#77 - Flintlock

"You've worked hard, Blacksmith Yuan. All of this is thanks to your efforts," Quan Yi said sincerely to Blacksmith Yuan.

For the past six months, Blacksmith Yuan had been holed up in his room every day, neglecting sleep and meals as he researched the creation of the iron gun.

"Young Master, you flatter me. This is all I should be doing," Blacksmith Yuan said humbly.

Behind the target was a thick brick wall. When building this shooting range, very hard stone materials were used, and ordinary swords and sabers could not leave any marks.

But on this wall, there was a round hole, and embedded inside was a tiny iron ball.

So, this is a gun?

She had seen Quan Yi use a shotgun before, but in her opinion, that was only possible because of Quan Yi's special first Soul Skill, which created that kind of lethality.

But Blacksmith Yuan was able to cause damage equivalent to Quan Yi's first Soul Skill without using any Soul Skills. This was simply beyond her comprehension.

Quan Yi took the firelock. The cold touch and the pervasive smell of gunpowder stirred his heart.

The gun body was made entirely of metal, and, most importantly, the gun's structure was a breech-loading structure, and it was a flintlock gun.

Quan Yi did not have detailed knowledge of firearms in his previous life.

But he roughly knew the history of firearms development.

The earliest firearms generally involved loading ammunition from the muzzle of the barrel and then connecting the gunpowder with a long rope. Before firing, the rope was lit, the enemy was aimed at, and when the flame followed the rope, igniting the gunpowder, the pressure from the explosion would propel the bullet out.

The firearm in Quan Yi's hand was called a flintlock gun.

This type of flintlock gun was a product of the mid-to-late stage of gun development. It could load ammunition from the rear of the barrel and fire the ammunition by pulling the trigger.

Because it not only greatly improved the loading efficiency but also improved the stability and accuracy of the shooter.

Quan Yi initially wanted to manufacture the former type of musket, but Quan Yi discovered that with the technology of the Douluo Continent, it was entirely possible to manufacture a more advanced flintlock gun.

"How exquisite, truly ingenious," Quan Yi said, looking at the trigger and hammer, sincerely praising.

In addition to being lightweight, the design was also quite aesthetically pleasing, which was different from his original simple design. Obviously, a lot of effort had been put into it.

Moreover, Quan Yi could see that this gun surpassed the previous 'shotgun' in terms of manufacturing craftsmanship, especially the connection behind the chamber, where all the structures were tightly fitted without any deviation.

In the past six months, Blacksmith Yuan's skills seemed to have improved to a higher level.

"This level of skill can be achieved by a blacksmith after decades of practice. However, more important is the Young Master's creativity. Without your guidance, even if my skills were more exquisite, it would not be possible to create such a weapon.

Moreover, the most important gunpowder was also invented by you. Without gunpowder, even the most exquisite iron gun would just be an iron pipe, useless."

Although Quan Yi's praise made Blacksmith Yuan very happy, he dared not take credit. The most important part of this firelock was not made by him.

Gunpowder can be said to be the most important part of the iron gun.

At the same time, it was also Quan Yi's most important invention in the past six months.

Saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal are the most basic gunpowder materials.

But Quan Yi's understanding of gunpowder was limited to this.

Fortunately, these three things exist on the Douluo Continent and are easy to find.

However, Quan Yi was not clear about the specific proportions, but finding the proportions only required spending time and effort to experiment one by one.

Therefore, Quan Yi entrusted the research of gunpowder to his mother, allowing her to conduct secret research and experiments on gunpowder in other places.

After investing time and money, as well as the experimental methods provided by Quan Yi, a suitable ratio was quickly found.

At the same time, Quan Yi and Blacksmith Yuan researched the design of the iron gun. After working together, it only took half a year to invent the flintlock gun.

Moreover, Quan Yi was not limited to this but was also conducting material purification work and searching for other materials on the Douluo Continent, expecting the birth of more powerful gunpowder.

For confidentiality, the research on gunpowder was conducted in another secret place, so Blacksmith Yuan was not aware of the specific manufacturing method of gunpowder.

With Quan Yi's gunpowder and Blacksmith Yuan's technology, this powerful weapon was finally born.

Moreover, this was just the beginning, and it had even greater development space.

"Can I try it?" Quan Yi asked eagerly.

"Of course, you can." Blacksmith Yuan was very confident in his work, and he had also spent a lot of money on the materials.

Therefore, he was not afraid of safety hazards.

In front of Blacksmith Yuan was a wide table with a box of gunpowder and round iron balls on it.

Although it was the first test firing, Quan Yi, as the designer, certainly knew the operating method.

He skillfully poured the gunpowder into the gun and then loaded the bullet from the rear of the chamber.

Then, he set up the iron gun and aimed at the wooden target in the distance.

The weight of the iron gun was dozens of pounds. For safety, Blacksmith Yuan specially used the highest-grade iron essence as the main material for forging. This material had good toughness and moderate hardness, but the density was too high, making it a bit heavy.

An adult might find it difficult to even lift it.

However, this weight was nothing to Quan Yi.

This gun was different from a shotgun; the iron ball could not explode and create a range attack.

To hit the target, the shooter needed to aim, using the front sight of the muzzle, three points in a line.

Quan Yi decisively pulled the trigger.

The flint of the hammer struck, creating a spark. The flame ignited the gunpowder, creating an explosion. The pressure from the explosion launched the steel bullet out.

With a bang, the iron ball had already penetrated the wooden board and embedded itself in the wall in the blink of an eye.

"Crack, clang."

Two sounds came.

One was the sound of the wooden board being shattered, and the other was the sound of steel hitting the wall.

After the gun fired, Quan Yi put down the iron gun, but Su Ling'er's heart could not calm down for a long time.

Having witnessed it with her own eyes, she found that the firepower and attack power of the firelock were comparable to a second Soul Skill.

Moreover, the attack was fast, and the distance was long. A Soul Master at the Great Soul Master level would find it difficult to dodge if they were unprepared.

A flintlock gun could allow a person without any Soul Power to hunt and kill a Great Soul Master. What did this represent? Su Ling'er did not dare to continue thinking.