Within a week of the outbreak of the Battle for the Steam Cannon in the Thorn Hills, the troops of the Eastern Front Command of the Republic of Negru and the Western Military District of the Ankenrein Empire fought four large-scale battles around the Thorn Hills and the Steam Cannon. Four of the steam cannons brought to the front by the Negru Republic were destroyed, and four of the iron shield breastwork lines that Ankenrein had placed before the war were destroyed, and the remaining two were also crumbling.

"Commander, if this continues, we will lose this war", Miguel Kieli, chief of the General Staff of the Western Theater of Operations, stood in front of Paul Zhong with some anxiety in Chadra, the capital of the Republic of Railin, "We must come up with countermeasures, or abandon the thorny and hilly defense line and negotiate peace with the Neglo Republic." Either ease relations with His Majesty the Emperor and get more support from the imperial family. With our current resources, it would be difficult to deal with the enemy's new weapons. ”

"It is not yet time to negotiate peace," said Paul Chung, sitting in the palace that once belonged to Archduke Parker Reiling, looking at his chief of staff, "although the enemy's steam cannon is very powerful, but the latest war report, such things move clumsily and are easily destroyed. As long as these weapons are destroyed, there is no fundamental difference between the enemy and us. ”

"But before they were destroyed, they had destroyed our Iron Shield Breastwork defenses!" Miguel Kiely disagreed with Paul Chung, "A lot of steel is needed to build the Iron Shield Breastwall defense line, and now there is a shortage of steel in the country, and there are no iron mines in our occupied areas such as the Principality of Rylin and Tulucas, and our Iron Shield is all dependent on the supply of Ankenrein." Now the fighting on the Eastern Front is also in full swing, and the supply of iron shields has been tight since half a month ago. If we continue to fight like this, even if we destroy those cannons, we will lose our iron shield defense! ”

"You have a point", Paul Zhong nodded slightly, "Have you heard, recently Elliot's kid won a beautiful battle in Oridry, directly defeating Walsh Ronin on the opposite side and taking Oridry. Charlie Ronin is said to be furious about this. ”

"I've heard the news," said Miguel Keeley, still worried, "if Paul Gibson's fight against Charlie Ronin goes well, the pressure on us will increase." If he defeats Ronninger completely, then we will have to choose between giving up our current semi-independent status and being forced to become independent and face the enemy on both sides. Neither of these options is a good option. ”

"You're right," said Paul Chung, who was still calm, "but have you ever heard of the Valorant?" ”

"What's that?" Miguel Kiely was now asked, "Some new weapon?" But the strength of our weapons research institute, you also know that even if there are any new weapons, they will definitely be supplied to the prince first, and we will not have a chance to get them......"

"Dear Mr. Keeley," Paul Chung looked in a good mood indeed, shaking his finger at his adviser, "you got one thing right and you got one thing wrong. The Valorant rifle is indeed a new type of rifle. But it wasn't researched by the idiots at the Royal Academy of Arms. He's a little serf named Gastens, made in a little broken factory called Elena—"

"Sounds even more unreliable!" Miguel Kieli frowned, "My lord, I'm not in the mood to joke right now!" ”

"Haha, dear Mr. Keeley", Paul Chung seemed pleased to tease his chief of staff, "this weapon, but Elliot is the key to taking down Oredry!" ”

Miguel Kieli was silent, he looked down and thought for a few seconds, and when he looked up again, his face was full of anticipation.

"My lord, since you say so, it must be in stock, can you let me take a look?"

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Soon after Eliot's first regiment armed with the Valiant rifle broke through the enemy's iron shield defenses, Paul Chung received a supply from Miguel Martinez, and Elena produced a full thousand Valiant rifles. With the successful experience of Prince Eliot in front of him, Paul Chung did not hesitate to use these 1,000 rifles to establish his own strong strike regiment. While Chief of Staff Miguel Killi and him were arguing about his next operational strategy in the Western Theater, his assault regiment had already reached the Thorn Hills.

