Lord of the Desert

Chapter 474 Armor-Piercing Bullet

Let’s go back to ten days ago.

The third day of April.

Just after the beginning of summer, the thunderstorm in the Shenjing area stopped early in the morning, leaving behind fresh and moist air.

Hong Fan left the city at daybreak and flew over the ground with his wings raised.

The lake is round and transparent, just as its name suggests, like a green eye gazing at the sky, with large white reed beaches on the north and south banks that look like eyelashes.

The sixteen-mile-long Leiguo Waterfall hangs at the corner of its eyes like a tear mark.

After flying for a quarter of an hour, Hong Fan found an uninhabited area to land.

Xijing's intensive business work came to an end half a month ago. After returning to Beijing, he focused on developing new killing methods.

On March 30th, the latest issue of the Tianjiao list was released, and Hong Fan ranked 17th. Jie Tianji gave him a very high evaluation for his all-round ability in defense, control, speed, range, and group attack.

First put himself in an invincible position, and then specifically restrain the opponent's weaknesses - with this trick alone, there are not many innate masters who can beat him.

If we look further up, the highest priority must be destructive power.

Over the years, Hong Fan has met many Yuanci masters. Their physical bodies are as strong as gold and iron, and after condensing their true energy, they become one with the world, similar to a main battle tank that can fly flexibly.

Taking Feng Manyun, whose defense is relatively weak among people of the same level, as a reference, the "cannon" is enough to break his defense, but it is just breaking the defense.

To deal with "heavy armor" units, the first two weapons that Hong Fan thought of were armor-piercing bullets and armor-piercing bullets.

Armor-piercing bullets rely on kinetic energy to penetrate armor. The first condition is a high initial velocity, and the secondary condition is a bullet core with extremely high hardness and density such as tungsten carbide or uranium alloy.

With the cultivation level of Xiantian Sanhe, the maximum initial velocity that Hong Fan can launch is about one thousand meters per second under the premise of sufficient energy storage and extended barrel. The gap with the conventional tail detachment speed of about five times the speed of sound is too large, and several attempts have failed to achieve the desired effect.

But as he shifted his attention to "energy armor-breaking", his killing method soon made a qualitative breakthrough.

Compared with armor-piercing shells that rely on kinetic energy, the structure of armor-piercing shells is more similar to traditional artillery shells - the shells are filled with cylindrical charges, which cause destruction through the high-speed and high-pressure airflow perpendicular to the surface of the charge after the explosion.

The key to destroying armor lies in the "energy-gathering effect".

This effect was discovered in the late 19th century. That is, after the explosion of explosives, the explosion products fly outward basically along the normal direction of the explosive surface under high temperature and high pressure.

Based on this principle, the earliest armor-piercing projectiles were designed with a conical depression in the shape of the charge column, so that the airflow generated by the explosion would be concentrated toward the axis, greatly increasing the speed and pressure while reducing the effective area.

But the effect of focused airflow was still too limited. It was not until the early days of World War II that people discovered that a thin metal copper cover could be placed on the conical depression of the explosive.

When an armor-piercing projectile designed according to this principle explodes, the energy is concentrated on the inner concave surface, compressing the copper cover to break it into pieces and then converging on the axis, condensing into a metal jet with a speed of nearly thirty times the speed of sound that impacts the armor surface, causing the armor to "liquefy" or "plastic flow" and form linear perforations.

To make an inappropriate analogy, the explosion of traditional internal powder artillery shells is similar to water coming out of a shower. Early armor-piercing shells improved it into a single-hole high-pressure water jet, while later armor-piercing shells mixed gravel into the high-speed water jet. The increase in penetrating power can be imagined.

Using the blazing fire essence instead of explosives and the crystallized gravel sintered at high temperature as a metal cone cover, Hong Fan aimed at the boulder ten meters away.

The armor-piercing shell flew and detonated secondary when it hit the target. The bright crystal sand jet penetrated the stone belly effortlessly, breaking the one-meter-thick stone into four pieces.

Ordinary rocks are no longer suitable for measuring this level of penetration.

Hong Fan took out thirty pieces of ordinary forged steel plates produced by the Shenjing Blacksmith Shop from the cave at the foot of the cliff. Each piece was one centimeter thick and stacked tightly.

A moment later, thunder rumbled again in the wilderness.

From the perspective of a congenital master that was far superior to that of ordinary people, the crystallized projectile crossed fifty meters, cutting out rippling water waves in the sunlight and exploded in the center of the steel plate.

