Kim Seon-a turned her head and looked at the tent curtain.
Lin Qingdai also turned her head, her hand gripping the hilt of her sword tightly.
The next moment, the tent flap was suddenly yanked open.
Zhen Meili crawled in from outside, two dark gray streaks running across her nose and cheekbones, her hair held back with an iron bar, and she was carrying a small wooden frame, about the size of two palms, a miniature version of a repeating crossbow mechanism.
He didn't even Kim Seon-a Sun-ah, and went straight to Gu Moran's chair, slamming the wooden frame onto the table.
"It's done! I did it!"
Shen Ling'er moved the soup bowl to the side to make room.
Zhen Meili was so excited that she didn't care about the taboo between men and women. She leaned half of her body against Gu Moran's arm and poked at the pivot with her finger.
"Your Highness, your idea is really quite good."
"I've tried it, I've verified it. With the counterweight pulley on, the boat wobbled three times, but the deviation didn't exceed two inches."
He tapped the crossbow arm with his fingernail.
"I also modified the arrow; I welded an extra section of iron pipe to the tail so that I could fit the Subduing Fire Thunder inside."
Gu Moran lowered his head and pressed the trigger with his thumb, flicking it back and forth a couple of times.
What is the range?
"Fifty zhang is the basic requirement."
Zhen Meili casually picked up a teacup from the table, took a sip, and wiped her mouth.
"With a tailwind and increased firing angle, it can reach seventy zhang."
Gu Moran picked up the model, adjusted the angle of the crossbow arm, and then put it back in its original position.
"Are we enough to bomb the ships?"
"Almost."
Zhen Meili scooped the model back up, pulled the iron rod out of her hair, and poked the arrow groove.
"Those Wa wooden boats, I estimated the thickness of the planks. Subduing Fire Thunder couldn't penetrate them, but it could explode under the deck, tearing the hull open from the inside."
It paused for a moment.
"The crossbowmen need to wear protective gear because the explosion will send sparks flying."
Gu Moran raised his hand and slapped her on the back of the head.
Wash your face.
Zhen Meili rubbed her face with the back of her hand and saw that her hand was covered in a black stain.
"It's okay, it's okay, I'm used to it."
"The prince is worried that you'll get his clothes dirty."
Murong Xue lifted the curtain and came in, holding a modified detonator in her hand. She took two steps to the table.
"The test just finished outside; the detonation was almost a breath faster than before. But can we suppress it any further?"
Zhen Meili took it and rubbed the outer shell between her thumb and forefinger.
"Yes, but you have to be extra careful when transporting it after compression; too much bumping could cause it to explode."
Murong Xue withdrew her hand.
"Then we won't press it anymore; a breath should be enough."
The two exchanged a few more words, arguing about how long the fuse should be and how much gunpowder to use, each shouting louder than the last, making the room sound like a blacksmith's shop.
Gu Moran back in his chair, turned his head, and used his sleeve to gently rub Zhen Meili's nose.
Kim Seon-a sat opposite her, her body still tense, without moving.
It's so lively here. How long has it been since I've seen such a vibrant, living world?
She stared at the wooden frame again.
Repeating crossbow mechanisms were also used in the Goryeo army.
It's stupid; the reload speed is horribly slow, and the range is barely thirty feet at most.
This thing in front of me has a rotating shaft and a counterweight pulley to withstand ocean waves.
What Subduing Fire Thunder can be attached?
What is Subduing Fire Thunder?
She didn't know.
But the name contains the characters for "thunder" and "fire," making it sound like a magical artifact made of heavenly thunder and earthly fire.
But the girl just said, "It will spark," and "you can just weld a piece of iron pipe to the end of the arrow and stuff it in."
Ritual implements are not used like that.
It wouldn't be casually assembled or disassembled by a craftswoman with a face covered in soot, like a piece of wood.
So, to be precise, this thing should be called a machine.
It's similar to crossbows and catapults, only in terms of power...
