Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 117 is devoid of lust, consisting entirely of discussion.

Patricia looked away and glanced at her brother: "Is this what you meant by not being interested in these things after coming back from the battlefield?"

Ludwig didn't know what to say, so he could only force a smile at his sister.

He was also puzzled. Just a moment ago, Morin was talking to him at length about how "romantic feelings affect the speed of firing a gun," but now he was chatting enthusiastically with a girl he had never met before.
And judging from his demeanor, he was much more proactive and enthusiastic than when I had tried to set him up with Patricia earlier.

"What's wrong with this kid?" Ludwig wondered to himself.

Although Patricia felt something was off, she was still very curious about how the two of them were chatting so happily.

She observed the girl in the dark red dress from a distance.

Her appearance was only above average, far less refined than mine, and her demeanor exuded a restrained air typical of people from small towns.

His physique is indeed very imposing.

"So what if her breasts are a little big?"

Patricia gave a soft hum in her heart.

Sometimes curiosity is a driving force that is hard to understand.

So Patricia quickly and seemingly casually approached the two of them, and Morin and Helga did not deliberately lower their voices, so she could hear the gist of it.

"Therefore, in terms of feeding method, I believe that the continuous firepower advantage of belt feeding is unmatched by magazines or small drum magazines."

"However, canvas ammunition belts are easily contaminated in the field, affecting the reliability of ammunition feeding."

“We can use ready-made ammunition boxes, which can protect the ammunition belts and are easy to carry. I also have an idea about metal disintegrating ammunition belts.”

"Huh? There's such a thing. What about weight control? If we use a belt-fed ammunition box, wouldn't it be too heavy for a single soldier to carry?"

"That's much lighter than the MG08, and my plan is for a two-person team, with the assistant gunner responsible for carrying the ammunition."

"There's also the issue of ammunition compatibility. If it's compatible with standard rifle ammunition, the logistical burden will be greatly reduced."

Patricia stopped in her tracks, surprised to find that the two men who were chatting so enthusiastically were actually discussing weapon design.
The blonde noblewoman's expression turned strange.

When she saw that the girl took out a small notebook and a pencil from her handbag instead of makeup tools, she was completely baffled by the two of them.

No, who would discuss these things at a cocktail party?!

And why is she carrying a laptop in her handbag?!

This is even more outrageous than her brother Ludwig discussing the Teutonic Knights' charge tactics with someone at the ball!
At this moment, Helga also noticed Patricia, who had been walking around nearby.

After all, this young lady's temperament was too outstanding. Her long golden hair and white dress were so dazzling under the lights that it made her feel a little ashamed. She was clearly a true aristocrat.

Moreover, the other party has already circled back and forth here several times.
She looked at Morin, who was writing and drawing in her notebook with her head down, and carefully tugged at Morin's sleeve.

"Lieutenant Morin, is that young lady looking for you?"

"what?"

When Maureen turned around and saw that it was Patricia, she immediately stood up and greeted her.

"Miss Seeker, you're still here."

Patricia: "."

Morin didn't notice the change in the other person's emotions, and instead enthusiastically introduced Helga to her.

"Let me introduce you. This is Ms. Helga Schmeisser, a very insightful gun designer."

Helga quickly stood up and, somewhat nervously, bowed to the noble lady who clearly came from an distinguished family.

Patricia nodded reservedly in response.

Morin then extended an invitation that Patricia had not expected.

“Miss Seekert, would you like to join the discussion? I happen to have some questions about magical technology that I would like to ask you, a genius in magical technology.”

"?"

Patricia was stunned.

This was the first time she had been invited to give a seminar at a cocktail party.

She glanced into Morin's eyes and found no trace of lust, frivolity, or mockery.

Those eyes were filled with pure thirst for knowledge.

Like a child who has seen a new and interesting toy, eager to take it apart and study it thoroughly.

Her focus and enthusiasm made it difficult for her to say no.

Finally, she slowly sat down next to Helga, emphasizing as she did so.

"I just happened to be passing by and decided to sit down and rest my feet."

Helga thought to herself, "Hasn't this noble lady been circling around several times?"

However, being introverted, she naturally didn't dare to say it aloud, but silently moved aside to give Patricia more space.

When Helga took the notebook and began to record some suggestions for revision based on Morin's advice, Morin also turned to Patricia and began to seriously ask for her advice.

“Miss Seeckt, Lieutenant Colonel Ludwig said you are a genius in the field of magic technology. I would like to ask you a question.”

The latter was initially hesitant, but hearing the title of 'genius' made her feel somewhat pleased, so she cleared her throat.

"Ask away, Lieutenant Morin."

Molin chuckled sheepishly and asked a question he had been pondering for a long time.

"Is there a way to use magical technology to precisely detonate all the explosives inside the projectile in a very short time?"

Patricia pondered for a moment, then frowned and asked, "Synchronized detonation?"

Morin's eyes lit up: "Yes! That's the word! Synchronous detonation!"

