Chapter 89: The Birth of the White Tiger Army (Part 1)
Davis suggested, "Since Master Lou Gao has already completed his research, Father, shall we go take a look?"
"Of course. I definitely want to see what kind of firearm can severely injure a Soul Douluo," Dai Pojun said with a smile.
Ever since witnessing the power of firearms, Dai Pojun had kept their development strictly confidential. Any newly developed powerful firearms could not leave the Forge Association without his direct orders.
If he wanted to inspect the power of a new type of weapon, he would personally visit the Forge Association and order Master Lou Gao to demonstrate it.
That had been the case for the anti-aircraft guns, just as it was for the earlier multi-shot flintlock rifles.
The father and son took a carriage to the Forge God Mountain Range, where Lou Gao and other forgers were developing firearms.
A week later, they finally arrived. Lou Gao hurried down to greet them.
Upon seeing Dai Pojun and Davis, Lou Gao bowed deeply and respectfully:
"Greetings, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor! Long live! Long live! Congratulations on successfully advancing to Titled Douluo!"
"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
Dai Pojun smiled. "There's no need for such formalities, my good minister. Please rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"I've heard you've successfully developed the anti-aircraft cannon. Can you show it to us now? I can't wait to see the power of heavy artillery!"
"Yes!" Lou Gao nodded seriously, his eyes gleaming with pride and excitement.
He had created a powerful weapon capable of heavily injuring a Soul Douluo, at an extremely low cost—and it could even be mass-produced! For this achievement alone, his name would go down in history.
He waved to his eldest disciple and ordered, "Silong, why are you still standing there? Bring out the cannon and demonstrate it for His Majesty and His Royal Highness!"
"Yes, Master!"
Lou Gao frowned. "How many times have I told you? Use your proper title while on duty!"
"Understood, President Lou Gao!"
Silong said no more. He and several other disciples eagerly went to the warehouse to bring out the weapon. As Lou Gao's eldest disciple, Silong was naturally proud of his master's invention.
Soon, they pushed out a heavy artillery piece that immediately drew the attention of both Davis and Dai Pojun.
The barrel was made of a special copper alloy, far harder than standard iron—resistant even to three kilograms of mixed explosives, which could do little more than scratch the surface.
The barrel was three meters long and weighed about three hundred pounds, securely mounted on a wheeled wooden cart. Only two warhorses were needed to pull it into battle—and with a sturdy black-scaled horse, just one would suffice.
After the cannon was brought out, Lou Gao excitedly introduced it:
"Your Majesty, this is the cannon I've developed.
To fire, simply load it with the improved black powder provided by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, insert a solid iron cannonball, and ignite. The effective range is up to two kilometers. A direct hit can heavily injure a Soul Douluo. Beyond two kilometers, the power decreases.
With enough of these cannons fired in unison, even a Titled Douluo could be harmed."
Then Lou Gao demonstrated. He aimed at a distant low mountain, loaded two kilograms of mixed gunpowder and a basketball-sized iron shell into the barrel, and lit the fuse.
Boom!
A deafening blast erupted. The cannonball screamed through the sky, breaking the sound barrier, and struck the mountain 1,500 meters away with deadly precision.
Bang!
The impact shattered the cliff like brittle earth, spiderweb cracks spreading across the rock. A massive crater formed, and the iron ball embedded itself deep inside.
If a person had been hit by that shot, they would have been annihilated instantly—reduced to crushed flesh and bone.
Dai Pojun nodded in satisfaction. "Good. The destructive force is strong. Even a defensive-type Soul Douluo would be seriously injured if hit directly."
Davis then asked, "Master Lou Gao, how much does this cannon cost to produce?"
Lou Gao replied, "Your Highness, since it's made of a special alloy, the cost is somewhat high—around 200 gold soul coins per cannon."
Two hundred gold soul coins—similar to the cost of Tang San's Zhuge Divine Crossbow—but with far more devastating power.
Davis didn't care. He now had 40 million gold soul coins in compensation from the Spirit Hall. He could afford countless cannons.
"Master Lou Gao, can you extend the range further? The longer the range, the better. Ideally, it should be able to hit enemies in the sky," Davis asked, already thinking about the Angel Legion of the Spirit Hall.
All members of the Angel Legion were Soul Saints and could fly freely. The Gale Corps made up of the Min Clan couldn't possibly match them. Davis needed countermeasures in place.
But Lou Gao had already anticipated this.
He smiled confidently. "Rest assured, Your Highness. I've already prepared a solution."
With that, he pulled out a cannonball from his soul tool. It was larger than the previous solid iron ball.
Davis was confused, and Lou Gao quickly explained:
"Following Your Highness's command to extend the range, I not only upgraded the cannon barrel but also improved the ammunition. This shell is the result.
Unlike the solid iron balls, this shell is filled with gunpowder and ten smaller iron pellets. It's wrapped in metal with excellent thermal conductivity.
When the cannon is fired, the shell launches and, due to the heat, ignites mid-air—causing a second explosion. The small iron balls scatter like flower petals, covering a wider area.
The range can reach three kilometers. While the power is weaker than the solid shell, it's enough to injure a Soul Douluo—even those flying."
"Excellent! Master Lou Gao, you've done well!" Davis laughed joyfully.
As long as this artillery could be mass-produced, he was confident he could resist even the Angel Legion of the Spirit Hall.
Now that the cannons were complete, it was time to form a powerful new army—one that would crush enemies in every battle!
Once trained, this unit would become the blade of the Star Luo Empire. Whether to fight the Spirit Hall or annex the Heaven Dou Empire, they would become the reaper's sickle, harvesting the lives of all enemies.
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(End of this chapter)