"Can these guys do it?"

Tom Levy, commander of the 3rd Division of the 3rd Army of the Western Theater of Operations, stood on his command platform and looked at the assault regiment assembled in front of his own soldiers, feeling a little unhappy. He and his 3rd Division suffered heavy casualties in the battle some time ago, with a attrition rate of more than 30%, and now they have destroyed almost half of the enemy's steam artillery, and they have also felt the shortcomings of the enemy's weapon, and they are about to turn defense into attack.

"General Zhong wrote a letter to the Legion Commander specifically for this matter, and it should be no problem. I heard from the people in the corps staff that these people were very combat-ready, and they were equipped with strong weapons. The reason why Prince Elliot was able to take down Oridri had a lot to do with the weapons they used. ”

Kate Felton, chief of staff of the 3rd Division, understood Tom Levy's feelings. However, as Chief of Staff, he still had to ensure that the strategic thinking of the corps was carried out.

"And, ah, this time the return attack will be with them as the main force, and we will follow behind. Didn't you always think it was too much to get killed and injured when you had to go head-to-head with the enemy? It's certainly better to have them in front now than on our own, right? ”

"Just a regiment, dare to be ashamed to be in front?"

Tom Levy shook his head disdainfully, "I'd like to see how they plan to fight, and what kind of powerful method they are." ”

Shortly after the two officers of the 3rd Division discussed the matter of assaulting the regiment, the counterattack of the Western Military District began according to plan. The formation of three divisions of the Third Army Corps as the front, three divisions as the reserve, and the assault regiment as the spear tip appeared between the layers of overlapping iron shield defense lines in the Thorny Hills. After a period of fighting, the side close to the Negro Republic has become crooked, and many places have even been directly destroyed and broken through, and those once indestructible iron shields have even been rudely dismantled and piled down to the ground.

Although he was somewhat surprised by the strategy of the Western Military District to continue to launch counterattacks in a disadvantaged environment, the Negru side was not timid in the face of the enemy's counterattack intentions. They relied on the remaining four steam cannons to form up their defensive formations, focusing on protecting these heavy weapons. After discussion, the generals in charge of the defense unanimously agreed that the purpose of the Western Theater of Operations must be these steam cannons.

But the facts quickly proved them wrong. This time, a full 60,000 people were invested in the general battle, and the essence was actually to lay the stage for that strong attack group. And they did not disappoint Paul Chung. The latest skirmish tactics are a good proof of their power when attacking. The soldiers who were running all over the ground and rolling everywhere made the Neglo Republic prepare for the formation of the shooting at a loss. And the advantage of the Brave rifle in range and penetration made the enemy feel the despair that could only be beaten and could not resist. Even if some of the soldiers were not familiar with this tactic and made some mistakes in the use of weapons, from the perspective of Tom Levy, the commander of the 3rd Division, this combat unit, known as the Strike Regiment, had already proven its strength.

"They can really fight", Tom Levy praised his teammates on the high command platform, "but this kind of combat method called the skirmisher line, can you use it for us?" ”

"Division Commander Levy, this way of fighting is weapon-based. Our steam rifles require standing reloading per shot, and are simply not equipped to fight with skirmishers. And the weapon used by that strike regiment, the weapon called the Valiant rifle, was able to shoot continuously, and it could easily reload even when lying on its stomach. Only then will it be possible to use the tactics of skirmishers. ”

The chief of staff, Kate Felton, seems to have done research on this weapon, and the answer is yes. While the two were chatting, the assault group had already torn through the defense line of the armored spearmen on the opposite side, leading their own soldiers who were following them to penetrate the interior of the enemy line.

"This battle must be won!"

Tom Levy slammed his fist against the railing of the podium and made his final judgment.

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"We're just losing with a weapon like this?"

