The Demon King Seems to Conquer the World

I said in the middle of the hall, in front of the bonfire that had started to burn early.

“You can think of this as a lecture or something like a study group. We’re not here to fight, but we’re not here to play. If I dare to say, you’re here to learn. It’s like a school trip.” (Yuri)

When I looked around the members of the unit again, they were still motivated. It seemed that they were willing to listen. After all, they were people who expressed the intention to participate themselves, and they were selected on that basis.

“This is the latest gun used by the enemy.” (Yuri)

I put the gunstock on the ground and showed the gun upright.

“With the emergence of new weapons, including this one, their tactics are now quite different from what we have learned in the Knight’s lecture. Unfortunately, the art of war that we have learned is obsolete. However, it doesn’t mean that all the lectures we have received so far were useless.” (Yuri)

Then, I looked around, waiting for the right words.

“The tactics that dominate the battlefield don’t change the basic principle even if the weapons change a little.” (Yuri)

I said so.

“No matter how the battlefield changes, the theories taught in the old art of war books won’t go unnoticed. Those are taking the opportunity of the enemy, breaking the will of war, sieging, dividing the rear and occupying the high ground. Such basic logics don’t stop working even if the weapon changes. However, it’s also true that changes in weapons force the battlefield to change. If a weapon that overwhelms a sword appears in the battlefield, it’s unreasonable to challenge that weapon with a sword. At last, the army that turned its back on the battlefield will suffer a painful defeat. What is needed there is ingenuity. If you can’t compete in the battlefield, you can easily think of ways to draw the enemy into the forest and fight in a place where you can destroy the opponent’s strengths. Of course, it’s not always effective, but progress is always there. As that progress builds up, we may find ways to overwhelm enemies with better weapons.” (Yuri)

When I finished saying all that at once, I said ‘Now’, and had a momentary break.

“This weapon, the gun, became popular among the Kuran world about thirty years ago. Those among you who are eager to study may know that they are now hostile to us. They are the Isus religion countries who are attacking Kilghina. Strictly speaking, they are the Catholic sect of Isus religion countries. This weapon was invented in the Kuran country, named the Kururuan Dragon Empire, which worships the Kokolulu religion. The Isus religion countries knew about the weapon and introduced it later to their army, but it wasn’t deployed in time in the 13th invasion of the year 2278, and was rarely used. In the 14th invasion, due to its usefulness, the number increased dramatically and caused that big defeat. There must be more in this war.” (Yuri)

I lifted the gun, showed it to everyone, and put it on the ground once.

“From now on, I’m going to have you all try out the guns one by one. This will show the advantages and disadvantages of the gun. But before we do that, let me explain how it works.” (Yuri)

Then, I took out a small amount of gunpowder from the container.

“This substance is called gunpowder. Well, you won’t be able to see it in the distance, but you’ll handle it anyway when you try it out. In a nutshell, it’s like burning sand. It burns faster than dry wood or charcoal.” (Yuri)

I sprinkled the gunpowder on a wooden board like a line, scooped up the wood burned from the bonfire with fire tongs, and pressed it against the wooden board.

While making burning noise, the sufficiently dry gunpowder emitted light and gave a large amount of smoke as it transmitted fire.

“Well, it burns like this, but now you may think that it’s not a big deal. In fact, it burns well, and this is not a big deal. However, if this object is set on fire in a sealed state, its properties changed again.” (Yuri)

So, I took a small cup. This was like a wooden shot glass, especially when drinking high-alcohol spirits. Originally, the one made of glass was good, and the village mayor’s house had one made of glass, but since it was a waste and it would be injured if the debris flew away, I chose a wooden one that was right there.

Currently, about 80% of the cup was packed with gunpowder. On top of that, I covered it with wood chips and cloth.

“This is filled with the gunpowder that I mentioned earlier.” (Yuri)

When I picked up the gun on the ground, I kept a sufficient distance from the bonfire.

“You, over there, withdraw from that place some more. You’ll get burned.” (Yuri)

And then, the people, who were close to the bonfire, retreated.

