Yang Hao stared at Arthur and Dr. Joseph with his eyes wide open. Arthur, who was also covered by Weiya's ears, just showed his full mouth of white teeth:
"Your Majesty, I was not idle while you were directing the battle - although we cannot solve the problem of explosive ore easily exploding in the barrel through "industrial" means for the time being, we can use "enchantment" to solve the material limitations that will take us decades to break through!
By covering the explosive mineral bullet that has been cut into shape with a thin layer of metal, the elves can perform "cryogenic enchantment" on that layer of metal.
Under the effect of "low temperature enchantment", as long as the metal layer is not directly broken by high-speed impact, or the temperature in the barrel has exceeded the tolerance limit, the explosive mineral warhead will not explode directly in the barrel.
Although the cost is much higher and we can only produce by hand for a while, at least we have found a shortcut... which is..."
"that is?"
"It's disgusting to rub this kind of shells with your hands. Even the elves would curse at you."
"Oh... we still need to further improve the level of industrialization... what about the cost?"
"Your Majesty, I roughly calculated the wealth you have taken back from the Magic City. It is at most 20,000 artillery shells, no more."
"What?!"
Yang Hao had previously raided the Demon City in the diocese. He not only rescued the demons, dealing a heavy blow to the morale of the diocese, but also took away all the wealth inside.
At that time, he also thought that he had robbed a diocese that was rich enough to rival a country, and at least Caparia should have no problem using the gold to stabilize itself for another 20 to 30 years.
And you fucking told me?!
Up to 20,000 shells?!
Is your cannonball made of fucking gold?!
Yang Hao was dumbfounded, and Theresa was also confused. Facing their dumbfoundedness, Arthur and Joseph looked at each other, one smiled awkwardly, and the other scratched his head in distress:
"Because only gold can be enchanted in extremely thin conditions..."
"So the surface of our shells is gold-plated..."
"In other words, a large part of the cost comes from the consumption of gold-plated shells and enchanting materials..."
"We haven't found a solution yet. After all, if we use iron or steel for plating, the thickness will increase greatly, and it may also damage the rifling inside the barrel..."
"Uh..." The two sides talked back and forth, and Yang Hao finally understood the seriousness of the problem.
But then again…
Gold is a great enchanting material... right
Yang Hao seemed to have found the "raw materials" for storing magic power. But then again...
"Let's put aside the cost issue. What is the status of these golems' weapons?"
"Theoretically, when firing continuously, you will have to stop firing after 80 to 100 rounds because the barrel is red hot. As for the ammunition, since it is a golem, we can find a way to integrate it directly inside - but in this case, we have to design a special "ammunition feed port" that can be opened and used repeatedly."
"Can you research it into a weapon that can be used by elves? Even if the caliber is smaller."
"Not yet. It's easy to make delicate things bigger, and they're relatively easy to maintain, but making them smaller is difficult even from an elf's perspective, not to mention that your Majesty requested an "easy to maintain" type."
In the eyes of the elves, Yang Hao is a typical pragmatist. He seems to hate unnecessary decorations and structures that look sophisticated but actually only increase the logistical burden, so the elves unanimously agree that before the weapons are related to "simple and practical", it is better not to bring out expensive finished products to anger His Majesty the Regent.
Yang Hao expressed his understanding of this... So far, he has gained the biggest benefit from this trip.
In the distance, Naruja, who was controlling the golem to complete the test, also trotted over. The girl with brown hair and deer antlers smiled shyly at Yang Hao.
This made the nun on Yang Hao's back show a slightly helpless expression, but in the end, she didn't say anything.
…
While Yang Hao and others were spending a leisurely day off, Black Dragonia was also on her way to Caparia.
Considering that she was entering Caparia as a peaceful diplomat this time, Nia had learned all the elves' understanding through a whole night of cramming.
She wondered if this country was too traditional. After all, even the oldest blood demons in Ishgard had opened up their restrictions and could intermarry with ordinary people, and many of them even married orcs... But compared to the elves, the blood demons had almost no restrictions before.
For this traditional and ancient country, I guess the various industries in the country should be pretty much the same, right
Nia thought that the most powerful aspect of traditional countries was probably the power of cultural heritage...
But for young people, dry cultural heritage is not as popular as "Isgard Cola" and black stockings.
