A/N: Like before, you can join the discord channel for questions and discussion with this invite code: X6WeHRn

Cato sighed as Landar sulked in the corner of the carriage. As she had done for the last day. Ever since they left the Iris Clan, in fact.

He glanced up at her only to notice Landar looking away with a huff. Clearly she was not very happy with him.

"Are you angry that I was agreeing with your father's proposals?" Cato guessed.

Landar just remained silent.

All Cato could do was continue. "I was trying to fix your relationship with your family. Maybe I went too far in trying but it seems to me that your father and you do not have to be estranged. "

"I'm not angry about that-" Landar halted as she realized she had broken her silent sulk.

She took a minute to compose her thoughts before continuing, "it's not even that you didn't talk to me before agreeing to go with the expedition. Yeah, I don't like that you didn't ask but I know better than most people that the Iris Clan is too influential to ignore. I'm just not happy that we have to do something just to pander to those close minded families!"

So it was an emotional problem then? Cato could think of no way to help her with that. As an outsider to the Iris Clan issues and Landar's specifically, Cato had a rare third person view of the situation. While Cato identified the friction as one of cultural and values mismatch, Cato did not have any emotional stake in the environment Landar had grown up in.

But Landar just sat in the corner looking miserable. No tears were falling, no flashes of anger or even the madness of one of Landar's moods. She was just morose and utterly lacking in her normal cheerfulness. A far cry from the absorbed focus when they were working together on the draft computer circuits, even if both Landars were just as silent.

"Maybe you could try thinking of yourself as separate from the Clan?" Cato said eventually. "You work in a different city, doing different things. The Iris barely understand what we are doing and your father is reassured that your position is secure. So rather than the families imposing conditions on our engagement, we could regard it as us giving them a concession in order to maintain a good relationship. "

Which was something that Cato and Landar had done in the various business dealings. Though none of those had any conditions as personal as an engagement, for the nobility here, marriages were inevitably part of the trade in favours. Landar effectively counted as nobility, and though she did not like that sort of calculation, she was used to it.

"And if they try to push too much, we could just break it all off by declaring ourselves married. It's not like anyone outside the Clan would object and the Iris' opinions matter very little in the business circles we move in. Or perhaps our influence, backed by Minmay, could be used as levers. With the number of businesses that are friendly to us and their financial strength, we could... cause problems for the Clan. If we wanted to. "

It might cost some political capital with Minmay and force both of them to truly participate in the political games of the aristocracy that they had so far stood apart from. But they could 'go to war' with the Iris, so to speak. Their company might not have the raw money that the Iris had, but they knew many people and had lots of allies who had enough money to affect the economy of the entire country.

"So we can think of our relationship with the Iris as one of political entities, like that between the Ironworkers and Minmay, rather than one of an extended family. "

"That's enough. " Cato's continued rambling was cut off by Landar as she quirked her lips into a small smile.

Cato had no idea why she was feeling better now. But that was good. At least she was smiling again.

Landar chuckled at his confusion and patted the seat next to her in the empty carriage. "Get over here and give me a hug. "

Cato did just that.

Curasym and Cato walked down the firing range, inspecting the latest iteration of the standard weapon that was being produced in Minmay. After the order for seven thousand new model guns were confirmed, the flush of money had resulted in the newly established weapons company recruiting university alchemists to improve the gun.

Cato had kept hands-off from that project, wanting to see if the teams could function independently. The trip to Iris Clan had happened during the most critical phase where the team were making prototypes and the problems in the design by committee had created. This was the result during Cato's three and a half weeks at the town of Barin.

The training driller provided by the designing team led them to the table where a disassembled gun was waiting for them. Clearly trained by the Minmay Guards, the man's discharge reason was obvious from his wounded leg.

"Here you can see the second new model gun, called the Model 2. These are the parts that make up the gun, each of them are enchanted to provide the function they are meant to support. " The man assembled the pieces of iron with a deft hand, creating a gun that looked like someone had added a whole bunch of attachments to the New Model Gun.

