Heroes of Might and Magic: Knight Chapter 411: Secret Weapon

A roaring sound has been heard from time to time in a canyon in the Northland. The nearby beasts were frightened by these frequent sounds and fled farther away.

Because there is no prey, most human hunters will no longer approach the valley. Even if there are occasionally serious curious guys who want to find out, they will be stopped by patrolling soldiers outside the valley. They will be released only after a strict investigation and will receive a stern warning.

"Sir Richard, although the steam crossbow is still not stable enough, we really found the gunpowder that you said can explode. You are really a genius."

Bellucci, who was in charge of gunpowder research and development, was accompanying Richard to watch the power of the gunpowder explosion in the canyon. He saw a soldier lighting the fuse from a distance and quickly got into the hole dug nearby. The heavy medicine bag exploded with a bang ten seconds later. Half of the wooden targets within ten meters of the surrounding area fell down, and the remaining ones were also damaged. No target was intact.

"Look, Lord Richard, this is the proportion according to your instructions. It also contains more than a hundred pieces of iron. This explosion has a radius of 20 meters within its killing range!"

Bellucci couldn't help but dance when he introduced the gunpowder bag to Richard, obviously unable to contain his inner excitement.

Richard on the other side was equally excited. Although the power of the explosion of this gunpowder packet was a bit insignificant compared to the things he had seen in his previous life, and even compared to this thing, it could only be regarded as a large firework. But at this time, it was a breakthrough from scratch.

It doesn't matter if the power is not enough. As long as the proportions are adjusted correctly, the worst I can do is increase the weight. The entire 20-pound large medical bag can be fired and directly thrown with a trebuchet, and the killing power is definitely considerable.

You can also make a few kilograms of small medicine bags, transport them directly into the air with griffins and dragons, and accurately drop them directly from the air to the enemy's military formation. You can also soak some excrement in the iron sheet, and you can also scratch the iron sheet. Inflicts secondary damage to the injured enemy.

In just an instant, several simple and easy to implement yet very vicious methods of use flashed through Richard's mind.

Of course, it is difficult for this level of gunpowder to play a decisive role on the battlefield. When modern artillery and flintlock guns appeared, they could not absolutely suppress cold weapons, but as a tactic The weapons and gunpowder packs are enough. At least combined with the Hunter family's air power, it will be no problem to catch the orcs off guard and win one or two battles first.

It's a pity that Richard's understanding of this aspect only ends here. The following musket and artillery technology is just a concept. He has only a little understanding of the principles, so he can only draw it for the researchers. Just leave a sketch of the appearance to the other party to slowly develop it. I'm afraid I won't see any finished product every few years.

Of course, after the emergence of gunpowder, its role may not be fully reflected in the military. In the future, the Hunter family can also use gunpowder to improve efficiency when building roads and mining.

Of course, these are all things for later. The most important thing now is to apply gunpowder to the military as quickly as possible, and try to teach the orcs a lesson in the upcoming battle.

"How is the production of gunpowder now?"

"We have no shortage of materials. There is a saltpeter mine not far from Miracle City. Mining is very convenient. The other two materials are even easier to obtain. As long as we add more people, we can produce several hundred kilograms of gunpowder in one day. Come on, the only thing that limits us is transportation. ”

The cost of preparing black gunpowder is indeed not high. Several materials are almost free for Richard, who owns the entire Northland and River Valley. The only cost is transportation, especially after the production is completed. Transport and preservation.

It is necessary to prevent both fire and moisture. Although Richard is not a professional, he still has some basic common sense. When the black powder experiment was just successful, Richard ordered Bellucci to make a preservation and transportation plan, forming a As the safety of the entire set of transportation and management methods increases, transportation costs and storage costs will naturally increase.

However, after hearing this output, Richard nodded. A few hundred kilograms a day is quite a lot. At least it is enough for the current stage when it can only be used to make explosive bags. Start preparations now. When the war begins, At least tens of thousands of kilograms of black powder can be produced by then.

"Well, let's allocate a batch according to the current optimal ratio, and be sure to pay attention to safety."

"Don't worry, Lord Richard, there won't be any sparks in the storage place."

