CHAPTER 356: CHAPTER 235 TEST CROSSBOW ARROW

"Hmm, not bad!" Maximus nodded in approval as his gaze swept towards the bow tip. "I only mentioned this briefly on the blueprint; I didn’t expect you to actually build this recurve bow. It must have taken quite a bit of time, right?"

"With your guidance, leader, crafting the bow tail in this shape was actually quite straightforward. We merely needed to place the shaped bow wood tail into hot water to steam and soften it, then immediately press and mold it into shape. It didn’t take much time at all; we even specially crafted curved wooden supports for this purpose."

Sistos pointed to the bow on the crossbow head and continued explaining, "The real challenge was deciding what type of wood to use for this bow. We spent considerable time on this. After repeated testing, everyone felt that yew wood offered the best elasticity.

We even conducted shooting tests comparing the recurve bow and a non-recurve bow. The recurve bow proved to have greater elasticity, shooting farther and providing much stronger force behind the crossbow arrow..."

Maximus listened intently, while reaching out to hook and pull the bowstring. "Is this bowstring made of hemp?"

"Yes, leader." Sistos quickly elaborated, "Although the tribe’s flax supply has long been exhausted, we preserved the bowstrings from the previous crossbow cannons during their transformation into crossbows. We took those strings to the weaving workshop, had them shortened, refined, re-twisted, and tightly wound. Afterwards, they were soaked in oil to make what you see now. This gives the bowstring improved durability and density, enabling it to withstand the strong tension of the crossbow arm."

Maximus continued to listen while reaching out with his right hand to grab the bowstring. When he had pulled it halfway, it became noticeably difficult. Despite not being as proficient in swordsmanship as Spartacus or Cross, Maximus had a robust build honed through years of gladiatorial training, which he’d maintained even after leading his troops, granting him substantial strength. Yet, single-handedly pulling the string proved challenging.

Unwilling to lose face publicly, he mustered extra force and finally managed to pull the string back to the crossbow mechanism, where it securely latched onto the hook.

This sudden exertion without preparation resulted in minor muscle strain in his right hand, prompting him to shake out the soreness and laugh self-deprecatingly, "The tension on this crossbow is truly something!"

"Leader! Your strength is truly incredible—none of us can manage single-handed stringing." Sistos loudly applauded as he received another newly crafted crossbow from a nearby artisan. Bracing its tail-end against his abdomen and gripping the bowstring with both hands, Sistos pulled back forcefully—managing to string it far more easily.

Maximus followed suit.

The new crossbow measured 1.2 meters in bow span, with the crossbow arm at 0.75 meters—not particularly large nor heavy. Its tail-end had been specifically smoothed to avoid discomfort when using the abdomen for bracing. The abdomen served not only as a support point but also as part of the force exertion, combining the strength of both hands and the core muscles. This method was far less strenuous.

After successfully stringing the crossbow again, Maximus remained a tad uncertain, turning back to instruct one of his attendants: "Marcus, give it a try."

"Yes, leader." Marcus, one of the new Secretary Department attendant members appointed after Akegu and Casius took up their new positions, stepped forward. As the sixteen-year-old son of engineer Calpurnius Scapula, his body had yet to fully develop and his strength was insufficient. He struggled significantly before managing to string the bow.

If a kid lacking strength could do it, so could elders—or even women with long agricultural labor experience... Maximus’ concerns dissipated. He picked up one of the crossbow arrows lying on the wooden table.

The crossbow arrow measured roughly 0.6 meters in length with a slender wooden shaft. Its fletching was short, consisting of only two feathers; the arrowhead was long, triangular, and finely polished to a shimmering sharpness. A gentle touch caused a pricking sensation.

Maximus inserted the arrow into the slide groove of the crossbow arm, turned toward the shooting range beyond the wooden barrier, and said, "Begin testing."

"Yes, leader!" Sistos asked eagerly, "What range do you want for the target?"

"Place it thirty meters away first."

Soon enough, an empty patch of grass was marked with a human-height, rectangular wooden target. Crafted from oak approximately an adult’s thumb thickness, it was tightly wrapped in dried cowhide.

Maximus held the crossbow steady with his left hand under the arm and his right finger on the trigger, carefully leveling the bow. He closed his left eye, widened his right eye, and focused on the sight above the trigger mechanism. Adjusting the arm’s angle, he aimed at the target ahead and gently pulled the trigger.

A sudden vibration from the arm followed by a sharp "whoosh" reverberated, and cheers erupted from behind.

Focusing closely, Maximus saw the arrow embedded firmly in the target’s center.

His men raced to retrieve the target for him to inspect: The arrow had not just pierced the bullseye but had torn through the dried cowhide and oak, with the arrowhead protruding from the back entirely.

