Chapter 562: Chapter 445: Finally Fired!
"I think, Princess Elsa only spoke out of anger, please don’t take it too seriously, let us continue our discussion." Selena said.
"There’s no need, today’s topic should end here, after all, I still have to be responsible for the life of each councilor." Sajia said with a smile on his face, but the frequent quivering of his eyes betrayed his inner anger.
The meeting ended that way. The ministers and councilors also gained a new understanding of Princess Elsa, and some discerning individuals sensed something unusual in the air.
Could it be that the relationship between Princess Elsa and Princess Selena is not as bad as the rumors suggest?
No one knew the truth. However, from that day on, the anticipated power struggle between Sajia and Selena for the throne might have another contender.
Everything happened just as Long Yi had predicted.
The new light cannon took a full eight days to properly install. In fact, constructing the functional part of the light cannon took only one day. With plenty of experience, the Ma Deburg team quickly designed and manufactured the first prototype. After five improvements, the final version was completed on the third day.
The problem came with the auto-aim mechanism.
The reason was simple. The previous auto-aim mechanism was light enough to be powered by a small energy device. But the new light cannon weighed almost three tons. One can imagine the difficulty in designing a mechanism to operate such a heavy cannon.
In the end, the team led by the two deans, Ma Deburg and Angidd, developed a miniaturized version of the crystal core engine, the same one used in tractors. By adding a gear reduction system to increase torque, they finally solved the problem.
The entire development team worked around the clock in shifts for eight days and finally installed the enormous light cannon.
Then, all that was left was to fire it.
With the experience gained from developing the armored soldier’s helmet aiming system, the new helmet wasn’t difficult. However, the slow operation of the heavy light cannon was a problem.
Kai Long, who had been waiting impatiently, hurried over. He had already pressed Long Yi many times during this period. But this was not something that could be rushed, so Long Yi had to ask the old man to be patient.
On this day, when Kai Long got the news from Long Yi, he became extremely excited. However, when he arrived at the entrance of the research institute, he saw Generals Iron Hand and Iron Tiger waiting there with smiles on their faces.
"What are you two shameless guys doing here?" Kai Long asked.
"The same as you are here." General Iron Hand, Kari, replied.
"Right, the same." Iron Tiger also said.
"I was just passing by." Kai Long answered, staring at them.
"We too, just passing by." Said general Iron Hand.
"You two bastards really have no shame at all."
"Yes, absolutely none." General Iron Tiger, with a smile on his face, walked into the institute alongside Kai Long. However, as they got to the entrance, the guards there stopped both Iron Hand and Iron Tiger.
"I’m sorry, Generals, but your names are not on the invitation list. You can’t enter the institute." The guard said.
"Ha! Haha! Hahaha!" Kai Long started laughing happily, while the other two generals immediately showed distressed expressions.
To protect the research secrets of the White Dragon Empire, an uncompassionate decree was implemented at the institute by the Emperor. Nobody, including the Emperor himself, could enter without reason. Either the Emperor commands ahead of time, stating the exact time of his visit, or they are invited by a dean of the institute. Otherwise, even the Emperor himself would be kept out.
Although the several current generals were high-ranking, they were well below the Emperor in terms of status, so they naturally couldn’t enter the institute with just their faces.
As Kai Long smugly walked into the institute, the two generals outside couldn’t help but look bitter.
"What should we do? Leave?" The Iron Tiger General asked Iron Hand.
"Are you joking? We will wait here. Even if it’s just to hear a bang! We’re staying."
When Kai Long arrived, he finally saw the completed version of the light cannon he had been dreaming of.
The crystal core was protected within the metal cannon barrel, which was mounted on a large gear-studded base, which in turn was placed on the flat back of a Backplate Dragon!
The Backplate Dragon Knight, who originally served as a transporter, was now wearing a suit of armor, topped with a never before seen helmet. It was clear that the young man was nervous, standing stiffly as several researchers tuned the parameters of his helmet.
Long Yi was checking the gear box under the barrel, while Angidd was saying something to him from time to time. Ma Deburg was checking the operating status of the crystal core device near the base.
Nobody, to Kai Long’s surprise, noticed his arrival.
Kai Long noticed that each member of the research team wore deep exhaustion on their face. Lack of rest had them with sunken eye sockets and dark circles under their eyes. Recalling how he kept pushing Long Yi, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of guilt. He’d been impatient and forgotten that the emergence of any new technology would always require a long period of time, it wasn’t something that could be achieved overnight.
