"Hyah!"
"Let's make camp on that hillside up ahead. By tomorrow afternoon, we should reach Baron Saxin's riverbank encampment."
Today was October 30th. A few days prior, Baron Saxin had sent word that the flat-bottomed ships were essentially complete.
Go, of course. Lorist wanted to ship a batch of life vests to the Thunderbolt Catapult Battalion anyway. This was going to be a naval engagement, after all. The catapult operators in the battalion were all seasoned veterans, but if even a few of them fell overboard and drowned, that would still count as a casualty. Better to take preventive measures ahead of time.
There was another reason, too. Lorist wanted to get away from the bickering and turmoil that had been roiling through the family lately. The root of it all was a massive order he had placed, instructing Master Hyde and Master Falin—the two in charge of the Darksteel Smelting Base and the Crossbow Manufacturing Base—to produce fifty thousand steel crossbows for the newly formed Hunter Cavalry Corps. The manufacturing cost of a single steel crossbow came to thirty-eight gold Forde…
No one had expected the price to be so steep. A war chariot crossbow cost only thirty-five gold Forde to make, and the steel crossbow was smaller, less powerful, and yet more expensive. The first to shake his head in opposition was Fatty Shrade, who was present at the time. Steward Speer and Steward Kamora quickly followed, and all three voiced their objections in unison.
The argument over the steel crossbow dragged on for two full days before Lorist finally overruled everyone and pushed the enormous order through: fifty thousand steel crossbows as the standard ranged weapon for the Hunter Cavalry Corps. This blew the corps' original five-hundred-thousand gold Forde procurement budget by nearly two million, which was why Fatty Shrade, Steward Speer, and the others had been giving Lorist nothing but dirty looks ever since.
There was no helping it. The steel crossbow was expensive to manufacture, but what cost even more were the specially made bolts—twenty bolts for a single gold Forde, meaning each bolt was worth nearly a large silver coin. Fatty Shrade's main objection was that while the manufacturing cost was painful but bearable, what the weapon actually fired wasn't bolts—it was large silver coins!
The Hunter Cavalry Corps had sixty thousand men across four regiments and twenty battalions. With three thousand men per battalion, and subtracting one war chariot crossbow battalion plus all the logistical support—grooms, cooks, and the like—there were still at least forty thousand combat personnel. If every one of them had a steel crossbow and fired a single volley, that would be two thousand gold Forde spent in one breath. Was this fighting or throwing money into a bonfire? Moreover, a competent hunting cavalryman needed constant practice to master his weapon, and the special bolts were non-recoverable. Every shot meant the bolt was scrapped and had to be reforged from scratch. When Fatty Shrade did the math, the training ammunition cost alone came to thirty to fifty gold Forde per man. Unacceptable. He had flatly refused to equip the Hunter Cavalry Corps with the steel crossbows on the spot.
In truth, after placing the order, Lorist had the nagging feeling he'd accidentally veered down the wrong branch of the tech tree. Who would have thought that Master Hyde and Master Falin had spent two years researching dwarf firearms with little to show for it, yet had achieved a breakthrough in crossbow design instead? The steel crossbow was, in essence, a crossbow rifle. Its power had already surpassed that of old smoothbore muskets.
Crossbows and longbows were fundamentally different. On the Galentea Continent, it was universally accepted that a longbow could shoot flat for a hundred meters and lob arrows three hundred. But after extensive research, Master Hyde had concluded that the effective range for a powerful flat shot was only sixty to seventy meters—within that distance, an archer had at best a fifty percent chance of hitting a stationary target. At a hundred meters, the target was no bigger than a soybean, and the archer could only aim by rough estimation, relying on luck for accuracy. Of course, one could not rule out the existence of freaks of nature like Jost, a prodigy archer who could hit a bullseye every time within a hundred meters.
The Galentea Continent was a world of combat force. Longbowmen could even fuse combat force with their bows to enhance arrow power—Silver-rank archers, for instance, could channel qi into their shafts, allowing a single arrow to punch through steel and stone. For a thousand years, the longbow had been the undisputed king of ranged weapons. Crossbows, by contrast, relied purely on mechanical energy. They were slow to reload, had shorter range, and—most critically—could not be augmented with combat force. However, training a longbowman took a minimum of two years to reach basic competence, whereas a crossbowman could become a deadly marksman in just three months. Ease of aiming and accuracy were the crossbow's greatest strengths.
