Gastens pushed open the old wooden door, the unlubricated frame creaking. He paused in place and looked up. Winter sunlight shines through the windows on all sides of the bell tower, illuminating the air like a starry sky.

Gastens inhaled softly, and the musty smell of stale wood rushed into his nostrils. He looked left and right, and found a wooden ladder to climb up in the small space. He rubbed his hands together and tried the bars of the wooden ladder with one hand, and when he found them to be firm, he stepped on the railings below, and with a force on his thighs, he threw himself against the wall.

Climb from the bottom of the bell tower to the top of the bell tower, which is about six stories high. The middle is all connected by wooden ladders, and on the second and fourth floors, there are two small platforms to facilitate the maintenance and inspection of the operation of this large clock. Gastens missed these two breaks and climbed directly over the pendulum, over the big clock, and into the small space at the top of the bell tower to see the city in its entirety.

The capital of the Duchy of Tulucas, the scented city of Strandwood, unfolds in front of Gastens, like a white-filtered ink painting, foggy. Scattered snowflakes fell from the sky and swayed to the ground, blending into the soft white lichen.

"Head—is the view up there?"

Big Ivan shouted from below the bell tower, and his voice came up, but it became smaller. Gastens waved at Big Ivan, signaling that he was safe. He looked up and looked north, and could faintly see the army massing on the outskirts of the city, the soldiers in Ankenrein's red uniforms densely packed and spread the color of blood on the snow.

In the Sixth Prince Eliot? After Gibson appeared on the outskirts of Stellwood with an entire division of hand artillery cavalry, the readiness of the entire Anken Rein unit entered the fast lane. The Sixth Army, which had been training for almost a month and had almost mastered the tactics of platoon guns proposed by Gastens, was ready to go. The Second and Third Legions, which were building a second line of defense on the border of Tulukas, began to move forward, and the First and Fourth Legions, which were still operating in the provinces of Anta and Scat in the Republic of Negro, were also provided with sufficient slave soldiers, regular soldiers, and logistical supplies, and more than 300,000 men of the five major corps of the entire Western Theater were ready to move, just waiting for His Majesty the Emperor's sharp knives and artillery cavalry to be in place.

From the position of Gastens, it is not possible to see the figures of the cannon cavalry. He's not in a hurry, Elliot, though? Prince Gibson will stay outside Strongwood for three days, and after completing the reorganization of the Sixth Army, he will lead the entire Sixth Army to cross the defense line on the border of Tulucas, penetrate deep into the territory of the Negro Republic, and make a direct collision with the enemy's armored spear group, intending to destroy the enemy's offensive with overwhelming technical and equipment superiority, and then completely consolidate the occupied area of Ankenrein before the onset of deep winter.

As the inventor of the platoon gun tactic, Gastens was killed by Danny as early as the First Battle of Strongwood. Carey was introduced to Elliot? Prince Gibson. Although it was only a one-sided relationship, with the popularization of gun platoon tactics in the Negro Republic and the Ankenrein Empire troops, Prince Eliot also remembered this interesting death row prisoner, who soon after arriving in Strandwood, officially passed the Sixth Legion's acting commander Dieter? Schubert sent an invitation.

He wanted to meet Gastens.

Dieter? Schubert and his nephew Jensen Schubert obviously didn't expect that Gastens, an inconspicuous death row inmate, would fall into Elliot's eyes, and they were afraid that Gastens would sue Elliot in front of Elliot and masturbate Dieter? Schubert, acting commander of the corps, came to the factory almost at Eliot's invitation, hoping to talk to Gastens again. Gastens heard the news and climbed to the top of the bell tower. If the two men were really interested, then they would have negotiated in this place with a great view, and he Gastens was willing to accompany him.

"Head - Jensen is up!!"

Big Ivan's voice was still so loud, and Gastens smiled, looking at the ground and Dieter? The guards who came with Schubert. From his height, the figures of those people became small and weak, as if they could be lightly pressed to death with a single finger. He waved at the people below and spoke loudly.

