The Regressor Only Protects Me Chapter 86

#Episode 86. Mankyung’s Weapons

In war, the important things are training, supplies, and weapons.

The disadvantages of Zion’s forces compared to the previous ones were the total lack of combat experience among their commanders, the lack of training among their soldiers, and their overwhelming numerical superiority.

No matter how hard they train from now on, these three will never be able to keep up with Man-gyeong.

Because the warriors of the time were a veritable war party who had been fighting nonstop throughout the previous round.

But even in Man-gyeong, there was a weapon unique to Man-gyeong.

It was an ogre.

When Zion first began training him, many people had doubts.

Some even had complaints.

But when he first became a force to be reckoned with, those questions and complaints turned to admiration and cheers.

And now he had become a powerful weapon and labor force that Man-gyeong could not do without.

The Chief of Order guided Zion to the Chief of Labor.

The labor manager wiped the sweat from his face with the towel on his shoulder and spoke to Zion.

“What, what is that? That, that. We have improved the limitations of movement of the existing catapults as much as possible and secured the accuracy. I think you will be satisfied. Oh my-. It’s so hot now. I want a boiler.”

Zion followed the labor director and entered the school gymnasium while listening to his guidance.

This place was originally an elementary school gymnasium.

But now it was Man-gyeong’s arsenal.

And it was one of the key areas of Man-gyeong.

The cart that had once held the ball was now stacked with weapons from all over the place, and arrows that had been rearranged nearby were tied with string and stored on one side.

These were war supplies that were scheduled to depart for the Pamian apartment complex today.

Here too, the boiler built by Zion was in operation, and the workers were busy working regardless of whether the monarch came or not.

The sound of Zion and the Director of Labor’s footsteps echoed steadily throughout the gym.

But even that was drowned out by the noise of the workers working.

“Look. What do you think?”

“… … .”

The Minister of Labor pointed ahead and said.

And then Zion came face to face with the ogre crouching in the center of the gym.

The guy was crouching quietly.

-Ugh… … .

It seemed as if he was sniffing around and smelling the scent of Zion.

Ogres have a keen sense of smell.

They remember the being they fear through their sense of smell.

On the second floor of both gymnasiums, workers were using pulleys to climb onto the backs of ogres, which were carrying huge catapults.

The Minister of Labor’s words echoed throughout the gymnasium.

“When I first saw that catapult… … Oh, this guy, this… … I thought about how I could use it. Oh, but what if I smashed the bottom of the bus into the monster’s back and reassembled the vehicle from there? What a brilliant idea. Huh? That’s the idea I had. Well… … As of now, even this has taken quite a bit of labor and only one has been produced, but I plan on producing two more. Okay, let’s go this way.”

Zion followed his guidance and examined it in more detail.

I took the bottom of the city bus apart and planted it on the guy’s back.

And on top of that, the bus deck was reassembled to create the frame of the catapult.

The production of new weapons required the mobilization of a large number of experts and laborers.

It was a project that Zion had been looking forward to.

Up until now, catapults were inconvenient to move, requiring the mobilization of two ogres, and were a very labor-intensive weapon to operate.

However, by attaching the catapult itself to the ogre’s body, unnecessary labor was reduced.

It was a groundbreaking and productive piece of work by the Department of Labor.

They soon became a powerful weapon for Zion.

[You have acquired the Ogre (Catapult).]

[Weapon (A-Grade) + 1]

“You are wonderful. You exceeded my expectations.”

Zion looked at the ogre and praised him.

Then the Minister of Labor smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.

“Hi~ No… … I did everything Your Majesty told me to do. Hehe. I feel incredibly embarrassed receiving compliments at my age.”

The Minister of Labor guided Zion again.

There were many weapons to report to the monarch today.

“Not only the catapult, but there’s also the giant crossbow, right? I’m thinking of equipping that one somehow… … That crossbow, you know? Even though its range is shorter than this catapult, isn’t its accuracy amazing?”

“But wasn’t there any difficulty in making a crossbow?”

“It’s not that there weren’t any problems, but in terms of basic functions, everything is working normally. You can see.”

The labor superintendent walked away again and picked up a crossbow that was sitting on a school desk.

It took a long time in human history for this crossbow to be developed, but modern times are different.

