Lin Mo's barrage of soul-searching questions left Balin and Thorin dazed.
They... could not answer a single one.
They were master smiths, capable of forging the sharpest battle-axes and the strongest armor.
They were even the bravest of warriors, daring to swing their axes at enemies several times their own size without a trace of fear.
But their understanding of these behemoths that spat steel and fire remained at the primitive level of "pull the trigger" and "press the button" to blow the bastards up.
Seeing the two Dwarves' blank expressions, Lin Mo said with pained earnestness:
"Remember those Half-Orcs? Warwick and the others."
Thorin nodded instinctively.
"When they arrived, they were just like you. They thought having guns made them invincible."
"But they had enough self-awareness to stay."
"Our people taught them tactics, maintenance, and coordinated combat, step by step."
"Now, a three-man combat team of theirs, equipped with our weapons and tactics, can easily suppress Demon Clan enemies that used to take a ten-man squad just to barely hold off!"
"Why? Because what they learned wasn't just how to use weapons, but the art of war-how to kill efficiently!"
The art... of war?
Those words were like a bolt of lightning, splitting the fog in Balin's and Thorin's minds.
Thorin's breathing instantly grew heavy. A fanatical fire for knowledge and technology ignited in his eyes, still clouded by his hangover.
Balin understood too.
He recalled the Great Xia army's long-range artillery fire, which had seemed like divine punishment.
At the time, he had wondered whether high-ranking mages were secretly helping.
So behind that awe-inspiring power stood such a complex and precise Great Xia system.
If his people could master this "art" too...
He dared not think any further.
That vision was too wonderful, too tempting. Merely thinking about