Chapter 254: The Army Group on the Edge of the Cliff

When Morin spoke those two words, Mackensen and Leonia simultaneously let out a sigh of relief.

It felt like a person about to drown had finally grasped a life-saving straw.

“Morin, quickly, what is the method?” General Mackensen appeared impatient.

He stepped forward, placed both hands on the field table, leaned in, and stared intently at Morin.

Though Leonia did not speak, the sudden brightness in her eyes said everything.

“General, Your Excellency Grand Master, don’t rush,” Morin signaled them to calm down, and then continued.

“To counter the ‘Shaped-Charge Armor-Piercing Shell’, we can approach it from two directions: a temporary contingency plan, and a long-term solution.”

“Let’s hear the contingency plan first!” Mackensen immediately stated.

With the situation so urgent, the long-term solution could be studied later, but a method that could take effect immediately was essential.

“Very well.” Morin nodded, walked to the field table, picked up a pencil, and began drawing on a blank sheet of paper.

He first drew a thick line representing the armor plate, and then drew a thin line a certain distance in front of it.

“The power of the ‘Shaped-Charge Armor-Piercing Shell’ depends largely on the distance between the point of explosion and the target armor. We call this the ‘stand-off distance’.”

As Morin drew, he explained,

“This is also why the ‘Armor-Piercing War Hammer’ and the ‘Armor-Piercing Lance’ we currently have are equipped with a hollow tube at the front. Aside from guiding the jet, the most important function of this tube is to fix this optimal detonation distance.”

“If the explosion distance is too close or too far, the metal jet cannot form and focus effectively. The armor-piercing power will drop significantly, potentially by more than forty percent.”

Mackensen and Leonia listened very seriously. This knowledge was an entirely new field for them.

“Therefore, our short-term contingency plan is to add an extra layer of armor to the exterior of our Armored Knights’ torso, especially on the main armor plate directly in front of the cockpit. I call this ‘Spaced Armor’.”

Morin pointed with the pencil to the thin line he had drawn.

“This extra layer of armor doesn’t need to be very thick; even ordinary steel plate will suffice. Its most important function is not to resist impact directly, but to leave a gap between it and the main armor underneath.”

“I suggest this gap should be at least 30 millimeters. If conditions permit, an additional layer could even be added.”

“This way, when an enemy’s ‘Shaped-Charge Armor-Piercing Shell’ strikes, it will first detonate on this layer of ‘Spaced Armor’.”

“By the time the resulting metal jet passes through the gap and hits the Armored Knight’s true main armor, the jet’s shape will have been prematurely disrupted, and its energy dispersed. The armor-piercing effect will be greatly reduced.”

“Is it that simple?” Leonia asked, somewhat incredulously, after hearing the explanation.

In her mind, the solution to a terrifying weapon that could easily penetrate dozens of millimeters of special armor was simply to add a thin layer of sheet metal to the outside?

It sounded a bit too… trivial.

“The principle is that simple, but the effect will be immediate,” Morin affirmed.

“Of course, considering the size and power of our ‘Siegfried Type 1’, if the entire machine is covered with this Spaced Armor, it will severely affect the machine’s mobility.”

“Therefore, I recommend prioritizing the installation on the most critical and most easily attacked areas: the main armor plate of the cockpit front and the shoulder armor.”

“After all, based on the current combat situation, whether it’s our knights or the enemy’s, everyone is aiming to kill the driver in the cockpit…”

Morin’s argument was highly persuasive. General Mackensen and Leonia both nodded.

In duels between Armored Knights, attacks on the limbs were indeed rare. Everyone’s target was very clear—the cockpit in the center.

Because as long as the driver was safe, the machine could still potentially be repaired even if the limbs were damaged.

However, once an Armored Knight’s driver was lost, training a replacement was not a matter of a day or two.

General Mackensen nodded after hearing this, then looked at Leonia:

“We can immediately have the front-line engineers start working, using spare armor plates or other steel to weld this layer onto all ‘Siegfried Type 1s’ overnight! As for the effect… Your Excellency Fortis, your Knights Order can conduct a live-fire test immediately.”

“No problem, General.”

Leonia immediately agreed.

