Winning Over the Blacksmiths' Association

"Only five hand grenades..."

Looking at the five hand grenades on the table, Dai Weisi could not help but fall into thought. Wasn't that far too few?

"My apologies, First Prince." Master Lou Gao explained, "When we first began making the hand grenades, we didn't know the proper amount of gunpowder to use, so we conducted many experiments and wasted some black powder. Once we determined the dosage, the remaining black powder was only enough to make five hand grenades."

"I see."

Dai Weisi nodded slightly, without doubting him. Too little black powder and the hand grenade would not display its proper power; too much, and it might explode prematurely and injure their own people. They truly needed experiments to make thorough preparations!

"So these five hand grenades are Master Lou Gao's finished products. I wonder how powerful their explosions are. Can they kill a Spirit Emperor?"

As he spoke, he picked up an iron hand grenade. It felt as heavy as a large stone, and it was filled with sharp iron fragments. There probably was not much gunpowder inside.

There was also a fuse at the bottom of the hand grenade. As long as it was pulled, the hand grenade would explode several seconds later!

Master Lou Gao smiled faintly. "As they say, seeing is believing. Please come with us, First Prince. We will demonstrate it for you ourselves."

"That works too. Let's go."

With that, the group arrived at a desolate wilderness outside the city. The surrounding woods were dense, ancient trees towered overhead, and there were few people around. It was indeed suitable for testing high-powered weapons.

"First Prince, please watch closely!" Master Lou Gao handed a hand grenade to Si Long and ordered, "Throw this hand grenade for me, and make sure to throw it far away!"

"Yes, Master!"

Si Long yanked out the fuse. The moment white smoke began to rise from below, he hurriedly hurled the hand grenade with all his strength toward a boulder more than fifteen meters away!

Boom!

In an instant, the hand grenade exploded with a deafening roar. The boulder behind it shattered at once, while countless iron fragments scattered in all directions and shot toward the surrounding trees.

The flying fragments could pierce through tree trunks that would take three people to encircle. For a moment, the trees all around swayed as countless fallen leaves danced through the air.

Li Hu, who had witnessed everything firsthand, was both horrified and excited. "I never expected such a tiny hand grenade to possess such power!"

"Uncle Li, what do you think of the hand grenade's power? Can it kill a Spirit Emperor?"

Dai Weisi did not expect a small hand grenade to kill a Spirit Sage. As long as it could kill a Spirit Emperor, that would be enough.

Li Hu nodded excitedly. "First Prince, in this old servant's opinion, this hand grenade is fully capable of killing a Spirit Master at the Spirit Emperor level!

"It could even injure some Spirit Sages who are not from the Defense System. Take this old servant, for example. If this hand grenade exploded in front of me, even if I used Martial Soul Possession and prepared my defenses, I could still be injured.

"If there were more of these hand grenades, I'm afraid even this old servant could be blown to death!"

Li Hu could not help but sigh emotionally. Cultivation had not come easily to him; he had painstakingly trained for decades before reaching the Spirit Sage stage, yet now he was no match for a tiny hand grenade.

Firearms capable of killing Spirit Emperors had already appeared. Could firearms capable of killing Spirit Sages and Soul Douluos be far behind?

Alas! The times had truly changed! Li Hu could only lament this in his heart.

After receiving a positive answer, Dai Weisi asked Master Lou Gao, "Master Lou Gao, how much black powder is needed to make one such hand grenade? And have you measured its lethal range?"

Master Lou Gao replied directly, "In reply to the First Prince, making one such hand grenade requires five taels of black powder, and its lethal range is around five to eight meters. Beyond eight meters, the iron fragments are affected by air resistance, causing their power to drop drastically.

"They might be able to kill ordinary people, but they definitely cannot harm Spirit Masters. Also, once the fuse is pulled, the hand grenade must be thrown immediately. Otherwise, it will explode after seven seconds!"

"The maximum lethal range is only eight meters..."

Dai Weisi was somewhat disappointed, but after considering the hand grenade's power and cost, he accepted it.

The manufacturing cost of one hand grenade was definitely no more than five Gold Soul Coins. Compared to a Godly Zhuge Crossbow that cost two hundred Gold Soul Coins apiece, this was already far better. What more could he ask for?

Moreover, Dai Weisi intended to use hand grenades to equip the Star Luo Empire's army. When the time came, tens of thousands of soldiers could throw hand grenades at once.

Even if a single hand grenade only had a lethal range of eight meters, it could still blow a huge crater into the ground. And if they had flying Spirit Masters, they could even carry out targeted aerial bombardments.

Thinking of this, Dai Weisi laughed. "Congratulations, Master Lou Gao. You have created a weapon capable of changing the landscape of Douluo Continent. Your name will surely be recorded in history and remembered for generations!"

"Hehe, thank you for your praise, First Prince. To be honest, without the black powder and blueprints you provided, it would have been absolutely impossible for me to forge such a powerful weapon."

Master Lou Gao was also delighted. One hand grenade could kill a Spirit Emperor, but what about ten? A hundred? A thousand? One hand grenade only cost five Gold Soul Coins to make.

Who would dare look down on blacksmiths now? Who said blacksmiths could not change Douluo Continent?

"Hehe, Master Lou Gao, there is no need to be modest. Without your superb forging skills, I alone would never be able to make hand grenades even in a lifetime.

"Furthermore, I would like to invite you and the Blacksmiths' Association to join the Star Luo Empire and produce more, and even more powerful, firearms for the Star Luo Empire with me!"

At this point, Dai Weisi finally revealed the greatest purpose of his trip. He had come to Gengxin City for two reasons.

The first was to create hand grenades, and the second was to win over the Blacksmiths' Association and turn it into the Star Luo Empire's weapons research department.

"Ah, this..."

Master Lou Gao hesitated. Truthfully, he very much wanted to join Dai Weisi's camp. If he could develop firearms capable of killing Titled Douluos, he would be remembered for all eternity!

But he was the president of the Blacksmiths' Association, so he had to consider the other blacksmiths as well.

Seeing Master Lou Gao hesitate, Dai Weisi thought he was unwilling and hurriedly said, "Master, please do not reject me so quickly. I know you have always wanted to improve blacksmiths' status and treatment.

"If you are willing to join the Star Luo Empire, the merit of developing firearms will definitely make everyone across the continent see you in a new light. More people will sincerely want to become blacksmiths, and blacksmiths' status will naturally rise with the tide.

"I will also submit a memorial to the Emperor and ask him to improve the treatment of blacksmiths. With the Star Luo Royal Family backing you, I believe no one will dare look down on blacksmiths again. What do you say?"

"Good! Since the First Prince has put it this way, this old man will give his life to the First Prince!"

Master Lou Gao immediately agreed. This way, he would no longer have any worries and could devote all his energy to researching firearms.