Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 269 New Weapons
The new conference room in the Chichao Industrial Zone is located in the heart of the entire craftsmen's area. It is a core venue designed for important technical discussions. The structure is a stone and wood hybrid, with heavy beams and columns firmly supporting the arched roof.

A five-meter-long solid wood conference table in the center resembles a battlefield command post, with the latest weapon sketches and metal samples spread out on its surface.

Surrounding them sat the core artisans of the Red Tide Territory, dressed in uniform leather work robes with the "Sun Gear Emblem" personally designed by Louis printed on their chests, a symbol of the glory of this industrial legion.

They respected this lord not only because of his power, but also because of the plans he had proposed.

The structural logic and functional concepts they had never dared to imagine were enough to make an old craftsman re-examine the ancient art of craftsmanship from beginning to end.

Flamethrower, magic bomb launcher, special armor...

These whimsical ideas drawn on paper are now being trial-produced and iterated in the workshop.

Mike stood at the front, his face serious, a stark contrast to his usual boisterous laughter by the fireplace.

Standing next to him was a slightly nervous boy, whose face still had some slag on it, but whose eyes were very bright.

Louis recognized him as soon as he appeared.

Hamilton is the very person the intelligence system has been reporting on several times in the past two months as a key focus.

Possessing a rare combined talent in mechanics and alchemy, if properly nurtured in the future, he is very likely to become the "Number One Craftsman in the North".

I was planning to remind Mike to keep an eye on the child later, but unexpectedly...

Mike not only noticed him, but also promoted him to his side.

"As expected, you old man have good taste," Louis thought to himself with a smile.

Just as everyone was waiting for the ceremony to begin, an alchemist wearing a white robe with blackened edges walked in, yawning.

"Sorry, sorry, the stove exploded a little... but I'm still alive." He wiped the sleep from his eyes with his sleeve, sat down in the corner, but no one dared to underestimate him.

That was one of the founders of the Alchemy Workshop, Hilko, a dangerous fellow whose mind was full of explosives and wild ideas.

Bradley, as usual, stood to Louis's left and slightly behind, holding a notebook in one hand and wearing a silver-rimmed monocle in the other.

As the deputy moderator of the meeting, he supplemented data or process arrangements as needed to ensure the meeting was efficient and error-free.

As everyone took their seats, the atmosphere became tense.

Mike stood up, clasped his hands together, and announced in a loud voice:
"As per Lord Louis's orders, we have prioritized the completion of basic improvements and trial production of traditional weapons. Today, the first batch of results is officially submitted."

At his command, several craftsmen carried a huge burlap-covered box into the conference room. The heavy metallic clanging sound echoed on the floor, making the air seem to tremble.

The first item to be unveiled was the Cold Iron Greatsword.

The craftsman carefully lifted the burlap sack, revealing the gleaming greatsword to everyone.

The sword is over 1.5 meters long, with a wide but not bulky blade. The cold iron material is polished to a smooth and even finish, and the handle and guard have been ergonomically redesigned with a precise weight distribution.

The sword tip even features a slightly curved downward bevel design to improve armor-piercing efficiency.

Mike added, "This sword was made from the third batch of sub-cold iron ingots, and the forging time was tripled to increase the overall strength while maintaining toughness. We also repeatedly quenched the blade to ensure it wouldn't chip on the battlefield."

Next came the cold iron spear.

"Made of the same material, the spearhead has fine barbs embedded in it. Once it pierces... if you don't pull it out, all is well; but if you do, the flesh will break off."

Bradley was slightly shocked: "...Is this forcing the enemy to cut off their own arm to survive on the battlefield?"

"That's true. It's not out of cruelty, but for the sake of efficiency and deterrence."

The round shield and tower shield were subsequently released.

Two tower shields stand on the conference room floor, their cold iron skeletons embedded within them, while the surface is covered with a fire-retardant coating and leather. The patterns are simple yet extremely imposing.

"We have installed special slots inside the tower shield that can be used with fire oil or ice powder to form temporary elemental resistance. This is experimental; if it works well, it can be mass-produced."

What pleased Louis even more was the consistency of quality control.

He carefully reviewed the sample sheets and various records, and then personally picked up the greatsword to test its elasticity and shock resistance.

He nodded. "Very good, this batch of cold iron is forged very evenly." He turned to Mike. "Can you guarantee that all weapons produced will maintain this quality?"

Mike slapped his chest hard, rust flying everywhere: "Don't worry, Lord Louis, if we can't control the quality, we'll be letting down the workers you've treated us."

His tone wasn't ingratiating, but sincere with a hint of pride.

This is not empty talk.

