Chapter 345 - 338 — The Proving Ground

31Days later,Weapons testing grounds,Centeral continent

Karrek stopped beneath the observation shelter and counted the weapon racks.

"Only Sixteen?"

Daren looked up from his ledger.

"No there were more than fourty but four finalists for each design."

"And you asked the inspection teams to remove anything that did not deserve your time."

Karrek glanced at him.

"Hoped you would appreciate."

Thirty-one days had passed since Elarion’s drawings reached the Central Continent. Human arsenals, dwarven holds, elven artificer houses and goblin workshops had spent those days turning the same four designs into rather different weapons.

The preliminary trials had already eliminated the worst results. What remained beneath the shelter represented the strongest submissions, each bearing its maker’s answer to a problem Elarion had solved through other means.

Some carried visible runes. Others looked ordinary until Karrek examined the metal or noticed the faint movement of mana beneath a stock.

Venn waited beside the range officers.

"Can we begin?"

Karrek took the inspection ledger from Daren.

"That depends. Have your people ranked them by how brightly they glow?"

"One team tried," Darek said. "Their submission is no longer here."

"Promising."

The Mausers waited at the first firing line.

Karrek picked up the elven version. A slender inscription ran beneath the iron sight, almost invisible against the finished weapon.

"What does this do?"

"Helps the shooter hold a settled aim," Daren said. "Their barrel work is also the most precise of the finalists. It placed first in the preliminary accuracy trials."

"The drawback?"

"Cost, slower production, and a charged sight assembly. Once depleted, it remains a good rifle, but an expensive one."

Karrek shouldered it briefly before setting it down.

"The dwarven submission?"

"They worked into the metal. Excellent resistance to wear and rough handling. Heaviest of the four."

"And the goblin?"

"A minor self-cleaning enchantment around the exposed working surfaces. It reduces fouling."

Karrek raised an eyebrow.

"Reduces?"

"Their first report said eliminates. The inspection master returned it with a handful of dirt."

Daren turned a page.

"They corrected the wording."

The human submission carried the least conspicuous magical work: a modest protective treatment against damp and corrosion, familiar to Alliance arsenals.

"No aiming assistance?" Karrek asked.

"No. Their emphasis was a rifle that ordinary workshops could manufacture and ordinary soldiers could maintain."

"Then let us see what ordinary soldiers do with them."

The firing began.

At the longer distances, the elven rifle justified its reputation. Its groups were tighter, particularly when the marksmen had time to settle into position.

The difference narrowed during hurried firing after movement.

Karrek watched a soldier struggle to steady his breathing before taking the next shot.

"The enchantment does not teach patience," he observed.

"Nor does it improve judgment. The artificers were very clear about that after an infantry captain asked."

The rough-handling trials favored the dwarven weapon. The goblin rifle required less cleaning afterward, although its enchantment still left work for the soldier.

The human version completed every sequence within the required standard.

Karrek examined the targets beside the production estimates.

"How many human-pattern rifles for the cost of the elven submission?"

Daren showed him the figures.

Karrek’s expression settled.

"And the protective treatment?"

"Already used by several arsenals. No new specialist service required."

He turned toward the infantry director.

"Any objection?"

"None. The elven rifle would suit selected marksmen. For the general infantry issue, the human pattern gives us what we need."

Karrek signed its sheet.

The elven representative watched from beyond but did not protest. He had seen the production figures too.

The MG-34s were already mounted when they reached the next position.

Karrek’s attention went directly to the dwarven gun.

Dark runic channels circled its barrel housing.

"Cooling?"

"Heat dissipation," Daren replied. "Their runes move heat away from the barrel area and release it through the assembly. Best sustained-fire result in the preliminary trials."

"Why has everyone else not done the same?"

"Some did but these did it well enough to survive inspection."

"And what have the others brought?"

Daren indicated the neighboring weapons.

"The elven version uses a stabilizing enchantment. Tighter bursts, particularly from a prepared position, but it draws steadily on its charge. The goblin works concentrated on feed reliability and servicing. Their guiding charm reduced interruptions during preliminary firing."

"The human gun?"

"Close to the original. Protective enchantments, consistent parts, lowest production burden."

Karrek studied the dwarven assembly.

"Weight?"

"More."

"Repairs?"

"A runesmith for the cooling system and an armorer for the gun."

Karrek handed back the ledger.

"Begin."

The opening bursts favored the elven gun. Its impacts clustered neatly across the target field, and Venn spent several moments watching it.

Then the firing continued.

The human and goblin crews reached their first barrel changes. The elven crew followed.

The dwarven gun kept firing.

Karrek looked toward the measuring crystals.

Daren checked the record beside them.

"Consistent with the preliminary result."

Eventually, the dwarven crew also changed its barrel. The runes delayed the problem but they did not abolish it.

During the next sequence, the advantage remained.

"What happens when the assembly reaches its limit?" Karrek asked.

"The benefit narrows and it needs time to shed the accumulated heat."

"So the crew can still ruin the barrel through stupidity."

"Yeah the forge was unable to enchant that out of them."

Karrek grunted.

"An unfinished field of study."

The crews exchanged weapons and relocated.

The elven submission remained accurate, but its advantage came with a replenishment requirement the logistics officer was already noting. The goblin gun performed well until its guiding charm was disabled for comparison. It still worked, though the improvement over the standard pattern became modest.

The dwarven weapon earned complaints during movement but for knights it should not be a problem.

Karrek waited until its crew had settled again.

"Disable the cooling."

The range officer signaled. The runes darkened, and the gun resumed firing under the ordinary barrel procedure.

