"How..."
What a beautiful weapon... no... what a beautiful work of art!
The elves exclaimed in admiration, and at this moment, the test on the magic screen entered the next stage.
Since the first round of tests compared the range, the next step is naturally to compare other aspects - for example, the rate of fire.
As for the firing rate, there is no doubt that the longbow archer can only have a slightly better firing rate when shooting at a target 100 meters away.
But this is only temporary - after all, elves are also living creatures, and as long as they are living creatures, their physical strength is limited.
After all, the longbow is still too troublesome to use overall.
After shooting the arrow, you need to re-route the arrow and pull the bow, re-aim, accumulate strength, and finally make adjustments based on the differences between your fingers and the arrow feathers.
After drawing the bow many times, even an elf would feel a little tired.
And what about the "gun"
After aiming for the first time, you shoot directly. After shooting, you pull the bolt and then shoot a second time, a third time, a fourth time, a fifth time, a sixth time - then quickly reload, shoot again, and repeat the cycle.
There is no loss of physical strength during this period. If there is any downside, it is probably that the sound of gunfire seems a bit too harsh...
And then? Nothing.
The second round of testing ended with the bow and arrow's complete failure.
In the third round of usability testing that followed, when the old elves saw the tester hand the gun directly to a five-year-old child to operate, and the child actually completed a full set of shooting movements, they realized that this third round of testing was also a direct loss.
The fourth round of testing was about "portability" - and the bow was undoubtedly defeated.
After all, the arrows used with longbows are too long and too big, and carrying 30 arrows is already the limit for a ranger.
On the other hand, the consumables used in firearms, which His Majesty the Regent called "bullets" -
Ten bullets can be stuffed into one pocket, and with a special bullet belt on the back, more than a hundred bullets can be carried easily without affecting the body's flexibility at all.
The fifth round of testing was about "power". The test site used a wooden barrel filled with water, iron armor covering the barrel, and a thick wooden shield some distance outside the iron sheet to simulate the equipment worn by the knights of the parish.
They placed this new target at the normal combat distance of the elves - that is, randomly distributed between 600 meters and 1000 meters. In this example, the gap between the ordinary elf shooter and the rifleman became particularly obvious.
Without any enchantment on the arrows, an ordinary elven archer must charge up his strength to shoot an arrow through all the defenses of the target at a distance of 600 meters, causing "fatal damage" to the wooden barrel hidden deep inside.
At distances above 700 meters, their arrows could at most penetrate the wooden shields, slightly penetrate the outer iron armor, and cause some "scratches" to the wooden barrels inside.
What about the Gappa 1404 rifle
Within a distance of 900 meters, the targets that were directly hit were penetrated from front to back. Within 1,000 meters above 900 meters, as long as the shot was accurate enough, the bullet could penetrate the iron armor directly on top of the wooden shield, and then cause fatal damage to the wooden barrel inside.
His Majesty the Regent explained that this was due to the "initial velocity" brought about by the brutal destructive power of the "explosive ore" used to make bullet primers. He praised the wonder and value of the explosive ore, and also said that this gun actually still has many problems and will have to undergo countless improvements in the future.
But the elves knew that the minerals called "explosive ore" were once just annoying "garbage" in the oak mine that easily damaged the oak trees. This new weapon, which claimed to have "countless problems", has completely crushed the perfect elven longbow.
In previous years, the elves would simply throw the garbage outside for disposal.
As a result, now, "garbage" has turned into precious mineral deposits, which really made the old elves sigh, and also made them fall into silence after admiring the debut of the guns.
Everyone was extremely excited, including the elf Fen.
She was convinced that this was a revolutionary product that would bring the elves into the next golden age, and it was a memorial that must be placed on the elven flag and passed down forever.
But because of this... Fen's heart suddenly rose to her throat in excitement.
This is a new type of weapon that is destined to bring about radical changes to elven society.
The social status of those who will be seriously threatened by this weapon include "bow makers", "arrow makers", and "archers" themselves.
Bow makers, arrow makers - Finn could use his skills to give them new jobs and new status in the new society -
If you can make a bow, you can certainly make a gun. If you can make an arrow, you can certainly make a bullet.
This kind of manual occupation is destined not to disappear completely. Even if the Oak Factory can take over the manufacturing of "guns" and "bullets", and even solve the enchanting process at the same time -
There are always elves who are fond of handicrafts, so these handicraft practitioners don’t have to worry about their social status being greatly threatened.
