Chapter 252: The Melting-Cut Sword and the Patrol Squad

At first, Gawain chose to consult Sir Byron about weapon improvements precisely because of the middle-aged knight’s early years as a mercenary.

Unlike noble knights or mages who rose through orthodox channels, mercenaries often lacked formal training and strict traditions. But they had their own way to make up for these shortcomings—their rich combat experience and adaptability were their lifelines on the edge of the blade. A mercenary had to understand all kinds of battle environments, be familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of various weapons, and know exactly how to handle crises in different situations to survive long-term. Byron fit this profile perfectly.

Sir Philip was indeed a strong and talented knight, but his knowledge was too rigid and dogmatic. Faced with the rapidly evolving Cecil military equipment and new combat doctrines, it was already impressive that he could keep up without falling behind. Asking him to come up with breakthrough ideas based on traditional weapons was probably harder than forcing Amber to open a door…

Sir Byron summarized the characteristics of the current Cecil combat troops and identified the direction for improving their close-combat gear. Both proposals looked quite promising to Gawain.

“The mechanical sword concept draws inspiration from the increasingly widespread magic energy engines in our territories,” Sir Byron began explaining. “Those engines have immense power—if a fully armored professional knight gets hit by the rotating wheels of such a machine, they’d be dead or crippled. So some rune crafters thought to harness that power in swords. They considered installing small repulsion mechanisms in the hilt to vibrate the blade or drive serrated edges, allowing the sword to easily tear through enemy armor.”

“The melting-cut sword plan abandons mechanical parts and instead pursues an effect similar to ‘enchantment.’ One rune crafter proposed embedding a flame rune array along the blade, powered by a magical capacitor. These runes would heat the blade to extremely high temperatures—we could forge the blade from heat-resistant purple steel. Once heated by the fire runes, the steel itself is no longer a magical effect, so enemy magic resistance won’t help. The scorching purple steel blade could easily destroy most conventional metal armors in the world, or deal heavy damage to delicate magical robes and mage shields. Against unarmored or lightly armored foes, its damage would be even more lethal.”

“Of course, compared to the serrated mechanical blade, the melting-cut sword’s destructive efficiency might be slightly lower. And it’s helpless against wealthy enemies who cover their armor with mithril or adamantine. But then again, mechanical swords wouldn’t stand a chance against mithril or adamantine armor either…”

At this point, Gawain’s mind was already flooded with images of chainsaw swords and plasma blades flying everywhere…

He struggled to suppress these flashy fantasies, maintaining the solemnity of a venerable lord. After carefully considering both proposals, he rejected one outright: “The mechanical sword is not feasible.”

“Uh… we haven’t reached a conclusion yet…” Byron was momentarily stunned, not expecting Gawain to so quickly dismiss what seemed like the most promising of the two valuable ideas. “Why do you think the mechanical sword won’t work?”

“The mechanical structure is too complex, unstable, hard to maintain, costly, and difficult to mass-produce. Plus, the current repulsion mechanisms still generate significant mechanical vibrations, which would affect soldiers’ use,” Gawain shook his head. “Don’t forget what I told you at the start: only weapons that can be mass-produced are good weapons. And that must be added to: equipment that can withstand harsh environments is good equipment. Unfortunately, the mechanical sword fails on both counts… at least with our current technology.”

“Swords clash frequently with enemy weapons and armor. The gears and linkages inside the hilt would easily break under continuous impact. Moreover—a moving serrated structure means it’s more fragile and prone to wear. Even if we mass-produced it without regard for cost, it would chip its teeth after just a few swings against armor on the battlefield. What practical use would it have then?”

Byron paused, finally realizing the huge problem. “Right! I never thought of that…”

But Gawain didn’t blame Byron—his experience was undeniable, but when new magitech was involved, even his judgment could falter. He saw the magic engine’s immense power but didn’t know how the delicate internal parts actually worked.

Honestly, Gawain felt a bit regretful rejecting the mechanical sword idea—the image of a chainsaw sword spinning wildly was every man’s dream. But the current industrial base simply couldn’t support it. If such a “manly fantasy” made it to the battlefield now, it would be a disaster…

Compared to the obvious flaws of the mechanical sword, the melting-cut sword concept was quite feasible.

