Chapter 122 The 1st Teaching Assault Battalion of the Guard

The afternoon sun streamed through the wide glass windows of the studio, shining on Morin.

Helga had already left, excited, rushing to the temporary workshop Cecilia had prepared for her in the suburbs.

Morin was left alone in the spacious studio.

He didn’t idle. Instead, he spread out an equally massive blueprint on another clean work table.

It was the design draft for the ‘shaped charge anti-armor warhead’ he had created earlier.

After communicating with Patricia and being inspired by the [Arcane Spark] synchronized detonation technology, the system had immediately optimized the technology.

What Morin needed to do now was to incorporate the newly optimized [Arcane Spark Detonation Fuse] from the system into the ‘shaped charge anti-armor warhead’ blueprint.

Unlike the purely mechanical impact fuse used before, the new [Arcane Spark Detonation Fuse] was much more complex in structure.

Its core was a trigger device composed of miniature brilliant crystal shards and etched arcane circuits.

When the warhead impacted the target, the arcane crystal at the tip of the fuse would be compressed, generating an extremely weak mana signal.

This mana signal would instantly activate the miniature arcane circuit.

Then, the arcane circuit would simultaneously generate [Arcane Sparks] at six preset detonation points within the warhead, ultimately detonating the entire explosive charge in perfect synchronization…

And during this drawing process, Morin was surprised to discover that the underlying logic and structure of this so-called [Arcane Spark] spell model were unexpectedly simple.

One could even say it was not a profound form of ‘magic’ at all.

It seemed more like… a type of energy application technology based on specific rules.

Morin was certain that even if he hadn’t awakened as a spellcaster, but was merely an ordinary person who had received the Empire’s higher education, he could have completely figured out this spell model, given enough time and resources.

This further confirmed his earlier suspicion.

The so-called learning threshold for arcane technology was artificially inflated by the Mage community purely to maintain their monopoly.

They used cryptic language and cumbersome rituals to package a branch of engineering technology, which could easily be popularized, as a mysterious form of magic that only the ‘chosen ones’ could master.

“A bunch of damned academic barons.”

Morin cursed silently, but the speed of his writing increased.

Two hours later, Morin finally completed the update of the blueprint.

He meticulously checked it once, ensured there were no omissions, then carefully rolled up the brand-new blueprint and placed it in a drawing tube.

Checking the time—it was almost time to clock off. The Imperial Patent Office certainly wouldn’t work overtime…

He didn’t delay. He immediately got into the manor’s car and rushed to the Imperial Patent Office just before closing time, delivering the updated blueprint.

It was the familiar ‘State Secret Patent’ review room.

And it was still the white-haired but energetic elder, Hoche Kruger.

When Mr. Kruger saw Morin return and hand him an updated blueprint, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

“Captain Morin, you are perfectly timed.”

The old man said, putting on his reading glasses and carefully unrolling the new blueprint.

“Were you about to close for the day?”

“…”

Kruger paused, then burst into laughter:

“Hahahaha, of course not! I was just planning to find a time to send someone specifically to ask you about the reliability of the fuse!”

“After all, the purely mechanical fuse you designed before, while cleverly structured, theoretically had little chance of achieving 100% synchronized detonation under high-speed impact.”

“I didn’t expect you to have already updated it yourself.”

Mr. Kruger’s attention was quickly drawn to the novel [Arcane Spark Detonation Fuse] on the blueprint.

He examined it very closely. As a state secret review specialist for the Patent Office, he had extensive knowledge of both arcane technology and conventional technology.

Soon, the expression on his face shifted from initial surprise to deep admiration.

“Genius… truly a genius concept!”

After a long moment, he looked up, his eyes filled with undisguised appreciation for Morin.

“Utilizing arcane technology to overcome the limitations of a mechanical structure—that concept is utterly brilliant!”

“Captain Morin, I am genuinely curious: how did you come up with this idea? And how were you able to draw out the general structure?”

Faced with the elder’s praise and questions, Morin could only offer vague, evasive answers.

He couldn’t exactly tell him he had a cheat system and a recently acquired ‘blonde technical consultant,’ could he?

“Perhaps I believe I also have a little bit of talent in arcane technology development.”

Mr. Kruger was amused by his response.

“Captain Morin, you are much more sly than you let on.”

He shook his head with a smile, then rolled up the blueprint again.

“However, your new proposal truly resolves our greatest concern.”

“But at the same time…”

His expression became serious again.

“If arcane technology is involved, I’m afraid the subsequent review and validation will require negotiation with the Imperial Arcane Technology Research Institute.”

“As you know, those Mages are not easy to deal with.”

The old man’s words carried a hint of frustration.

Clearly, the Patent Office had its share of wrangling with the arrogant Mages from the Institute.

However, Morin’s face took on a look of ‘not my problem.’

“Mr. Kruger, that no longer concerns me.”

He spread his hands in a gesture of passing the buck.

