"Unbelievable! It actually exploded!"
After staring in disbelief for a long time, Catherine finally exclaimed in surprise.
"Fun, isn't it?" Paul said smugly.
But Malo, the head of the artillery factory standing next to him, shook his head regretfully.
Malo looked at Paul and said apologetically, "The shell was supposed to explode before hitting the ground, but it actually rolled a distance after hitting the ground before exploding. It seems the stability of the fuse needs improvement."
Paul said, "It sounds like we can just shorten the fuse?"
Malo nodded. "This requires a lot of experimentation."
The explosive shell currently being researched by the Alda gun factory has a very simple structure: a hollow iron ball filled with gunpowder and shot, and a hollow wooden tube inserted through a small hole in the gun casing. The tube is filled with hard gunpowder and serves as the fuse. Artillerymen can control how long after the shell explodes by cutting the length of the fuse tube.
Catherine, who was standing next to her, asked, "What kind of shell is that?"
She had been in contact with Alda's army for quite some time, and there was no doubt that it was a formidable force far superior to the average modern army. Catherine had been cramming on all sorts of knowledge related to it—in fact, it wasn't just her; the former Royal Army generals sent by Rodney XVIII were also learning rapidly at the " Gleiman Military Academy."
In Catherine's previous understanding, the cannonballs fired by Cannon were actually just a big iron ball, or a bunch of small iron balls called shot. The experiment that just took place shattered her preconceived notions.
"A high-explosive bomb, or a high-explosive shell, looks just like a blooming flower when it explodes."
"A fitting title." Catherine nodded. "Could you explain the underlying principle?"
"Of course." Paul briefly explained the principle to his wife.
He then continued, "Actually, the direct reason that prompted me to have the artillery factory research exploding shells was to deal with the orcs. You know, the soil in the orcs' homeland is soft, especially in the Gobi Desert. When traditional solid shot hits the ground, the soft ground will absorb some of the force, greatly reducing its lethality."
Paul laughed again. "But with exploding shells, it's different. If the fuse is controlled properly, the shell can explode before hitting the ground, scattering its fragments and causing damage to surrounding targets."
"I see!" Catherine felt a surge of excitement; she had gleaned something from Paul's words.
The orcs' homeland? Paul Greiman was clearly not satisfied with merely driving the orcs out of Aldor; his army would one day venture deep into the plains.
Just as Paul was about to continue watching the Cannon test launch, a young intelligence officer appeared beside him. Paul recognized him; he was the Head of Intelligence. They were sent by Cecil.
"My lord, we have successfully made contact with Earl Winley of Five Rams City."
"Then what?"
"The Earl of Winley is very interested in replacing Giles as the master of Five Rams City."
...
Sweat seeped into his armor through the gaps, making him very uncomfortable. Giles led his men to the gates of Lords Manor in a hurry.
He rode swiftly back to Five Rams City, which, although now in the hands of his brother-in-law, Earl Winley, still had many powerful figures loyal to him.
Wenli was able to take over the city mainly because Giles's whereabouts were unknown, and he was Giles's relative. Now that everyone saw their lord had returned, they immediately gathered a considerable armed force, vowing to help Giles regain power.
Upon seeing that their former lord had returned with a large group of fully armed knights, the guards dared not obstruct him and let him pass without any resistance.
Giles strode in and headed straight for the hall entrance, where he heard his son's pleading voice mixed with Earl Winley's distinctive, nasal laughter.
Samar couldn't hold back any longer, and with a bang, he slammed the door open with his shoulder.
"Ah, Giles, my dear brother, you're finally back. Heh, you've really come back in a sorry state!"
Earl Winley leaned back on his throne, a symbol of the sovereign power of the South, seemingly unsurprised by Giles's presence.
To his right stood a large iron cage, inside which Edmund— Giles ' son—was huddled, still wearing a white sable cloak, though it was covered in straw. Several soldiers stood guard over him, longswords in hand.
Faced with Winry's taunts, Giles slashed the floor tiles with the tip of his sword, sending a trail of sparks flying. When he saw the terror in his son's eyes, a burning sensation exploded in his chest.
"Let's settle this like men." Giles ripped off his blood-stained cloak and shouted, "If you win, Five Rams City is yours. If I win, you go to hell."
Wenley chuckled, "I agree!"
The two drew their swords and, without another word, immediately began to fight.
Wenli's moves were extremely sharp, each strike coming like a venomous snake emerging from its hole.
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Giles struggled to support him, and the encirclement formed by the spectators automatically expanded, clearing the dueling arena in the center of the hall. The tapestries on the walls fluttered in the wind that rushed in from outside.
"Do you remember the year you taught me swordsmanship, my dear brother?" Winry spun around to avoid the slash, and the rapier suddenly thrust viciously towards Giles's left knee, where he had an old wound.
"You said to exploit every weakness of the enemy." The moment the sword pierced the metal of his knee pads, he revealed gleaming white teeth. "Well, my good teacher?"
Giles staggered to his knees, and Edmund screamed from inside the cage, "Father, watch out!"
Greedy Wolf Grand Duke rolled over, and Wenley's rapier grazed his carotid artery.
As Winry drew his sword, Giles's longsword already stirred up a bloody wind. Winry raised his sword to meet it, and the candles in the hall cast swaying silhouettes of the two men.
"Even if you defeat me, can you win back the hearts of the people?" Wenley roared in frustration as he couldn't subdue Giles for a long time. "Ever since you escaped Eagles Beak Pass, all the lords have been sending me messages saying that Giles is unworthy to be their lord!" As soon as he finished speaking, his rapier pierced through the seam of Giles' right shoulder armor with ghostly speed, indicating that his words had indeed disturbed Giles.
But the excruciating pain actually brought Giles to his senses. He remembered teaching ten-year-old Winry how to hold a sword twenty years ago in the same hall. The boy always had his thumb hooked onto the hilt, a fatal mistake he never changed.
Exploit every weakness of the enemy! When the rapier thrust at him again, he deliberately exposed an opening in his left ribs, creating an opportunity to attack.
The metallic scraping sound was grating on one's teeth. When Giles's sword suddenly jammed into his opponent's hilt, Winry was horrified to find his thumb locked. The crisp sound of breaking bones echoed in the hall, and his rapier fell to the ground, bouncing on the floor like a decapitated snake.
Giles grabbed Winry's curly hair and slammed his face against the fire. "We're dueling, why are you talking so much nonsense?" The smell of burning flesh filled the air, and Earl Winry let out a chilling scream as he struggled to break free from Giles's grip.
But Winry's defeat was inevitable. As Giles's sword swung down again, Winry's left arm, which he had used to block, was severed at the elbow. Splattered blood drew eerie patterns on the tapestry. Giles stepped on the severed limb, the tip of his sword pressed against the traitor's throat: "Someone told me you'd been in contact with Glaeman's men?"
Wenley suddenly coughed up blood and laughed, his blood-stained teeth biting into the sword's edge: "You will... cough cough die a more miserable death than me." His words were cut short as Edmund had already been released from the iron cage by Samar and the others, who plunged the tip of the candlestick into the back of his uncle's neck.
The hall fell into a deathly silence. Giles threw away his dulled sword and embraced the trembling heir.
Then, he kicked aside Winry's body and walked step by step toward his throne, ordering, "Clean the hall."