"… What I mean is to install this monocular on the new rifle and use it as a sighting device. The lenses of the monocular will be engraved with two crosses. When the sniper is about to aim and shoot, the crosses on the front and back lenses of the monocular will coincide with the target. Then, he can pull the trigger and kill a target three to four hundred meters away.
This isn't the standard rifle of an ordinary soldier, but a sniper rifle. The sharpshooters among the soldiers with the best marksmanship are chosen to use this custom-made sniper rifle to kill the enemy's commanding officer on the battlefield, causing confusion among the enemy …
Claude wiped the sweat off his forehead. At that moment, he really regretted that he chose to study computer application management in his previous life instead of mechanical chemistry or engineering.
With the new rifle and the telescope, he naturally wanted to combine the two to make a specialized sniper rifle.
However, even though he had this concept in his mind, it was difficult for him to describe it in detail so that his sister Anna and Madam Sonia could understand the characteristics of the sniper rifle. Both parties finally completed their discussion on the sniper rifle.
"All you had to do was tell us that you wanted the rifle to have a firing range of three to four hundred metres. You nagged for a long time before you finally made it clear that it's just that the naked eye can't aim too far away and we need to use the telescope. Is there anything else I need to take note of?" Sonia grumbled.
Claude smiled apologetically. "Perhaps you can try lengthening the barrel. Also, the bullets need to be specially made to ensure that they hit from a distance. You can try lengthening the cartridge to increase the amount of propellant.
Also, you can try changing the rifling in the barrel to see if it can increase the stability and range of the bullets.
That's all I've thought of. I'll be relying on the two of you to experiment.
"Time is a little tight, dear. I'm sorry to trouble you.
But we don't have a choice. The Shiksans are coming with a ferocious aura and are prepared to take over the entire theatre. This is a test of life and death for our theatre, so I have to think of a way to increase our chances of victory.
"In the mountains, a good sniper rifle is equivalent to a cannon. It might even be more of a threat than a cannon.
A few hidden snipers are like emissaries of the Grim Reaper to the enemy. "
While Claude made it sound as if the enemy could be annihilated with a flick of his finger, Claude's words didn't make it any easier.
In fact, he knew in his heart that this battle would not be easy.
Therefore, other than spending the night at home with his wife and children at the end of the year, he devoted the rest of his time to work frantically.
Most importantly, Madam Sonia had moved Angelina's laboratory from the ranch to Port Vebator's Blackstone Firearms Workshop. This was because Madam Sonia had become the person in charge of the workshop. In order to produce the new rifles at full capacity, the workshop needed to install two production lines and train more than three thousand new employees. She was so busy that she couldn't travel back and forth between the two places, let alone do her experiments in peace in the laboratory.
Since Sonia's rich experience in gunsmithing couldn't be separated from her guidance, Claude decided to move Angelina's laboratory to the gunsmith workshop.
In any case, Myjack was currently leading Thunderbolt 131 to guard the firearms manufacturing workshop. This could also be considered as a way for the two of them to reunite.
His mother had been nagging him for a long time about why his sister wasn't pregnant even after so many years of marriage.
Apart from producing the new rifles, the gunsmith workshop had also successfully developed a new type of weapon: landmines. That was rather simple. Angelina and Sonia only took three to four days to complete it.
There were two types of landmines. One was a pressure mine that was buried in the ground and would explode the moment someone stepped on it.
The other was a trip mine. As the name suggested, a line was attached to it and the moment someone stepped on it, the mine would explode.
Claude had originally wanted to research on landmines and jump mines. The former would cause a lot of trouble when a fleet landed.
However, he couldn't figure out how a mine floated on the surface of the water, nor how a ship would explode when it collided with a mine.
The same went for jump mines. They were the most lethal landmines.
Claude had read on the forums in his previous life that they would explode in mid-air after being triggered. The steel balls in the mines would deal heavy damage to everything within a thirty meter radius.
The problem was that he didn't understand the principles behind the jump mines, not even with Angelina's alchemical formations.
The third type of weapon was the sniper rifle Claude was talking about. With the new rifles as a foundation, Claude believed that the development of a sniper rifle would be completed in no time.
