Here’s the translation of the provided text:
“Paatz.”
“Paatsuuts side!!”
The feeling of something sharp and tingling. As I felt that sensation with my body, I swung the dagger, drawing a straight line of violet lightning.
“It’s wrong.”
But Claude Rain crossed his arms and shook his head.
“The trajectory is too visible, so the opponent could react sufficiently.”
“I thought it would be simpler than this.”
“If it were that simple, I wouldn’t have survived on that high ground.”
Claude said as he snatched the dagger in the blink of an eye. Paatsuuts side! Without needing to start the engine, the dazzling lightning flashed.
I could see a clear difference in speed and accuracy compared to what I had done before.
“Indeed, the original shop has its own flavor.”
“Still, you have talent. With just a little adjustment to your posture, you could become quite useful.”
Until now, I had been busy with technology development, advising on battalion operations, and various activities both domestically and internationally.
Recently, I decided to focus on gathering my combat senses once again, which had dulled over time.
My combat lessons with Claude were part of this activity.
“By the way, how’s your arm?”
“It’s always the same.”
Claude shook his silver prosthetic arm.
Having lost one arm during the Quernen War, he should have been discharged as a war veteran. However, they judged it too much of a loss to simply discharge him, a war hero who had made great contributions in two Quernen Wars and was also an excellent mage.
Sony Chepelin even went as far as to use her property again to bring the best prosthetic maker from the Adalya Kingdom.
As a result,
Claude Rain’s right arm was reborn as a combination of science and magic, equipped with various auxiliary magic devices and made of Rhinehardt Empire’s ultra-alloy. He had become a cyborg, whether by choice or not.
He seemed visibly uncomfortable, though, as he still found his new arm less familiar than his original one.
“But you’ve decided not to be discharged after all?”
“Huh… When did you tell me to stay? Now you’re changing your mind?”
“No, it’s not like that…”
“Just joking. Well, I can’t leave a weak battalion commander behind.”
Claude smiled at me, looking somewhat impatient. It had been nearly a year since the Quernen War ended in victory for Okhraine.
Unlike before, when he avoided social interactions and kept his emotions hidden, Claude showed quite dramatic changes over the past year.
It was hard to believe that someone who didn’t even enjoy conversation was now laughing and talking like this.
Although he still had occasional disagreements with Bella Meyer, who was like a sworn enemy, the tense situations had completely disappeared.
Now, their relationship could be described as purely one of love and hate.
“Speaking of which, how are things with Lieutenant Hilton Callia?”
“I don’t know what answer you expect, but it won’t be what you think.”
I clicked my tongue.
There had been quite a bit of gossip among the soldiers lately about this.
The story of the war hero major, who took care of the soldiers despite grumbling, and the newly born torpedo killer captain.
Even thinking about it made my mouth water, but Claude dismissed it sternly.
“Anyway, let’s move on to the next action.”
“Alright.”
I caught the sword thrown into the air and retook my stance.
“Let’s start from the first action again.”
“Understood.”
“One, two. Three.”
“One, two! Three!!”
At least today, I intended to push myself hard.
“Look at you, arriving just in time!”
Colonel Yan Bloch, head of artillery equipment at the Central Technology Education Research Institute, greeted me with a wide smile.
He was one of the key military figures involved in the ‘Moldoke Armored Train’ project I brought up from the Rhinehardt Empire last time.
“It’s been a while.”
“It certainly has. Colonel Enok must be very busy indeed. You can tell just from the news coming from all over.”
Yan Bloch, who had shown great enthusiasm in developing the 57mm Grizzly howitzer last time, naturally became responsible for the local license production of the Moldoke Armored Train, where various types of artillery including the 57mm howitzer would be installed.
Of course, familiar faces weren’t limited to just Yan Bloch.
“Are… Are you well?”
“Captain Debra Bennett.”
“It’s good to meet you again.”
When I first came to this world, she was an officer from the Northern Corps 3rd Mage Battalion.
She was transferred to the Technical Research Department by Colonel Viktor Zelenski, who liked the protective barrier technique she created, back when I was scouted for the Special Response Brigade.
Though she was one rank higher than me then,
unlike her, who is still only a captain, I now wear two silver chrysanthemums on my shoulders.
Despite my higher rank, she still outranks me in seniority, so I maintained strict respect.
“You don’t need to be so formal…”
“That’s enough. Do I seem that power-hungry?”
