Chapter 371: Solderin’s Order

Solderin wasn’t an expert in magical engineering, nor did he fully understand how the machines and mass-produced magic arrays that Gawain had developed actually worked. But at least he was a seasoned warrior and a well-traveled adventurer—he could see the immense advantages and vast potential in these unprecedented, almost unbelievable magitech weapons. He could roughly imagine the kinds of environments where such weapons would be effective, and that was enough.

Of course, Solderin knew that his judgments, based on past experience, were still limited. These new weapons were revolutionary, their concepts far ahead of their time. The idea of “allowing every ordinary person to unleash world-shattering magical power” was a wild but real trend in the land of Cecil. Even the high-ranking ranger himself wasn’t sure how far these weapons would ultimately develop. But one thing he was certain of—he knew exactly what he wanted.

“The lord has ordered me to train the Iron Rangers, a completely new type of soldier, and he’s also tasked me with designing new weapons and testing new tactics. You know, it’s quite a challenging mission,” Solderin said with a smile—partly because the metallic orb floating before him, Mr. Nicholas Egg, always wore a smile too (which was oddly contagious). Anyone who spoke with him couldn’t help but grin. “So I have some rather… forward-thinking ideas. Maybe we can find a quiet place to discuss these design plans in detail.”

“Of course, we can go to the Mechanical Workshop,” Nicholas buzzed, rising into the air. “Hmm… the Artisan Hall is too crowded. Let’s go to my office instead.”

Nicholas’s office was right next to the Artisan Hall. It served as both his workspace and his living quarters. Few besides Rebecca and Gawain ever visited this room—most outsiders would find it hard to imagine how a 1.3-meter-diameter metallic sphere lived and rested. Solderin was curious too. Upon entering the cylindrical room, he saw many strange… things.

There were metal cylinders of various heights arranged throughout the room, and some mirror-polished metal plates embedded in the walls. There were no beds or chairs as humans would expect, but in the center was a circular platform just big enough for Nicholas to rest on. Next to it stood a three-tiered shelf filled with all sorts of metal crafts. But these “crafts” looked truly bizarre—some resembled intricately structured sails, others nested rings, and some were just twisted, tangled lumps of metal. Solderin was sure that even the most skilled art connoisseur would find it impossible to discern their meaning.

“Did you make all these?” he asked, eyeing the floating metal orb. “These… decorations?”

“Made from scrap during my downtime,” Nicholas buzzed. “My memory is fragmented, but occasionally vague impressions surface. Gawain suggested I model these hazy images to help jog my memory. So far, it hasn’t helped much, but making these little things is fun. I guess these objects must have been common in my past, which is why they left such a deep imprint in my circular polarization organ—oh, that’s my memory organ. But enough about that, tell me your ideas.”

Solderin’s attention snapped away from the room full of “artifacts.” Clearing his throat, he began, “First, about the armor currently used by Cecil’s combat troops—I understand their magitech armor has an inner lining covered with various runes, right?”

“That’s right. The original magitech armor had runes etched directly onto the metal plates, but that caused frequent rune failures when the armor took impact or vibration. It also made upgrades and replacements difficult. So later, we added a tactical lining made of tough leather inside the armor,” Nicholas explained as he casually plucked a metal ingot from a nearby pile. The ingot floated between them and quickly morphed like liquid metal, transforming within breaths into a model of the standard armor worn by Cecil’s soldiers. The armor’s parts then spread out before Solderin’s eyes. “This part here—that’s where the tactical lining sits.”

“The tactical lining is like a gambeson or leather armor worn under steel, but its main function is to carry the runes. So its coverage and protection are less than leather armor—that’s also to keep costs down,” Nicholas continued. “Currently, the runes integrated into the lining mainly include weight reduction, to ease the burden on the soldier; weak elemental resistance, to help against low-level magic; and a gentle wind shield, which can block some attacks and protect against toxic environments. We also have weak fire and cold resistance runes, which help soldiers survive longer in extreme conditions.”

Solderin looked at the armor—almost like a suit that could turn an ordinary person into a low-tier superhuman—and couldn’t help but ask, “All this is powered by the combat backpack?”

