Just as sharpened wooden sticks and smashed stones replaced claws and teeth, primitive swords and personal martial arts would inevitably be replaced by steel guns and cannons. In this unstable world, war followed like a shadow, and in order to survive, inefficient personal martial arts would have to give way to efficient war machines. This was the objective law of the development of things.
Gwen did not know if every world followed this objective law, but at least he was sure that this world followed such a law.
Even if there was supernatural power in this world, even if the supernatural in this world had the power to move mountains and fill seas, this principle would not change. The supernatural who could move mountains and fill seas would inevitably be replaced by machines that could move mountains and fill seas with higher efficiency. This was decided on the day the first hunting stick was sharpened.
He looked at the chariot in front of him in admiration, as if he saw another era stretching in front of the chariot's tracks.
Rebecca, Hettie, Philip, and Nicholas were with him, and everyone's (and the ball's) attention was equally focused on the chariot.
Rebecca's idea of installing a cannon on the chariot was finally realized. Not only was the chariot equipped with a cannon, but it was also equipped with armor plates and a shield generator.
This chariot that could barely be called a 'tank' was very different from the one Gwen originally designed. It was very different from any tank he knew. It did not have sloped armor, and the main body of the chariot was a nearly square iron box that was pieced together with a large number of rivets and welds. Each piece of armor was just a thin steel plate. The tank's tracks were somewhat similar to the ones Gwen remembered, but they were obviously rougher, and deep runic indentations could be seen on each track. The earth elemental runes could reduce the wear and tear of the metal plates when in contact with the ground and slightly increase the resistance of the tracks against elemental attacks. It was said that this was the suggestion of a rune craftsman from the Hosman region. Its turret was also impressive. It was a trapezoidal iron cover that was narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. The front of the cover was open, and two parallel metal rails extended straight out of the opening. A simple optical viewing device was installed parallel to the metal rails at the bottom of the cover.
Due to the limitations of current technology, the main cannon installed on the chariot was the smallest 'Persuader' light rail gun. It was also specially modified to be installed on the chariot, so its power was naturally reduced to a certain extent. But for the battlefield of this era, this thing was already a moving pulverizer.
From the outside, it looked like a crude punk product, and it did not conform to the tank design on Earth at all.
Its armor was almost without sloping or curvature. Its armor was also very thin. Some of the riveted joints could even be seen that the side armor was just thin steel plate. Finally, it had a rather tall body and eye-catching large turret in Gwen's eyes.
These designs greatly reduced the difficulty of manufacturing the chariot (which was one of the reasons it could be built so quickly), lowered the cost and weight of the chariot, and also increased the payload and internal space. But all these came with an obvious problem: its physical defense seemed to have been lowered.
In Gwen's original design materials, there were the concepts of sloping armor and low body, but in the final product, these two concepts were discarded.
In the beginning, he specifically looked for Rebecca and Kamel to discuss these changes, but in the end, he gave in because he later found that this design that seemed to have lowered the defense was actually the most reasonable.
At first, he followed the conventional thinking and gave the tank a strong physical defense. He also wanted to increase the sloping angle of the armor and reduce the height of the body so that the future chariot could withstand physical attacks such as artillery shells and reduce the hit rate. But he neglected one point — the most powerful and the only form of attack in this world that could threaten the chariot was magic.
The tank did not need to worry about artillery shells at all, and it did not even need to think too much about throwing stones. On the battlefield, it basically had to face less powerful projectile weapons and more powerful magic attacks. Projectile weapons with less power, such as crossbows and stone bullets, could not hurt the armor made of thin steel plate at all, while sloping armor and curved armor were completely ineffective against powerful magic attacks.
Powerful spells such as Lightning, Flame Blast, and Ice Whip would not "bounce", and some of the spells with channeling effects would not miss the target just because the body of the tank was low. In order to defend against powerful magic attacks, it was not necessary to work on the armor. Instead, it was necessary to install an extra set of shield generators in the body of the tank.
And with the magic shield, even if the chariot encountered a powerful live attack, such as the bombardment of another chariot of the same level, it would have a certain degree of defense, and there was no need to compress the precious space of the chariot to withstand the live attack.
Under the guidance of this idea, the technicians of the Machine Manufacture Institute and the Magical Engineering Research Institute abandoned the sloping armor and other operations that they did not understand. Instead, they designed the war chariot into a square, tall, and large iron box. They also stuffed two sets of magic shields into the increased internal space. Finally, the thing before Gawain's eyes was created.
"We have tested it, its weapons and shield system work fine," Rebecca said happily, her face full of pride. "I've said it before, putting two sets of shields in the body of the chariot is more useful than hanging a bunch of sloping steel tubes, and the cost is lower, and it can also reduce the weight … Your previous idea was just to look good, not practical at all …"
Gwen, who was slapped in the face by the objective law of the world, could not refute Rebecca's words academically, but he could use his identity as an ancestor to knock his granddaughter on the head. So he patted Rebecca on the head and said, "My previous idea was wrong, but who said that my previous plan was to look good?"
"Aiya …" Rebecca yelped in surprise, but she became happy in the next second. "So you're saying that the chariot we're building now is very beautiful?"
Hao Ren had no idea how her train of thought jumped.
Gwen ignored Rebecca, who was already self-satisfied. Instead, he looked up at the punk-style 'magic tank' and asked casually, "The final plan is still to use the railgun?"
