CHAPTER 149: CHAPTER 147 AWAKENING SALTS AND MAURICE’S ARRAY

"Bang!"

Thirty steps away, the wooden target shook violently, and the shot stones instantly punched over a dozen different-sized holes into the target.

At the side, as the assistant gunner pushed the firing rod back into position, Victor immediately took out a stick-like invigorating snuff from his waist.

After swirling it slightly under his nose, his expression immediately became clearer.

He twisted the spring again, and the gears creaked in succession.

"Bang!"

The target, riddled like a sieve, broke from the middle and fell directly onto the ground.

"How’s it looking?" Horn asked impatiently, crossing his hands behind his back as he stood by.

Lifting the heavy spring-loaded gun, Victor picked up the invigorating snuff that was just given to him and said with a smile, "Your Grace, this thing works better than potions."

The invigorating effect of the snuff exceeded his expectations, eliminating the process of drinking and waiting for it to take effect. The pungent aroma stimulated the brain directly.

After sniffing the snuff, he even felt he could fire another round.

"Sessi, you’ve done a great job," Horn looked at Sessi with satisfaction, "This solid invigorating drug was made in just three days."

Sessi rubbed her hands and stood there, somewhat insecure: "I added Devilwood Tree oil."

"What is Devilwood Tree oil? How is it made? Are you interested in explaining?"

Talking about this, Sessi was no longer groggy and began to explain in detail.

Devilwood Tree oil is produced by heating Devilwood shavings in high-temperature steam.

During this process, the internal fibers gelatinize; after taking it out, pounding it into a paste allows the extraction of a semi-solid, ointment-like oil.

Through Sessi’s explanation, Horn gradually recalled this stuff; this tree is quite common in the southern mountainous regions, having seen it before in the Spider Forest.

Jia Li had also introduced it to him earlier.

The ancestors of this tree were said to be the famous Tree-men during the era before Seven Hills Kingdom.

However, due to a withering disease epidemic, many Tree-men suffered and died, while their descendants decided to coexist with the disease, gradually evolving into their current form.

In a way, Devilwood is a zombified Tree-man, though it cannot move.

The name Devilwood derives from its entirely black appearance and its reputation as useless.

Young Devilwood is still somewhat useful, such as for firewood; but after its three-year maturity period, it rapidly blackens.

Devilwood’s timber quality is very poor, unsuitable for furniture-making; its fragility is only slightly better than charcoal, yet when used for firewood, it emits an inexplicable, pungent odor.

Most often, Devilwood is used to make powders for dispersing termites.

According to Qianqian, some Alchemists during consumer downgrades use Devilwood shavings as low-quality catalysts. Due to its pungent smell, which severely impacts meditation, it’s dubbed "dogwood."

"How did you think of using insect-dispersing medicine for ingestible drugs?"

"Originally, I intended to use Devilwood as a carrier to make applicative invigorating ointment, reducing size for easy carry." Sessi scratched his head, "But I had not anticipated its rapid volatilization upon contact with air. Not wasting it, I applied it to the Holy Gunmen, and surprisingly, its effect was stronger than ordinary invigorating potions, which indeed caught me off guard..."

Horn asked Sessi to rapidly make invigorating potions for Holy Gunmen as he indeed had the demand.

These days, Horn now has thirty-three Kanni Di Type I spring-loaded guns, one high-lever Kanni Di, and one Ferdinand Type I spring-loaded hand cannon.

With these, all mountain copper was used up, his Ferdinand’s Great Bow melted down and replaced with more efficient and portable spring-loaded hand cannon.

Thus, in Horn’s current four major corps, basically, each brigade could be allocated a spring-loaded gun.

In normal circumstances, Horn would still reorganize Holy Gunmen, incorporating them into the Divine Armor Division at a two-to-one ratio of melee to ranged soldiers.

Currently, the Hussite Wagon Fort tactic learned by Divine Armor Division best suits Horn’s situation.

Hiding within armored vehicles, using spring-loaded guns and flails for defensive counter-attacks is very apt for untrained militias.

Yet this tactic also has drawbacks: it requires sufficiently flat terrain for deployment, and ample time to set up.

