Test, Misfire.

West of Martial Soul City, Engineering Department branch.

The Engineering Department branch was established on the western side of Martial Soul City. The population was sparse and the area vast, so there was no need to worry about gunpowder explosions endangering the innocent or destroying important buildings.

Inside the branch at this moment, five men dressed in special attire stared at the blueprints in their hands, muttering to themselves.

"Tsk tsk tsk, these parts are actually so ingenious..."

"Rifling, what is this..."

"What a treasure..."

"Cannonball..."

"..."

These five were the master craftsmen assigned to Murong Huai by Qian Daoliu. Originally, the five had been dissatisfied with being pulled away from critical shipbuilding work to take on another task, but now that they had seen the Red Barbarian Cannon blueprints drawn by Murong Huai, their dissatisfaction vanished, replaced by excitement and longing.

Murong Huai sat in the main seat with Mighty Lion Douluo beside him and Tu Zhen standing behind him. Watching the five men, Murong Huai spoke:

"Masters, I wonder if these parts can be manufactured?"

Hearing Murong Huai's words, the men nodded. The lead master cupped his hands and said:

"May I ask Your Highness the Holy Son, what exactly is this object? We have never heard of such a thing!"

"This object is called a Red Barbarian Cannon, a type of firearm." Murong Huai gave a brief explanation, though the men still looked bewildered.

"Hmm... you wouldn't understand the specifics even if I told you now. Just build it first, and I'll explain it to you later!" Murong Huai rubbed his temples.

"Yes, Your Highness the Holy Son. We can finish crafting these items within ten days." Upon hearing this, the men nodded and began to divide the labor for manufacturing.

As master craftsmen, their skills were indeed impressive, likely equivalent to sixth or seventh-level machinists from his past life, and their techniques were highly proficient.

Seeing this, Murong Huai nodded and then sent men to secure the entire West City Workshop.

I wonder what level this Red Barbarian Cannon would reach if it were integrated into a Soul Tool.

Ten days later, the workshop sent word to Murong Huai that the Red Barbarian Cannon had been completed.

Upon receiving the news, Murong Huai quickly took a carriage to the West City Workshop. The group moved the finished Red Barbarian Cannon outside.

The barrel was about three meters long with a caliber of 110-130 millimeters. The wall of the barrel thickened gradually from the muzzle to the breech, and the pitch-black muzzle possessed an intense sense of oppression.

"Not bad, not bad. What about the cannonballs? Are they done?"

"Replying to the Holy Son, time was tight, so we only made five cannonballs: two Solid Shot and three Hollow Shell." A master craftsman replied with a bow.

"Good. Since they are done, pull it out and test it. Go to the plains outside the city." Hearing this, Murong Huai nodded and had the group take the Red Barbarian Cannon outside the city for testing.

Hearing Murong Huai's command, five or six guards walked in, covered the Red Barbarian Cannon, and pushed it forward. Seeing this, Murong Huai muttered:

"It seems the cannon body is too heavy and inconvenient to move. It needs improvement; make it detachable to increase mobility."

One hour later, the plains outside Martial Soul City.

"Good, this will do. Load a Solid Shot first and let's test it!"

Hearing Murong Huai's words, the master craftsmen hurriedly operated the piece, loaded a Solid Shot, and one man took a torch to ignite the fuse.

BOOM!!!

Following a heaven-shaking roar, the iron ball tore through the sky like a meteor before the astonished eyes of the crowd, carving a long arc through the air.

With a loud bang, the cannonball slammed heavily into the ground eight hundred meters away. Soil splattered like rain, and a deep crater was gouged into the earth. The group arrived at the impact site, and Murong Huai nodded slightly.

"Not bad. To reach about eight hundred meters on the first test is very good."

The master craftsmen were stunned. "E-eight hundred meters? The catapults on the battlefield can only throw stones about five hundred meters, right? This Red Barbarian Cannon can actually launch an iron ball over eight hundred meters away. My God!!!"

"If this were to hit enemy chariots or warships..."

"Breaking through city gates would be effortless..."

"..."

The men were incredibly excited. Mighty Lion Douluo, standing to the side, also looked surprised. Seeing this, Murong Huai asked:

"Elder Mighty Lion, how much power do you think this Solid Shot has?"

Hearing this, Mighty Lion thought for a moment, looked at the deep crater in the ground, and said:

"The power is roughly equivalent to the full-force strike of a Spirit King. It is a great weapon for sieges."

"A Spirit King, huh..." Murong Huai nodded at Mighty Lion's analysis and then added:

"Next, take that Hollow Shell, load it with gunpowder, and do it again!"

"Yes, Your Highness the Holy Son."

The men returned to the firing point, filled the Hollow Shell with the appropriate amount of gunpowder, and pushed it into the barrel. Once the gunpowder was loaded:

"With the addition of gunpowder, the power should increase significantly."

"FIRE!!"

The fuse was lit, and as it vanished into the breech, the Red Barbarian Cannon let out a thunderous roar.

BOOM!!!

A massive fireball seemed to erupt from the muzzle, soaring through the air in a perfect arc before finally slamming into the ground a thousand meters away.

The moment it landed, the Black Powder inside the shell detonated instantly, carving deep trenches into the earth within a five-meter radius.

"Beautiful!"

"It's a success..."

"..."

The master craftsmen were overjoyed, and Mighty Lion Douluo, observing the scene, analyzed:

"Holy Son, the explosive power of this shell is comparable to the self-detonation of a high-level Spirit King."

Murong Huai nodded and signaled for another round. The men quickly reloaded, lit the fuse, and waited for the Red Barbarian Cannon to fire again.

However, after the first shot, the cannon body began to tremble violently, followed by an ominous sound of tearing metal. Murong Huai's expression shifted instantly as he sensed disaster; the barrel of the cannon split right down the middle, and scorching shrapnel flew toward the crowd like the scythe of the Grim Reaper.

"Look out, it's a barrel explosion! Get back!" Murong Huai shouted sharply. Seeing this, Mighty Lion Douluo reacted with lightning speed, instantly erecting a defensive barrier to shield everyone and block all the damage from the blast.

Once the smoke cleared, Murong Huai stepped forward to inspect the wreckage. Inside the mangled barrel, an unexploded Explosive Shell lay quietly, its internal structure clearly visible—the thin iron casing was too large, causing uneven pressure when the gunpowder ignited. He grabbed a handful of ash and rubbed it between his fingers.

"The material of the cannon body has too high a carbon content. When the fuse ignited the shell, it also ignited the carbon, causing a pressure imbalance. Furthermore, the shell material itself is too hard, which hinders the explosive power." Murong Huai then turned to the men and asked, "What material did you use to cast this Red Barbarian Cannon?"

"Reporting to Your Highness the Holy Son, the cannon body is made entirely of refined iron..." one craftsman replied.

Hearing this, Murong Huai shook his head.

"The iron is too hard and the carbon content is too high. It is extremely prone to barrel explosions during combat; we must change the material..."

"This... but Your Highness the Holy Son, our iron-smelting technology can at best produce Refined Iron, which is not much better than this refined iron. Better metals are difficult to forge and extremely rare."

Murong Huai carefully recalled his knowledge, and suddenly, an idea struck him.

Got it!!

"We will use the Iron Core Copper Body technique: an inner layer of steel with low carbon content, a middle layer of Refined Iron to withstand pressure, and an outer copper sleeve to prevent bursting. This creates a 'Steel Bone Iron Body' structure—the walls will be thinner, the weight lighter, and the cost lower, which will drastically reduce the rate of barrel explosions."