Chapter 90

The holy knight finally stopped纠缠 Zhao Mai. After determining the next destination, Hairuo temporarily left Zhao Mai to gather the other six sisters. Zhao Mai was somewhat curious about how they communicated with each other in a world without mobile communications. However, he also understood that he had more important things to do.

"Without women around, you seem more normal." Green held a piece of paper filled with notes and said admiringly, "The things you prepared are very comprehensive, balancing weight and practicality. Even some experienced adventurers might not be as thorough as you. Where did you learn all this knowledge?"

"I told you, you wouldn't know, so I won't bother explaining." Zhao Mai looked into the blacksmith's workshop and asked, "Do you think Sok can complete the design I gave him?"

"Don't worry about it. If there's only one dwarf in the world who can complete your design, it's Sok. He is a pure craftsman, perhaps born for the profession, blessed by the dwarf god. And you, I really suspect you're not a druid but a chosen one of Yiloli."

"Yiloli indeed has the domains of knowledge, history, and self-improvement, but most of his followers are monks. My power comes from the natural forces, not entirely from self-cultivation, and there is a difference."

"Damn, that's exactly what I mean." Green slapped the table, suddenly angry, "The more I interact with you, the more I realize there's nothing you don't know. Look around, I dare say there isn't a single monk within two hundred miles. Where did you learn all this? What the gods can do seems to be no secret to you, and yet your strength is so weak. This contrast is maddening, you know?"

"If you remove the part about my weak strength, I would be happy to accept your praise." Zhao Mai wasn't angry, smiling and patting Green's shoulder, "Thanks for your concern. I've already figured out what I need and will work hard to learn."

"If you like Hairuo, you must improve your strength; otherwise, your chances of success are slim." Green changed the subject, "Don't mistake her affection for love. I think she's more curious than anything. This feeling isn't stable. Honestly, if it weren't for Hairuo being a rare beauty, I would have discouraged you long ago. A holy knight and a druid together is simply... indescribable."

"Ha, I'm not thinking that far ahead." Zhao Mai laughed a couple of times and then became serious. "Alright, the time for enjoying life is over; now it's time to get serious. Before... I was indeed a bit relaxed, but that was because I had basically resolved my worries. I won't always be like that."

"That makes me feel better; you are, after all, a smart person."

"Why do you always emphasize this point?" Zhao Mai was a bit puzzled. Green seemed to have a very strict evaluation standard, dividing everyone into "smart people" and "not smart people." In his interactions, he treated them very differently. For non-smart people, Green never showed concern or enthusiasm, let alone trust, maintaining a purely professional attitude. Only with smart people did he show some expression.

"I'll tell you when the time is right, but not now." Green avoided the topic and said, "Look, Sok is coming out."

The dwarf's face was flushed, sweat pouring down, but his excitement and satisfaction were evident. "Mentor, I succeeded. Your sliding bolt reloading mechanism works, and the rotating bolt reloading is almost successful. This will at least triple or quadruple the power of the musket!"

Zhao Mai knew his combat abilities were still weak, so he relied more on the musket for protection. Since he couldn't use alchemy to create better ammunition, he had to focus on the firearm itself. He was very clear that the real key to the firearm's power was the loading mechanism.

Although he had already surpassed the stages of front-loading, flintlock, fixed ammunition, and integrated ammunition, Zhao Mai was still not satisfied. Limited by manufacturing technology, he couldn't create magazine or belt-fed loading, so he had to develop a sliding bolt loading mechanism for the shotgun.

After Sok's modifications, the giant-toothed beast could hold two bullets in the barrel and eight more in a slot below the gun (four for each barrel). When reloading was needed, pulling the mechanism back would push the last two bullets into the barrel and eject the spent ones. It also retained the old method of breaking the gun to load, making it easier to handle jams.

"Such a modification increases the firing speed by three to four times. How did you think of it?"

Green shook his head and said to the dwarf, "How did he think of it? This is probably the biggest secret about Zhao Mai. Haven't you noticed that even this is not the limit of his knowledge and wisdom?"

"What's wrong with that? It means my craftsmanship will continue to improve, and my musket has a bright future!" Sok excitedly pounded his fists together. "I'm increasingly looking forward to the day I return home. I'll show them all that muskets can become a new reliance for dwarves!"

Dwarves and muskets are a good match, just like elves and bows, halflings and slings, and humans and heavy cavalry lances. If Sok could achieve success and return home in glory, Zhao Mai would be very happy for him. This would mean that at least Sok's clan, and perhaps the entire dwarf race, would start manufacturing muskets, providing more ammunition.

"I made about eighty suitable bullets, but they are too heavy for you. It wouldn't be a good idea to carry them all." Sok pulled out a bundle from behind his back, the bullets inside clinking together. "As you requested, about half of them are pointed, like arrows."

"Thank you. How about the grenades?"

The dwarf frowned and said after a moment of thought, "Zhao Mai, I encountered something strange. When I made the small throwing bombs you asked for, I had an idea. If I used more alchemical agents and made them larger, would the power increase?"

"That's correct."

"At first, it was, but when I made them this big..." The dwarf gestured to the size of a basketball, "I couldn't get them to explode, even by throwing them into a fire. Only when I disassembled them into smaller parts could they explode."

"That's strange." Zhao Mai frowned. According to logic, this shouldn't happen. While the power of a bomb doesn't increase linearly with the amount of explosive, it shouldn't be impossible to detonate. Excluding the logical factors, the only remaining possibility was...

"I think it might be because your actions have caught the attention of a deity." Zhao Mai said, "The four elements are balanced in terms of power, quantity, and quality, which is the most basic rule of the world. Our weapons may have disturbed this balance, so a deity has intervened. This could be a good thing, but it could also bring catastrophic consequences. Let's put it aside for now and not touch it again."

Sok and Green looked at each other, realizing they hadn't considered this aspect.

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