Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

"But I can't be sure that person is a magician," Winters said with a wry smile.

"Come on, let's not talk nonsense between us," Pisani said, dissatisfied, and punched Winters lightly. "Just tell me, what's it actually like when spellcasters fight each other?"

"Let me think..." Winters pondered for a moment and replied, "If I have to describe it... I think it's like eggs smashing each other with hammers."

"Eggs smashing each other with hammers?" Major Moritz laughed. "That's an interesting analogy."

"I think it's exactly like that... A battle between two spellcasters is like eggs smashing each other with hammers," Winters said gravely. "No matter how powerful the magic, the bodies of spellcasters are as fragile as any other person's. A stab would make them bleed, a shot in the head would kill them. Therefore, in the battle of spellcasters, whoever strikes first lives, whoever exposes themselves first dies."

"'Whoever strikes first lives, whoever exposes themselves first dies,' huh?" Pisani mused.

"And... it's impossible to capture a spellcaster alive—unless they surrender of their own volition," Winters said resolutely. "My seniors, do not hold back during today's battle, don't let your guard down until the enemy is completely dead. Even if they die, we're only safe once we've decapitated them."

This was the conclusion Winters had reached after the battle at the artillery stronghold: it's impossible to capture a spellcaster alive.

You can bind a warrior's limbs with ropes and break them, any brave warrior can be subdued if the price is right. But how do you bind a third hand? Or break a fifth limb? Read new adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

Magic stem from consciousness, even if you whittle a magician down to a stick, they could still continue to use deadly spells. Even if you can knock out a magician temporarily, the moment they regain consciousness, they become extremely dangerous again.

In the battle at the artillery stronghold, that mysterious magician had almost killed Winters. However, he was only distracted by Hestas for a few seconds, and the near-death Winters managed to kill him.

Eggs taking turns hitting each other with hammers, not crushing the opponent completely could lead to being counter-killed; such is the cruel fight between spellcasters.

After hearing Winters' explanation, the officers fell silent.

"So is that why we need to use this kind of concealed, swift weapon?" Lieutenant Lailo murmured to himself, holding the short gun improved by Winters.

The short gun improved by Winters had become standard issue for spellcaster officers in the legion. Spellcasters who had seen Winters' demonstration immediately took a liking to this "magic-triggered firearm."

The biggest challenge with firearms was ignition; fuse cords were dangerous and troublesome, and the wheel lock was complex and unreliable. Using magic to ignite the gunpowder in the chamber was an excellent idea, not only reliable. Moreover, because there's no need for an ignition mechanism, it also reduces the weight of the firearm.

To address the "single-shot" issue, Winters modified a gun barrel to be three barrels, allowing spellcasters to fire them sequentially or all at once. In theory, more barrels could be stacked, but considering the weight, three barrels were already the optimum solution.

Major Moritz, of course, didn't need such a thing, but not everyone had the Major's expertise in kinetic spells.

Many spellcasters, adept in fire-type magics and vibration-type spells, lacked the ability to fatally subdue an enemy; therefore, this kind of firearm that required only the lowest level of fire-type magic to operate was widely praised.

Many spellcasters couldn't help regretting that they hadn't thought of this idea themselves, which made Winters feel embarrassed, as he had also come up with the idea only after seeing that mysterious spellcaster ignite the cannon through the barrel.

"You don't have to worry so much. Maybe that person won't even show up today," Pisalo patted Winters on the shoulder, smiling. "Whether he acts or not, Tachi is definitely going to fall today. If I were him, I'd just hide among the soldiers and wait to surrender, rather than coming out and seeking death."

Before he had finished speaking, a panicked sentinel from the triangular fort rushed down from the top, shouting, "Signal flare! Red! East side of the wall!"