In the years when he left the Central Continent and came into contact with the history of Earth warfare and the history of weapon development, Gastens had thought about a question countless times, what kind of weapon technology tree is suitable for Elena, and what kind of technology tree can ensure the continuity and monopoly of the base he will establish to the greatest extent. And what kind of weapons can be chosen to give his revolutionary team the greatest competitive advantage?

These reflections have been going on for years, and the final answer is not complicated. Compared with the endless gunpowder weapons on the earth, the steam power of the central continent is naturally deficient in terms of killing power, and the price and cost paid to increase the power of weapons by relying on steam power are much higher than increasing the thickness of the armor. And in the year she has returned to her own world, the war that Elena has experienced has proven all this. Even Elena, even Gastens with a wealth of experience in the design of steam equipment, the production time, production process and production cost of the Thundering 1 that he equipped for Elena's troops were much higher than the three-layer simple plate armor worn by the enemy soldiers. In terms of cost alone, the cost-effectiveness ratio of using the Thundering Type 1 is far inferior to the cost-effectiveness ratio of strengthening defenses. Moreover, as the enemy on all sides became more aware of Elena's weapons and had more ways to deal with them, Eliot's troops began to use armoured fighting vehicles propelled by humans or animals in combat, and the army of the Neglo Republic also included the three-layer plate armor soldiers in the regular combat queue. There is no upper limit to the wisdom of people and the wisdom of the group, and Gastens knows that his Thundering Type 1 and Luoshan Type 1 will eventually be targeted, imitated, and even surpassed. And what should he do when the enemy pulls out a stronger shield? The marginal cost of increasing the lethality of a pressure-driven weapon can quickly exceed Elena's capacity. Therefore, at the very beginning of his return to this world, Gastens established the idea of weapon development where defense is king. This is also the reason why he has little interest in the steam cannons of the Neglo Republic. The kind of weapon that carries a huge boiler and a heavy body is really limited in power and range compared to the large-caliber rifles on earth. If it weren't for the fact that Elena's elite troops were all held back by the Negru Republic's stratagem, his Elena would not have fallen into such a crisis.

Under the pyroxene lights of the experimental weapons workshop of the first factory, the tank called the Behemoth has been revealed. It is not like the tank tank that the British came up with during World War I on Earth, nor is it like the modern weapon with large inclination armor and flat body in the later stage of the development of armor and anti-armor technology on Earth. Due to the lack of high-powered weapons in this world, Gastens abandoned the massive anti-armor-piercing design of modern tanks on the planet, instead adding a lot of upper space to the tank. In these spaces, Gastens cram in his true core competency, a steam turbine that he calls a core.

It was a steam turbine small enough to fit into a huge tank, a steam turbine with more power than any engineer in the world could have imagined. This kind of power equipment, which has never appeared in this world, uses pyroxene that is not even ordinary pyroxene, but all metallurgical pyroxene.

"It's beautiful......"

William stood beside the behemoth, looking up at the silent and terrifying weapon, and whispered in admiration. The Behemoth Project had been in place since he arrived in Elena shortly afterward, maintaining an extremely high level of secrecy throughout the base area and beyond. Only a few people knew about the existence of this weapon. If it weren't for the fact that the heart of this giant beast was not in place at the time of Negru's invasion, Negru would not have breached the Luoshan Pass so easily.

"It has to be beautiful."

Gastens replied to William's words in an unquestionable tone. He stepped forward, reached for the handrail attached to the outside of his armor, and climbed onto the roof of the beast. There, the hatch that had been opened was silent, like a wife waiting for her husband to return home. Gastens reached for the hatch and jumped into the interior of the beast with his feet down.

The interior space of the behemoth with a crew of 4 people was not as cramped as imagined, and Gastens as the designer easily found the switch to activate the behemoth. He followed his own designed operation process, flipped the switches one by one, opened the throttle valve, let the distilled pure water enter the tank, and then ignited the metallurgical pyroxene, so that their heat was separated from the characteristic heat-resistant material to heat the liquid. In just a moment, the water vapor that filled the secondary gas storage chamber entered a critical state of high temperature and high pressure. Gastens flipped a few buttons and was pleased to hear the core start to move. The high-speed spinning shaft of the steam turbine produced a somewhat shrill chirping sound, which was harsh but unusually beautiful to Gastens's ears. He looked at the power meter from time to time, and after seeing that the numbers reached the expected standard, he connected the transmission mechanism between the power system and the walking system. With a bang, the huge, heavy beast began to move forward along the hardened path of the workshop. It moves slowly but with an unstoppable aura.

However, after only a short distance, the behemoth stopped. Satisfied, Gastens crawled out of the beast and slapped the beast's armor plate with his hand. Although its defenses are much weaker than those of its counterparts on Earth, it has little fear of any weapon in this world. Now, at this point in time, the Behemoth is almost an inexplicable existence to the enemies of any nation.

"Sometimes I wonder how you have the brains to design such a terrible weapon. If our behemoths had been finished, it might not have been your turn to cast that spell at all. ”

William was clearly overwhelmed by the power of this terrible weapon, and his voice trembled and regretted. If the giant beast had been able to go to war at that time, perhaps, Elena would not have lost so badly, and perhaps, his daughter Daisy, would not have died in that way, inexplicably.

With a chuckle twice, Gastens didn't answer William's question immediately, he circled around the beast twice, checking its state, and for a long time, he gave his answer.

