Chapter 103: Bayonet

“Request? So that’s your real purpose?”

Owen smiled helplessly and gave in. 

“Alright then, let’s hear it.”

“Regardless of where you learned this new knowledge, I’m very interested. Could I also join the new training course you’re offering?” 

Theresa asked.

“You want to learn too?”

This was mainly a training course for schoolteachers, held in the evenings to study new curriculum material, taught personally by Owen.

Now that the threat of the undead monsters was gone, Owen could invest in education with confidence, hoping to nurture outstanding talent as soon as possible.

In addition to the five clerics provided by Bishop Flynn, Owen also handpicked several knights skilled in teaching to join the faculty, expanding the teaching resources.

Furthermore, craftsmen like Viru and Jita were invited to attend classes whenever they had free time.

The goal was to instill advanced scientific knowledge in these people, ensuring they could read and understand the relevant professional books Owen provided.

“Yes…” 

Theresa replied brightly, nodding. 

“If possible, I’d also like Lord Owen to ask Bishop Flynn to let me become a teacher and work at the school.”

So that’s it—she wanted to be a teacher all along!

That wasn’t a problem. Theresa had already proven her ability through cultural training sessions for the militia.

“Alright…”

Owen agreed. 

“Tomorrow night, at the pilot school. Don’t be late.”

“Wonderful!”

Delighted, Theresa clapped her hands, walked around the table, and bent down to plant a quick, dragonfly-like kiss on Owen’s cheek.

“This way, I can keep helping you, Lord Owen.”

Whispering in his ear, she blushed, grabbed the Basic Science book from the table, and darted out like a quick-footed rabbit.

Owen froze for a moment before touching the spot she’d kissed. His lips curved into a smile.

“This girl…”

…

Northern Bianshu Town – Lizardman Temporary Settlement

Five lizardmen hurried back from outside, each carrying a large bundle. Reaching the edge of a training ground, they dropped the packages onto the ground all at once.

“Chief, we’ve brought everything the blacksmiths finished making.” 

One lizardman called out toward the front of the group.

“Oh! Good work.” 

Lusha replied, walking over. 

“Return to the formation.”

The five quickly rejoined the ranks in the training field.

Unwrapping one of the bundles, Lusha spread it open to reveal more than twenty blades inside.

He picked one up for inspection. The blade was over 30 centimeters long, prism-shaped, with three blood grooves, quenched for good hardness. At the tail was an iron tube with an inner diameter larger than a musket barrel, featuring a zigzag slot that allowed it to be fixed onto the barrel.

“So this is the socket-type bayonet the lord mentioned before?”

Kerman, the chief’s trusted aide, came over to see the close-combat weapon meant to be used with muskets.

“Yes.” 

Lusha replied, holding out his hand. 

“Bring me a musket. I want to test it.”

Kerman unstrapped the musket from his back and handed it over.

Taking the musket, Lusha recalled the instructions he’d been taught and fitted the bayonet onto the muzzle. A quick twist—and it locked firmly in place.

“Ho! Nice and tight.”

Lusha swung the weapon a few times into the empty space beside him and nodded in satisfaction.

Next, he copied the set of drills everyone practiced during training, making several thrusting motions with the musket.

The bayonet gave off a whooshing sound as it pierced forward, trembling slightly at the tip—evidence of the force Lusha was putting into it.

“Qualified!”

Lowering the musket, Lusha turned to Kerman and ordered.

“Have everyone line up to collect their bayonets. Then practice attaching them—get familiar with it quickly, we don’t have much time.”

“Understood.”

Kerman nodded and went back to direct the ranks, bringing them forward row by row in an orderly manner to receive their bayonets.

As the number of muskets gradually increased, certain flaws became apparent in their use.

While musketeers had formidable long-range attack power, their close-combat ability was extremely weak—a limitation dictated by the weapon’s very design.

In melee combat, asking a musketeer to swing his musket at the enemy was less effective than having a proper spearman in the same position.

Thus, in battlefield engagements, each musketeer needed to be assigned one or more spearmen to protect them, ensuring their steady firepower output.

This inevitably caused a significant waste of manpower.

Both Lusha and Viscount Jarvis had noticed the problem and reported it to Owen.

Viscount Jarvis had even come up with his own solution: make a long-handled double-edged dagger that could be inserted directly into the musket’s barrel for use.

This would give the musketeer some degree of close-combat capability.

However, blocking the barrel meant the musket could no longer fire, and removing the blade afterward was a hassle—often damaging the gun in the process.

In short, the drawbacks were considerable.

Fortunately, Owen had learned about the historical development of bayonets from Winston’s side, and he promptly rejected Viscount Jarvis’s painstaking idea.

The final product was the socket-type bayonet Lusha had just received.

Though attaching it slightly interfered with the loading of ammunition, the musket could still fire, and the design was simple—ideal for mass production.

With this, musketeers no longer needed spearmen to protect them, taking on both the roles of ranged fire support and close-range assault, greatly increasing battlefield flexibility.

After everyone had collected their bayonets, Kerman led the lizardmen in starting a new round of training.

No one complained—they all knew this was for the sake of returning to the Mystery Forest and reclaiming their homeland.

From their defeat at the hands of the Black Wind Tribe, to the forced migration of their people, to wandering and ending up here—many tragedies had occurred along the way.

Fortunately, the Sinking Sand Tribe had met a trustworthy human lord, who not only helped them survive the winter but also gave them a chance for revenge—an opportunity they intended to seize tightly.

As the others trained hard, Lusha turned his head southwest. At the far horizon lay the Maze Forest.

His expression darkened, and he thought grimly: Black Wind Tribe… just wait. We’ll be coming back to settle the score soon.

…

When winter passed, the river leading to the Bianshu town reopened.

Within days, a cargo ship laden with grey powder docked at the pier, its crew eager to unload.

No surprise—these grey powders had been sitting in warehouses for far too long, and the magic-stone merchants had been anxious to sell them, fearing Owen might suddenly change his mind and refuse to buy.

If not for the river being sealed all winter by Duke Eddie, they wouldn’t have been in such a rush.

Of course, Owen needed these powders for his long-prepared farming plan, so he took the entire shipment. The quantity was substantial—enough to form a small mountain.

Bianshu town’s lord kept his promise, finally putting the magic-stone merchants’ minds at ease.

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