It was not a common occurrence for modern humans to create relics of the past.

Because they were advanced creatures who had acquired more knowledge than any other people in history.

“It has this mechanism where if you pull this lever, the trigger is automatically released and the gun fires forward. To reload, just push the lever forward again. As for the rate of fire… … Once you get used to it… … Let’s see… … Oh, that’s right. About 10 rounds per minute? That’s about it.”

The crossbow’s rate of fire was twice that, at 10 arrows per minute, with the arrows firing at a rate of 4 to 5 arrows per minute.

“Good.”

Every time I reloaded the crossbow, it made a clanking noise.

Zion examined the crossbow closely.

It was a unique crossbow made from a combination of basic construction materials such as screws and nails.

It was the invention of the Minister of Labor, built according to the blueprint.

“How many crossbows do you produce per day?”

“About 10. I currently have 35.”

“Please also pay attention to arrow production. Distribution is the most important.”

“Oh, that’s right? Actually, the production of arrows is slowing down. After looking into the problem, I found that it’s probably because the arrow specifications for bows and crossbows don’t match… … .”

Different arrows were used for bows and crossbows.

This is because, although the arrows used for bows could have relatively different specifications to some extent, crossbows had to use arrows that exactly matched the specifications.

However, it is impossible to make the specifications of crossbow arrows and bow arrows exactly the same.

Crossbow arrows, like the Joseon Dynasty’s pyonjeon, were short and had good penetrative power, while bow arrows, in comparison, were long.

However, it was not possible to replace all long-range strikers with crossbows.

Because the bow had its own utility.

The bow had the advantage of having a unique long-range striking ability and being more productive than the crossbow.

Zion turned his head and looked at the children sitting in one place, tearing off their padding.

The feathers used in arrows were obtained from padding.

Fortunately, since winter had just passed, Man-gyeong had a lot of padding.

“You must do it anyway. All of Man-gyeong’s labor force is busy preparing for war. Please work closely with the Chief of Order and demonstrate your abilities. To win the war, it is not enough to just fight well. You must prepare properly to win.”

“Yes, of course. If it is what your Majesty says, then there is nothing I cannot do.”

Zion smiled at the Labor Minister’s bold answer.

Zion then went to inspect the armory.

The main weapon of Man-gyeong’s standing soldiers was a spear with a pole and a blade attached.

Any long and solid object can be used as a pole.

A vacuum cleaner pipe, a broom, a sturdy piece of wood, or even a stand pole.

The best of these was the billiard cue.

Because it was hard, sharp, and of just the right length.

On top of that, the sharpened blade was tightened tightly to the pole, increasing its killing power.

The total number of weapons used by the standing soldiers is about 1,000.

Aside from the weapons that were made, the rest of the tools were either blunt weapons or tools.

Among the soldiers on both sides clashing fiercely, the weapon that was most useful was the short sword.

So the armory was producing its own short swords, but they had to be crude.

This is because it was created by recombining existing products without going through any process of manufacturing or crafting.

Someday, we would need to build a factory that could do regular processing, including machining, but now was not the time.

Because both labor and cost are in short supply.

Ultimately, at this point, weapon production could only proceed at a basic level.

Although it was at a basic level, the labor force invested was fully supported by the power and worked hard to produce weapons.

The patrol inside the armory went smoothly.

Zion again approached where the soldiers were standing.

All the soldiers were wearing plain clothes.

This is because wearing a protective suit makes movement difficult, reducing mobility and combat capabilities.

But the defensive equipment was different.

“This is now a shield using an existing passenger car door. And this is the new version. A new face.”

It was a much lighter version.

The Minister of Labor took hold of one of them.

“If the previous car doors were so heavy that two people had to lift them, now this one is small enough for one person to lift. Well… … most adults can lift it.”

“Is there any problem with shield supply?”

“What about the car door? The son who’s building the castle over there and now, we’re working together to get it all done. When building the castle wall, we only need the car body, so we don’t need this door.”

“All right.”

As Zion intended, preparations for war were well underway.

After finishing his equipment inspection, Zion tried to turn back.

But then he realized he had forgotten the last, most important piece of equipment, so he turned to the labor manager and asked him.

“Sir, are the fire-fighting suits ready?”

