Chapter 354: Demonstrating the Rifled Breach Loader (2/2)

After saying this, Berengar turned his attention to Ludwig, where he approached his old friend with a smile on his face.

”Come, Ludwig, let us go for a drink; I feel like celebrating the occasion and discussing some of my ideas with you!”

Ludwig did not deny the King's request, and as such, he followed him into the city of Kufstein, where the two men entered a local pub. The new Fashion designs that Berengar had begun to implement hadn't entirely overtaken Kufstein yet. Berengar and Ludwig were exceptionally well dressed compared to the common laborers who still dressed in largely renaissance attire that dwelled within the pub.

Berengar was currently clad in his full military dress uniform, similar to his wedding attire but in black, with a dark grey collar and sleeve cuffs that were filled with golden embroidery. Every other medal and order he had on his wedding uniform was the same on his military uniform. As such, he stuck out like a sore thumb when he entered the tavern.

Despite this, not a single person in the room looked at him with a sign of greed or envy. When the King entered the pub, more than half of the men jumped up and saluted him. Many of these men had either served in the military or were currently serving in the military, and as such, were well accustomed to doing such a thing whenever they were in the King's presence.

Berengar motioned for the men to be at ease before he sat down at the bar, where he ordered two fingers of whiskey for both himself and Ludwig. As well as a liter of beer to chase it down with. After doing so, he immediately began to discuss some of the arms developments he wanted to introduce in the upcoming years with Ludwig.

”So Ludwig, what do you think about metallic cartridges?”

The moment Ludwig heard Berengar say this, he was pretty shocked. As such, he lowered his voice before answering the King's question with one of his own.

”How did you know I have been working on metallic cartridges?”

Berengar merely chuckled as he heard this and downed the whole two fingers of whiskey in a single go. After doing so, he took a sip of his beer before speaking his thoughts.

”You came up with the needle rifle on your own; logically, the next progression is to build a bolt action rifle that is capable of using metallic cartridges. Or am I assuming too much?”

Ludwig was stunned when he heard this; it was exactly as Berengar had said; the moment he completed the needle rifle, he wanted to replace the paper cartridge due to its inherent disadvantages. However, despite tinkering with the idea of metallic cartridges in his free time, he had not been able to produce a reliable version. Thus Ludwig asked with suspicion on his mind as he dared to utter the words.

”You know the solution, don't you?”

Berengar merely smiled as he drank from his beer, not revealing the truth behind the matter. However, his silence was enough for Ludwig to comprehend the answer, and as such, the older man sighed heavily before asking Berengar the question he had been dwelling on for years.

”So tell me, my King, how do you know so much about... well, everything?”

Berengar smiled as he heard this before deciding to tease his old friend. As he did so, he leaned in and whispered to Ludwig the truth of the matter.

”Would you believe me if I told you I was from the future?”

Ludwig thought about it for a few moments and chuckled before responding to Berengar's wild claim.

”I don't know if you're actually telling me the truth or just messing with me. However, I know one thing that is a better explanation than anything I have been able to come up with to explain your unworldly knowledge...”

Berengar chuckled as he heard Ludwig's response; after doing so, he patted the man on the back before saying.

”Regardless as to how I know these things, I'll help you out with your metallic cartridge problem, send me your designs when you get the chance, and I will gladly assist you with how I think they can be improved.”

After hearing this, Ludwig nodded with a smile on his face. Whether Berengar was telling the truth, or he was a man who had sold his soul to the devil for unlimited knowledge. It honestly did not matter; at the end of the day, Berengar's reforms immensely helped the people living in Austria, and to Ludwig, that was the most important thing of all.

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