489: Chapter 469 Do you understand the value of the Triad Tactics?

Zhang Mu suddenly appeared at the Command Post. Domit mistakenly thought an emergency military situation had occurred and reached for the phone with his right hand to summon the Legion Commanders for a meeting, but Zhang Mu pressed down on the back of his hand.

"Don't be nervous, no one is attacking Lake."

Domit let go of the receiver, exchanged a look with Damu, and asked in confusion, "Has the Marshal come to inspect the front lines?"

"Not exactly." Zhang Mu took a laptop out of his Storage Pouch with a smile on his face. "I came for this."

He placed the laptop on the desk, flipped it open, and pressed the power switch. The screen slowly lit up. As the brand logo flashed and disappeared, Zhang Mu connected a wireless mouse and performed a series of operations to open a video.

Standing behind him and peeking over his shoulder, Domit and Damu had both received basic modern knowledge from Blue Star and understood that the "continuously moving images" playing in the video were things called animations.

"Oh?" Domit let out a cry of surprise as he saw a tank drive across the screen.

Zhang Mu paused the video and pulled out several books. The covers were printed with "Detailed Explanation of Modern Trinity Warfare," which he handed to Domit.

"Here, I adapted this. The original version had many concepts you haven't encountered, which would make it difficult to read."

"This is..." Domit flipped through one of the books, scanning the text briefly. "A book explaining tactics?"

"Pretty much," Zhang Mu said, smacking his lips. He continued, "After eliminating Kingdom, my next step is to annex the Kingdoms outside the Eastern Border. After that, we'll face Ganno directly. That means Lake's expansion will officially step into the central region of the Saul Continent. On my way flying to the Forest of Spirits, I looked down from high altitude and noticed a river crossing the central region with tributaries everywhere, the furthest even reaching remote areas."

Domit had a slight understanding of the Saul Continent's geography. "Does the Marshal mean the Koulibaly River?"

"That's the name of the river?"

"Yes."

"Doesn't matter." Zhang Mu waved his hand to dismiss the topic and stated his intention directly. "That river is very wide—well, I feel calling it a 'Great River' would be more appropriate. I figured since the central region has such a well-developed water network, there's no reason not to utilize it."

Domit suddenly realized, "The Marshal plans to establish a Navy Legion?"

None of the Kingdoms in the Western Border of the Saul Continent had formed a navy, but the concept of a navy wasn't non-existent on the continent. It was just that there were no rivers in the Western Border large enough for large ships to maneuver, and small boats carrying only a dozen people were of no help in war, so the countries simply ignored them.

Seeing him hesitate, Zhang Mu scratched his head and asked, "What's wrong? Is something off?"

"Marshal, even the most agile ship would only become a clumsy Pack Rhino compared to a Professional. We would spend massive amounts of manpower and resources to build a Navy Legion, only for the enemy's Saint-level or Gods Blessing to launch a sneak attack before we even start combat. And the navy... wouldn't even have the ability to run away. Besides, is the navy's contribution to war really that great? I know battleships can be equipped with giant cannons that are difficult to move on land, increasing their practicality, but if that's the only purpose, we could just have the factories build a few heavy trucks to achieve the same thing."

"Hahaha..." Zhang Mu laughed heartily, then patted him on the shoulder. "I don't blame you. After all, you've only read military books from before WWII."

"Uh, I don't quite under—"

"Don't be so rigid in your thinking." Zhang Mu resumed the video, used the mouse to drag the progress bar to the middle, and pointed at an aircraft carrier on the screen. "Ships can carry planes in addition to people."

Thinking that Domit might still be confused by such an explanation, he added: "It's a mobile airport at sea; it's called an aircraft carrier. That's the role of an aircraft carrier. As for the missile frigates and cruisers next to it, their duty is to protect the carrier."

Domit frowned deeply. "An Aircraft Carrier Flotilla? Its actual combat effectiveness..."

"You have to look at it comprehensively." Zhang Mu took the book from his hand. "Trinity—do you understand the value of Integrated Trinity Tactics? In future wars, don't just charge in with infantry. First, use planes for carpet bombing to destroy enemy fortifications and crush their morale. Then, have the frigates fire a volley of missiles to eliminate as many of the enemy's High-tier Professionals as possible. Finally, deploy the Army Legion to clear the field."

He held up the book in one hand and tapped the cover with the back of his other hand. "To execute trinity tactics, the Air Force is key. We can't always fight in areas close to our own country. As our territory becomes more vast, launching wars within imperial borders where distances are great and logistics lines are infinitely stretched will become more frequent. When you arrive at a new location, you have to build an airport, right? Well, yes, magic combat aircraft have powerful performance and can take off vertically without a runway, so airports can be built quickly. But no matter how fast it is, it still takes time. Even if it only takes one day, you have no Air Force available for that day. That's when the role of the aircraft carrier becomes prominent."