Hong Fan strode forward and saw that the concentrated energy jet had opened a small hole the size of a little finger in the 30-centimeter steel barrier, and then used up the little remaining energy on the rock.

Considering that the performance of hand-forged steel is at most only one-third of the average armor steel, the penetration of current armor-piercing shells can only be comparable to that of small anti-tank guns in the early days of World War II, but in any case it is far superior to the defense of ordinary magnetic materials.

The killing method that had been improved for half a year was finally perfected, but Hong Fan did not seem excited. He stood beside the steel plate for a long time before he remembered to record the experimental data.

An hour later.

He returned at dusk, and as soon as he passed his home, he saw Shen Hong, who had been waiting for a long time and looked nervous, and whispered something to him.

"Second Young Master, the Xiao Salu you ordered from Zhenluo Pavilion has arrived..."

Hong Fan quickened his pace upon hearing this.

······
April twenty-seventh.

The sky in Shenjing is bright and beautiful, as one spring enters the next.

Outside the city, the blue sky was embroidered with white ribbons, covering the training ground of Shengyu Military Camp.

Xiao Chu was wearing tight boots and a high ponytail tied with a purple brocade ribbon. She was looking at the brand new revolver in her hand.

"I heard about your Kaiminghang when I was in Liangzhou, and I also saw its promotional banners on the street. I remember it said 'Make the best firearms in the world'."

She put her finger into the trigger ring and made two circles without any instruction.

"These three guns are the best firearms available today."

It was natural for Hong Fan to return.

"You have no say on this."

Xiao Chu glanced at him with a smile.

"Although we have a good relationship, military matters are handled separately. If the goods are not good enough, the Shengyu Army will not buy them."

As she spoke, she stomped her boot and a mound of earth over five meters high rose ten meters away. Then she clenched her fists and compressed the soft earth into rammed earth.

The Zixiao Hualong Sutra allows one to choose the spiritual energy element at will, and Xiao Chu's spiritual energy element is earth. With the blessing of her true essence, the earth is able to possess the flexibility of water and the properties of steel.

However, martial arts are qualitatively different from the authority of the destiny star. They only use external objects as the medium and carrier of true energy and cannot permanently change the nature of external objects from the root.

Xiao Chu examined the bolt and was puzzled to see that its surface was as smooth as a mirror.

"Where is the matchlock for this gun?"

she turned and asked.

"The matchlock gun is a product of Kaiminghang two generations ago. This gun uses paper shell fixed bullets and is fired with a mercury fulminate primer. It can be used even on normal rainy days."

Hong Fan took the gun from her, opened the magazine and loaded the bullets one by one.

"This cylinder is made of converter steel and is manufactured using the most advanced milling and screw cutting machines. The whole cylinder adopts a linkage rotary structure with a linkage rod and ratchet. After loading, you only need to pull down the hammer, and then every time you pull the trigger, it can fire - I call it a double-action structure."

He demonstrated step by step, then handed the ready pistol back to the other person with the muzzle facing downward.

"I don't understand the words you said, but it seems very powerful."

Xiao Chu held the gun with one hand, felt the weight of a full gun, and looked at the first target.

The wind was blowing her ponytail.

"I hit it?"

"Please."

The moment the horse's tail dropped, five consecutive gunshots were heard on the parade ground.

There was a small hole in the center of each of the five rammed earth piles not far away.

Judging from Hong Fan's standards, Xiao Chu's firing posture was extremely casual. He did not keep the three points in a straight line when aiming, and his gun holding was not scientific.

But the innate warrior's terrifying physical fitness and nerve reflexes make up for everything.

"Five shots in half a second, can it be that fast?"

A guest official from the Shengyu Army who was watching looked at Xiao Chu in surprise.

His name was Lin Daoyu, and he returned from the border of Juzhou after the New Year.

"I didn't expect that. I just pulled the trigger at first, but as soon as I pulled my finger back, the trigger was already rebounding."

Xiao Chu became much more serious.

"With such a high rate of fire, the accuracy is also acceptable at a distance of ten meters."

She went over to the gun table and loaded the gun herself.

"Hu Zhuang, you will be the target this time."

The commander of the Princess's personal guard said nothing and stood ten meters away.

Last winter, Hu Zhuang followed Xiao Chu to Zhanzhou for three months and had many battles with the sea clan. Now his combat power has surpassed the initial stage of Yuanci. He is over two meters six in height and is covered with thick fat-wrapped muscles.

