I simultaneously traverse countless worlds

Later, at the testing ground next to the steam factory, Li Mo witnessed the power of the [Jet Stream Bullet] invented by Ikoma. He smiled and gave it high praise, then waved his hand and made arrangements for Ikoma: "Ikoma, from now on you will be the foreman in charge of manufacturing the [Jet Stream Bullet]. In addition, I implore the city lord to reward you. At least the city lord will never forget your contributions!"

"Ah? Okay, okay..."

Upon hearing Li Mo's words, the male protagonist, Ikoma, was still somewhat unaccustomed to it, wondering why he was suddenly going to be promoted and become rich. However, the factory managers and samurai around Li Mo looked at Ikoma with envy.

They all knew that Ikoma was destined for greatness. Even these samurai and factory managers had a general idea of ​​what killing the Kabane's steam gun meant for Xianjin Station. Moreover, there was the very conspicuous example of Li Mo, who went from being a shipwrecked person a month ago to becoming the acting head of the steam factory in Xianjin Station. The city lord even rewarded him with a thousand taels of gold and a residence.

Even if Ikoma could not possibly receive such a large reward, given Li Mo's example, the head of the Yoshikawa family would not be stingy in this regard; otherwise, who would be willing to contribute to the Yoshikawa family?

The head of the Yoshikawa family reacted quickly. Upon hearing of Li Mo's discovery at the steam smelting plant, he rushed to the testing ground and witnessed more than a dozen steam guns firing, piercing through a thin steel plate twenty meters away. Comparing this to the weak power of the old-fashioned steam guns, he immediately understood the importance of this "jet bullet" and generously rewarded Ikoma with one hundred taels of gold and a new house.

As for the male protagonist Ikoma, Li Mo's plan for him is to become an excellent weapons development engineer. As for roles like front-line warriors who rely on shouting for damage, this green-haired male protagonist doesn't need to get involved!

Chapter 23 Hope for Victory (New book, please help!)

"Pfft—smack!"

Ten days later, outside the city walls of Xianjin Post Station, hundreds of warriors, led by Li Mo, used steam guns to turn more than a dozen Kabane into sieves. The roaring Kabane were all killed before they even got within thirty meters.

Upon closer inspection, there were over a hundred Kabane corpses, stretching from 600 meters away to within 30 meters. The long-range kills from 400 to 600 meters were all Li Mo's doing. It was only when they entered the range of 400 to 100 meters that the samurai equipped with Type 38 rifles and possessing shooting talent achieved their results. While they couldn't kill one enemy with a single shot like Li Mo, they still performed remarkably well.

Although the Type 38 rifle is portrayed as having low lethality in so-called anti-Japanese war films and television dramas, the actual power of its full-power rifle cartridge is absolutely formidable. Coupled with its small caliber and relatively low recoil, the warriors selected by Xianjin Station quickly mastered the Type 38 rifle within a few days, and ten warriors subsequently achieved a kill record of more than thirty.

Compared to Li Mo's godlike record of killing over fifty in this battle, the record of ten samurai wielding Type 38 rifles may not seem high, but compared to the previous record of losing more than a dozen samurai to barely kill a few Kabane, this is already an amazing achievement.

Even the samurai wielding steam guns and jet-propelled bullets felt a surge of excitement when they realized they could actually kill the Kabane. Moreover, with Li Mo and the samurai wielding Type 38 rifles as role models, the thrill of defeating the once ferocious and invincible Kabane, as they watched them fall one after another beneath their guns, fueled their exhilaration. When the last Kabane fell, the samurai cheered with joy.

Li Mo patiently waited for the warriors he led to vent their joy of victory before letting them go forward to deal with the Kabane's cores, especially finishing off those Kabane who weren't quite dead yet. Only then did he return to Xianjin Post Station with the spoils of war!

……

Kenjin Station, the castle tower of the Shikagawa family

Although the castle tower was not very useful in the age of firearms, it was still built in Kenkin Station as one of the symbols of the Japanese daimyo. The head of the Yomogawa family lived there on a daily basis and occasionally summoned his retainers or subordinates. This castle tower was the most central area of ​​Kenkin Station.

