The shooting range, with the distant target burning through, Lauri muttered to himself, flicking his hand-held laser gun and said, “Not good, although the firing rate has increased, the overheating issue is too big. In comparison, the trade-off just doesn’t seem worth it.”
Instructor White from Winter Fortress looked at the laser gun in Lauri’s hand and swallowed hard.
“Want it?”
Lauri grinned as he looked at White.
“Come on, my good brother, I’ll just give you my laser gun.”
White was taken aback; he almost blurted out “good brother,” but quickly bit his lip and lowered his head, as if warning himself, White, how could you be so debased? You carry the remnants of the Lars army on your shoulders.
However, glancing at the burnt target in the distance, White couldn’t help but extend his hand.
Ulanda, standing nearby, couldn’t bear to watch any longer. Not knowing what these bearded uncles were fussing about, she exclaimed, “Want a laser gun? Just go tell Lord Governor. I heard they’re already researching new laser guns over in Graywhite Territory; surely, there are old ones that can be used.”
“It’s now Lord Governor,” Lauri corrected.
“And you don’t understand; it’s not just about the laser gun; it’s about the Lars army.”
Ulanda shook her head, somewhat confused. To her, since Lord Governor—oh, no, it’s Lord Governor—was the head of the Lars family, shouldn’t the army serve under him? What’s the problem with that?
After all, Ulanda, born in Fasen Town, had grown up in a very traditional knight family. The knight group in Fasen Town had mostly existed just for show, so after Jefferson sided with Lind, the knight group was unsurprisingly incorporated, undergoing training just like the First Army Group in Graywhite Territory.
Though it was tough, for most soldiers who merely held pitchforks and weren’t true knights, the treatment was already far better than before. While some below standard individuals had exited the knight group, they could only be said to have returned to a normal life, engaging in great construction instead.
However, the Lars remnants in Winter Fortress were different. Winter Fortress was originally a place where soldiers and civilians were one and the same. Now, even with the help of Sean and the Grand Elder, a substantial number of useless individuals had been filtered out, yet the remaining army was still several thousand strong.
The size had completely surpassed that of the Graywhite army.
If mishandled, it could easily lead Graywhite’s army astray.
Not to mention that the Lars remnants were essentially a feudal army.
Although the discipline of the Lars army was relatively strict and this remnant army was from Winter Fortress where military rations weren’t withheld, thus it didn’t have the bad habit of looting, it could still withstand the attack from Doug Lars’s coalition forces.
But being merely more human-like compared to those noble armies didn’t mean they were free of individual bad habits. The old officer class, with knights as their escorts, had no real constraints over the soldiers beneath them, and soldier looting had almost become an unwritten rule in this world.
Currently, the Graywhite army not only had to drill daily but also prohibited looting. Stealing a neighbor’s chicken required compensation and an apology, leading many Winter Fortress soldiers to feel that they were in vain.
Getting them to adhere to the Three Major Disciplines and Eight Points of Attention was even more challenging.
The real problem lay in the knight class within the army.
Lauri, originally an old border soldier, had taken the original veteran team around Winter Fortress’s army and discovered that these soldiers weren’t unwilling to follow discipline; after all, the benefits were high enough. Even the ones who had these bad habits now felt a bit embarrassed at the thought of looting again.
Moreover, no one in Graywhite treated soldiers like peasants. Those subjects who saw soldiers adorned with medals genuinely respected them, making the younger soldiers envious.
It must be noted that even knights had never received such respect, and those medals weren’t just awarded to knight nobles.
That kid Darsi, who hadn’t even grown a full beard, was awarded the bronze Marksman medal for his shooting skills, strutting around with his nose in the air.
Many young soldiers felt dissatisfied, believing that if they had such equipment, they would definitely surpass their foes in kills.
The real issue lay with the knight class.
After all, newly minted officers completely replaced the ecological niche of the knight class. Lind’s original plan was to mix up all the Winter Fortress soldiers, led by officers from Graywhite Territory, and if that wasn’t enough, promote soldiers from the First Army Group as officers.
However, under the leadership and influence of these knight class officers, it was often difficult for commoner-born officers to truly control the army.
