Evil Red Dragon

"sulfur?"

Gru's report ignited a spark in Alecto's mind; the black sulfur stone held a completely different value in his eyes.

Sulfur, a key component of black powder.

Gru respectfully confirmed, "Yes, Master."

"Take me to see it."

Alecto rose from the pile of treasure, his dragon wings outstretched.

Gru quickly led the way, and the two flew one after the other towards the mine to find Natsu.

At the mine entrance, dog-headed men swarmed through the tunnel like ants, carrying ore out of the bottomless tunnel.

"Master, this is the place."

Naz pointed to a newly dug tunnel next to the mine.

The tunnel is only two meters deep, and dark spots on the rock walls are faintly visible.

Several kobolds were gathered around the pit, and when they saw Alecto arrive, they all prostrated themselves on the ground.

Alecto transformed into human form, landed, and crouched down at the edge of the pit.

He stretched out his finger and gently scraped off a layer of black powder.

As the powder was kneaded, a faint smell of sulfur entered the nasal cavity.

It is indeed black sulfur stone, and it is very pure.

"What about the reserves?"

Alector asked.

Natsu quickly replied:

"Reporting to Master, according to my perception, this vein is associated with the main iron ore layer and has considerable reserves. If we mine at full capacity, we can obtain at least 50 tons of black sulfur stone within a month."

Alecto quickly calculated in his mind.

50 tons of black sulfur stone can be refined to produce about 30 tons of sulfur.

According to the standard black powder formula, one part sulfur, two parts saltpeter, and three parts charcoal, this amount of sulfur is enough to produce hundreds of tons of black powder.

Hundreds of tons!

This number made Alecto's breathing quicken slightly.

In his previous life, gunpowder was a turning point in human civilization and the end of the age of knights.

The watershed between cold weapons and firearms; city walls and castles become as fragile as paper in its presence.

In this world, while magic is powerful, the strategic value of gunpowder remains immeasurable.

Thanks to the dwarves, the gunpowder they initially created was too weak to be used in fireworks, so they used sulfur as a material for alchemy instead of wasting it on gunpowder.

As for Alekto, he had the right recipe, which even an ordinary kobold could learn to make.

Magic requires talent, learning, and time to accumulate.

Black powder, on the other hand, requires nothing but raw materials.

What does this mean?

This means he can arm a long-range firepower force in a short time, and the destructive effects that originally required magic can now be achieved in a cheaper and more widespread way.

More importantly, the existence of gunpowder would completely change his defense system.

City walls? Watchtowers?

No, simply setting up a minefield can blow intruders to smithereens and also serve as a warning.

"Let's begin."

Alecto stood up and gave the order in a firm tone:

"Black sulfur is being mined simultaneously with iron ore. I need sulfur, the more the better."

A flicker of doubt crossed Natsu's eyes, but he still replied respectfully:

"Yes, Master. However... black sulfur is difficult to smelt, and we need specialized processing equipment."

"Then let's build it."

Alecto looked around:

"Sealed furnace, condenser coils... I'll provide them."

"Also, have you found any similar white or light yellow crystals? They are usually found in caves, rock walls, and surface soil."

Natsu thought carefully, and after a moment his eyes lit up:

"Yes! We found white crystals in a cave in the southeast. We thought they were salt, but they tasted bitter, so we didn't pay any more attention to them."

"take me."

About ten minutes later, a rugged stone forest came into view.

In the center of the stone forest is a natural cave, the entrance of which is only wide enough for one person to pass through.

Natsu was the first to enter the cave.

Alecto then transformed back into his dragon form and used his front claws to pry open the rocks at the cave entrance, effectively tripling the size of the opening.

The cave was dark and damp. Natsu raised the ball of fire in his palm to dispel the darkness, revealing large patches of white crystals on the rock wall.

Alecto leaned closer to take a look.

The crystals are columnar and covered with a thin layer of dust.

He scraped off a little with his paw and tasted it.

Bitter, with a slight coolness.

Saltpeter, or more precisely, potassium saltpeter.

"That's it, saltpeter. Mark this location and start mining."

"Note that it is easily soluble in water, so do not work on rainy days, and store it in a sealed container after mining."

Natsu quickly wrote it down:

"Yes, Master."

Alecto left the cave and returned to the smelting area.

Gunpowder, something that should never have appeared in this world, will be born because of him.

What he had to do was control the sealed smelting furnace for metal refining.

This type of furnace differs from ordinary open furnaces; it requires a completely sealed structure with an exhaust port connected to a condenser pipe only at the top.

Sulfur vapor is cooled and condensed through a condenser, while toxic sulfur dioxide gas is introduced into a water tank for absorption.

Alecto refined it quickly; although this world was different from his previous one, the basic principles were the same.

The problem of toxic gases in black sulfur stone smelting can be solved by three steps: sealing, condensation, and absorption.

Once the brand-new sealed smelting furnace was erected, he immediately considered whether or not to hand over the complete formula for gunpowder to Natsu.

The optimal ratio of black powder is 10% sulfur, 1.5% saltpeter, and 7.5% charcoal, but this ratio needs to be adjusted according to the purity of the raw materials.