Not to mention, he didn't need a modern sniper rifle that could kill an enemy from eight or twelve hundred meters away. All he needed was a sniper rifle that could accurately hit an enemy from four hundred meters away. He believed that Angelina and Sonia wouldn't disappoint him and would be able to produce a suitable sniper rifle in a short time.
Claude planned to form a sniper brigade in Thunderbolt with Bloweyk in command. It could be considered a special forces unit of this era.
When the time allowed, Claude would select some of the best in Thunderbolt to form a special force. That way, they would be able to carry out decapitation missions or wreak havoc behind enemy lines.
Perhaps in a few decades or a century, Claude would be crowned as the father of snipers and the father of special forces by his descendants.
It was now the second month of Year 593 of the Sacred Light Calendar. In a little more than a month, it would be April and Shiks' standing corps would arrive at Cape Loducus. However, it was unknown how many of them would be the first to arrive.
The spies sent by theatre command's intelligence department had already sent an eagle message saying that Shiks' vanguard had arrived at Cape Loducus at the end of last year and were busy hiring laborers to build the barracks and warehouses.
It was said that the local Foksislanders and local officials had a tacit understanding that it would be a waste not to take advantage of them and tripled the cost of materials and manpower.
The war theatre's spies had no choice but to accept the Shiksans' employment to help build the camp in exchange for a living. Their messages to the harriers complained that they couldn't even afford to buy beef to feed the eagles with the meager salary they received.
These spies were sent in the name of the Buffalo Trading Company to open a branch in the Cape Loducus Colony, mainly to discuss the deal for the 30,000 barrels of low-strength ale ordered.
They complained in the eagle message that the locals were given a certain quota every month and could get their daily necessities at a low price, so they wouldn't be affected by the soaring prices.
The rest of the outsiders were affected by the Shiksans and could only buy food at a high price.
What they regretted now was that the ale from the colonies was sold too cheaply and the Shiksans drank it like water.
A cup of water in the city was more expensive than the ale because it required charcoal to boil water and charcoal was expensive too.
The good news was that the Shiksans placed an order for another 50,000 barrels of ale and the price was raised by a third thanks to their persuasion.
The Shiksans were probably shocked by the rising prices in the city, so the ale became the cheapest and most delicious choice in their eyes.
Apart from complaining about the soaring prices and the ale deal, the spies made another suggestion.
When the Shiksans' vanguard arrived in Cape Loducus at the end of last year, they hired laborers to build barracks and warehouses.
The warehouses were more or less complete. Merchant ships from various colonies on the west coast would arrive every day to deliver thousands of meals and countless other daily necessities to the Shiksan vanguard.
The spies got familiar with the Shiksans' vanguard and heard them complain about the mission Majid III gave them to gather rations in the colonies and wait for the kingdom's standing corps to arrive.
They thought the mission would be easy to accomplish, but when they arrived, they found that the rations in the cities weren't as much as they thought. The reason for that was complicated.
Since the colonies on the West Coast had maintained peace for 20 to 30 years, although there were conflicts between them, they were basically small skirmishes that could be quickly resolved through negotiations.
Coupled with the fact that there weren't any natural or man-made disasters, the food production in the colonies was stable enough to satisfy the needs of the locals.
Most of the farmers liked to grow cash crops, which were the main source of income for the countries on Freia.
Majid III had given the vanguard the order to buy a million pushils worth of rations, but when they arrived, they found that it wasn't possible to buy that much.
They had no choice but to buy the next year's crop at a price that was two or three times higher to entice the farmers to plant more.
They complained that in the West Coast colonies the coarse potatoes they bought fetched the price of flour.
The spies found that the Shiksans' vanguard had built a warehouse with a lot of rations and necessities, so they suggested infiltrating the warehouse and burning the rations to give the Shiksans a taste of their own medicine.
However, the theatre quickly rejected the suggestion. The reason was simple. The lease agreement between Shiks and Fochs hadn't come into effect yet, so Cape Loducus was still under Fochs' jurisdiction.
If a fire broke out, Fochs would get involved in the investigation.
If they found out that the theatre had sent someone to start the fire, the theatre would be held accountable and asked for compensation.
It wasn't that the theatre was afraid of offending Fochs, but that there was no need to add more trouble to the theatre.
