A Treacherous Courtier Manages the Empire Well

45 – Acquiring the Elixir Source

Kalia was, how should I put it?

A talented commander.

From Noble mtl dot com

“Install the machine guns from now! Begin!”

“Begin!”

Installation of the stands, installation of the machine guns, and attaching the bullet belts to the machine guns were done simultaneously as the mage enchanted the machine guns with acceleration magic. And it took just 20 seconds until pulling the trigger.

One mage and three regular soldiers formed a group of four, moving in perfect harmony like a single organism, and I had to open my mouth wide in awe. Kalia smiled slyly.

“The machine guns were quite heavy. That’s why I asked sis to engrave lightweight magic runes on the barrels and bodies.”

“Ah, excellent. Lady Caria.”

“And then, for a few weeks, I declared it as a period of intensive machine gun training and trained them like that. It wasn’t anything special. I rewarded those who succeeded with gold coins, and they all competed like that. A strong army is a wealthy army, Randor.”

The machine gun was as quick to dismantle as it was to install. After that, the four machine gun operators quickly moved to different positions, installed the machine guns again, quickly fired shots, and then proceeded to move and shoot.

I silently watched that spectacle and was so happy that I hugged Caria tightly.

“Randor… not in front of my subordinates!…”

“Ah, I’m sorry. It was just so impressive. You’re the best, Lady Caria! This is enough to be able to handle the monster horde in the Lako Mountains.”

Caria nodded, trying to hide her flushed face.

“We decided to provide them with new ceremonial armor made with high-purity magical stones. The performance has improved since the construction of the large-scale steel mill, and the production cost of the armor has decreased. In addition, the performance of the mana batteries and defensive magic embedded in the armor has greatly increased, and Celene said that they are planning to add strength-enhancing magic during this opportunity.”

“Amazing.”

Caria tilted her head at my words.

“There is something even more amazing, Randor.”

“What is it?”

“The efficiency of battle magic for battle mages has greatly increased.”

Caria pointed to the mana batteries installed on the backs of the mages.

“The energy storage capacity of the mana batteries has significantly increased. The efficiency of staff-activated magic has increased. The power of magic has increased. In addition, thanks to the invention of high-purity magical stones, the combat abilities of battle mages have increased dozens of times compared to before.”

A sinister smile formed on Caria’s lips. As a commander, I couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction.

“The close combat abilities of regular infantry have increased, as well as the defense capabilities of the armor. With the addition of the increased efficiency of battle magic for battle mages and the machine guns, this is an army that will unleash unimaginable firepower. I can’t wait to see how it will be! Randor!”

I looked at the machine gunners training with a similarly sinister smile.

“If we defeat the monster horde in the Lako Mountains and secure the source of elixirs, we can commercialize and sell even more magical items than now. That would be so impressive!…”

Without anyone saying it, the two of us started laughing.

The undefeated commander and the sinister agent.

Looking back, it was a strange combination, but surprisingly a fitting one.

A few months later.

So, when all the members of the Imperial Legion were equipped with new armor and weapons, and 40,000 rounds of ammunition and 4,000 machine guns were supplied…

“I hereby command the extermination of the monster horde in the Lako Mountains. My daughter, Caria. Go and return with victory.”

“Yes, Your Majesty! Victory to the Empire!”

With the Emperor’s command, the official operation to exterminate the monster horde in the Lako Mountains began.

“Five divisions will be responsible for the expedition. The rest of the units will be in charge of defending the trade route, as before.”

50,000 troops were invested, including 1,000 machine gunners. The reconnaissance was assigned to the elementalists of the Rimnakal Plains.

“400 meters ahead. Monsters sighted.”

“Confirm. Take care of it!”

As they had to move through the rugged valleys of the Laco Mountain Range, the advance speed was extremely slow, but Karia didn’t mind. After all, the goal of this expedition was not only to deal with the horde of monsters, but also to secure the source of elixir.

Because of this, the Blood Iron Legion was being extremely cautious. However, they were steadily advancing while clearing the path.

“Set up the machine guns!”

As soon as the elementalists reported that monsters were spotted ahead, the machine guns were immediately set up. It was the first real test of the machine guns. The mage cast an acceleration spell on the machine guns, and as the trigger was pulled, the bullets flew towards the monsters that smelled the scent of humans.

The results were satisfying.

Kerung!

The continuous barrage of machine gun bullets tore through the monsters. Even the tough and reinforced leather, enhanced by their mana-infused stones, was powerless against the intermediate machine gun bullets.

“hahahahaha! This is refreshing!”

The new tungsten penetrator. The new smokeless gunpowder. In addition, the intermediate machine gun bullets that were enchanted with acceleration magic. There was no monster that could withstand these. The bullet that pierced through the leather with a single shot wreaked havoc inside the monsters, leaving them critically injured. Death was inevitable.

The Blood Iron Legion focused on safely dealing with the monsters from a distance and clearing the path, and for about two weeks, they slowly advanced towards the Turea Mountain.

“There is a large cave 400 meters ahead. It is filled with a massive number of monsters.”

“To the Turea Mountain.”

“Yes. Commander Karia, we have finally arrived.”

The Blood Iron Legion could see the Turea Mountain right before their eyes.

