Chapter 398 - 146: Weapons

Chapter 398: Chapter 146: Weapons

After Marquis Oscillate left, Robson and Valentino eagerly boarded a carriage.

A coachman drove them to the national armory of the Frank Kingdom.

The Frank Kingdom lived up to its reputation as a nation perpetually prepared for war. It had over a dozen warehouses just for storage.

The entire national armory was as large as the Edward Manor, nearly half the size of the Royal Palace.

It seemed the national armory was expecting them, as people were already waiting at the entrance.

"Excuse me, are you General Robson?"

The speaker was a middle-aged man in a nobleman’s robes.

Almost every prominent figure in the Royal Capital had been at last night’s banquet.

The news of Robson’s appointment as general had spread throughout the Royal Capital overnight.

Robson smiled, nodded, and handed over the letter he was carrying.

The middle-aged man took the letter, opened it, glanced at it, and immediately broke into a wide smile.

"General Robson, I am Oslo, the one in charge of the national armory for today.

Your exploits are known throughout the Royal Capital. Welcome to the national armory," Oslo said.

"They were just a few minor stratagems, nothing worth mentioning.

Please, lead the way, Mr. Oslo," Robson said with a smile.

....

Oslo led the two of them, and they soon stepped inside the armory.

The space inside the armory was even larger than Robson had imagined. He almost felt like he was browsing a shopping mall, as if he and Valentino were there to shop for merchandise—it was just that the merchandise was a bit odd.

Inside the armory, countless boxes were on display. Swords and leather armor were arranged on both sides.

They all gleamed with a silvery light, a clear sign that they were well-protected.

"According to His Majesty and the Marquis’s instructions, you have the right to select three thousand sets of arms.

Six hundred sets of finely crafted iron armor. And for reference, we count one set of horse barding as the equivalent of a full suit of armor."

Oslo explained as he led Robson and the others on a tour.

"Sorry, Mr. Oslo, I’d like to ask.

Can we open these boxes to have a look?" Robson asked.

"In principle, no.

You know, if every general did this, it would be very difficult for the Kingdom Government.

Of course, you are a general of the kingdom. If you insist on opening one or two to look, there’s nothing we can do," Oslo said with a small smile.

As if afraid Robson wouldn’t understand, Oslo gestured with the letter in his hand.

Robson got the message. ’In principle, no,’ meant, ’Go right ahead.’

Opening the boxes on either side, he looked at the leather armor and swords protected by Magic within.

Robson picked one up to test its feel.

’The quality of things from the Royal Capital really is on another level.’

’This equipment is far better than what Affleck’s soldiers are using.’

The weapons and leather armor in the several boxes he opened in succession were all of surprisingly high quality.

’Could it be? Here, right under the king’s nose, the government is actually becoming efficient?’

This scene completely baffled Robson.

’In his experience, the Kingdom Government had never been this efficient!’

This equipment could only be described as excellent; even some of the lesser Knight Orders could use it without issue.

Thinking about the numerous warehouses he’d seen, Robson figured out the reason.

’Marquis Oscillate’s letter must be working its magic.’

’If there are good armories, there must be bad ones too. It only makes sense.’

"Can I pick out the equipment myself?" Robson asked.

’Since the Kingdom Government is being so generous, why not ask them to be a little more generous to me?’

’Weapons are meant for the battlefield, sooner or later. Better to give them to me, Lord Robson, than to anyone else.’

Oslo’s smile never wavered.

"You know, generally speaking, we don’t allow it.

If everyone did this, it would make things very difficult for the Kingdom Government.

But, sometimes, we do allow generals to choose some of their weapons."

’That means I can pick whatever I want!’

Robson nodded in satisfaction.

’Prestige is an ephemeral thing, but sometimes, it really does work wonders.’

"You two, if you’re done looking here, we’ll head to the heavy weapons section next," Oslo said with a smile.

"Heavy weapons?"

Robson latched onto the key word.

"What kind of heavy weapons?"

In this era, the category of "heavy weapons" was quite broad.

It could mean Magic Crystal Cannons, bed crossbows, Simple Catapults...

’Or it could just mean things like hammers. After all, hammers are pretty heavy, too.’

"Our definition of heavy weapons generally refers to Magic Crystal Cannons and the like."

Magic Crystal Cannons!

’They have goodies like that!’

Robson’s eyes lit up.

’He, Lord Robson, was an expert with Magic Crystal Cannons. Back on the Western Front, he had made his name by relying on them.’

’Once all the human reinforcements arrive, we’ll be the ones on the attack.’

’The Beastmen have cities too. When the tables are turned and we’re the ones attacking, using Magic Crystal Cannons to breach the walls and clear a path should be incredibly effective.’

"In that case, let’s go see the heavy weapons first.

I still think heavy weapons are more important."

The moment he heard there were Magic Crystal Cannons, Robson lost all interest in the armor and blades.

’Armor... the whole warehouse is full of top-quality stuff anyway. I can just pick some out later. Compared to that, the Magic Crystal Cannons are far more important.’

Oslo nodded and led the two of them away. After passing through several doors, they arrived in an even more spacious area.

The moment he entered, Robson saw the Magic Arrays laid out all around.

The security level here was much higher than in the armory where the armor was stored.

There were no wooden boxes inside here. Everything was covered with cloth.

The rises and falls of the fabric revealed the shapes of the weapons hidden underneath.

Magic Crystal Cannons, Magic Bed Crossbows, and even a considerable number of Magic Crossbows...

The Magic Crossbows weren’t covered, and Robson stepped forward out of curiosity.

This time, the Magic Crossbows weren’t made by the Edward family. They were from the royal house of Tilia. There were even a few Dwarf-made Magic Crystal Cannons.

’Does the Frank Kingdom trade with the Dwarves?’

Robson stopped looking at the Magic Crossbows. As good as they were, they were useless against heavy shields and could only fire two volleys.

’The most useful weapon has to be the Magic Crystal Cannon!’

This time Robson didn’t even ask Oslo, and directly lifted the cloth wrapped around a Magic Crystal Cannon.

"Hiss..."

Looking at the gleaming, well-oiled Magic Crystal Cannon, Robson could only imagine how beautiful the Energy Balls it would fire would be.

"How many Magic Crystal Cannons can I choose?" Robson asked.

"Apologies, General, but we haven’t received notice that you are permitted to take any Magic Crystal Cannons."

Robson froze and looked at Oslo.

Only to see Oslo pick up that envelope again.

"Well... the armory must report a few units damaged each year, right?"

"Indeed. We have losses of three to four units every year."

"This year is special. Hmm, we’ve had a... rat problem.

Besides, the weather this year has been erratic, hot one day and cold the next. The Magic Crystal Cannons surely couldn’t handle it. A lot of them must be damaged.

So, let’s just write these off as this year’s losses," Robson suggested, the process clearly familiar to him.