2-dome no Jinsei, to Omottara, Jitsu wa 3-dome Datta ~Rekishi Chishiki to Naisei Doryoku de Fukou na Rekishi no Kaihen ni Idomimasu~ - Vol. 2 Ch. 8

[MangaDex]

 

[razorshaleh]

it reminds me game samurai warriors series and dynasty warriors series

thank you for translating & mass uploads

 

[karappo]

Didn't know semi-automatic bows were a thing.

 

[Vincentius]

Didn't know semi-automatic bows were a thing.

Yep. The manga covered it pretty well and it works exactly as described; the main drawback, though, is it's nowhere near as strong as a regular crossbow, due to the draw weight needing to be weak enough that you can draw it back with one hand.

If the regular crossbow is a bolt-action rifle, the repeating crossbow (the more general name for it) is an SMG.

 

[Salfaro]

With all the talk about how crossbows have limitations vs normal bows, I'm surprised that he didn't think to make normal compound bows for the trained archers.

 

[BobBiscuit]

With all the talk about how crossbows have limitations vs normal bows, I'm surprised that he didn't think to make normal compound bows for the trained archers.

I believe he did cover that in a different chapter, and had some made along the way as proof of concept, but his main goal is ultimately converting more of the general populace into a ranged militia, skilled enough to defend themselves from their everyday threats without the regular standing army, or to be able to be conscripted if necessary. Since the general populace has other work to handle, they need a weapon that they can learn to use, and be accurate with, with less time and investment.

The other note is that the compound bow he did have the workshop make, Geld drew himself, and commented "This ain't something just anyone could use", implying even the trained archers might have trouble with that design (probably due to increased draw weight from the monster materials, but it isn't made clear for sure). Even if the already-trained archers could use those bows, it doesn't seem like they have the finances to mass-produce both, and the greater benefit is in practically tripling their battle-ready ranged forces. It's one of the major reasons why, once guns became accurate enough, they completely overtook all other forms of warfare. Aside from their destructive potential, it allows for people to be trained sufficiently in a short time, doesn't require significant musculature to be built or maintained, and for ranged weapons, significantly more ammunition can be carried personally, or in supply caravans. For this world, even crossbows benefit from most of those points. That said, I'm fairly certain if their standing army were larger and could handle the bows he developed, it would be a better option to focus on those, for the reasons stated in the manga.

 

[Euphaire]

He should say "let me show you it's feature" when showcasing the repeating crossbow to his father next time...

 

[welcome2atlantis]

What light magic, is it like Solar Flare technique from Dragon Ball?

 

[Salfaro]

I believe he did cover that in a different chapter, and had some made along the way as proof of concept, but his main goal is ultimately converting more of the general populace into a ranged militia, skilled enough to defend themselves from their everyday threats without the regular standing army, or to be able to be conscripted if necessary. Since the general populace has other work to handle, they need a weapon that they can learn to use, and be accurate with, with less time and investment.

Yeah, I know that his main goal's doing it for the populace, but they're still giving the military special training for the crossbow (Oda Nobunaga's tactic) specifically because of its downsides, in which case I feel like he could have also just manufactured a version of a compound bow for the army, so they could operate at their normal potential, rather than having to adapt a strategy meant for guns for their crossbow usage.

The strategy is good for guns because guns were substantially more powerful than bows and so building a strategy to mitigate their disadvantage was still better than bows, but if a compound crossbow and a compound bow have similar power output (and frankly, a compound bow is larger and would probably have more power anyway than a compound crossbow), then this strategy is inferior to just equipping the army with compound bows (where they wouldn't have to reduce their fire rate and all 3 lines could maintain fire/volleys), aside from the fact that it would require MC to also create non-crossbow compound bows. But he already "invented" the mechanism, making a non-crossbow version of it really shouldn't be that hard.