Using runes to heat objects wasn’t uncommon. The alchemy factories already used fire runes to heat reaction kettles. However, ordinary fire rune heaters only reached a few hundred degrees Celsius—far from enough to melt metal. But Rebecca had been improving fire magic arrays recently—she was trying to simplify the common “Scorching Ground” trap into a universal rune set and apply it in steelworks to replace the traditional wood and charcoal furnaces. Rumor had it she was close to success.

Presumably, the rune crafters only thought of using fire runes to create a high-temperature blade after hearing this news.

“Focus more on the melting-cut sword. It’s a promising path,” Gawain said, handing the blueprints back to Byron. As Byron rolled them up, Gawain suddenly asked, “By the way, the weapon type in the plan is a one-handed sword?”

“Oh yes, one-handed sword,” Byron nodded while packing the blueprints. “Our soldiers’ magic terminals now come equipped with force field shields, meaning they always have a shield ready on the battlefield. So the one-handed sword and shield combo is the most practical for close combat. Sir Philip has already started training troops in this style.”

Sir Philip, who had been silently watching Gawain and Byron study the blueprints, finally broke his silence. He nodded. “I’m training soldiers to fight with force field shields and regular one-handed swords. The force field shield is weightless and doesn’t obstruct vision like a normal shield, so the combat training content needs to be reconsidered.”

Gawain nodded in satisfaction—once again, the outsider had independently discovered the characteristics of new technology. It seemed many things didn’t require his constant worry…

Meanwhile, in the southeastern part of the territory, deep within the Dark Mountains, a fully armed Cecil combat squad was patrolling a mountain path.

Normally, no patrols were set deep inside the Dark Mountains. On one hand, manpower was insufficient; on the other, the wild, primitive forests made patrols difficult and posts hard to arrange. So aside from a few fixed watchtowers monitoring the Gondor wastelands to prevent mutant attacks, Gawain hadn’t assigned more patrols in the mountains.

But recently, several new patrol routes had been added.

This was because the Hom ore had begun to be mined.

Thanks to Rebecca’s crystals, even winter didn’t slow progress at the new mine. The area where Hom ore was discovered had become an open-pit quarry. After several crystal-triggered landslides, large veins of raw ore were exposed. A large number of miners and soldiers were dispatched to the new quarry, building outposts around it. To protect the mine from wild beasts and monsters, several new patrol routes were established around the site.

Patrolling the Dark Mountains in freezing weather was grueling, but the soldiers diligently followed their routes. They wore the newly standardized mass-produced magitech armor, equipped with universal military magic terminals, and remained alert without any slack.

This was not only because Gawain’s “soldier’s code” had deeply ingrained itself in their minds, but also because the new recruits were selected from civilians. Even after enlistment, they served as construction troops, continuing to build the territory without leaving their posts. Coupled with Gawain’s ongoing housing and land distribution policies, Cecil soldiers from the start regarded protecting the territory and its people as a given.

They had built the land with their own hands, earned their homes and fields through labor and military merit. Their friends and family were workers in the fields, mines, and factories. Their own interests, and the safety of their loved ones and homeland, were completely tied to their ability to fulfill their duties. This was a stark contrast to other noble private armies.

The patrol leader walked at the front, alert to every sound and movement on either side of the mountain path. The cold mountain wind blew relentlessly, but the chill didn’t affect his actions—the armor produced by the military factories was imbued with protective magic. The gentle wind shield and heat insulation runes helped him resist the cold mountain air, while the helmet’s embedded secondary clarity spell kept his mind sharp and focused during long patrols.

As a veteran who survived the old Cecil territory, he felt extremely satisfied and reassured by his current gear.

“Stay alert, keep your force field shields ready,” the captain reminded the soldiers behind him. “Watch out for monster attacks!”

Patrolling the Dark Mountains required constant vigilance. Since the force field shields were issued, soldiers treated “keeping the shield on standby” as a basic rule. The mountains were home to some fearless, even semi-intelligent monsters that might suddenly attack. A delayed reaction could be fatal—just a few days ago, an unlucky soldier forgot to activate his shield and was injured by a venomous monster. If not for the cheap alchemical potions every soldier carried, he would have died.

His soldiers were good troops, but as an old soldier himself, the captain couldn’t help but remind them.

As the soldiers responded, a sudden flicker of caution crossed the captain’s mind.

Something dangerous was nearby.

(End of chapter)