The steel crossbows designed by Master Hyde and Master Falin had already surpassed the longbow in certain respects. Their steel-and-wood frame could be shouldered and fired like a dwarf musket. The draw mechanism used a lever principle—after firing, the user could easily re-cock the bow on horseback by pulling a steel rod on the right side of the stock, locking the string in place, loading a bolt, and taking aim again. While it could not match the rapid fire rate of a well-trained longbowman, it was several times faster than old stone crossbows.
A flat shooting range of seventy to eighty meters was the steel crossbow's greatest advantage. Master Hyde had sworn with absolute conviction: within that distance, in a duel between a longbowman and a steel crossbowman, the longbowman would lose every time. The longbowman could only aim by experience and estimation, while the crossbowman could acquire targets with ease through a built-in sight.
The bolts for the steel crossbow were also specially made. The diamond-shaped head had armor-piercing properties, the shaft was made of semi-hollow steel, and the rear was fitted with three thin iron fins. This was also the main reason they could not be recovered after firing—once the fins were damaged, the bolt was scrap.
Lorist recalled the scene from a few days ago, when
Perhaps it was that sentence that had swayed Lorist. Despite Fatty Shrade's vehement opposition, he had insisted on placing the order. Thinking back now, Lorist felt some regret. Fatty Shrade's objections had actually been quite reasonable. He had wanted Master Hyde and Master Falin to continue improving the crossbow, bringing the cost down to within twenty gold Forde, and to refine the bolts until they could be produced at a rate of one hundred bolts per gold Forde.
But Master Hyde and Master Falin had said that while improvements to both the crossbow and the bolts were possible, they would need time—at least two years. At that point, Lorist had been dead set on getting the Hunter Cavalry Corps combat-ready as quickly as possible. Relying on the family's deep coffers, he had declared they would produce fifty thousand crossbows first, with extras kept as replacements. Fatty Shrade had stormed out in a fury.
Seward had already laid out a simple field bed for Lorist inside the erected command tent. Lorist walked over, collapsed onto the bed, and watched as Seward busied himself boiling water to make tea.
"Seward, let me ask you—was I too hasty when I placed that order for fifty thousand steel crossbows the other day?"
Seward froze for a moment. "My lord, I'm not sure I should say…"
"It's fine. Give me your thoughts. As an outsider, you may see things more clearly than the rest of us."
"Well, my lord, it seems to me that you've been too impatient. Lately, I've noticed you seem almost eager, as though you want to fully equip the Hunter Cavalry Corps in one fell swoop. And you've already started treating the Fisablen family as though they were the
"Contradictory? Why do you feel that way?" Lorist sat up.
Seward frowned. "My lord, if you're certain the Fisablen family will become our enemy soon, then you should cancel the arms trade with them. The equipment they've purchased from us won't be fully delivered until the end of next year. During that time, the Fisablen family has no way of turning against us. We've only delivered a third of the order so far. If you truly believe they'll become enemies, you should halt the deal—that would be far more effective than building the Hunter Cavalry Corps to counter them.
"Furthermore, Sir Shrade, Steward Speer, and Steward Kamora all raise valid points. We're not actually short on time, and there was no need to place such a massive order so soon. And the steel crossbow, in my view, is far from perfect. Its steel wire string and specially forged steel bow limbs need to be replaced regularly, which not only drives up the cost but also adds to the complexity of operation.
"Master Hyde and Master Falin also said that the steel crossbow had only just completed its initial design and prototype phase and still required continuous testing and refinement. When you placed the order for fifty thousand, their faces went white. I suspect they simply aren't capable of large-scale production yet. The only reason they didn't object was that you had declared you would spare no expense to give the family this powerful ranged weapon.