Now, Li Mo is qualified to report and meet with the head of the Shifangchuan family. Moreover, he has just led hundreds of warriors out of the city for the first time to fight. If the head of the Shifangchuan family had not watched several battles from the city walls and was not confident that Li Mo would practice on the city walls before going into battle, he would probably have been observing from the city walls from the very beginning. The fact that he arranged for his trusted confidants to watch the battle and directly transmitted the news of the victory to the Tenshukaku made the head of the Shifangchuan family extremely happy.

Faced with the ferocious Kabane, many survivors in Japan chose to cower in fear, and even some daimyo held fast to their fortresses. However, the head of the Yomogawa family could not deceive himself. He had long wanted to eliminate the Kabane around the Kenjin Station, but in the past he was powerless to do so and could barely protect himself. However, the appearance of Li Mo made the head of the Yomogawa family feel that he seemed to have seen the hope of victory.

Therefore, Li Mo now has the qualification to apply for an audience at any time, which is rare even in Xianjin Post Station. Those are mostly elders and important officials of the Sifangchuan family, which shows how much the Sifangchuan family head values ​​Li Mo!

"Mo Jun, your first victory is truly a cause for celebration!"

Looking at Li Mo sitting upright in front of him, the head of the Sifangchuan family expressed his sincere admiration. He even regretted that the other party was not his eldest son, otherwise the Sifangchuan family would surely have grown and might have even been able to contend for the throne of general. However, the head of the Sifangchuan family did not have other ideas. He felt that he could use another roundabout way to keep this talented person in the Sifangchuan family.

Of course, the head of the Shifangchuan family did not use any unorthodox methods. His approach was very characteristic of Japan. However, he had not yet persuaded the other party. Moreover, this matter also depended on Li Mo's performance. For example, they could wait until the port of Xianjinyi was recovered before bringing it up again!

"Lord of the city, this time we are dealing with more than a hundred Kabane. Even with two Thief-types leading them, they are not too powerful enemies."

Unaware of the thoughts in the mind of the head of the Shifangchuan family, Li Mo was genuinely explaining his insights from the previous battle. While he was generally satisfied with the outcome of the battle, he also pointed out its shortcomings: "Small-scale attacks are fine; we can try to clear out the Kabane around Xianjin Post Station. However, if we plan to recapture the port and the attached salt fields, we will definitely encounter thousands or even tens of thousands of Kabane..."

Li Mo considered the previous small-scale battle victories to be normal. Hundreds of Kabane were a threat to any stronghold, but not an invincible enemy. Unless the Kabane suddenly invaded the stronghold and caused a large-scale infection, a well-prepared stronghold could clear out a small number of Kabane who rushed in.

The problem with Xianjin Post Station, like other fortified towns, is that they don't face scattered Kabane. The surviving humans from Japan have all gathered in those fortified towns or small islands, which means that the Kabane are more or less concentrated in the surrounding areas. If it weren't for the occasional [Jun City] attracting and dispersing the surrounding Kabane clusters, there would probably have been a lively scene similar to a monster siege long ago.

As for Xianjin Post Station, Li Mo has already arranged for more than a dozen people who have merged with the [Shadow Seed] to be stationed at the city's transportation hub to prevent a situation like the [Juncheng] ship that had already been captured by the Kabane, which occurred in the original storyline, from suddenly breaking through. However, if Xianjin Post Station wants to break out and restore the port and salt fields, then the surrounding Kabane are unavoidable. Scattered Kabane can be cleared on a small scale, but Li Mo cannot take people any further away, otherwise it would be bad to be surrounded by Kabane.

Even if Li Mo himself was confident of escaping, if he attracted an attack from more than four figures of Kabane, plus special individuals like the Thief Seed and Black Smoke, the ordinary warriors he led would definitely be wiped out. If his troops were completely annihilated, Li Mo would have enough reasons to defend himself, but it would be a pipe dream to gain enough prestige in Xianjin Post Station or even control the city.

Therefore, Li Mo was genuinely concerned about Xianjin Post Station. He couldn't allow too many warriors to be lost, and he also had to find a way to capture the port of Xianjin Post Station. The necessary battle plan had to be carefully considered, and he also had to anticipate both the failure and success of the plan.

"Hmm, Mo Jun, your concerns are valid. Let's conduct some training first!"

