Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 54 Testing the Gun
After the northern wilderness entered summer, the temperature did not rise much.

The temperature difference between morning and evening is still large, and most people who need to work outside still wear thicker cotton coats.

After completing his daily required magic practice, Harvey stood on the second-floor balcony of the main castle, gazing at the bustling crowd in the distance. He couldn't help but sigh, "The territory is finally getting back on track..."

Asdalen squinted his eyes at the rising sun in the sky. "After the first payday, about a hundred people chose to exchange their gold yuan notes for metal coins."

Harvey shook his head, unconcerned. "Let them be. I won't be providing them with free food anymore. The temporary housing I've provided them with still requires monthly rent. They won't be able to hold out for long."

Asdalen asked doubtfully, "What if they choose to flee the territory with the money? As long as they cross Jackdaw Ridge, they can go to live in any human kingdom south of the mountain."

"Have you forgotten the pioneering order the earl issued me? Kingdom law stipulates that anyone who signs a contract with the lord of a pioneering territory must pay a fine to the lord if they want to move out of the territory. They can leave, but they can't take a penny with them."

At most, I would lose the food provided for free, which is nothing compared to the profits I make from the Magic Network Forum now.

Harvey turned to Asdalen and instructed, "Tell Reiner to arrange for people to go door to door as soon as possible to count the number of people who remain, including the number of people in each household, their specific names, and their current jobs. Register them all."

"I want to know the number of people in my territory in real time every month. This is called a census..."

……

In the afternoon, under the slightly scorching sun, Harvey and Asdalen came to the militia training ground together.

Seeing this, Pierce, who was training the militia, hurried forward to salute and greet Harvey.

This area, located near the wall on the north side of the territory, has been officially transformed into a militia training camp.

Three one-story barracks for living were built, each of which can accommodate fifty people. Currently, only two of them are occupied, and the other vacant barracks is temporarily used as a night study classroom.

There is also a canteen for morning and evening meals, as well as a logistics department for collecting daily training supplies.

Pierce divided the eighty recruited militia members into teams of ten, and appointed team leaders and deputy team leaders. In total, he selected sixteen people with outstanding abilities to serve as grassroots militia officers.

"Now, two shifts are taking turns patrolling the perimeter of the territory day and night, and two separate shifts are responsible for security patrols within the territory."

Pierce reported the daily arrangements to Harvey clearly and fluently.

"But I'll still be responsible for the patrol and search of the outer forests away from the center of the territory, along with my alchemy beasts. The militia has too little training time, and I'm worried they won't be able to handle the sporadic evil beastmen that come our way."

Harvey frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and said, "The training progress isn't actually that slow, but they do lack actual combat experience. Pierce, starting this month, you and Reiner should start arranging simulated combat drills for them."

"I don't want to wait until a full-scale battle with the evil orcs, only to see them suffer heavy casualties due to their lack of experience."

Pierce nodded repeatedly in agreement, and then he noticed that Asdalen took out five metal pipes that looked very familiar to him from the bag on his back.

"Is this... the powerful magical weapon I tried that day?"

Harvey nodded with a smile and handed one of the weapons to Pierce. "It's called the Magic Energy Gun. It's specially made for you. It can fire five shots in a row. After it's used up, you need to recharge it on the energy gathering array."

Pierce was flattered and took it with trembling hands, gently stroking the exquisite inscriptions engraved on the gun, and was reluctant to let it go.

"For the remaining four, you need to select four members who are proficient in using bows and arrows or slingstones. Have them practice shooting repeatedly until they are completely familiar with the operation of these weapons."

"Of course, this is a low-end model and can only be activated three times in a row."

Pierce asked uncertainly, "Should such a powerful weapon really be given to the militia?"

"Of course, we came here today to let you try out the guns." Asdalen continued.

……

Three wooden cages were suddenly pushed onto the training ground, each containing a living evil orc.

These were all casually captured by Pierce during his recent patrols and brought back for Harvey's experiments. The militia formed a neat square formation on the playground, with the lord watching from a nearby platform. No one dared to whisper, and everyone puffed out their chests in an effort to show off.

But there were still many people staring at the roaring evil orcs in the cage, with a hint of fear in their eyes.

"All team leaders, step out!"

Vaughn cheered up and took a big step forward with several other team leaders to the front of the team.

With a cold face, Pierce pulled out a magic gun from the weapon rack beside him, stood in front of the militia, and held it high to show everyone.

"This is a new weapon bestowed upon us by the Lord. It's called the Magic Gun! Now, listen carefully as I demonstrate how to use it."

After saying that, he turned around to face the cages and nodded slightly to the logistics staff beside him. The man immediately picked up a long iron hook and poked open the grille of one of the cages.

The evil orc inside was stunned for a moment, but reacted immediately the next second, jumped out of the cage quickly, and rushed straight towards Pierce who was a few steps away.

Some members of the militia were so frightened that they couldn't help but shake their bodies slightly, but no one took the initiative to retreat.

The hunter stood motionless, quickly raised the gun, put the handle against his shoulder, aimed the muzzle at the target, and gently pulled the trigger.

Before anyone could react, they saw a thumb-sized hole appear in the middle of the evil beastman's naked chest. The edges were slightly burnt and blackened, but not even blood was flowing out.

The evil beastman fell face down on the ground with a thud, without even a twitch, and immediately turned into a corpse.

Pierce thrust the gun into the hands of the squad leader closest to him and shouted, "See? It's your turn!"

The team leader nodded tremblingly, raised the gun barrel in the same way as Pierce, pointed it at the evil orc in another cage, and pulled the trigger without even aiming.

After a sizzling sound, the corner of the originally empty cage was smashed to pieces, and wood chips flew everywhere.

"I told you to hit the left, but you insisted on hitting the right, right? This week's toilet cleaning work is left to you and your deputy!" Pierce felt very embarrassed and roared with gritted teeth.

"Next! You come!" Wayne also took the gun tremblingly, squinting his eyes and shooting at the wooden cage that trapped the evil orc.

This time, it didn't even hit the wooden cage, nothing happened at all...

It seems that there is a suitable candidate for the toilet cleaning job next week.

"Next! You step out of line!" Daf was lucky. Although he was just guessing, he hit the evil orc's arm. The energy beam shot out from the barrel directly shattered half of its arm.

There was a sound of gasps in the team, and a small cheer came from the team that Duff was in.

"Good, your accuracy still needs practice! Come on! Next one!"

Vaughn stepped out and took the gun from Pierce. He first observed this strange long-handled weapon, then carefully recalled the movements of Commander Pierce when shooting, and almost imitated his posture exactly to raise the gun and aim.

Pierce narrowed his eyes slightly and made a secret signal to the logistics personnel. The man immediately understood and used a long iron hook to lift the grille of the cage.

Seeing the miserable state of his companions, the evil orcs seemed to be aroused and rushed out with a loud roar.

Vaughn was not affected at all. He stood with his feet slightly apart, holding the gun steadily, aiming at the evil orc's chest and pulling the trigger.

The evil orc who was running wildly was suddenly hit hard by an invisible hammer, and he fell backwards to the ground. His left shoulder was completely shattered, and his neck was also affected, with blood gushing out.

"Well...it was almost accurate, but you have quite some courage." Pierce nodded slightly, finally feeling that he had saved some face.

He turned to look at Harvey on the podium and found that the adult was also smiling and nodding to him, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

It seems that the adults are quite satisfied with these militiamen...

(End of this chapter)