—West City, Spirit City, Engineering Department branch.
The Engineering Department branch stood on the western outskirts of Spirit City. The area was sparsely populated and spacious, so there was no need to worry about a powder explosion endangering innocent people or destroying important buildings.
Inside the branch, five men in distinctive uniforms studied the blueprints in their hands, muttering to themselves.
"Goodness, these parts are so ingeniously designed..."
"Rifling? What is that..."
"What a treasure..."
"Cannonballs..."
"..."
These five were the master craftsmen Qian Daoliu had assigned to Murong Huai. At first, they had been somewhat displeased to be given another task in the middle of the crucial shipbuilding period. But now that they had seen the blueprints for the Red Barbarian Cannon drawn by Murong Huai, all their resentment had vanished, replaced by excitement and eagerness.
Murong Huai sat in the main seat, with Mighty Lion Douluo beside him and Tu Zhen standing behind. Looking at the five men, Murong Huai asked,
"Masters, do you think you can make these parts?"
At his question, the men nodded. The master craftsman at their head cupped his hands and said,
"May I ask Your Highness the Holy Son what this thing is? We have never heard of anything like it!"
"This is called a Red Barbarian Cannon. It's a type of firearm." Murong Huai gave them a brief explanation, but they still looked completely bewildered.
"Hmm... There's no point explaining it in detail now; you wouldn't understand. Just build it first, and I'll explain later." Murong Huai rubbed his forehead.
"Yes, Your Highness the Holy Son. We can have these parts made within ten days." The men nodded, then began dividing up the work.
As master craftsmen, their skills were indeed impressive. They were probably equivalent to grade-six or grade-seven machinists in his previous life, and their hands moved with practiced ease.
Seeing this, Murong Huai nodded, then sent people to secure the entire workshop.
"I wonder what level this Red Barbarian Cannon would reach if it were a Soul Tool..."
Ten days later, word came from the workshop that the Red Barbarian Cannon was complete.
At the news, Murong Huai hurried to the West City Workshop by carriage. The others brought out the finished Red Barbarian Cannon.
The barrel was about three meters long, with a bore of 110–130 millimeters. Its walls gradually thickened from the muzzle to the breech, and its pitch-black muzzle had an imposing presence.
"Good, good. What about the shells? Have you made them?"
"Your Highness, time was short, so we only made five shells: two solid shots and three hollow shells." One of the master craftsmen cupped his hands as he replied.
"Good. Since you've made them, let's take them out for a test. Head to the plains outside the city." Murong Huai nodded and ordered them to take the Red Barbarian Cannon out to test it.
At his words, five or six guards came in. They covered the cannon and pushed it along. Seeing this, Murong Huai murmured,
"It seems the cannon is too heavy and hard to move. We'll need to improve it, make it detachable, and increase its mobility."
An hour later, on the plains outside Spirit City.
"Good. This spot will do. Let's load a solid shot and try it first!"
At Murong Huai's words, the master craftsmen quickly got to work. They loaded a solid shot, and one of them lit the fuse with a torch.
Boom!!!
With a deafening roar, the iron ball streaked across the sky like a shooting star, to the astonishment of everyone watching. It traced a long arc through the air.
With a thud, the shell slammed into the ground eight hundred meters away. Clods of earth flew like rain, and a deep crater was blasted into the ground. The group went over to the impact site, and Murong Huai gave a slight nod.
"Not bad. For a first test, it reached around eight hundred meters. Very good."
The master craftsmen stared in astonishment. "E-eight hundred meters? The siege engines on a battlefield can only throw stones about five hundred meters, can't they? This Red Barbarian Cannon can fire an iron ball over eight hundred meters! Good heavens!"
"If that hit an enemy's war chariot or warship..."
"It could break through a city gate without a problem..."
"..."
The men were beside themselves with excitement. Mighty Lion Douluo also looked surprised. Seeing this, Murong Huai asked him,
"Elder Mighty Lion, how powerful do you think that solid shot was?"
Mighty Lion considered the question, then looked at the crater in the ground and said,
"I'd say it was about as powerful as a Soul King's full-force attack. It's a fearsome weapon for besieging a city."
"A Soul King..." Murong Huai nodded at Mighty Lion's assessment, then added,
"Next, load the hollow shell with powder and fire again!"
"Yes, Your Highness the Holy Son."
The group returned to the firing position, filled the hollow shell with an appropriate amount of powder, then pushed it into the barrel. Once the powder was loaded,
"With the powder behind it, its power should increase considerably."
"Fire!"
They lit the fuse. As it burned down, the Red Barbarian Cannon let out a deafening roar.
Boom!!!
A huge fireball seemed to burst from the muzzle, shooting out and tracing an arc through the air before landing a thousand meters away.
The instant it hit the ground, the Black Powder inside the shell exploded. The ground within a radius of about five meters was ripped into furrows.
"Beautiful!"
"It worked..."
"..."
The master craftsmen were thrilled. Mighty Lion watched the result and assessed it.
"Your Highness, the explosive force of this shell is about equal to a high-level Soul King's self-destruction."
Murong Huai nodded, then waved for them to fire another shot. The men quickly loaded a shell and lit the fuse, waiting for the Red Barbarian Cannon to fire.
But after the first shot, the cannon shook violently, then gave off an ominous metallic screech. Murong Huai's expression changed; he sensed that something was wrong. The barrel split in the middle, and scorching fragments flew toward them like the scythes of the Death God.
"Not good, it's burst! Get down!" Murong Huai shouted sharply. Mighty Lion Douluo reacted in a flash, immediately raising a barrier and shielding everyone, keeping all the damage from the cannon away from them.
Once the smoke had cleared, Murong Huai went forward to inspect the damage himself. In the ruined barrel, the unexploded explosive shell lay still, its inner structure clearly visible—the shell was wrapped in thin iron, and its cavity was too large, causing the pressure to become uneven when the powder exploded. He picked up a handful of ash and rubbed it between his fingers.
"The cannon's material has a high carbon content. As the fuse ignited the shell, it also ignited the carbon, throwing the pressure out of balance and causing the barrel to burst. The shell material is also too hard, which limits the powder's power." Murong Huai turned to the men and asked,
"What material did you use to forge the Red Barbarian Cannon?"
"Your Highness, the entire cannon was made of refined iron..." one of the craftsmen replied.
At this, Murong Huai shook his head.
"Iron is too hard, and its carbon content is high. The barrel could burst very easily in battle. We need to use a different material..."
"But, Your Highness, our iron-smelting techniques can only produce refined iron, and it isn't much better than this iron. Better metals are difficult to forge and very rare."
Murong Huai thought carefully for a moment. Then he had an idea.
Got it!
"Iron Core Copper Body technology. Use low-carbon steel for the inner layer, refined iron for the middle layer to withstand the pressure, and a copper sleeve on the outside to prevent it from splitting. That forms a 'Steel Bone Iron Body' structure. The barrel walls will be thin, the cannon will be light, and the cost will be low, greatly reducing the chance of a burst barrel."
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