More importantly, the manufacturing process at every stage affects the final result.

Grinding, mixing, drying...

Revealing the formula too early is risky, even to one's own family.

After a moment's consideration, Alecto decided to teach in stages.

He first taught the simple recipe for crude gunpowder: sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter mixed in a 1:1 ratio.

This formula is less powerful, but safe enough, making it suitable for kobolds to practice with.

As for refined gunpowder and more advanced granulated gunpowder, we'll consider that after the first batch of products comes out.

Alecto wrote the recipe down on a piece of paper.

Natsu.

"Yes, Master."

Natsu quickly came over from the side.

Alekto handed the paper to Naz:

"Here, take this. Don't let anyone know what's on it. Write it down and then burn it. Then, select your trusted confidants to make a batch."

"It is the master."

Natsu didn't understand, but he still agreed.

Meanwhile, Gru was carefully examining the sealed smelting furnace:

"Master, how do I use this? What's this tube for?"

Alekto explained:

"A pipe that cools hot gas and turns it into a liquid."

"Look here, the steam comes out from the top of the furnace, and after passing through this spiral pipe where it is cooled, the steam solidifies upon contact with the cold air, turning into solid sulfur that falls down..."

Gru nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Natsu leaned closer, his eyes sparkling with curiosity:

"Master, what do you need sulfur for? Although this material has some alchemical uses, it's not very valuable..."

"Its value will change soon."

Alex didn't say much, and turned to Natsu:

"I'm entrusting the mining of saltpeter to you as well. Remember the precautions I've mentioned."

"Yes, ma'am."

Natsu responded respectfully.

"Go."

Alecto waved.

The two bowed and withdrew.

Alector looked at the busy crowd and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Order is being established, albeit roughly, but it is taking shape.

This reminded him of the history he had read in his previous life.

Every powerful force starts from such a humble beginning.

Rome wasn't built in a day, but he could speed up the process.

He was organizing his plans in his mind.

Gunpowder was just the first step. With gunpowder, cannons, explosives, and landmines could be made.

But all of these things require steel, lots of steel.

"Looks like we need to speed up the smelting process..."

Alecto muttered to himself.

The core is the mine, which provides raw materials such as iron ore, black sulfur, and saltpeter.

The smelting area processes raw materials into pig iron, sulfur, and saltpeter.

The workshops use these materials to manufacture weapons, tools, and future firearms.

This is a complete production chain. Although it is still very rudimentary now, as long as it develops step by step, it will eventually become a real industrial base.

What he needs to do is to infuse this system with soul.

Know how.

The groundbreaking technological knowledge from their past lives will become the most powerful weapon in Chifeng Territory.

Magic is indeed amazing, but the power of technology lies in its widespread adoption.

Thinking about this, Alector suddenly realized a problem.

Knowledge needs to be passed down.

He can personally teach Gru, Natsu, and Oliveira, but his retinue will only continue to grow.

There may be hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of kobolds, trolls, and orcs in the future, and he cannot personally teach them all.

An education system needs to be established.

The simplest way is to teach literacy.

Make all your dependents learn to read and write the Common Language and the Dragon Language.

Dragon language is also a magical language, and it has the highest learning value.

Then came skills training: miners learned geology, blacksmiths learned metallurgical principles, and soldiers learned tactics, strategy, and combat techniques…

Then, select the most talented relatives and teach them more advanced knowledge, such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry...

This idea excited Alecto.

What would it be like to establish a dragon civilization based on technology?

Troll gunners operate cannons, kobold androids lay minefields, and orcs carry explosives to carry out demolitions...

He himself will lead this modern army to conquer the whole world.

"Take your time..."

Alecto suppressed his excitement:

"Eat your food one bite at a time."

For the next few days, the mine operated day and night, with the kobolds taking turns mining.

The black sulfur stone vein is associated with the main iron ore layer, and mining it is not difficult.

Natsu demonstrated an amazing learning ability.

This kobold warlock not only quickly mastered the entire process of sulfur smelting, but also began to try to improve the process.

He discovered that increasing the furnace temperature could accelerate the reaction, but excessively high temperatures would cause sulfur to vaporize and escape.

After numerous experiments, he found the optimal temperature range, which increased sulfur production efficiency to 20%.

"Master, look at this."

Natsu arrived at the dragon's nest carrying a small pottery jar.

The jar contained a pale yellow powder with a fine texture, like flour.

"This is purified sulfur powder."

Naz proudly said:

"I've removed most of the impurities; the current purity should meet your requirements."

Alecto picked up a little powder with his fingers and examined it carefully.

It has a uniform color and fine particles.

He rarely praised her, saying, "Well done."

Naz immediately straightened his back.

At the same time, the mining of saltpeter also got on track.

The southeastern cave was expanded into a regular mine, where kobolds carefully scraped crystals from the rock walls.

Because saltpeter is easily soluble in water, Naz specially built a rain shelter above the mine, and the mined saltpeter was wrapped in straw mats and stored in a dry stone chamber.

Charcoal making is relatively simple.

