Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 243 New Ideas for Armored Knights
As Helga listened to these magical technology terms she had never encountered before, although she couldn't understand many of them, she could sense from Patricia's description the same kind of obsession with technical challenges that she shared when researching machinery.

She couldn't help but say, "Although I don't understand magic technology, it sounds a bit like the problems we encounter when designing precision machinery, such as how to fit more parts into a limited space while ensuring that they do not interfere with each other and can work stably for a long time."

"That's right!"

Patricia's eyes lit up. She hadn't expected that this seemingly introverted girl could so accurately grasp the crux of the problem.

She looked at Helga intently, her tone less distant and more focused on professional discussion:

"You're absolutely right. The essence of miniaturization design is a trade-off between space and performance."

Cecilia watched as the two girls, who had initially been somewhat reserved, were now engaged in a lively discussion about a technical issue, and couldn't help but smile knowingly.

She had the maid serve her some delicate tea and snacks, and then quietly watched the two girls discuss something, lost in thought.

The afternoon passed quickly.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the three stunningly beautiful women in a golden glow.

The three letters on the table no longer looked like ordinary pieces of paper; they tightly connected three women who had previously had no connection.

When Patricia took her leave, her expression was completely different from when she arrived.

She boarded the returning carriage, glanced back at the Falkenstein Manor, which appeared even more magnificent in the twilight, then turned her gaze to the sky, and then to the distant, war-torn west.

Friedrich Maureen

She silently repeated the name in her heart.

"You better come back alive and see for yourself what I've made for you. Then I'll see if you can still act like you know everything like last time."

Morin had no idea what kind of waves his three casually written letters had already stirred up in the distant rear of the empire.

The three brilliant women from different fields began to mobilize their respective strengths in an attempt to turn the ideas in his letter into reality because of his 'request'.

At this moment, he was enjoying a rare moment of leisure in the field hospital.

The wound on my waist is healing day by day under the careful care of the nurses, and it no longer affects my mobility much.

For Morin, life in the field hospital was like being in prison.

He knew, of course, that the generals had forced him to come here for his own good; the scar on his waist looked frightening, and if he didn't take good care of it, it could easily cause problems.

But the problem is, after a month of intense fighting, Morin found that some changes had occurred in him.
He found himself unable to stay idle in the rear, and no longer resisted going to the battlefield as before; instead, he longed to be in the arms of the fighting.
Morin didn't know whether this situation was good or bad—for a soldier, looking forward to embracing the glory of battle was certainly a good thing, but it also meant that he would be dancing on the front lines.

Unable to assess his current state, he could only try to distract himself.
So aside from changing dressings and eating, Morin spent most of her time with her roommate in the next bed, Ludwig.

Especially after the bloody street battle in Amiens, his mind was filled with all sorts of new ideas, and he desperately needed to talk to someone about them or simply write them down.

So Ludwig, who was also recovering from his injuries and wrapped up like a mummy in the next bed, became his best listener.

These two brothers, who had both narrowly escaped death, certainly had endless things to talk about.

Just like Patricia's impression of her brother, Ludwig was also a 'genius' who could discuss armored knight charge tactics with others at parties.
The two talked about everything from the thrilling moments on the battlefield to complaining about the foolish decisions of the officials in the rear, and then to their outlook on future wars.

"Honestly, if it weren't for you, Friedrich would probably have died in Amiens this time."

One day, Ludwig was leaning against the headboard when he suddenly said this.

"Come on, your metal suit is tough enough. Even if you were slammed into a wall, you'd still be jumping around."

Morin leaned against the headboard, peeling an apple with a bayonet, and then casually said:

"Besides, if it weren't for your Teutonic Knights holding the line, our training assault battalion would have suffered even greater casualties in the early stages."

That's what they say.

Ludwig shook his head.

"But to be honest, this time in Amiens, I felt like I had all the energy in the world but couldn't use it."

He recalled the scenes of street fighting, his tone tinged with lingering fear and confusion:

“Especially after the emergence of the ‘shaped charge armor-piercing projectile,’ I have always been worried that the enemy might suddenly come up with such a weapon, or even use infantry to launch surprise attacks on us in urban warfare.”

"While our armored knights can indeed evade artillery fire in some situations, it's not so easy to avoid it in the confined environment of urban warfare."

Morin naturally understood Ludwig's meaning, and through these days of communication, Morin also figured out an important piece of information—that is, the issue of armored knights avoiding artillery fire.

According to Ludwig's description, Morin realized that the armored knights were not truly able to evade artillery fire unconditionally.

Instead, it imposes strict limitations on the initial velocity and distance of the projectile.

