Fun Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord (Novel) - Chapter 91 - A New Weapon and Setting Out Again

Chapter 91 – A New Weapon and Setting Out Again

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Translated by Sylph

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Even if you simply say catapult, there are many different kinds.

There are human-powered ones, ones that use bows or springs, and ones that use counterweights.
They come in many forms and varieties.

Up until now, ours had been an original design that fired using human power and strings made from magical beast hide.

But thanks to this catapult model, I could incorporate a new line of thinking.
I had tried spring-loaded types and slingshot types, but they had not gone well.
In most cases, the ballista had simply been easier to use.

However, with this counterweight-type catapult, if you simply scale it up, both its power and its range increase.

Because its structure is simple, it has continued to be improved over a long period of time, and progress has been made in exploring the most efficient and easiest-to-use structure.

It would have been inefficient to investigate all that from scratch, so while making them myself, I had at the same time asked the Bell-Rango Company to purchase models and design plans.

The result was three catapult models and five design sheets.
With this much, I should be able to make the best catapult possible.

By the way, they had also been searching in parallel for things like gunpowder, but they found nothing.
Regrettably, it seemed it had not spread this far yet.

“Well, moping about it won’t help.”

Muttering that, I began improving the catapult.

From the events this time, I had gotten a rough idea of how high my attacks would have to reach if I wanted to target wyverns in flight.

In reality, they could probably fly even higher, but if they were carrying magicians, I did not think they would fly higher than that.

It was cold, and the air was thin too. Thinking about it that way, there might be limits on their speed as well.

If that was the case, then even a catapult should be able to attack them sufficiently.

The model catapult could be elevated to about forty degrees. When considering flinging things far away, I guessed that you could not set the angle too steeply.

Conversely, if you made it more like a seesaw, the elevation angle became greater, but it would not throw very far. On top of that, it lacked enough power, so there was a possibility it would not reach a high-altitude target.

It had to have height, but also sufficient force.

To achieve both at once, I made countless models.

And what came out of that was Prototype No. 54.

It was the simplest possible counterweight catapult with springs added to secure initial velocity. The elevation angle was, amazingly, around seventy degrees. Even so, it had sufficient height and power, making it a catapult specialized for anti-air use.

What it loaded was a box filled with shuriken. I had improved it so it spread more effectively than before, but it was almost the same thing I had used last time.

The model had gone well, so I tried making a full-sized one, and it turned out even better than I had expected.

The launched shuriken spread beautifully in the air and flew high into the sky.

“Ooh, I can’t see them anymore!”

As I cheered in delight, Dee, wearing a slightly exasperated look, gazed up at the sky and let out a low groan.

“Hmm… this is a truly astonishing device. It flies so high that the hang time is long, but afterward it rains down over a wide area. The larger the enemy army, the more effective it will be.”

I smiled back at Dee’s impression and nodded.

“Yeah. Once it fires, it takes time to prepare again, so you can’t use it for a while, but its power, range, and durability all pass. Until we find gunpowder, let’s make do with this.”

“…Make do, you say. Surely you cannot mean you are still dissatisfied…”

Espada muttered that with a wry smile in response to my words. Most of the others were speechless. Amid them, Till and Kamushin, who were not shaken in the slightest, looked up at the catapult and spoke.

“Even so, it’s huge.”

“Van-sama, how many of these catapults are you going to make?”

“Twenty fixed ones in total for the east, west, south, and north. And for the mobile ones, five for now, I think. Ah, though they might be fine on the flat highway, but taking them all the way to Scudetto could be difficult…?”

“Ah, that’s true, there were some pretty rough roads too. If it’s this big, it might tip over on slopes…”

As Till, Kamushin, Arte, and I exchanged those words, an idea suddenly struck me.

“Right. I can just build them on site. If we’re only transporting materials, we can manage.”

The moment I said that, everyone let out impressed sounds like, “I see!”

These were my own people, but I felt like their senses were getting quite numb.

Thinking that, I looked up at the catapult, which stood fifteen meters tall.

And so, a week passed. At top speed, I installed a new wall and catapults outside the outer wall. I also prepared five additional wagons and loaded them with catapult materials. Since we would also be using the armored wagons from last time, this was an even larger force than before.

“I wanted a little more time to train with the catapults, but it can’t be helped. I’ll go to the site, whip up the catapults real quick, and come right back, so wait for me, okay?”

After saying goodbye to Espada and the others who would remain in the village, I headed out to war again.

“Man. I really had planned never to go to war again.”

At my mutter, Arte knit her brows.

“Exactly. I think providing those ballistas should already be enough. And yet you’re even making new catapults…”

Till nodded in agreement with Arte’s somewhat dissatisfied words. Kamushin looked like he wanted to say something, but he closed his mouth when he saw me.

I gave them a bitter smile and shook my head.

“To be honest, I don’t want to leave my own village either. But if the Kingdom of Yerinetta keeps invading and the towns around Seat Village get taken, it’ll be a problem. If we couldn’t get sugar anymore… it’s terrifying just to think about. So around here, the two places that would be a problem if they fell are Scudetto and Fortress Salz, the defensive base of Count Ferdinand.”

When I said that, Kamushin’s brows tilted in concern.

“But… I think Scudetto has already been taken…”

He pointed that out anxiously, but at those words I gave a deep nod like I had been waiting for them.

“Exactly, and that’s why I’m taking the catapults. After we retake Scudetto, I’ll just loan Scudetto the catapults and ballistas. If we do that, I think it won’t be so easily taken again.”

“I see! If it has Van-sama’s weapons, then it’ll be fine!”

Kamushin answered that with a smile.

Nodding back, I smiled too.

“I’ll loan the ballistas and catapults free of charge. But the arrows and shuriken they use are paid. If we regularly ask adventurers from Seat Village to peddle them there, it’ll become a pretty decent source of income.”

At long last, Seat Village’s regular income.

I couldn’t stop smiling.

“…Van-sama is making an evil laugh…”

“Scudetto and Salz… that means Van-sama’s father and my father will be the ones paying the bill, doesn’t it?”

Till and Arte looked a little put off, but what I was doing was no different from wholesaling swords and armor. It was perfectly honest business.

Well, it would probably be a business no one but me could get into.

“Maybe one gold coin per arrow. As for the shuriken, five silver coins each. If they buy a whole box, I’ll throw in a discount and make it two large gold coins.”

Compared to the materials involved, that was a ridiculous markup.

But Arte nodded with a radiant smile.

“As expected of Van-sama. To sell them so cheaply… you really are thinking of the people who live there, aren’t you?”

“Huh? Ah, yeah, right, yes? Cheap, right?”

“Yes. Considering the power and rarity, I would say they are too cheap.”

Arte declared that flatly. Apparently, they really were too cheap.

Looking at Arte’s smile, I felt bad about raising the price now. I probably should have thought through the pricing more carefully.

Feeling slightly regretful, I headed toward Scudetto once more.