Magicians were once the most prestigious minds in the nations, they were the creators of miracles, the defenders of nations, the engineers and educators of all kinds of meticulous and meticulous knowledge. Needless to say, aristocratic families with various blood inheritances, even if they were born in commoners, were confirmed to have magician qualifications, and could make some famous names, the state would grant them noble status, and sometimes even hereditary titles.

However, this enviable status began to decline rapidly with the emergence of consortiums and science and technology, and in the middle and late stages of the war, the treatment of magicians was not much different from that of ordinary technical troops of the same level, and there was no such pomp and preferential treatment as if it were nobles going out on patrol in the past, and when the empire was founded, magicians became the objects of hunting and exclusion.

The Empire does not need magicians.

The ostensible rationale is that most of the mages in the empire are supporters of the Old Kingdom, these people are die-hard anti-imperialists, and they are also the main force of terrorist organizations, and the empire regards all mages as enemies based on irreconcilable conflicts. In fact, the deeper reason is that the mages are a special group of people who pose a serious threat to the very foundation of the Empire.

The original empire's technological system and the existing magic system are completely two lines, and there may occasionally be some details that intersect, such as allowing ordinary people or elves who can't sense Mana to use magic through technical means, and using machines to reproduce various magic. But the overall direction is completely the opposite.

The Empire's technological system is based on "universality and efficiency", while the magic system of the past is based on "originality and individuality".

To give you an easy-to-understand example, a hero who is unbeatable can kill 10,000 enemy soldiers and train 1,000 peasants how to use firearms to shoot 10,000 enemy soldiers. The latter is obviously faster and simpler – i.e. more efficient, while the former is more ingenious.

In the past, the mage system pursued "heroes" that highlighted originality, while the empire set out to train and improve the weapons in the hands of mobilizers.

It's hard to say who is right and who is wrong, because the two lines are not bred from the same environment, and the effect of each in different environments is not guaranteed to be exactly the same. However, the only thing that is certain is that in the previous war, the Empire's technological system won this brutal general war, and after the victory, it does not intend to coexist with the "foreign body" of the magic system.

In this era when a single cannon is enough to blow up an entire position, and a single chariot can ravage countless infantry at will, regardless of flesh and blood, there is no mention of the existence of "legions". Originally, there was a strong emphasis on efficiency and the standardization and standardization of the people, and the entire country was regarded as a precision machine, and each citizen was an empire with parts and components, and there was no need for an anomaly with a unique personality and incompatible with the entire system. After all, if everyone wishes to be a hero, a "unique and special being", the empire will immediately fall into collapse.

An empire that only needs a standardized amount of products does not need a "unique and special existence" such as a magician.

It was this extremely accurate foresight that gave rise to the hunting of magicians, and to the creation of killing machines such as the "sirens", which desecrated the dead and death itself.

But even so, the "siren" is still a weapon that is still in the stage of actual testing and installation, and its performance has not been completely stable, and the secrecy measures have not been lifted. Sending the "sirens" directly to the crowded streets of Lüdes is simply to let military secrets walk around the streets in clothes. "Nightingale" doesn't feel like he has that value to get the bigots at the top of the empire to do that.

"In other words, there is a secret behind the bombing at this sports exchange meeting, which is enough to make the empire serious?"

"That's right, if it's just a fireworks show to compete for the hearts and minds of the people, the empire doesn't need to do it to this extent. But this time is really different, this explosion is just the first in a series of dominoes, as long as this card falls smoothly, the chain reaction that follows will be stopped by no one. ”

"Chain reaction...... Is it an expansion?"

When it comes to the results of various terrorist attacks, it is nothing more than the people's hearts are tilting towards the Empire, and after each bombing, the Imperial Diet passes various "National Security Supplementary Budget Bills", and the Imperial Defense Forces receive additional appropriations. When the funds are in place, the next step is for the empire to dispatch all kinds of violent machines to stage a drama of "eliminating violence and peace", and various underground organizations will turn into a low ebb. When the appropriation was almost spent, all kinds of ghosts, snakes, and gods became active again, and terrorist attacks occurred again......

Those familiar with the process are almost familiar with this process, and whenever an explosion is heard, everyone knows that it is the Imperial Defense Army shouting "Give me money!" Finish.

But this time it's really different.

"Yes or no. ”

The "owl" deliberately bought a pass, and the middle-aged uncle, who was full of anticipation of the girl's curious expression, only saw the unwavering poker face, and was slightly disappointed, and his evaluation of "Nightingale" increased by a few points.

Most of the front-line combat personnel are typical military personalities, with straight intestines, violent tempers, and can't bear to hang their appetites or anything. This kind of character cannot survive a day of cruel and complicated underground struggle, and being able to think calmly and not be surprised by changes is a necessary quality for underground workers.

After taking a sip of water, "The Owl" asked:

"Comrade 'Nightingale', how much do you know about standardization?"

