Testing the Gun

"You finished it?"

Anton ran toward the entrance of the hall, holding a long, tubular object in his hands.

One look at its shape was enough to recognize it as an old-style rifle.

However, its appearance was somewhat different from a typical rifle.

Since it was a prototype, Anton had put extra effort into it, decorating the entire exterior.

A brilliant fire magic stone was embedded where the barrel met the stock, emitting a faint red glow.

"Your Highness, I have already tested it. It works!"

Luo Li quickly stepped down from the divine platform and reached out to take the weapon.

It felt ice-cold to the touch.

The entire gun was made of metal, without any wooden stock or grip.

It weighed roughly fifteen pounds.

Since it was a prototype, weight was not a concern; the most important thing was how it functioned.

"Give me the bullets."

Luo Li held out her hand, and Anton quickly grabbed a handful from his pocket, pulling out a dozen brass bullets with a clatter.

He handed them over.

She didn't take many, just two. Relying on her memories, she pulled back the bolt, inserted a bullet, and then pushed the bolt forward.

'Clack-clack!'

A profound sense of familiarity echoed in her mind.

She had watched plenty of war dramas in her past life, and the familiar 'clack-clack' of the bolt brought back a wave of nostalgia.

However, that feeling lasted only a moment. After all, the priority now was not reminiscing about the past, but looking toward the future.

If this gun worked, it would drastically improve the military capabilities of the entire Kingdom of the Moon.

"Let's go!"

Holding the gun, Luo Li didn't even have time to tuck up her long robe before she started walking.

Nara quickly caught up from behind, lifting the hem of the robe.

As they walked, Nara folded the fabric and hooked it onto the gold ring on Luo Li's back.

"Nara, bring the wooden dummy I use for sword practice. Dismiss everyone else."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Nara knew how much importance her mistress placed on this project.

The object in the girl's hands was the same design she had seen on one of the pages in that highly classified file.

While Nara didn't know what it was for, she understood one thing.

Everything kept in that folder was a state secret of the Kingdom of the Moon!

"Everyone, leave!"

Nara hurried to the training grounds, issued the command, and then brought the wooden dummy over.

"Just set it up over there."

Luo Li pointed toward a spot with a wall behind it.

She didn't know the power of this gun yet, and there was a chance the bullet might over-penetrate the dummy and injure someone.

Taking precautions was best, so having a wall behind the target was ideal.

Motioning for Nara to step back, Luo Li raised the stock to her shoulder.

She aimed with one eye and pulled the trigger.

'Bang!'

With a loud blast, the weapon kicked back sharply against her shoulder.

A split second later, the wooden dummy in the distance collapsed with a loud crash.

Splinters flew from the center of its torso, scattering across the ground.

Seeing this, Luo Li handed the gun to the stunned Nara and walked forward.

What greeted her was the fallen dummy. The waist-thick log now had a hole bored through it.

It was about three inches deep, with wood fragments blasted outward.

In the center, a golden-yellow bullet was firmly embedded.

Luo Li glanced back.

The distance was roughly fifty meters.

Fifty meters, and it could only penetrate about three inches of raw wood?

The power was a bit different from what she had expected.

"Nara, go to the vault and bring a set of spare knight armor. Hurry."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Nara snapped out of her daze and ran off, still clutching the gun.

A short while later, a second target was set up.

It was another wooden dummy, but this time it was dressed in a brand-new set of knight armor.

These suits of armor weighed at least three hundred pounds and were infused with various precious ores.

Their hardness far exceeded that of ordinary metal.

Luo Li pulled the bolt, loaded a bullet, pushed the bolt forward, and aimed—all in one smooth motion.

She aimed at the chestplate and pulled the trigger again.

'Bang!' 'Clang!!'

This time, the gunshot was followed almost instantly by the sharp sound of metal clashing.

Luo Li walked forward again to inspect the result.

Once more, it didn't meet her expectations.

