Arknights' Lock of Heaven

We need to eliminate this threat first.

Moreover, she was gazing at the beautiful bird.

Blue feathers... long blue hair... protected Grani, who also belonged to Rhodes Island...

Let's test the waters first and eliminate one threat.

If the person who clearly came for them had ill intentions, they wouldn't have to worry about the threat from this incredibly fast bird afterward.

Having made up her mind, Skadi twisted her wrist, changing to a posture more suitable for exerting force.

Then, as if sensing something, the bluebird in front of them shot back to the person's side in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, Skadi narrowed her eyes.

She bent down slightly and looked at the bounty hunter.

His eyes were very dangerous.

"Hey, get out of here, you hear me?" At the same time, several bounty hunters continued to approach Xia Yu.

"Don't be ungrateful..."

Before they could finish speaking, golden ripples appeared in the air.

A rectangular mechanical object with a hole in the middle slowly extends out from it.

Everyone on the field, including Skadi, was stunned.

What is this thing?

146 Fire! A fusion of technology and magic

boom!

In the instant the cannons roared, no one had time to think about what was happening.

Cass instinctively dropped the long knife in his hand and clutched his ears tightly.

He was unfortunate; he was one of the bounty hunters who were preparing to come up and deal with Xia Yu.

Facing a 100mm cannon at close range made his ears ring as if they were exploding. For more than ten seconds after the shelling ended, his mind went blank. Although he managed to maintain his standing posture, he had lost consciousness.

He only gradually came to his senses after the deafening roar slowly faded from his mind.

He was both unfortunate and fortunate.

Right beside him, a companion who had just been alive was now reduced to just two legs.

Upper body? Oh, hit directly by a cannonball specially made by Kroos... Well, the outcome is hard to describe.

Cass stared blankly at the piece of skin hanging on his shoulder. Just seconds before, it had been part of a living person.

He glanced at the lump of flesh on his shoulder, then turned away blankly.

The companion behind him, who had originally been preparing to deal with that jinx, was looking at him with a face full of fear.

That last shot cost them at least a dozen lives.

There was no other way; in order to fight against the jinx, their formations were arranged very densely.

Who would have thought that a cannon could appear in such a desolate place?

Xia Yu looked with satisfaction at the machine beside her, which was called a cannon.

The so-called Kroos Special Shell refers to a large lump of steel shaped like a cannonball.

Yes, so-called shells that are not filled with any Originium structures cannot even be called explosives.

Its killing principle is similar to the solid iron balls used on warships during the Age of Exploration.

Why did you have to make it like this?

Of course there is a reason for that.

First, Terra benefits from the unique energy source of Originium, and in some aspects, its technology completely surpasses that of Earth in its previous life.

However, their dependence on Originium is too obvious.

The existence of Originium and the technology of the early inhabitants made Terra's technology tree appear quite distorted.

Take weapons, for example. Although the guns sold by the Sakotas are superior to bows and crossbows in many aspects, their high price makes them inaccessible to most people.

Even now, the armies of almost all countries in the world still primarily use cold weapons.

A civilization capable of managing a city of over a million people and roaming the world is still fighting with cold weapons.

Even the so-called gun was nothing more than a high-performance magic staff.

Guns are not something everyone can use; it requires the user to have a certain level of expertise in Originium Arts.

Compared to the firearms of the previous life, the gun is essentially more like a magic staff.

A person without professional training is no better off fighting with a fire stick than a gun.

Similarly, the same applies to Terra's cannons.

All cannons, whether they are city defense cannons, siege cannons, or special cannons used against demons, are essentially staffs that require the cooperation of several sorcerers to use.

For example, the cannon in Xia Yu's hand, if equipped with a special Terra technology warhead, would require Originium Arts to detonate.

This was somewhat awkward for Xia Yu.

That's why Kroos equipped him with these solid projectiles, so there was no need to worry about detonation.

Terra's large-caliber naval guns are basically electromagnetic cannons created using magic that generates electricity and magnetic fields.

Unlike traditional gunpowder-powered cannons that apply the pressure of propellant gases to projectiles, electromagnetic railguns use the Ampere force generated by the electromagnetic field in an electromagnetic system to accelerate metal projectiles to the kinetic energy required to strike the target. Compared to traditional gunpowder-powered cannons, electromagnetic railguns can significantly increase the speed and range of projectiles.

Moreover, compared to the cannons popular on Earth, electromagnetic guns are far more effective at attacking land-based warships, which is why they have been widely adopted by various countries in Terra.

Even such an advanced electromagnetic railgun requires human power to charge before it can be used.

For example, the Sarkaz craftsmen you will encounter later in Londinium are responsible for charging the city's defensive cannons.

What Xia Yu needs is clearly not this kind of cannon that requires human power to charge.

However, the technology developed in 2000 can solve this problem.

The prototype in Xia Yu's hand is the culmination of this technology.

Unlike most cannons in Terra, this cannon can be fired as long as there is enough electricity, without the need for human power to charge it.

Electricity, or rather, the technology of converting Originium into electricity, is not uncommon in Terra.

Of course, similar design ideas exist in Terra, but different countries all use human labor.

As for why... it's probably because a trained craftsman is cheaper than Originium, which is worth its weight in gold and silver.

After all, a craftsman can charge the city's defensive cannons every day and continue working the next day.

But if you spend Originium to convert it into electricity, then it's really gone.

Forget about labor costs. You should know that most of the countries in Terra are still ruled by nobles. You're talking about labor costs with feudal nobles.

joke!

Therefore, this technology is not highly valued in Terra, and its cost-effectiveness is too low compared to cheap labor.

If all else fails, temporarily recruiting a few infected individuals for training for a few days is not out of the question.

In this situation, who would throw real money into cannons?

The cannon designed by Kroos and Nian used this technology, which was disliked by various countries.

Because it perfectly fits the requirements of the Xia language.

So what if the shells are solid? Xia Yu glanced at the remaining dozens of shells in the King's Treasure.

It's not like I have no other means.

If the illusion collapse technique can be used on arrows that have been shot out, why can't it be used on cannonballs?

With a thought from Xia Yu, several familiars that barely resembled humanoid figures huffed and puffed as they carried the cannonballs and loaded them onto the prototype.

After all, it would be too much to ask Nian and Kroos to design a usable intelligent automatic ammunition feeding system in a short period of time, so for now, manual loading is still in use.

But so what? Familiars don't need wages (laughs)

They work tirelessly and never need to rest; what a perfect tool they are!

With the second shell being loaded, some of the mercenaries on the other side finally came to their senses.

"Cannons!" someone in the crowd shouted hoarsely, "They brought cannons!"

Using a large-caliber cannon is clearly not something one person can handle, so the bounty hunters unanimously believe that they are no longer facing just Xia Yu alone.

Upon hearing their companions' heart-wrenching screams, some bounty hunters rolled on the spot to find cover, some threw down their weapons and fled in panic, while others stood frozen in place, unable to react at all.

After all, they were just a group of bounty hunters who made a living by bullying ordinary people. How many of them had ever encountered a situation where they had to face a large-caliber cannon?

Unlike the bounty hunters who scattered and fled, Skadi simply held onto the greatsword in her hand.

Although the Deepsea Hunters fight with melee weapons, their homeland, Agor, is a technologically advanced nation.

Their use of melee weapons is merely to prevent their nemesis, Haizi, from undergoing targeted evolution after coming into contact with firearms.