She weighed it in her mind.
"Open up the bottom of the boat from the inside."
Just that one sentence.
A Wa wooden warship, with a keel about two and a half inches thick, reinforced with iron nails, tung oil, cotton and hemp, could only be cleaved half an inch with a knife at most, and it would take more than a dozen cuts to make a hole.
If this thing burrows under the deck and explodes, could it rip the bottom of the ship from the inside out?
Kim Seon-a paused for a moment, then mentally compared it to her own Four Tigers Subdue the World.
The Four Tigers Subdue the World is her innate technique, which condenses four illusory tiger auras from the east, west, south, and north. Without touching weapons or getting close to the body, it can cut through iron, seal spirits, and trap people from a distance.
A single, full-force attack would be enough to snap the mast of a three-masted warship at the base and sweep the warriors on deck into the sea.
But that was her alone, using all her cultivation, for a single, one-time output.
After using it up, the spiritual energy is depleted, the barrier dissipates, and one cannot even protect oneself within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
This Subduing Fire Thunder was installed in one iron pipe, and four were loaded into one crossbow.
Four repeating crossbows were mounted on a ship.
Sixteen.
Each one can lift a section of the ship's bottom.
No cultivation level, spiritual power, or Tiger Spirit Bloodline is required.
There's not even a need for martial artists.
An ordinary crossbowman pulls the trigger, and sixteen muffled thuds sound from fifty feet away.
The ultimate strike she achieved by sacrificing half her life's cultivation could be accomplished by sixteen crossbowmen simultaneously pulling their triggers.
Of course, in terms of sheer power, each of her Subduing Fire Thunder might not be as effective as her Four Tigers Subdue the World.
The Subduing Fire Thunder could tear open the hull, but it couldn't kill everyone on board.
It couldn't penetrate thick iron armor, nor could it shatter the foundation of city walls, much less cause widespread desolation like her Lone Mountain Returns to Silence.
At best, it was a ball of fire engulfing scraps of iron, tearing a gash between the wooden plank and the flesh.
But here's the problem.
It doesn't need to be a ritual implement.
It doesn't need to kill with a single blow.
It just needs to be plentiful, fast, and cheap.
One isn't enough, so I'll have two.
Two aren't enough, so we'll make sixteen.
Sixteen isn't enough...
She glanced at the model that Zhen Meili was carrying in her arms.
The girl was still muttering to herself.
" Tuoba Mang ordered the production of two thousand units."
Two thousand.
Kim Seon-a's fingers tightened half an inch on her knee.
Gu Moran tapped the table twice with his knuckles, and the two arguing women simultaneously shut up and looked over.
"Go and rest first, the banquet will start later."
Zhen Meili tucked the model into her arms, stood up, and before leaving, picked up Shen Ling'er's soup bowl and took a sip.
"Ugh, this tastes awful!"
Shen Ling'er glared at her.
"This is for my husband to drink!"
Zhen Meili put the lid on the soup bowl, pushed it towards Shen Ling'er's hand, made a funny face, and left.
The curtain fell down.
The room quieted down for a while.
Shen Ling'er picked up the soup bowl again, stirred it with a small spoon, scooped it up, and brought it to Gu Moran's lips.
Gu Moran took a sip from her hand, then turned his eyes to Kim Seon-a.
"The princess was looking at that model the whole time."
Kim Seon-a did not respond.
Gu Moran took the spoon from Shen Ling'er's hand and scooped up another spoonful for himself.
" Subduing Fire Thunder' is basically gunpowder stuffed into an iron casing, lit, and then explodes."
He put down the soup bowl.
"Its power isn't enough for now; it can't blow up city walls or penetrate iron armor. On the battlefield, it's a bit lacking compared to the princess's fierce might."
Kim Seon-a shifted her gaze from the table.
He was looking at her.
"But it's cheap, and we can make seventy or eighty a day."
Gu Moran flicked the outer casing of the detonator on the table with his finger.