Chapter 1270 - 1192: Holy Alliance Army Reform
The shooting range of the Mechanical Palace is hidden on the east side of the firearm research institute not far from the Mechanical Palace.
It is an open space surrounded by high walls.
One end of the open space is lined with densely packed steel targets, many of which still bear old bullet holes with oxidized rust.
The ground at the other end is paved with flat bluestone slabs, and there is a rail on which small carts deliver larger firearms for testing.
Ever since the ether clock provided these firearm artisans with a vast amount of energy, they have gone crazy over the application of clockwork.
A variety of strange and wonderful firearms have emerged one after another, and some of them even made Horn’s eyes light up.
Unfortunately, these firearms cannot be used outside the ry Court Barracks, as each must be equipped with a clock tuner, otherwise, even winding the clockwork becomes a major issue.
As Horn led the group into the shooting range, two ordnance officers wearing gray overalls were already waiting.
"Let’s test the Blood Contract Gun first." Horn walked to the table where the Blood Contract Gun was placed and gently tapped the barrel with his finger.
The barrel was icy cold, with a faint blood hue and intricate carvings on its body.
An elder from the Sorrido Clan followed over, bent down, and fiddled with the trigger of the Blood Contract Gun: "Let me do it."
Saying so, he entwined the blood vine around his arm, and the blood immediately flowed into the blood bottle along this natural pipeline.
This is actually one of the drawbacks of the Blood Contract Gun, much like the match cord of a matchlock gun; operating the blood vine is an extremely troublesome task.
These blood vines are living entities requiring careful upkeep, and if placed too closely, they will fight each other.
Thus, formations cannot be as tight as Horn’s.
The Sorrido elder was already accustomed to the blood loss, only frowning slightly.
"Ready?" Horn nodded toward the steel targets.
The elder nodded, shouldered the Blood Contract Gun, and braced the stock against his shoulder.
This gun is considerably heavier than the front-loading Kanni Di; a human can lift it, but with great difficulty.
But for a vampire, although this weight is heavy, it’s actually manageable.
As the finger squeezed the trigger, a muffled sound suddenly rang out in the shooting range.
Horn was close enough to hear that it wasn’t the crisp "bang" of a clockwork gun, but a sticky "pop."
It was as if a ripe fruit burst open, with a cloud of dark red blood mist spraying from the barrel.
The pungent smell immediately spread and lingered on the bluestone, not dissipating for a long time.
The group subconsciously stepped back half a step, with only Monica remaining unfazed, seemingly accustomed to the smell.
Looking again at the steel target, the lead bullet struck near the edge of the bullseye, with tiny cracks radiating around the impact point.
Indeed, it also has armor-piercing capabilities.
The Sorrido elder fired four or five more times before his face paled, and he set the Blood Contract Gun down.
"What’s the range?" A secret staff officer immediately pulled out a piece of parchment and a charcoal pencil, the pencil tip hovering over the paper.
"Maximum effective range of 200 meters, with an effective kill range of 100 to 150 meters," one armorer immediately reported.
"Much stronger than the one Danio brought before," Horn crouched down, looking at the traces left by the blood mist on the ground, "Serafe’s firearms are progressing quickly."
"Indeed." The Sorrido Clan elder replied with both pride and helplessness, "She is a once-in-a-century genius of our clan."
"Is it not the wisdom of that one?" Horn pointed to the sky with his finger.
The Sorrido Clan elder shook his head: "Your Grace, you might have misunderstood, but even that one would be limited by the flesh.
At most, they can reach the limits of a vampire genius. If she truly reclaimed her true soul, that would surpass all wisdom."
The conversation between the two left the others in confusion, only Hilov, who accompanied them, seemed thoughtful.
Horn didn’t continue the conversation but instead asked Bernardo, "What do the secret staff think?"
"Your Grace, we must admit that, despite its flaws, the Blood Contract Gun is equally formidable."
"Why?"
"Even without considering their speed of evolution, there is one point sufficient." Bernardo raised one finger, "Previously, our enemies would never use firearms, but now..."