Venn watched.

"The weight issue isnt that prominent."

Daren looked toward him.

"The maintenance requirement remains."

"So does the enemy when a machine gun stops."

Karrek signed the dwarven acceptance sheet.

"Include spare cooling assemblies and support personnel in the first allocation. Their crews will learn the normal procedure as thoroughly as the assisted one."

At the long range, four AMR-20s rested with their additional equipment.

Karrek looked at the nearest weapon.

"Still calling it a rifle?"

"The paperwork has committed itself," Daren said.

The dwarven submission as always used the magic metal to resist wear and repeated stress. The goblin version carried a lightening enchantment, making the journey to the firing position considerably less unpleasant.

Karrek lifted it experimentally.

"That is useful."

"Until the charge weakens. It becomes heavier gradually, but the crew must still be able to carry its full weight(By author:The average weight of an amr[Anti material rifle] is about 20-30kg for modern amr and 40-50kg for world war era amr and this is a variant built using better materials so you can take it as 5x-7x the weight of a normal amr so around and around 250-300kg+)."

"I assume someone discovered that on a hill."

"A staircase but the complaint was extensive."

The human version was comparatively straightforward, with modest protective enchantments and the easiest production requirements.

Karrek stopped beside the elven weapon.

"And this?"

"Precision barrel work, an enchanted sight and a recoil reduction enchantment that reduces small disturbances once the weapon is properly supported."

"Does it aim for the soldier?"

"No. It makes firing easier."

"The cost?"

"Highest of the four. The sight also requires trained maintenance."

Karrek looked downrange, where crews were placing captured Warhound components.

"Then it had better hit something worth the expense."

The fixed-target series showed a clear advantage.

As marksmen rotated between the weapons, the elven submission retained the tightest groups. The dwarven gun performed consistently through repeated firing, while the goblin version was easiest to move between positions.

Across the combined series, the elven AMR used fewer rounds to strike the intended targets.

Venn examined the results.

"That difference would matter in the field."

"Yes," Karrek said. "Now the armor."

The frontal Warhound section resisted all four submissions.

The elven weapon struck more precisely but it still fell short of punching through the hole.

"Put those results on the same page," Karrek told the recorder. "I do not want the accuracy figures reaching the front without the limitations."

Side and rear sections produced mixed results, as expected from Elarion’s specifications.

Daren laid out the final comparison.

"The dwarven barrel should last longer. The goblin weapon is easier to transport while charged. The human version gives us more weapons for the same expenditure."

Karrek studied the elven weapons.

"But these will go to selected teams."

Venn nodded.

"We can provide specialist support for limited formations."

"Elven pattern, then."

Daren marked the decision.

Karrek glanced once more at the goblin rifle.

"Keep that transport assessment in the report. Losing does not make every part of a submission worthless."

The Lancers had fewer opportunities to distinguish themselves through destructive effect.

Their ammunition remained standardized. Whatever the forges had done to the launchers, the same rounds were expected to produce the same results.

Karrek asked Daren for the differences while the range crews prepared.

"The dwarf reinforced the launcher. The elf reduced its weight and added a range-reading sight. The human arsenal kept the design simple."

"The goblins?"

"Protective wards around the working parts, easier inspection access, and luminous ammunition markings that remain readable in poor light."

"No spectacular enchantment?"

"They submitted one earlier. It was rejected."

"Why?"

"It made an expensive noise before firing."

The four ammunition trials proceeded without surprises.

Fragmentation struck the exposed targets. Smoke obscured the range. Demolition rounds damaged the prepared position.

Against the captured armor, frontal protection resisted the anti-armor rounds. Side and rear sections were more vulnerable, while a successful hit on the track assembly earned a probable mobility-kill assessment.

The differences appeared in the operators’ hands.

The dwarven launcher was tougher than necessary and burdensome to carry. The elven sight helped with deliberate shots but required practice, and its cost weighed heavily against the small number of occasions when it provided a decisive advantage.

The human submission was dependable.

The goblin version was equally dependable and easier to inspect. Its protective wards used little mana, and the ammunition markings helped unfamiliar crews select the requested round without hesitation.

Karrek watched the crews exchange weapons.

"Additional supply burden?"

"Small," Daren said. "The wards use a treatment already common in Alliance field equipment."

"And the inspection advantage holds with ordinary crews."

"Yes."

Karrek signed the goblin sheet.

Across the range, the goblins finally stopped looking offended.

The production director received four signed selections before the afternoon ended.

Venn joined Karrek beside the Southwestern map.

"The cooling system and the elven AMR are the substantial gains."

Karrek nodded.

"The other two earned their places by being practical. That is enough."

Daren closed the comparison ledger.

"Several forge masters will disagree."

"Good they may do so while fulfilling their orders."

Karrek turned to the director.

"Expand production of the selected rifle and machine gun. The AMR and Lancer remain under protected manufacture. Send the complete reports to Elarion too."

"Including the rejected versions?"

"No the finalists only. Their advantages and their faults."

The logistics officer stepped forward with the transport schedule.

"My lord dwarf,I suggest we separate this into consignments as they can move sooner than a combined shipment."

"Then split them," Venn said. "Instructors and support equipment accompany the first field allotments. Southwestern Army takes priority."

Behind him, the map showed the two defensive belts already lost.

Karrek studied the remaining line before passing Daren the final sheet.

"Next review in seven days."

"At the testing ground?"

"The loading yards."

Daren tucked the paper into his ledger.

"And what do you expect to find?"

Karrek looked toward the four selected weapons.

"Weapons being shipped to the battlefield."