245. Gun Testing
The testing grounds carved into the Western Beach of Kim Dukedom felt less like a shoreline and more like a heavily fortified armory. The desert wind, usually soft, here carried the faint, acrid scent of sulfur and newly refined petroleum, mingling with the heavy tang of sea salt. The ground was packed hard, reinforced with steel plating and cement anchors, designed to withstand the immense concussive force that was about to be unleashed.
Targets were set up a kilometer out: a row of reinforced wooden barricades, and further still, the half-submerged, salvaged stern section of an Imperial warship, a trophy from the recent defeat of Edward Jola's invasion fleet.
Ravenna stood at the center of a newly constructed firing bunker, its walls thick with Kim cement. her posture commanding. Beside her stood the inner circle: Hughes and John, armored and watchful; Alice and Sarah, clutching ledgers and observation quills; and Aurora, flanked by her advisors David, Emma, and Ben, their faces etched with professional skepticism.
The air thrummed with a nervous tension that even the presence of royalty couldn't entirely dispel. The future of the Kim Dukedom hinged entirely on the performance of the prototypes laid out before them.
“Your Highnesses,” Nille announced, striding forward with soot-stained hands and a fierce, proud grin. He was accompanied by a small crew of his most trusted, soot-covered ‘engineers’. “We are ready to demonstrate the products of Kim City’s first firearm assembly line.”
Nille first presented the standard infantry weapon: the Kim Pattern Rifle. It was sleek, made of deep black Kim steel, heavier than the wooden crossbow, but clearly engineered for rapid, devastating fire.
“We begin with the basic troop armament,” Nille explained, his voice booming with the confidence of creation. “The core advantage, as Her Highness dictated, is the smokeless gunpowder. No longer will our soldiers’ line of sight be obscured, or their positions given away by long shooting time.”
Hughes stepped forward, his eyes narrowed as he inspected the rifle, noting the smooth, mechanical complexity of the firing block. “And the rate of fire? Can it match the speed of our current rapid-fire crossbows?”
“It surpasses them, Knight Captain,” Nille corrected. He signaled to one of his master smiths, a grim-faced woman who raised the rifle to her shoulder.
The order was given. The smith took aim at the farthest wooden barrier.
KRAK!
The sound was sharp, concussive, and deafening: a clean, violent expulsion of power that struck the air like a physical blow. The rifle kicked slightly, but the smith held steady. The wooden barricade splintered instantly where the steel bullet struck.
Critically, if a typical black powder weapon would have blanketed the firing range in blinding, sulfurous smoke, the rifle released only a faint, almost transparent white vapor that dissipated instantly on the wind.
The gunsmith immediately reloaded, seamlessly feeding a new, brass-cased cartridge into the chamber. KRAK! KRAK! Two more shots followed in quick succession. The entire process, from aim to impact, took mere seconds.
Hughes stared, his military mind already calculating the tactical advantage. “The speed of the breach loading... the stability... it allows for accurate sustained fire where even the rapid fire crossbow would be fumbling for a second bolt.”
“More than that, Knight Captain,” Nille added, his eyes bright. “The power of the propellant is concentrated entirely on the projectile. The velocity is unmatched; I am sure no armors manufactured today can withstand a direct hit without an enchantment.”
Emma leaned over Alice’s shoulder, pen poised over the ledger. “And the cost of production, Alice? Compared to the flower based spells done by mages or priests?”
Alice finally looked up from her calculations, a cold relief in her eyes. “The steel used is slightly denser, but the smokeless propellant is refined petroleum derivatives. The materials are already in-house, abundant, and require no costly imported magical flowers. This is cheap, effective, and infinitely scalable.”
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The initial skepticism on Aurora’s team began to crack. David, the Knight-Captain, simply crossed his arms, his posture stiffening not with doubt, but with sudden, sharp realization.
The infantry rifle was merely the warm-up. Nille now gestured toward the western edge of the bunker, where the prototype naval artillery piece was mounted on heavy, wheeled steel carriage.
It was a monstrous creation: a cannon of colossal size, forged from dense, reinforced Kim-steel alloys. It lacked the shimmering mana glyphs, the sacred flower slots, and the intricate ritual symbols that adorned the Empire’s standard, flower-powered elite ship naval artillery. Instead, it was raw, uncompromising metal, designed solely for physics and destruction.