Ever since the civil war broke out between the two kings, Aueras, which used to be the strongest country in Eastern Freia, became a small fry that everyone could bully.
Had it not been for the theatre's record of three victories in the war against Shiks, other countries might have set their sights on the colonies.
If Stellin X was still alive and the civil war didn't break out, Fochs wouldn't have rented Cape Loducus for Shiks to gather their forces.
Their strongest forces were their four naval fleets and their land warfare was a mess.
But now, of the two Aueran naval fleets, Dauntless had been destroyed and Storm had fallen into the hands of the rebellious Prince Hansbach.
The entire kingdom and the colonies were in a situation where the sea was defenseless. They could only strengthen the defenses of the coastal areas to prevent attacks and dangers from the sea …
The lease agreement between Shiks and Fochs would only come into effect after the first batch of standing corps landed.
For five years, apart from the citizens of Cape Loducus who were still under the jurisdiction of Fochs, all other colonies outside the city would be under Shiks' jurisdiction.
Even if the theatre sent troops into Cape Loducus to fight the Shiksans to the death, the citizens would only cheer from the walls to show their neutrality and not get involved in the war.
So, there would be plenty of opportunities to burn down the Shiksan warehouses in the future. Setting them on fire now wouldn't be worth it. Even if they did, it would only raise the enemy's suspicions and they would strengthen the defenses around the warehouses, which would make future attacks more inconvenient.
According to Bolonik's plan, the new rifles produced by the gunsmiths would be given to the Thundercrash Regiment to strengthen their offensive capabilities.
However, Claude rejected that arrangement. He insisted on splitting the new rifles equally between the two corps and giving them to the strongest units first.
What he was considering was that in the following battles in the mountainous areas, not only would they need to attack, but they would also need troops who were good at defense to coordinate with them.
The two corps would be equipped with battalions, and it was only to be expected that the units equipped with the new rifles would have a huge boost in combat effectiveness.
The first battalion of Monolith to be equipped with the new rifles set up a defensive position on flat ground and successfully withstood the attacks of two lines.
In the end, a folk was sent in during the drill and the cannons of the entire division were concentrated to take down the defensive position.
The drill also strengthened the resolve of the officers in theatre command to defeat the Shiksans.
The battlefield would be in the mountains, unlike the drill where it would be on flat ground. The enemy wouldn't be able to draw fire from the front and flank the flanks. They could only take down the hills one by one to ensure the safety of their advance.
Claude left Myjack, Moriad, Berklin and a few other lackeys in charge of training the corps in the mountains while he went to the gunsmiths to develop new weapons with Sonia and Angelina in hopes that they would be effective in the upcoming battle.
However, just as the sniper rifle was about to be completed, Claude received a messenger hawk from theatre command. It was an urgent one with three hawk feathers attached to it.
The letter stated that the nikancha nation had sent a large diplomatic mission to request for help.
It seemed that the nikancha nation had received news of the Shiksans' return from the west coast. They were probably frightened by the ten standing corps and 600,000 soldiers.
Based on what the theatre knew, the nikancha nation didn't have an official national army.
Each of the six largest settlements had an armed force of more than ten thousand people.
The twenty or so vassal tribes under them had five to three thousand young men. The tribes below them only had around a thousand or a few hundred guards.
The armed forces referred to the nikancha youths who had undergone basic military training and were equipped with firearms, not the young men wielding bows and spears.
It was obvious that the nikancha nation didn't lack clear-headed people. They knew that the armed forces of their settlements wouldn't be able to stop the Shiksans' attack.
They didn't have cannons and the strongest weapons they had were the Shiksan muskets they acquired from the theatre.
Even though they were on the same level as the enemy in terms of muskets, the enemy was well-trained and armed. They also had all sorts of cannons to support them.
Given the standard of the soldiers in their settlements who had only undergone short-term military training, they weren't a match for the Shiksans.
So, they could only place their hopes on the theatre's assistance. They also knew that it wouldn't end well for them if they fell into the hands of the Shiksans.
No matter how shameless they were, they weren't willing to become Shiksans' slaves again.
The diplomatic mission involved almost half of the elders and chiefs of the six largest settlements in hopes of reaching an agreement with the theatre. It would be best if the theatre could send troops to join the battle.