The egg Nicholas floated over and said with a buzzing voice, "The smallest Rainbow Cannon can barely fit on the turret, but it will almost 'eat' more than half of the power source of the power spine. As long as the beam is fired continuously, it will have to stop in place. Short-range shots will also seriously affect the stability of the engine. Also, the heat of the Rainbow Cannon is too high. If the beam is fired continuously for more than 30 seconds, the turret will become extremely hot, and even the frost runes will not be able to suppress it. So in the end, we chose to use live ammunition. Although we need to carry shells, this is the only feasible plan at present. "
Gwen nodded and looked at the production line behind the chariot. "How long will it take to mass produce it?"
The egg Nicholas pondered for a moment and said with a buzzing voice, "In fact … it can be mass produced in about half a month."
Gwen was surprised. "So fast?!"
"Because it is completely 'pieced together' with existing technology, and the production line is also directly modified from the production line of agricultural machinery," the egg Nicholas explained. "The chassis is directly used as a general-purpose II agricultural machinery chassis. The armor is basically an iron box pieced together with rivets and welding points. The existing welding platform can be modified to use it. The main cannon has already been mass produced in the military factory production line. As for the other internal devices … the technical content is not high."
Gwen slowly nodded. What the Iron Ball said was reasonable.
He had always wanted to build a tank. At first, this seemed to be an unattainable goal. But when the magic car was built, the light railgun was built, and various agricultural machinery was developed successfully, the basic foundation of a tank was unknowingly complete.
Even in the history of Earth, the first tank seemed to be something "rubbed" out of existing technology after knocking and hammering.
The crude prototype in front of him might one day be developed into something sophisticated, but right now, it was really as simple as an iron shell on the chassis of a tractor, with a cannon installed on top of the iron shell...
Such a simple item was more than enough to deal with the challenges that Cecil was about to face. Furthermore, outside of Cecil's territory … it was more than enough to be considered a 'high precision' item.
"After the final test, mass produce as soon as possible. Before next summer, make as many as you can," Gwen said to the egg Nicholas. He then turned to Philip on the other side. "Select soldiers who have a high talent in arcanotech and driving. The task of training the first batch of tank soldiers will be handed to you."
After the egg Nicholas and Philip each took their orders, Gwen looked at Heti. "You are in charge of the budget."
Heti: "… Yes."
Cecil wanted to cry but had no tears. She was dragged here early in the morning to see the "agricultural machinery" just to approve the budget.
However, after a brief moment of helplessness, Heidi sensed a hint of urgency and profound meaning from Gawain's attitude. "Ancestor, do you think the crisis … will erupt within a year?"
"This is the worst case scenario." Gwen nodded. "It's already summer. Based on the temperament of the Captical nobles, they are almost done arguing."
Heti looked at Gwen's eyes and slowly nodded.
According to the ancestor's initial estimation, the nobles of Ansu would reach a consensus on the issue of repairing the Magnificent Wall by this summer at the latest. This was not because their efficiency could be calculated so accurately, but because of the situation.
They had to finish all the wrangling and discussion in the first half of summer to ensure that they had enough manpower and resources in the autumn, select suitable representatives, and follow the elves to the vicinity of the barrier to start the repair work. If they delayed for too long, the weather would turn cold, and the cost of the team's departure would be higher. In the cold winter, the construction work would become difficult. If the team could not build a safe shelter in time due to the difficult construction work near the Magnificent Wall, the possible loss and failure of the project would be unbearable for any family.
"Whether they eventually let me, the 'old man', represent Ansu to repair the barrier or not, the civil war in Ansu will temporarily stop while the barrier is being repaired. But they will not stop for too long. The repair and reinforcement work of the barrier will take about one to three years. Once this problem is solved, all the worries behind the scenes will be gone. The civil war will immediately resume, and … it will definitely be more violent. All the bottom lines and faces will be torn apart. By then, it will not be so easy for Cecil to stay out of it and make money on both sides. "
At this point, Gwen paused and continued, "So we have to be ready as soon as possible. Taking into account the time taken by the engineering team, the barrier may be repaired in the second half of next autumn at the earliest, and the 'safety margin' left for us will not exceed next summer. After the weapons and equipment are produced, it will also take time to adapt. "
Listening to Gwen's plan, which was calculated almost every step, Heti could not help but bite her lip. "Will the situation really develop as you predicted?"
"Most of the time, the plan is not accurate. The facts will always exceed your expectations, just like on the battlefield. It is likely that you have made dozens of plans, but when the war really breaks out, the commanders still have to improvise, or even rely on recklessness." Gwen smiled and looked at Heti. "But a good decision-maker will still make plans. At least, with a plan, we will have something to do, right?"
Gwen knew that his analysis of the situation was just an 'analysis'. Even if he had Gwen? Cecil's experience, the experience of the satellite spirit, and the experience of his previous life, he could not guarantee that his analysis was accurate. But as he said to Heti, at least … there must be a plan.
Heti lowered her head and said in a serious tone, "Yes, I understand."
Gwen nodded, then he turned to the prototype tank and said cheerfully, "Okay, let's give this cold and hard big thing a name —"
Every pair of eyes looked at him expectantly, and he looked up and down at the steel tank.
The squarish armor, the rigid lines, the plain and steady shape, and the straight railgun …
To be honest, it looked like a hammer.
"Let's call it Warhammer, the Warhammer I main battle tank."
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