Nia tentatively judged that although the cultural invasion would be met with resistance at the beginning, as long as the intensity was increased little by little, the new generation of elves would probably be unable to live without the beauty brought by Coke and stockings, right
If we can leave, then we should increase our efforts - just as Nia was thinking this, for some reason, she suddenly realized that something was wrong.
The forest in front of me and the forest under my feet formed a completely different environment.
If the forest behind me is dark, then the warm-toned forest in front of me actually has sunlight shining through the dense canopy...
Presumably, this is the Elf Forest? Just as Nia and the diplomats were preparing to seek the forest's acceptance to enter the Elf Forest according to the elves' understanding, accompanied by a gust of wind, several elves carrying spears appeared in front of Nia.
This left Nia and the diplomats of Isgard stunned: What is that thing as thick as a pipe on your back
No, don't tell me—
Just when Nia was confused, the elf envoy told them that the Elf Forest had accepted their existence, and now the elves would lead the way for them until they reached Fingal, the sky garden of Caparia's capital, and they could not leave the elves' sight.
"Oh, we understand... Well, can you sell the things on your back?"
"Friends across the sea, we won't trade what we carry on our backs without Finn's permission."
"Then, can you tell me what kind of weapon this is?"
"Gappa 1404 rifle. Please follow us."
Hearing this, Nia swallowed hard, and obediently led the diplomats and the caravan to follow the elves' steps.
She calculated that it should have been less than a year since she traded the two new rifles to the Elf Kingdom.
Less than a year? Less than a year and you elves have already produced imitations?! Wait... Considering that it is a handmade product, this may be a warning.
Well, it might be a show of force - maybe this is a low-quality handmade product, the bullet may not even fit the inner diameter of the barrel, it's just a shelf product that looks pretty on the outside.
But then again... This does look pretty nice and practical... And why is there a protruding part in front of the trigger? Could it be...
Actually, I guessed wrong
Even in front of the elves, Black Dragonia couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat on her face.
If her previous guess was wrong, it meant that Caparia might also be an industrial country comparable to Isgard.
Although it is possible that elves are a species that [focuses on the skills of handicraft workshop craftsmen] - but exchanges between countries must be prepared for the worst.
Ishugard was prepared to be dragged into the quagmire of the Roman Empire's colonial war, and Nia naturally had to be prepared that the Elven Kingdom might also be an industrial country.
(This is terrible...)
Miss Black Dragon muttered to herself.
I had a vague feeling of extremely ominous premonition.
…
December 3rd.
The diplomatic delegation and caravan of Isgard officially entered the capital of Caparia, the Sky Garden of Fingal.
All the people of Isgard felt suffocated by the sky city before them that seemed to stand in the clouds.
In Isgard, they had never seen anything like it, and they had never felt such pressure even in front of the tallest building, the Imperial Presidential Palace.
Compared with a high-rise building and a city, the height of the former is just unique, while the height of the latter is like a heavy mountain.
Black Dragonia silently calculated in her mind, if Ishugard wanted to build a city like the Sky Gardens, how much would it cost
She came to a horrifying conclusion: if Ishgard was determined to build a city like the Hanging Gardens, it would directly drain the resources of the entire Ishgard.
A city that would drain the resources of Isgard had just appeared in the Elven Kingdom! And it was their capital!
This inevitably made Nia think more: After all, to be honest, no matter how old this city looks, the fact that it has been erected from thousands of years ago to the present is enough to prove the strength of the elves in craftsmanship...
A species with extremely strong craftsmanship, coupled with a capable regent...
The Elven Kingdom must not become the enemy of Ishugard. Nia swallowed hard.
Although Isgard has an absolute advantage in terms of population, this population advantage cannot be fully utilized in a cross-sea battle...
As expected, Margarita's plan of "kidnapping by any means necessary" must be canceled immediately. Nia dared not bring such an enemy to Ishgard, especially since she had no confidence at all!
(I will take a look at the industry of this country later... By the way, I saw a lot of giant oak trees when I was traveling... What are they used for?)
With all kinds of complicated emotions, Nia took the elevator all the way up under the guidance of the elves, and finally entered the city of Fingle in a real sense.
This is an unusually prosperous city. Although the elves look sad, it is obvious to the naked eye that they are extremely strong.
Bow-making shops are everywhere—although they are closed for some reason.
Enchanting shops can be seen everywhere - and they seem extremely busy and no one knows what they are doing.
