Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1610 1582. New Materials

"They shook hands on the Tiffany River, which can be considered the dividing line between Upper and Lower Aedirn."

Gerd concluded with disdain.

"Marquis Mansfield of Ard Kalai and Menno Kuhn, commander of the Eastern Front of the Nilfgaardian Empire, shook hands with the bleeding and dying bodies of the Kingdom of Aedirn."

"The spoils were divided in a disgraceful manner. It can be called the most despicable handshake in the world."

"Menno Kuhoon." Lan En savored the name of this high-ranking general of the Southern Empire who had been released by him. "But it's still not bad."

"Menno Kuhoon is still sober. Either he is sober on his own or I 'helped' him to be sober last time."

"In short, as the commander of the Eastern Front this time, he has not massacred any cities since the war began. So far, it seems that he has only conscripted civilians as laborers. The slave trade, which is the foundation of the Nilfgaardian Empire, has been suppressed by him."

"I spared his life last time on Mount Sodden. Now, judging from the innocent casualties alone, it's more than worth it."

"It's really shocking." Eskel started to chew on a pickled cucumber. "The capital of Aedirn, Vengerberg, resisted Nilfgaard for several weeks. Everyone thought that after the city was captured, the Nilfgaardians would carry out a massacre to vent their anger."

"But they didn't. It was said that Menno Cuhoon had also forced it down."

"But you are here to lament that it was worth the money. If all the northern commanders on the Eastern Front knew the whole story, they would probably just hate you for sparing a powerful enemy."

Gerd smiled and scooped a spoonful of honey into the plate for dipping.

"The Eastern Front troops under the command of Menno Kuhn completely routed them without them even taking a breath."

"And his management of military discipline is good or bad. The good thing is that he didn't massacre any cities. There are still many scattered resistance forces and guerrillas in Aedirn and Rivia."

"The bad thing is that the Nilfgaardians have stopped slaughtering people, and the people's resistance to Nilfgaard is actually becoming more moderate than in the previous war."

The so-called "I'm not afraid of the enemy being too reactionary, I'm afraid of the enemy not being reactionary."

The more reckless the perverse actions are, the more frightened and terrified people will be. But the more this happens, the more people will be forced to become enemies, and the opposition will naturally become stronger and more resolute.

As a result, you will not be fickle and lose your way, but will just move forward courageously.

But for Lan En, he only had one sentence.

"That makes no difference to me."

Menno Cuhoon rectified military discipline, strengthened organization, and even softened the attitude of the northerners towards Nilfgaard, but Lann didn't care.

It was as if he didn't care about letting the other person go in the first place.

"Ha!" Cassandra suddenly exclaimed in a high-pitched voice. Her eyes seemed to be burning Lan En through Margarita. "You make my heart surge now!"

Margarita turned her head from side to side, looking from Lane to Cassandra.

The sorceress was convinced that this scorching gaze was not meant to burn the person, but only to burn the clothes that were in the way.

Cassandra's eyes were like a lioness staring at her prey, and the movement of her swallowing the wine was like a wild bite.

The Spartans' love for strength and war is self-evident.

The scene being discussed now, and Lan's presence, were almost as exciting to Cassandra as reciting an erotic article in person.

Margarita's eyebrows couldn't help but twitch.

The falconer's almost explicit declaration of love slightly broke the heaviness of the previous discussion of the war.

Compared to the hysterical battlefield, now is a precious truce period after all.

Lan left half a year ago, and the Second Northern War began. A few months later, the weather turned cold and winter came.

The Nilfgaardian army was undoubtedly invincible, but precisely because it was so invincible, it advanced at a reckless pace and stretched the battle line too long.

The supply line was therefore greatly lengthened, and the supply pressure was directly raised to the point of almost bursting.

In addition, the severe cold in winter will be even more torturous for the military, and the supplies required will be even greater.

So throughout the winter, the Nilfgaardians actually retreated a little to the south.

On the western coast, the Nilfgaardians stopped outside the border of Sidaris.

On the eastern front, they did not engage in battle with the Kaedweni, but simply guarded the already occupied Lower Aedirn region.

The Central Army Group had already made preparations to besiege Maribor before winter.

Of course, it is not so easy for Temeria's second largest city to be completely surrounded. It is basically just a threat.

But after winter, they also retreated southward to the border of Temeria. Only Mayena Castle, which served as a border fortress, was left as a forward base after being occupied, and was stuck there like a nail.

Truce period. It is precisely because of this tacit and unwritten truce period that they can temporarily relax and feast here.