"This is the Cannon Prototype, Your Highness," Nille declared, resting a hand proudly on the cold barrel. "Its firing chamber is engineered to withstand the enormous pressure of the smokeless powder payload."
He paused, glancing pointedly at the Imperial trophy salvaged from the last war, visible through the haze of the afternoon sun. "Our Emperor's military relies on magic cannons, weapons of immense power, yes, but each shot costs hundreds of mana coins in rare, cultivated flowers. Each weapon is limited to a handful of shots before the ship's mages must spend agonizing hours stabilizing the residual mana."
He turned back to the prototype, his eyes gleaming with revolutionary fervor. "This weapon is limited only by the speed of the assembly line and the volume of tar and petroleum we can haul from the western mines."
The cannon was loaded: a heavy iron shot was rammed down the barrel, followed by a measured packet of smokeless powder wrapped in treated fabric. Nille stepped away, shouting the command.
"FIRE!"
The sound was apocalyptic. The concussive wave was so vast and immediate that the ground shuddered beneath their feet, drowning out all other noise. A lance of blinding white-hot fire erupted from the muzzle, followed by the heavy steel shot tearing through the air with a horrific, whistling shriek.
Everyone watched, breathless, as the projectile covered the kilometer distance in less than two seconds. It slammed into the floating, salvaged Imperial warship stern with such catastrophic force that the entire section of the reinforced hull was sheared clean from the wreckage. Water erupted in a massive geyser of steam and splinters. When the spray settled, the target was gone, reduced to unrecognizable, sinking debris.
The result was instantaneous silence, followed by the clanking of metal as Nille's crew immediately began clearing the barrel and loading the next shot.
Aurora’s perfect composure shattered. She stood, her hand pressed against her throat, her eyes fixed on the distant spot where the Imperial hull had been moments before. She had witnessed devastating magic, but this... this was cheap, mechanical, and repeatable destruction.
"The loading speed," David whispered, his seasoned Knight-Captain's mind reeling from the sight. "They didn't have to wait for mana stabilization. They are loading the second shot already!"
Ravenna stepped to the edge of the bunker, the wind whipping her dark coat around her. The air was filled with the smell of the ocean and triumph.
“Knight David is correct,” Ravenna said, her voice amplified by her confidence. “The Ancorna Empire’s naval fleet is limited to less than twenty shots of sustained heavy firepower per engagement. They must stop, retreat, and pay exorbitant fees to their mages for stabilization and resupply.”
She swept her gaze over the faces of Aurora's advisors. “Kim Dukedom’s fleet, thanks to the ingenuity of this new technology and the cheap resources of our desert, is limited only by the courage of the crew and the supply of iron shot.”
She looked pointedly at Alice and Sarah. “Alice, report on the cannon’s resource viability.”
Alice, utterly composed now, adjusted her spectacles and read from the ledger. “The component costs are negligible. The most expensive material is the high-density steel used for the barrel’s reinforcement, which our integrated production lines can supply affordably. The powder itself is pure profit, refined from our abundant petroleum reserves. Financially, this firepower is infinitely sustainable.”
Ravenna’s smile was cold, final, and absolute. "We are no longer limited by the cost and scarcity of flowers and mages. We are only limited by industrial capacity."
She looked at Aurora, her eyes gleaming with dark promise. “You asked if we could conquer the mainland territories and reach Flask County without months of siege warfare. The answer is yes. We will not siege. We will systematically bombard and destroy every single fortification and army that stands in our way.”
Aurora’s eyes flashed with a deep, fierce loyalty, the last remnants of doubt banished by the raw, industrial power she had just witnessed.
“Prepare for deployment, David,” Aurora ordered her captain, her voice ringing with newfound resolve.
Ravenna gave a decisive nod. The test was complete. The final obstacle was gone.
"Nille, begin mass production of both infantry rifles and naval artillery immediately. John, ready the embarkation schedule for the invasion fleet. We sail for the mainland within a few weeks before the empire can even stabilize from Landon's rebellion.”