Finally, Little Zi noticed Kai Long.
"Hello, General Kai Long!" Little Zi handed him a cup of water. Her own tasks had just finished, so the diligent maid quickly went to prepare drinks for everyone.
"Ah, Little Zi, hello." Kai Long took the cup of water casually.
"Please wait a moment, the final adjustments should be done within ten minutes. Then you can personally give the order for the first shot." Little Zi said.
Kai Long nodded, looked at the bustling crowd, and suddenly felt somewhat thoughtful. What was happening, why was he suddenly as impatient as a child? How come the older he got, the less steady he seemed to become?
Even though a span of ten minutes passed quickly, the debugging process was far from over. Then, five more ten-minute increments passed, and still, the debugging continued. Intense discussions filled the scene. Little Zi joined in too, but still, there were no solutions. Eventually, Long Yi waved his hand, and the previously assembled light cannon was dismantled once again. After yet another hour, the problem was finally identified. A beam in the casting base was pressing on the energy circuit, causing abnormal transmission of energy. All they had to do was smooth it out.
Finally, after one more hour, a cleaned-up Long Yi appeared in front of Kai Long.
"Come on, old man, you’ve waited long enough. But I can assure you, your wait has been worth it!" Long Yi said, smiling.
Kai Long simply nodded excitedly, choosing to keep silent. Right now, any words were meaningless!
"Light cannon, let’s go to the shooting range!" Long Yi yelled.
The Backplate Dragon Knight sitting beside the light cannon activated his mount to rise slowly. The light cannon’s total weight exceeded four tons. Even for a Flying Dragon, such terrifying weight was hard to bear, but it still didn’t exceed half of what a Backplate Dragon could take. As the Backplate Dragon walked towards the institute’s shooting range, its movement looked slow, but its actual speed was much faster than that of a human walk. Everyone had to run to keep up.
Upon arriving at the shooting range, five coarse Black Dragon targets were lined up on a hill 500 meters away.
"Backplate Dragon, get into position!" Long Yi called out.
Controlled by the dragon knight, the Backplate Dragon immediately moved to the firing position and curled itself up into a firm fort.
"Light cannon, start charging!"
Long Yi called out again.
"Yes!"
Suppressing the excitement and nervousness in his heart, the Dragon Knight began channeling Dragon Power into the light cannon as if he had done it countless times before.
Time ticked away, the buzzing sound from Dragon Power being infused into the light cannon echoed relentlessly, but the sound signaling the cannon was ready to fire never came.
"It’s taking too long!"
Dean Ma Deburg uttered impatiently.
"Only two minutes have passed," Long Yi said.
"It feels like a whole morning already," Angidd grumbled, fidgeting.
In contrast, the normally anxious General Kai Long unusually calmed down.
"Three minutes!"
Ding!
A profound sound resonated, indicating the charging process was over!
"Three minutes, that’s too long!" Angidd frowned. The three-minute charging time on the battlefield was simply not enough to fire a second round!
"Let’s test the power first," Long Yi said with a smile, then turned to Kai Long.
Kai Long nodded, taking a deep breath.
"Light cannon! Target the middle Black Dragon target!"
Upon the command, the young Dragon Knight promptly aimed at the central target with his helmet, while the hefty base of the light cannon emitted the sound of grinding gears.
"Reporting, target locked!" The Dragon Knight shouted.
"Fire!"
Boom!
A blinding white light followed by a deafening thunderous roar. After that was a massive white fireball exploding in the distance, and then, an earthquake that knocked everyone off their feet.
The power of this shot left everyone dumbfounded, including Long Yi.
In the distance, a large crater swallowed three Black Dragon targets without a trace. The two ones at either side were blown away and shattered by the explosive shockwave. Vegetation on the ground was instantly turned to toast by the immense heat, and the rocks in the crater were melted into magma!
If this shot were to accurately hit a Flying Dragon, regardless of it being pureblood or not, it could kill it in one shot!
Kai Long’s mouth was agape. He had decided not to be surprised by anything, but this time, he was genuinely astonished.
"This... this power... Even White Dragon’s Dragon Breath is considered weak compared to it!"
Kai Long was lost for words!
"Well, after all, it is a product of trans-dimensional technology." The power of the shot far exceeded the expectations, making Long Yi burst with joy.
"Three minutes, it’s worth it!" Dean Ma Deburg shut his mouth, managing to force out five words. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to vote for the novel at qidian.com. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users can read the book at m.qidian.com.)