Anyway, they are already highly skilled, and they may even have mixed their personal inspirations in the process of learning how to make guns and bullets, and finally invent unique weapons -
Therefore, for them, the emergence of new weapons not only means a drastic change in their work, but also means countless new and good things in the future, countless enthusiasms, and countless new possibilities that can arouse the elves' calm emotions!
This will directly affect every aspect of the elf society. Finn can even foresee that the elves of the future will not be bored and repeat their daily routines, but will explore various possibilities on "imperfect" guns to stimulate the beautiful illusion of vitality of the entire race...
But... what about the archers, the masters of the bow
Their status was ruthlessly taken away, and their skills accumulated over hundreds or even thousands of years were not even as good as those of a child who had just learned to make guns two days ago.
Will they accept this cruel fact
At this moment, when Fen looked at the archery master who was keeping his head down and saying nothing in the meeting, her heart was already beating in her throat.
It is necessary to appease before the worst happens - just when Finn, sweating profusely, decided to stand up, even if the atmosphere is enthusiastic now, he has to pour cold water on the "gun" to make the archery master feel better...
In full view of everyone, the archery master jumped out from his position and directly jumped in front of Yang Hao on the stage below.
"master!?"
Finn subconsciously stood up and wanted to tell the archery master not to do anything stupid, but what happened next dumbfounded the nervous Elf Queen:
The archery master grabbed Yang Hao's clothes with bloodshot eyes and excited emotions, but what came out of his mouth was not countless insults and doubts, but...
"Regent! Your Majesty! Where is the weapon?! I want it now! I want it now!"
That is the endless desire for new revolutionary weapons.
Finn seemed to have forgotten. Even a master archer, after years and years of studying the art of archery for nearly a thousand years, would get "bored" with the weapon at hand.
After all, the lifespan of elves is too long. No matter how many techniques are used with bows and arrows, they have already mastered the weapons in their hands over the past few hundred years. They may have even used the weapons in their hands to hunt down countless strong men. They know that different arrows have different uses, and they know what results a slight change in bow drawing technique will bring.
They have figured it out long ago.
After understanding everything, they will no longer have any passion in their hearts when using the bow of love in their hands.
It's like asking a physicist to repeatedly calculate 1+1=2.
boring…
No changes...
But it can't change because other things are even more boring.
Even if he found a powerful opponent, he already knew by heart what could be defeated with a bow and what had to be defeated with magic.
Opponents that can be killed with a bow are dealt with almost mechanically, and opponents that cannot be defeated with a bow cannot be "defeated" no matter what.
In other words, it was actually a famous brand battle whose outcome was already known.
Just boring...
This has been the mentality of the elven archery masters for the past few hundred years.
And now, suddenly someone told him that there was a new type of weapon that not only crushed the bow and arrow in all aspects, but it was even a "defective" weapon itself. In the future, it could be improved countless times and even derive into variants with different uses and a large number of changes.
I was extremely astonished, but after seeing the actual test with my own eyes, that astonishment turned into enthusiasm.
Countless enthusiasm.
Unparalleled passion.
According to tradition, elves would completely lose their enthusiasm after about 200 years of age - because they could learn everything quickly, do things quickly, and even develop the skills of a lady in bed by imagining it during their virginity.
They are perfect, and perfection also limits their own development - but now, suddenly there is an imperfect new weapon that is destined to arouse countless enthusiasm in the elves' society... and the archery skills that they have trained for many years are directly eliminated.
How could this not shock the Archer Master, how could this not make him excited, how could this not make him... glow with passion for the unknown possibilities? !
Therefore, the archery master almost instantly recognized the decline of the bow and arrow.
This weapon has been used for countless years and it is time to retire it.
Now is the era of the new generation.
As Old Bones, he must get that weapon!
Otherwise, if the young people catch up and step on me...
This is really embarrassing for the "master".
…
Yang Hao was really scared by the Elf Master's sudden attack and request.
But for the time being, after taking a look at Fen who had a dazed look on his face, he smiled and said, "I will give a satisfactory answer later," thus temporarily calming the archery master down and returning him to his original intention.
Then Yang Hao coughed twice and introduced the advantages and disadvantages that must be paid attention to when using the Gappa 1404 rifle.
Because this is a new type of weapon that is different from bows and arrows, the Elven Kingdom must adjust its own factories before mass assembly.
