Chapter 15: The Birth of the Machine Gun
“Is it tasty?”
Eliza gently picked up a green vegetable and fed it into her little son’s mouth.
“Burp! It’s so delicious, Mother!”
Coy, lying on the bed, answered with a hoarse voice.
He obediently opened his mouth again, waiting for his dear mother to continue feeding him.
This scene of maternal kindness and filial piety would have been very heartwarming—if one ignored Coy’s swollen bottom and eyes puffed up like walnuts.
“That’s right, that’s my good boy. From now on, you’re not allowed to make Mother angry anymore, understand?”
“Coy understands! From now on, if there’s something tasty, I’ll let Mother eat first, then Sister, then Sister Anna, then Sister Betty, and only then I’ll eat...”
Eliza happily planted a kiss on her son’s head.
“Such a good boy! From now on, Coy is a grown-up. You must protect Mother and your sisters, understood?”
Anna came in carrying a tray and pressed a hot towel onto Coy’s bottom.
“Ow!!! I understand, I understand! Mother, I love you!!!”
“......”
“Is the connecting rod’s quality still not up to standard?”
Mitia looked at the fractured steel connecting rod in her hand, her expression rather grave.
This was the most important internal part of their new Maxim machine gun.
With the spring and the crank-connecting rod mechanism, the recoil generated by the firing of a bullet completed shell extraction and ejection, while simultaneously chambering the next round.
All these mechanical movements chained together formed the principle of a machine gun’s continuous fire.
Who would have thought they didn’t get stuck on the difficulty of manufacturing the spring, but instead on the material performance of the connecting rod...
“Yes, Lady Mitia. And the production of copper cartridges still hasn’t increased. The debugging of the steam-powered machine tools also needs more time.”
Mitia was somewhat speechless.
The information the system had given her was based on what could be used in her previous life, but here, even if the formulas had met standards in her past world, they turned out unqualified in this one.
The two worlds still had subtle differences in their rules.
Magic crystal powder had immense power, but it also demanded extremely high standards from the materials.
Its detonation released two different kinds of energy.
The first wave was a chaotic elemental outburst, followed by the second wave, the explosive shockwave.
This required the materials not only to withstand magical damage but also to resist the secondary explosion, keeping the force compressed in a confined space to be transformed into kinetic energy.
With the materials they had, manufacturing single-shot rifles was fine, but for machine guns under continuous high-frequency fire, the fatigue resistance of the material just couldn’t keep up.
The Maxim’s toggle-joint structure relied entirely on the toggle spring and the locking plate for extraction, chambering, and locking.
Under high-intensity impact, the locking plate would fail to close tightly, twisting and leaking gas, which would increase the pressure discharge.
Naturally, the toggle connecting rod behind it would then snap.
Mitia thought for a moment and asked, “If we don’t consider replacing the material and just manufacture it like this, how long could one machine gun last in continuous use?”
The dwarf craftsman instinctively answered, “Ten minutes. At most around ten minutes before the toggle breaks, then it must be disassembled and replaced with a new one.”
Mitia decisively said, “Then build it like this! Adjust the manufacturing process of the metal cartridge cases as quickly as possible. We don’t have much time.”
If it could last for ten minutes, that was enough.
At worst, they could just make more of them and use them as disposable heavy weapons.
Having some was better than having none, right?
On her way back inside the manor, Mitia went to see the group of children they had taken in earlier.
After five years, they had all grown into half-grown youths.
Their spirits and appearances were worlds apart from when they first came to Mitia for refuge.
Seeing them studying diligently, a satisfied smile appeared on Mitia’s face.
If she had brought technology, then these children were the seeds of science.
They were the source of motivation that would allow science to continue advancing.
A short-haired girl, sensing something, turned her head toward the window.
When she saw it was Mitia, the cold expression on her delicate face suddenly blossomed into a radiant smile.
Mitia: “......”
That icy face bore at least seven or eight parts resemblance to Mitia’s own usual expression.
She almost suspected that this was not her sworn younger sister, but her own biological daughter.
“Betty!”
The school bell rang.
The girl walked out of the classroom, her eyes locked straight on Mitia.
When Mitia waved, she immediately dashed forward eagerly: “Sister!”
Mitia caught her in passing and lifted her slightly.
That once scrawny, yellow-haired little girl now carried some weight.
She raised her hand to stroke it.
There were still calluses, but those came from long hours of training with guns and swords.
This filled her with a strong sense of accomplishment.
“Let’s go. Your godmother asked me to bring you back for dinner.”
“Alright.”
Royal Palace of Ovinia
Ovinia III put down the letter in his hand and rubbed his brow.
“Marquis Hendak really said that? That he cannot spare troops?!”
The envoy from Hendak, bowing deeply, did not answer.
But his posture already made it quite clear.
“Good! Very good indeed!”
Ovinia III, furious to the point of laughter, fumed.
These border lords, one after another, not a single one took his words seriously.
Mitia was like this, Hendak was like this!
His father had really left him a huge problem.
But truth be told, he didn’t dare to act rashly against Hendak.
Not only was Hendak an old noble family, but his territory also shielded Ovinia from the armies of two kingdoms.
Strictly speaking, they really couldn’t spare troops to help him quell the rebellion.
Still, though he could understand, he found such lords who followed orders only when it suited them utterly intolerable.
“Your Majesty, our Sivius Family has always been loyal to you and is willing to follow all of Your Majesty’s commands.”
Fortunately, another envoy stepped forward.
The envoy from Sivius spoke with a smiling, respectful face, which slightly cooled Ovinia III’s rage.
In truth, Sivius did not wish to get involved either, but their territory was situated right behind Astal lands.
After Astal’s defection, they had suddenly become the border’s front-line fortress.
Who could withstand that pressure?
Before, with Astal holding the frontline, they hadn’t invested much effort into city defense, focusing instead on commerce and industry using the advantage of the river.
In terms of military power, at best they could serve as a relay station, providing some grain supplies to other lords.
Anything beyond that was impossible.
So as long as Astal remained unreclaimed, they couldn’t sleep soundly, fearing Astal might do something outrageous like allowing Paria troops to pass through.
This was in fact the true reason why Mitia dared to rebel and challenge authority.
At worst, she would just have to face the inland counties sending their troops against her.
As a border lord, her combat power—even before industrialization—was not weaker than those pampered inland soldiers.
Now, with industrial advances, she had even less reason to fear.
As long as she didn’t truly reach the point of threatening the Ovinia Royal Capital, the other border lords would not take her too seriously.
Still, she did not want to make enemies on all sides.
While appeasing the Hendak Family, she also secretly established contact with her former foes, the Milves and Campbellus lords.
After dinner, Mitia began writing letters to the two lords.
Beside her, Anna, after reading them, still looked somewhat doubtful and softly asked:
“Milady, will the Parians really agree not to send troops? And can we trust their promise?”
Mitia smiled faintly.
“Humans are complicated creatures. They may endure a trial today, but betray tomorrow.”
“An enemy on the battlefield yesterday could very well become an ally in politics tomorrow. So there is nothing that cannot be trusted, as long as the benefits of cooperation outweigh the gains of betrayal.”
Over the years, the three sides had already established some level of civil cooperation.
Secretly forming a short-term alliance was feasible.
She herself would not withdraw too many soldiers from Uruk, merely pulling back some as a mobile force just in case.
She wasn’t worried they would take advantage of it.