"Then there are the special bolts. I hear the tail fins are hand-fitted one by one. The hundred bolts we brought along this time were individually forged. My lord, think about it—fifty thousand crossbows, each equipped with twenty bolts, means one million bolts total. At the rate of hand-forging, when would that ever be finished? It couldn't possibly be done within a year.
"Sir Shrade makes an excellent point. The family armory is already stocked with plenty of stone crossbows and mounted bows. Those could be issued to the Hunter Cavalry Corps first. Their standard steel chain mail is already far superior to the Fisablen family's mounted cavalry equipment, offering much stronger protection. Even with the same weapons, they would hold the advantage. There's no need to equip them with something as costly as the steel crossbow. Otherwise, my lord, what you'd be building isn't a Hunter Cavalry Corps—it's a Gold Coin Corps."
Lorist burst out laughing. "You're right. I was too hasty on this one. Bring me a blank sheet of paper. I'll write orders for Sir Shrade, putting him in charge of steel crossbow improvements and procurement. I'm cancelling my original order. And convey my apologies and thanks to him, Steward Speer, and Steward Kamora—I was negligent and caused everyone unnecessary trouble.
"Also, award Master Hyde and Master Falin one thousand gold Forde each. That's a reward for their design and production of the steel crossbow, and I want them to continue improving it so it can reach mass production and meet the family's procurement targets.
"And I'll write letters to
"Yes, my lord. I'll prepare everything right away," said Seward.
Since this was a temporary camp with no tables or chairs, Lorist finished writing both letters while balanced on an overturned saddle.
"Seward, you've grown remarkably fast. Give it another two years, and once you advance to upper Silver rank, I can send you down to a corps for field experience. Would you like to command a battalion?" Lorist asked as he wrote.
"He learned the Elixir Sea Breathing Technique too."
"Oh? You want to learn the Elixir Sea Breathing Technique as well?"
"Yes, Master. I'm your student, so naturally I want to follow your Eastern monk cultivation methods and master internal energy. Senior Brother Reidi said the thing that makes him happiest is having mastered internal energy—he can defeat Gold-rank swordsmen and knights at tournaments without breaking a sweat." Seward's voice was full of envy.
"All right, then. Once you advance to upper Silver rank, I'll teach you this Eastern monk cultivation method."
Having decided to hand the steel crossbow matter over to Fatty Shrade, Lorist finally set the worry aside. He gave the completed orders and letters to an escort rider, then took a brief nap. By the time Seward woke him for dinner, the sky was filled with stars, and the distant rumble of cart wheels could be heard. Before long came Count Kemmis's complaining voice: "Why'd you have to ride so fast? You made me chase you for three hours! These roads are terrible—my backside is completely numb…"
"Who told you to insist on riding in a carriage? From here to the downstream Mitoboro River, there's nothing but footpaths—no road fit for a carriage. I could have ridden another two hours if I hadn't been waiting for you." Lorist grumbled back.
Count Kemmis dropped himself onto the ground next to Lorist, snatched up Lorist's gold goblet, and downed a huge gulp of barley wine. Then he casually ordered Seward to bring him a portion of roast mutton. "Fine, fine. I'll ride tomorrow. Who knew there weren't even carriage roads out here? Riding in a carriage was pure torture. But this barley wine of yours isn't bad—nothing quenches the thirst after a long ride like barley wine."
"Will your family's corps reach the riverbank today?" Lorist asked.
"Don't worry. They set out ten days ahead of us—they should have crawled there by now. We took the shortcut on horseback in three days. They followed the main road for ten days; if they can't make it, I'll have them court-martialed. Our family didn't raise an entire corps of useless men." Count Kemmis answered with confidence.
"Good. This time, your family's corps and Henned's family's corps will be the main act. A force of nearly a hundred thousand should make the Madras Duchy across the river feel like they're facing a grave threat—they'll have to mass a large army to face you. All you need to do is make enough noise. Don't engage them lightly and risk unnecessary casualties. Just let Ovigis's Thunderbolt Catapult Battalion blast its way forward." Lorist instructed.
"Understood. We'll keep them dangling. Come spring next year is when the real battle begins. We all know the score." Count Kemmis nodded.
…(To be continued.)