Chapter 1372

Bang! Boom...

The first loud bang—a bullet wreathed in flowing blue light plunged swiftly into the ground. The second explosion rang out, and centered on the spot where the bullet had buried itself, the ground within twenty centimeters around it was blasted apart, with part of the floor even sent flying.

The destructive power was terrifying—simply beyond compare.

The five elders were dumbstruck on the spot, staring blankly at that patch of shattered ground.

In this world of magic and martial skills, there was actually such a fearsome weapon—its power was probably on par with beginner-tier magic.

But this wasn't magic. That single copper bullet already had such power—what if there were more copper bullets?

Wouldn't that just be a slaughterfest???

If the empire could equip itself with such weapons, wouldn't it be invincible!

Thinking of this, the five elders' hearts all began to pound and their faces flushed, though their areas of expertise differed, that didn't mean~ they lacked imagination.

With weapons like these, before the empire's iron cavalry there simply wouldn't be any opponent worth mentioning—conquering the entire continent would be just around the corner!

The mysterious blacksmith's gaze remained fixed on Lin Cheng, completely ignoring the five elders' flushed, agitated reactions.

Things had reached this point—how could Lin Cheng possibly fail to guess who the other party actually was.

"Sigh!" He let out a soft breath.

"Pero Qiqilia, you've really gone all out…"

Crafting Ma Keboluo's gun might not be Pero Qiqilia's forte, but crafting an inferior version was no problem at all.

This flintlock was quite on par with sixteenth-century level, and the flintlock was indeed the gun that came after the revolver.

Presumably, although Pero Qiqilia had been powerless to craft Ma Keboluo's revolver, and had even handed the blueprints over to Lin Cheng, the principles and designs must have been committed firmly to memory.

Over this past month, he had done ample homework, and the result naturally satisfied him—and also greatly satisfied Lin Cheng.

"I didn't expect the master to recognize me at a glance." The mysterious blacksmith spoke for the first time, his voice tinged with excitement—it was indeed Pero Qiqilia, who had been missing for nearly a month. He then removed the mask and hat from his face, revealing that familiar smiling countenance and that head of golden hair.

Lin Cheng smiled as well, his gaze at Pero Qiqilia carrying a hint of complexity.

"Your creativity was too unexpected—truly unforgettable."

He had assumed he would be the first person in this world to successfully craft a firearm—after all, he had the system, and this special world didn't seem to allow anything too far ahead of its time. So most likely he was the only one.

He hadn't expected Pero Qiqilia to turn around and craft a flintlock, which shocked him.

"It's still no match for the master's work, isn't it?" Pero Qiqilia offered a measured compliment, "Haha." Lin Cheng laughed.

"That's true enough… on this continent, no one understands forging better than I do."

Whether it was any single spirit weapon hanging in the Spirit Weapon barrier, none would be inferior to what Pero Qiqilia crafted—let alone the fact that he had directly crafted Ma Keboluo's revolver, and even Baili Shouyue's sniper rifle, as well as Huang Zhong's Soul-Burning Heavy Cannon.

Compared to those, this was hardly worth mentioning.

But one couldn't deny Pero Qiqilia's talent either.

"Pero Qiqilia, if you're willing… I can teach you. Your talent is excellent—in a few years you'll be able to become the empire's fifth eighth-tier blacksmith."

"This…"

Hiss…

The five elders sucked in cold breaths.

For Lin Cheng to utter such weighty words, it was clear that this Prince Pero Qiqilia before them possessed astonishing talent—possibly even talent no less than Lin Cheng's own.

· ·······Begging for flowers····· ·····

Even Lin Cheng himself thought so—without him, Pero Qiqilia would very likely have ultimately become the empire's fourth eighth-tier blacksmith. Even if not, he would still have become an eighth-tier blacksmith of his own kingdom.

But alas… there were no ifs.

"The empire?" Pero Qiqilia's gaze grew somewhat distant.

The crisis in the kingdom had already been resolved, and he hadn't gone back to see his father, because at the time he had been in the Taji Kingdom. Fortunately, he had received the information in advance—otherwise, had he rashly gone to the Taji Wang Gong, he probably wouldn't be standing here now.

............ 0

His father's hair had turned white. He hoped he could return to take charge of the overall situation. Nearly everything in the Chirperi Kingdom needed rebuilding. Under the shelter of the Tianwu Empire, the betrayal of the Western Kingdoms had left Pero Qiqilia's father—this old king who had ruled Chirperi Kingdom for nearly fifty years—thoroughly disheartened.

He had also spoken with Emperor Tianwu about it—since they were going to become a powerful vassal anyway, why not choose to be vassal to an even stronger one?

Pero Qiqilia understood his father's decision, because the Chirperi Kingdom had reached such a state now that, apart from becoming part of the Tianwu Empire, once the Tianwu Empire withdrew, their Chirperi Kingdom would face the enormous crisis of being swallowed up by the Western Kingdoms.

Though it was called a vassal, once the Tianwu Empire fully helped the Chirperi Kingdom rebuild, it would soon be assimilated by the empire.

That was fine too—his father could take things easier, and he himself could pursue what he wanted.

"No, Master. I'd still rather go exploring, searching for ancient ruins…"

"Is that your answer?"

Lin Cheng had actually already guessed it. To be continued.