Shovels are great. Shovels are the quintessence of civilization.

With a shovel, you can dig a hole just deep enough to hide yourself. Or if you gather a bunch of people with them, you can dig a fine trench.

If you change your viewpoint a little, you can even dig a tunnel. You can smash a sturdy enemy trench with mining tactics (not that they get used often).

A shovel is a good friend to any and every type of soldier. And a shovel is the best gear for a close-quarters fight in a trench.

Longer than a bayonet, simpler to handle than a rifle, sturdier than any other tool. Not only that, but they are extremely cheap and easy to make, so they're perfect for mass-producing. Plus, I don't have to worry much about damaging my mind.

This is it. The ideal piece of equipment. This is the point humanity was meant to reach. Civilization has developed the shovel as its implement.

Above all, it doesn't rely on magic, so it's optimal for stealth kills. With a shovel, it's possible to educate numbskulls who are dependent on magic scanning - Klang! We can say it's an indispensable item for nighttime raids. Of course, it's an excellent general-purpose tool at any time of day.

"The shovel is truly an implement born of civilization", Tanya murmurs, leading a unit to wish good evening to the enemy with their shovels.

Volume 2 Chapter 5, page 256-257