The Elephant Eater can bring strength higher than that of the top-level martial arts classics, has super resistance to abnormal conditions such as toxins, and has stored fat that is enough to provide endurance for continuous combat for several days; in addition, as long as he can continue to eat, the Elephant Eater can recover from all injuries including limb mutilations.

Of course, the increase in the power of the destiny star will not bring the ability to fly, nor can it offset the crow's feet that are gradually forming at the corners of Hu Zhuang's eyes.

Another bullet was fired, with an initial velocity slightly over 300 meters per second, and was blocked by Hu Zhuang with his knuckles.

He was unharmed.

"This bullet is not fast enough for you. Please catch it with your palm."

Xiao Chu said.

The second shot was fired, and the lead bullet crushed and shattered the moment it hit the target; ripples like water waves appeared on Hu Zhuang's palm.

"how?"

Xiao Chu asked hurriedly.

"It stings slightly, but a gundam might break my skin."

Hu Zhuang pondered for a moment.

"Neither the speed nor the power is enough to threaten an innate warrior. But if it were someone in the Hunran realm, unless he specializes in horizontal training, he would be injured."

"It can fire continuously, quickly, accurately, and is easy to load. This is indeed the best firearm in the world. It is much better than the one made by the Zhanzhou Weaponry Supervisor..."

Xiao Chu exclaimed in admiration and looked at Hong Fan. "Are all of them so good?"

"They're all good, but yours is better."

Hong Fan told the truth.

"What's so good about it?"

Xiao Chu raised his eyebrows.

"It has been specially checked by a gold-type warrior."

Hong Fan replied.

"Ah."

Xiao Chu pretended to be disappointed jokingly.

"I thought you made it yourself or something."

"If I had made it by hand, it would have exploded by now."

Hong Fan also laughed.

Hu Zhuang and other guest officials and generals of Shengyu Army present remained calm and turned a deaf ear to what was said.

"If we can have a few revolvers like these, three mortal veterans will be able to kill them all. If we increase the number of people and switch to the more powerful double-barreled shotguns mentioned above, we may not have no chance against the Hunran Realm."

Kong Yuxuan, the commander of the Longxiong Battalion of the Shengyu Army, said this with considerable excitement.

"Chixing is indeed extremely talented, he can make firearms surpass martial arts!"

He only mastered low-level cultivation and specialized in military command.

Upon hearing this, Lin Daoyu and another innate guest official Chen Feipeng were both surprised.

"It can only be used in the realm of strength."

Hong Fan took the initiative to smooth things over and ease their expressions.

Half an hour later, all three new guns were tried.

"How much do you want for each of these firearms?"

Xiao Chu discussed with several generals for a while, then privately called Hong Fan into the room and asked him.

"The rifle is ten taels each, and the other two are seven taels each."

The latter returned.

"Don't tell me the price, just tell me the cost."

Xiao Chu crossed his arms and gave him a blank look.

"How can you ask that?"

Hong Fan laughed and sat down next to Xiao Chu.

"Excuse me, what's going on? Princess Xiande's mansion doesn't have any extra food."

Xiao Chu refused to give in.

"Besides, given our relationship, will you make money from me?"

"If Your Highness allows me to make money, I will definitely make money."

"Does that mean we can't make money?"

"This is a good gun and it's one of a kind, we should let them make some money."

The two of them exchanged a few words with each other and soon made each other laugh.

Although Xiao Chu often had to worry about money, he was of noble birth and did not like the penny-pinching style of businessmen. He would often get angry when he encountered such a situation.

However, at this moment, she was not annoyed by Hong Fan's joke, but found it interesting.

"Stop joking. How are you going to sell it in Liangzhou? The Liangzhou camp won't look down on your gun, will they?"

Xiao Chu calmed himself down and became serious.

"The price quoted just now is the retail price in Liangzhou. The goods supplied to the Liangzhou camp will be discounted by 10%."

Hong Fan replied.

"Then let's do the same for the Shengyu Army. We'll pay for the shipping to Shenjing. First, we'll give you 300 rifles, 100 revolvers, and 100 shotguns. You can charge the corresponding gunpowder, bullets, and propellant at the original price."

She said it in a tone of being the boss.

"There's just one extra thing. You have to send some firearms instructors over here, and station a few gunsmiths in the Beijing camp to teach troubleshooting, emergency repairs, and the like."