But this truce will not last long, because spring is coming.

Lan En didn't want it to grow any longer.

"The Nilfgaardians have made great progress. If nothing else, their army is indeed aggressive and enterprising."

Cassandra broke the heavy atmosphere of the topic, so that they could talk about something lighter. Berengar was now very interested in discussing the new tricks that the Nilfgaardians had shown in this war.

"Since the war began, the factory has been flooded with orders, but that's normal. Who wouldn't want Valyrian steel to arm their troops?"

"But Temerian frontline officers have also come to the factory many times to consult me ​​and the various blacksmith masters."

"They said that the military equipment of the Nilfgaardians now has shown powerful performance, especially the projectile equipment such as bows, crossbows, catapults, etc."

"There's still a Valyrian steel crossbow arrow shaft on the wall of Maribor that has not been pulled out. It has penetrated the seven or eight meter thick wall! No one knows how to pull it out!"

"Believe me, even if you add more materials to a regular crossbow, it can't achieve this! Even enchantment won't work!"

"Perhaps the magician can directly control and cast a powerful spell? But that's unlikely, because the magic of the magician can be used in many places. Why should it be tied to a bed crossbow? Isn't this a complete waste of high-end manpower?"

"So I guess Nilfgaard has made some progress in researching new metal materials."

There was no surprise on Berengar's face, but rather interest.

The formula of Valyrian steel was the sample and fragmentary spell that Lann brought over. He was responsible for the smelting technology, and Margarita was responsible for restoring and replicating the spell.

This is also the first time in the not-so-long history of magic development in this world that magic interference has penetrated into the mineral stage.

The resulting Valyrian steel did perform very well.

But it’s not like there aren’t other geniuses in this world.

Even if it is impossible to research new metal materials, Valyrian steel itself is a metal with good biocompatibility.

Lan's [Vulcan Stream·Destruction] was formed by incorporating Nergigante materials using New World techniques. Its properties are very different from the original Valyrian steel.

Even if others cannot carry out groundbreaking research, it is entirely possible to make some extended breakthroughs on the basis.

However, Valyrian steel has only been on the market for a few years, and people are still pursuing the profits it brings. Before the profits are fully reaped and the market is not weakened, it is difficult to have the motivation to develop new products.

But for the militaristic slave empire of Nilfgaard, the desire and pursuit for more powerful armaments is natural.

Their R&D motivation is really strong.

It is estimated that the research has been started after the first batch of Valyrian steel arrived.

The performance in this war is nothing more than the fruition and technical verification.

"and many more!"

But Berengar was calm, but others were not.

Cassandra opened her mouth wide. "Malakka! Are you saying there are bows and arrows that can shoot through the city walls?"

"What?" Berengar didn't quite understand this kind of 'ancient Greek elegant language', but after a moment of confusion he still responded with the second half of the sentence, "Of course there is, although it is the material for the bed crossbow, it must be powerful enough to be used on a bow and arrow!"

"You mean you can still do it?!"

"What else?" Berengar always seemed proud when he talked about his blacksmithing skills, and this time was no exception.

He leaned back in his chair, looking very confident.

"That new material was obviously developed by Nilfgaard for projectile weapons. It should have good elasticity, strength, and the ability to withstand deformation. What a pity! If Nilfgaard had a finished product, or a formula or idea, it wouldn't be difficult to study this thing."

Berengar muttered about his expertise.

Across the table from him, Cassandra also muttered.

"In other words, I need to go to the battlefield and destroy a few of the crossbows you mentioned and collect the wreckage. Then I may have to sneak into the territory of their commander or logistics officer and eavesdrop on their conversations, or directly steal some documents?"

Berengar wanted to say that this was indeed the case.

But the reality is definitely many times more complicated than the three mission objectives listed by Cassandra.

The basic idea is correct, but who can do it?
He believed in Lan's fighting ability, but he was not optimistic that this big guy could sneak in and steal without being exposed.

But when Berengar looked up, he was shocked to see that Cassandra, who was sitting across the table, looked impatient and eager to try.

Obviously, the falconer was eager to appear in the Nilfgaardian camp and take action immediately.

"Hey? Are you serious?"

Berengar was now interested.

He knew very well that the person Lan had brought back must be a powerful figure, and not a fool who had listened to the conversation for a long time but still did not realize that the Nilfgaardians were not easy to mess with.

So Cassandra's performance is... confident?

"You said before that you wanted to make new equipment? How about this, if you bring me their new materials, I will try to make some for you?"

The falconer's eyes lit up.

(End of this chapter)