“Ah, firefighter’s uniform. Yes. This way.”

The Minister of Labor guided Zion.

Storage room inside the gym.

There was a pile full of firefighting suits worn by firefighters.

These were fire-fighting suits that were found after searching all the fire stations in Manan-gu.

Even the gas masks were prepared using only Grade A materials.

And these fire-retardant suits were also the core of Bisan-dong’s defense power.

* * *

When we think of city roads in the past, we originally think of straight roads paved with pavement blocks and asphalt.

But after the world was destroyed, the image of the city’s roads changed completely.

A new road was created between the collapsed buildings.

Choi Hyun-ji jumped down from the living room of a house on the 7th floor with an open floor plan towards the living room of the house directly below.

Thud-!

As she landed on the sofa, a cloud of dust flew everywhere.

She said, looking at the hole in the ceiling.

“Come down.”

“… … .”

Zion jumped down lightly, following her, and Jin Jae-hee followed suit.

Thud-!

Jin Jae-hee lightly brushed the dust off his upper body while lying on the bed with his hand.

It was dusty.

But Ha Yoon-ha hesitated and hesitated.

Because it was a little high.

“Oh, it’s okay. Jump down.”

Choi Hyun-ji said with a sly smile, and soon Ha Yoon-ha also jumped down.

“Whoa-!”

“Don’t make any loud noises.”

“Ah… … I’m sorry, Your Majesty… … I was so surprised.”

Jin Jae-hee helped Ha Yoon-ha up without saying anything.

Then Ha Yoon-ha bowed her head to Jin Jae-hee.

“Ah. Thank you… … .”

However, Jin Jae-hee suddenly turned around and followed Zion out of the room without saying anything.

After that, Choi Hyun-ji left the house, walked down the hallway, and headed toward the window.

This place was originally a 7-story apartment.

But beyond the window, a collapsed building had collapsed, revealing a new road.

The building collapsed on its side, creating a new road.

“Actually, vagabonds don’t walk down the road saying, “Please kill me.” They go from building to building and rooftop to rooftop to find a new ‘path.’”

Choi Hyun-ji went ahead, followed by Kang Si-on, Jin Jae-hee, and Ha Yoon-ha.

Choi Hyun-ji visited this place and discovered a secret route to infiltrate from Man-gyeong to Dong-an.

He personally went out as a guide to inform Zion, the monarch of Mankyung, of this route.

They walked between the buildings for a while.

At some places, we had to cross a makeshift bridge built by wanderers.

“These are the kind of tips that can only be found through our wanderer community information.”

Before they knew it, they had crossed the Man-gyeong River and entered the Dong-an area.

As Choi Hyun-ji said, we were able to sneak into the core area of the area while avoiding the eyes of those guarding the border.

From there they decided to use the sewers to get deeper.

“Was it here… … ?”

Squeak-.

When we opened the snow-covered sewer, unexpectedly there was no foul smell.

Because after civilization was destroyed, humans stopped using toilets.

Of course, it wasn’t like there was no smell at all.

Daughter.

Choi Hyun-ji turned on the flashlight and shined it in front of her.

The inside of the sewer was cramped.

To the point where you have to walk with your head down even when entering one by one.

“But honestly, it’s a very inefficient route for many soldiers to travel. In the first place, if that many troops are moving, the enemy can’t possibly not know.”

Choi Hyun-ji’s voice, who was walking ahead, echoed steadily inside the sewer.

Soon they could see the light.

There was originally no ladder on the way up to the sewer, but there was a ladder that the vagabonds had made and placed there.

They climbed up the ladder one by one.

“We’re almost there. Just a little further.”

Having passed between the buildings, they now approached the innermost part of the cave.

This is the commercial area near Anyang Beomgye Station.

It was also famous as a bar street in the past, and was a place where many young people gathered to drink.

At the end of the hallway inside the building, a ray of light was pouring in.

“Whew… … We’ve arrived. Ah- I thought we were going hiking.”

Zion walked ahead.

Beyond that, the core of the universe will reside.

Choi Hyun-ji spoke to Zion, who was walking ahead of her.

“Whew-! Look! This is the capital city of Dong-an, Beomgye Station.”

And the number of people we faced was astonishing.

(Continued in the next episode)