The trolls built ten charcoal kilns, using hardwood as raw material and employing a smoldering method to obtain exceptionally high-quality charcoal.

The burned charcoal is crushed and sieved to obtain charcoal powder of uniform size.

Everything is ready.

In the open space, Natsu squatted in front of a row of pottery jars, his hands trembling slightly with nervousness.

The recipe his master gave him was etched into his mind.

Sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter, mixed in a 1:1:1 ratio...

What good is that?

Natsu couldn't understand it, but he didn't doubt it.

The Dragon Lord's will is everything.

What's more, in the past few days he has personally witnessed the construction of those strange-looking furnaces and pipes in the smelting area, and watched the sulfur turn from black sulfur stone into golden yellow powder.

The process itself was like magic.

No, it's more magical than magic.

Magic requires talent, spells, and magic power.

But anyone can make these things by following the steps.

Naz carefully poured the sulfur powder, charcoal powder, and saltpeter into a dry stone mortar, slowly mixing them until they became a uniform dark gray powder.

It has a delicate texture and no grainy feel.

"This is... gunpowder?"

Natsu muttered to himself.

He couldn't understand the value of this thing.

It looked unremarkable, like a pile of cheap ashes.

But the owner's opinion is not open to questioning.

He even remembered the...fiery glint in the depths of his master's eyes when he handed him that piece of paper.

It's not greed, nor craving, but something more complex.

Natsu couldn't describe it; he only felt that the gaze seemed to pierce through the present and reveal a future he couldn't imagine.

Natsu's heart started racing.

He carefully poured the ground gunpowder into a dry small earthenware jar and sealed it tightly with a wooden stopper.

Next comes the testing.

The owner didn't say how to test it, but Natsu felt that at least he should see if it would burn.

He found a small, flat stone slab, poured a little gunpowder from the jar, and piled it into a small cone.

Then, he stepped back a few paces, a flame spell lit up on his right claw, and flicked the sparks toward the pile of gray powder.

Noisy!

It did not burn as slowly as expected.

The instant the spark touched the surface of the gunpowder, a burst of intense orange-red flame exploded!

It also carried a burst of air that expanded instantly, producing a loud explosion.

The firelight flashed and disappeared in an instant, leaving only a charred black spot and the smell of gunpowder on the stone slab.

Natsu froze, his right claw hanging in mid-air.

The sparks he used just now were barely enough to light even dry firewood.

But that unremarkable pile of powder... reacted so violently!

His heart pounded, not with fear, but with the excitement of discovering an unknown treasure.

He remembered that Lord Kula had mentioned that some powerful mages could use magic to create earth-shattering explosions.

But that's magic! It requires talent and rigorous training!

And this... this gunpowder, as long as the materials are available and the steps are followed, any kobold, or even any creature that cannot use magic, can make it unleash such... rapid energy?

"We must report to our master immediately."

Natsu no longer hesitated.

He carefully sealed the earthenware jar containing the remaining gunpowder, took a few raw material samples, and strode off towards the dragon's nest.

His thoughts raced during the journey.

If... if this energy can be controlled and amplified... what could it be used for?

Mining? Destruction? Combat?

A vague thought flashed through Natsu's mind.

Kobolds are inherently weak, and when facing strong enemies, they often have to rely on sheer numbers and advantageous terrain.

But what if every kobold had a huge bag of this stuff...?

He dared not think any further, only feeling a bit of sweat on his palms.

Alecto is currently engrossed in adjusting the magic corridor.

The construction of the third corridor was more complicated than he had anticipated, requiring complete concentration.

Just then, he sensed Natsu's rapidly approaching presence.

He slowly opened his dragon eyes, and the next second Natsu rushed into the lair, but he stopped abruptly at the door, lowered his body, and respectfully held the pottery jar and sample above his head.

"Master! The gunpowder you ordered to be prepared is complete!"

Alecto's gaze fell on the pottery jar.

coming.

"Get up and show me."

"yes!"

Natsu quickly got up.

He suppressed his excitement and spoke as clearly as possible:

"Your subordinate... Your subordinate has already conducted a small-scale test, and its reaction was very rapid. However, your subordinate is unsure whether this is correct, and dares not conduct a larger-scale test without authorization."

"Right there."

Alecto pointed to an open area.

Naz did as instructed and placed the pottery jar properly.

This time, he retreated even further and used the fire spell again, flicking it into the pottery jar.

boom!

The explosions echoed within the dragon's nest, the flames suddenly blazed and then went out, and the shockwaves stirred the scattered gold coins and gems, making them jingle softly.

Alecto watched quietly.

The power is still very weak; this is just the crudest mixing ratio, and the purity of the raw materials is far from meeting the standards.

But the instantaneous flames and airflow proved that the physical laws of this world did not fundamentally conflict with his understanding; sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal could still combine here to release violent energy.

Natsu clearly realized that this thing was unusual, and his eyes, though trying to hide it, still revealed an incredulous shock.

"Well done, Natsu."

Alector's voice echoed through the nest:

What you are seeing is another form of power.

"It does not depend on bloodline, nor does it pray to gods, nor does it rely entirely on personal talent. It comes from the understanding and combination of the material world."