Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

“Firearms. Firearms.” Gwen muttered, “Sorry, sir, I have never left the Northlands, and I have only heard of the Empire’s firearms. Could you tell me about their power?”

“Why don’t you first tell me what you know about firearms? You are from the White Raven Principality, aren’t you?”

“Yes. I was born in a village, but later when war broke out, my parents died, and I fled as a refugee. My understanding of firearms only comes from hearsay—hearsay that the army of the White Raven Principality was utterly defenseless before the Empire’s firearms, until the Fathers of the Silent Sanctum stepped in to barely drive the Imperials away.”

“Yes, that battle was also the only time the extraordinary ones managed to succeed on the battlefield. The Silent Sanctum organized a large number of Fathers clad in heavy frost armor to charge the lines, and they actually broke through the defense against bullets. Unfortunately, it was only a fleeting success. The Silent Sanctum lost too many, and they never recovered.”

Even after the White Calamity, they were unable to protect their believers and even abandoned the Resistance Army. If not for Nora, perhaps not many refugees in the Northlands would have survived.

“Firearms are weapons for close-range use. Though in theory they can send bullets flying several hundred meters...”

Isaac spread his hands.

“I can only say that in the Empire’s army manual, firing from more than a hundred meters is strictly forbidden. The exact words were: ‘That would only waste precious firearm powder.’ Normal firing range rarely exceeds seventy meters. In fact, the closer, the better.”

Gwen frowned. “That doesn’t seem as good as a bow and arrow, does it?”

In the Northlands, veteran hunters could hit a coyote from over a hundred meters away.

“Can your arrows pierce a cavalryman’s breastplate?”

Gwen fell silent.

“And how long does it take to train an archer? With your men, if I train them, in just a few days they can already handle firearms skillfully—if the enemy comes quickly, even a single day is enough for them to learn how to fire.”

Isaac was not lying.

That very evening, the young men of the Resistance Army had already learned the entire process—in fact, Isaac and the people from the Ashen Alliance took only one hour to cover the essentials, and the rest of the time was spent correcting mistakes.

From then on, the Resistance soldiers endlessly repeated those monotonous drills: following orders, raising their guns, and firing in volleys. It was so simple that Gwen found it incredible. The most difficult part was reloading the firearm, and even that was just a handful of steps—she had already memorized them just by watching.

“Is it really this simple?” Gwen looked in disbelief at the firearm in her hands. Something that took only an hour to learn had nearly brought the White Raven Principality to the brink of extinction, forcing even the Silent Sanctum to intervene?

Isaac grinned. “Its power lies precisely in its simplicity. The real challenge is in formations and firing commands. Soldiers must obey orders strictly, drilling until it becomes second nature. In battle, there is no time to think about steps. Most people are too terrified to think at all—so being able to follow commands instinctively is crucial.”

The supplies Isaac had brought filled several wagons. According to him, there were even more in town that were not so easy to transport.

This truly surprised Gwen. If what this man said was true, the main strength of the Ashen Alliance lay in the Empire. To bring supplies here meant crossing both armies’ lines?

How was that even possible?

But Isaac’s answer carried deeper meaning.

“Luckily, the two sides are at war. Otherwise, we would never have gotten so many firearms.”

While training the firearm troops, Isaac also distributed other supplies—simple tools, medicines, and such—all things the Resistance Army lacked. These refugees had cut off all contact with towns. Although they could hunt some game for food, the entire camp did not even have a few axes.

With these, the Resistance Army could at least build simple fortifications, and the camp could put up some shelters against the wind and rain.

But the enemy did not give them much time to slowly build.

Isaac came to Gwen to inform her that cavalry from the town had set out. This was only the second day since he had arrived.

“How many?” Gwen tried not to show it, but Isaac still caught a flicker of panic in her eyes.

She was just an ordinary farmer’s daughter, struggling to lead the Resistance Army for survival. She had no battlefield experience.

“Don’t worry, only three squads of cavalry.” Seeing Gwen’s confusion, Isaac added, “In the Northlands’ system, a squad of scouting cavalry is seven men.”

“Seven!? How dare they send so few? Even if it’s just scouting, isn’t it easy to wipe them all out?”

“Because they are cavalry.” Isaac shrugged. “You don’t really understand cavalry, do you?”

Gwen was silent. The White Raven Principality had no warhorses. There were barely any mules, let alone horses. Even the Fathers of the Silent Sanctum had none to ride. Her idea of cavalry was simply man plus horse.

“Without elite cavalry or a proper trap, it is very difficult to wipe out an entire cavalry squad. Their mobility is too great.”

“So, we’re going to hide in the woods, right?”

“No. We will strike first and eliminate them.”

Gwen was shocked. “Mr. Isaac, I don’t quite understand— even with your help training us, and even with firearms, we can hardly win a frontal battle against the Winter Wolves, can we? Why reveal our strength early?”

In Gwen’s mind, the Resistance Army had to remain hidden and endure. When the Winter Wolves finally moved to wipe them out, they would set up an ambush, catch them off guard with firearms, and in the chaos, immediately head south to escape the Northlands.

Isaac shook his head.

“Miss Gwen, you still underestimate cavalry. Even if we scatter the Winter Wolves, once they regroup, it won’t take them long to catch up with us. We only get one chance at ambush. Once they reform, it will be our end.”

“But we have firearms...”

“The Empire also has firearms. More than us, better trained than us. And yet they still face off with the Northlands.”

“You mean—”

“Do you know why Earl Bazel’s Winter Wolves managed to carve out territory in the Northlands?”

“You said before, they all wear standardized armor, and their horses are good.”

“That’s just decoration. The real key is that they, too, are skilled in the use of firearms.”

Gwen’s eyes widened.

“The Winter Wolves is what they call themselves. But in the outside world, they are known by a louder name—Pistol Cavalry.”

“Pistol Cavalry, also called Cuirassiers. These soldiers wore only breastplates. Earl Bazel devised a complex set of tactics that ensured continuous gunfire. With this, he succeeded in establishing his foothold in the Northlands.”