Domit guessed, seemingly understanding but not entirely, "To ensure the magic combat aircraft are on standby at all times?"

"That's one point." Zhang Mu stuffed the book back into his hand. "There's another point. For some Principalities whose highest combat power doesn't exceed High-tier, isn't it very troublesome to dispatch a legion to attack them? And even if we win, it's a losing proposition, isn't it?"

Domit nodded instinctively.

Lake's offensive against surrounding countries was extremely fierce, partly thanks to sufficient military supplies. The front lines never had to worry about running out of bullets or shells, making the legion's combat very comfortable. However, everything had a price.

Lake won victory after victory, building oil wells and digging mines on the occupied lands at an appalling pace. If the people of the Saul Continent ever heard of the reputation of Blue Star's Eagle Sauce, they would immediately pin the title of 'oil rats' firmly on Lake's head.

This work had been going on for two years. All kinds of strategic materials flowed into the Lake Royal Treasury like rivers and Lakes converging into the sea. Avril had built hundreds of new warehouses in cities everywhere, yet there were still large amounts of magic ores stacked in the open, letting their magic power bleed away into the air. The terrifying accumulation was enough to overstuff even Huaxia, but Lake's year-end statistical report for this year showed that inventories were bottoming out.

Zhang Mu said cheerfully, "So, in the future, if there are any more troublesome Principalities that insist on provoking us, there's no need to make a grand show of assembling an Army Legion and building roads to facilitate troop transport. Just sail the Aircraft Carrier Flotilla over, and after a few rounds of bombing, they'll become docile immediately."

Domit imagined the scene Zhang Mu described in his mind.

A certain Principality, because it was far from Lake and separated by empires and Kingdoms, used extremely arrogant language to provoke them and even sent a legion to participate in the Kingdom's siege. The King was so proud that Lake, which could fight an empire head-on, could do nothing to him that he happily planned to eat two extra bowls of rice for dinner. But just as he picked up the first bowl, an Aircraft Carrier Flotilla had already reached his territory's border along the Koulibaly River. magic combat aircraft took off en masse, flew over the royal capital, and the bombs they dropped turned the palace into ruins.

Waking from his fantasy, Domit's gaze instantly became sharp. "Marshal, you have a point. I suggest we put navy construction on the agenda immediately."

"I went to the royal capital to find Avril before coming here. I reckon the documents have already reached the hands of city lords everywhere by now."

Besides discussing official business, Avril had also informed Zhang Mu of an important piece of news—the approximate location where Teacher Potter was being imprisoned. Zhang Mu had tasked Sauron with this matter, and Lake's intelligence department had been investigating all along. Limited by the empire's powerful foundation and the fact that secret agencies were guarded by High-tier Professionals or even Saint-levels, progress had been limited. Therefore, the news wasn't collected by the intelligence department but was transmitted by Potter to Avril.

At that time, Potter seemed to have briefly escaped surveillance and sent a message to Avril saying, "Beware of the Church, be wary of the gods." Afterward, Avril continued to call out, but received no further response. Potter didn't reveal which country he was in. Relying on the special talent of her Ice and Snow bloodline, Avril traced the faint magic threads between sound transmission crystals to the Lachi Empire. As for a more specific location, she couldn't find it because the magic power had faded.

After listening, Zhang Mu understood that his speculation had been confirmed. Only an empire would have the courage and ability to detain a Gods Blessing. The Lachi Empire was far away on the other side of the continent's central region, and Zhang Mu's legion was powerless to go there, so he had to temporarily set aside the rescue.

"Study hard. In a few days, I'll bring you some combat demonstration videos. I will personally take charge of the relevant training for the First Army. Once you're proficient, we'll draw elite Soldiers to serve as instructors to teach Lake's First-Tier Legion."

"Yes!" Domit saluted.

Zhang Mu turned toward the light gate, preparing to return to "The World" first and then summon a Portal to return to Blue Star, when Damu suddenly called out to him.

"Marshal."

"Huh? What is it?" Zhang Mu turned his head to look at him.

Damu smiled shyly. "It's been a long time since I've been back to the First Army's station. Um, Marshal, before I left last time, Mr. Geoffrey told me that the development of the new generation magic guidance sniper rifle was almost successful. When you go back, could you..."

"Oh, thinking about the new gun?"

He nodded honestly.

Geoffrey had mentioned the development work of the new generation magic guidance sniper rifle to Zhang Mu; it was already completed. The change in appearance wasn't large, basically maintaining the shape of a sniper rifle. The number of Cores and the combination structure also remained as they were. In this regard, improvements to magic guidance snipers had long since reached their limit, and further enhancement would be very difficult. It wasn't that they couldn't be improved, but compared to the cost of development, the gains were negligible and could be evaluated as a total loss.

