The observation balloon quickly descended to the ground, and the Crown Prince and General Mackensen left the basket.
The two continued to chat for a few moments. The Crown Prince was full of praise for the young officer, Morin. Although General Mackensen was quite amused internally, he maintained a strict demeanor externally.
Crown Prince Georg couldn’t help but laugh at the old General’s feigned indifference.
“General, please don’t be modest! All of us have seen First Lieutenant Morin’s performance. If his tactics can be successfully promoted across the entire Army, it would absolutely be a great asset to the Imperial Army.”
General Mackensen nodded, but he was not as optimistic as the Imperial Crown Prince.
“Your Highness is correct… However, there is a very critical factor in First Lieutenant Morin’s tactics, and that is himself.”
The old General’s gaze focused on the distant town, as if crossing the distance of several kilometers to fix on the descendant of his old friend.
“He is a spellcaster. He can use magic to protect himself and execute rapid battlefield maneuvers. This is something that no other commander can replicate.”
“Therefore, the general applicability of his tactics still requires further assessment and validation…”
“We cannot blindly assume that this set of tactics can solve all problems based on a single victory.”
Mackensen’s coolness and rationality brought Georg back down to earth.
It was true that Morin’s personal ability had played a crucial role in this battle.
Without his rapid breakthrough using [Misty Step] to lay down smoke, the 1st Company’s assault would never have been so smooth.
“Then, what is your suggestion, General?” Georg asked.
“My suggestion is that we need more combat examples. As Your Highness knows, low-level spellcasters naturally prefer to remain in research institutions in the rear…”
Mackensen continued:
“So, we need to see if his company—or other units who adopt his tactics—can achieve the same effect without him personally leading the charge.”
Georg pondered for a moment, then suggested: “Why don’t we simply recall First Lieutenant Morin back to the homeland? He could be tasked with establishing and training a new unit, an ‘Assault Force’ built entirely upon his tactical thinking…”
“This way, we can validate his theory faster and cultivate a corps of officers proficient in the new tactics for the Empire.”
This proposal was tempting, but General Mackensen shook his head without hesitation.
“Your Highness, that is indeed a fine idea, but begging your pardon, now is not the time.”
“Why?”
The Crown Prince was somewhat confused, feeling that the General beside him seemed to be deliberately suppressing Morin?
“Because this battlefield is the best training ground.”
Mackensen’s gaze returned to the distant, smoke-shrouded town.
“Every battle here, both for First Lieutenant Morin himself and for all our participating Saxon forces, is a precious accumulation of real-world combat experience…”
“If we recall him home and confine him to a training field, what will he achieve? Mere armchair theorizing… Only in the true fire and blood of battle can the most elite soldiers and the most effective tactics be forged.”
The old General paused, his tone becoming more earnest.
“Furthermore, this young rascal, Morin, is currently at the stage where he is most likely to become arrogant. He’s made some achievements on the front line, and he can easily become overconfident! Keeping him under my direct supervision allows me to constantly keep him in line and temper his character.”
“Once his tactics have been fully validated on the battlefield, and he himself has truly matured into a stable, composed commander, we can then consider establishing training camps for widespread promotion. I believe the resistance we face then will also be much less.”
After hearing General Mackensen’s explanation, Crown Prince Georg fully understood.
The old General was not suppressing Morin at all; he was clearly using the strictest methods possible to protect and cultivate the young junior officer whom he highly favored.
In that instant, even His Imperial Highness, who was typically uninterested in such ‘gossip,’ couldn’t help but form a certain speculation in his mind…
But he quickly shook off the inappropriate thought and, maintaining a polite smile, said: “General, you truly are a stern elder.”
Inside the town, after Morin dealt with the task of guarding the prisoners and counting the war trophies, he took the Company Sergeant Major, Klaus, and went to the Magic Crystal Cannon position that had been established in the northwest of the town, driven by intense curiosity.
He had only seen the cannons from afar on the castle top earlier, and the one he saw on the high ground outside Seville before was already destroyed.
Now that he was up close, he truly felt the imposing presence of the weapon.
It looked less like a cannon and more like a huge chimney laid horizontally.
The muzzle was a black hole. Morin visually estimated the caliber to be at least 900 millimeters.
The entire gun body was a crude, dark cyan color, covered with complex arcane runes that glowed faintly in the sunlight.
The entire gun was supported by a massive carriage, with a heavy base deeply sunk into the earth beneath it.
“This thing is too clumsy.” Morin walked a circle around one of the cannons, shaking his head involuntarily.
He finally understood why the Britannians hadn’t brought this thing into the street fighting in Seville.
Given its size, it would be difficult to move even in the field, let alone in the city.
