Chapter 248: Rune Magic Cannon
The cannon barrel and muzzle were primarily designed for pressure relief, resulting in significantly lower stress.
With a good start, the next step was just optimization.
“Boys, let’s head back!”
Li ng hoisted the magic cannon and started walking back the way they had co.
In the following days, Li ng focused on one task: repeatedly optimizing various paraters of the magic cannon.
Five days later, the depths of the forest echoed once again with the thunderous roar of cannon fire.
The forest surrounding the testing site was already in ruins, with countless trees toppled and scattered.
This ti, the cannon fire continued intermittently for more than half a month.
It was another new day, in the morning.
At the testing site, Li ng stood beside a massive and heavy magic cannon.
The magic cannon had a caliber of 200 milliters, and the thickness of the barrel and chamber reached 300 milliters.
The combined diater of the barrel and chamber was 800 milliters.
The entire cannon was about five ters long, with the diater of the breech reaching three ters.
“A piece this massive must demand high structural strength from the ship,” Li ng muttered, doubting whether a wooden ship could truly bear the weight of the magic cannon.
“It seems the structure of the floating battleship and its gun deck needs to be reinforced.”
However, Li ng had no intention of halting the construction of the first floating ship.
The first floating ship was an experintal prototype, with redesigns planned based on future needs.
Li ng crouched down and picked up a shell from the ground.
The next task was to create shells capable of explosive effects.
Although it sounded simple, it was actually very challenging.
Magic in this world was versatile, but making multiple rune magic arrays work simultaneously was no small feat.
Li ng and Xiao Bai had debated for days and nights on the engraving of rune magic arrays within the cannon chamber.
Finally, they decided on using seven combined rune magic arrays: Explosive Fireball Rune, Mana Transfer Rune, Mana Constrain Rune, Mana Barrier Rune, Mana Amplification Rune, Mana Enhancent Rune, and Magic Energy Focus Rune.
While Li ng could make the magic cannon himself, as the goblins could handle the casting work, he only needed to carve the final rune magic arrays.
However, since shells were consumables, they needed to be mass-produced.
Li ng had no intention of becoming a slave to war, spending his life laboring over shell production.
Thus, the manufacturing of shells had to be simplified, and using mithril to carve rune magic arrays was out of the question.
Mithril was too valuable to be wasted on shells.
“Let’s go back!”
Li ng hoisted the magic cannon and left the ruined testing site.
Over the next several months, the forest outside the Iron Cavern grew quiet.
Li ng was focused solely on researching thods for crafting explosive shells within the Iron Cavern.
“Wangwang, go play sowhere else; your boss is busy!”
One afternoon, along the underground riverbank of the Iron Cavern, Li ng sat by the shore, staring at the large iron ball in his hand in a daze.
Nearby, Wangwang rubbed against Li ng’s leg.
Wangwang had returned months ago, bringing a group of hopping Skurgs to the Iron Cavern.
The Skurgs were fond of the Iron Cavern, which was blazing hot.
The presence of fire crystal stones in the cavern suggested it was a site of fire elent accumulation.
As fire-elent magical beasts, the Skurgs naturally loved such an environnt.
“Woof!”
Wangwang let out a low growl, hopping away.
Looking at the iron ball in his hand, Li ng sighed.
The production of shells had hit a snag.
On Xiao Bai’s suggestion, Li ng combined fire crystal powder and water sli mucus to create an enchanted liquid.
Although its conductivity was inferior to mithril, it was still usable.
However, this enchanted liquid had a single drawback: instability.
“Roar!”
At that mont, a sudden growl ca from behind him.
Li ng turned to see Wangwang accidentally bumping into a rock, instinctively expanding its body.
Its form grew larger until it beca a five-ter-wide behemoth.
This sight made Li ng’s eyes light up.
Turning back to the shell in his hand, inspiration struck.
“If a delayed fuse doesn’t work, how about a contact fuse?”
Although contact fuses had a more complex structure, simplification was still possible.
The instability of the enchanted liquid made it perfect for creating contact fuses.
With an idea in mind, Li ng stood up and hurried to his alchemy table.
Over the next few months, Li ng focused solely on simplifying the shell production process.
Four months later, one afternoon.
The most crucial experint was conducted at the testing site.
This ti, the testing site featured an artillery platform with a thick layer of wooden planks laid on the ground.
The magic cannon had also been mounted on a steel carriage equipped with wheels.
Li ng loaded a shell inscribed with fiery rune magic arrays into the cannon’s barrel.
The shell was hollow, with a fire crystal inside, acting as an explosive substance.
The shell’s outer rune magic arrays would be activated when subjected to pressure exceeding a certain limit.
This activation was achieved through the instability of the fire crystal.
Once the shell’s casing exploded, it would ignite the fire crystal inside.
The explosion’s intensity depended on the size and magic value of the fire crystal.
“Everyone, back off! This is deadly!”
Li ng waved his hand, shooing the goblin subordinates away.
Hearing this, the goblins quickly retreated to a safe distance.
Once they were at a secure distance, Li ng inserted a fire crystal into the rune magic array slot.
He adjusted the angle, aiming the magic cannon at a mountain several kiloters to the north.
The magic cannon’s elevation angle could reach up to 40 degrees.
When deployed on the floating ship, it would feature a specially designed mount for even higher angles.
The issue of shells falling out of the chamber at a downward angle was also resolved.
The chamber bottom was designed slightly narrower than the barrel, ensuring the shell would stay lodged inside due to its weight.
Finally, Li ng picked up a small hamr and struck the fire crystal.
With a “bang,” the fire crystal sparkled briefly, releasing magic energy that activated the mana absorption rune array.
“Boom!”
The next mont, the magic cannon roared thunderously, a deafening blast echoing through the surroundings.
A dazzling fireball shot out of the barrel, leaving a trail of white smoke across the forest sky.
Seconds later, a mountain five kiloters away erupted in flas, a massive mushroom cloud of fire rising from the mountainside.
The explosion ripped apart a large section of the mountain, sending rocks flying and debris tumbling down.
It was a while before the flas finally subsided.
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