With the contingency plan addressed, even without clear details on its effectiveness, the atmosphere in the headquarters relaxed considerably.

“And what about the long-term solution?” Leonia turned back to Morin, her eyes full of curiosity.

If the ‘Spaced Armor’ was a temporary emergency measure, then what Morin referred to as the ‘long-term solution’ must be something much deeper.

“The long-term solution requires a complete overhaul of the armor structure of our Armored Knights,” Morin said, putting away the paper and adopting a serious expression.

“I call it ‘Composite Armor’…”

“Composite Armor?” Leonia chewed on this entirely new term.

“Yes,” Morin patiently explained.

“Composite Armor, as the name suggests, is heterogeneous armor composed of two or more protective materials with different physical properties, layered and proportioned in a specific way.”

“The basic idea is to use the differences in physical properties between the various materials to progressively weaken and disrupt the incoming metal jet, ultimately achieving the goal of protection.”

“Let me give you an example.”

Morin picked up the pencil again and got a new sheet of white paper.

“The main armor of the Britannian and our Armored Knights has a physical thickness of about 40 millimeters. It’s a single piece of armor incorporating magic guiding technology, with an equivalent protective effect of roughly 70 to 80 millimeters.”

“We can break this down into two 20-millimeter armor plates and sandwich a layer of special material, such as ceramic, in the middle.”

“Ceramic?”

This time, even General Mackensen couldn’t help but frown.

In his and Leonia’s understanding, ceramic was a very brittle material. It would shatter with a hammer blow, let alone a cannon shell. How could it possibly be used for armor?

Seeing the identical expressions of confusion on their faces, Morin smiled.

“I know what you’re thinking.”

He spread his hands and continued,

“General, Your Excellency Grand Master, these things fall under the specialized domain of materials science. It’s very complicated to explain, and it’s perfectly normal for you not to understand.”

“…”

Mackensen and Leonia both felt choked, yet they couldn’t refute him.

Indeed, they were military commanders and top-tier knights, but when it came to profound scientific research theories, they were completely out of their depth.

General Mackensen cleared his throat, masking his embarrassment, and then looked at Morin with a searching gaze:

“Captain Morin, where did you learn all of this?”

This question was crucial.

The knowledge Morin demonstrated already far exceeded what a military academy graduate should possess.

“I report, General, I just researched it randomly in my spare time,” Morin fabricated, his face betraying no emotion.

“Ever since I accidentally created the ‘Shaped-Charge Armor-Piercing Shell’, I’ve been thinking… if the enemy also had this weapon, how would we defend against it? The spear and the shield always develop together, don’t they?”

This reason for development was impeccable.

Morin also clearly understood in his heart that since no one else in this world possessed this transcendent knowledge, he could insist that he invented it all, and no one could challenge him.

“On that note, regarding the specific formula and structure of the Composite Armor, it will require extensive experimentation and research by specialized institutions and factories in the rear,” Morin changed the subject, revealing his intention.

“However, I personally have a relatively mature formula that I ‘researched’ myself, which could greatly shorten the research and development cycle, except…”

He showed a shrewd, merchant-like smile: “I hope to apply for a patent for this formula…”

“You scoundrel!” Mackensen was amused and laughed, scolding him good-naturedly, “Was the twenty million Imperial Marks from last time not enough for you?”

“General, you know that my weapon company has had a lot of expenses recently. Research is very costly. Twenty million might sound like a lot, but once you invest it, you can’t even hear a peep,” Morin began pleading poverty.

Leonia, on the other hand, laughed. She looked at Morin, her eyes flashing with admiration.

“Captain Morin, money is not an issue.”

The Golden Lion Grand Master spoke, her tone carrying an undeniable grandeur.

“As long as the solution you provide is genuinely effective, the Teutonic Knights and I personally will give you a ‘return’ that satisfies you.”

“Then I thank Your Excellency Grand Master.” Morin immediately took the compliment while he was ahead.

At the same time, a thought flashed through his mind—

“Well, I’ve personally initiated the path of the shell-armor confrontation in this world today. I wonder what it will evolve into next.”