"Just like the previous, the Model 2 supports shooting different types of magic bolts. Along with the original fire, force and disruption bolts, we have added a shield piercing disruption bolt and a shield piercing fire bolt, building on your spell designs. " The trainer acknowledged Cato with a nod. "For physical bullets, added onto the original pure speed mode, we also have the Hero's inertia and speed combination for attacking unshielded targets and another mode that adds a weak disruption spell to the bullet's enchantment. "

"Furthermore, the bullet design has been refined, like a dart with fins to stabilize it without the need for rifling. This and the higher speed plus positioning the inertial enchantment onto the head allows the Model 2 to shoot more accurately. Though the bullets work even in the New Model gun, their production requires higher precision and is too limited to be used as general issue. "

The man held up the gun and pointed to where the original loading spot was. Instead of a metal bar held closed with a spring, there was a gear-like wheel with teeth there and a bolt attached to a sliding base plate below the firing spot. "This here is inspired by Cato's description of revolvers, though obviously not the same. The trigger, when pulled, turns the ratchet above to drag the clip of bullets up by one position just before firing. The clips are small wooden strips that hold the bullets in the gun and can be reloaded simply by pushing the clip into the gun. Each clip holds ten bullets. "

The man detached the straight block of metal below the loading spot to show the top bullet inside the rectangular chamber that held the ammo clip. Fixing it back into place, the trainer pulled the bolt forwards into firing position. He then pushed a clip of dart-like bullets into the gun, making sure the teeth of the gear caught on the holes in the wooden clip. He let the bolt stay open, inviting Cato and Curasym to view the mechanism and bullet.

"Pulling the bolt backwards serves as a safety when a clip is loaded. The trigger will not be able to pull the next bullet upwards and thus the gun cannot fire. Alternately, it also moves the base plate to hold manually loaded bullets in place; if there is no clip, the ratchet is not engaged and the trigger can be pulled into firing position. Using this bolt and the ratchet, the Model 2 can be fired as fast as pulling the trigger. Allow me to demonstrate. "

He checked the bolt before firing, almost out of habit. Bracing the gun against his shoulder and held up by his left hand, the trainer aimed down the range and fired with the characteristic supersonic crack. He corrected his aim and pulled the trigger again, though Cato noted the trigger action was much heavier than the original gun models when they were just a magical signal. In just a handful of seconds, the trainer had fired all the bullets, and though the range was short, they could see the man had shot a splendidly close grouping of holes into the target.

"We also have designed a different bullet to be used with this same gun, a canister containing a bunch of small metal balls that pops open after leaving the barrel. This canister sprays a cone of pellets at short range, you barely even need to aim. Very good for close in work. " The trainer loaded the small bullet sized wood cylinder on the table into the gun manually and fired. There was a buzz-crack and the target acquired a splattering of dents. Cato could count at least six dents in the human sized target at ten meters. Almost like a shotgun, though with much greater spread. "Unfortunately, this new bullet only works with the Model 2, the spell plates of the previous can't prime the canister. "

The trainer pulled his attention back with a gesture to the bar hanging below the barrel. "The gun also comes with a bayonet attachment here, which also accepts an attachment for fireshell launching. A bracket can be attached to the standard fireshell produced in the country, slotted into place in the bayonet holder and the gun can prime and launch the fireshell up to fifty meters. Much further than can normally be thrown. "

"Other additions are the charge indicators here on the stock, which is signaled to the gun from the new power container design. Changing the selected mode is also done with a dial on the stock instead of changing the spellplates manually. The stock itself is built like a spellforming wand and has all the modes built in. "

The man once again deftly disassembled the gun into its component parts, all seven of them. "The best part of course is that each part of the Model 2 is built to the new interchangeable parts standard, including the enchantments. If a gun's spellforming stock is broken, it's working parts can be used as replacements for other guns. If the bayonet attachment has seen action and cannot fit the fireshell brackets any more, it won't affect bullet accuracy. Unlike the previous model, the Model 2 is not a single fixed piece, we hope this improves its use when damaged or needing maintenance. "

Curasym looked at Cato, as if asking what he thought about it.

All Cato could think of was that the guns of Minmay were starting to look more modern.

Erin looked out at the mountain of supplies secured under heavy tarps. The field of supply tents behind the Fort Yang wall was the size of a small town. The stockpile of food, ammunition and magic had been growing day by day with no end in sight. It was clear to anyone seeing it that a major operation was being planned. The Northern Expedition Army was six months into the mustering and the final stockpiles were being made ready.

To no one's surprise, the Central Territory nobility had praised Erin's actions and 'amazing tactical skill' for her sacrifice gambit. Her resignation had been refused and Erin shipped back to the Fort. She could have pushed it through but King Ektal himself had confided in her that there wasn't anyone to take her place.