"Also, you must keep it secret. Before I go into battle for the first time, I don't want to hear any news about it outside, do you understand?"

Although the target of the war is the orcs, there are now real spies among humans. Richard is worried that the news of black powder will be leaked, and the suddenness of his first appearance will be lost.

"Currently there is no way in or out of the valley. Anyone who has seen the power of gunpowder must not leave the valley before the ban is lifted."

"That's good."

The valley is now not only managed by the responsible Bellucci, there are also people from Yusidu mixed in, monitoring at any time, and there are a large number of patrols blocking the outside, as long as there is no one like Richard who can teleport. People, the secret of gunpowder will not be spread out for the time being.

"Is the Griffin Knight ready?"

After giving instructions about production and confidentiality, Richard asked the griffon about its actual preparations. Today he came over to see how the gunpowder explosion was covered up. It was not just about watching a gunpowder pack blow up several fixed wooden targets. That kind of usage doesn't really make much sense.

The key is the issue of delivery. It is indeed convenient to use trebuchet cannons for delivery, but the Northern Route Army has to pass through the jungle. This kind of war equipment is difficult to transport. The main idea now is to use griffon knights or dragons for aerial delivery. .

"Sir, look over there!"

"唳!"

Just when Richard was asking questions, more than a hundred griffons flew over the canyon. Most of these griffins still had a petite rider sitting on them. The leader was a member of the Griffin Knights. Captain Sandrine.

As a new recruit, Sandrine works very hard and is always the most active and diligent in training. She also pays strict attention to the training of her soldiers. With Sandrine leading by example in training, her soldiers The other knights also followed suit and worked hard to become familiar with the new tactics of the gryphon. After two months of training, these carefully selected gryphon knights were basically able to complete simple tactical coordination actions with the gryphon, and complete attacks on the enemy in the air. The combined attack.

And Sandrine's efforts are naturally rewarded. Sandrine has already obtained the place in the training camp that Richard promised before, and her strength has been successfully improved from the preliminary knight level to the intermediate knight level, which makes her motivated. Be more abundant.

For example, the fixed-point delivery technology that was added not long ago has also become proficient in her skills. Now she wants to show Richard the results of her training with this group of griffin knights.

At this time, the equipment of the gryphon knights has changed slightly compared to before. After the emergence of black gunpowder, the original hand ax used for throwing downwards naturally has no meaning, leaving only a weight-reduced one. The lance and a short crossbow freed up about ten kilograms of weight and turned them into two square medicine bags.

"Arrived at the designated location, prepare!"

Sandrine, who was flying at the front of the team, suddenly raised a red flag in her hand. The surrounding griffon knights quickly took out flint-like objects and ignited the medicine bags hanging on the griffins. The ignited medicine bag was then dropped from high altitude.

"Boom! Boom! Boom..."

More than a hundred explosive charges fell to the ground at the same time, causing a continuous roar of explosions. Coupled with the echo of the valley, ordinary people would probably have hearing damage.

However, because of Richard's size, ordinary people in the valley have long worn earplugs, which has little effect, and beings above the knight level will not be hurt by the sound of such explosions. Of course, if they are standing there There may be another story within the scope of the film's explosion.

A burst of thick black smoke suddenly rose from the place where the explosive package had blown up. The thick smoke produced by this primitive black gunpowder could sometimes even obscure the battlefield. The black smoke in the entire valley lasted for several minutes. It gradually dispersed, and you could barely see the place that had been bombarded by the Griffin Knights just now.

The area within a few hundred meters was in a mess, and half of the densely erected wooden targets were destroyed. If these were all orcs, the orcs would have lost hundreds of people in this round of bombing alone. This is comparable to a head-on contact. It's much easier to kill the orcs with one knife and one shot.

"Precise throwing!"

However, the demonstration was not over yet. As Sandrine waved the flag of another color again, the gryphon knights who had just finished throwing quickly turned around and turned their heads, and then rushed towards the ground. Less than fifty meters away, they suddenly stopped and corrected their flying posture. At the same time that the griffins made this move, the riders on their backs also dropped another explosive package.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The range of this attack was not as good as before, but the effect was better than the previous one, because the explosive packets were thrown intensively and exploded with greater power in a small area. Almost all the wooden targets standing around were blown down. land.

