Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 179 Sentinel Equipment Youth Edition?
As Morin pondered this in his mind, his fingers began to carefully caress every detail of the breastplate.

The progress bar in the "Technology" tab slowly climbed, and at the same time, a series of detailed data appeared in his mind.

Similar to the breastplates from the Napoleonic era in his memory, this set consisted of two steel plates, one in front and one behind.

The steel armor is about 3 millimeters thick, and each piece is heavy, weighing about 7.5 kilograms.

The front and back armor plates are connected by leather brass shoulder straps, and there is also a leather belt at the waist, riveted to the back plate, used to fasten it in front.

The lining of the breastplate is made of slightly rough herringbone canvas, which is sewn directly to the inside of the steel plate and cannot be removed or easily cleaned.

Morin could smell a pungent odor mixed with the smell of sweat and mildew, and could imagine how uncomfortable it must be to wear.

It tastes great, no need to say more.

Holding the breastplate and looking at it from left to right, Morin noticed that the unlock progress in the [Technology] tab was stuck at 40% and wouldn't budge. Then, looking at the lining, he suddenly realized something.

He drew his bayonet from his waist and carefully pried open a corner of the lining, which had become somewhat blackened from being soaked in water.

The canvas was torn open, revealing the cold, steel plate underneath.

As expected, it was densely covered with a large number of tiny runes.

These runes have complex structures, intertwined and interwoven, forming a strange pattern.

The moment he saw the runes clearly, the system's progress in unlocking this technology jumped from a few percent to 100%.

[The '1890 Model' enchanted cavalry breastplate technology has been unlocked]

As the cheat code provided more and more information, Morin gradually understood how this breastplate worked.

It's not actually the same kind of armor as the full-body armor worn by those 'plate armor superheroes' in Brittany or Saxony.

The armor of those 'plate armor superheroes' is actually more similar to the manufacturing process of armored knights.

Magic crystal powder is incorporated into the forging process, and through a special magical technique, the material strength and toughness of the armor are greatly improved from a physical perspective.

The Gauls' breastplate was essentially just a well-made ordinary steel plate.

Its magic lies entirely in the enchanted magic circle etched on its inner side.

This magic circle can form a simplified shield on the surface of the breastplate. It is called 'simplified' because the shield has a defense threshold.

Depending on the fluctuations in enchantment crafting, it can probably withstand three to five direct hits from full-power rifle bullets.

In previous battles, the soldiers of the training assault battalion felt that the cuirassiers were "tough," mainly because it was difficult to guarantee that they could deal damage to the same target exceeding its defense threshold in a short period of time.

Once the damage received exceeds this threshold, the enchantment effect will immediately fail, the Simple Shield spell will disappear, and the chest armor will revert to a regular steel plate.

To restore its protective capabilities, it needs to be sent to the rear where specialized magic technicians will use specific tools and materials to repair and 'recharge' it.

Morin glanced at the pile of breastplates on the ground. For comparison, the 3rd Company had also picked up a few sets of breastplates that were completely ineffective in terms of defense.

These breastplates all have bullet holes, clearly indicating that they were pierced through after the enchantment failed.

The runes on the inner sides of the dozens of breastplates that weren't penetrated weren't completely destroyed.

Thinking about this, a bold idea popped into Morin's mind.

"Repair" and "Recharge".
He stared at the lining he had just ripped open with his bayonet, and suddenly an idea struck him.

A basic magic trick, the "Repair Spell," is quietly activated.

The cut made by the bayonet healed rapidly before the naked eye, returning to its original state in the blink of an eye, without showing any trace of damage.

To his even greater surprise, as the lining was repaired, he could feel a faint magical light flash across the surface of the breastplate, making it much brighter than before.

Holy crap? It actually works!
"I told you, practice makes perfect!"

Morin used the [Repair] spell again, and this time the magical aura on the surface of the breastplate was even more abundant.

Based on his assessment of the intensity of this magical aura, it seemed to be fully charged.

Morin then had a pierced breastplate unloaded from the truck.

The front of this breastplate has a gruesome hole the size of a fist, with the steel plates at the edges curled inward, clearly indicating that it was hit directly by a large-caliber bullet or explosive.

He placed his hand on the hole and activated the [Repair] spell again.

A faint light flashed, and the rolled-up steel plate began to slowly wriggle and deform, eventually completely filling the terrifying hole.