White didn’t wish for Lars’s army to be renamed Ror just like that. Even though he saw the Graywhite’s military equipment, he was still reluctant to accept it, as some of the feudal knight ideologies were incomprehensible to Lind.
After no fruitful discussions, White followed Lauri to the latest equipment testing ground. In the area, a knight clad in full plate armor was carrying a backpack. The backpack held a laser gun and a firing gun, and each arm armor was also equipped with a blade.
The soldiers in the field were rapidly firing molten beams at a steel target, and after the rapid shooting concluded, as the gun barrel began to smoke, the soldier returned the molten beam to a slot on the backpack, where the condensation magic circle was activated and began to cool down.
Subsequently, while the soldier had this moment, he took out the firing gun for continuous fire. The firing rate might not match the molten beam, but its power was not lacking and even performed better against targets without strong magic runes, capable of directly penetrating magic barriers.
Finally, the soldier demonstrated the blade on the arm armor.
As the soldier made a fist motion, the retractable blade on the arm armor shot out, its edges glowing a fiery red.
The other side’s blade emitted a chainsaw’s growl.
Both blades appeared incredibly sharp, making White envious.
Lauri was about to take the opportunity to show off to the knight in front when suddenly he heard a voice that made him sweat coldly.
“Lauri!”
This voice was akin to the call of a mother when a mischievous child missed dinner time and returned home.
A woman resembling a head maid quickly approached.
“You’re using the Lord Governor’s budget for this? Didn’t I already warn you not to make your so-called blade? Replacement and repair are troublesome; the Lord Governor clearly said to make it in a normal sword style.”
Hearing this, Lauri shrank a bit, quickly running forward to plead, “Lady Lila, isn’t this about gaining knowledge through practice? Don’t I need to test if this arm-armor blade works or not? This is all normal adjustments, normal adjustments.”
“Really not just your desire to make a toy?”
Lila, holding a report, shot a sidelong glance at Lauri.
“Absolutely not!”
Lauri stood at attention immediately.
“Then tell me, what have you tested out?”
Lila’s gaze lowered, no longer looking at Lauri, instead flipping through the experiment report in her hands.
“At least the chainsaw sword doesn’t work. Don’t even mention putting it on arm armor; even as a regular sword, maintaining it is very troublesome, and the costs and damage rates are alarmingly high. To increase stability, you have to increase its size, unlike the molten-cutting sword, which is efficient and can replace the blade module at any time, perfectly meeting the Lord Governor’s modular requirements. It’s just…”
“Just?”
Lila’s report was nearing its end.
“Just that if it requires repeated use, it will be a bit challenging; the material costs will increase a little.”
Lauri gestured with his fingers to indicate a tiny amount, but seeing Lila’s report, she sighed heavily.
“Forget about repeated use; it’s one-time materials. The territory temporarily can’t afford alchemical materials that can withstand molten-cutting magic circles.”
Lauri nodded, continuing, “Although the chainsaw sword is somewhat troublesome to maintain, those sisters seem to really like it, and in some situations, it’s more advantageous than the molten-cutting sword. Could we produce some specifically for the sisters?”
While Lila doodled on the report, she replied, “The sister unit pays for themselves. You don’t have to worry about it.”
“Alright, so the military supplies are settled like this?”
“I’ll go find the Lord Governor to finalize it. At least it’s still within budget; it should be fine.”
After speaking, Lila raised her head and glanced at White.
White felt puzzled. Although Lauri was a bit oily, he was indeed the actual power holder of the Graywhite army. Why was he being so subservient to someone who looked like a head maid?
Men from Lars wouldn’t bow down to women. Thinking this, White stepped forward, facing Lila’s gaze head-on, preparing to demonstrate what a true man was, radiating a vibe of “what are you gonna do about it?”
Seeing this, Lauri quickly pulled on White, whispering in his ear, “She manages the military expenses.”
“Hmph, and what’s it to manage military expenses? Our Lars knights don’t fight for money.”
However, before White and Lauri could finish their whispered conversation, Lila spoke directly, “Submit the financial expenditures and weapon conditions of your Winter Fortress army. The Lord Governor says your equipment and weapons need updating.”
Upon hearing this, White’s previously rising momentum immediately deflated, his height shrinking to match Lauri’s.
“Uh, sister.”
