Chương 468: 462. Testing - II

Kivamus looked at the distance again. It was still far closer than the kind of range they might face if a knight charged the village walls while the scorpion was mounted on a watchtower. But it would give them a decent idea. If the bolt could go through six planks here, it would likely still have enough force at a longer range to punch through armor, especially with the height advantage from a tower. Once the new target was ready, Kivamus went back to the scorpion.

He loaded it again, turning the side handle until the string reached the marked point. Then he shifted the holding force to the nut and took an iron-tipped bolt from the apprentice. He placed it carefully in the groove, checked the sights, and brought the target into line. Everyone had stepped back already. He pulled the trigger. The scorpion snapped forward with another hard twang. A moment later, the bolt struck the target with a loud thwack.

"Come on," Kivamus said. This time everyone walked faster. When they reached the target, the result was clear. The bolt had pierced all six planks completely. Unlike the earlier shots, though, it had not kept enough force to fly on and strike the log wall behind it. It had passed through the planks and fallen a few feet beyond them. Kivamus crouched and picked it up, then looked back at Hudan.

"This is a good result for a target at 100 meters," he said.

"The scorpion might be able to shoot as far as 500 meters, but getting a clear hit at that distance would mostly be luck. At 200 to 300 meters, though, it should still be possible to target an enemy accurately enough—certainly at a knight charging on a warhorse, where the horse would also be a valid target. Maybe not every shot, but every other shot should have a decent chance." He looked down at the heavy bolt in his hand.

"And even at that distance, I think the momentum of this iron-tipped bolt would still pierce a knight's plate armor. It might even go through him completely, with the tip coming out the back, especially if it's shot downward from a watchtower. Even if it doesn't, it will still be more than enough to kill a knight at a medium shooting distance."

"I'd say so too," Hudan said. He looked at the broken target with a grin.

"And if unarmored enemies come at us, without plate armor to slow this thing down, the bolt might even go through two or three men before it stops. That would put chaos into their ranks."

"That's the plan," Kivamus grinned. Duvas was still looking at the target, then back at the scorpion.

"This is the first time I'm really seeing the power of something you built," he said quietly.

"The crossbows have been very useful, but they are still not far from bows in the way they feel, nor are they much stronger. But this scorpion bolt went through six planks like they were nothing." He shook his head.

"Technology really is something." Hudan snorted.

"And this isn't even close in size to the ballistas the army uses in Fort Aragosa." Kivamus chuckled.

"Yeah. And this is only the start." Then he called Darora closer. The young carpenter wiped his hands on his trousers and came over.

"Yes, Milord?"

"How many scorpions can you build immediately if all their steel components are available?" Kivamus asked.

"We may need them sooner than expected, with those adzee packs roaming around the village." Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"I've heard their howls too at night..." Darora scratched the side of his head.

"This one is ready, as we saw. I also have all the wooden parts crafted for a second scorpion, and I could assemble that in half a day if I had the metal components. For the third one, I'm nearly done. I think I can finish it in a week if I stop working on the lathe parts."

"What if you put Layita on this too?" Kivamus asked.

"Can you craft a fourth one quickly?"

"She is in charge of crossbow making," Darora said.

"But if you want me to fully focus on this, I can put everyone on scorpion parts and pause crossbow work for a week." He thought it over for a moment before continuing.

"In that case, the wooden parts for the third scorpion could be done in a couple of days. The others can rough-cut the parts for the fourth by then, and Layita and I can give them the final finishing, since the other apprentices don't have the skill for that yet. So the fourth scorpion might be ready in another four or five days after that. So give me a week, and I will have all four scorpions ready for you." He grimaced a little.

"The fifth one, and any scorpions we build after that will take much longer though. At least 15 more days after that, for each one, until the lathe starts to help. The early work for the fourth had already started a week ago, so we have a head start there. For the fifth one and any later scorpions, we'd have to start right from the fedarus logs." Kivamus thought about it for a few moments.

"Alright," he said.

"Then pause the lathe until you have built four scorpions." Darora looked disappointed.

"I was really excited about making the lathe, though. It's a new challenge, and if you're right, it will speed up a lot of my other work."

"It will," Kivamus said.

"But you told me it would still take around 10 days to craft. After that, you'll have to assemble it with the steel components, and those might not come out perfectly on Cedoron's first attempt. Then we may need to test it, make adjustments, and reforge some parts. That could take longer. Then if you start making the scorpions after that, it will nearly take a month until we have three or four of them." Darora nodded slowly, though he still did not look pleased.

Kivamus continued, "With all these adzee sightings, I'm worried they're starting to run short on food in this region. The smaller animals may be getting driven away because more people are moving around the village now, and the larger game is being hunted by our hunters. The adzee will probably leave eventually and find easier hunting grounds, but before that, they just might attack us for food."

"But how will mounting scorpions on the watchtowers help with that?" Darora asked.

"What if they attack one of the worker groups outside the village?"

"We're already sending guards with each group of laborers outside the village," Hudan said.

"It probably won't be enough to fight even a single adzee properly in the open, but it might scare one off for long enough that the workers can retreat." He glanced toward the palisade wall.

"But I don't think that will be the main problem. Adzees are night predators. They almost always hunt at night. So if they attack, it will most likely be after dark, when the villagers are already inside the walls. So far they're only roaming around the hills, and are rarely seen near the village, so it's not certain they'll attack here at the village. But it could happen within a week in case they realize there are a lot more people here for them." He grimaced.

"To eat." Kivamus nodded.

"That's why we need to make the village walls more secure." He looked toward the nearest watchtower.

"The last adzee that attacked us a couple of months ago was a young one separated from its pack. This time there is a whole pack nearby. There could even be several attacks at once. So far, it doesn't seem like they can jump over our palisade walls, but from what Feroy told us, a fully grown adzee is strong enough to break our gates if it keeps hitting them, especially if more than one tries together. And they seem more than smart enough to do that." The group had gone quiet now.

"If they get through the gates," Kivamus said, "it will be a slaughter. That is why I want one scorpion on each of the four corner watchtowers, including the three towers near the gates. Even that may be enough to take down the adzees during an attack, or injure them badly enough that they retreat before they can break the gates, or until they grow weak enough that the other guards can finish them with spears. So we cannot postpone that critical work for the lathe.

Not when we might be able to make four scorpions at the same time. The problem will still be whether the blacksmith can craft enough steel components for them in time. But I'll talk with him about it later today. You can carry on with what we have decided." Darora nodded.

"As you wish, Milord. I'll take my leave then. I have a lot to do now." The young carpenter returned to the scorpion at once, and began calling out instructions to his apprentices to carry it back to the workshop. Kivamus watched them work for a moment. The carpenter's men moved carefully, keeping their hands away from the mechanism and lifting from the wooden frame instead. After what had happened during the earlier test where the scorpion had nearly failed, nobody treated it carelessly anymore.

Then Kivamus gestured to Hudan, Duvas, and the guards.

"Come on. Let's head back."