However, because the war with the diocese was imminent, Yang Hao did not mind if the elves immediately gave up all production of longbows.
After surviving this invasion, they would have plenty of time to consider fully equipping themselves with guns. But before surviving the war, they had to make the best use of their weapons.
"Besides, for the production of the Gappa 1404, I decided to use the Oak Factory to adjust it, mass-produce parts, and then assemble them—
Of course, just like mass-produced arrows, elven craftsmen can still customize their rifles, perform various enchantments and improvements, and even engrave lines for an hour-long song on them.
But I beg you, Masters—at least don't do it while you're fighting a diocese.
In peacetime, I have no problem with you carving an abalone on it, but in wartime, please consider the needs of "actual combat", okay?"
Yang Hao's plea made the old stubborn people smile very awkwardly.
Because to be honest, those old elves who are not specialized in combat are already thinking about what kind of exquisite relief can be carved on the wooden stock of the gun. Some people have even thought about whether the sight can be turned into a dragon head that is about to spit flames, which will look more artistic...
But since His Majesty the Regent has said so, I should exercise some restraint on my part.
The Elf Masters nodded in agreement, and Finn finally sat back on his throne in astonishment.
Qinna on the side muttered quietly: Even the oldest and most stubborn chose to listen to the regent's plea, so this Elf Council has been a success in a sense. Just say something and it will be over, right
Before Fen could respond, Yang Hao took a sip of the refreshing lemon juice and said that he would talk about "recruitment" and "mobilization" next.
"This is for the sake of the upcoming war. It is temporary, so please don't worry about the future social structure of the elves."
Generally speaking, this is one of the "changes" that conform to the characteristics of the elves' society. Taking "conscription" as an example, Yang Hao counted young elves who were not regular soldiers but had received training as candidates for conscription.
They would provide fire support for the regular army with longbows and rifles in a very safe place. Because they were far away from the front battlefield, there was no need to worry about them suffering any losses.
In the "conscription" bill, caring for the "stump" is of paramount importance.
"This is a reasonable opportunity for the stumps to take revenge."
Yang Hao stated, gesturing vigorously and vividly with his hands. At this moment, he was like a musician and a conductor.
He mobilized the emotions of the old stubborn people, not only with facts, but also with a bright future and a terrible ending after failure.
"After all, everyone knows that it was the Roman Empire people - or rather, the predecessor of the Roman Empire's Church of Light who did it. It's just that we don't have evidence, and the Elf Kingdom is unable to provide them with help in revenge due to the size of its population.
But now it's different - now it's the parish that's taking the initiative to invade, and the broken branches can avenge their husbands, their fathers, and their sons without violating the oath of the elves.
By the same token, the Elven Kingdom can also take this opportunity to make up for the debt it owed to them before. More importantly... we need all the resources and warriors we can get.
After all, this is a war that concerns the survival of the race. I think the elves should know more about the filth and corruption of the parish than I do.
They will not let the elves go, and this invasion may even be just to simply wipe out their own population, because they can really do it.
So we need to unite all the forces that can be united and concentrated. Masters, this is not only for the current Elven Kingdom, but also for the future children to grow up safely under the shade of the trees! "
After saying that, Yang Hao took a breath and rested for a while.
His words, especially the last sentence "So that future children can grow up safely under the shade of trees", indeed made the old stubborn people, especially those who still had complaints about the conscription policy, fall silent.
Indeed, they are already very old... their outdated ideas still influence every aspect of the Elf Kingdom.
These old guys don't even want to have illusions about the tiny possibility before they see something new with their own eyes.
They stubbornly believed that the elves were so perfect that they could not change, but the human regent told them with facts that times had changed.
The times eventually belonged to the new generation of children. What these old stubborn people had to do was to provide a safe shade before they died, so that the children of the elves could grow up safely.
They looked at each other, and finally, an old elf stood up and slowly walked to Yang Hao.
The old elf looked at Yang Hao's face carefully with his aged but glowing eyes, and Yang Hao looked back at him without any fear.
After a while...
"You are right." said the old elf.
"The new era belongs to the children. We are too old. We are hindering the young from thinking freely, and we are binding them with our perfect but outdated ideas and traditions to repeat the old ways of thousands of years in the ever-changing world for too long.
Humans, we are just a bunch of stubborn but timid old elves. You are still very young, do you really have the guts and courage to lead us into a new era? "