Zhang Mu had heard that the first batch of new generation magic guidance sniper rifle prototypes was being manufactured. According to the original production plan, Damu would be able to get one in a month. But plans can't keep up with changes. If the tear of life Zhang Mu brought back from the Forest of Spirits could be successfully applied to the magic guidance sniper rifle, its performance would jump several levels. Geoffrey was analyzing the tear of life day and night, trying to find a way to mass-produce it. Geoffrey considered that once the research bore fruit, the current magic guidance sniper rifles would surely be thrown into the warehouse to gather dust, and those in production would be obsolete before even leaving the factory. This would be a huge waste of resources, so it would be better to terminate it and directly prepare for the development of the next generation magic guidance sniper rifle.

Zhang Mu felt the suggestion was reasonable and nodded in agreement. "There was a bit of an accident, but a good one," Zhang Mu said to Damu. "The new generation magic guidance sniper rifle will be very strong—strong beyond the limits of your imagination. Look forward to it."

Damu's eyes lit up. "Marshal, I will!"

"Be careful in everything on the battlefield. I'm still counting on you to snipe a Gods Blessing in the future." The moment the words fell, Zhang Mu stepped into the light gate.

Damu stared blankly at the closing light gate, his palm stroking the body of the sniper rifle he was holding. "A Gods Blessing..."

...

Entering "The World," Zhang Mu had intended to summon a Portal to return to Blue Star, but remembering Damu's question just now, he turned his steps and went to Geoffrey's laboratory. On the first day he got the tear of life, while still in the Forest of Spirits and before moving far from the Elf Clan territory, Zhang Mu had found a gap to enter "The World" and hand it over to Geoffrey. Geoffrey had set up a project overnight and drawn capable subordinates to conduct research, which had been going on for several months now.

The structure of the tear of life was complex. Magic power could not sense the specific types of components, and instrument testing was incomplete, with various unknown substances appearing on the report. To mass-produce it, analyzing the properties of the unknown substances and finding objects in nature that contained the same properties was a necessary process that could not be skipped. Obviously, this was a long-term task with an unpredictable deadline, so Zhang Mu hadn't been monitoring it constantly and had even put it out of his mind. However, since it had been mentioned now, it would only take ten minutes or so to ask Geoffrey about the progress, so he might as well go.

Transporting himself to the laboratory, Zhang Mu immediately saw Geoffrey focused on shaking a glass test tube. The subordinates beside him were equally concentrated and didn't notice the Marshal's arrival. Zhang Mu walked over silently. He waited until Geoffrey put down a test tube before speaking up. "Are there any results? Or breakthrough discoveries?"

"Who—oh, Marshal, you startled me."

It was precisely because he was worried about such a situation that Zhang Mu waited for him to put down the test tube; otherwise, the two of them would be staring at glass shards shattered on the floor now. Giving himself a mental thumbs-up for his wit, Zhang Mu said cheerfully, "My apologies."

Geoffrey had just complained instinctively and forgot it in an instant to answer his question. "There are a total of seventeen unknown substances inside the tear of life. So far, we have analyzed nine of them. As long as we resolve the remaining eight, replicating the tear of life will become a reality!"

"Among the identified substances, are there any that are particularly rare?"

Mass production depends not only on mastering the technology but also on the cost of raw materials. To mass-produce magic guidance sniper rifles, Zhang Mu had initially spent energy collecting rhenium metal on Blue Star, and in the end, it was barely enough to supply one Special Operations Squad. If any component of the tear of life was a rare substance on the Saul Continent or even Blue Star, then it was destined not to become a key trump card in Zhang Mu's hands.

Geoffrey replied: "None so far, but I can't guarantee for the remaining ones; we still have to wait for the results. Also, Marshal, the tear of life is nurtured by the life tree. Could you ask the elves for a few leaves and roots? It would be best to scrape off a small piece of bark as well. I believe it could assist in the analysis."

"Leaves? Roots?" Zhang Mu's mouth twitched. "The life tree is tied to the survival of the entire Elf Clan, and you even want bark? Fine, I'll take you there, and you can ask the Elf King yourself. I guarantee the Elf King will skin you alive before you can scrape any bark."

Geoffrey probably understood that his request was a bit too ridiculous and smiled sheepishly. "It was just a suggestion."

"Alright, you get back to work. As for what you said..." Zhang Mu hesitated for a moment. "If the remaining unknown substances can't be figured out, I'll consider whether to try it."

"That's fantastic!" With a cheer, he ran back to the console to continue his work. Zhang Mu didn't linger any longer, teleporting to the void area and stepping into the Portal he summoned.