The crisis of the ‘Shaped-Charge Armor-Piercing Shell’ was temporarily resolved—though yet to be verified, what Morin said served as a ‘reassurance’ of sorts.

General Mackensen was ready to send the liaison officer to escort Morin back to rest, but Morin stopped him.

“Wait, General. I actually came to see you today for another, more important matter.”

“Oh?” Mackensen was surprised. “What is it?”

Morin’s expression became serious.

“It’s about the upcoming attack on the Creil Line…”

“About the attack?”

General Mackensen’s brows furrowed again. He signaled Morin to continue.

Morin walked to the field table, pointed at the Creil area highlighted with red markers on the map, and said in a deep voice:

“General, this morning, I led a company of the Instruction Assault Battalion to participate in a probing attack on the Gauls’ positions.”

He briefly described to Mackensen and Leonia what he had seen and heard on the battlefield, including the Gauls’ three extremely deep and complex trenches and their tenacious, almost fanatical, will to resist.

“…The Gauls are determined to stop us outside the gates of Paris; they’ve invested heavily in Creil! While our soldiers are brave, the casualties are simply too high!”

“Based on my observation, if we continue with the current attrition tactic, sending division after division in rotations to charge, even if we eventually succeed in grinding down the Creil Line with human lives, our First Army Group will likely be severely depleted, with no reserve strength left to launch an attack on Paris itself.”

Leonia listened quietly. Although she was the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, the Knights Order was a combat unit subordinate to the Army, so Morin’s words also made her aware of the problem.

General Mackensen was silent for a long time after hearing this.

Finally, he let out a long sigh, his face showing a fatigue and solemnity he hadn’t displayed since the start of the war.

He did not shy away from Morin’s sharp observations, nor did he deny the predicament on the front lines.

He glanced at Leonia, then said to Morin: “You are right, Morin… the First Army Group is under immense pressure right now.”

“The outside world thinks our First Army Group is strong and well-supplied, with 400,000 troops advancing triumphantly, sweeping all before them…”

“But what they don’t know is that since these 400,000 men crossed the border, swept through the United Kingdom of Flanders, invaded Gaul, broke through Amiens, and rushed all the way to the gates of Paris… over these two months, the combined combat and non-combat losses have already reached nearly seventy thousand.”

This number astonished Morin.

Seventy thousand men—that was not a small number for the First Army Group.

“Although the homeland has been continuously supplying us with reserve personnel, you know that those recently conscripted and poorly trained new recruits cannot compare to our veterans in terms of fighting spirit or experience. Throwing them directly into a meat grinder like Creil is no different from sending them to their deaths.”

General Mackensen’s tone was full of helplessness.

“What’s worse, the latest military report just received from the General Staff indicates that on the other front—the main engagement between us and the Gallic Republic in the border regions—we are currently falling into a disadvantage.”

This news was like a thunderbolt.

Because the [Intelligence] has not been updated regarding the fighting in areas he could not access, Morin had been relying on his own speculation about the war situation in those regions.

He had always assumed that the other Saxon Army Groups should be fighting the Gauls on equal terms along the border.

That’s why the First Army Group was able to execute the ‘right hook’ plan to drive straight to Paris so smoothly.

Now it seemed the situation was not what he had imagined.

“Therefore, while we appear to be at the gates of Paris, in reality, the First Army Group is walking on the edge of a cliff.”

Mackensen’s voice grew hoarse, and he seemed to have aged all at once.

Given his age, commanding an army of 400,000 men all the way to this point was a test for him as well.

“If we are held up here for too long, or if the Gauls manage to wear us down, the entire course of the war could be completely lost.”

“The Chief of the General Staff, Moltke the Younger, has personally sent me a telegram with very stern wording.”

Mackensen pointed to another document on the table.

“He demands that we take Paris as quickly as possible, regardless of the cost! Capturing the Gauls’ capital will fundamentally shatter their will to resist and ease the pressure on the main engagement on the border.”

After hearing General Mackensen’s words, Morin understood.

The First Army Group was currently the Sword of Damocles hanging over Paris.

But at the same time, they themselves stood on the edge of a cliff.

There was no retreat.

The novel has already been fully translated up to the last updated chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at /caleredhair