Chapter 431 From the Dawn

In addition to the heavy machine gun with increased firepower, Roland also plans to develop a bolt-action rifle as a supplement for mid- to long-range precision shooting. He does not need to produce too many, just a hundred or so. The caliber is the same as that of a heavy machine gun. With a scope attached, it becomes a simple sniper rifle.

In this way, the production line of revolvers and black powder bullets can continue to be maintained without causing too much waste.

During the battle, field artillery is responsible for suppressing enemies from 1,000 to 800 meters. 800 to 500 meters is the best range for heavy machine guns to harvest. Enemies entering 500 meters are handed over to snipers for roll call, and the last 200 meters are It is a revolver rifle that clears the area. In theory, it can guarantee that there will be no attack pause.

Of course, it may take three to four months to fully realize this configuration, which may not be able to catch up with the spring offensive, so he also needs another piece of equipment to make up for the lack of offensive firepower - a river gunboat equipped with a 152mm long-barreled gun. As long as there is one, it can cause great psychological pressure on the enemy when taking the initiative to attack.

When he thought about the city founding ceremony that would be held after the evil month to unify the entire Western Territory, plus the need to oust Tifeko from the throne and accept the new influx of people, Roland felt that the tasks on his shoulders were getting heavier and heavier. He even hoped that It would be nice if time passes slower and the evil month doesn't end so quickly.

*********************

After entering the border of the West Territory, the surrounding scene becomes different.

Otto Losi lifted up the wooden board of the window and looked outside. He saw that the sky and the earth were completely white. The sky was covered with dense snowflakes, which swayed and rotated in the biting cold wind, and finally merged into this white.

The heavy snow seemed to never let up. In the two days of sailing, he had not seen any other scenery. Everything here was covered with snow, whether it was soil, rocks, or woods-if the ship hadn't been rocking all the time, He didn't even feel like he was moving forward at all.

"Lower the window," the captain said angrily. "If you really want to see it, you can go to the deck and see it. No one will stop you."

"Has it always been like this here?" He closed the wooden board nonchalantly.

"Of course, you think I can't bluff you," the other party held the wine bottle and took a sip. "Every year when the Demonic Moon comes, the Western Territory will be closed by heavy snow. There is no other way to reach it except Chishui River. And you are willing to risk death "There won't be more than ten people running this route in good weather and with ships in hand in the entire capital." He burped, "So five golden dragons is a very reasonable price, do you understand?"

"It's a bit expensive, but I didn't bargain when I paid," Otto smiled.

"This answer is quite reasonable," the captain threw the wine bottle over, "It's warm, take a few sips, it can ward off the cold." He wiped his mouth and said, "There were such businessmen before, who wanted to be earlier than anyone else. He rushed to the west to buy goods, but he couldn't bear the extra shipping fee, so he found a group of rats in the black street to give him a gift. What was the result? He was wiped on the neck halfway, and the two or three mercenaries he brought with him were not at all It doesn’t work, so it’s all fed to the fish.”

"That's... really unfortunate." After Otto took the wine bottle, he did not pull out the cork and pour it into his mouth. Instead, he took off his gloves and put them in his hands - he was really not used to drinking from the same vessel with others. .

"One price, one product. This principle is the same everywhere. There are always people who think they can take advantage of it. He also doesn't think about it. If the mice can deliver goods stably at such a low price, our shipping company will have to be disbanded. ?" The captain pouted, "Speaking of which, what kind of business do you want to do in the Western Region? Don't blame me for not reminding you. In the past, this ghost place often produced some jewelry and furs, but now you can't buy anything."

"Oh?" Otto pretended to be curious, "As far as I know, don't they make a living by doing this? Are all the people in the West becoming bandits now?"

"Those are all old news." The captain put his pipe to the charcoal brazier, lit it, and took a deep puff. "Ever since the fourth prince entered Border Town, the Western Region has become weird. You know, whether it's furs or jewelry , are all produced in that small town. No one knows what he is doing in the territory. The entire business is almost inaccessible. There are still jewelry for sale in Changsong Fortress, but the nobles have their own fixed channels. You can’t get involved.”

"Only in and out?" He asked in surprise.

"Yes, although you can't buy specialties, the business of the merchants who bring the goods to sell is still quite good. Whether it is food, clothes, cloth or groceries, they can basically sell them cleanly. I don't know where the fourth prince came from. There are so many golden dragons collected." The captain blew out a smoke ring, "So you will probably return empty-handed this time."

Otto pretended to be worried about gain and loss and did not answer any more - in fact, he didn't care whether he would return empty-handed. There was only one real purpose of this trip, and that was to meet the lord of Border Town. Because of Roland Wimbledon's identity as a traitor to the king, he could not go as an envoy with great fanfare, so he had to disguise himself as a businessman and rush to the border lightly.

Before setting off, he had carefully researched the destination.

As its name suggests, this is an insignificant border town in a neighboring country. It was originally built to monitor the invasion of evil beasts, and was later changed to a permanent residence. It stands to reason that the princes who were entrusted to such a place were those who were extremely disliked by the king and were left to fend for themselves. Judging from the reputation of the fourth prince, it was quite consistent.

But the problem is that not only has he established a firm foothold in the Western Territory, but he has also posed a great threat to the new king. This is the most difficult thing for Otto to understand. If the fourth prince really has such ability, how can he stay? He made such disgraceful comments and was kicked by the king to a remote place?

According to the information obtained, the rise of Roland Wimbledon is simply incredible.

A year ago, he was assigned to Border Town. In fact, it was more like an exile. There are no ministers accompanying him, no guards of his own, and even the knights around him are sent by the king. It was difficult for such a weak team to even convince the local nobles, let alone implement their own policies. This enfeoffment was also discussed as a joke by most people.

However, just six months later, the fourth prince defeated Duke Lane's invasion, sent troops to capture the Longsong Fortress, and became the true ruler of the Western Territory. There are various theories about this battle among the people. Some people say that the Duke died from internal rebellion, while others say that he died from his horse slipping, which led to the Knights losing to a group of miners.

After that, Roland sat firmly in the position of Guardian of the Western Territory. The war caused by the King's Order intensified. The eldest prince Goron and the third princess Garcia died one after another. The whereabouts of the fifth princess Tilly was unknown. The cities in the southern and eastern territories were in continuous chaos. It was destroyed in the war, and only the Western Territory was safe.

This is definitely not because Tifeko is benevolent, but because there has been no news from the crusade teams sent out by the new king many times. Otto was very curious about this. What did Roland do to cultivate such a group of fierce warriors?

"Boss, Border Town is just ahead," the sailor opened the hatch and said, "We're almost there."

"Oh, we're finally here!" The captain knocked on his pipe, "Lower the sails, hoist the flag, and tell the dock that we're here! After landing, I have to find a tavern to have a few drinks." He looked at Otto, "Hey, don't Forgot to bring your luggage. See you in two days. If you don't arrive on time, I won't wait for you."

Otto shrugged and said he had no objection.

Among the various news about the fourth prince, there was another rumor that made him particularly concerned, that is, Roland had surrendered to the devil and was secretly recruiting witches. This was the real reason why he was able to quickly defeat the Duke and occupy the entire Western Territory. The fortress church was burned down, the priest was killed, and the believers were driven out of the territory. This is evidence.

In fact, this rumor was also the reason why he made up his mind to come here.

He doesn't care if the other party has a deal with the devil or recruits witches, as long as the other party has a grudge against the church.

At this point, Roland has a greater appetite for the Kingdom of Dawn than Tifeko.

With a violent shudder in the cabin, the sailboat docked.

.