"I'm a front-line combatant, and I don't know much about the technical stuff...... Basically, the product specifications of different factories in different regions are exactly the same, and the simplification, unification and generalization of product production and processing can be realized to the greatest extent. ”

"It's not quite right, but it's the right direction. As you know, the products of Albion and the United Principality of Ross often encounter the fact that the parts of the same part on the same model of the product cannot be used, because the two parts come from different manufacturers, due to the control of the production process, the difference in the quality control process and other factors, the parts produced according to the same set of drawings cannot be interchanged. Therefore, on the battlefield, even if the empire's weapons are damaged by any failures, they can be used normally by removing parts from other weapons and replacing them, without waiting for the parts to be sent from the rear, which greatly saves time and costs, and ensures the combat effectiveness of the front-line troops. It's an avant-garde and practical way of thinking. But what if this avant-garde thinking is used to secretly build up armaments?"

A glint flashed in the eyes of the "Nightingale", and some of the "robins" on the side also changed their expressions, and asked in a slightly nervous low voice:

"Build-up...... Is the Empire ready for war with the whole world?"

The ultimate goal of the empire is to conquer the whole world. It was almost an open secret, and after seeing the terrible power displayed by the Emperor in the final stages of the Battle of the Rhine, no one doubted the determination of the upper echelons of the Empire, nor their ability, the only question was when exactly they would do it.

If the emperor had that thought, he could do it at any time, and no one, country, or organization could stop him, and he couldn't even pull his hind legs. Fortunately or unfortunately, the Emperor was an absolute rationalist who would never do anything "superfluous". Unless he intends to destroy the world, he will never easily provoke a war until the empire is fully ready, let alone end it himself.

It is precisely because of this layer of thin ice, coupled with the constant restraint of the Lord's Defense Forces, that the nations were able to coexist with the empire with trepidation, and occasionally try to test on the brink of death. However, once the Imperial Defense Forces make the act of "breaking the thin ice" and "preparing for war again" by developing new weapons of mass destruction, expanding the size of the army, increasing the number of armaments, etc., the countries will only be prepared to fight to the death.

Is the Empire ready to start a world war, a war that is unscathed, like an iron wind and thunder, that will kill three thousand world crows?

The answer is "not yet".

"The empire wasn't that crazy, it was only three years after the end of the war, and economic development was still the overriding priority. No amount of shouting from the army will change this. However, preparing for war and developing the economy are not contradictory, and can even be highly integrated. ”

"Is it possible to use arms production to stimulate the economy?"

"That's just one aspect. The economic stimulus effect brought about by arms production is only temporary, and it is impossible for ordinary people to get by by eating shells and drinking engine oil. If a virtuous economic cycle is not formed, the empire will collapse economically. So they take great care to control the pace and intensity, and to suppress all kinds of resistance activities to a degree that does not impair the economic cycle. The same is true for the production of armaments. Therefore, the empire did not directly produce weapons and equipment, but increased the production of standardized parts to covertly build up armaments. ”

The direct production of equipment, such as combat vehicles, artillery, etc., is undoubtedly conspicuous. It can be replaced with inconspicuous parts such as gears and coils, and not many people will care.

"From the information sent by our comrades on the industrial production lines in various places, we have roughly deduced the outline of the whole plan. Because the cost of direct production of equipment is very high, whether it is production or maintenance, and it will worsen relations with other countries, the empire simply divides the equipment into parts, and produces parts and components through the application for repair and replenishment of parts submitted by the troops performing law and order operations in various places, and the deliberately repetitive and overreported spare parts on the application forms submitted by different troops can be assembled into one or more pieces of equipment. Of course, the empire is not so stupid as to get it all together in one application, they will be scattered among the various military districts, and they will also manipulate the type and number. After two or three years, the whole plan will gradually take shape. And because it is a part, as long as it is treated with anti-rust treatment, it is no problem whether it is stored or buried in the ground for several years after being wrapped in oiled paper. Once the army needs to be expanded, these parts produced according to the standardized process will be re-opened and sent to the assembly plant to be assembled into a variety of equipment. Now that the drawings, equipment, funds, and skilled workers are in place, all that remains is a reasonable reason to start the whole project-"

Needless to say, this terrorist attack was precisely the first domino that drove the whole plan. As long as the fireworks of the "National Restoration Front" were successfully exploded at a sports exchange, the bloody and brutal images spread around the world through the empire-controlled media system. The next thing is that the Imperial Defense Force is out in all directions to "suppress bandits", and the application forms for battle results and maintenance parts fly to the rear like snowflakes, and everyone thinks that this is just a familiar recipe and a familiar taste, but they don't know that the undercurrent under the calm water has already begun to surge, and the footsteps of war are already approaching.

"Comrade Nightingale, your task is to infiltrate the sports exchange of the Youth Corps in disguise and try to prevent the bomb from exploding. I know that this task is difficult, but now we have no time or spare, and only by stopping this time can the Organization manage to obtain the details of the whole plan, sabotage and delay the Empire's preparations for war, and buy more time for our comrades abroad. Do you understand? If there is any difficulty, you can raise it now. ”

"Thank you to the organization for trusting me. I understand the difficulties of the organization, and it is my duty for the organization to entrust me with such a major task. No matter how difficult it is, I will definitely try to overcome it and ensure that the task is completed. ”

"Nightingale" said solemnly, as if a warrior was taking an oath.