm."
Anna carefully handled the gun, seemingly intrigued by its structure.
Unlike the existing matchlock muskets that looked very simple on the outside, the guns sent by Dominic had a powder pan and cover on the right side, with a hammer installed to hold the flint.
"Do you know how to use it?"
"Yes. However... hmm."
Perhaps because the officers had witnessed the gun's impressive power, they showed interest in this gun.
The cart also contained plenty of flints, so Viktor picked up one gun and fitted a flint into the hammer.
"I won't load gunpowder. This part is called the hammer, you insert the flint here, then pull it back. Assuming we've loaded gunpowder, close the cover and pull the trigger..."
After pulling back the hammer, Viktor pulled the trigger.
-Click!
With the sound of the flint striking the cover, sparks flew.
"...Oh."
"Like this, the flint strikes the cover creating sparks, igniting the powder in the powder pan."
"There's no need to carry around dangling matchcords."
"...It's an ingenious method. Indeed, the Anchester Kingdom's technology seems remarkable."
"May I... touch it once too?"
The officers marveled and each picked up a gun to examine.
"Loading is done the same as with existing guns. Like this, towards the muzzle... Hmm?"
While trying to give additional explanations, Viktor noticed something unusual at the muzzle end.
Inserting a finger into the barrel, he could feel spiral grooves carved inside.
"...Oh ho."
"What's the matter?"
"It's not just the firing mechanism that's changed. Everyone, please look here for a moment. Anna, could you bring some gunpowder and bullets? Ah, and one of the existing guns we've set aside as a spare, please."
"...? Understood."
After waiting for Anna to bring the requested items, Viktor began explaining while holding two guns.
"Could you look inside the barrel of the prototype you're holding? If you look closely, you should be able to see spiral grooves carved inside."
"...That's right."
"Last time, I explained that the bullet uses the force of being compressed by explosive power to tightly engage with the barrel, exerting its full power."
The officers nodded while harboring questions.
"This groove is one step further from that. It's called rifling... I'll show you the difference. Does everyone have their earplugs?"
"Yes."
"We have them."
"Then, let's go right away."
Viktor took two guns and headed to the temporary firing range with the officers.
"This rifling helps rotate the tightly fitted bullet, making it fly more stably. Everyone, please put on your earplugs."
After all the officers put on their earplugs, Viktor demonstrated the power of the rifled gun by firing several times at distant targets.
Unlike existing muskets that couldn't be expected to hit targets beyond 100m, the rifled gun easily pierced targets at distances well over 100m.
"...The accuracy and power seem clearly different."
"Even if I don't understand the principle, just seeing the results..."
"To think it gets even stronger from here..."
The more shots fired, the more pronounced the difference between the regular gun and the rifled gun became, and the officers quickly noticed this difference.
The biggest advantage of guns using rifling is that they can fire more accurately at longer distances than existing guns.
If we go through separate training, we'll secure about 10 snipers.
"That's right. I'm thinking of forming a separate small unit to use these new rifled guns. Please select a few individuals who particularly excel in shooting or have good physical strength."
"Understood."
Even considering that the enemy might prepare stronger defenses, it's worth spending time if we can utilize snipers.
While preparing them,
"Can you figure it out?"
"...If I spend some time, I can decipher it."
"That's good enough."
During the remaining time, Viktor prepared letters filled with a mix of fake information about our forces and future strategies, along with a tiny amount of true information.
"Go to the village secretly and mail these letters. If you carry this out well, I'll release you immediately."
"...Understood."
Afterward, like Theodore had done, Viktor had prisoners carry dozens of letters scrawled with his left hand on cheap stationery and envelopes, to be mailed from surrounding villages.
As the soldiers were instructed to watch carefully, most would have been sent to Esperian nobles without any problems.
It doesn't matter if they don't read them, and it's fine if they read but don't believe them.
But if they read and believe,
The next battle will also end in our great victory.
Viktor scattered the letters liberally, with the mindset of a farmer sowing seeds.
---
Meanwhile,
Unlike the triumphant west,
"They're retreating!"
"Hah... This is difficult. What on earth are they thinking..."
The southeastern part of the Dragonian Empire was still in turmoil.
The soldiers of the Este Nation kept showing their faces at the border, moving as if to provoke the imperial army, but they didn't attack first, so.
The imperial army had no choice but to maintain constant vigilance and watch their movements.
Imperial soldiers, repeating emergency deployments and standby, complained of fatigue, but even Gerhart had no solution.
"Still no reply?"
"No. They're such a closed-off people, and infiltration is difficult..."
"I'm not blaming you. ...It's frustrating."
There was no answer to the letter asking what their series of actions meant, and as the elves didn't even consider exchanges, there was almost no way to obtain information.
As even the staff weren't much help, Gerhart pounded the desk in frustration.
"...What's the Ecrini Kingdom doing?"
"They've already entered into war with the Labria Republic and Este Nation. Even the High Elves are participating in the battles, and they're suffering great losses."
"Even the High Elves?"
The Ecrini Kingdom of the dwarves, bordering the elven nations, was in an even worse situation.
High Elves are those who receive special treatment like the empire's magicians, defending key points like the capital.
The news that even they, who had almost no record of participating in offensives, had joined meant that this situation was no small matter.
In this difficult situation where the future was unpredictable, Gerhart thought of Viktor, who had always been full of confidence.
In his eyes, Viktor, with his excellent insight, had always been a great advisor.
"..."
After pondering, Gerhart prepared a letter to resolve his questions.
Having written dozens of such letters recently, his hand wrote quickly and skillfully.
"Deliver this letter to the Ecrini Kingdom."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
After sending several letters with his adjutant,
"This letter... send it to Corps Commander Viktor in the west."
"Corps Commander Viktor... Understood."
Harboring a glimmer of hope, he sent a letter with similar contents to Viktor and leaned back in his chair.
For some reason, he felt that Viktor would somehow know the answer.
"Hah..."
Feeling the hard chair with no cushion, he closed his eyes briefly to relieve his fatigue.