Magic, steel, heavy industry

Chapter 55 Magic Powder Explosives and the Chief Alchemist

"My lord, I must apologize. To be honest, while I previously thought gunpowder was a unique alchemical creation, I never imagined that weapons made from it could possess such terrifying power. I still shudder at the thought. If it had exploded while I was making the explosives, oh my god, that would have been divine punishment!"

On the way back, Merino stood beside Veran, gesturing excitedly to the name while breathing heavily, seemingly relieved that no accident had occurred.

The two walked ahead, keeping some distance from the people behind them to ensure the privacy of their conversation.

Vilan couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he watched the old man's jubilant expression.

"This is nothing! We've only just gotten to black powder; the real challenge lies in smokeless powder."

Even with these thoughts in mind, he still looked at Merino with great satisfaction, "Without a doubt, you are the best alchemist I have ever seen. Although I was the one who came up with the idea of ​​gunpowder, you turned it into reality."

"This is all thanks to Lord Vilan. Such a brilliant invention will surely have your name etched forever in the world of alchemy."

"It's best not to engrave it now; I don't want too many people to know about my secret weapon," Vilan said with a smile.

Merino paused, seemingly realizing the subtext of those words.

This is a top-secret weapon, intended for use on the battlefield, and must not be leaked.

His heart suddenly tightened. "Lord Vilan, I will not say a word to anyone. I am only responsible for production."

"Of course, Mr. Merino is a smart man, and I'm sure you know what to do. But I have another question for you."

Vilan stroked his chin, a hint of curiosity appearing in his eyes.

"According to my understanding, there should be a difference between gunpowder and explosives, but the explosive charge you made seems to far exceed the power that black powder should have. Why is that?"

Yes, that's exactly what puzzled Vilan just now.

Ordinary gunpowder shouldn't have such strong energy. Even in the 21st century, this explosive charge would be far more powerful than a regular hand grenade.

Merino breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, it seemed that the lord had no intention of discarding him after he had served his purpose.

He calmly replied, "It's your magic powder. I've studied those magic powders and discovered that they possess incredibly magical power. When used in alchemy, they can unleash unparalleled power. So I added red magic powder to the finished gunpowder to increase its explosive intensity, and I added a tiny amount of gray magic powder when making the explosive charge to compact the gunpowder, which further enhances the explosive power."

"Of course, blue magic powder is also an extremely important part. Some blue magic powder was added during the production of those iron balls. This not only makes the iron balls stronger, but I also think it can increase the speed of the splatter during the explosion."

After Merino finished speaking, Vilan nodded. Sure enough, it was just as he had guessed.

The presence of magic powder greatly increases the upper limit of explosive charges.

In particular, the red magic powder can directly enhance the power of the explosion, which makes ordinary black powder a much more powerful explosive.

Because of the presence of the blue magic powder, the speed and distance of the flying iron pellets far exceeded expectations, which explains why they were able to bounce off the guards' shields.

Vilan made up his mind that this kind of explosive charge could only be used from a distance, otherwise it was very likely to accidentally injure his own people.

Perhaps we should get a small catapult?

Although there were no cannons, a catapult with explosive charges would have been just as effective, except for slightly less accuracy and range.

He silently noted down the idea, then looked at Merino again, "Now that the test explosion was successful, it's time to talk about hiring."

"Huh? Hire?" Merino asked, somewhat surprised.

"Of course, everyone in the workshop is on a contract basis. They work for me, and I pay them a salary every month. If they perform well or make a major research breakthrough, they will also receive a bonus."

As he spoke, Vilan pulled a contract directly from his pocket. He had prepared it long ago and was just waiting to use it today.

"As I said before, if you help me develop gunpowder, you will become the chief alchemist of the Vilan Workshop. You will lead the workshop to continuously research new alchemical creations. Once you sign this contract, you will receive a salary of two gold coins every month. Of course, the bonuses will be even more generous."

Vilan was not stingy and increased Merino's base salary to two gold coins.

After all, alchemists were very important to him, not only for gunpowder, but also for all kinds of future industrial innovations, which would be inseparable from the research of the alchemy workshop.

Seeing that Merino did not answer immediately, Vilan added, "I know that as an alchemy master, your previous income was very considerable, and you may not care about this salary, but this is the best I can do for you."

"No, Lord Vilan, you misunderstand. I am just an ordinary refugee. I am very happy to have gained your favor, and I am very willing to sign a contract with you."

Merino said confidently, then took the contract and signed his name with a quill pen.

It was a very long list of names, including various middle names and surnames, which gave Vilan a headache.

After accepting the contract, Vilan was in a great mood, but then he suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, right, I promised you something before, and now you can tell me."

Upon hearing this, Merino's eyes immediately lit up with emotion, but he simply shook his head. "No need. You've already done it. What I want is for you to take in the poor refugees of the East. Having traveled with them for so long, I can guarantee with my alchemist's reputation that they will never become pests of Anvil Territory!"

This is why Merino signed the contract so readily. Although Vilan did not accept all the refugees from Casalan, it had at least taken in more than a hundred artisans.

They entered the workshops of blacksmiths, carpenters, and stonemasons, and even a dozen or so women with textile experience joined the textile factory.

Merino had seen all of this.

Regardless of what the future holds, at least this winter, the refugees have hope, and that is all thanks to Wieland Northstone.

"My lord, without further hesitation, Merino suddenly knelt on one knee, his right hand on his chest. "Please accept my allegiance. Anvil Territory will become my new home. I will dedicate all my alchemical knowledge to you and to Anvil Territory."

Vilan's heart skipped a beat. He was somewhat surprised, but he quickly calmed down and nodded, saying, "I accept your allegiance, Mr. Merino. You will share the glory of Anvil Territory with me."