That night, the battle ended, and the commander of the 21st Army of the Eastern Front Command of the Republic of Negro, Loren Magio, and the commander of the 22nd Army, James Lester, were in charge of the battle and saw the Valorant rifles they had found on the battlefield at the post-war analysis meeting. Although this weapon and its accompanying tactics were advanced, when the forces of the Negru Republic realized the difference between the Strike Regiment, they arranged a large number of troops to attack the tip of the spear, just to prevent them from going deeper. Later, when the ammunition carried by the Assault Regiment was exhausted, Anken Reyin's army also regained the two iron shield breastwork defenses, and the attack stopped.

"This weapon is a revolutionary weapon, and we asked Mr. Atta Welsh, a researcher at the Weapons Research Institute, to explain it to you."

Presiding over the meeting was Eastern Front Command Commander Taika Bush. Perhaps because of the benefits he received from the steam artillery, Tai Bush rushed to the front command headquarters from the rear to understand the situation and convene the meeting after hearing that the defeat was due to the enemy's new weapons.

"Generals," Atta Wales was still a little frightened. His assistant was captured, and the steam cannon he had brought with him was destroyed by four and two by the enemy, who, as if by magic, came up with a weapon that was beyond the limits of his mind. These experiences shocked his consciousness and made him constantly aware of the cruelty of war.

"Generals, this weapon is a weapon designed to be fed through a container under the barrel and propelled by high-pressure air instead of high-pressure water vapor. This shot cleverly avoids water vapor, pressure instability due to temperature changes, and the need for standing loading of our existing steam rifles. can provide a large amount of fire coverage in a short time......"

Although shocked by the truth of the war, Atta Wales was still professional as soon as he entered the working state. His explanation was not long, but he already explained the power of this weapon.

"How long will it take for you to copy this weapon?"

After listening to Atta's explanation, Tai Bush directly asked about the most crucial information.

"This ......," Atta scratched his head a little embarrassed, "it's a completely new design, and we're going to need a little time." ”

"How long?" The whole battle is at stake, and Tai Bush needs a clearer answer.

"It should take one to two weeks for manual trial production, and the time for mass production depends on the results of manual trial production, which is really hard to say......"

Atta Welsh answered the Tayyi's question honestly. When General Bush saw him say this, he also understood the difficulty of replicating this weapon. His gaze glanced at the inscription on the body of the Valian's rifle and gave a new order.

"Tomorrow we will continue to fight, try to force out their troops who use this weapon, and at all costs, catch some alive. In addition, mobilize all your forces to find out the origin of this weapon! ”

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"You're saying that this weapon is called the Valiant rifle, not invented by the Royal Academy of Arms?"

On the Eastern Front, Grand Duke Charlie Ronin saw the same weapon. Although Prince Eliot was very careful, there were always casualties in battle, and there were some brave rifles, good and bad, that just fell into the hands of the Ronninger defenders.

"Yes, Father," replied Walsh Ronin, the first adopted son, who was kneeling on the ground, bowing his head, "this weapon is very restrained by the existing iron shield breastwork line, and we do not know his characteristics......"

"That's not why you lost Oredry!" , Grand Duke Luo Ning's voice was slightly raised, "It's just a new rifle that can make your 100,000 people retreat without a fight?" Even if you break through the Iron Shield breastbladder defense, you yourself say that there are not many enemies using this rifle. If you use a pile of people, you can pile them to death, can you? ”

"Father, I was wrong, please punish me."

Having said this, Walsh did not dare or want to defend himself at all, and he knelt in a proper manner, waiting for his father's fate.

"Let's slow down this matter for a while, you find someone for me, and let me find out the origin of this rifle. Since it's not a product of the Royal Academy of Weapons, let's find out who designed it and who produced it, and understand this information, so that we can make targeted responses, understand? ”

"Whoa."

Walsh Ronin replied, knowing that this was his father's chance to atone for his sins. He looked at the inscriptions on the side of the rifle and pondered what they meant.

With this inscription, as long as these guns were produced by Anken Rein, he would definitely be able to find their producers. Then, at all costs, use the power of that producer for your own use.