Chapter 247: The Initial Success of the Magic Cannon
"Wowahaha, it worked!"
Seeing that the cannon did not explode, Li Meng burst into excited laughter.
However, his laughter abruptly ceased in the next moment.
Although the cannon had not exploded, numerous cracks appeared on its barrel.
"Does the barrel need to be thicker?"
Li Meng stared speechlessly at the cracked cannon.
If the weight increased too much, the floating ship's structure might not be able to handle it.
"Master, what is the purpose of this thing?"
In Xiao Bai's eyes, the thing his master worked so hard on could only make a loud bang.
"It has great significance, Xiao Bai. You know that the combat power of goblins is the worst of the worst. To enhance their fighting power, we must rely on magical tools. This is the weapon I developed for the goblins: the 'Magic Cannon.' It's not a finished product yet, but you'll see how formidable it will be in the future."
Not having an explosion was already a good start.
The next step was to further enhance the barrel's strength.
The only drawback was that it couldn't be mass-produced.
The rune magic arrays inside the cannon barrel had to be carved using a magical water knife.
This meant that only Li Meng himself could make the magic cannon.
Even if casting techniques were greatly improved in the future, the precision required to engrave the rune magic arrays inside the barrel could not be guaranteed.
Unless the barrel was made large enough to fit a person inside to work.
But such a large cannon would not be supportable by a wooden ship's structure.
"Let's try again!"
Standing up, Li Meng carried the magic cannon and walked back the way he had come.
Before long, the sounds from the forest disappeared.
Upon returning to the Iron Cavern, Li Meng immediately got to work crafting a new magic cannon.
Meanwhile, at the outskirts of the Throne Tribe's territory, a ship's keel and main structure had begun to take shape.
Progress was gradually accelerating as they felt their way forward.
"Did you hear that?"
"I heard it."
"What is the chief doing?"
"Who knows?"
In the north, a thunderous explosion sounded once again, drawing the attention of Iron Hammer and his group.
This was the second time.
Iron Hammer had a feeling there would be a third.
Time passed, day by day.
Half a month later, one afternoon, at the crater outside the Iron Cavern in the forest—
The long-silent sound of snapping branches echoed once more.
Moments later, Li Meng emerged from the forest, carrying an even larger magic cannon.
This time, the magic cannon had a larger caliber and a thicker barrel.
"Boom!"
Reaching the crater, Li Meng heavily set the magic cannon on the ground.
This magic cannon had a caliber of 200 millimeters, a barrel length of 4 meters, and a breech diameter of 1.2 meters.
The barrel's diameter measured 800 millimeters, and the muzzle's diameter was 500 millimeters.
Behind Li Meng, a group of Great Goblins followed, each holding a heavy iron ball.
Li Meng crouched to adjust the magic cannon, using a slope as a makeshift gun mount.
"Bring the cannonball up!"
At the chief's command, a Great Goblin hurried forward.
Li Meng took the cannonball from its hands.
The 200-millimeter-diameter cannonball looked like an oversized marble in Li Meng's hands.
He inserted the cannonball into the muzzle.
A rolling sound echoed through the barrel until it reached the bottom and stopped.
Taking out a fire crystal from his waist, Li Meng grinned.
"Wowahaha, fire!"
With a wild laugh, he inserted the fire crystal into one of the three grooves.
The magic cannon had three power levels, controlled by the amount of magic energy input.
Level one had the smallest power and shortest range.
Level three had the greatest power and longest range.
"Boom!"
A deafening explosion resounded.
The bulky magic cannon recoiled sharply, spewing a blazing tongue of flame from its muzzle.
A trail of white smoke shot out, hurtling into the forest in the blink of an eye.
"Crack!"
Branches snapped and splinters flew as a large tree on the forest's edge appeared to be struck by something.
The trunk was pierced straight through, snapping apart.
Trees in a straight line fell simultaneously as if struck in unison.
The cracking sound continued deep into the forest.
Finally, the cannonball smashed into a large tree 700 meters away.
"Bang!"
Woodchips exploded as a large dent formed at the point of impact.
The deformed cannonball lodged itself in the tree.
"Not bad, not bad, very good!"
Li Meng gazed into the forest with satisfaction at the magic cannon's power.
"Master, the power is indeed decent, but considering the difficulty of its production, its damage output isn't particularly impressive."
Li Meng understood Xiao Bai's point.
The cannonball's power, no matter how great, could only target enemies in a straight line.
On the battlefield, the magic cannon would require a sufficient quantity to unleash its terrifying potential.
"Xiao Bai, what if we inscribed explosive runes on the cannonballs?"
Hearing this, Xiao Bai immediately grasped Li Meng's intent.
If a fire crystal was placed inside the cannonball and the explosive rune array triggered the crystal, the resulting blast would be massive.
"Master, your idea is correct."
Grinning, Li Meng gestured for the Great Goblins to come closer.
With Xiao Bai affirming his idea, Li Meng felt reassured.
After all, the magic cannon was built upon Xiao Bai's rune knowledge.
Li Meng loaded another cannonball into the barrel.
The magic cannon required repeated testing to evaluate the barrel's durability.
The number of shots it could endure had to be tested.
If the number was too low, the barrel's strength needed to be enhanced.
"Boom!"
Another thunderous explosion echoed through the forest.
But it didn't stop there.
A few minutes later, the forest resonated with yet another roar.
The series of explosions drew the attention of the tribespeople at the shipyard, who turned to look toward the northern forest.
The sound was so intense it made their scalps tingle.
What was the chief doing?
The cannonfire lasted from the afternoon until nightfall.
Only when the full moon hung high in the sky did the forest finally fall silent.
The next morning, the forest reverberated with cannonfire again.
Once, twice, thrice, four times, five times...
The cannonfire continued until the afternoon.
"At its limit?"
Li Meng touched the breech.
The once-smooth surface now felt rough.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed cracks forming on the breech.
From yesterday afternoon until now, it had fired 175 times.
To prevent the barrel from overheating, the firing intervals varied in length.
This was all on the lowest power setting.
At medium or high power, the cannon might only last a few dozen shots before being scrapped.
"It seems the breech's strength needs to be increased!"
The explosive force of the fireball's detonation concentrated entirely at the breech, making its durability the most critical requirement.