Chapter 1208: Van’er’s Gun

They went to the Second Mechanic Plant the next day at noon, Jop leading.

Lafite, Jop’s brother, listened to Van’er’s proposal with the focused attention of a man who had been waiting for someone to ask him to do exactly this. He turned the rifle over in his hands — affectionately, the way a craftsman handles something he already understands — then looked up. “Are we really allowed to do this? I was a miner before. What I do now is manual work, sharpening and slicing. If I ruin it…”

“Brother.” Jop stopped him flatly.

“One or two guns won’t cause a problem,” Van’er said. “They break in training all the time. If you break several, it just means my design doesn’t work. I won’t blame you.”

Lafite nodded, his excitement surfacing. “Then leave it to me. Machine tools here aren’t always free, but I’ll work around that.”

“Your brother really loves flintlocks,” Cat’s Claw murmured to Jop.

“That’s not unusual,” Rodney said. “Who doesn’t? We used to swing swords and spears. Now we fire cannons and rifles.”

Van’er felt the same way. Watching a 12-pound field artillery piece demonstrate its full power had changed something in him, settled a preference he hadn’t known he had. He opened the leather bag his friends had brought, produced a disabled HMG, and handed Lafite a metal tube. “Let’s begin.”

The rifle barrel was soon clamped to the drilling machine.

Lafite switched it on, aligned the drill with the mark on the barrel, and drew it slowly down. When the bit touched metal, the barrel shed tiny bright chips in spiraling cascades.

Van’er watched with the absorbed attention of a man encountering something for the first time. He knew intellectually that steam engines and Longsong Cannons were made from metal ingots, but knowing it and watching it were not the same thing. The iron softened and dissolved into new shapes under the drill. It was quietly astonishing — how something so rigid could be made to yield.

Lafite explained as he worked. The machine tools in the Second Mechanic Plant were all third-generation, powered by Dawn I. Compared to the old steam-driven models, these were steadier and quieter, available at any hour. The most skilled workers could carve intricate patterns onto an iron rod the width of a fingernail.

Van’er did not need that level of precision. He had spent the night revising his plan, stripping it back: use the fewest resources to reach the goal, keep the transformation simple, avoid disrupting the plant’s normal work. He had brought the air duct from a Mark I for exactly that reason — a ready-made component that would shortcut the whole procedure.

With a sample air duct, igniting the gunpowder was straightforward. The harder problem was sustaining a steady rate of fire.

He had been fascinated by the HMGs for a long time, had handled them repeatedly during the war of the North Slope. One thing was certain: the Mark I was far larger than a rifle because its recoil system was far more complex. The two weapons also loaded differently — machine guns required a cartridge belt, rifles a clip. Copying the whole model wholesale was impossible. And even if it had been possible, Iron Axe and Brian would never have permitted the artillery to carry heavy machine gun components.

The upgrade had to live in the barrel alone.

“That’s about it,” Lafite said, wiping the drill clean and holding the air duct and rifle barrel together against the light. “Same length once we cut the excess.”

“Don’t connect them yet,” Van’er said, and produced a folded piece of paper from his pocket. He spread it on the workbench. “I need you to make this spare part as well.”

The sketch was crude — an arc-shaped piece roughly one finger long and two fingers wide, a groove running down its middle.

“What is that?” the other officers asked. “It doesn’t look like any gun part.”

Van’er was not entirely sure it would work. The idea had come to him in the small hours, one of those proposals that feel either brilliant or absurd depending on the angle of morning light. But he could not retract now, so he said, “Ahem. If everything goes well, I believe this part will replace our hands.”

Five days later, soldiers from the Artillery Battalion gathered at the First Army’s shooting range.

Word had spread through the barracks: a new flintlock was under test — one that could sustain steady fire. Unlike every other weapon the army fielded, this one had not come from His Majesty. Commander Van’er had invented it himself. Soldiers came in on their breaks, curious, skeptical, wanting to see the thing with their own eyes.

What they saw silenced the skepticism. The weapon fired steadily — it jammed occasionally, yes — but as long as the user kept pulling the trigger, it ejected bullets in sequence. Unlike the revolving rifle’s five-round capacity, this gun could fire twenty. Multiple guns firing together would approach the effect of an HMG.

“I can’t believe you actually made it work,” Cat’s Claw said, visibly impressed. “Now I understand why Sir Iron Axe made you commander.”

“His Majesty taught me everything,” Van’er said. The pride in his voice was genuine, and he made no effort to hide it. “He always says to apply what you learn from books to real work. I simply did what he told us.” He had not expected it to come together so quickly — five days, and the prototype functioned. A few adjustments and the Artillery Battalion could significantly increase their firepower at minimal cost.

“Are you Commander Van’er?”

Van’er turned. A lean man stood behind him, unhurried, a rifle slung over one shoulder.

“I’m Danny, sniper team. I saw the crowd and came to investigate. I’m on duty today.” A brief pause. “Can I try the weapon?”

“The sniper team?” Jop repeated, and cut a glance at Van’er.

Van’er knew exactly who the sniper team were. Brian had handpicked every one of them from the Gun Battalion’s best. They had distinguished themselves at the Coldwind Ridge against the church, received a medal from His Majesty personally. They were the elite’s elite, and their endorsement carried weight that no formal report could match.

He read the eager expressions on Jop’s and Cat’s Claw’s faces. The thought had already formed fully in his own mind: if the sniper team used a weapon designed by the Artillery Battalion, the score between the two battalions shifted.

He smiled. “Of course. Please go ahead.”