Maximus, who had seen the power of crossbows on television in his previous life, maintained his composure. However, his attendants accompanying him to the iron workshop couldn’t help but marvel, "This crossbow is incredible! If this arrow struck a person, wouldn’t it penetrate their entire chest?"

"Absolutely! Leader told us this crossbow could break armor, and we found it hard to believe back then. But repeated testing proved it could do just that. Leader, the weapon you designed is truly lethal!" Sistos exclaimed loudly.

Maximus calmly asked, "Can it break through iron armor?"

Sistos hesitated, his earlier excitement fading: "...It can break iron armor in... certain situations. We tested it against the thick ring arm armor worn by Roman Legion Soldiers—out of ten arrows fired, approximately three were able to pierce through.

Even then, these three could only create small tears, with the arrow tips penetrating the skin and damaging the muscle tissue...

But that alone is impressive! Even a javelin thrown with full strength cannot completely pierce Roman Soldiers’ iron armor. We can continue to improve—by enhancing the bow’s elasticity, adding weight to the arrowheads, and performing more refining strikes on the arrowheads. I believe its armor-breaking capability will keep improving!"

Maximus nodded and turned back toward the shooting range. "Continue testing—this time at forty meters."

At forty meters, the crossbow’s accuracy remained notably high, and the arrowhead still penetrated the wood plank, though the hits tended to shift lower on the target;

At fifty meters, accuracy stayed strong, but the hits dropped further and the arrowhead protruded only halfway through the wooden target;

At sixty meters, Maximus had to raise the crossbow arm to maintain accuracy; the arrow deeply embedded into the target but couldn’t pierce it;

At seventy and eighty meters, the arrowheads still managed to impale the target...

But at one hundred meters, the accuracy significantly dropped—out of ten shots, only one managed to hit the target...

Sistos noticed Maximus holding the crossbow thoughtfully, and quickly added, "Leader, after multiple tests, we determined that this crossbow can shoot up to 150 meters, but its effective killing range stops at 80 meters. Within this range, the closer the enemy gets, the greater the lethality of the crossbow arrows.

We’re planning to focus future improvements on the bow itself—to enhance its curvature, making it even more robust and elastic. That would increase its effective killing range even further."

"You can pursue those improvements, but this crossbow is already excellent as it is!" Maximus finally smiled, though still harboring a trace of regret: As expected, crossbows cannot fire projectiles effectively through arcing trajectories.

As targets got further away, the downward drop of crossbow arrows during flight became increasingly pronounced. Maintaining accuracy required continually raising the firing angle, eventually turning it into an arc shot. From this vantage, Maximus observed the destabilized arrow flight during its rise and descent—not only missing the mark but at times failing to ensure the arrowhead struck first...

In his previous life, Maximus had designed illustrations for upgrading military technology in the game "Civilization Conquest," during which he learned that crossbow arrows typically have two-feathered tails for optimal alignment with the slide groove, allowing for straight propulsion. However, this design compromised stability during ascending and descending flight compared to the three-feathered arrows...

Maximus continued, "A range of 80 meters is already very good. If enemies approach our crossbow soldiers from this distance, how many arrows can they fire in that time? Have you tested this?"

"Yes! Yes!" Sistos hurried to respond, "If Roman Legion Soldiers charge from 80 meters, with their attack speed we can fire four to five arrows; against lightly armed Pannonia warriors, we can fire two to three arrows. Those with greater strength and familiarity with crossbows might fire faster—though it would rarely be more than one arrow faster."

"Your previous tests were extremely thorough!" Maximus nodded in approval, raising the crossbow and addressing the group of artisans: "Can this new weapon be quickly mass-produced?"

Kadesos, the Public Works Department official responsible for iron production, stepped forward and reported, "Ever since you issued this directive, leader, our iron workshop has dedicated efforts toward achieving that goal. We’ve divided the tasks into two main groups: Iron and Wood. The Iron group is further split into subgroups for crossbow mechanisms and arrowheads.

The most intricate component, the crossbow mechanism, is led by Sistos and staffed with fifty highly skilled blacksmiths who focus solely on refining the assembly process. Each has now mastered crafting qualified crossbow mechanisms proficiently. Going forward, if each blacksmith is paired with two apprentices and provided with pig iron rough billets pre-molded, they can produce fifty complete sets of crossbow mechanisms within two days;

As for arrowhead casting, it’s even more straightforward. We’ve prepared fifty molding templates; pig iron chunks are melted in specialized crucibles at high temperatures, poured into the molds for preliminary shaping, and then repeatedly polished—a task apprentices can handle. This subgroup is staffed by three blacksmiths and 20 apprentices, capable of casting 100 arrowheads within two days."