Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 46 The Age of “Hot Weapons”
Harvey opened a new observation room in the underground laboratory.

It is used to experiment with his newly developed alchemical life formed by the transformation of the beetle's soul, or to be more precise, an alchemical weapon.

In the past, when research conditions were difficult, Harvey had used insects to conduct soul transfer experiments, although in most cases the results were not very good.

But the fact that insect souls can indeed slightly drive alchemical devices remains unquestionable.

The beetle soul transfer experiment is different now. With the huge energy blessing of the energy gathering array, not only has the transfer success rate increased several times, but the energy output channel has also been carefully modified by Harvey.

"Are you going to use this thing to carry the soul of the energy-absorbing beetle?" Asdalen looked at the strangely shaped alchemical product placed on the experimental table with great confusion.

This thing looks like a thick iron rod that is cast as a whole, but the iron rod itself is hollow. The entire rod is covered with densely engraved inscriptions, and a wide wooden handle is installed at the tail of one end. It looks both weird and coordinated.

"How is it made? I don't remember when we had an alchemy workshop for smelting metals."

Harvey picked up the iron rod with a smile, placed it flat on his chest and raised it slightly, making an aiming gesture like drawing a bow and shooting.

"I had it custom-made by the Alchemy Exploration Association on an expedited basis. Their metalworking skills are fully capable of meeting the requirements for this transformation experiment."

The dark red soul fire flickered in Asdalen's eyes. He suddenly felt a little impatient. He grabbed a glowing beetle from a small iron cage, fixed it on the experimental table with a bracket, and then began to urge Harvey.

"Then show me your genius idea. The purpose of this thing is what I'm most interested in."

As the low humming sound of the energy gathering array began and stopped, the inscription on the iron rod device connected to it slowly lit up.

"Not bad. Only two beetles were used to complete the transfer, with a 50% success rate."

Harvey was still very satisfied. This success rate meant that as long as the beetle reproduction could be supplied, this thing could be mass-produced.

He cut off the connection of the energy gathering array and picked up the thick iron rod with shining inscriptions all over it from the experimental table.

Still holding it horizontally up to his eyes, he placed the wooden handle on his shoulder and pointed the hollow end at the black stone wall at the end of the observation room.

Only then did Asdalen keenly discover that there was a small brass protrusion under the wooden handle.

"What kind of mechanism is this?"

Harvey maintained his aiming stance, placing his finger on the brass bump and flicking it gently.

The inscription on the thick iron rod suddenly lit up, and at the same time, a strange sound of "sizzling" was heard.

Asdalen only remembered seeing a pale white light shooting out from the iron pipe at an extremely fast speed, instantly sinking into the black stone wall, leaving only a smooth hole the size of a thumb on the wall.

"This...is this a weapon? An energy weapon?"

He walked to the wall in disbelief, took out a thin ranging probe from his waist, and probed into the hole.

"It completely...completely penetrated the stone wall. The probe's length is limited, so the true penetration distance cannot be measured."

He turned his head, and the soul fire in the eye sockets on the metal head became unusually bright.

"Havi, this is terrifying. You should understand the significance of this invention." His tone was a bit lamentative, and seemed to carry a hint of regret. "This will shatter the instantaneous spells that combat-oriented spellcasters are so proud of, making research-oriented spellcasters on par with them in combat power..."

Research-based spellcasters follow the development philosophy of classical wizards, using magical research to drive their own advancement, although in terms of life level, they are closer to the extraordinary.

However, their lack of combat experience and spellcasting skills often means that their say is often restricted by combat-oriented spellcasters.

The Spellcasters' Union is a typical example. Because of the Hundred Years' War with the Church, combat spellcasters have become a faction with real power.

If the Demon War had not broken out, resulting in a large number of casualties among combat spellcasters, they would probably have been directly subjected to even more severe exclusion and discrimination.

Asdalen paced back and forth anxiously, muttering to himself: "If it is leaked accidentally, we will definitely be attacked mercilessly by the battle mages. In their eyes, this thing must be destroyed and buried..." He suddenly stopped, supported his body with both hands on the laboratory table, stared at Harvey and asked.

"Besides instant casting, what other properties does it have? How much mana does it require the caster to consume? How many attacks can you cast with it?"

Harvey felt a little funny when he saw him startled, but he managed to hold it back.

He handed the alchemical iron pipe to Astaron and patiently explained, "Its principle is not instant casting."

"It doesn't require the caster to consume their own magic power. Anyone can pick it up and shoot it when it has sufficient energy..."

Harvey smiled and pointed at the stone wall, indicating that Asdalen should verify it himself.

"After you transformed into an alchemical life form, you can no longer cast the spells you learned in the past. You'll understand if you try it yourself."

Asdalen seemed to have not yet digested the true meaning of Harvey's words. He just subconsciously followed Harvey's suggestion and imitated his previous posture as if bewitched. He lifted the alchemical iron pipe and turned the small mechanism.

……

Two smooth holes of almost identical size appeared on the wall.

"A spell that can be cast without a caster..."

"An alchemical tool that ordinary people can use at will..."

"Then... what's the point of becoming a spellcaster?"

Asdalen leaned his back against the metal test bench, and his heavy alchemical body made the bench creak, as if trying to encourage and support his shaky ideas and beliefs.

Harvey suddenly realized that he was being too pretentious, and quickly walked over to pat his shoulder to comfort him.

"Why do you think so much? Don't forget, this is something invented by the spellcaster."

"We need to realize that spellcasters are not as extraordinary as they are advertised. We are just lucky ones who stand out from the ordinary..."

Asdalen accurately extracted the sentence from Harvey's words - this was also something created by the caster.

In an instant, I felt that my shattered faith had become more stable, and I supported myself and stood up.

"If this magical weapon doesn't consume the caster's magic power, it can be used at will..."

He paused, as if he was a little afraid to ask the most crucial question, and spoke hesitantly after a long while.

"So can it cast energy attacks repeatedly?"

Harvey nodded and pointed at the slightly dimmed inscription on the surface of the iron pipe.

"If my predictions aren't too far off, I should be able to repeat it three to five times."

"After that, it will need to be recharged with an energy-gathering array. After all, it's essentially an alchemical lifeform powered by magic, just like you and Reiner."

Asdalen didn't know why, but he felt as if he was secretly relieved. It turned out that it couldn't be used indefinitely. It would also run out of energy and turn into an ordinary iron rod that posed no threat at all.

But Harvey's next words made him fall into a state of near collapse again.

"Hmm, but it doesn't matter. This thing can be mass-produced anyway. As long as there are enough beetles, I can quickly provide every civilian in the territory with one..."

(End of this chapter)