The head of the Shifangchuan family was very satisfied with Li Mo's cautious answer. He also knew how terrifying a large number of Kabane could be. The fact that the other party was not blinded by a small-scale victory was a big plus for the head of the Shifangchuan family.

After all, stories of generals who were blinded by initial victories and then suffered a crushing defeat were common even in Japan's Warring States period. The head of the Yomogawa family alone witnessed a major incident ten years ago, in which the former young general, Amaterasu Mima, reportedly advanced rashly and was besieged by a massive number of Kabane, resulting in the annihilation of his 400,000-strong army and the formation of the current situation.

On the other hand, Li Mo, despite winning several consecutive victories, has not been blinded by them and is calmly observing the threat posed by the Kabane. This is a very good quality for the head of the Yomogawa family, so there is no need to worry about the other party rashly advancing and suffering a crushing defeat!

……

[Next, we should focus on honing the samurai's skills. We can find the saltpeter needed for their equipment by searching other fortresses. We also need to work on the villainous boss, Amatori Mima, and the general at Kongo Station. We can also research the Kabane virus; I remember Amatori Mima made some progress on that...]

Later, Li Mo left the castle tower of Xianjin Post Station, nodding to the surrounding samurai as he walked. In his mind, he was quickly thinking about his plan, expanding his target to other areas, especially the villainous boss in the original story.

Putting aside other matters, Li Mo felt that if he wanted to control and expand Xianjin Station, he couldn't avoid the situation with Tianniao Meima and the general of Jingang Station. The former had the delusional and neurotic idea of ​​destroying everyone in Japan, while the latter was simply willing to give up his own son and 400,000 troops for his own power and status. It was foreseeable that he would regard his own power and status as the most important thing, and if Xianjin Station were to expand, it would definitely arouse his hostility.

—The Japanese Shogunate era was essentially a process where a daimyo with the moral high ground and superior strength marched to Kyoto, subsequently dividing and suppressing other daimyo, and later being transformed by the opening of the country by Westerners during the Industrial Revolution. The situation in the world of Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress is even more complex. The Shogun, who controls Kongo Station, and many daimyo are thinking of letting the Kabane threaten ordinary people while they confine them to various fortresses and become the superior people. Other daimyo may not be so sensitive to the changes in Kongo Station, but the Shogun will definitely notice the changes in his power.

Li Mo didn't believe he had the eloquence or charisma to change the attitudes of these two destined enemies, the delusional lunatic and the power monster. So his decision was simple: he would use the [Shadow Seed] to infiltrate both sides and obtain their intelligence, especially research data related to the Kabane. His main focus would be on the Golden Station, where he would prioritize improving the power he possessed.

After all, all conflicts are decided by strength. Li Mo has not yet fully mastered Xianjin Station, so forces like Jingang Station and Tianniao Meima are not his primary targets!

Chapter 24 Deploying Troops to the Port (New book, please add to your favorites!)

Li Mo made up his mind about his plan and then put it into practice with great enthusiasm!

Li Mo pieced together general information about Tennori Mima and Kongo-Yi through occasional meetings with the head of the Yomogawa family and conversations with the samurai, which allowed him to make targeted arrangements accordingly.

The situation at Kongo Station is the most detailed. As a power-hungry individual, the Shogun could not possibly relinquish control over other fortresses. The operation of the most crucial power plants and railways in those "Shunjo" (city castles) was a means by which Kongo Station controlled other fortresses. In addition, several fortresses with ports were either directly under the jurisdiction of Kongo Station or belonged to close daimyo (feudal lords) who were close to the Shogun. This is why the Shogun still held supreme power in name, while most other fortresses only verbally obeyed him.

Why is it said that most of the fortified villages only verbally obeyed the Vajra Post Station?

As for this issue, judging from the fact that the hunting troops led by Amaterasu Mima are still able to occasionally stop at a fortress to replenish the various supplies they need, it is clear that the current shogun's rule is not as strong as he had imagined.

Even though Amaterasu Mima was the son of a shogun, if the daimyo didn't respect him, Amaterasu Mima and the Karifu would have been defeated long ago due to the depletion of personnel and supplies. Even though they were top-tier human elites and had individual combat power like the Kabane, who were not afraid of Kabane infection, they were still no match for the overwhelming number of Kabane. Every death was one less, and without replenishment, they would have been overwhelmed by the sheer number of Kabane. Moreover, they also needed weapons, equipment, and other supplies.