“Exactly. The backpack contains a high-capacity mana capacitor. Besides charging weapon crystals, the surplus energy powers the armor,” Nicholas bobbed up and down. “The biggest energy consumer in the armor is the weight reduction rune, but it’s also the most important—without it, soldiers would tire out much faster.”

Solderin thought for a moment. “If we gave up the steel armor layer, or kept only light plates, and reduced the number of combat crystals carried, could we also lighten the combat backpack?”

“In theory, yes,” Nicholas considered. “But that would greatly reduce protection…”

“We could replace it with stone skin runes on the lining. Though not as strong as the steel armor forged in Cecil, it would still protect against ordinary light blades. And stone skin runes, being basic, consume far less energy than weight reduction,” Solderin shared his idea. “In my concept, the Iron Rangers aren’t meant for head-on confrontations. Even if we have to assault a position, we strike once and withdraw immediately. So it’s better to save weight on armor and backpack and use it elsewhere.”

“Understood. I’ll consider that,” Nicholas said, already molding another metal ingot into a model of the item Solderin requested. “What else?”

“As for weapons, besides equipping magitech terminals with thermal ray guns and force field shields, I want the Iron Rangers to have some more powerful offensive weapons…” Solderin’s mind involuntarily drifted to the dangerous encounter last winter on the Typhon border—the mysterious cultist of the End of All Things, and the battle between them.

“In actual combat, I realized something: traditional spellcasting has limits. Talent, battlefield conditions, the caster’s physical state—too many factors affect a spell’s effectiveness. But magitech weapons are different… as long as you have the strength to pull the trigger, they will deliver reliable power… and are hard to defend against,” Solderin’s expression grew serious. “That’s what the fragmentation grenades taught me…”

Nicholas paused, then asked, “So what exactly are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying… those things that explode just by pulling a pin or pressing a button—they’re amazing!” Solderin’s face lit up with a bright smile. “They’ll loyally achieve your goal under any circumstances. I want every Iron Ranger to have access to these loyal weapons… Let me be blunt—how small can a magocrystal railgun be made?”

Nicholas was stunned for a few seconds before reacting. “What?!”

“I’ve seen the original ‘Justice-I’ magocrystal railgun and the lightweight ‘Persuader-I’ accelerator cannon,” Solderin said. “‘Persuader’ is about one-fifth the size of ‘Justice’ and can be pulled by a cart, but it’s said to still be able to demolish walls. According to Miss Rebecca, accelerator rails can be further miniaturized. If powered by energy crystals, the heavy overload devices and focusing bases can be omitted. She once told me about an extreme weight-reduction plan for the accelerator cannon, and I think it’s feasible…”

Nicholas listened blankly, then finally said, “…You just said you wanted to lighten the armor, so I thought you wanted the Iron Rangers to go lightweight… but now you want them to carry mini magocrystal railguns?! Do you realize that even reduced in weight, those things are still huge?”

“I need to emphasize two points. First, the Iron Rangers won’t carry all their weapons on every mission. I want to design an armory with multiple weapons shared by the whole unit. Depending on the mission, each soldier carries different gear. The mini magocrystal railgun is just a backup weapon. Second, light armor and heavy weapons aren’t incompatible. In the Silver Empire, the Elven Forest Rangers have heavy javelin throwers who wield heavy disposable javelins. They wear light armor—some even just leather chest pieces—to facilitate throwing, yet they’re the deadliest hunters in the forest. I want the Iron Rangers to achieve the same effect.”

“…Alright, alright. You clearly know what you’re doing. I’ll talk to the magitech research institute and study this,” Nicholas said, convinced, jotting down Solderin’s requests. “So besides the lightweight personal railgun, what else do you need?”

“Tactical goggles with distortion detection—I know they’ve been developed but not yet issued. I want to test them first.”

“Done.”

“A small, easy-to-carry, agile blade—I have a design, it’s an elven short dagger—but I want you to modify it into something like a melting sword. That should be possible to miniaturize, right?”

“That’s a bit challenging, but I’ll give it a shot. Might have to sacrifice continuous use time.”

“Acceptable. Also, I want to increase the number of grenades each soldier can carry, preferably by adding extra grenade slots on their armor—but without affecting mobility.”

“…I knew it… By the way, is this your typical elven combat style?”

“Not really,” Solderin scoffed. “They don’t have my insight.”

Nicholas Egg: “…”

(End of chapter)