CH 251

Chapter 251 – Tactical Advisor Kosuke

Now, the season is winter, and overall activity is down, but me being me, it wasn’t that I was being pushed around by everyone from morning to night… There were days like that, but not every day like that. There are no. Really, no.

“Border security is an urgent issue, isn’t it?”

Sir Leonard said with his arms crossed in front of the map spread out on the table. Sir Leonard’s mane is strangely shiny these days. Rumor has it that a few widows have come to Sir Leonard, a widower, to take care of his personal affairs… It’s finally time for Sir Leonard to pay his dues.

“The maintenance of internal security is just as urgent as border security. It’s not a question of one or the other; it’s a question of both.”

Danan, whose appearance has been strangely polished recently and his manliness has increased, says in a serious voice. I heard that he, like Sir Leonard, had finally been caught by the ladies who had been in love with him for a long time.

Well, the situation has calmed down now that we’ve regained the territory of the Kingdom of Merinard. He probably had been refusing them until now, saying something like, “Until I get the Kingdom of Merinard back,” but now that the Kingdom of Merinard is back, he probably has no excuse to refuse the advances of the ladies who were coming on to him.

Good lord.

Well, I don’t care about the circumstances of the men who were brought down. It’s a trivial matter that the two of them have been asking me for advice on various matters and have been looking at me with respect lately. Yeah, it’s a trivial thing, too. So stop calling me master (shisho) or shifu. I told you to stop!

“The problem is that we don’t have enough manpower, whether it’s to guard the border or to maintain security.”

“You are right. The border is long, and the territory is vast. It is not an easy task to ensure that our eyes are always on the border.”

“I know, right? Then, what we need is…”

“Should we increase our personnel?”

“That’s one thing, but I think it’s better to have a system that can cover a wide area with a small number of people.”

“That would be the best way to do it… have you any ideas?”

“Of course I do.”

I nodded and took out my compass. The compass is not the directional one but the one that draws circles. With the compass, I drew a couple of circles. First, I drew a circle with the fortress on the border with the Holy Kingdom at its center, then I drew a new circle within the radius of the fortress and filled the border line with circles.

“What are these circles?”

“It is the communication range of the golem communicator. It’s about a 100-kilometer radius. The circle is drawn within a radius where communication can be reliably established.”

With the early version of the golem communicator, communication was possible within a distance of four days’ walk―in other words, up to 120 kilometers. Now that the performance has been further improved and the communication distance has been extended, the communication range should be within a radius of 100 km, even if some obstacles are taken into account.

Once the border was covered with circles, larger circles would be added to the national territory, and the number of circles would be increased to cover the major bases within the Kingdom of Merinard. The final result would be a communications network on the map that would extend from the border to Merinesburg, from Merinesburg to Erichburg, and from Erichburg to the rear bases in the Great Omit Wilderness.

“The small circles are the communication range of portable golem communication devices, while the medium and large circles are the communication range of installed relay base stations and stationary large golem communication devices.”

The communication range of a large stationary golem transmitter is approximately five times that of a normal type. It can cover a wide area with a radius of 600 km. Of course, this is a distance that is secured with a certain amount of margin through improvements and the addition of transmitting and receiving antennas.

As for the relay base station, a small, inconspicuous base station was finally adopted. The function was limited to simply relaying communications from remote locations, and the emphasis was placed on miniaturization and the use of fewer materials. Even so, it is capable of covering a communication range roughly three times that of a normal golem communicator.

“And this is…”

This time, I set the white ink on the compass and drew a large circle around a certain point.

“What is this white circle?”

“It’s the area within five hours of the technical air board. It’s about an eight-day walk. It doesn’t matter whether it’s raining, muddy, or snowing; the speed at which it travels is the same.”

“I thought I knew how fast technical air boards were, but seeing it again like this, it has a tremendous range of action…”

Danan groans when he sees the size of the white circle. Eight days on foot is a wide area with a radius of about 240 km. This is the range when the technical air board is driven at a cruising speed of 50 km/h. This white circle is much larger because it is possible to run at higher speeds in reality. As expected, it would not blow by at the maximum speed of 200 km/h, but it would be able to reach speeds of up to 80 km/h. If we did so, we would be able to reach the area within the white circle in about three hours.

“We will build an early warning network by utilizing the golem communicator and hit any enemy we find with a quick response force armed with technical air boards. If we have enough troop carriers, we can respond with crossbowmen and magic gunners instead of technical air boards armed with light machine guns. After that, it would be good to proceed with organizing a small number of troops to hunt down the infiltrating enemy troops. Let’s call them something like… hunters?”

It seems to be a slightly different character from the hunters on Earth… Considering the nature of the mission, is it not so? 

“Hunters, huh? Hmm, that’s not a bad name.”

“So the mission is to find and hunt enemies that have slipped through the net of vigilance… I see.”

“The circle I drew is a rough sketch, so the details should be worked out by the military. Now you understand the idea of the system itself, don’t you? Golem communicators, light machine guns, air boards, magic rifles, and I’m sure there’s this security control issue as well.”