He had been trying to optimize shaped charge armor-piercing projectiles.

A key optimization point is how to ensure that the metal jet formed by the explosive after the fuse is triggered can be perfectly converged at a single point, which places extremely high demands on the detonation method.

Traditional mechanical fuses are difficult to synchronize perfectly, and there will always be a slight time difference, which greatly reduces the armor-piercing effect.

The piezoelectric ceramic fuses commonly used in the world before the time travel are still nowhere to be found.
But what if it were magic?

Patricia pondered for a moment, her brilliant mind racing. "Theoretically, it's feasible."

She stretched out her slender, fair fingers, dipped them in the water in the cup, and drew a few simple rune structures on the smooth, dark coffee table.

"In magical technology, there is a concept called 'magical spark,' which can use a miniature magical circuit to generate high-energy sparks at multiple preset points simultaneously upon receiving a trigger signal."

"This process has almost no delay and can be fully synchronized with the trigger."

Morin was overjoyed.

"Is this technology complex? Is it expensive?"

"The technology itself is not complicated; it is a basic application. As for the cost, it mainly depends on how high your requirements are for the magic crystals. If it is just a simple trigger, you can use the lowest quality magic crystal fragments, and the cost can be kept very low."

The moment Patricia finished speaking, a system notification sounded in Morin's mind.

[Key Technology Theory Input: Synchronous Detonation Technology of Magic Spark]

The fuze and detonation design for the 'shaped charge armor-piercing projectile' have been updated.

Become!

Morin was overjoyed, and his gaze toward Patricia became fiery.

This isn't some blonde heiress, she's practically a walking tech encyclopedia!

The intense gaze made Patricia feel somewhat flustered.

Just as she was wondering if those were Morin's disguises, and that this guy was finally about to reveal his true nature again.

Then she heard Morin begin to describe the 'magic crystal cannon' that he had mentioned on the balcony earlier.

Of course, he omitted the sensitive parts, only giving a general description of the weapon's magic power supply, attack methods, and effects.

Then, Maureen posed her second question.

"Miss Seeker, do you think it's possible to miniaturize and lighten this thing?"

Patricia immediately understood what Morin meant, and her expression turned serious.

"You want to turn the magic crystal cannon into a personal weapon?"

“Yes!” Morin nodded emphatically. “Ideally, a few soldiers could take it with them, and they could hit and run.”

Patricia was a little taken aback.

She looked at Morin as if she were a monster.

"You mean you want to rely on a few ordinary soldiers without magical affinity to operate magical weapons? And you want to mass-produce them?"

“There’s nothing wrong with it, is there a problem?” Morin asked in return.

The girl shook her head and said in a tone that suggested she was looking down on someone, "That's almost impossible."

Morin was puzzled.

Is it a technical issue? Or something else?

Patricia's expression became somewhat complicated. She hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking.

"It should be attributed to human factors."

"Human causes?"

Morin couldn't understand it either.

Patricia sighed, seemingly unwilling to discuss the topic further.

"In short, whether in the Empire or other countries, even among the Britannians, all magical equipment must be used directly or indirectly by mages."

"Or it could be operated by specially modified soldiers with 'magical affinity,' that's common sense."

"Ordinary people simply cannot access the energy within the magical device, let alone activate it stably."

Morin: "But those magic crystal cannons I saw in the Kingdom of Aragon, weren't they operated by ordinary soldiers?"

Whether someone possesses 'magical affinity' cannot be determined by their appearance.

Patricia paused for a moment, then continued:

"And as you said, without a mage's guidance, the magic crystal cannon can't even reach one-tenth of its effectiveness."

Upon hearing this, Morin fell silent.

He suddenly began to feel that there might be something wrong with the mage community of the Saxon Empire, or rather, with the mages of this world.

And it's a big problem.

On the other side, in a separate room on the second floor of the manor.

Cecilia was having a private conversation with several noblewomen.

They were all wives of high-ranking officials and nobles in the empire, and also important targets for Cecilia in her "wife route" to build her network of relationships.

A wealthy woman who had just returned from touching up her makeup spoke with a hint of gossip.

“Mrs. Falkenstein, I just saw Lieutenant Morin chatting with a blonde girl on the downstairs balcony.”

"It's Patricia, the youngest daughter of the Seect family. She's really beautiful."

Cecilia was unsure how to react to these words, but she maintained a polite smile.

"Young people always have endless topics to talk about."

The lady covered her mouth and chuckled: "But I saw that they didn't talk for long before Lieutenant Morin walked away by himself. He's not like he used to be, clinging to any pretty girl he saw."

Cecilia chuckled as she picked up her teacup and began to speak:
"Like I said before, the battlefield changes people. I think Fritz has become much more composed since he came back."

However, the noblewoman seemed to remember something and continued.

"However, before I came up, I saw Lieutenant Morin quickly getting into a lively conversation with another girl I didn't recognize. She seemed much more animated than when she was chatting with Miss Seeker."

The teacup remained frozen at his lips.

(End of this chapter)