A few seconds later, the breastplate regained its full shape, although the repaired area was less shiny than the surrounding area.

However, when he felt the breastplate again, he found that it did not regain its magical aura like the previous one.

It seems that the [Repair] spell can only repair physical damage and slightly recharge enchantment arrays, but it is powerless against enchantment arrays that have been completely destroyed.

Having abandoned the idea of ​​turning waste into treasure, Morin refocused his attention on the forty-odd intact breastplates on the ground.

He rubbed his hands together and began to use the [Repair] spell on the breastplates lined up on the ground, one after another.

Anyway, magic tricks theoretically have no limit on the number of times they can be used. As long as your mental strength can hold up, you can keep using them.

First. After using [Repair Spell] twice, the aura is restored.

The second thing is that after using the [Repair Spell] three times, the aura will be restored.

Manstein, Kleist, and the other soldiers around them stared in disbelief at the scene.

"Is this magic?" Manstein asked, stunned.

After casting five [Repair] spells in succession, Morin felt his head start to spin and the scenery in front of him began to appear slightly doubled.

He gritted his teeth and forced himself to reach out to the next piece of breastplate.

The third step: Use the [Repair Technique].
"vomit"

Morin suddenly lost control and leaned against the wall, retching violently.

This sudden turn of events startled Manstein, Kleist, and Jonas, who were standing nearby.

"battalion commander!"

"What's wrong with you?"

Just as they were about to rush over to help Morin up, they saw him bracing himself against the wall with one hand, while his other hand swayed weakly backward.

"fine."

Morin's voice became somewhat muffled due to gagging.

"I'll be fine after vomiting for a little while. Could you get me some saline solution?"

Manstein immediately took out his salt packet and poured some into the kettle.

Kleist, stunned, said, "So this is magic?"

Molin leaned against the mottled wall, his stomach churning, and it took him a while to calm down.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, feeling dizzy and as if the whole world was gently swaying.

Manstein and Kleist, who were standing nearby, looked nervous and wanted to help him up, but he stopped them by waving his hand.

"It's nothing, I just feel a little dizzy." Morin leaned against the wall, let out a long breath, and then took the water bottle handed to him by Kleist to rinse his mouth.

He is now experiencing firsthand what it feels like to expend a large amount of mental energy in a short period of time.

Although it's just a basic trick, and according to the description in the [Spells] interface, this thing really has no usage restrictions.

However, even after casting the [Repair Spell] seven or eight times in a row, the consumption of mental energy was still considerable.

It felt like I'd been working on a paper for three days and three nights straight, my brain was completely emptied, and everything looked blurry.

"Commander, you should take a rest," Kleist said, his voice full of concern.

Morin shook his head; he knew very well that now was not the time to rest.

He also realized that the Gauls' method of 'energizing' these breastplates certainly didn't involve magicians manually conjuring them one by one.

This is incredibly inefficient; it's like using a precious mage as a laborer. Only a third-rate 'wild mage' like myself would do something so foolish.

They probably have some kind of more efficient, more industrialized magical device to accomplish this process.

"They can't possibly be like me, using artificial energy to power their devices, can they?"

Morin thought to himself, but for now, this was the only clumsy method he could use.

After catching his breath, Morin mustered his strength and walked to the pile of breastplates.

He stopped trying to 'fill' everything – that was unrealistic and would have completely drained him.

With a fierce battle looming ahead, he certainly couldn't afford to let anything happen to his body.

So Morin changed his approach, dividing the forty-six sets of spoils into three piles based on the intensity of the residual magical aura on each breastplate.

The first pile is 'slightly worn', about ten pieces.

The aura on it is still very bright, indicating that it was recently equipped or was not hit much in battle and basically does not need to be repaired.

The second pile consisted of about twenty 'battle-hardened' pieces. The aura on the breastplates had dimmed somewhat, but they still provided effective protection.

The third pile was 'barely intact', with less than ten pieces remaining. The spiritual light was so faint that it was almost invisible, and it was estimated that it would be destroyed after taking one or two more bullets.

Morin's goal is to upgrade this last pile of 'damaged' breastplates to a 'battle-hardened' level.

After resting for a while and feeling the dizziness subside slightly, he reached out again and intermittently cast the [Repair] spell on the most worn-out breastplates.