As the two explosive packages were released, the Griffin Knights also completed their display actions, all took off, and left in a neat line.

"Not bad!"

After watching the Griffin Knight's demonstration, Richard was quite satisfied. The accuracy of this throw was higher than his expectations. The accuracy of the throw from an altitude of more than 100 meters was also more than half, and the others were not counted. The deviation is outrageous, which can be regarded as expanding the strike range, and the precise throwing within fifty meters has reached a 100% accuracy rate. Almost all the griffin knights threw the explosives within the target range, which can only be suppressed on the battlefield. By eliminating the opponent's air power, the gryphon knight's lethality against ground enemies is greatly enhanced.

This is just the usage of the gryphon knight. If it were replaced by a giant dragon, it would be directly loaded with two 100 kilograms of black powder packets. Throwing one away would not be much less powerful than a heavy cannon.

After completing the demonstration, the gryphon knights who circled in the air returned to the station. Now they are also among the blocked groups. Before using black powder, they are also not allowed to contact the outside world at will...

"Lord Richard!"

Sandrine, who led the team to complete the explosives dropping mission, quickly came to Richard. Sandrine, who got off the griffon, was wearing tight-fitting leather armor, which looked somewhat heroic in line with her knight's strength. .

Sandrine, whose strength has just been promoted to the intermediate level of knight, has a high-spirited feeling, and even looks much younger.

In the past, knights were her biggest goals. With the resources of the Lanster family, it was impossible for a woman to be promoted to the level of a great knight. However, the resources of the Hunter family were much richer than the Lanster family, and they had merit. It is easier to obtain than the Lanster family's resources, and now her target is also the Great Knight.

Those knight potions that can improve the level of fighting spirit cultivation, Sandrine thinks that she can also fight for it, so whether it is practicing fighting spirit or training soldiers, she is more attentive than before at the Lanster family. In the past, she just sat down and did it. As long as she fulfills her duties and is worthy of the jinnar, now she has to strive for more credit in the Hunter family.

"Lord Richard!"

After arriving in front of Richard, Sandrine bowed respectfully, and Richard nodded in response and asked:

"Can all gryphon knights achieve this accuracy now?"

"At present, only the most elite of more than a hundred knights can do it. There is still a gap between the rest. The ones who performed better are mainly the former sword eagle knights. After all, the newly recruited warriors still have a short flight time. It’s no longer easy to complete tactical actions.”

Faced with Richard's question, Sandrine answered truthfully. The training of gryphon knights is no better than that of infantry. They have to overcome their natural fear and soar into the sky. Two or three months of training is still too short. Fortunately, Only with a little foundation from the previous Sword Eagle Knights can the Griffin Knights form an army so quickly. Otherwise, if they had to train everything from scratch, it would conservatively be estimated that it would take half a year to basically form combat effectiveness.

Richard nodded. He naturally understood that the training of a griffin knight was not easy. Sandrine's current achievements were largely due to Sandrine. There was no need to demand anything more. He just gave a few more instructions to strengthen training.

"Sandrine, do you have any way to control the explosion height of the explosive package?"

"Control the height of the explosion?"

After Richard raised this question suddenly, Sandrine did not react immediately. She only understood what Richard meant after Richard explained.

"Theoretically, it should be possible. The length of the fuse and the throwing height can be controlled. As long as the time is calculated well, it should be feasible to explode the explosive package at a height of about two meters."

After thinking about it for a while, Sandrine gave a positive answer, and Richard immediately promised:

"If you ask fifty griffin knights to do this within twenty days, you will have completed the task. After the task is completed, you will be given a knight's potion as a reward."

When Sandrine first heard about twenty days, she felt that there was not enough time. Before she could raise an objection, Richard blocked her with the next sentence.

Twenty days, as long as a few dozen of the most elite people can control it, it doesn’t seem impossible?

"Yes, Sir Richard! We will start a new training program immediately!"

Of course, Richard's request is not decided by patting the butt. If the explosive package can be controlled to explode in mid-air about two meters away, the casualties caused will definitely be several times greater than the explosion after landing...