A flattened golden bullet head was embedded in the center of the silver chestplate.

The armor around the impact site was dented inward.

Anton stepped forward and pried out the bullet, revealing a small hole in the brand-new armor.

In other words, the bullet didn't have enough power to fully penetrate the knight armor.

It was possible the armor was too hard for the brass bullet, or perhaps the impact force was simply insufficient.

"Anton, can the power of this gun be adjusted? Can the bullets be made from better materials?"

"Your Highness, the gun."

Anton held out his hands, and Luo Li handed the weapon back to him.

After taking it, Anton pointed to the magic stone.

"Please look, Your Highness. This magic stone has been polished, and its output can be adjusted. This is the knob."

As he spoke, Anton gripped the magic stone.

It was positioned exactly at the rear of the bolt, meaning the impact force was channeled directly from the magic stone into the barrel.

"By turning this knob clockwise, you can increase the power. However..."

"However what?"

"Your Highness, the elemental energy stored within the magic stone has a limit. At maximum power, it can only fire three shots."

Luo Li frowned slightly and nodded. Just as she reached for the gun, Anton pulled it back.

"Your Highness! It is better if I handle the next test firing."

Seeing the serious expression on his face, she guessed the next shot might be dangerous, so she didn't insist.

She simply nodded.

"Fine, you do it."

This time, Anton raised the gun and pulled the trigger at the armor.

'BOOM!!'

The moment the trigger was pulled, the gun shook violently.

The recoil was so great that Anton's body slid back about ten centimeters.

The deafening roar made Luo Li's ears ring, and for a moment, she couldn't hear anything else.

Flames erupted from the muzzle, extending over a meter away.

At the very tip of the flames, a red shadow flashed and vanished.

'THUD—!'

A massive booming sound erupted from the armor.

The scent of charred wood filled the air as the armor in the distance was blasted backward, slamming heavily onto the ground.

Luo Li covered her ears and struggled to walk over.

Nara quickly came to her side to support her.

When she saw the armor on the ground again, Luo Li was stunned.

This was a new set of knight armor, the standard-issue equipment for a level twenty Hope Knight.

Yet now, it didn't even look like armor anymore.

A hole the size of a small branch had been punched through the center of the chest.

From the front, it didn't look too strange.

But the back of the knight armor was almost entirely obliterated.

Nearly the entire back plate had been blown off, and the log inside was pulverized.

The rear section of the armor was nowhere to be found.

Fragments of metal were scattered across the ground, some as far as dozens of meters away.

Several jagged pieces were even embedded in the wall in the distance.

Luo Li stared at the shattered armor for a long time, speechless.

Was this even a damn gun anymore?

This level of power was comparable to a 20mm cannon!

She couldn't help but swallow hard.

If a living person had been wearing that armor, their entire chest would have been obliterated by that one shot.

This power... it was enough!

A wicked smile slowly spread across her face.

"Heh... hehe..."

Was she happy? Of course she was.

With this, even ordinary infantry could pose a threat to the demon army.

With this, Luo Li would no longer have to fear the demons in the short term!

On the battlefield, a single ordinary person would be enough to threaten level twenty or even level thirty powerhouses.

"Nara, this matter is now a top secret. Anyone who leaks it shall be executed without mercy."

"Yes."

Nara had witnessed everything and understood what this invention represented.

Its appearance would instantly overturn the power structure of the entire continent.

While Nara didn't fully grasp all the implications, she knew one thing for certain.

Once this object was revealed, it would throw the entire world into an uproar!

"Anton, I will keep this one for now. Give me the bullets as well."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Anton knew exactly how powerful the weapon was, as he had crafted it with his own hands.

He had even made special tools to carve the rifling inside the barrel.

Compared to Nara, he understood even better how much this would affect the current ranking of power on the continent.

It was like a massive earthquake; once word got out, the entire continent would be shaken.

Furthermore, the manufacturing process itself wasn't overly difficult.

