Chapter 73 (2/2)
When he saw that everyone nodded, he told Lightning to proceed.
The little girl first opened the bag and took out a pocket-sized paper cartridge filled with gunpowder then stuffed it into the end of the muzzle with a ramrod. She then took an iron ball and used the ramrod once more to push it into the barrel. Afterwards, she took out a lead wire from the rear end of the cannon barrel and inserted it into the eyelet to pierce it into the paperback. Thus, the launch preparation was complete.
To prevent accidents, everyone had to step fifteen meters away from the cannon. Lightning, who was standing close to the lead, saw the first sparks of the lead, but within the blink of an eye, it had already drilled into the barrel.
Then there came a loud roar – air sprayed out of the muzzle with such speed, that it even threw up the snow lying on the ground.
The theoretical effective range of a twelve-pounder cannon was up to a kilometer.
Even without any rifling, the cannon ball would still fly in a straight line.
Everyone could hear the sound when the iron ball hit the armor that was placed 100 meters away. The Iron-ball’s speed wasn’t reduced much, every time it hit the ground, it would bounce back up again, blowing up even more snow.
After the smoke cleared, Roland, along with Carter, and Iron Axe, all went directly to inspect the target. When they arrived near the armor, they noticed that the front of the armor was already in contact with its back, and that there was a palm-sized hole within the center. Obviously, the ball’s speed still hadn’t been reduced to zero, since it had still flown 100 meters further. Even after it had dropped to the ground, it had kept on rolling, showing the incredible amount of power it contained.
“What frightening penetrative capability!” sighed Carter. He could already picture what would happen when the enemy stood together in groups; getting hit by several cannonballs that brought terror to the whole battlefield
“Three deities above,” Iron Axe began to pray. According to him, Roland had to be the messenger of Mother Earth. Except for a messenger of God, who else could bring such a frightening power to the world? He’d already studied the gun-powder’s chemistry; it was made of common chemicals which only needed to be carefully prepared. The flame was the incarnation of Mother Earth’s anger, as well as her most powerful weapon – at least these were the thoughts of the people in the south. Whenever they saw the never-ending orange flame produced by volcanic eruptions, they couldn’t help but begin to pray.
The result of the test was similar to what Roland had expected of a classical 12-pound cannon. The cannon’s biggest moment to shine had been during the US Civil War and in the time of Napoleon.
Afterwards, he loaded the cannon with different amounts of gunpowder to test their power levels. Although he knew that it could cause damage to the cannon, it was still necessary to do the tests.
Even after shooting with three different amounts of gunpowder, the cannon still didn’t show any sign of deformation. Apparently, the quality of steel used to make the cannon was excellent. In the end, Roland decided that the amount of powder they would use would be the 1.2 times the amount used during the tests. Afterwards, he used the tests to select a gunner.
“Your Highness, this is indeed a very powerful weapon but it is much too heavy. If we were to hit a pothole, we wouldn’t be able to move any further.” Carter, who was immediately able to see the problems with the new weapon, criticized, “And, after every shot, the barrel has to be cleaned with a wet mop, then it has to be reloaded. Carrying the gunpowder, the cannon balls, and the cannon itself, I’m afraid that you will need five to six people to operate one cannon alone it.”
“Indeed, but it’s all worth it! As long as we will be able to use two to three cannons, Duke… No, I mean the demonic beasts, like the kind of giant tortoise, won’t be able to break through the wall any longer.” Roland coughed, that was close. As for the disadvantages of a 12-pound cannon, he intended to resolve it by shipping. With the help of the steam engine, he would be able to convert a traditional boat into a steam-powered boat. Even if it was the most primitive of paddle boats, it would still have a complex and bulky mechanical system.
So instead of changing the boat, he purchased a two-masted sailing boat. With Wendy’s help, he would even be able to ship the cannons behind the Duke’s troops. With this he would be able to attack the enemies from both sides, and be being able to easily and efficiently annihilate the Duke’s forces.