The weather is getting colder day by day, and Roland is getting up later by the day.
As the ruling class, he certainly has the right to sleep in. Especially the big bed with three layers of velvet blankets, when lying down, the whole person will be surrounded by softness, which further encourages his feeling of staying in bed.
When Roland walked into the office after washing up, Nightingale was already there waiting for him.
"Well, I ate half of your breakfast while it was still hot, but it's cold now," she pouted towards the half-less bread on the table, as if she was the owner of the place.
"No one has taught you how to be humble in front of a prince," Roland stretched out his hand to remove the plate and sat back at the desk, "Remember that you were very polite at first."
He sighed in the bottom of his heart, he really didn't see that this guy was actually a self-acquaintance, instead of staying by Anna's side, he came to hang out by himself. She used to hide her figure before, but now as long as there are no outsiders around, she dangles freely in the office without even wearing a hood.
"Is it like this?" She jumped off the table and bowed in an impeccable aristocratic salute, "You are getting up late lately, and I see that you have breakfast, so I will help you out. Your Highness ," she leaned beside Roland, "you don't care anyway, right? And you don't like those cumbersome etiquette, I can see it."
Do you have the eyes of the sky, Roland slandered, can this be seen
He sighed, "It's up to you, but after you eat breakfast, just finish it. I'll order another one if I want."
"As ordered, Your Highness!" She smiled lightly, grabbed the dinner plate and ran to the side.
Roland spread out a blank piece of parchment, ready to complete the half-drawn design drawings yesterday.
If you want to defend Border Town, the battle after winter comes cannot be a tragic victory. Although an army that has never seen blood is not a qualified army, Roland is worried that in the event of a major loss, this group of short-term trained people will still have the courage to stand on the city wall.
He needs cross-generational weapons to gain absolute dominance over demon beasts.
Without a doubt, it was a musket.
In fact, this era already has all the conditions for the appearance of the musket. Alchemists often use something called snow powder for ceremonies in court ceremonies. This thing is gunpowder with the wrong formula.
About a hundred years later, the prototype of the musket, the musket, will appear. Because of the cumbersome operation, this kind of firearm requires two people to cooperate to complete the loading and shooting action. Generally, it can only be used as a single-shot weapon. And its rate of fire and power are not comparable to that of a well-trained archer.
Of course, Roland is not interested in repeating history. Like the steam engine, he can use the witch's ability to create a musket with practical value.
"I read the order on the table when you didn't come," Nightingale swallowed the last loaf of bread and asked casually, "What are you going to buy so many ice awns for? It's winter now, and if you want to drink refrigerated ale, go directly to the house. Wouldn't it be alright to go out for a night?"
The upper class aristocrats like to make ice with ice awn—that is, saltpeter—in summer, and then cool down milk, wine or juice to enjoy. Thanks to the season, the price of buying saltpeter is very low now.
"To make iced cheese, the temperature is not low enough now, it has to freeze," Roland said flickeringly.
Although the woman in front of her is not an enemy, she is not as knowledgeable as Anna. Unlike steam engines, muskets do not have many technical barriers. Once they spread, it is obviously not good for their own farming plans. Before getting to the bottom of her, it's better to hide some things first. Thinking of this, he asked tentatively, "In addition to finding the Holy Mountain, is the Witch Helping Association also responsible for training killers?"
"No, they are just a group of poor people who got together for a dream," Nightingale waved her hand. "It's only been the last two years that I joined the team."
"In other words, you were playing for someone else before?" Her beautiful throwing skills could not be thrown without guidance and years of hard practice, Roland was very sure of this, "Besides me, there are other people Are you willing to take in witches?"
"Accommodation?" Nightingale's expression became a little strange, "How could it be possible... If he knew that I would become a witch, he wouldn't even let me in through the gate. As for the future, if I hadn't been useful to him, I'd probably have Secretly executed."
"Oh? Can you talk about it?"
Nightingale shook her head with a smile, but this time there was a little more inexplicable emotion in her smile, "Your Highness, I will tell you when the time is right. I know what you are worried about, please rest assured, I will be there on Friday. I was free years ago, and I no longer need to die for anyone."
Failed the Diplomacy check, it seems that her charm attribute is not high... But her answer also confirmed her thoughts from the side - at least five years ago, she had done some shameful things for someone. Fortunately, his use of Nightingale seemed to be due to an accident, rather than a plan to recruit witches on a large scale like himself.
Roland didn't ask any further, and continued to lower his head to draw his own drawings.
To his slight surprise, the nightingale, who usually always leaned closer to him, became quiet at this moment, and only the sound of the burning fire remained in the room. By the time Roland raised his head and moved his numb neck, she was nowhere to be seen in the office.
"I don't even say hello when I leave," he muttered, folding the parchment in his hand and putting it in his close-fitting pocket.
After a few days of work, adding this blueprint, the design of the weapon—or a replica, was all completed.
What he intends to make is the famous flintlock gun. This weapon has been tested for a long time, and its production difficulty is similar to that of an arquebus. The rear is loaded with igniter powder, and the front is loaded with lead pellets. The rate of fire can be close to three rounds per minute.
Most animals do not climb walls, so the shooting distance is approximately equal to the height of the top of the wall to the ground, which is twelve feet. Even if you aim with your feet, you will not miss the target within this distance, and the initial velocity of the bullet is almost unchanged. As long as the evil beast has not evolved a skin that is harder than steel, it can basically be killed with one shot.
The downside of the flintlock is the crafting time. In the beginning, like the matchlock gun, it was knocked out by a craftsman with a hammer and a hammer. From the barrel to the trigger, it took about three months to make the whole gun. Among them, the barrel is the big head, and the iron sheet has to be knocked into a round tube shape, the iron powder is battered, and then the bore is drilled and the rifling is engraved. Although no precise instruments are used, the craftsman must be a skilled craftsman to make a qualified barrel.
This is why Roland built a steam engine first.
With the steam engine, he can use a steel drill to drill the barrel directly on the solid iron rod, so that the production speed can be greatly improved, and he does not need a skilled craftsman to operate, only a workbench that can fix the iron rod That's it.