In Li Mo's own opinion, Japan did have contact with the outside world. Otherwise, a sniper rifle using metal bullet casings wouldn't have appeared at Haimen Station a few years before the movie, and the weapons used by the Karifu clan would have clearly been in the style of the outside world. This shows that Japan actually maintained a certain level of communication and trade with the outside world, which is also the main reason why the Kenjin Station didn't have much suspicion when Li Mo used the excuse of shipwrecked people.

By tapping around, Li Mo obtained a lot of information that confirmed the identities of Tennori Mima and the Hunting Clan, as well as some details about the Vajra Station.

For example, Amaterasu Mima and the Karifu clan constantly promoted themselves, claiming to be warriors fighting against the Kabane, in order to attract survivors who had suffered from the Kabane to join them. This also led some strongholds that were not on good terms with the Shogun to tacitly allow them to stop and replenish their supplies. Naturally, the same rumors circulated at Kenjin Station.

In response, Li Mo arranged for a Kabane Thief Seed that had fused with the Shadow Seed to carry multiple Shadow Seeds on its body and head towards the area where the Hunters were most active. He planned to obtain accurate information about Amaterasu Mima and the Hunters, such as their research results on the Kabane and other inside information. He knew that he could afford to wait that long and the effort would be wasted.

As for Kongo Station, there isn't much information about it. However, based on some information from the head of the Shihōgawa family, it seems that the station is very wary of the outside world. Without the permission of the Shogun, other [Shunjō] cannot enter it at all.

Leaving aside Li Mo's arrangement for these two destined opposing camps, Xian Jinyi's research on the steel membrane peeled from the core of the Kabah resulted in the production of a batch of weapons using these specially made steel membranes as raw materials. For example, the samurai swords and rifle bayonets covered with steel membranes greatly improved their sharpness, while the core components of the steam guns produced using it as raw materials enhanced the lethality of the steam guns equipped with jet bullets, enabling them to successfully penetrate the core of the Kabah at a distance of 200 meters.

Based on this alone, Li Mo and other insiders listed the steel membrane as an important resource, as a reward for the original male protagonist Ikoma who served as a tool, and incidentally let him use it to develop a new type of ammunition for steam guns.

In addition, Li Mo began researching the Kabane in private. Although he was not a research genius and did not produce any useful results, he confirmed that his [Shadow Power] could help resist the Kabane virus. For example, his private attempts to go out and test the [Shadow Power] showed that he could instantly clear out the Kabane within a radius of 100 meters, instantly drain the virus from the Kabane and turn them into corpses.

This discovery is good news for Li Mo. At least he doesn't have to worry about being bitten by a Kabane and becoming a Kabane himself. He now has a trump card to deal with big things like the [Black Smoke]. However, research on the Kabane virus is meaningless. He still has to hope that the Kabane he sent out to steal techniques will find the Hunters and obtain research results. He also needs to arrange for people to go to the Vajra Station to plant a few spies as a covert measure in case of emergency.

In addition to these preparations and discoveries, Li Mo also asked the head of the Sifangchuan family to use his connections to purchase important supplies such as saltpeter from other strongholds. This allowed him to keep an eye on the steam factory's production process while simultaneously training his own troops.

It must be said that the prospect of reclaiming the port and strengthening the Kenjin Post Station was quite tempting for the head of the Yomogawa family. In addition, the Yomogawa family was a prestigious family in Japan, with some branches even holding high-ranking positions in the Kenjin Post Station. They also had several daimyo from other fortresses as close allies. Even if the other daimyo were not very familiar with the Yomogawa family, helping them with small matters would be a very easy thing for them.

It was precisely because of this that Li Mo obtained more than 500 kilograms of natural saltpeter ore within a short month. Moreover, with the full support of the Sifangchuan family head, Xianjin Post Station had already expanded to a new army of more than 2,000 soldiers.

Compared to before, the new army now consists of a minority of samurai and a majority of ordinary soldiers, but its combat power is far superior to the previous army composed of samurai. Discovering that they can kill the Kabane that they used to fear, the new army of Xianjin Station is in extremely high spirits. Under Li Mo's leadership, they often clean up the Kabane around Xianjin Station. In one month, they have cleared out more than 10,000 Kabane.