"Of course. Firearms are more dangerous to use than cold weapons. What you just said is included in the free after-sales service."

Hong Fan naturally agreed.

After the important matter was discussed, the two of them slumped in their chairs, both of them having a mixed bag of thoughts.

There was silence for a long while, with only the chirping of cicadas outside the hall and the calls of soldiers training farther away on the parade ground, which continued to ring out over and over again.

Many images from the past few years flowed through Hong Fan's mind.

The Jinhai Weaponry Supervisor and Wen Zhongguan Qian Hong drank until they were deeply drunk, the late spring drizzle outside the Tinghai Pavilion wet the sunset, and the long reed road outside the Duanli City to send Tang Xingqing back home...

After a few minutes, he came back to his senses from his daze, stood up to say goodbye, but someone pulled his sleeve.

He turned around and saw Xiao Chu's burning eyes.

"What level do you want to take firearms to?"

she asked suddenly.

Hong Fan suddenly woke up.

"Innovation is a matter of fate, not something I can decide."

He evaded.

"Not necessarily. Firearms can only harm the power realm at present, but I can see that this is far from what you are aiming for."

Xiao Chu flatly denied it.

"From the killing method to firearms, I feel that you are actually taking the same path - I am not very knowledgeable in this area and I don't quite understand it - but now what Kaimingxing is doing is not what you have achieved in the killing method?"

Hong Fan was surprised at the other party's sharpness and was speechless for a moment.

"From single-shot iron balls, to accurate long-range shooting, to rapid continuous shooting; I heard in Liangzhou last year that Kaiminghang was working on shrapnel shells, right? When a shell hits a target, it explodes violently. What's the difference between this and your cannon? Now that pistols can fire continuously, will cannons be able to do the same in the future?"

Xiao Chuyu asked questions one after another like a string of pearls, hinting at something.

Hong Fan seemed to smell the rust of iron and blood.

"The better the firearms, the easier it is to fight against foreign races, and the fewer people will die in battle."

He didn't answer directly.

"But firearms are just tools. Once they are in someone's hands, you can't control who they point at."

Xiao Chu frowned.

A strong wind blew past the door, blowing away the sound of the fluttering flags.

"I……"

Hong Fan's carefully considered words were interrupted by a sudden laugh.

"Everyone has his or her own ambitions. Guan Qimai has one, Duan Tiannan has one, I have one, and you naturally have yours too."

Xiao Chu glanced at him gently, then lowered his eyes.

The expression in her eyes was complicated and difficult to understand.

"I can't see things that are too far away, so it's pointless to talk about it, but the three types of firearms you demonstrated today have enough power to impact the authority of middle and lower-level warriors. I'm afraid that in three to five years, it will be common for mortals to kill low-level warriors with guns."

"Your Highness is worried that I will be attacked by low-level warriors? Or that the court will react?"

Hong Fan responded immediately, obviously having thought about this problem a long time ago.

"That's not necessarily true. You are already the top fighter in the Xiantian realm, and your influence is not small. No matter how many warriors have reached the Pure Realm, how can they affect you?"

Xiao Chu tapped the table lightly with his fingernails to accompany his thoughts.

"But this is a handy excuse - once Kaiminghang's business scale expands rapidly, it will inevitably become a target of public criticism, and there will be many people who want to take advantage of it."

She raised her face again, and her calm eyes were filled with the stern seriousness of a leading princess.

"You have made many friends and woven a large network, but in my opinion this is just a trick. Warriors are not good at doing things, but they are all very good at killing. In this world, if you want to make any situation bigger and more stable, your own strong cultivation is the most important prerequisite. Apart from that, there is nothing else worth relying on, not even my last name."

Hong Fan nodded solemnly: "Your Highness, this is good advice. I am thinking the same thing."

Xiao Chu rolled his eyes at him again.

"You were born in a humble family, but you rose quickly. Your circumstances have changed dramatically in a short period of time. But you must not forget that there is still a long way to go in the future. You must take each step steadily. If your cultivation cannot keep up, you may as well wait until later to do the icing on the cake."

She stood up and walked to the door. She couldn't help but cast a concerned look back at him, but she found that Hong Fan was also looking at her, so she turned her head away awkwardly.

"One more thing. I am the princess. Please remember to let me go first after we finish discussing matters."

Xiao Chu said this and walked away quickly, feeling his cheeks getting hot from the sunlight.

(End of this chapter)