Chapter 45: Morin's Battlefield Modification

Ludwig was slightly startled upon hearing this question, and then his expression grew somewhat complicated.

He looked Morin up and down, as if trying to read something from his face.

"It seems you have also thought of this problem."

Ludwig sighed, and then continued:

"Actually, I just returned from the brigade headquarters a few minutes ago. Brigadier General Paul urgently called for another round of meetings. The set of urban combat tactics you proposed has already been copied by General Paul and distributed downward to all battalion commanders! To be honest, that stuff truly... opened my eyes."

"No, is the efficiency really this high?"

"When the fire reaches one's eyebrows, efficiency naturally increases."

Ludwig nodded, then changed the subject:

"However, just as you figured out, the biggest loophole in those tactics is that they have no way of dealing with armored knights."

"Using field artillery to pierce frontal armor is basically impossible. The Garter Order's 'Saint George Mark III' has main armor treated with high-tier enchantments, resulting in extremely high kinetic resistance..."

"Our shells are all high-explosive and shrapnel rounds, which simply cannot cause structural damage."

"Furthermore, an exceptional armored knight pilot has a reaction speed far exceeding ordinary people... At a distance of several hundred meters, he can even make evasive maneuvers the instant he sees the muzzle flash. By the time the shell flies over, he has long since moved away."

"The only weakness is that the rear armor is relatively thin, but trying to maneuver around behind them in narrow streets is... practically impossible."

Oh well...

This was equivalent to saying that their own artillery was almost useless against the enemy's armored knights.

Moreover, judging by Ludwig's description, the world had not yet developed armor-piercing shells, or rather, no one had ever thought of using artillery to deal with armored knights.

Though thinking about it, if armored knights were all such supernatural beings who could evade upon seeing muzzle flash, then artillery really was quite useless.

Of course, an objective reason was that the current muzzle velocity of artillery was not particularly high. If the muzzle velocity of shells gradually increased later on, it would be hard to say...

Unreconciled, Morin continued to probe: "The weapons of your Teutonic Order, such as maces, why can they inflict damage on them?"

Ludwig: "Because our melee weapons are likewise enchanted and specifically designed for armor-piercing. This is magic fighting magic."

Magic fighting magic...

Morin chewed on these words, his gaze dimming involuntarily.

Could it be that ordinary infantrymen without magic or enchanted weapons were destined to be mere cannon fodder?

Immediately following this, Morin's mind raced, wildly searching, until his eyes suddenly lit up.

"I suddenly have an idea. Suppose there is a weapon capable of continuously clinging to the armor plate while burning, and able to seep through gaps and joints to burn into the interior of the machine..."

Ludwig: "Are you talking about Molotov cocktails?"

йна! "Wait, someone has already used them?"

"That's right~"

Morin was somewhat surprised. It seemed that due to the existence of armored knights, this world had advanced further in the progress of offense and defense confrontation.

"The International Brigades should be quite familiar with this stuff. Our infantry used it briefly before, and even the Bretons have developed 'Flame Scrolls' to deal with our armored knights..."

Ludwig paused, then went on:

"However, the cutting-edge armored knights of various nations have undergone targeted upgrades. In the activated state, the cockpit and critical magitech power units can achieve complete isolation from the outside world."

"Moreover, there are forced fire-suppression and cooling magitech units that can quickly extinguish flames... By now, the only ones vulnerable to Molotov cocktails should be the older generation of armored knights."

"However, Molotov cocktails are also quite useful for dealing with infantry, especially in narrow terrains like urban areas. I reckon the folks in the International Brigades are probably already gathering materials to make them right now, aren't they?"

Ludwig rambled on at length, leaving Morin stunned. If even Molotov cocktails were ineffective, infantry truly had virtually no way of dealing with armored knights...

Just as he was feeling helpless, an image suddenly flashed into his view.

Not far away, a technician was holding a huge metal funnel, preparing to replenish coolant for an armored knight.

Wait, a funnel?!

That conical, hollow-metal creation left Morin completely dumbfounded.

In his mind, like a certain death-bringing elementary school detective, a bolt of lightning pierced the darkness.

A term from the world before his transmigration, one that changed the history of armored warfare, abruptly leaped from the depths of his memory.

"Lieutenant Colonel!"

Morin abruptly grabbed Ludwig's arm, his eyes flashing with a terrifying light, startling the latter.

"Please tell me, roughly how thick is the main armor of the Garter Order if converted into ordinary steel plates?!"