Chapter 1208: Van’er’s Gun

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn The next day at noon, they went to the Second Mechanic Plant in the industrial zone with Jop. After hearing the purpose of their trip, Jop’s brother, Lafite, showed great interest in Van’er’s proposal. He took Van’er’s rifle and fiddled the weapon affectionately before he asked, “Are we really allowed to do this? I was a miner, and what I’m now doing is simply some manual labor like sharpening and slicing. If I screw it up…” “Brother!” Jop stopped him indignantly. “One or two shouldn’t be a problem. Guns break easily after all since we use them a lot during the training,” Van’er said. “However, if you break a lot, then it means that my method doesn’t work. I won’t blame you.” “I see,” Lafite said while nodding in excitement. “Then leave it to me! I’ll do my best, as machine tools in the plant aren’t always available.” “Your brother seems to like flintlocks very much,” Cat’s Claw whispered to Jop. “That’s nothing unusual,” Rodney rejoined. “Who doesn’t like powerful weapons? We used to flail swords and spears. Now we fire cannons and guns.” Van’er also thought the same way. After witnessing the true power of the 12- pound field artillery, he gradually fell in love with weapons. Van’er opened the leather bag his friends brought with them, took out a disabled HMG and then handed a metal tube to Lafite. Van’er said, “Let’s begin.” … The barrel of the rifle was soon fixed to a drilling machine. Lafite turned on the machine, aligned the drill with the mark on the barrel, and slowly moved the drill downwards. When the drill touched the barrel, the metal tube splintered into numerous tiny chips. It was a new experience for Van’er. Although he knew that both the steam engine and the Longsong Cannons were made of metal ingots, it was his first time witnessing the actual production. He was amazed when seeing the robust iron gradually melt and dissolve into various shapes. According to Lafite, the machine tools in the Second Mechanic Plant were all in their third generation powered by Dawn I. Compared to the old machine tools driven by steam engines, the new ones were much more steady and quiet. In addition, they could start working anytime. Some skillful workers could even carve intricate patterns on a tiny iron rod the size of a fingernail. Yet Van’er did not require such exquisite skills. After reflecting upon his proposal for a night, he redrafted his plan. The principle was to use the least resources to attain his goal. The transformation of the gun should be simple and must not interfere with the daily operation of the plant. As such, he brought the air duct of Mark I, in a hope of simplifying the procedure and saving time. With a sample air duct, they could then easily ignite gunpowder. The problem, nonetheless, was how to keep up a steady fire. Van’er had developed a great interest in the HMGs used by the Gun Battalion a long time ago. During the war of the North Slope, he had played with those machine guns many times. One thing that Van’er was certain was that Mark I was much larger than rifles because it had a much more complicated recoil system. Further, the loading systems of the two weapons were also quite different. Machine guns required a cartridge, whereas rifles were only equipped with a clip. Therefore, it was impossible to copy the whole model. Even if his method worked, Iron Axe and Brian would not allow the artillery to use heavy machine gun parts. The best way to upgrade rifles was to just upgrade the barrel. “That’s pretty much it…” Lafite said as he cleansed the drill and compared the air duct and the rifle against the sunlight. “These two barrels should be about the same length once we cut off the excessive part.” “Don’t connect them as yet,” Van’er stopped Lafite as he produced a piece of paper from his pocket and spread it out. “I want you to help me to make this spare part as well.” There was a crude diagram on the paper. The part was in the shape of an arc, about one finger long and two fingers wide, with a groove in the middle. “What’s that?” the other officers asked curiously. “It doesn’t look like a gun part.” Van’er was not sure if this part would really work. It was simply one of his wild ideas that had yet been verified. However, he must not retract, so he said, “Ahem… if everything goes well, I believe this new part will replace our hands.” … Five days later, many soldiers from the Artillery Battalion gathered at the First Army’s shooting range. They had learned from their superiors that a new flintlock that would enable the artillery to keep up a steady fire was currently under test. Unlike all the other weapons widely used by the army, this weapon was invented by Commander Van’er instead of His Majesty. Many soldiers were intrigued by the news and came to see what this new weapon looked like during their break. To their dismay, the weapon under test could indeed fire steadily, although it did, from time to time, got jammed. As long as the user continuously pulled the trigger, the gun could eject multiple bullets at a time. Unlike the revolving rifles that could only fire five bullets, this upgraded one could fire 20, which would almost rival an HMG if multiple such upgraded guns fired at the same time. “I can’t believe that you really made it,” Cat’s Claw remarked impressively. “Now I know why Sir Iron Axe chose you to be the commander.” “His Majesty taught me all this. Doesn’t he always say that we need to apply what we learn from books to actual work? I simply did what His Majesty told us to,” Van’er said triumphantly. He had not expected that his plan would work so well. Within just five days, he had created a new weapon. Next, they would only need to make a few adjustments and the Artillery Battalion would be able to increase the power of their guns significantly at a minimal cost. “Are you Commander Van’er?” someone asked suddenly. “Yes, you are…” Van’er said as he turned around. “I’m Danny, a member of the sniper team,” the man said with a smile. “I saw a lot of people here, so I came to see what’s going on. I’m on duty today… Can I try out your new weapon?” “The sniper team?” Jop echoed, a little surprised, and then cast a glance at Van’er, “Chief — ” Van’er knew that every single member of the sniper team was an elite picked by Brian from the Gun Battalion. The sniper team made its fame through the battle against the church at the Coldwind Ridge. They received a medal from His Majesty for their outstanding performance. They were the best among the best and were also highly respected among the soldiers. If this new weapon caught the attention of the sniper team, wouldn’t there be a possibility that the Artillery Battalion could finally overpower the Gun Battalion? In response to Jop and Cat’s Claw’s eager look, Van’er replied with a faint smile, “Of course. Please go ahead.”