"At that time, the steam turbine was not perfect, and you did your best to make a prototype in such a short time. In the battle half a month ago, we lost very badly, but the base is still there, the factory is still there, the giant beast is still there, we have survived the most difficult time, and then, it is time for the world to recognize our victory and give us the place we deserve. ”

William didn't hear Daisy from Gastens, and he was a little disappointed and a little understanding. After all, for the young leader in front of him, how could his daughter Daisy, no matter how precious, compare to the revolutionary cause itself?

"Daisy's business, Dad, don't worry, I will definitely find the murderer. They can't run away. ”

It seemed that he heard William's heart, and it seemed that he suddenly thought of it, and Gastens comforted him. William didn't really want much, and he nodded, bringing up what he had been worried about.

"Gastens, this behemoth you designed is indeed powerful, and if it can be put into the battlefield, it will definitely change the shape of the battlefield again. However, if such a weapon were to be introduced, it was certain that it would attract a large number of copycats. I admit that Elena's steam equipment production capacity is very high, but no matter how high, it is not as high as our surging headquarters, and it is not as high as the steam equipment enterprises in the Negro Republic, the Fern Republic, and even the Alonte Empire. If this idea is discovered or even copied by the enemy, they rely on far beyond our production capacity to equip similar weapons much faster than we do. When the time comes, how will we fight? ”

William was involved in the design of the Behemoth. The original purpose of this beast design was mainly to fight against those enemies that the Thundering Type 1 and the Luoshan Type 1 could not deal with. Of course, if the enemy has a chance to capture it on the battlefield, then it will not be difficult to imitate an armored combat vehicle that looks similar at the level of steam equipment in this world. Even, with enough patience and skill, it is not impossible to make a steam turbine that looks similar by reverse engineering. It's just that neither William in front of him nor the dead and alive engineers who are destined to be tormented by this new weapon in the future will think about what the biggest imitation barrier of this weapon is.

"Don't worry, uncle, there's no way they could make such a thing."

Gastens had been thinking about how to prevent his enemies from copying his weapons for a long time, and he eventually found the answer from his experience on Earth. The search for the answer is long and complicated, but the end result is just two simple words.

Material.

The idea of an armored combat vehicle is easy to copy, as is the structure and the mechanism of this tracked transmission. Even that complex steam turbine, with enough patience on the part of the copyator, can make an identical device. It's just that they certainly don't have materials in their hands that can withstand enough high temperatures and pressures to push steam into a critical or even supercritical state. It was also doomed that no one but Gastens would be able to make a steam turbine like the core. And once this necessary power is lost, it is impossible to drive such a chariot using only the existing steam-powered machinery in this world. You know, more power means more volume, more volume means more weight, and more weight means more power requirements. Those who try to imitate the Behemoth will eventually realize the great obstacles that stand in their way. And the material formula, which can only be answered by pure luck, with the technical level that the world does not even have a complete concept of alloy, if you want to find something similar, it takes time not a year or two, and the investment required is not a simple number. You know, back then, he had to call on the resources of an archmage and an entire mage tower to find materials that could meet his requirements. And now, the challenge of letting his enemies find the same recipe is almost insurmountable.

Although he was like a mirror inside, Gastens did not tell William about it. Most of the comrades who participated in the revolution were lovely, enthusiastic and credible. But even so, Gastens didn't want to take the slightest risk. Behemoths are the core competitiveness of the revolutionary army he intends to establish, and he will nip them in the bud if they may endanger the safety of behemoths.

William saw that Gastens was just laughing and not talking, knowing that some things might not be easy to express. He didn't care, just followed his own train of thought and continued.

"This weapon, in my opinion, has no opponent in this world. But it has a long production cycle, especially the engine you call a core, which almost no one can make except you. This will greatly limit the production of the Behemoth—"

"This kind of thing, as long as it exists, can destroy the confidence of the enemy."

Gastens didn't care, the high-cost high-precision weapon of the Behemoth was not suitable for winning by numbers. Now he and Elena also don't have the ability and technology to produce giant beasts in large quantities. Thankfully, as he himself said, this indestructible thing can already decide the outcome of a battle as long as it appears on the battlefield.

William nodded, clearly agreeing with Gastens' statement. He looked up at the barrels and machine guns of the tall turret of the behemoth and fell silent. This behemoth carried not only a steam turbine to power it, but also two smaller steam engines, which were specially designed to drive the steam machine gun and steam cannon on the turret. William, who already knew something about this behemoth, could easily imagine the majesty of this weapon on the battlefield.

"Alright, uncle, you've done a good job, you've done a great job," Gastens inspected the beast, knowing that it had met his expectations, and was satisfied. William nodded, and discussed many technical issues with him before saying goodbye to each other. Now, before the Behemoth is unveiled, William will continue to work in this secret workshop to understand the Behemoth's temperament, better control it, and stimulate its potential. Garstens, on the other hand, has more to do.

Leaving the experimental weapons workshop, Gastens met Luna and Ivan waiting for him in his office. Luna saw Gastens come back, and left the office very obediently, leaving the space for Ivan and Gastens to talk.

"Boss", Ivan saw that Luna was gone, turned his head, and got straight to the point, "I have completed the work you arranged." ”

Hearing Ivan's words, Gastens was a little pleased, and it seems that there is a lot of good news today. He smiled and nodded, asking.

"How many are there?"

"About forty, all veterans of the Battle of Elena's Guard."

"Very good, take them to a separate place to train, pay attention to secrecy, the production of weapons will take a while, you can practice with Daisy's gun first, just pay attention to maintenance."

"Okay."

Ivan nodded, and began to ask for more details about this special unit. And Gastens's attention returned to that afternoon, when Daisy threw the bag containing the gun at his feet, and looked at him with a warm smile, as if it would never change.

Window.

The moon hangs high and the starry sky is shining.