To Horn, this tactic shares similarities with Great Song, exhibiting poor mobility incapable of pursuing and expanding victories.

This tactic’s largest drawback is in this world, Knights indeed can single-handedly shatter a wagon fort or even leap over it.

Hence, this tactic can only be transitional, with the quintessential musketeer-pike formation needing earlier focus.

Horn didn’t wish to start with the Spanish Great Array.

The Spanish Great Array requires sufficient manpower and extensive training, with a rather rigid formation, leading to not-insignificant resource wastage.

Therefore, Horn leans more toward the Maurice’s Array from Netherlands’s independence war.

During Netherlands’s independence, the soldiers were mostly farmers, merchants, and artisans, not professional soldiers.

Thus, Prince Maurice frequently had to lead a ragtag group trained for only a few weeks against Spain’s battle-hardened troops [Flanders Corps].

To engage Spaniards joyfully, Prince Maurice innovated this streamlined musketeer formation.

Unlike Spanish Great Array, which positions gunmen at four corners, Maurice’s Array places gunmen beside or behind the pike formation.

It reduces the formation size from an array into a thinner line, employing retreating fire and increasing width to enhance front-line fire projection.

The trade-off is significantly reduced defense compared to the Great Array, especially lacking protection against cavalry flank assaults.

Maurice’s Array benefits from lower training time, less equipment investment, and more tactical flexibility.

Compared to the time-intensive Spanish Great Array, Horn believes for now Maurice’s Array can temporarily hold.

Recently, minor influenza outbreaks appeared in the new camp; Horn foresees another batch of Blessed individuals emerging.

Once Grampwen’s wedding concludes tomorrow, Horn must depart the day after, leaving artisans handling spring-loaded guns in the camp.

When war begins, with veteran camp soldiers as gunners and new camp soldiers as pikemen, against infantry opponents, Maurice’s Array holds numerous advantages.

Yet to harness Maurice’s Array’s firepower advantages, Horn faces two significant issues with his spring-loaded guns.

The first issue is the guns’ weight and bore size, leading to only scattershot usage, with projectile energy decay.

This issue can be remedied by the Duke’s blacksmiths; at most, it’s a matter of cost, and Duke Kush, well-stocked in stashed resources for over a hundred years, isn’t concerned.

The second hurdle is firing rate and frequency.

After long training, nearly all Holy Gunmen reached mana levels enabling two to three shots, yet it remains insufficient for complete battles.

Furthermore, their firing rate is relatively low, taking often a minute and a half, sometimes two minutes, for three shots. Horn doesn’t require shooting from start to finish but expects at least completion within a minute.

This isn’t blindly chasing length.

Now, with invigorating snuff, most times allow shooting three rounds within a minute; if necessary, swapping with another enables firing another three rounds.

Satisfying a single campaign closely enough.

Although Sessi, as a Pharmacist, doesn’t discern snuff usefulness’ reason, such situations are commonplace in this era.

As long as it’s effective, let’s continue using it for now.

"Alright, Sessi, in recognition of your contribution, I appoint you the President of Pope Country’s Royal Pharmaceutical Society, with your disciple as its first member."

Handing the appointment letter to Sessi, who accepted the hemp paper with sheer confusion.

"Later, I’ll bring you a merchandise list; do not publicly announce it. Look at what can be used for pharmaceuticals or else interests you; write a report for me."

"Understood."

Feeling invigorated, Horn walked out of the shooting range toward the stable and led out a short riding horse.

"Jeanne, let’s go. We’re heading into town for the alchemy merchandise list."

Calling Jeanne and Qianqian, Horn mounted the horse and rode toward Joan of Arc Castle.

Midway, Jeanne gazed into the distance, shouting, "Look over there."

Looking ahead, faint wisps of black smoke rose behind the small woodland toward Joan of Arc Castle.

Horn slightly frowned.

Rumours said citizen riots yesterday encircled the Duke’s castle, resisting issued war bonds and tax commissioners, dispersing only at sunset.

Uncertain how the Duke managed it or what today’s situation at Joan of Arc Castle entails.