“All of you, cover your ears, crouch!” (Yuri)

When I yelled, everyone was confused by the strange command, but with a little delay, they followed the command. I threw the glass casually on the fire.

However, since it was completely covered, nothing happened immediately. The explosion was sudden.

Boom!

A terrible sound was heard, and the burning wood was scattered and blown away. By the way, the birds, which were surprised from the nearby forest, flutter and ran away while making a crying sound loudly.

“Stand up!” (Yuri)

While saying that, I pick up the burned wood with the fire tongs. Finally, when the refined volatile oil was sprinkled on the firewood whose fire had been extinguished by the impact, the firewood that hadn’t cooled yet, burned vigorously and regained its original moment.

It was scattered, but the explosion wasn’t a big deal. Although it was hard, it was wood after all. It might have become worse if this was thin iron or something.

I saw the unit members again.

“Well, this gun is a tool that takes advantage of the explosion. To put it simply, a lead ball is inserted through the muzzle. By causing the explosion in the cylinder, the impact causes the lead ball to be fired strongly from the muzzle. Then, the lead ball becomes a weapon that gains high speed and kills people. We’ve all heard that I killed a bear with a gun.” (Yuri)

‘To be exact, it is mainly the injection gas that pushes the bullet, but this explanation will make them understand faster.’

“Now, let’s get into the test shot. First of all, I’ll try one shot. That’s right… Let’s target the tree there. Please stay for a moment.” (Yuri)

I pointed to a suitable tree, and the members were scattered.

“Needless to say, it’s super dangerous to cross in front of someone while they’re shooting. Stay away from trees while people are testing. Well, it’s the same as a bow and arrow, so you’ll understand.” (Yuri)

After taking the obvious precautions, I loaded quickly, set up the gun, and pulled the trigger.

Bang! The sound was hard and the ear became keen. The peculiar smell of smoke entered my nose.

When I looked around again, half of them were taken aback and half of them were not. Half of them were the ones who got on the eagle.

“Now, this is the problem, and it’s actually the most important thing for you. After all, this weapon is rarely found in the Shanti world. It’s not hard to start making it, but it’s hard to get the numbers. Then, you have to come up with a way to exploit its weaknesses, rather than countering the guns with guns. That’s it.” (Yuri)

When I put the gunstock on the ground, I put the gunpowder and bullets in order into the muzzle. This was wrapped in Hou paper and put together.

Paper Cartridge for Musket

This made it more convenient.

‘If you accidentally add too much gunpowder, the barrel won’t be able to withstand the launch and may explode and injure you, but that can also be prevented.’

‘Here, if you ignite the gunpowder as it is and fire it, you can fire, but there is a problem with this. Gunpowder and bullet are put inside the barrel, so if the barrel is below horizontal, the bullet will roll down. Therefore, you have to push it in with a special ramrod. In that case, by wrapping the wrapping paper around the bullet, it will prevent the bullet from falling out.’

‘On top of that, keep it horizontal and pour gunpowder on the pan. It took some time and effort. It took me about 40 seconds, I think?’

“Now, you’re ready to fire at any time by pulling the trigger. You must have been quite motivated. Alright.” (Yuri)

I looked around the members again.

“There will be some good bows like this. For them, it wouldn’t have been too difficult to hit them with six or seven arrows while I was busy preparing the gun. In that sense, it can be said that the attack power of this gun is less than half that of a skilled archer. With that in mind, this gun isn’t very powerful. But in fact, we’re being killed by this weapon. In the previous battle, the concentrated fire of this gun caused the total collapse due to a partial collapse. Why did that happen? Well, think about it while you’re waiting for your turn. When the night goes on, ask them to tell you what they have noticed.” (Yuri)

I closed the pan and handed the gun to Liao.

“The guidance will be given by the three leaders.” (Yuri)

—

When the test shot was over, the day had already turn dark. A large bonfire was shining brightly.

“Now, it’s already evening. Have you even thought about it during the test shot? If you have to say anything, raise your hand.” (Yuri)

When I said that, a hand went up.

“First of all, it’s you. It’s about auto tem. Let’s talk about it.” (Yuri)

When I said that, a young man from the Eagle King unit began to talk.

