Dolo's New Army

"The 'secret weapon' you're talking about, is it these broken iron bars?"

The two-meter-tall Dragon Vein Hobgoblin, Dolo, the military commander of the Ember Nest, looked down at the human before him, his small golden eyes filled with suspicion.

The player with the ID "Qie Xuebifu" quickly stepped forward to explain, "This is the latest model of firearm researched by our Storm Armory, the ' Enemy Breaker Fire.' Although it is still a smoothbore gun, after the barrel was modified, although its power has decreased, its accuracy and range have been greatly improved."

Dolo casually picked up a gun, weighed it in his hand, and said disdainfully, "What can you use to attack the enemy with such a short stick? In the face of war, the most effective weapons are the spears, bows and arrows, and warhammers in our hands!"

He casually tossed the so-called "rifle" aside.

Seeing that the gun was about to fall to the ground, Qie Xuebifu quickly stepped forward and caught it, afraid that it might be damaged.

Although he was quite disdainful of the Dragon Vein Hobgoblin's ignorance, Qie Xuebifu still took the initiative to speak up, "Dolo, this thing is not used like this. Let me demonstrate it for you."

Just then, Hobgoblin herder led a bull over from not far away.

Although Dolo looked down on this little gadget, he was curious to see what kind of mess it could make, so he nodded slightly in acquiescence.

"Please make way."

Qie Xuebifu skillfully loaded the ammunition, held his breath, and aimed his gun.

"Bang!"

A thunderous sound rang out, and wisps of smoke rose from the muzzle of the gun.

The massive body of the aurochs crashed to the ground, riddled with holes on its sides. Steel balls were deeply embedded in its flesh and even its internal organs; its body was practically riddled with holes by that single shot.

Dolo gasped in shock.

He saw this thing take down an aurochs with a single shot and quickly realized its significance in the war.

Moreover, its power is not its most terrifying aspect. If one insists on saying that a bow and arrow can also achieve such power to kill an enemy in one shot, it just requires an excellent archer.

The terrifying thing about this thing called a "rifle" is that it is almost impossible to use. Even the lowest and weakest Goblin can pick up a gun and pull the trigger.

This alone is enough to hold one's own against a skilled archer in a shooting contest.

It's important to understand that archers are the absolute elite of the army, and their training costs are not low, while Goblin are just the most common expendable resource, easily multiplying into a whole brood at birth.

He grabbed the human's shoulder with considerable excitement, his breath almost hitting Qie Xuebifu's face. "How many of these iron rods can you make?"

Qie Xuebifu corrected in a low voice, "It's the ' Enemy Breaker Fire ' rifle."

Dolo said, "Whatever you call it, I just want to know how many you can make?"

Qie Xuebifu pondered for a moment before saying, "After all, our Storm Armory only recently established and we don't have enough manpower. If we work quickly, we should be able to produce three hundred rifles before the war begins. We can supply bullets as we please, since the materials in the Ember Nest are quite plentiful."

"Very nice."

Dolo had already anticipated this number.

After all, it's unrealistic to expect such battlefield weapons to be mass-produced as easily as ordinary swords. Even just three hundred rifles, if used well, could potentially sway the course of a war— Dolo knew this all too well.

Qie Xuebifu returned to the arsenal to report the situation.

Soon, the Battlefield Wheelchair Man arrived at the military camp in Dragon Valley with a hundred guns and a truckload of ammunition.

He told Dolo, "This is all the stock we have right now."

Dolo nodded and summoned several strong and sturdy Bugbear to transport them back to the military camp.

However, the Battlefield Wheelchair Man stepped forward and said to him, "Dolo, our Storm Armory has also specially equipped this weapon with corresponding tactics. You can give it a try."

"Oh? What tactics?"

Dolo became interested as well; the Hobgoblin always seemed to enjoy the topic of war.

The Battlefield Wheelchair Man pulled out a crooked piece of parchment with a simple little figure drawn on it.

"An ancient, simple, and effective tactic, which we generally call—"

He lowered his voice mysteriously and said, "Firing Line."

Three days later, Dragon Valley.

It was another routine military exercise.

At this time, the Red Dragon would appear at the entrance of the Giant's Maw Cave, surveying the army from above, boosting morale, and preparing for the upcoming war.

This time, however, the team included a special Hobgoblin unit equipped with new weapons.

"Master, this exercise will definitely satisfy you."

Dolo stood respectfully by his side, his tone somewhat excited.

"Oh?"

Keosius was quite interested.

He could roughly guess that the players from the [Church of the Machine God] had played a role in it.

As the military exercises began, all the family members wanted to show off in front of the Red Dragon, so they all worked extra hard.

"For the Ember Nest!"

"WHAAAAH!"

It was the familiar charge drill: the strong and sturdy Bugbear raised their Great Hammer and charged into the field like wild beasts, smashing the scarecrows in front of them.

"Heave-ho!"

The short Goblin followed closely behind, throwing short spears that struck the targets.

"For Lord Keosius!"

Then came a well-equipped Hobgoblin army, each holding a shield in their left hand and a sword or spear in their right, advancing in a tight formation.

"Great, I'm very satisfied."

"Keosius commented casually."

He didn't care much about these troops; these monsters weren't his foundation, and he wouldn't feel a pang of regret even if they were all wiped out.

Dolo exclaimed excitedly, "My lord, it's not over yet!"

The sound of war drums echoed through the valley.

"Thump, thump, thump!"

At the very back of the column appeared an elite Hobgoblin unit clad in plate armor. They marched in unison to the rhythm of the war drums, each carrying the Storm Armory's latest rifle— the Enemy Breaker Fire.

Moreover, they loaded their ammunition before entering the field.

"Oh?"

Keosius immediately became interested, his golden pupils lighting up slightly.

The Hobgoblin lined up and marched to a distance of about fifty meters from the scarecrow target before stopping and adjusting their formation into a semi-circular arc.

The drumsticks stopped, and the training ground fell silent.

Dolo stepped forward with a smug look on his face and roared an order to the army below:

"Preparation!"

The Hobgoblin, following their usual training, raised their rifles, and a constant clattering sound filled the air.

"Fire!"

They pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

A deafening roar echoed through the valley.

A plume of smoke rose slowly from the muzzle of the gun, the smell of Gunsmoke filling the air. Sweat dripped from the foreheads of the Hobgoblin, but they were also thrilled by the sight.

The scarecrow targets were instantly riddled with bullets and fell to the ground in rows, a sight that left even the Red Dragon in awe.

"Firing Line?"

Keosius recognized the familiar tactics and felt a bit amused and exasperated that these guys had actually brought this whole thing to Erezege.

However, the Red Dragon still spread its wings and looked down at its retinue from the mountaintop, saying:

"Very good! I hope that you can crush the enemy like this on the battlefield in the future, and use the enemy's blood to prove your loyalty to me."

Dolo raised his gun high and shouted triumphantly, "For my master, the Ember Nest!"

"For the Ember Nest!"

"For the great will of the Red Dragon!"

"Conquer everything!"

The troops below immediately erupted in cheers, which surged like waves and lasted for a long time.