This hit the mark, as the Holy Alliance once faced an enemy with a generational gap.
In other words, the Holy Alliance’s military technology was at a nascent stage of burgeoning productivity, while the Empire’s military technology had developed to the limits of old productivity.
Initially, there seemed to be little difference between the two sides.
But as things progressed, the crushing characteristics of burgeoning productivity became apparent.
The Holy Alliance could maintain an advantageous position on the battlefield, with only temporary pressure, never constant pressure.
However, with the Royal Court equipped with Blood Contract Guns, it was different.
Horn’s military saw a clockwork gun revolution, and Serafe also had a revolution with the Blood Contract Gun.
Not discussing other aspects, for now, the clockwork gun is superior to the Blood Contract Gun, but the Royal Court can field many more soldiers using Blood Contract Guns than the Holy Alliance.
To date, the Holy Alliance might have hundreds of thousands to millions of Blessed across the nation.
A considerable portion is used for industrial production, with fewer available to serve as soldiers than imagined.
However, it is foreseeable that in the coming years, this number will increase significantly.
Because Falan has completely lifted the restriction on monster meat, frantically exchanging it for Holy Favor Seeds to form the Falan Royal Gun Squad.
In contrast, the Royal Court has at least twenty million vampires capable of using Blood Contract Guns, with male and female vampires exhibiting no difference in combat performance.
Even if Serafe could mobilize one-tenth, two million vampires, it would still be ten times the theoretical value of the Holy Alliance.
The Blood Contract Gun, as opposed to the clockwork gun, undoubtedly lags, but both belong to the same technological era.
Plus, the Royal Court’s accumulation over the years provided a solid foundation.
With Serafe uniting the fragmented state of the Royal Court, this immense pressure descends again on each Imperial person’s head.
As for the Empire’s side, Horn didn’t even want to speak.
It can be foreseen that without cooperation with the Empire, defeating the Royal Court is impossible.
With cooperation, the immense insect-like feeling of the Empire would again descend on Horn’s head.
As he explained to the crowd, Horn snapped his fingers.
Numerous secret monks appeared from both sides and began distributing copies of the plan to the attending high monks.
"Since we are facing a new mode of war, the army naturally needs to adapt and adjust."
"The old forms of combat and battle tactics need certain changes, for example, we can partially phase out spearmen."
Looking at the reports in their hands, these high monks suddenly understood; His Grace had come prepared, engaging in a preemptive strike.
"From this confrontation, it is clear that as extraordinary power becomes more widespread, advanced extraordinary power begins to lose its significance."
Simply put, as the army’s attacking ability increases, it inevitably leads to the scaling and professionalization of soldiers.
The essence of this is that armor is supplemented by health points.
And who provides these health points? It can only be through large-scale conscription.
On the battlefield, lives are the health points.
If we do not want the children of the Thousand River Valley, who have just started to enjoy better days, to continue shedding endless blood.
Then breakthroughs in military miracles are necessary, and both military organization and tactics need to evolve.
Horn originally intended to let them evolve naturally, as accelerating growth is not ideal.
The Holy Alliance, in fact, is the result of his forced growth, full of hidden dangers and compromises in every aspect.
In his opinion, he preferred more arguments within the Cardinal Group over the current state.
Maybe it was because he was too often right, with too many victories, plus the Holy Alliance had been under Horn’s direct control since infancy.
But can Horn easily lift this despotic control?
Probably not.
To a large extent, the current Holy Alliance retains many systems that Horn considers outdated.
Many local nobles and landlords, as well as rural gentry, remain famous local gentry and continue to be revered.
Even numerous industrial and commercial nobles are seen as superior among other businessmen, forming their own small groups.
The most typical is the Kush Foundation founded by Grandmother Vivian.
The Holy Alliance moved too fast and needs to wait for its era.
Unfortunately, time waits for no one, so Horn had to invoke the name of the Saint’s Grandson once more.
"I am preparing for military reform! I will focus my energy on military affairs!"