The other note is that the compound bow he did have the workshop make, Geld drew himself, and commented "This ain't something just anyone could use", implying even the trained archers might have trouble with that design (probably due to increased draw weight from the monster materials, but it isn't made clear for sure).

I actually checked this before making my first post to confirm, and it's not a compound bow in that scene. What he asks the workshop to make is a composite bow, which is a name that's easy to confuse with compound bows but they're different things. A composite bow is just a bow made out of multiple materials, which can make stronger bows in some cases (meaning they can store more energy/power). Importantly though, the bow that Geld uses there has no pulley system, so it's not a compound bow, and that's likely why Geld complains about it as he struggles to pull it, because a stronger bow, composite or not, is gonna be harder to pull. On the flip side though if it was a compound bow, Geld would probably be commenting on it being easier to use instead, because one of the selling points of compound bows is that the pulley system reduces the amount of force that you need to pull the string into position.

 

[Milanin]

Didn't know semi-automatic bows were a thing.

Repeater bows are a staple. Ranging from Age of Wonders 1 over to Age of Empires 2 to a few others.

 

[BobBiscuit]

Yeah, I know that his main goal's doing it for the populace, but they're still giving the military special training for the crossbow (Oda Nobunaga's tactic) specifically because of its downsides, in which case I feel like he could have also just manufactured a version of a compound bow for the army, so they could operate at their normal potential, rather than having to adapt a strategy meant for guns for their crossbow usage.

The strategy is good for guns because guns were substantially more powerful than bows and so building a strategy to mitigate their disadvantage was still better than bows, but if a compound crossbow and a compound bow have similar power output (and frankly, a compound bow is larger and would probably have more power anyway than a compound crossbow), then this strategy is inferior to just equipping the army with compound bows (where they wouldn't have to reduce their fire rate and all 3 lines could maintain fire/volleys), aside from the fact that it would require MC to also create non-crossbow compound bows. But he already "invented" the mechanism, making a non-crossbow version of it really shouldn't be that hard.

To repeat a point I made in my initial post:

Even if the already-trained archers could use those bows, it doesn't seem like they have the finances to mass-produce both, and the greater benefit is in practically tripling their battle-ready ranged forces. [...] That said, I'm fairly certain if their standing army were larger and could handle the bows he developed, it would be a better option to focus on those, for the reasons stated in the manga.

You're right in that I misidentified the kind of bow he designed, and that he has technically designed what he'd need to make compound bows. However, that doesn't change their financial situation or their bigger issue: their army is apparently only 400 strong, and rereading the last two chapters, almost certainly made of mixed forces (he noted in the last chapter that many are militia, and said militia cannot be put through the training necessary to use bows well enough). There is no technology available to them, or that can be developed, with their resources, knowledge, and time remaining before the conflict, that is going to come anywhere near the value of adding 800 crossbowmen to their combat-ready manpower, even if they're using the cheaper, composite-based crossbows he developed, with only the elites using the compound/composite combination shown off in the chapter. If that 400 soldiers mentioned were just their territory's archers, I could understand prioritizing compound bow production (assuming they had the finances).

As for training the populace with regular bows, regular archers take significantly more time and investment than you might think -to the degree that the English had a saying, "If you want to train a longbowman, start with his grandfather." In the last chapter, he himself notes that it would take rigorous training and consistent practice -and that's assuming there isn't the need to build up the same (frankly insane) level of musculature needed for a longbow. He has no more than roughly a year and a half to build up the territory's forces, as it doesn't seem to be earlier than spring, and he's got until the beginning of next year's fall before the conflict begins. Unless everyone he gives a bow to has the same level of genius talent with it as his brother does with the sword, it's just not going to be enough time. Meanwhile, training with a crossbow can be done in a few months to 'good enough' levels, and can even be done by people missing an arm, provided they have something like a fallen log or barricade to brace it on (most tools to aid in reloading rely on leg strength, so as long as they can march, they'd still be able to do it).

 

[lesseffective]

I wonder when Takhir is going to invent himself some long pants...