Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 690 Solidified Incendiary Bomb
"Oh? That young priest rescued a child in a restaurant while he was out meeting with friends?"

Harvey looked away from the dense documents and looked up at Egno in surprise.

“Indeed…” Egno was also somewhat amused and exasperated. “The attending physician at the North District Clinic gave me a detailed report on this matter. In the process of treating the patient, the other party did not use his usual healing magic, nor did he boldly proclaim the church’s divine grace.”

Harvey chuckled, picked up his hot tea and took a sip. "They do seem to be behaving well. I'll have Asdaren continue to deploy secret police to keep a close watch on them."

It must be said that under the influence of a broad social ideology, it is indeed easy for people to undergo a rapid change in their mindset. These so-called "moderates" in the past Vatican were not entirely without residual value and still had room for ideological transformation.

Later, perhaps more followers from commoner backgrounds could be semi-forcibly conscripted from the holy city of Goris under various pretexts, and trained in a standardized manner as military medical personnel, continuously sent to the front lines to provide support.

……

After finishing his official business, Harvey led Egno to the Kingdom's Alchemy Experiment Center for a surprise inspection of Chris's team, who were developing a new weapon.

In the formulation workshop located on the second basement floor of the experimental center, Chris and Benoît, along with more than ten researchers, were busy at work. The floor in the center of the workshop was built into a sunken structure, with a large amount of viscous liquid deposited in the neat, long, narrow depression. As the alchemical beasts continuously shot out scorching flames from their nozzles, the viscous liquid emitted a foul odor as it was repeatedly melted and burned.

Upon seeing His Majesty the Emperor's personal inspection, Benoît immediately instructed his assistant to activate all the ventilation systems installed in the ceiling. The pipes emitted a loud hum, rapidly drawing out and expelling the unpleasant, pungent odor.

Harvey frowned and said, "Is this rubber fruit sap? What else did you mix in it? Why does it smell so bad?"

Chris removed the face shield from his face and bowed to Harvey. "Your Majesty, it's nothing strange. It's just some saponified oil mixed in, which is the most common ingredient in soap making."

This is something Harvey was very familiar with during his entrepreneurial days... However, after the oils and strong alkalis are mixed and hydrolyzed, I wonder if Chris and the others have discovered anything else in the soap.

For example... glycerin!
Thinking of this, Harvey raised an eyebrow and said in a deep voice, "It's just saponified oil mixed in? All the other experimental products and impurities have been eliminated?"

Brouillette removed his gloves, his expression blank, and said, "Saponified oils are very pure experimental products, and no additional impurities were found. Is Your Majesty worried that the oil raw materials we used are of poor quality?"

Harvey shook his head, his expression somewhat complicated... It seemed they hadn't yet discovered that the reaction mixture contained some terrifying substances that could be extracted.

However, he did not intend to point it out directly. Pure chemical engineering knowledge was not a necessary part of the technological development process in this extraordinary world that combined magic and divine arts. Focusing on the application and development of magical energy was the top priority.

"Nothing much, just tell me what kind of concoction you're trying to make?"

Chris had his assistant extract a small amount of the slime, put it into a glass beaker, and handed it to Harvey with a grin. "Your Majesty, please look. This is a brand new alchemical material produced by mixing rubber fruit slime with saponified oils."

"Can it be used in weapons development?" Harvey took the cup and gently shook it, discovering that the liquid inside was extremely viscous; even when the cup was turned upside down, it easily adhered to the cup wall without spilling.

It's denser than pure rubber fruit extract, and it solidifies completely into a semi-solid state very quickly once heating stops. Egno squinted curiously, raising his hand to dip it in the liquid and smell it, but Benoît quickly stopped him.

"Don't touch it! Even with the addition of saponified oils, the stickiness of the rubber fruit remains unchanged. Be careful not to get your fingers stuck!"

After Egno reluctantly withdrew his hand, Chris patiently explained the experimental results: "Although rubber fruit extract can melt when heated, it is not very flammable. However, once it is mixed with saponified oils... its properties undergo a dramatic change."

Chris took the cup back from Harvey and had his assistant place it on the lab table away from everyone. He then used a long metal torch to ignite it and brought it close. The moment it touched the flame, the viscous liquid in the cup burst into flames, emitting a bright and dazzling light, with the flames shooting up more than ten feet high.

After it had completely burned out, Harvey discovered that the temperature it generated had completely melted the glass containing the slime.

"Isn't this the incendiary bomb you were muttering to yourself before?" Chris's expression was filled with undisguised pride. "Others may not have noticed, but I heard it... It took quite a bit of effort to finally manufacture it!"

Solidified incendiary bombs... were indeed a thought that had popped into Harvey's head by chance, but since this world currently lacks basic combustibles like oil and also lacks the chemical foundation to manufacture combustion aids and thickening additives, he quickly put the idea out of his mind.

Unexpectedly, Chris overheard this and actually created a substitute semi-finished product.

Solid incendiary bombs are significantly more lethal to the Lizardmen than ordinary jet firearms made from dragon flame powder. If they can be detonated with magical energy, they can instantly create a very wide area of ​​burning.

Once the enemy's skin armor gets on it, it's hard to get rid of. The outer armor, which already needs frequent watering and soaking, will soon harden and become brittle under high temperature, until it loses its activity and affects its normal movement.

Furthermore, blackwater weapons are also flammable. If the weapon canisters carried on one's back are accidentally punctured during combat, they will immediately cause a violent secondary explosion. With the addition of incendiary bombs, they will definitely be more effectively countered.

"Is there any way to improve the combustion efficiency of this mixture so that it can maintain a longer combustion time?"

Chris scratched his head and muttered, "The rubber fruit solution helps with adhesion and combustion... the saponified oils accelerate combustion... If we want to improve combustion efficiency, we might need to add a third additional ingredient."

Harvey nodded, offering a pointed suggestion: "Perhaps we could try adding some natural materials that don't contain any magic... something like saltpeter."

This is tantamount to a direct hint...

Chris and Benoît exchanged a glance, both looking somewhat bewildered.

"Saltpeter? Isn't that a medicinal ingredient used by folk herbalists to make ointments and treat abscesses and malignant sores?"

(End of this chapter)