novelSusiti Chapter 84 The Imperial Captain with "Innate Divine Strength"
Chapter 84 The Imperial Captain with "Innate Divine Strength"
Chapter 84 The Imperial Captain with "Innate Divine Strength"
Reminded by Rock, Lu Xiong finally snapped out of his shock.
He quickly bowed respectfully to Luo Ke and said, "Congratulations on your breakthrough in martial arts, Commander! You are now a true master of Ming Jin!"
After chuckling twice, Rock nodded and said, "Haha, yes, I suddenly had a slight insight after the battle just now, and I broke through in an instant."
Insights? What insights?
Lu Xiong looked at Rock with awe. He didn't know what his commander had figured out, but he now believed from the bottom of his heart that Rock was destined for greatness.
Rock was indeed overjoyed after his physical abilities improved significantly, but he didn't pay too much attention to it. Instead, he turned to check on the new soldiers and officers he had acquired in this battle.
Anyway, he doesn't really need to engage in hand-to-hand combat on the battlefield. If he really had to take up a knife and fight to the death, he felt he would be pretty much done for. For Rock, the more important thing about breaking through to become a Ming Jin master was to strengthen his body and give him a powerful physique.
In this era of scarce medical resources and poor sanitation, having a strong physique is very important.
Otherwise, even a minor illness could endanger a person's life. Even high-ranking officials and nobles would eventually die if they contracted certain diseases.
First, there was the five-star unit. When Rock saw the five-star unit he had acquired, a look of surprise instantly appeared in his eyes.
[Congratulations, player! You have obtained a five-star unit: French Marines (from Total War: Shogunate)]
[This unit is equipped with: a Chassepot rifle and bayonet. Recruitment price: 250 taels of silver per person or 30000 taels of silver per squad (160 people). Population requirement: 1 population per squad.]
Good, good, the next batch of high-quality infantry is coming!
Compared to Roc's previous youth army infantry, this group of French infantrymen, now suffering the loss of their military families, have risen to a new level, because their equipment is revolutionary.
The Chassepot rifle was one of the earliest breech-loading rifles, and it had a profound influence on the development of breech-loading rifles. It can be considered the ancestor of the Mauser rifle, as the earliest Mauser rifles were based on this type of rifle.
Despite being an early breech-loading rifle, the Chassepot rifle did have many shortcomings. For example, the paper cartridges were prone to leaving residue in the chamber, which could cause the rifle to jam after continuous firing. Also, the firing pin was exposed, making it easy for dirt and sand to get in.
Regardless, this is a revolutionary rifle, with a loading speed at least three times that of a muzzle-loading rifle, and a range far exceeding that of any other muzzle-loading rifle.
This rifle has an effective range of about 800 meters, and its bullets can even reach a maximum range of 1600 meters. With this incredible range advantage, even without considering its rate of fire, this rifle is enough to crush any muzzle-loading gun.
This type of rifle was first invented in 1866, meaning that the major powers at present should not be equipped with this weapon, at least according to the original historical development, they should not be equipped with it.
Once equipped with this weapon, Rock's troops would be able to overwhelm the existing infantry forces of the great powers with their firepower.
Of course, as a prestigious five-star unit, the most troublesome aspect of this unit is probably its exorbitant monthly expenses.
According to the system's classification, such a soldier would require 25 taels of silver per month, while a greatswordsman would require 30 taels of silver per month. Therefore, given Rock's current financial situation, he probably really couldn't afford to support such a force.
Even if he manages to mine the gold, it will be difficult to offset the losses of this army, unless he slows down the upgrade speed of the troops he has.
"Oh no, this is absolutely terrible! I didn't expect that troop types would become so expensive; it seems we won't be able to afford to maintain them!"
Rock shook his head with a wry smile, but then he focused his attention on his affairs officer.
He had previously hoped that the system would give him a mage affairs officer, since all the mage affairs officers in Warhammer were powerful. If he could have one, he would have the ability to command a battlefield.
After several spells were unleashed in succession, the vast majority of the army simply could not withstand them!
However, now he is actually hoping that his system can provide him with some administrative officers with discount capabilities, so as to help him reduce the cost of maintaining the army.
Otherwise, he felt he really couldn't afford to support the troops he had.
[Congratulations, player! You have obtained the Imperial Faction Hero Officer: Imperial Captain!]
Huh? What I said came true?
Rock was delighted to see the newly acquired Agent Hero.
In terms of combat power, the Imperial Captain is certainly not a good hero. His combat power is almost among the lowest. However, the Imperial Captain happens to have a skill called "Supply Management", which can reduce the maintenance cost of the entire army he belongs to by 10%.
Although a 10% reduction isn't much, it's still a significant reduction. For Rock, who is currently facing financial difficulties, every little bit helps.
"Oh, right, something just popped into my head!"
Rock frowned slightly, then quickly asked the system, "Since the Imperial Captain can reduce my army's maintenance costs by 10%, what's the actual performance like? It's not like he'll just deduct soldiers' pay, is it?"
