Bronze’s utility, while widespread, is not a current priority.
The protagonist also wants to start from another aspect to bring the combat effectiveness of the Beetle Legion to a higher level.
Although the Big-headed Ant survivors had not told the protagonist the specific tactics of the Beetle Legion out of consideration for their own interests, the protagonist also fully understood this approach. If it were him, he would not tell the other party the secrets at the bottom of the box, even if the other party is currently They are allies. After all, "it is essential to guard against others", and the same is true for guarding against ants.
From the formation of the beetle army by the Big-headed Ant survivors and a quick glance at the scene when exchanging information with the Queen of the survivors, the protagonist can roughly deduce its tactics.
From the perspective of the protagonist, the remnants of the big-headed ants obviously used the beetles as an assault force, taking advantage of the beetles' rough skin, thick flesh, and strength to forcefully break through the enemy's well-organized defense lines, disrupt the enemy's formation, and then prepare the ground for the subsequent large infantry units. Create favorable opportunities. Killing is not the beetle's job.
The Big-headed Ant Relics don't have many troops on the back of the beetle. Their main function is to prevent enemies from climbing up the back of the beetle and posing a threat to the driver and commander. The infantry accompanying the beetle are the vanguards who follow the beetle to break through the enemy's lines, and are also the guards who protect the beetle.
This method of warfare is very similar to the chariot battles of the Spring and Autumn Period, with assault force as the main weapon. However, in the chariots of the Spring and Autumn Period, the members on them could also use weapons to carry out long-distance attacks, and use Changge to carry out medium and short-range attacks. The attack range was much wider than that of the beetle alone.
Therefore, the protagonist wonders if the God Envoy King warrior on the beetle can also have medium and long-range attack power, instead of passively counterattacking enemies who try to attack the beetle. In this case, the beetle will become a weapon with both assault power and long-range attack power, more like a tank than an ancient chariot.
The Legion of the Divine Envoy King currently has a long-range attack method, which is the sling. Stone bullets or clay bullets accelerated by centrifugal force can injure and maim enemy ant warriors, but their lethality is difficult to kill in one hit.
For humans, after being injured and disabled, this warrior basically means that he has lost his combat effectiveness and will no longer participate in this war. But ants are different. The fierce ant warriors can still survive for a period of time even with only one head left, and will continue to attack any enemy they can reach. They are still a threat that cannot be underestimated.
Therefore, the protagonist has always been dissatisfied with the power of the sling, and currently can only use it as an auxiliary weapon. In human history, long-range weapons have been one of the protagonists of war. Sixty-seven percent of the infantry in the Song Dynasty were crossbowmen. The English longbowmen once caused the French knights with strong armor to suffer enough. The protagonist also hopes to have a qualified long-range weapon that can fulfill the role of a main battle weapon.
If the protagonist wants to increase the power of the sling, he can increase the weight of the stone or clay bullets, or increase the length of the rope of the sling.
However, stone bullets or clay bullets that are too large are inconvenient to carry, and the size of an ant cannot be loaded and fired quickly. Such improvements will greatly reduce the density and sustainability of firepower, and the gain outweighs the loss.
There is also a limit to the length of the rope that can be extended to the sling. It cannot exceed the limit that the ant's strength and size can swing, so the increase in power is also very limited.
Another idea of the protagonist is to upgrade ordinary stone bullets or clay bullets into new ammunition.
If it is a metal bullet, the quality of the ammunition can be increased without increasing the volume, which also increases the power. The ants' well-developed muscles don't care about this added weight.
The protagonist plans to experimentally make a batch of copper bullets after next spring, when metal smelting is put on the agenda.
In addition, if the ammunition can be turned into fire bombs, the power of the sling can be greatly increased.
Fire bombs are not only powerful, but can also effectively scare enemies and destroy their formations. Although ants are brave, they still have a natural fear of fire. Only specially trained worker ants are capable of guarding the fire.
Once an overwhelming "bolide" appears on the battlefield, bombarding one's own position and igniting the surrounding vegetation, few ant legions can remain unmoved in such an environment.
But although fire bombs are beautiful, they are not so easy to produce and use.
Fire bombs require fuel. Considering the size of ants, the ammunition that can be used normally cannot be too large. If they are made of wood or hay, they will not only be very light and unable to shoot far, but also will not burn, so they may be lit. A spark quickly extinguishes it. There must be a fuel with a certain quality and resistance to burning in order to make qualified fire bombs.
The protagonist has not yet thought of what materials should be used to make it.
In addition, since it is a fire bomb, there must be a way to ignite it. Ants do not have lighters or matches that are easy to carry and use. The only kind of fire that the protagonist can think of at present is smoldering charcoal in a nut shell, but this kind of fire is troublesome to make a fire and is obviously not suitable for the chaotic scenes on the battlefield.
In addition, since fire bombs need to be thrown, the current slings woven with ant silk are not up to the task. Ant silk is a kind of protein that will burn out quickly under the high temperature of the fire bombs, except for a pungent fire. Nothing will be left except the stench of hair.
All the protagonist can think of is to use metal wires such as pure copper wire to weave the sling, and to make a special shell coated with layers (such as refractory mud). The melting point of copper is relatively high, so when the fire bomb is small and will be launched quickly, it will not melt the shell and sling.
In this way, heat insulation equipment must be installed on the handle of the sling to prevent it from burning your hands after being used for a long time.
None of these three problems is easy to solve. The protagonist can only wait for the success of metal smelting next year while perfecting his inner plan while looking for suitable materials.
——I am the dividing line——
After spending more than a week in the beetle stable, the protagonist finally waited for the return of the pavement ant team sent out.
The weather is beautiful these days, there are no sudden blizzards or cold waves, the daytime temperature remains above freezing, the sky is clear with few clouds, and the night temperature is above minus 10 degrees Celsius. This greatly increases the survival rate of the pavement ant team heading north.
However, even if the weather is good, the long-distance trek in winter is still no easier than the adventures of nineteenth-century explorers to conquer the two poles. Of the five teams that set out, only two teams with a total of thirteen pavement ants successfully returned. Less than Within two weeks, the mortality rate reached over 70%.
Most of the returning pavement ants are also frostbitten. Even if they return to their nests to recuperate, there will inevitably be additional casualties, and the mortality rate may increase by then.
