Chapter 298: The First Cannon of the Other World!

"My lord, aside from these administrative matters, two urgent matters require your attention this morning!"

"The first is that Chief Smith Luca has reported that the black cylindrical tube you ordered has been forged and requires your inspection!"

"The second is that the griffins have fully recovered and have grown increasingly restless these past two days; yesterday, one even loosened a chain anchor nail—had we not noticed in time, the consequences would have been dire!"

At the dining table, after the administrative report concluded, Old John emphasized these two matters.

Gervas had already learned of them from his intelligence reports: "Old John, I understand. I'll handle it shortly."

Upon hearing this, Old John and Thomas bowed respectfully: "My lord, we won't disturb you further during your meal!"

Immediately, the two withdrew, and Gervas continued eating.

More than ten minutes later, Gervas finally finished his meal: "Goldbringer, want to come with me for a stroll? I'll show you something extraordinary!"

He certainly had no time this afternoon, but the daily task of drawing closer to Goldbringer could not be neglected.

After all, as long as he hadn't signed a contract with this creature, he couldn't afford to slack off for a single day.

Goldbringer rubbed his round belly and said, "Are you talking about those feathered birds? They're ugly!"

Clearly, he had listened to Old John's report.

Gervas nearly couldn't resist giving him a thumbs-up.

That's a fourth-rank beast—you call it a "feathered bird"?

Of course, remembering that beneath Goldbringer's swift-eagle form lay the rarest Golden Dragon, he indeed had the right to be so dismissive.

"Not those griffins—something you've never seen before!"

"Alright then! I'll come with you," Goldbringer nodded, leaping straight onto Gervas's shoulder.

Soon, Gervas arrived at the forge.

The forge's scale had expanded several times over, as Gervas had prioritized its expansion above all else.

The alchemy workshop and Isabella's wizard hut were also on the expansion list.

"My lord!"

"My lord!"

As Gervas entered the forge, the smiths and apprentices all bowed in greeting.

Gervas nodded in return, walking straight to the stone house of Chief Smith Luca.

"Luca!"

"My lord, you've come!" Luca's face lit up with delight.

"I hear the iron tube is finished?"

"Yes, my lord, it's done. You said this iron tube, once born, would be equal to a elite cavalry unit—is that true?"

"Of course it's true. I'll satisfy your curiosity soon—but first, let me see how the tube turned out!"

Luca stopped talking and immediately led Gervas to the adjacent storage shed.

He pulled back the tarp covering a wooden rack, and with a rustle, a sleek, jet-black iron tube appeared before them.

The tube had a wide belly and narrow muzzle, weighing several hundred jin—exactly the first cannon in this world, forged from Gervas's six-pound cannon blueprint.

"My lord, as you instructed, I had the tube blackened and then had carpenters apply tree lacquer to its surface!"

"Good!"

Gervas circled the cannon twice, confirming no visible flaws.

Of course, its true performance would only be revealed in the test firing.

Gervas directly ordered the guards to carry the cannon to the drill field.

"My lord, what are you preparing to do?"

Lei Meng, Mi Gen, and other knights, who had been training their knightly retainers in combat techniques, hurried forward to greet him.

Especially upon seeing the thick iron tube carried by four guards, they were all intensely curious.

"Lei Meng, Mi Gen, I'm testing a new war weapon. With this, our Storm Legion will be invincible in attack and undefeated in battle!"

"My lord, is this a magical artifact? But there are no inscriptions on it!" The knights' eyes gleamed with excitement.

They didn't doubt Gervas's words—they immediately assumed the black iron tube was a magical artifact.

Yet after a moment's inspection, they found no inscriptions on it at all.

"It's not a magical artifact—it's made entirely of iron! And the principle is one you've seen before: it uses powdered scales from the blue-scaled sea beast!"

"Ah! My lord, I get it—this must be a giant version of 'Wrath of the Sea God'!"

Mi Gen felt he'd grasped the key point, recalling the Wrath of the Sea God used in past kingdom wars.

Its explosive power had been formidable.

And this one was a hundred times larger—wouldn't its power be a hundred times greater?

Of course, the original Wrath of the Sea God could be launched by a ballista—but how could one throw this massive tube?

"It's different from the Wrath of the Sea God… never mind, you'll understand soon enough!"

Gervas gave up trying to explain—he'd rather let them witness the cannon's true power firsthand.

"My lord, the sea beast powder you requested has arrived!"

At that moment, Wizard Isabella arrived, delivering the powdered scales of the blue-scaled sea beast.

"Then let's begin! Mi Gen, place those armored straw dummies two hundred meters away!"

"Two hundred meters? My lord, shouldn't we move them closer?"

At a hundred meters, the original Wrath of the Sea God—whether launched by ballista or thrown by hand—could easily reach its target.

But this giant device…

Mi Gen truly feared his lord might misfire—well, misfire his carriage…

"I haven't finished speaking—place another set at two hundred meters!" Gervas snapped.

Mi Gen immediately fell silent.

Soon, twenty targets total were arranged: one group at a hundred meters, another at two hundred meters.

All were straw dummies clad in old leather armor.

"My lord, all targets are set!"

"Then come lend a hand!"

Since this was the first time a cannon was being used in this world, Gervas personally handled the loading.

He poured in the gunpowder, then packed it down tightly.

He inserted a cloth wad to seal the barrel more securely, then loaded the pre-made grape shot.

The grape shot was, in common terms, canister shot.

After loading, he roughly aimed using the three-point alignment method, then inserted the fuse into the cannon.

The entire process took over three minutes.

Of course, none of that mattered—what mattered was that the cannon was now ready to fire!

Gervas stood ten meters away with his subordinates.

Mainly because he wasn't sure whether the cannon might burst—better to keep a safe distance.

Still, Mi Gen and the others trembled slightly.

"My lord, isn't this too close?"

They still remembered the power of the Wrath of the Sea God—its dense spray of iron shards and stones could injure even those twenty meters away.

And this was a giant version of it!

"Don't be afraid! The God of Glory will protect us!"

Gervas smiled faintly and lit the extended fuse.

Hisssss!

The fuse burned rapidly.

Mi Gen and the other knights turned pale with fear.

But since their lord hadn't fled, they dared not flee either.

Instead, they imitated Lei Meng and stepped in front of Gervas.

Only Mac and the other newly recruited knights, clueless, stared blankly at the hissing fuse!

BOOM!

Flames erupted, white smoke blasted forth.

A thunderous roar shook the field.

Mi Gen screamed in terror.

Mac and the others flinched violently, their faces draining of color.