Chapter 252 — The Molten-Cut Sword and the Patrol
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 4
"The mechanical structure is too complex, its stability poor, maintenance difficult, and cost high—it's hard to mass-produce. Moreover, the repulsion mechanism at this stage still generates fairly significant mechanical vibration, which would affect the soldiers' use," Gao Yang said, shaking his head. "Don't forget what I first reminded you: only weapons that can be mass-produced are good weapons. That needs one more clause: only equipment that can withstand harsh environments is good equipment. Unfortunately, the mechanical sword satisfies neither of those two points... at least, not with our current technology.
"A sword has to collide with an opponent's weapon or armor frequently, and under repeated impacts, the gears and linkages inside the hilt will easily fail. What's more, a moving serrated structure means something more fragile and more prone to wear. Even if we mass-produced the thing at any cost, a few sawing strokes against armor on the battlefield and the teeth would break—what use would it have then?"
Byron was stunned for a moment, then finally realized the enormous problem in all this: "That's right! I never thought of that..."
But Gao Yang did not consider this Byron's fault. It was true that he was experienced, but once brand-new magic-energy industrial technology entered the picture, his judgment was bound to stumble. He had only seen that the magic-energy engines were immensely powerful—how could he know exactly how the delicate components inside the machines operated?
To be honest, rejecting the mechanical sword proposal left Gao Yang rather regretful. A chainsword whose steel teeth spin with every turn of the engine is a man's romance—but the industrial foundation at this stage simply could not support such a thing. If he really created that "man's romance" and sent it onto the battlefield, it would probably romance itself to pieces...
Yet compared with the mechanical sword and its obvious flaws, the molten-cut sword concept was quite feasible.
Using runes to heat things was nothing rare—the reaction vessels in the alchemy factory were already being heated with fire runes. The only problem was that ordinary fire-rune heating devices could produce only a few hundred degrees, nowhere near enough to melt metal. But Rebecca had lately been improving fire-element magic circles; she was trying to simplify the common trap formation known as "Scorched Land" into a universal rune set, and apply the simplified set in the steelworks to replace the firewood and charcoal still burned in the forging furnaces. Word had it she was close to success.
No doubt the runesmiths had hit upon the idea of using fire runes to make high-heat blades only after hearing that news.
"Think more about the molten-cut sword—it's a good path," Gao Yang said, handing the blueprints back to Byron. Watching the other man put them away, he suddenly asked offhandedly, "By the way, I see the weapon category provisionally listed in the proposal is a one-handed sword?"
"Oh, right, the one-handed sword," Byron said, nodding as he rolled up the blueprints. "The soldiers' magic-conduit terminals are now fitted with force-field shields, which means they have a shield available at any moment on the battlefield. So in melee combat, the stance of sword in one hand and shield in the other is the most useful. Sir Philip has recently begun training in that area."
Sir Philip, who had been watching Gao Yang and Byron study the blueprints with curiosity and had said nothing for quite a while, finally broke his silence. He nodded: "I've been having the soldiers train in combat with force-field shields and ordinary one-handed swords. The force-field shield has no weight, and unlike an ordinary shield it doesn't obstruct one's line of sight, so the content of combat training has to be rethought entirely."