If the initial velocity of the shell is high, or the distance between the two sides is close enough, even armored knights cannot guarantee 100% evasion.
"So, I've always felt that there's something wrong with how you use armored knights, at its core."

Maureen handed the peeled apple to Ludwig, then picked up a new apple and shared his idea that he had been pondering for a long time.

"Problem? What problem?"

Ludwig took the apple and asked curiously.

In his view, the tactics of the armored knights have been passed down for hundreds of years. Although they have been constantly improved, the core concept has never changed—that is, the glorious duel between knights. "The problem is that you see yourselves too much as 'knights' and not as 'firepower platforms'."

Morin pointed it out incisively.

"Firepower platform?" Ludwig chewed on the unfamiliar term.

"Yes, a highly mobile, heavily armored firepower platform."

When the topic turned to large robots, Morin became very interested.

"Ludwig, think about it. Your iron shell may weigh over ten tons, but the power provided by the Brilliant Crystal Engine is ridiculously strong. And what's the result? Your main means of attack are still that greatsword and spear? Your only ranged weapon is an assault cannon with a pitifully small amount of ammunition?"

The more Morin talked, the more outrageous it seemed:
"Heaven knows what those old men in the Imperial Army's high command were thinking. Did they really think you were just giant versions of tin cans, meant to fight each other with the tin cans on the other side?"

"On the battlefield, do you only encounter enemy armored knights? What do you do when you encounter infantry? Do you stomp on them with your big feet?"

Although these words were rough, they struck a chord with Ludwig. Even though he wanted to refute them, he found that what Morin said was actually quite correct.

"Then what do you think we should do?" Ludwig asked humbly.

Even setting aside their life-or-death bond in Seville, after the battle in Amiens, he was now completely in awe of Morin, the guy who could always come up with strange but incredibly effective tactics.

"What to do? Simple! Hack heavy machine guns on your tin cans!" Morin said decisively.

"Load a machine gun?"

Ludwig was stunned; the idea was simply too unorthodox.

"Exactly! Just imagine, if you mounted two MG08 heavy machine guns, along with thousands of rounds of ammunition, on your iron shoulders or arms, would you still need to use an assault gun to pick off infantry one by one, or go up with a warhammer to whack them one by one when you encounter them again?"

"Just sweep two fire whips over, and whether they're hiding in a corner or in the ruins, they'll all be turned into sieves! The killing efficiency then will be incomparable to what we have now."

The scene described by Morin made Ludwig's breathing quicken.

He could already picture himself piloting an armored knight, like a war god descending to earth, tearing enemy infantry positions to shreds with a barrage of bullets.

That feeling...it actually felt pretty good.

"But...this is not in accordance with the tradition of knights."

Ludwig was still somewhat hesitant, and he explained in a low voice:

"Battles between armored knights should be fair and square, not a massacre of ordinary soldiers with machine guns. That goes against the spirit of chivalry."

"What a load of rubbish about chivalry!"

Morin interrupted him without any politeness:
"Ludwig, wake up! Times have changed! This is war, not a medieval tournament! You can't expect the enemy to listen to chivalry. If you cling to that outdated idea that 'ancestral laws cannot be changed,' you'll suffer a great loss sooner or later!"

Morin knew that military thought in this world was at a crossroads of dramatic change.

The old chivalrous honor and the new victory-only mentality are clashing fiercely.

He had to use the most direct method to wake up Ludwig and the entire armored knight group behind him.

"Think about it, if your armored knights had powerful anti-infantry capabilities, wouldn't we infantry suffer far fewer casualties during our attacks?"

"The role of the armored knights is no longer just to exchange pieces with the enemy's armored knights, but to become the spearhead and core of the entire attacking force! Isn't that a greater honor?"

Ludwig fell silent; he had to admit that Morin was right.

The ultimate goal of war is victory, which is to reduce the number of comrades who have to sacrifice their lives.

If clinging to so-called traditions results in even greater casualties, then such traditions are better off abandoned.

What you said makes some sense.

Ludwig was finally convinced, but then he raised a new question.

"However, there is still a technical problem. When we pilot the armored knight, we need to be fully engaged and highly focused in order to control every movement of this behemoth."

"At least for now, we simply don't have the extra energy to operate additional weapons during the battle, especially machine guns that require precise aiming."

"That's why we only have one relatively simple assault gun to operate. To put it bluntly, you just fire a shot in a general direction; accuracy is all about luck."

"Who said you had to operate it alone?"

Morin laughed, giving him a look that said, 'You're still too young.'

"You won't let me operate it alone? Are you expecting my squire to hang outside and pull the trigger for me?"

Ludwig looked completely bewildered.

"Stupid you!"

Morin slapped his thigh hard.

"Didn't you ever think about adding another seat inside your tin can?"

(End of this chapter)