“Your attitude is still as cheeky as ever.”
Honestly, there’s no reason to act overly familiar.
Unlike Colonel Lockhart, who went crazy at me, Debra was actually a benefactor who helped me greatly.
While chatting lightly with old comrades from my previous unit,
Colonel Yan Bloch patted my shoulder and said,
“Anyway, it’s much more advanced than the prototype we saw last time! Let’s go see it!”
Like a proud father showing off his pretty daughter, Colonel Yan Bloch looked eager to show me the armored train immediately.
Even when we saw only the prototype version last time, it was already quite impressive. How much had it improved?
Entering the factory with slight hesitation due to uncertainty, I was momentarily speechless at its overwhelming presence.
“This is our army’s first officially produced Moldoke Armored Train! Blisskavka!!”
Blisskavka.
Of course, since it was produced under license using Okhraine’s technology rather than received from the Rhinehardt Empire, its quality was slightly inferior to that of Rhinehardt-made products.
The armored trains recently produced by the Rhinehardt Empire had replaced their engines with ones incorporating mage chemical technology, whereas we were still using firepower engines based on coal.
However,
as if he lived and died by firepower, Colonel Yan Bloch couldn’t help but feel proud.
The weapons applied to Blisskavka were so excessive that even I, who had seen them come from the front, thought they were too much.
“We first mounted 57mm Grizzly howitzers for close fire support on the front and rear. Of course, these are improved models with maximized accuracy and firepower.”
“Those seen in the middle are 125mm howitzers. We imported them directly from the Rhinehardt side. They seemed to be the best among Rhinehardt’s cannons.”
“Additionally, we placed g*n ports in each compartment so that infantry troops could freely project firepower, and to respond to possible airship attacks, we installed mini Gatlings in two compartments!”
Each time Yan Bloch listed the specifications, his shoulders rose.
“Isn’t this overarmed?”
“What are you saying? This is still not enough! Given that industrial production cannot keep up with demand, we must cram as many functions as possible into one train!”
“Moreover, I incorporated my designed protective barrier spell into Blisskavka. It’s not applied to every compartment, only to the important command, control, and weapon storage sections.”
So that’s why Debra was there.
From the beginning, the Central Technology Research Bureau moved its headquarters to the Vyaltotok area and has been stationed in the ‘Pedro Industrial Complex’ built there.
Count Jacques Pedro agreed to provide land at a cheap price, leading to the establishment of the first and largest industrial complex in Okhraine.
Initially, there was strong opposition from nearby nobles, but with the significant foreign currency earned and the connections established with central power, nobles are now lining up to get more land or expand the complex.
– Indeed, my eyes were not mistaken. I knew from the start that he wasn’t just a reckless young man.
– Didn’t I tell you?
– If you need anything in the future, just say it. I’ll help with anything!
Thanks to this, Count Jacques Pedro’s favor towards me was steadily increasing.
After all, he had revived a family on the brink of collapse, so it was natural.
– By the way, aren’t you getting to the age to settle down? What do you think of Ekaterina? Honestly, I think our child is much more dependable than other noble ladies.
– Father! Why are you saying such things?!
– Hahaha…
Every chance he got, he tried to pair me with Lady Ekaterina, so I struggled quite a bit to politely refuse.
Just recalling the unpleasant situation, Colonel Yan suddenly shook my shoulder and shouted,
“Heheh! Yes, it’s truly beautiful to the point of being mesmerizing! But, Colonel Enok.”
“Yes.”
“Yesterday, they brought a new weapon from the Rhinehardt side for testing. Do you want to see it?”
New weapon?
This was exactly the time when various countries were inventing all sorts of weapons, given that a war was just about to break out.
Not only did Okhraine deploy armored trains in actual combat, but they also began mass-producing various infantry weapons with assistance from the Rhinehardt Empire.
The mini Gatling mentioned by Colonel Yan Bloch earlier is also a machine g*n from the Federal Republic of America.
“What kind of weapon is it?”
“Let’s see… I only heard the model name. It was said to completely replace airships.”
At this point, there’s only one thing that could replace airships.
Could it be that what I know is correct?
“It’s called Manfred. D.I MK.I.”
As soon as I heard that, I firmly grabbed Colonel Yan’s hand.
“Let’s go see it right away.”
Manfred Combat Aircraft.
A morale-boosting fighter aircraft that played a major role in the early stages of Hearts of General.
The empire’s red envoy finally revealed its true form.