Rock didn't want the system's behavior to result in a direct deduction of the soldiers' pay. If that happened, it would be a miracle if the soldiers didn't complain!
[That's not the case. While maintenance costs will be reduced by 10%, system pay will continue as usual, but the amount deducted from the system account will be reduced by a corresponding 10%!]
Oh, this is wonderful!
Upon hearing this news, Rock couldn't stop smiling; this was simply wonderful!
To draw an analogy, it's like when Rock later distributes 100 taels of silver as military pay from the system, his system account actually deducts 90 taels, but the actual amount distributed is still 100 taels.
This means that ten taels of silver were added out of thin air!
It might not be apparent in the short term, but if the discounts increase further and the military pay is distributed over the years, it would mean that Rock's system could generate money out of thin air.
This couldn't be better. He had been worried that depositing too much silver into the system would cause deflation in the entire market, leading to an economic collapse.
But if this silver can be regenerated from the system in such a magical way, then much of this huge hidden danger can be eliminated.
As for what to do if, in the future, Rock manages to mess up the system by using a bunch of faction functions and hero skills, and recruits troops only to have those troops pay him, resulting in an overabundance of silver?
We'll see what happens then. At worst, he can use the silver for something else!
Modern industrial silver production is so large that silver prices have fallen sharply, but the economy has not collapsed as a result.
If Rock has not yet successfully established a credit currency by that time, then he can only blame himself for ruining his own monetary system for this reason.
When he acquired this system hero, a flash of white light appeared before him, revealing a tall warrior wearing an imperial cap, heavy armor, and wielding a longsword and shield.
The soldier saluted Rock and said with elegant bearing, "General, your loyal servant Luo Ping reports for duty!"
Because Rock did not remove the Chinese localization MOD, the system heroes he recruited also had Han Chinese faces, clearly typical northern men, and even shared the same surname as him.
Rock sized him up, nodded in satisfaction, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Not bad, very good! Luo Ping, from now on you will be my deputy!"
At present, Rock doesn't really have any command talents at hand. The most capable commanders under him are the company commanders of a few companies, but their abilities are basically limited to the level of company commanders and battalion commanders.
Expecting them to command thousands of men in a major battle is unrealistic, and Rock's own command skills are only mediocre. Under these circumstances, the arrival of an Imperial Captain has indeed filled the gaps in Rock's command structure.
Regardless of the Imperial Captain's command abilities, he is at least a qualified commander who has received a complete aristocratic officer education, and the system's products are always of the highest quality, so he must have all the necessary abilities.
As for whether he has the ability to command a more modern army under Rock?
Just kidding, of course you can!
Although the Warhammer Fantasy world is called the Middle Ages, the wars in it are anything but Middle Ages!
Putting aside other things, just talking about the Empire in Warhammer Fantasy, they have a whole bunch of high-tech weapons. Although they still use various spearmen and the like when they fight, the Empire actually has tanks, rocket launchers, and breech-loading cannons!
If we could get some more support from the dwarves, the Imperial army could even get helicopters and bombers!
For this reason, Rock was not worried at all about whether the commander could adapt to his current army. After all, if you include advanced technologies like steam tanks, the technological content of his army was really not as good as that of the Imperial army.
After acquiring this Imperial Captain, Rock immediately gathered his soldiers and introduced the general beside him to them.
The other system soldiers had no objections to the newly appeared Imperial Captain, because they knew that Rock must have his reasons for appointing him as deputy general, and this person looked extraordinary and must have the necessary abilities.
When Lu Xiong heard that the general's surname was the same as Rock's, he immediately rushed over excitedly, trying to curry favor and hoping to build a good relationship with the Imperial Captain.
Although the Imperial Captain had never shown his face before, he was suddenly appointed as the second-in-command, which made Lu Xiong somewhat suspicious of him.
But when Lu Xiong heard his name, he immediately filled in the blanks in his mind!
"Putting aside his abilities, the fact that he shares the same surname as the Commander-in-Chief and seems to enjoy his deep trust shows that he is definitely one of the Commander-in-Chief's trusted confidants, and might even be a cousin or something!"
"If we draw an analogy, isn't Luo Ping just like Xiahou Dun, who served Cao Cao?"
That's why Lu Xiong immediately tried to get on good terms with Luo Ping. After all, no matter how good Xiahou Dun was at fighting, he kept getting promoted!
Judging from the current situation, Luo Ping is definitely a favorite of the warlord, and he will surely rise to a high position in the future!
Luo Ping was startled by Lu Xiong's sudden approach and didn't understand why he was so agitated.
But as an imperial nobleman with good manners, Luo Ping immediately began to chat and laugh with Lu Xiong, even though Lu Xiong was just a roughneck.