If gnomes or dwarves understood the principles, they could easily replicate it.

Regarding the speed of that last shot, Anton could only say that he wouldn't be able to dodge it within three meters.

However, not being able to dodge didn't mean it would kill him; at most, it would cause him some trouble.

Beyond three meters, the threat to someone of Anton's level wasn't very high.

Though he had never mentioned it to others, Anton himself was already level fifty.

As a top-tier dwarven craftsman, the strength required for forging was his forte.

Without reaching a certain level and having sufficient strength, one wouldn't even be able to work with certain elemental metals.

All high-level craftsmen were inevitably high-level powerhouses.

"Also, immediately make a shortened version based on this design. The grip should be wooden, and it should be small enough to be handled with one hand."

Luo Li described the general idea, and Anton nodded.

As a craftsman and the creator of the first rifle, he immediately understood what she wanted.

"That is no problem. Your Highness wants a short-barreled gun that can be used with one hand. I have several spare barrels back at my workshop... I can have it delivered to you by tomorrow morning."

"Good. Make..."

Luo Li hesitated for a moment.

She had several level fifty and even two level sixty powerhouses around her.

But there were also people with almost no combat strength.

For instance, that old man Audis Von.

He was in charge of the nation's finances, so she needed to prepare one for him.

Additionally, Lola and Nara should have them, as well as that sickly Augus.

She needed one for herself as well.

In a crisis, this thing could truly save a life.

With this level of power, a person at level twenty or thirty wouldn't have time to react at close range.

If they were hit, they would be either dead or crippled.

Even against a level fifty powerhouse, it could at least buy her a moment to breathe.

"Five guns and a hundred bullets. Can you bring them by tomorrow morning?"

"No problem."

Anton thought for a moment and nodded.

"Good, then I will leave it to you. Mr. Anton, you have performed a great service. Nara, prepare a Saint's Decree. Promote Mr. Anton by two ranks to a first-class Marquess, and grant him leased land and a thousand acres of fertile land."

"Thank you, Your Highness!!"

Anton was moved to tears of gratitude and quickly bowed his head in thanks.

"There is no need to thank me. By the way, the North, East, and West Gates are currently being prepared for reconstruction. Talk to Lola later and help her designate a Dwarven District. In the future, each race will have its own designated district."

Previously, all races lived together. While it was mostly harmonious, small conflicts occasionally arose.

Lola didn't mention these things often, but Luo Li was aware of them.

Even though they were all intelligent beings, differences in faith and customs meant that conflicts between different races in Brilliant City were inevitable.

Therefore, establishing specific districts was necessary.

"To think that Your Highness would still remember this..."

Anton was slightly stunned, and his eyes reddened as he spoke.

Luo Li wasn't sure if he was genuinely moved or just putting on an act.

She decided to bet on the former; assuming the latter felt a bit too cynical.

She hadn't expected Anton to have such a sentimental personality.

It was no wonder he couldn't stay in the Dwarven Kingdom.

A sentimental nature like his was generally ill-suited for the world of politics.

After all, such a temperament could easily cloud one's judgment.

"Enough, there is no need to thank me for this. This is simply what a monarch should do."

Luo Li looked up at the blue sky in the distance.

"My Kingdom of the Moon is the most friendly nation to other races among all human kingdoms. As the monarch, anyone who sets foot in my kingdom is my subject, and I must naturally look out for them."

The girl glanced at Anton.

"However, regarding the guns, I hope you will not leak a word, even to those close to you."

"I understand. Rest assured, Your Highness. From manufacturing the parts to assembly, I completed this gun entirely by myself. No one else was involved. As long as I am alive, this secret will not be leaked by me."

"Good. Then I will leave it in your hands. Nara, see Mr. Anton out."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Nara quickly responded and led Anton away with a smile.

Luo Li remained where she was, struggling to set the armor back up as she prepared to test the gun again with different power settings on the magic stone.