Chapter 787: Experimental Shell
"Was it successful?" Wu Heng asked.
The dwarf stroked his beard and respectfully said, "It went very smoothly. On our end, there won't be any problems. You can rest assured."
In other words, there was no issue on their side—if something went wrong, it would be on his.
Wu Heng nodded and picked one up to take a look.
The tip of the shell was inscribed with intricate runes, and a faint magical aura could be sensed with careful perception.
"I'll run a test. If the effect meets my expectations, I'll have the City Hall contact you to continue placing orders."
"Of course, no problem. Working for you, my lord, is our honor," the dwarf said courteously.
"I'll have someone find you then."
"Yes, my lord. Then I won't disturb you further." The dwarf saluted again and exited the room.
Wu Heng packed up all the shells and left the room as well.
Standing at the doorway, he thought for a moment.
He boarded a Gold-Silver Island ship and headed out to sea to test the new electromagnetic cannon.
...…
Over the sea.
Wu Heng floated mid-air on a flying carpet.
In the distance was the now-diminished Cocktail Island.
The next second, [Mansion Spell] was activated, revealing a large stone gate behind which stood a massive electromagnetic cannon.
Wu Heng sent the red-inscribed shell into the Mansion Spell space. The gunner controlling the cannon began loading the shell and adjusting the aim.
Xiaoxiao flew nearby, curiously asking, "Uncle, do the drawings actually help?"
"They work fine in stores, so they should work here. We just need to see if they activate when launched from a shell," Wu Heng replied while sitting cross-legged on the carpet.
These inscriptions were fairly popular on the island. Rangers and Guards often bought them.
So the effect was confirmed.
But firing them from a high-impact cannon—who knows if the inscriptions would hold?
Each shell cost a lot to inscribe. If it didn't work, he'd need to cut his losses.
Even just the cannon's impact was already quite powerful.
Benny flew on the other side and said, "Back at the tavern, mercenaries often bought magical arrows. In some unique environments, they were really useful."
Xiaoxiao leaned to the side and asked, "What kind of unique environment?"
"Places filled with poison gas, or raging fires. Specific magical arrows can counter those. But they're not as good as a mage's own spells," Benny explained softly.
"Oh, well, Uncle is a mage, so he doesn't need these."
"Your uncle is a necromancer."
"But he also knows Fireball Spell. Really handy when burning corpses." Xiaoxiao added.
Ugh...
Wu Heng's expression tightened. "Xiaoxiao, don't say that outside. People will think I'm a murderer."
"Okay, hehe~" Xiaoxiao laughed and did a loop in the air.
Benny also laughed beside them.
While they chatted, the shell inside the [Mansion Spell] was fully loaded.
The barrel was aimed at the distant island.
"Fire," Wu Heng said.
Boom~!
The electromagnetic cannon thundered as a stream of light pierced the sky.
Moments later, a deafening explosion came from Cocktail Island. The island trembled and massive waves surged.
Wu Heng and the two spirits watched the island closely.
The island was now cloaked in smoke and dust, with no sign of magical activation.
Did it fail?
Or was the method incorrect?
As expected, this approach might not be ideal.
Just as he was thinking that, a red glow suddenly flared within the dust, followed by a burst of roaring flames.
The unstable airflow from the blast formed a spinning inferno.
"Wow, a tornado!" Xiaoxiao cried out.
"Looks effective!" Benny was also surprised.
Wu Heng looked at the fire, eyes gleaming.
Success.
The electromagnetic cannon hadn't affected the magical runes at all.
Roughly two to three seconds after impact, the effect activated.
Wu Heng kept watching the rising flames.
Unlike shells or missiles,
This resembled tossing a molotov cocktail rather than an explosive detonation.
But the power was nothing to scoff at.
The firepower alone could peel the skin off enemies.
...…
At sea.
A convoy of merchant ships followed the route, their white sails billowing like clouds in the sky.
Several representatives stood at the bow, wine glasses in hand, discussing Gold-Silver Island's plans to select partner guilds.
An elder stroked his beard and said, "I suspect there's more to this. Maybe the island lord only wants to work with favored guilds."
A middle-aged man shook his head. "You're overthinking. If that were the case, he wouldn't have called everyone to a meeting. He could've made private deals."
Seeing a dispute about to break out,
Another quickly added, "Either way, we should still fight for it. Partnering with Gold-Silver Island plus our own operations—in a few years, we'll far outpace the competition."
No one disagreed with that.
Every merchant guild that had resold Gold-Silver Island's goods saw massive boosts in status.
Everyone nodded, praising the island's miracle.
"The medicine trade from Gold-Silver Island is doomed. You might as well stop wasting your time."
The sudden voice silenced everyone. All turned to look.
An elderly human approached with two others.
He looked confident and clearly wasn't a commoner.
"And you are?" a merchant asked.
The elder smiled, "Let me introduce myself. I'm Stede, Vice President of the Alchemy Association of Fumori."
Everyone understood—so there was a VP on board.
"Vice President Stede, why would you say that?" another merchant asked.
Stede clasped his hands behind his back. "I have word that the alchemy associations are banding together. That medicine won't sell."
A merchant rep immediately retorted, "Why not? Can you make it yourselves?"
Stede shook his head. "No, but any merchant who partners with Gold-Silver Island will be boycotted by every alchemy association. No potions for you. Gold-Silver only has one type of medicine. What will you choose?"
Everyone froze.
Inside, they all felt a tinge of contempt.
These pampered alchemists didn't want to innovate. They just wanted to suppress anything better.
"I think some will still choose to work with Gold-Silver. That product will sell like crazy," another merchant said.
Stede looked at him intently, as if memorizing his face—a faint threat.
"The Alchemy Association isn't poor. Once the Emerald Sea is in chaos, nobody can ship anything. And don't worry, that tech isn't hard. Within a year, everyone will be making those pills."
Brutal!
They were planning to back the pirates.
Only pirates could throw the Emerald Sea into chaos.
"The Emerald Sea just stabilized. Don't you think this is too much?"
Stede sneered, "Survival of the fittest. Blame that brat for picking the wrong class."
Everyone's faces darkened.
This news needed to be sent back immediately. The top brass had to be warned to avoid heavy losses if the alchemists united.
But they were still reluctant.
The medicine could reshape the market.
Damn fool only knows how to mess things up.
Boom~!
Just as faces were flickering between fury and anxiety, a sudden deafening explosion shook the air.
Everyone on deck jumped and ducked for cover.
Looking toward the source, they saw a distant island erupt in bright light.
Then a massive tornado of fire and dust surged skyward.