At present, Erin was regarded as the foremost defensive commander in all of the Federation. Fort Yang had repelled a truly preposterous number of zombies and her reputation had grown with every kill the foot soldiers made in her name. That number coming through Algami Plains would have spelled the end of Ranra and possibly the rest of the Federation.

An offensive commander had not been found, outside of Ranra cavalry companies, and Ektal did not want to invite outside help for this operation. So Erin had also been tapped for this expedition.

She was starting to regret not insisting on her resignation.

At first, Erin had demanded a huge amount of food, weapons and soldiers to fulfill the objective of creating a military outpost at the ruined city. The Chancellors and King had conferred with letters flown by Elka messenger, and gave her whatever she wanted.

And then Erin had found that bringing that huge amount of food was going to take an insane number of carts. So now she had to go back and ask them for more carts and the rekis to pull them.

And then the rekis needed their feed, carts needed repair supplies and craftsmen to maintain them. Repair supplies of replacement shafts and wheels, most of which did not fit each other. The key difference being that every cart and replacement part that came from Minmay would fit if its size looked the same. Every other place except for one workshop in the Central Territories put out carts that looked the same but could not be used to repair each other without bringing a woodworking workshop along.

When Erin had asked for three hundred carts specifying that all of them should come from Minmay, the hullabaloo raised by her 'implied insult' made her truly question her posting for the first time.

And now a fresh bunch of recruits from the capital were here and expecting to receive training in guns supplied by Minmay. The only good thing about the recruits from the capital, trying to mimic the Minmay Guards, was that they were numerous. King Ektal had scraped up every petty criminal, levy and conscript he could get his hands on to get the soldiers to use his order of seven thousand Minmay guns.

They turned up with no discipline, barely any training beyond how to march and unreasonable expectations of matching the Guard. The number of command roles with the formations were far too few, one in a hundred or so, and usually second or later sons and daughters of nobles out for glory. Sometimes she would get a huge block of a thousand and not have the guns to arm them, or a few weeks would go by with no one coming and the Minmay guns would stockpile with every fighter having one under their bed and one extra in the warehouse.

Fort Yang was not a place for basic training! It was an actual frontline that even the Minmay Guard took serious losses at occasionally! Even if the attacks had trickled to near zero after her Firestorm gambit, Erin did not want them here.

They might be expecting to be part of the expedition but no matter how they whined, Erin would stick them with holding down the fort while the expedition consisted of actual experienced soldiers and knights. Not even poor conscripts could fail to hold the formidable Fort Yang defenses unless a huge army came at them.

The worst part of all these problems was that Erin was quite sure she had missed some small but critical supply issue and it would rear its head halfway through the desert. Just in time for a zombie army to kill them all.

But she had food, transport and weapons and she really couldn't think of anything else to bring.

Wait, they had to sleep somewhere. Erin scribbled a note to herself to order tents and construction supplies. The light woods the Elkas reported were not going to be enough for any serious building. They were building a military outpost, so she also had to ship wood and escort civilian builders.

Right, she could do with one of those new flying balloons too. Elkas needed to rest their wings and a high perch would let them stay up for much longer without needing to bring magically expensive launchers.

Erin turned back to her office, time to make more requisitions.

The rows of men and women marching out of the city were accompanied by the marching band. The drums, a bright blue uniform with a white stripe, the cheering civilians lining the streets, the Minmay Guards left on their expedition with a procession full of spectacle. This was the first contingent of Guards, veterans of the conflict with Duport and later at Fort Yang. They had just completed a rotation of rest and rearming, and had the best and latest in equipment the city could make for them.

Though the very limited numbers of the Model 2 was reserved for the best snipers in the Guard, the first contingent had newly refurbished guns and grooved ammunition. Their marching order was interrupted by wagons carrying smaller scale portable spell cannons and disposable racks of magic bolt launchers, support weapons attached to them on a squad level that was in greater concentration than any other part of the army.

As the Guards marched out of the city in ranks, the rows and rows of marching men and women seemed invincible to the cheering public. The uniform, the synchronized marching and the simple yet catchy marching songs from the contingent's drummers all contributed to a militaristic spirit that swept the public into a great fervour that had been unknown since the end of militarism with the formation of the Federation.

More than that, the parade instilled a pride in their own city and region into the watchers, a feeling that the Guards were their work, that each of the citizens of Minmay had personally contributed to the defence of all. No one there had a name for that feeling but Cato and Morey would instantly identify it as the beginning of a national identity. A drawing of the scene was also commissioned by Aesin, to be printed in a special issue of the newspapers in Minmay, spreading the spirit as far as it would go.