This is undoubtedly an astonishing number. Not every Kabane core was brought back as a trophy. If the distinctive core could not be faked, even the head of the Yomogawa family would probably think it was a lie.

However, it is true that so many Kabane were cleared out, with no more than ten people dying. Even the few soldiers bitten by Kabane were healed by Li Mo. His status at Xianjin Post Station rose sharply, and he was already showing signs of surpassing the head of the Sifangchuan family. Under these circumstances, Li Mo and the head of the Sifangchuan family made a decision to begin preparations to recapture the port less than fifty kilometers away from Xianjin Post Station.

Recapturing a port sounds simple, but in practice it is an extremely complicated matter. The most crucial thing is how to take back the port and build up the walls under the attack of the Kabane. Otherwise, if the port is captured by chance, it may be seized by the Kabane who gather there, and even the soldiers will become Kabane.

Fortunately, Li Mo is not currently in the era of cold weapons. The world of Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress has entered the steam industrial era. The plan to take over the port was proposed and carefully considered in advance. The steel outer wall components that were built in advance were transported by Juncheng and quickly unloaded and assembled to form the first simple line of defense. Based on this, it was continuously extended outward until it was finally closed. The final solution was to make final reinforcements and increase its height. The task that the new army of Xianjin Station was to undertake was to clear out the discovered Kabane before that and protect the passage between Xianjin Station and the port so that it could be completed smoothly.

If this had happened before Li Mo's transmigration, the Kenkin Station in the Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress world would clearly not have been able to achieve this goal. They could easily have created steel plate walls with no technical complexity. However, due to the limited number of soldiers at Kenkin Station and the fact that ordinary steam rifles could not cause any real damage to the Kabane, the expansion of the castle and the recapture of the port were indefinitely put on hold.

This time, Li Mo, with two thousand newly formed soldiers and a large amount of new weapons and equipment, launched a counterattack against Kabane outside Xianjin Post Station amidst the anticipation and watchful eyes of everyone in Xianjin Post Station!

Chapter 25 Humanity's Victory! (New book, please add to your favorites~)

"Team 1, open fire! Snipers, fire your own shots. Riflemen, wait for the enemy to come within 100 meters before opening fire. Once they are within 30 meters, artillery and shotguns will engage them!"

"Bang bang —————— Pfft!"

"roar!!!"……

In the hilly area 20 kilometers away from Xianjin Post Station, the lightly armed new army quickly set up makeshift fortifications with barbed wire and ironwood fences. Then, led by officers and sergeants who had performed well and were promoted, hundreds of new soldiers serving as the vanguard quickly formed ranks and began to shoot down the Kabane that appeared.

It must be said that Li Mo quickly established a temporary small camp every one kilometer based on the situation in the Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress world, and continuously dispersed the supplies transported by Juncheng, forming a rigid strategy similar to advancing step by step, rather than considering any kind of crazy attack or flanking maneuvers. He didn't even use tactics like flanking maneuvers, clearly adopting a "build a stronghold and fight a dull battle" tactic.

It's not that Li Mo believed in Zeng's so-called fortress tactics; it's just that the situation in the world of Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress was completely different from the war situation in the world before he transmigrated. Blindly applying certain so-called advanced infantry tactics would lead to a terrible death.

At least, the Kabane of Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress have no morale or organization. They are immediately attracted by the smell of human blood or the sound of certain noises and rush forward frantically. The decapitation tactic of rushing forward is completely ineffective, and flanking and infiltration will not shake the Kabane's combat power. On the contrary, it is easy to fall into the Kabane's encirclement.

In particular, the Kabane have no fear of death. No matter how many are killed or wounded, they will still rush madly towards their target. Even humans who are injured or killed by them will become Kabane. The human side, who used to be helpless with steam guns, was naturally forced to retreat to their fortresses. Now, the Xianjin Post Station where Li Mo is staying only has a little over 30,000 people. The total population of the entire Japan is expected to exceed 2 million. Naturally, he does not want his new army to suffer heavy casualties. That would not only lead to low morale for the new army and the entire Xianjin Post Station, but also make it difficult to replenish the population.