“I am only responsible for providing the technology and the ideas.”

“I trust that if the military genuinely values this project, they will find a way to deal with the Institute.”

“After all, this weapon is intended for use by the Imperial Army, isn’t it?”

Mr. Kruger looked at Morin’s cunning expression. He first paused, then couldn’t help but smile.

He naturally understood Morin’s intent.

By doing this, Morin was kicking the ball into the court of the War Office and the General Staff.

Letting the military go head-to-head with the Mage community.

“Alright, I’ll take the blueprint.”

Mr. Kruger placed the drawing tube aside.

“We will handle the subsequent matters. You can rest easy and wait for good news. Due to the large amount, the patent compensation will be paid in five installments…”

Morin paused at the last sentence. Installment payments?

But at least the money was coming, so it wasn’t a dealbreaker.

“Thank you very much, Mr. Kruger.”

Morin left the Patent Office fully satisfied.

He believed that, faced with a weapon capable of neutralizing Armored Knights, neither the War Office nor the General Staff—including the Teutonic Knight Order—could possibly remain indifferent.

The next morning, when Morin woke up, a notification flashed in the 【Magic】 tab.

【1st-Circle Spell – Detect Life Learning Progress: 100%】

Success!

Morin’s heart leaped, and he immediately opened his system panel.

He hadn’t been idle during his days in Dresden.

By day, he was busy running around, poaching talent, setting up his weapons manufacturing company, and planning the Assault Battalion…

By night, when his body entered physiological sleep, his consciousness was studying new spells through the night.

Currently, the official spells recorded in his ‘My Spellbook’ had reached seven.

【1st-Circle Spells: Shield, Mage Armor, Expeditious Retreat, Sleep, Detect Life】

【2nd-Circle Spells: Invisibility, Misty Step】

And during the nightly spell study sessions, his character experience was slowly increasing.

However, the speed of this increase was disappointingly slow.

It was like playing a certain grinding tank game he knew from his past life.

Without consuming experience books, relying solely on the meager base experience gained from each battle, training crew skills to one hundred percent was a long and grueling process…

He was still almost half a bar of experience away from reaching Level 4 Mage status.

“It seems the fastest way is still to capture a Mage’s magical notes…”

This thought flashed through Morin’s mind again.

The experience boost provided by one High-Level Mage’s notebook was far quicker than his own laborious meditation and study.

Morin thought this while getting out of bed.

He changed into a crisp service uniform. After a quick breakfast in the dining room, he carried a number of documents regarding the Assault Battalion’s formation and headed to the War Office building again.

This time, he wasn’t waiting in the hall but was immediately led by an Army officer to a conference room on the third floor.

Opening the door, he knew his guess was correct.

Besides the Lieutenant Colonel who handled personnel, there were five other junior officers in the conference room.

Seeing Morin enter, the Lieutenant Colonel immediately stood up, a warm smile on his face.

“First Lieutenant Morin… I mean, Captain now. The formal promotion procedures are complete. The updated information, along with the corresponding rank insignia and other items, will be issued soon.”

The Lieutenant Colonel then led Morin to the five junior officers and introduced them one by one.

“This is Captain Ewald von Kleist.”

The Lieutenant Colonel pointed to a tall, serious-looking officer, who appeared to be around thirty-seven or thirty-eight, radiating an aura of ‘keep your distance.’

“He comes from the 1st Dresden Guard Infantry Regiment, 1st Guard Brigade, 1st Guard Division, of the Guard Corps. He will serve as your Chief Assistant, the Executive Officer of the Teaching Assault Battalion.”

Captain von Kleist gave Morin an impeccable military salute, his movements textbook perfect.

Morin could sense that this was a very typical, almost rigid, Saxon soldier.

Serious, disciplined, but undoubtedly solid in his professional abilities.

“And these gentlemen are…”

The Lieutenant Colonel pointed to the other four.

A First Lieutenant and a Second Lieutenant would serve as the Battalion’s Medical Officers.

A Second Lieutenant would serve as the Battalion’s Veterinary Officer—because, according to the structure, the Battalion’s Quartermaster unit would be equipped with a large number of pack horses and draft horses.

The last one was a slightly younger First Lieutenant, with a hint of scholarly refinement on his face.

“This is First Lieutenant—your Operations Staff Officer—specially transferred by the General Staff for your Assault Battalion. He will assist you in formulating complex attack plans.”

Morin was somewhat surprised.

Being assigned a dedicated Operations Staff Officer was typically a privilege reserved for Regimental-level units in the Saxon Army.

It seemed the General Staff and His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince truly had high hopes for his ‘Teaching Assault Battalion.’

And the five newly transferred officers all shared one common characteristic.

They were, without exception, Junker nobles from the Dresden region.

The kind of ‘Old Dresden Black Eagle’ bloodline whose families had served in the military for three generations, utterly pure in their lineage.

(End of this Chapter)

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