In Red Tide Territory, the welfare benefits for artisans are already the most generous in the entire Northern Territory: daily hot meals, shift work, high-level work injury compensation, apprentice promotion mechanism, priority housing and education... and even educational subsidies for the children of artisans.

Louis glanced at them and said, "Then let's start mass production. We have plenty of raw materials, so let's go all out."

The craftsmen responded in unison, their morale soaring, and several young apprentices even clapped in celebration.

In other territories, such weapons production capacity would be a pipe dream, but in Red Tide it is a reality.

And it doesn't matter if we build more.

Unsold? Impossible.

Louis had already figured it out in his mind: the North was now entering a new phase of settlement for pioneering nobles, and the new noble territories were in dire need of military equipment.

Moreover, even if they don't come to buy, the Calvin Merchant Guild can still sell these weapons all the way to the Southern Territory.

Not to mention... according to the Daily Intelligence Bureau, there is a metal in Star Forging Territory called Burning Iron, which has extremely strong energy conduction capabilities.

If it can be mixed with cold iron for trial production, it might be possible to create a batch of combat equipment specifically for the knight class, thus forming the prototype of the Crimson Tide Elite Knights system.

But that's for later. Right now, the most important thing is to keep this meeting moving forward.

Louis snapped out of his reverie and glanced around at the energetic craftsmen at the conference table: "I've seen all your hard work over this period of time. You've done a great job."

It was just a simple sentence, but it felt like a warm current slowly flowing from the heights into the hearts of everyone present.

The lord himself praised it!

The craftsmen's eyes were slightly red, and their throats felt sore. It seemed that their silent dedication, buried in the furnace and firelight for so long, had been seen and acknowledged by the great lord at this moment.

“For the Lord, for this land, this is what we should do,” Mike said softly, his eyes shining.

Many veteran craftsmen nodded vigorously.

"...Lord, you are too kind to us roughnecks."

"Haha, I'd be happy to hammer iron for Red Tide for the rest of my life."

"Lord Louis is the source of our confidence as laborers."

The atmosphere at the conference table became lively, with even Bradley nodding slightly. At that moment, Louis smiled subtly, quietly pulling a roll of drawings from his side and laying it flat in the center of the table.

Everyone fell silent, their gazes all falling on it.

The drawings did not depict an elaborate city design, but rather several mechanical structural sketches. The lines were clean and the annotations were clear, indicating that they were drawn by Louis himself.

Louis stood in the main position, his fingertips firmly pressing on a corner of the drawing, while his other hand gently pulled open the upper translucent structural layer.

"The first item is a folding wooden and iron barricade, paired with a burning oil fire system."

The paper gleamed, and the structure drawn on the blueprints was complex yet meticulous.

The three-section interlocking fold structure resembles an open animal spine, with each spike precisely angled.

It is internally embedded with a fine piping system that leads to the fuel tank and the terminal nozzle, and finally connects to the central trigger ignition core.

"It only requires two people to operate, unfolds in three seconds, ignites in ten seconds, and instantly establishes a fire defense line."

Used in gorges, valleys, and narrow paths. Utilizing the terrain, it directly cuts off the barbarian's charging momentum. "Louis explained in detail."

Before he could finish speaking, Mike slammed his hand on the table, his usual gruff smile on his face: "With something like this, even the fastest barbarian riders will have their bellies roasted!"

A metalworker wearing goggles in the back row frowned and whispered, "But this oil pipe is so thin, if an explosion occurs outside and the oil sprays in, won't it all explode?"

“Yes, we’ve actually tested a similar structure on flamethrowers before,” someone countered.

“That’s right.” Mike stroked his rough stubble and nodded with a smile. “We can make this thing.”

Louis glanced at Mike: "You're very confident."

Mike grinned and pointed at the craftsmen: "If you had asked me a month ago, I would have said it was hard to say. But since you had us build the new flamethrower structure, redo the pipe compression and ignition core... now? It's a piece of cake."

He paused, then his tone became serious: "I slap my hammer on the back and guarantee that we can not only manufacture them, but also mass-produce them."

Seeing Mike pat his chest in assurance, Louis smiled and nodded: "Very good, then the first task is yours."

He didn't stop, and pulled out a second scroll of blueprints. This time, he used both hands to unfurl the huge scroll horizontally.

"The second one is this one."

With a "whoosh," the blueprints covered half of the conference table. The ink on the thick parchment was fine, and a huge vehicle with a unique outline and heavy lines leaped off the paper.

It resembled both a carriage and some kind of mechanical behemoth, eliciting a murmur among the craftsmen.

"Is this... a car? Or a tower?"

"Why does it look like a hedgehog with rivets? Is that the front of a vehicle or a cannon?"