“It’s more of a question than an idea, but how much does that gunpowder cost?” (??)

“Aah, that’s a natural question. It’s about 30 Ruga per shot. However, since the gunpowder was imported by me in the business with the Kuran, it is expensive because it includes the profit of the merchants over there and the shipping fee. So, you can think that the Kura people can fire at a cost of two copper coins.” (Yuri)

“I see… Well, in my opinion, how about making a rainy day a decisive battle day?” (??)

‘Ooh. You got a good opinion.’

“Yes. For the time being, if you disagree, there is a special process so that the match will not disappear even with a bit of rain. In addition, it’s possible to prevent by covering the main parts with a cover. Therefore, it’s possible to fire if it rains lightly. Anyhow, that’s a very good opinion. The cover will make the operation more cumbersome. It takes longer to reload and increase the misfire rate.” (Yuri)

‘Alright.’

“Is there any other opinion?” (Yuri)

When I said that, the guy raised his hand up again.

‘As expected, he is enthusiastic about studying. I was the type of person who never raised my hand.’

“Alright, your name is… uhm… Jude Gnome, is it? Let’s talk about it.” (Yuri)

“Yes. I’m honored. Even if we don’t have the gun mentioned earlier, I thought that if it is such an object, for example, it could be packed in a tube and drop it from the sky with an Eagle King. Wouldn’t it be possible to damage the enemy army if it explodes on the ground?” (Jude)

‘Ooh. A great opinion came out.’

‘Such an object isn’t a gun, but a gunpowder thrown into a bonfire before the test shot.’

“Yes. This is also a very good opinion. But unfortunately, there is a fatal problem. Ideally, an explosion would occur the moment the object touches the ground, or the enemy’s head or shoulders, but there is currently no way to control the ignition. The reason it exploded earlier was because it was thrown into a bonfire, so even if you just hit it against the ground, it would just shatter. And of course, if you drop it from the sky, you can’t expect it to have a flammable material on the ground. As a countermeasure, for example, you can sprinkle a cloth soaked in oil around it, ignite it, and then drop it. However, it seems difficult to just explode on the ground.” (Yuri)

‘When I said that, did he already think about it?’

“But that’s a very good opinion. That will be irrelevant due to technological development in the future. It’s not possible at present, but for example, considering the weight of the container, the part where the device is located is placed down, and something like a flint is placed inside, it ignites the moment it hits the ground. Such a device can be easily considered. Yes, that’s a good opinion.” (Yuri)

I praised him.

‘Next is… Hmm, yeah. Is it Dolla?’

“Then, next is you, Dolla Godwin.” (Yuri)

I said it while looking at Dolla.

“You should just thrust in with a heavily armed cavalry.” (Dolla)

‘As expected of Dolla. It’s a brain muscle remark that makes you want to applaud.’

It seemed too much, and I almost laughed.

“Yes, it’s the most realistic plan as a strike force at present. If you want to deny it… the cavalry that actually rushes in must be very prepared to rush in. The cavalry in charge of the front row, will head-to-head into the line of enemy soldiers who have been firing all at once. And if the front row is a bit scared and loosens the reins, the collision force that is the life of the cavalry charge will be attenuated. It’s a job that requires real courage.” (Yuri)

‘The problem is the bayonet. If you want to abolish the short sword or slashing function at the tip of the gun, you can attach a strong spear (needle) so that the gun can have a sufficiently reliable function as a melee thrusting weapon.

Spear Bayonet

However, I heard that the invention of bayonet hasn’t yet been made among the Kuran, and such a war culture doesn’t exist yet.

Currently, the mix of gun soldiers and spear soldiers is made up of mutual assistance for both the way around. However, it’s probably a sloppy thing, so bows are also used on the actual battlefield. The length of the spear may vary, and it should be a suitable collection of soldiers.’

“Then, next is…” (Yuri)

The meeting continued as it was until late at night. As the hall got quiet due to sleepiness, the meeting ended.

—

TLN:

• The pictures aren’t mine. Special thanks to the owners.

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