Chapter 431

"Oh, Severus, and Harry," Lucius said, standing at the door as they stepped out of the elevator, "you've arrived just in time."

"Minister, you must understand," Snape said coolly, "our current funding is drawn entirely from the Doctor Project, so we can hardly advance without Noble's approval."

"But under Hack's appointment, Mr. Potter is the true lead of the Doctor Project, isn't he?" Lucius smiled. "That's why you brought him here, isn't it?"

"I apologize, Sir Malfoy," Harry quickly adopted the hollow tone of official speech, "I also believe pushing forward the Queen Project now is premature."

Lucius's smile froze on his face; he lowered his voice to demand, "I thought we were on the same side, Severus!"

"You're right—but I'm not necessarily aligned with Gregorio."

"Perhaps you'll change your mind," Lucius said, his expression softening slightly, then leading them toward the conference room.

At one end of the long table sat Gregorio and Donald; at the other, Donna and a man Harry didn't recognize. Lucius took his seat at the far end, while Snape guided Harry to sit beside Donna.

Harry couldn't help glancing over—many senior wizards sat on chairs against the wall, while he, a student under seventeen, sat at the table itself, making him uneasy.

"Let's return to our previous topic," Gregorio began. "We've identified the primary cause of Claire's loss of control. Now, Mr. Fontroy can provide a complete solution—it's time to begin the second round of trials."

"Yes, I believe the Queen Project is a promising path, one capable of shattering the status quo established by the Celestial Empire," Donald continued. "As all of you have seen, even a Lawbringer cannot match a Knight. We must make bolder attempts."

"You could keep trying your Iron Armor," Donna suddenly said. "That's far bolder than the Queen Project."

"But countless trials have proven Iron Armor unworkable," Donald shrugged.

"Indeed," Donna shrugged back, "those trials also proved you lack sufficient scientific vision."

"But your flintlock guns are merely stopgaps!" Gregorio pressed urgently. "These guns serve no purpose except against Masked Knights!"

"So you mean, beyond fighting Masked Knights, you intend for your Queen to serve some 'other purpose,' is that it?" Donna sneered.

Harry suddenly understood why Gregorio was so obsessed with the Queen Project: its true aim was to secure the bloodline's right to speak as equals to wizards. And coincidentally, the wizarding world needed the Queen's power to counter the Knight system's upheaval—this might be the only such opportunity in bloodline history.

"Minister," Donna turned half her body toward Snape and Harry, "since field tests have proven Blood-Infused Bullets effective against Knights, we should deepen this path. Our top priority remains countering Masked Knights, correct?"

"But field tests have also proven the Lawbringer's feasibility!" Donald stared at them all, eyes blazing. "I have full confidence in our technology!"

"The Lawbringer's feasibility is indeed high," Snape said slowly, "but have you assessed the risk of implementing Lawbringer technology within the Queen Project?"

"We all believe the risk is manageable," Gregorio said dismissively. "Even if it fails, we'll still retain some Queen's blood, won't we?"

"Even if you don't care about the Queen's life, at least consider sunk costs and cleanup expenses," Donna struck straight at the heart of the Department of Mysteries' weakness. "We simply don't have much money left."

Hearing this, Lucius himself sighed.

"I think," Harry ventured carefully, "Donna, could you explain your approach again?"

"Not just the approach—I already have a prototype," Donna said confidently. "Using the breech-loading rifled gun design, all a vampire needs is to master the simplest blood magic technique—Exterior Blood Release. Inject ten milliliters of Ming blood into the chamber, and fire immediately. The alchemical array inside the barrel rapidly dries the Ming blood, forming a composite of blood cells and magic. This composite closely resembles Blood-Infused Material and inflicts heavy damage on Knights."

"But isn't this still just Muggle firearms?" Harry sighed. "First, Knight armor is thick enough to resist penetration; second, Knights can dodge—we might not even hit them."