Compared to Li Mo's considerations, the vanguard of the new army didn't think that far ahead. Facing several hundred Kabane, they were completely focused. Dozens of snipers worked in groups of three to hunt them down from a distance, prioritizing the most threatening Kabane. Then, when the Kabane rushed within a hundred meters, the soldiers with enhanced steam guns quickly opened fire, aiming at the Kabane's head and core. Any Kabane that managed to get close were hit by tiger-squat cannons and shotguns, blasted away, and then subjected to concentrated rifle fire from the new army. They posed no threat whatsoever to the defensive line formed by the vanguard.

At least, a few hundred Kabane were not enough to give the vanguard troops, who had experienced several battles, a headache. It took them nearly an hour to completely eliminate the group of several hundred Kabane and clean up the battlefield along the way!

"Order! The vanguard will rest for a moment. We'll eliminate the scattered Kabane first, and prevent them from gaining an overwhelming numerical advantage!"

Using the falcon infused with the [Shadow Seed] that was flying in the sky, Li Mo confirmed that the vanguard had eliminated the largest group of Kabane in this area. Without hesitation, he issued a rest order and prepared to eliminate the scattered Kabane first.

From any perspective, the new army has the advantage over scattered Kabane. However, against large-scale Kabane groups, the new army, whose firepower is not yet at the level of World War I, is hard to say. Li Mo, who will not take on everything, will naturally make full use of the new army's current advantages, eliminating those scattered Kabane layer by layer like peeling an onion. Kabane that cannot form a numerical advantage will not pose much of a threat to the new army at Xianjin Post.

Of course, the reason Li Mo dared to deploy the battle in this way was that the Kabane really had no intelligence to speak of. With high-altitude reconnaissance and proper deployment, he felt that his side could at least eliminate those scattered Kabane!

……

A few days later, after clearing out the tens of thousands of Kabane that had been attracted along the way, the new army finally arrived at the port of the former Yomogawa family territory. Then they discovered that there were more than five thousand Kabane attracted to the port and the surrounding area and they rushed over in a frenzy.

It must be said that the scene of thousands of Kabane charging wildly was extremely spectacular. Even with the twelve Napoleon cannons constantly firing scorching shells, they only caused a slight obstacle to the Kabane. When the Kabane swarm entered the 600-meter range, Li Mo alone used a Type 38 rifle to conduct long-range sniping, while several people around him loaded the ammunition for the Type 38 and handed it to him. They only managed to clear out a few dozen Kabane, which was completely unable to stop the Kabane swarm's advance.

However, when the Kabane charged within 400 meters, the pre-installed steel wire tripwires became obstacles. The Kabane's charge, which had been completely oblivious to the obstacles under their feet, turned into a disastrous rout. Their initially aggressive charge was abruptly interrupted, allowing snipers armed with scoped Type 38 rifles to fire more easily. Moreover, the long-range Napoleon cannons never stopped firing, unleashing a barrage of shells upon encountering large groups of Kabane. The flying chain shot was like a meat grinder in this process, each shell tearing up dozens of limbs.

If it were a human army, being constantly attacked and unable to retaliate in this process would probably have led to a collapse in morale and a complete rout. However, the Kabane fully demonstrated their terrifying madness. For every one that fell, ten would follow. If they were tripped by the wire or tripwire, they would step on those unfortunate victims and charge forward. Even when facing a hail of bullets, the Kabane, which was constantly losing men, still showed no sign of stopping.

Seeing the Kabane charging wildly and hearing the heavy breathing of the new army soldiers around him, Li Mo knew why the humans in the Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress world were always afraid of the Kabane outside. This kind of scene was indeed not something an ordinary army could withstand!

"Riflemen, open fire!!!"

Although he sighed inwardly, Li Mo did not hesitate at all. His powerful soul force, combined with the eagles he used for aerial reconnaissance, allowed him to determine that the Kabane had lost more than a third of their men. He then issued orders to the new army soldiers around him in a deep voice.

Bang bang bang ——————!

Following Li Mo's command, the new army soldiers instantly raised their steam guns and aimed them at the world, firing directly at a group of Kabane who had rushed within 120 meters. They then retreated, and a second group of new army soldiers opened fire.