After repairing each item, he would stop for a few minutes to rest, drink some salt water, and ease the nausea and vomiting.

The soldiers around him watched quietly, and no one disturbed him.

They watched as their battalion commander, pale-faced and sweating, continued to inject beams of light into the damaged breastplates.

In their eyes, this was no longer simple magic, but a reassuring power.

Finally, after another bout of nausea, Morin managed to bring all the breastplates to a usable level.

He straightened up and looked at the forty-six breastplates that were now radiating a faint blue aura, and felt a sense of satisfaction.

"Distribute these things."

"Morlin said to Klaus and the other two company commanders who had rushed over after hearing the news."

"Priority will be given to tall and strong soldiers."

Gallic cavalrymen were generally more robust than ordinary infantrymen, and their breastplates were somewhat large for most soldiers in the training assault battalion.

On the contrary, the 2nd Company, which had a majority of soldiers who came from the Imperial Guard, was selected because the food and training were better in the past, and there were requirements during the selection process.

Therefore, the people with the highest average height and strong build who could fit these breastplates were the most numerous, and they took away twenty-two sets in one go.

The remaining twenty-four sets were divided up among the strong men in the 1st and 3rd companies.

A soldier from the 1st Company excitedly put on a suit; the heavy steel armor made him feel heavy, but he quickly got used to it.

He stretched his shoulders and then pounded his chest hard, making a dull "thud".

Hey! This feels pretty good!

He grinned, as happy as a child.

"Wearing this makes me feel much more at ease!"

Seeing his excited expression, Morin didn't want to spoil the fun by telling him that this thing had a 'soul ring'.
However, after thinking about it, he still went over and gave him a special reminder: "Remember, pay close attention to the blue light on the chest armor when you're fighting. If you find that the light is gone, quickly find a chance to take this thing off."

"Otherwise, it won't be your armor, but rather fifteen kilograms of scrap metal that will hinder your movement."

"Understood, Battalion Commander!" the soldier replied loudly.

Morin emphasized to the other three company commanders that they should remind the soldiers who had received breastplates not to think that wearing a breastplate would make them invulnerable to swords and spears.

After distributing these special 'sentinel gear youth version', the entire training assault battalion entered a state of high-speed combat readiness.

Morin's four-line defense plan was quickly distributed to each company by messengers.

Soldiers from the battalion's communications platoon strung telephone lines through the ruins and streets of the southern city.

Soon the line was connected from the temporary command post in the core area of ​​Charleroi South City to the temporary company posts of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Companies located behind their respective defense zones.

Loud shouts and officers' whistles echoed throughout the city.

Apart from the detachments that continued to perform perimeter guard duties, all soldiers were engaged in the intense work of constructing defensive positions.

All the sandbags that could be found in the city were gathered together, and the soldiers lined up and carried the sandbags filled with sand to the front line, one trip after another, from the banks of the Sambur River.

Guided by the sketches drawn by Morin, sturdy sandbag bunkers were erected at important crossroads and defensive nodes.

The doors and windows on the first floor of some key buildings were completely sealed off with bricks and furniture, leaving only dark firing ports on the second and third floors.

Some of the soldiers who received demolition training, and were planned by Morin to become 'combat engineers' in the future, used explosives and hammers to carve out passages in the walls of adjacent buildings.

This connects the individual buildings into a complex fortress with internal passageways.

Morin, along with Kleist and Manstein, rode in a truck, patrolling the various defense zones of the southern city.

Wherever he went, Morin would personally inspect the layout of the bunkers and the firing range of the machine gun positions.

"Your heavy machine gun position is in the wrong location."

He stopped in the 2nd Company's defense zone and pointed to a firing point set up on the second floor of a building at a street corner.

"The firing arc is too narrow, and it is easy for the enemy's artillery to take it out directly."

"Move it to the third floor of the building across the street. From there, we can block two roads and create crossfire with another firing point on the flank."

As he spoke, he picked up a stone and quickly drew the proposed modifications on the brick wall of the building.

The 2nd Company Commander immediately ordered his soldiers to carry the heavy MG08 machine gun and boxes of ammunition to the new position, following the battalion commander's instructions.

Time flew by in a tense but orderly busy atmosphere, and Morin would occasionally stop to glance at the movements of friendly forces on the system map.

(End of this chapter)