Chapter 39: The Perfect Assassin's Equipment

Corvinus had always enjoyed playing with crossbows. In his previous life, his family had owned seven or eight different types of crossbows. Growing up in the countryside, he would often visit his grandfather's home during holidays and use these crossbows to hunt wild chickens and rabbits.

However, this crossbow was different. It was a military-grade crossbow, equipped with a revolving mechanism that allowed it to hold five bolts at a time. The principle was similar to that of the Nagant M1895 revolver. After firing one bolt, it would automatically rotate to the next bolt track, and all that was needed was to pull the trigger again.

Corvinus quickly loaded five short bolts into the Zhuge repeating crossbow.

Kro and the others watched Corvinus curiously. They were not fools and recognized that this was some kind of crossbow, but they were puzzled by the complex mechanism and its purpose.

Corvinus raised the crossbow with one hand and aimed at the wooden post in the distance, the same one that had been struck by the javelin.

He pulled the trigger!

"Whoosh..."

The sound of the air being torn apart echoed through the air.

"The power is incredible!!!" Tyton exclaimed in astonishment. They were all skilled archers and could tell the strength of the shot just by the sound, without even needing to see the target.

The others were equally amazed.

Corvinus did not stop there. He reloaded and fired again. He repeated this action four times.

In the distance, the wooden post now had five short bolts embedded in it.

"This weapon is called the Zhuge repeating crossbow. It's a simplified version of a bow. Although it's more portable, its range is less than three hundred meters. However, it's worth mentioning that its close-range penetration power is extremely strong," Corvinus explained, seeing that everyone was watching him intently.

"A range of less than three hundred meters?" Kro's eyes dimmed. Werewolf archers could easily reach a range of four hundred meters, so this seemingly complex Zhuge repeating crossbow clearly couldn't compare.

Seeing Kro's expression, Corvinus understood his concern and smiled. "This is designed for close-range combat by cavalry. For infantry, traditional bows are still the way to go."

"I think this is actually quite compact, with sufficient lethality and easy to carry. It's perfect for assassins," Tyton said, handling the crossbow in his hands. He had pretty much figured out its working principle.

One could only say that its designer was incredibly wise!

Although it wasn't suitable for large-scale battlefield combat, it would be an almost perfect tool for assassins.

"Assassins?"

"Indeed, it's quite suitable for assassins!" Corvinus nodded in agreement.

"The Zhuge repeating crossbow is mainly for its portability. However, it won't be the main equipment. For now, it will be equipped to the Second Wolf Cavalry Squadron. Whether it will be widely adopted by cavalry in the future is something you can discuss."

"The main advantage of this weapon is its simplicity of operation. It can be used with one hand, and it can fire five arrows in a short period. I personally think a range of two hundred meters is more than enough."

"At the speed of war-wolves, a distance of two hundred meters can be covered in less than fifteen seconds. With a bow, you might only be able to shoot one arrow, but with the repeating crossbow, once you're proficient, you can fire all five bolts within fifteen seconds," Corvinus explained.

This was precisely why he had thought of the Zhuge repeating crossbow. Even though bows in the hands of werewolves could reach a range of over four hundred meters, they were not suitable for wolf cavalry. At a distance of four hundred meters, a war-wolf could cover the distance in about thirty seconds. With the speed of arrows, you could only shoot two arrows in thirty seconds at best, and that was assuming the archer was extremely skilled.

Otherwise, you'd likely only get off one shot before engaging in close combat.

"I think it's not suitable for infantry, but it's quite suitable for cavalry," Cadia said, skillfully loading the crossbow in her hand and firing a bolt at the distant wooden post. She then looked at it and commented.

"Alright, whether it's suitable or not, the Second Wolf Cavalry Squadron will test it first. If the results are good, it can also be considered as one of the standard cavalry equipments," Corvinus said.

Hearing Corvinus's words, everyone nodded in agreement.

"There's no need to introduce the rest. Cadia, Tyton, you two should immediately equip these weapons to the Second Wolf Cavalry Squadron and have them quickly become proficient in using them," Corvinus instructed.

"Yes, sir!" Cadia and Tyton nodded. They both knew that they were leaving tomorrow, and time was of the essence.

They quickly called over several werewolf warriors and had them push away the five small carts.

"Grandpa Bastos, since the infantry will also be equipped with javelins, you can continue forging them. Additionally, regarding weapons and armor, you can forge them in large quantities. If you need more manpower, you can talk to my uncle Lothar and appropriately increase the workforce," Corvinus said to Bastos.

Although the tribe's warehouse still had thousands of sets of weapons and armor in storage, Corvinus knew that the Silver Mane Tribe would not stop expanding. He would not miss any opportunity to annex other tribes. As the saying goes, "Expand the army first by forging weapons," so the more weapons and armor, the better. When the time came to significantly expand the army, they could quickly form new units.

"Yes, sir!" The old werewolf Bastos's aged eyes sparkled with youthful vigor.

He had been waiting for this. As a blacksmith, the more weapons he forged, the greater the honor he felt.

Soon, only Corvinus, Kro, and Bagen, the two commanders, remained in the field.

"Let's go, commanders, take a walk with me!" Corvinus smiled at Kro and Bagen.

"Chief, please lead the way!" Kro and Bagen bowed slightly.

The two werewolf commanders exchanged glances and instantly understood that the young chief likely had some instructions to give.

Corvinus took a few steps and then said, "I will lead the Second Wolf Cavalry Squadron to Kassros Canyon tomorrow."

"Are you going personally?"

"Chief, that's not appropriate. Moreover, Kassros Canyon is extremely strict about bandit groups. Almost no bandits dare to go there," Kro and Bagen were both shocked and quickly tried to dissuade him.

Going to Kassros Canyon to raid was like courting death.

With hundreds of years of history, countless bandit groups had been annihilated in Kassros Canyon. It was now known as a no-go zone for bandits.

"Who said I was going to be a bandit?"

"This time, I'm going to find a way out for the tribe. You should know that our food supplies are insufficient and won't last until July. So we must find a solution."

"The bandit plan is only a last resort. I already have a better plan, so don't worry," Corvinus shook his head and said.

He stopped walking, turned to face Kro and Bagen, and after a moment of contemplation, he said, "I might be gone for about half a month to a month, so I'll leave the army to you."

"Army training must not be relaxed. Also, now that the Four Clans have integrated, to win their loyalty, the army can appropriately recruit some young werewolves from the Four Clans."

This was something Corvinus had considered for a long time. After the Four Clans joined, all their warriors had been demobilized and returned to civilian life instead of being directly integrated into the army.

However, after much thought, he decided that recruiting some of them into the army would actually be a better way to win their hearts.

"But those from the Four Clans should not be grouped together. They should be mixed with warriors from our own clan," Corvinus added.

"We understand!" Kro and Bagen quickly grasped Corvinus's intention after a moment's thought.