"In other words, our current weapons are basically useless against these war machines." Gaia turned to Theus. "My lord, our army needs more powerful firepower."
Theus fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
Seeing Theus agree, Gaia, Tata, and the others all breathed a sigh of relief.
That left Theus blank for a moment. Then, amused and annoyed, he said, "What, did you think I wouldn't allow it?"
Everyone hurriedly shook their heads, though their eyes drifted elsewhere.
In truth, Theus himself had rejected quite a few military proposals.
It was not that he did not want to upgrade the army's weapons. The main issue was that the people under him were simply far too aggressive.
Castel was currently divided into two main factions. The radicals believed they should send troops in every direction and conquer the entire continent.
The conservatives believed the radicals were far too conservative. Besides this continent, they should also send troops to conquer the South Continent.
There was no helping it. That was simply how this era was—once your fists got big enough, it was only natural to beat up everyone around you and seize the land first. Every civilization was war-crazed.
Theus's thinking was more forward-looking. It was not as if he were playing some map-coloring game. What was the point of expanding so quickly?
Going all-out on the tech tree was what mattered most. Once technology advanced far enough, anyone they fought would be crushed.
War should only be considered when there was a shortage of people or resources. Castel lacked neither at present.
The end result was that Theus had to suppress his subordinates' urge for unchecked expansion. To correct an excess, one had to overcorrect. Perhaps he had gone a little too far at times.
So although the laboratories had come