“You are right. It is necessary to talk with the research and development department to finalize the security measures. But this way, the number of personnel needed for border security can be greatly reduced, can’t it?”

“Yes, this system would also help to maintain domestic security. It is also strong to be capable of exchanging information instantaneously and sending a large force at high speed. It will make a big difference in both strategy and tactics.”

“Well, I suppose so.”

On a battlefield where people are fighting with spears and bows, swords and shields, they are fighting a war with radio communication equipment, troop carriers, machine guns, assault rifles, close air support, etc. That would completely change the strategy and tactics.

In today’s world, mass warfare using dense formations is at its peak. The Holy Kingdom would be irked that they are being overrun by a modern concept of maneuver warfare. The common sense of the past does not apply at all. I am sure that the military over there must be thinking about it right now after hearing from the subjugation soldiers who have returned home.

“With this much power, it should be possible to strike back at the Holy Kingdom.”

“Are we going to attack them?”

“No way. It would be foolish to do such a thing out of hatred for the Holy Kingdom.”

Sir Leonard shrugged his shoulders, but I wonder what he really thought about it. I looked at Danan, but he silently shook his head.

“What we must do now is to protect the Merinard kingdom and its people. Not to avenge and destroy our enemies out of hatred.”

“…Well, it’s not really something I can say for myself.”

I can’t and won’t tell them not to use the power I’ve provided them with to get revenge. If I were worried about such things, I should not have given them modern weapons in the first place. Once I lent them my power, I couldn’t act like a good boy.

I mean, it’s a little late to be making such a weapon of mass destruction as a magic sparkling stone bomb, isn’t it? With it, even an army of tens of thousands of troops could be killed in less than an hour.

“As I said, it’s best to ask Kosuke when it comes to tactics using new weapons.”

“I agree. It is difficult for us to devise such sophisticated tactics and strategies. Can you think of any new weapons or equipment?”

“Even if you say ‘new weapons and equipment,’… that would have to be something that Sir Leonard would like, right?”

“Of course. Kosuke’s gun is a powerful weapon, but it is not to my taste.”

“Even if you put it that way…”

Sir Leonard’s preference is for melee combat, wielding a broadsword and cutting into people, isn’t it? Such things were obsolete in my generation and rarely used as a tactic… Only those crazy guys who drink black tea all year round do the bayonet charge. [T/n: I don’t know about this one, tehe~]

“Hmmm… Ah!”

I suddenly thought of something when I saw the white circle on the map. It is a personal booster that uses the air board’s tubular propulsion system. The image is that of a maneuvering device in a manga about fighting titans. Whether it would be attached to the thigh or waist, or carried on the back, would need to be examined closely during the development process. [T/n: 3DM?]

“You got something in mind?”

Danan asked, looking a little excited. Well, I can’t say I had an idea.

“I thought of something like this: It would be effective to close the gap of a few dozen meters at once and engage in a melee, or to leap over the enemy vanguard and ram into defenseless archers or throwers, then break off with a single blow?”

“If you can do that, of course, it is effective, but if you rush in without any plan, you will be covered with a rain of arrows and spear beds full of holes, right?”

“I think we should have some tactical solutions for that, or we can use our mobility to get under the arrows… but it would be better if we could deploy a wind magic barrier for a short time.”

It’s only good if you can prevent arrows for the first few dozen seconds you’re going into enemy territory anyway, so I’m not sure if that’s something you can manage. I’ve recently become quite involved in the development of magic tools, so I’m starting to get some sense of how much power I can draw from a single magic crystal stone.

“You know that air board propulsion system, that tube-shaped thing? How about a maneuvering device that can be equipped with a size that can be used by an individual to fly at high speed over a short distance and crash into the enemy?”

“…If you make one wrong move, you’ll either be quickly sacrificed or beaten to a pulp by the bedding of a spear.”

“It might be effective if you can master it…”

“I think it’s worth considering because it would dramatically increase the mobility of infantry. Instead of using it in a battle, wouldn’t it be useful to equip it for scouts or, for that matter, the hunters I mentioned earlier? It would require training, but I think it would be a good way to move a person at very high speed.”

It would probably be quite small in size, so if we use standard-size magic crystals, the cost of magic power will last for a few days even when operating at full power, wouldn’t it? The replacement magic crystals aren’t that bulky, either.

“Hmm… When you put it that way, there is certainly room for consideration. I think we can ask the Research and Development Department to develop it.”

“I agree. It would cost too much to equip the entire army with it, but it might be useful as equipment for some elite units.”

Thus, the decision was made to develop a fast-moving device for personal use. Unfortunately, until it is put to practical use, the test subjects will have to deal with a constant stream of fresh injuries, such as crashing into something after flying at high speed… or failing to land and rolling on the ground at a tremendous rate. I don’t know who will be in that role, but I’ll pray for their safety while I’m at it. Amen, amen.