Seeing the two huddled together, Rock suddenly remembered something. He called them over and asked, "By the way, Lao Lu, do you want to lend a hand to Luo Ping? To be honest, although I know Luo Ping is very good at fighting, I'm not really sure how strong he is. After all, I didn't know much about the martial arts world before. Why don't you help me assess him?"
Rock was genuinely curious about the true strength of the Empire's captain, as this would provide him with a useful reference for future comparisons with so-called experts.
Although by now, Rock is no longer as wary of martial arts masters as he was at the beginning, and is instead more wary of figures like lamas, he still wants to know just how powerful the martial arts masters in this world really are.
Hearing Luo Ke say this, Lu Xiong was slightly taken aback, but he immediately nodded and said, "No problem, I'll take a look at General Luo Ping's strength for you!"
The two of them didn't start fighting immediately. After all, Luo Ping was wearing a lot of equipment, and his armor didn't look easy to take off. If they fought while wearing the armor, it wouldn't show Luo Ping's true strength.
At least for experts in Ming Jin (明劲), they are not yet strong enough to ignore armor. Only when their strength reaches the level of An Jin (暗劲), which allows them to penetrate armor, can they truly ignore heavy armor.
So the two just shook hands briefly, and then exerted force simultaneously.
"Ah! Holy crap, let go! Let go! I give up!"
As soon as he exerted his strength, a crisp sound came from Lu Xiong's palm, and he couldn't help but scream.
Good heavens, who exactly is this Luo Ping? His strength is simply incredible!
It was thanks to Lu Xiong's shout to let go that Luo Ping immediately stopped exerting force; otherwise, if he had persisted for just two more seconds, that hand would definitely have been crushed!
After being released, Lu Xiong rubbed his hands and gasped, "General Luo Ping, I'm convinced! I'm truly convinced! Could you tell me how you developed such strength?"
Lu Xiong's face was full of astonishment. He couldn't understand how Luo Ping got such superhuman strength. Could this be the legendary innate superhuman strength?
He could sense that Luo Ping's skills weren't very good. He hadn't even reached the level of internal strength, let alone the level of external strength. He couldn't even properly apply many of the power techniques at the level of external strength.
But all of this was meaningless, because Luo Ping almost crushed his bones on the spot with sheer brute force. The strength he used was almost entirely brute force!
Recalling his master and other martial arts masters he had met, Lu Xiong made a rough comparison in his mind and was surprised to find:
It's hard to say what would happen if he faced a Grandmaster of Transformation Force, but if an ordinary expert of Dark Force faced General Luo Ping, he would most likely be beaten to death by his iron fists!
This was pure, unadulterated brute force. No matter how well a master of internal strength could protect their internal organs with their internal energy, or how well they could use the energy flowing throughout their body to assist in their attack, this power could never withstand the brute force that Luo Ping displayed.
As for whether a master of internal strength could injure Luo Ping's internal organs with a single punch?
Lu Xiong felt that unless it was a sneak attack, an ordinary master of internal strength would be lucky to even parry General Luo Ping's iron fist, let alone have the chance to strike a fatal blow.
Moreover, given their immense strength, surely their reaction speed must be exceptionally fast?
Lu Xiong didn't believe in such things, because unless you specialize in weightlifting or similar sports, anyone who seriously practices martial arts and focuses on real combat will emphasize coordination, meaning that both strength and reaction speed must keep up.
Otherwise, having strength but no reaction speed means you can only stand still and not catch up with your opponent. Isn't that just being a sitting duck to be played with?
Rock asked Lu Xiong and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Lu Xiong's hand was alright. He was really worried that Luo Ping had broken Lu Xiong's hand.
Luo Ping apologized to Lu Xiong with a face full of remorse. To be honest, he had thought that Lu Xiong was also a very powerful expert, which was why he had put all his strength into it from the start. But he did not expect that Lu Xiong's bones and muscles would be so brittle.
Faced with Luo Ping's apology, Lu Xiong quickly said it was okay, but he was even more hurt inside.
After all, he had lent a hand to someone, but he was outmatched and got hurt by them. Then the other person took the initiative to apologize, which made him feel quite embarrassed and ashamed.
Rock silently noted in his heart that the Empire Captain's strength was far beyond that of an ordinary master of internal energy. As for whether he could rival a master of external energy, it was hard to say. This gave him a general idea of the masters in this world.
To some extent, the martial arts masters in this world do possess some extraordinary abilities, but they have not yet transcended the realm of humanity, nor have they reached the level where one person can contend with an army.
At least the Imperial Captain's strength is not enough for him to fight against an army by himself.
So, as long as you take precautions and try to avoid being approached by martial arts masters, these masters don't seem so scary. At least they are unlikely to openly assassinate a general on the battlefield.
Realizing this, Rock breathed a sigh of relief, but then something else occurred to him.
"By the way, Luo Ping, when you get back, take a look at those martial arts manuals we confiscated and see if there are any techniques on them that you can practice."
"After all, you've never practiced this before. Maybe after you learn it, your combat power will reach an even higher level?"