"I'm waiting for him here! Great view! Are you going to come up!! ”

Dieter? Schubert was obviously not going to come up, and Gastens was not expecting a response. He sat on the bell tower and watched the scenery of the city, combing in his heart what he had done during this time and the chips in his hand. After he took over the Sixth Factory, the production of the improved version of the enemy's Welsh II steam rifle was restored to about 300 per day, which was almost the limit of the factory's production capacity, but it was a drop in the bucket for the Sixth Regiment of Notda, and even several other regiments that also wanted this weapon. Wanting to use this symbolic new weapon to get Elliot to stand for himself, Gastens is not optimistic.

"Whew-whew-"

Heavy wheezing came from below the bell tower, and the acting commander of the Sixth Legion, Dieter? Schubert's nephew Jensen? Schubert finally climbed up. He rubbed it, sat down beside Gastens, and let out a long breath.

"Nice view."

"yes, I just found out and can see our Sixth Legion."

After a back-and-forth conversation, the two fell silent. The winter wind blew across the cheeks of the two of them, taking away the little warmth in their bodies. It took a long time for Jensen to speak in a deep voice.

"Second Lieutenant Gastens, what happened before, it was my fault, I'm sorry. My uncle wants me to apologize to you in person, we shouldn't have tried to gain control of Factory 6, and it turns out that we can't get control of Factory 6. This factory, and the rifles it produces, and the glory behind the rifles, are all yours, and we can't take them, and we don't want to take them. ”

"Hey, don't you dare," Gastens rubbed his hands and smiled, "I said that I would have half of you when I reported my merits, and I wouldn't dare to be corrupt." ”

"Alright, big brother, don't make fun of me", Jensen reached out and handed over a small package, "This is our apology, please accept it." ”

Gastens took the package and found it to be a lump of cowhide thick and heavy. He carefully peeled back the cowhide and found that inside was a fist-sized pyroxene spirit. The elf solidified in pyroxene had a delicate and beautiful face, and its long hair seemed to be still dancing. The wings behind her are slender, stretched and light.

"This is one of our trophies this time, and it's basically the top of the line. This small pyroxene is hard to find, and last auction cost more than 10,000 crowns. We felt that only such a good thing was worthy of such a good mind of Lieutenant Gastens. ”

"Then I'll laugh."

Gastens smiled, this pyroxene spirit is almost the most valuable hard currency in the world. They are difficult to mine, every time they appear is accompanied by death, the market supply is very scarce, and each piece can be sold for a high price. Especially this kind of small size, it is very suitable for carrying around and dispersing wealth.

"Then there's His Royal Highness the Sixth Prince—"

Jensen stopped talking, looking at Gastens expectantly.

"Don't worry, I won't talk nonsense, you can trust me, please Dieter? Acting Commander Schubert believed me, I was not ungrateful. ”

Jensen let out a long sigh of relief to hear that Gastens had finally given him the answer he wanted. As long as they can fool His Royal Highness the prince, they have a way to kill this kid who doesn't know the height of the sky, but now the situation is special, so he can only jump for a few days.

"That's good, my uncle also said that you will never sabotage this counterattack because of this trivial matter."

"Even if I think about it, it's okay, what can I do with a small company commander in such a big battle?"

Hearing Gastens' rhetorical question, Jensen laughed dryly and invited Gastens to go down. His Royal Highness's invitation can't be delayed for too long, otherwise it will not be good for everyone. Gastens also knew the truth of taking it when he saw it, and he and Jensen went down to the bell tower one after the other, brought their own things, and followed Dieter? Schubert went to meet Eliot? Prince Gibson.

————————

"Oops, long time no see, I don't know if you still remember me?"

Elliot? Prince Gibson is in a good mood, and in the competition for who will come to the front, he defeated his brother Dwayne? Gibson, with a strong artillery cavalry division under his command, it was not difficult to destroy the enemy's clumsy armored cavalry. In his eyes, the next winter campaign will become a reservoir of military merit for him alone, sending him to a higher and higher position.