Overseen by the Chancellor, his wife, their daughter and their newborn son, surrounded by the cheering masses, the Minmay Guards themselves marched with vigor and soaring morale. They were marching off to defend their parents, siblings, children and friends, against a relentless and dangerous enemy. The cheers and appreciation reminded them that the people of Minmay supported the Guards.

Yet, observers from Ektal and the Federation noted the organization, the way that the industrial power of Minmay was used to support the army. For that was what the Guard was. A professional army supplied with weapons, ammunition and food produced in an efficient mechanized production system, backed with a centralized political will and social unity.

Amarante in particular, when she read the report weeks later, had immediately noted the changes to warfare that could result if a clash like that with Duport happened. The concept of total war, something that had been buried in the bloody history of the past, had become possible again.

Quite apart from the parade was the last part of the logistics train that was leaving Minmay with them. The small sea of carts carried their food, water containers, endless loads of spare parts and even a full metalworking workshop, complete with a set of standards, powered lathe and steam hammer. By the time the contingent reached Fort Yang, more would join them from the Central Territories.

The roads east had been improved as part of the infrastructure upgrades necessitated by the steel trade going up the river Tine, concrete slabs had been laid over gravel, with forest cleared back from the road a good distance. The Guards could make good time but even with these advantages, the thousand strong Guard contingent and another thousand of the expedition's support craftsmen did not move quickly. They would take two weeks to reach Barin, where they would collect the summoners, and there the roads were back to the usual bad conditions.

Cato sat on the cart, watching the supplies roll past in covered wagons. Landar and his cart containing the latest in magic detectors and a magic circle workshop had needed a wheel replacement so they were sitting here watching the logistics while the carpenter replaced the wheel.

Cato recognized these wagons. Those were filled with the canned chokos with added yama syrup for sweetness. Since the northern area past the Snow Wall was a desert, Cato had raised concerns of scurvy being a possibility. Most of the food being transported were grains and dried meat after all. So Kalny had drawn up a special production series of canned chokos. As a dessert, the sweetened fruit would also help with morale, so the Guard had decided to add it to their diet, though sparingly.

Landar however, was eyeing her set of carts with a much more dangerous look. The stacks of tubes hidden under the oiled cloths contained the second iteration of her incendiary rocket project. With much stricter quality control of the body, a specially built ball mill for grinding the fuel powders ever more finely, and spin stabilization of the rockets, Landar's rockets had reached a level of reliability that the Guards had allowed her to bring a set of a hundred along as an experimental artillery unit.

Landar hummed to herself as she doodled ideas for warhead fuses. Cato could see her smile every time she glanced up at the rocket cart.

"Are the rockets really that interesting?" Cato asked.

Landar just nodded and continued humming as she surveyed the experimental results of the latest impact fuse design, drawing possible improvements on her notepad.

A question occurred to Cato, if they were going to investigate the summoning stones, he needed to know what the summoners might need. Normally, summoners were self-contained weapons, which made them useful problem solvers. But with the advent of the overcharge training, they might not want to stop training while on a long campaign. And Cato had completely forgot to ask what they might need.

"I wonder what additional logistics the summoners might require if they want to do training while on the move? Any ideas, Landar?"

She ignored Cato's question. Or perhaps she was just distracting herself from thinking about how they were heading back to the Iris Clan shortly after leaving. Cato sighed, at least he had got Landar to stop pouting whenever her family was mentioned. Though making newer and ever more deadly weapons was a rather strange coping mechanism, Cato wouldn't have her any other way.

Landar looked up as he ran a hand through her black ponytail. "Hm?"

"It's nothing," Cato smiled. "Perhaps if you described the problem you are facing, it might help?"

Landar smiled back. "Well, the original impact fuse design uses a spot of magic to detect when a large shock is received. And while it's very reliable, the problem is that the signal causes a short delay between the impact and the explosion. By the time the signal reaches the warhead, it has either cracked or scattered its contents into the small crater, so the bursting charge to spread the living fire around only makes a small plume in a random direction or is just completely useless. "

Cato nodded. "Then how did the Guards approve your live testing?" he asked.

"Well, for a large target like a zombie swarm, you don't need that much accuracy. So I used a time fuse and the usual disruption sensors. " Landar smiled beatifically, "the cone of fire the rocket make when detonating is simply beautiful!"