"If you understood Muggle firearms better, you'd appreciate the superiority of this prototype," Donna said with confidence. "We don't use gunpowder. We use the Incendio Spell and Repulsion Charm. Because Ming blood has extremely high magical concentration, it can be further energized through rotation, stacking the Incendio Spell repeatedly—its principle resembles a Gauss rifle."

"The prototype's muzzle velocity has already reached nearly 4,800 meters per second. With further optimization, it can easily exceed 5,000 meters per second. The Ming blood extracted via blood magic also possesses self-solidifying properties, maintaining its bullet structure even at high velocity. Using Demar's armor-piercing formula, this bullet can easily penetrate a 1.2-meter-thick homogeneous steel wall at 1,000 meters."

Donna rattled off a string of figures. The wizards around the table were baffled, but Donald's face lit up with sudden understanding.

Seeing Harry still looked confused, Donna added, "By the way, even the most advanced Muggle sniper rifles struggle to exceed 1,000 meters per second muzzle velocity."

"So our flintlock is far more powerful than even the strongest Muggle firearms?" Harry mumbled, piecing it together. "Five times stronger?"

"According to kinetic energy formulas, over fifty times stronger—our projectile is heavier, and Ming blood's density is far greater than wizard blood."

Lucius smiled in satisfaction. He didn't understand speed or kinetic energy, but if you told him wizard guns were far stronger than Muggle ones, he understood instantly.

"I believe the power is sufficient," Harry asked again. "But what about accuracy?"

"Sir, flintlocks don't require high accuracy—we're firing volleys in formation."

"Brilliant idea! Absolutely brilliant!" Donald leapt to his feet, pounding the table. "I've got it—Iron Armor is feasible! I'll go try again!"

Gregorio stared in shock, grabbing Donald's sleeve. "But—"

"I must remind you, sir," Donna said with a wry smile, "our flintlocks rely heavily on the unique properties of Blood-Infused Material. If you seek a substitute, the closest equivalent is the Philosopher's Stone—but how many Philosopher's Stones remain in the world today?"

Donald froze. He immediately grasped the core mechanism: the spinning bullet activating the rifling's Incendio Spell required the wizard's magical intent embedded within the projectile. Without their clever use of Ming blood extracted via blood magic, only a Philosopher's Stone could achieve this.

Or rather, the Philosopher's Stone was called the pinnacle of alchemy precisely because it could house a wizard's spirit. It was not only priceless but also had countless other uses—far better to use it for anything else than as a bullet.

"Ah, so you can only make flintlocks, not automatic rifles," Harry suddenly understood. "Flintlocks are essentially wands designed specifically for vampires."

"You could put it that way," Donna said with a weary smile.

Once everything was framed in terms Lucius could grasp, his prejudice toward the project vanished. Naturally, his stance shifted toward Harry and Snape.

"So, how expensive would this gun project be?" Lucius asked.

"A gun barrel crafted by an alchemist costs about fifteen Galleons. The rest can be outsourced to Muggle factories. After converting Galleons to Rubles, the cost is minimal—each complete gun costs roughly twenty-five Galleons. To equip a small squad against a single Knight, around three thousand Galleons should suffice—less than the price of two brooms."

"But we must pay recruitment fees, wages, and pensions for the vampire soldiers," Gregorio offered a concession.

"Let's start with eight thousand Galleons to test effectiveness," Lucius suddenly said. "If we redo the Queen Project, just buying magical creature blood will cost over ten thousand."

Donald's expression shifted through several emotions before he clapped Gregorio on the shoulder. "I think I need to change my plan. I'll return to recruit native vampires and form a Flintlock Squad. This is clearly far cheaper than the Lawbringer Project."

Lucius gave a faint sneer and politely dismissed him.

After the meeting ended, Harry followed Snape out. Snape spoke calmly about hiring adjunct instructors, as if he'd merely been an impartial observer. Only when Mia caught up to them around the corner did Harry detect a faint tremor in his voice.

"Don't be too optimistic," Mia told them. "I actually support the Queen Project—because Knights can use automatic firearms, the Flintlock Squad is merely a stopgap."

"I know," Snape said coolly. "But the Minister said we must also report vampire employment rates—so this was the only option."