There are also gourmet restaurants everywhere that can only take root in bustling big cities, as well as unique cultural museums.
The existence of these buildings is enough to prove the power of Caparia.
But for Nia and other Isgardians, what they care about most is not these livelihood issues...
They stared intently at the giant puppets that were walking on the street carrying and dragging large amounts of raw materials. After watching them disappear from one corner of the street to another, they then looked at the elven residents who were cleaning the streets as usual with their skilled methods.
"Alchemical puppets... something we are still developing... but they have already made it?"
An Isgardian diplomat could not help but curse in Isgardian, which made the elves who could not understand Isgardian's official language look at each other in bewilderment.
It was no wonder that the diplomat lost his composure. After all, in Ishgard, "Alchemical Golems" was a top-secret ongoing project, the goal of which was to mass-produce unconscious alchemical creatures like "zombies" using raw materials such as stone, and to use their existence to gradually establish a new pillar in the military and people's livelihood.
Isugard has been researching for nearly ten years. In those ten years, the number of failures of Isugard people is even more than the salt that a normal resident eats in his lifetime.
They couldn't find the secret of the alchemical puppet's "activity". Some scientists believed that this was related to the scarcity of magic power on the continent where Ishgard was located, while others believed that the "alchemical puppet" had no feasibility from the beginning...
Now, everyone has seen the feasibility here in Japaria. But how did they come up with it? Can we buy their core technology for making alchemical puppets
Nia calculated the funds, goods, chips, and most importantly, the power that she could "advance" with her authority...
As a result, Nia found out helplessly that she seemed to have no way to trade core technology with Japaria? !
Damn it! Damn it!
The black dragon's teeth itched with jealousy. But she still managed to maintain the calmness and pride on her face—and then the next moment, the calmness on her face was shattered.
On the avenue ahead passed a group of elven soldiers who seemed to be heading to the outskirts of the city for training.
They looked energetic, and each of them had a familiar gun on his back.
A team of elf soldiers, about 50 people, not to mention 50 guns, they also had bullet belts wrapped around their bodies.
The bullet belt was not loaded with the paper shell bullets that Nia was familiar with, but bullets with metal shells.
Not only that, judging from the almost identical calibers of the bullets, these bullets don’t seem to be hand-rolled... Even if they are hand-rolled, the guns don’t look like they are hand-made? !
At least Nia didn't think that the guns produced by hand by various craftsmen would have the same overall barrel length and the same wood for the buttstock! This was simply a product of industrial production!
(It is impossible for a craftsman to produce something almost exactly the same... A craftsman will choose different materials according to his own preferences to make something he likes, and even add or reduce useless structures by himself - and the gun on the elf's back looks like a "mass-produced product" produced in an industrialized mass production?!)
When we first came into contact with the elves they were still using longbows.
Less than a year later, you told me that you have already started equipping all your personnel with rifles?!
No... You can't do this!
What the hell is your industry?! If it were us, it would take us half a year just to make a copy and finalize it?!
Not to mention that after the finalization, we still have to adjust the factory production line and let the workers retrain themselves in product production...
So you elves completed the process that would take us one or two years in less than a year?! Monsters! Monsters!
If Nia could curse, she would have cursed long ago.
And when she once again accidentally saw a group of alchemical puppets passing by, those alchemical puppets had no hands but instead carried a cannon and claws for loading shells.
She cursed loudly, using dragon slang, which made the elves look at her in awe;
…
afternoon…
The meeting between the elves and Isgard went smoothly. Even Yang Hao did not appear on the stage, and the welcoming ceremony that was not worth paying attention to ended.
The people of Ishugard still need time to adapt to life in Fingal, but their caravans have already begun to build their own shops on the commercial street arranged for them by the elves, and put Ishugard's specialties on sale, which has attracted the attention of many elves.
Although Yang Hao did not go there, Theresa bought some goods when she came back from the demons. Now Yang Hao is studying how powerful Isugard is through those goods.
"Light bulbs... They need electricity to use. Speaking of which, we still use magic and glowing gems or candles for night lighting..."
"This is... a black and white TV? It can't be turned on without electricity, but the quality of life of the people of Isgard seems to be higher than I imagined. Moreover, they can produce crude TVs, even if it seems that there is no signal receiver and can only play discs or tapes. It also proves Isgard's efforts in new industries..."