"I've met His Royal Highness, the last time I saw you was Danny? In the military tent of Division Commander Kaili, now that the division commander has sacrificed his life for the country, I didn't expect His Royal Highness the Prince to remember the villain. ”

Gastens bowed deeply respectfully. His attitude and actions made Elliot feel comfortable. His Royal Highness said "no courtesy" and began to inquire about the modified Welsh II steam rifle. Gastens was also prepared, starting with his first weapon transformation in Strandwood, talking about his platoon gun tactics, about their battles in Anta Province, about the despair and helplessness they saw in the Green Pine Defense, about the despair and helplessness of the armored spearmen who were all over the mountains, and about him serving Danny from the front? Carey's order, the process of withdrawing the production of improved rifles for the Fourth Division, talking about his sadness when he heard about the defeat at the front and the unknown life and death of the division commander, and then talking about how he overcame various adverse conditions to achieve the stable production of the improved Welsh II steam rifle, the story progresses layer by layer, the plot ups and downs, coupled with the good eloquence that Gastens has cultivated on Earth, completely and completely attracted the attention of Prince Eliot.

“…… Is...... What a surprise! ”

After listening to Gastens tell the whole story, Prince Eliot sighed and asked Gastens if he had brought an improved rifle with him. This request had been anticipated by Captain Dieter and Gastens and his party, and they took a batch of ten newly produced improved rifles, and went to the shooting range with Prince Eliot, and after some testing, confirmed the power of the improved Welsh II steam rifle, and then returned to the prince's palace.

"This gun is really good, I heard you say that the cost and input are also acceptable, that is, can this production speed be increased a little more? Three hundred guns a day, it is barely enough to supply only one division, but I hope that your rifles can supply the Sixth Army, and if so, it is better to supply all the front-line regiments on the front at the same time, I don't want my own soldiers to be too far behind the enemy in their weapons. ”

Elliot? Gibson was an ambitious man, and he made no secret of his ambition to win, and Gastens had already guessed that he would ask such a question, and gave his answer neatly.

"Your Royal Highness, the current Sixth Factory was originally just a maintenance factory of Slote Power Equipment, with limited space and production equipment, and it is barely able to maintain the current output. The steam technology of the Duchy of Tulucas has always been limited by the Negru Republic, and a better factory could not be found near Strongwood. If the factory is pushed to the territory of the Neglo Republic, if the battle is lost, there is a possibility that the secret will be leaked. Moreover, our modifications come from captured enemy weapons, and now because of the stalemate on the front line, the supply of weapons has been problematic, and the total number of Welsh II rifles in our inventory that can participate in the transformation is less than 2,000, and the rifles sent from the front line are getting fewer and fewer, so we may not be able to guarantee the production of 300 rifles. ”

"What then?" Elliot subconsciously asked, and then realized something, he walked up to Gastens and looked at the former death row inmate.

"Since you say so, but there's a way?"

"Don't hide it from Your Highness, since I heard that Your Highness is coming, I know that the counterattack is imminent, and I have come up with a way that is not a way", Gastens bowed slightly, showing respect, "It is not a long-term solution to always transform the opponent's rifle, I have also disassembled a few Type 27 rifles in this 7 time, and compared them with the enemy's Welsh Type II rifles, and also compared them with my own transformation methods." After thinking about it, I designed an improved rifle based on the Type 27 rifle, the changes are not particularly large, and the existing Type 27 rifle production equipment can be fully utilized, and the improved Type 27 rifle produced can have the same range as the improved Welsh II rifle I am currently producing, but with higher safety and stability. Moreover, 60% of the parts of the existing Type 27 rifle can be directly used on the improved Type 27 rifle. ”

Hearing this idea suddenly thrown by Gastens, Dieter? There was a slight flash of surprise and anger on Schubert's face. This kid has such a good thing, but he has been holding back and not telling himself, and he didn't say it until the prince came, making it clear that he wanted to skip himself and invite benefits directly. If what Gastens said was true, or 80% true, Dieter was sure that Eliot would have sent Gastens' design to the rear and used his influence to finalize it. Compared with the improved Welsh II steam rifle, this new, improved rifle based on the Type 27 is what Gastens left to him, a great credit!

"Gastens, you are talking to the prince now, don't talk nonsense about unfounded things, it will affect the judgment of His Royal Highness!"

Dieter regretted that he had let Gastens meet Elliot at this moment, and he even felt that it was best to send this guy to the front line and die early. It's a pity that there is no regret medicine in this world, and no matter how unhappy and angry Dieter is, he can only forcibly control himself, hoping to dispel His Royal Highness's interest in Gastens's unexpected proposal through words.