Startled by Morin's sudden action, Ludwig looked at Morin's crazed, almost fanatical expression, and subconsciously answered:

"Their main armor plates had magic crystal powder added during the smelting process, followed by enchantment treatment. Although they don't look thick, the actual equivalent defensive thickness is roughly equivalent to 60 to 70 millimeters of steel armor."

Hearing this number, far from being nervous, Morin let out a long sigh of relief.

A smile appeared on his face—one that Ludwig could not understand at all, and which even seemed somewhat eerie.

"Enough... 60 to 70 millimeters... That's enough!"

"What is enough?" Ludwig was utterly baffled. "Morin, what on earth are you talking about?"

Morin raised his head, looked at the bewildered noble lieutenant colonel, and said word by word:

"Lord Lieutenant Colonel, I believe I may have a way to deal with them."

"If you are willing to help me, in two hours at most, I can show you the results."

"What did you say?"

Ludwig frowned, suspecting there was something wrong with his ears.

"You have a way? To deal with the Garter Order's armored knights?"

He looked at Morin, his eyes filled with suspicion—had this kid lost his mind from fighting?

An infantry second lieutenant had already been astonishing enough for proposing a set of urban combat theories, and now he was actually claiming he had a way to deal with the world's top-tier armored knights?

"Morin, I admit you are very talented, but this is no time for joking."

Ludwig's tone turned solemn, and the expression on his face became very rigid.

"Do you know what you are saying? That is the Garter Order! The pride of the Bretons! War machines crafted through the painstaking efforts of countless magitech technicians and mages!"

"I know."

Yet Morin's expression was exceptionally calm, and his confidence did not seem feigned.

"Lieutenant Colonel, I am not joking... But I need your help. I need materials, and I need some professional personnel."

Ludwig fell silent.

He stared into Morin's eyes, attempting to find even a trace of madness or boasting.

Instead, all he saw was calmness and firmness.

This young man had commanded troops on the battlefield to drive back a high-tier mage; in the conference room, he had conceived urban combat theories sufficient to change the pattern of warfare.

Time and time again, he shattered Ludwig's perceptions.

Just what else was hidden inside this kid's mind?

Ludwig's inner self underwent a fierce struggle. Rationally speaking, Morin's words sounded like sheer fantasy...

Yet emotionally, everything that had happened before made him want to believe.

The current situation could not possibly get any worse. The enemy's counterattack was imminent, and they were completely helpless against the enemy's trump card units.

Perhaps... trying his method and treating a dead horse as a live one?

Besides, even if this gamble failed, the situation wouldn't be any worse than it already was.

"Alright!"

Ludwig gritted his teeth and made his decision.

"I'll gamble on this! Tell me, what do you need? As long as I can get my hands on it, it's yours!"

"Splendid!" Morin's spirit lifted. "First, I need artillery shells... hmm, at least ten 105-millimeter high-explosive shells, completely intact! In addition, I need a large amount of copper, the more the better. Discarded artillery shell casings are the best source!"

"No problem." Ludwig immediately agreed. "The artillery units have moved up and are right at the south gate. I will personally lead people there, and in the name of the Teutonic Order, 'borrowing' a few things shouldn't be difficult."

"I also need a few experienced artillerymen, preferably veterans who understand ammunition structures."

"That's easy too. I'll 'borrow' them along from the artillery battalion." Ludwig acted with great decisiveness.

"Lastly, and most crucially... I need professional technical personnel."

"Technical personnel?"

"I need someone who understands chemistry, and a few skilled craftsmen, preferably ones adept at casting."

"This..." Ludwig was troubled. "Our order consists entirely of magitech technicians, knight squires, and pilots; we don't have those kinds of technical personnel."

Morin smiled: "Leave that to me."

...

Less than ten minutes later, Ludwig demonstrated his clout as an imperial noble and a Teutonic knight.

He personally drove a military truck of the order, bringing along several squires, and charged straight into the artillery camp.

Faced with the artillery officer's interrogation, he merely flashed his identity as a member of the Teutonic Order.

Then he declared in an unquestionable tone that this was for "a top-secret weapon test vital to the outcome of the war," carried out under General Paul's secret orders.

The artillery officers were completely bluffed. Although filled with suspicion, none of them dared to actually block a lieutenant colonel of the Teutonic Order.

Ultimately, Ludwig returned fully loaded.

The truck carried not only a dozen brand-new 105-millimeter high-explosive shells and two large crates of gleaming brass spent shell casings, but also conveniently 'borrowed' three bewildered veteran artillerymen.