A captured Magic Crystal Cannon crew member, a seemingly dull-looking middle-aged man, was squatting by the cannon, his eyes vacant.
Morin walked over and skillfully asked in Aragonese: “How much does this thing weigh?”
The crew member was startled. Seeing the officer’s rank on Morin’s shoulder, he quickly stood up and answered haltingly: “Reporting, sir… the total, total weight is about forty-two tons!”
Morin’s eyes widened: “Forty-two tons?! Then how did you transport it here?”
“Sir, it has to be disassembled into nine components for transport!”
Forty-two tons disassembled into nine components…
Morin’s lips twitched. This was even more cumbersome than the railway guns he knew about from his previous world.
No wonder this thing was a sitting duck once it was targeted by their own artillery in previous battles; it couldn’t run away.
Just as he was internally criticizing the cannon’s impracticality, the familiar system prompt sounded in his mind without warning.
【Special Arcane Equipment Detected: Britannian ‘Griffin’ Type IV Siege Magic Crystal Cannon】 【This equipment possesses guided attack capability】 【Spellcaster ability verified. Attack guidance can be performed for this type of Magic Crystal Cannon】
The series of prompts completely nonplussed Morin.
Guided attack? Me?
The more bizarre thing was yet to come.
He instinctively reached out and touched the cold arcane runes on the cannon barrel, wanting to observe its structure more closely.
The moment his fingertip touched the gun body, the system prompt sounded again. Morin opened the interface immediately.
He found a red dot had appeared in the 【Technology】 tab.
His obsessive-compulsive nature couldn’t tolerate an unread notification, so he opened the tab without hesitation and saw a brand new branch quietly appear.
【Military Arcane Technology】
Beneath the branch was a single icon—the thumbnail of the Magic Crystal Cannon.
Below the icon was a progress bar.
【’Griffin Type IV’ Siege Magic Crystal Cannon Technology Unlocked: 0%】
Morin was stunned for what felt like the hundredth time. He felt his mouth hadn’t closed since entering the room.
“This is insane, using a siege cannon for field combat…”
He tentatively shifted his gaze from the arcane runes on the gun body to the elevation mechanism of the carriage.
He noticed that this mechanism was somewhat similar to the gear assembly of certain old-style naval cannons.
As he roughly grasped the working principle of this component in his mind, the progress bar in front of him jumped forward by a small increment.
【’Griffin Type IV’ Siege Magic Crystal Cannon Technology Unlocked: 10%】
“What the f**k?”
Morin’s eyes lit up as if he had discovered a new continent.
He immediately immersed himself completely in the study of this massive cannon.
The structure of the gun body, the principle of the carriage, the design of the base…
Although it was a Magic Crystal Cannon, the Britannians had clearly used traditional mechanical structures for its framework.
Every time he understood a part of the construction, the progress bar steadily advanced.
However, he soon hit a bottleneck.
A breech block-like mechanism at the rear of the cannon was completely unlike any firearm he knew.
It was also connected to several thick, translucent arcane conduits that resembled electrical cables.
“What is this for?” Morin pointed to the mechanism and asked the captured crew member.
The crew member was clearly surprised that this Saxon was so interested in the cannon’s construction. After a moment of hesitation, he began to explain:
“Sir, that is the access port and activation mechanism for the arcane energy core… The shell is fired by activating the mechanism, which instantly channels the magical energy from the core into the breach…”
As the man explained, Morin’s mind suddenly cleared, and the progress bar in front of him shot forward by a large increment.
【’Griffin Type IV’ Siege Magic Crystal Cannon Technology Unlocked: 55%】
So that’s it!
This thing didn’t use gunpowder at all; it was entirely magic-powered!
Once he grasped the core principle, the rest became much simpler.
From a certain perspective, the essence of this weapon was very similar to the mortars and the infamous ‘No-Good-Heart Cannon’ he had read about in history books from his past life.
They all used high-angle, indirect fire trajectories and relatively low chamber pressure to lob large, high-explosive payloads.
However, the Magic Crystal Cannon used arcane technology to greatly enhance range and accuracy.
And the specialized Magic Crystal Ammunition was the source of its terrifying power.
“The airburst anti-infantry effect is indeed superb. A single cannon can suppress an entire battalion, and the other type of shell used for sieges also has good destructive effect.”
Morin stroked his chin, evaluating the weapon mentally.
“But committing such a large tonnage and caliber for this purpose is a waste of resources.”
Just as Morin was watching the progress bar soar to 90%, on the verge of success, a 1st Company messenger ran up from the outskirts of the town in a panic.
“Company Commander! Sentry reported enemy contact!”
(End of this Chapter)