"This size would require at least ten warhorses to pull..."

Mike tapped his finger on the drawing: "You don't want this thing to go to the battlefield, do you?"

“It’s not a wish, it’s a necessity.” Louis smiled slightly, but his tone revealed an unyielding sharpness. “This is the ‘Iron Beast,’ our Red Tide Territory’s land-based armored tactical platform.”

As he spoke, he unveiled the detailed cross-section diagram on the right side of the blueprint: "Reinforced with a magic steel frame, heavily armored, capable of fully enclosed propulsion, equipped with firing ports and armored hinges, allowing squads to conduct long-range strikes and defensive operations."

"It can not only escort supplies, but also advance the front line, suppress enemy forces, and blockade canyons..."

The conference room fell silent. All the craftsmen stared wide-eyed at the shield wall device and the upper and lower rails embedded in the side of the vehicle.

"...This thing isn't a carriage, it's a damn fortress! What are all these holes for?"

"Can it be a closed-off advance? What kind of monster would be needed to pull it?"

Some people began to frown: "It seems that our territory's current monster reserves do not have this kind of heavy-duty wagon... If we force it, we're afraid we'll break the wagon apart first."

Louis turned to look at the man, his tone not harsh but confident: "You don't need to worry about that. I'll handle the monster problem."

Everyone was taken aback; it seemed Lord Louis was already prepared.

Before they could even process the news, Louis had already drawn a circle on the side of the "Iron Beast".

"Some of you mentioned earlier that you don't understand what these holes in the vehicle body are for," he said, pulling out a small blueprint and quickly unfolding it on the table.

"This is the Breaking Formation Hook Spear, a special device used in conjunction with the Steel Beast."

The drawing depicts a long-handled weapon with a three-clawed hook at the front, serrated hooks on the sides, and a sword-like thrust on the opposite side.

"This is no ordinary weapon. It can hook a horse's leg and dismantle a shield wall, and is designed specifically to disrupt enemy formations and destroy cavalry charges."

Mounted on the telescopic arms on the side of the Steel Beast, it can actively harvest enemy heavy armor during advance. Combined with my designated shield-line advance mode, it can forcefully tear apart the barbarian infantry and cavalry formation.

Then Louis picked up a small roll of paper from beside him, gently unfurled it, and laid it on the corner of the table.

“This is the last one.” He spoke calmly, yet it drew everyone’s attention back to him.

The drawing shows an arrow that resembles a short arrow – a magic explosion arrow.

The arrow shaft appears slightly thick, and the tail section features a clearly drawn exploded structural diagram:
The head is embedded with a magic energy core the size of a thumb, with tiny explosion patterns engraved on the outer ring. It detonates within milliseconds upon impact.

“Magic Explosion Arrow,” Louis said casually. “It contains a small magic explosion crystal, is fired from a heavy crossbow, and explodes instantly upon impact.”

He tapped a corner of the drawing with his fingertip. “It’s small, but the explosion is enough to penetrate half an inch of steel plate. It’s perfect for striking dense formations or shooting enemies at a distance.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the craftsmen couldn't help but gasp.

"An explosion...arrow?" someone muttered. "There's actually such a thing?"

"No wonder the top of the 'Iron Beast' was specially designed with long-range ports; it's a built-in weapon..."

The crowd whispered amongst themselves, discussing the matter incessantly; clearly, this was a weapon form they had never imagined before.

"This thing... can it even be made?" Mike frowned, habitually glancing at the alchemy workshop manager across the conference table, who was yawning and had soot stains on his face. "Hilko?"

"What did you say?" The man looked up, glanced at the blueprints with a dazed look in his eyes, and then slowly scratched his head.

"Oh, this? It's just a little gadget, nothing difficult." He stretched, a slight grin spreading across his face, revealing a nonchalant yet unusually confident demeanor.

“There are already ready-made magic explosion bombs. Lord Louis had already told me about them before, so I made them in advance. You just need to tell me how big you want the explosion to be, and I can control the precision of the detonation point. You can have a small explosion, a directional explosion, or a penetrating and delayed explosion.”

“But then again…” he squinted at the blueprints, “you really want to equip this thing into the Iron Beast?”

Louis nodded: "This is part of its long-range weapon system. Firepower strikes are not only for field operations, but also for urban warfare and canyon blockades, where rapid disruption and precision strikes are needed."

Mike couldn't help but grin: "Are you going to cram an entire tactical squad into the car, and even arrange the tactical equipment in advance?"

Louis nodded slightly, a satisfied smile appearing in his eyes: "That's all for now. As long as you can do it, I can get it into battle."

(End of this chapter)