Karia spent another day clearing the path and focusing on setting up the machine gun emplacement. The remaining infantry soldiers equipped themselves with armor and weapons and prepared to deal with the monsters that were left after the machine guns passed by in close combat.

And as time passed, the fateful moment finally arrived.

“Tamir Khan, begin!”

“Yes, Commander.”

With the wind elementalists and the fire elementalists throwing their spirits into the cave on a massive scale, the war began. The spirits of wind and fire that flew into the cave created a massive explosion and burned dozens of monsters to ashes in an instant.

“They’re coming!”

However, none of the dead monsters stayed dead. While their bodies were on fire, it only stimulated the monsters, and those monsters who had absorbed elixirs and gained abnormally powerful defense started spewing their screams and pouring out of their base, the cave.

There were at least thousands, and at most tens of thousands of monsters in this tremendous horde. Seeing them pouring out from a distance, the members of the Blood Iron Legion attached their shields and raised their spears, forming a defensive line.

“Activate the auras!”

With the commander’s order, the mana batteries started operating, and defensive magic began to work on the shields and armor. The auras started to settle on the spears of the legionnaires.

If they had to fight a war with this tremendous horde in close combat, the tension in the vanguard unit would have been immense by now.

But today, no one seemed to be tense.

When the horde of monsters screamed and rushed towards the vanguard unit at an incredible speed.

“Open fire with the machine guns!”

With Karia’s command, hundreds of well-maintained machine gun emplacements simultaneously unleashed intermediate machine gun rounds, enchanted with acceleration magic, towards the horde of monsters.

The leading unit, which had been preparing for a ground collision, appeared as if hundreds of rays of light were pouring down through the monsters, thanks to the flashbangs interspersed throughout.

Kiyaaak!!

And then, chaos unfolded.

The tungsten armor-piercing rounds, infused with acceleration magic, did not disappoint the expectations of the corps members.

Even the enhanced defense of the monsters, whose leather had become stronger than usual due to the absorption of elixirs, could not withstand the barrage from the medium machine guns.

As the monsters were hit and swept away by the bullets, and the leading monsters fell, those at the rear stumbled over their corpses and their rushing speed began to slow down.

“Gather! Battle mages, step forward!”

And as the corpses piled up and the monsters were unable to advance or retreat, the sharp command of Karia’s combat mages raised their staffs.

Why doesn’t the Imperial Army use artillery?

“Flame Blast!”

It was because there were mages who were more powerful than artillery.

Thousands of fireballs flew towards the clustered monsters, and the dismembered corpses of monsters soared high in the sky and fell back down in the blazing fireballs.

“Do not stop! Keep shooting!”

The machine guns continued to fire, and the mages relentlessly blasted fireballs.

As a result,

“They’re monsters. Kill them.”

The monsters that had gotten so close that the leading unit had to engage in close combat were few in number, but they were already in a completely destroyed state, making it too easy to deal with them.

The iron-hearted corps members calmly drove spears into the hearts and heads of the already mangled monsters, and after easily dispatching the monsters, they began to advance.

The difference between having a machine gun and not having one brought about a tremendous difference.

There were no casualties, and on the other hand, the horde of monsters was already so devastated that they couldn’t stop the advancing corps members.

“Enter the cave and exterminate the remaining stragglers!”

The corps members entered the cave and took care of the remaining monsters. After searching the area around Mt. Turea all day and confirming that there were no more monsters, Karia received the confirmation that there were no more remaining monsters and finally smiled.

“Mobilize the engineering corps to focus on clearing the surrounding roads! Tamer Khan! You and your tribe members should do the same.”

“Yes, Lady Karia.”

“And Tamer Khan, send one Wind Elemental Mage to report this victory to the mainland.”

Karia looked at the caves of Mt. Turea with satisfaction.

“Tell the Empire that a new source of elixirs has been found. Tamer Khan.”

The news that a large elixir source had been developed in Mt. Turea quickly spread throughout the Empire. As soon as Selenne heard the news, she sent the sorcerers of Matop to attempt precise measurements, and it was reported that the scale of the elixir source was over ten times greater than the two existing elixir sources, causing her to scream in joy.

It was an amazing discovery that perfectly matched the technology for producing high-purity magical gemstones.

However, the one who should have been most delighted by this discovery was

Randor couldn’t find joy in it.

He was busy.

Very busy.

Extremely busy.

“Karham Longbeard, please mass-produce this iron structure for me.”

“What’s this? This elongated and peculiar piece of iron? What are you going to use it for?”

“It’s a track. A track. Do you remember the transportation vehicle with tremendous carrying capacity that I mentioned last time? It’s a moving vehicle carrying dozens of iron-made boxes at the back.”

“Oh, that thing.”

“I named it a train. This is the track on which the train will run.”

“What are you going to do by mass-producing this?”

In response to Karham’s question, Randor chuckled.

“We’re done with transporting goods by carriage. We’ll move things with this train. It will be more efficient and mass transport of goods than carriages, many times over. It will cut through the continent, Karham.”

“With a gigantic chunk of iron making noise on this track, pulling dozens of transport cars behind?”

“Exactly.”

“Oh, damn, that’s awesome. That’s exactly what I wanted!! Stimulating the romanticism of men! Start it right away!! A moving damn huge iron chunk, it’s insane!!”

From Noble mtl dot com

Randor was ushering in the era of the railway.