Chapter 83 Type-1 Zhonghua Rifle

"Sun Licheng, do you think they can really use such long spears?" Little Medusa Vina asked Sun Licheng curiously.

At that moment, twenty-six warriors from the Flower Nation were lined up in two rows, clad in vine armor and holding bronze spears about one point seven meters long, practicing their thrusts. Before them, Mr. Dexterous wielded a whip, darting to and fro—if anyone's movements fell short, they would be met with a swift lash.

Sun Licheng had come to realize that, when dealing with these primitives, a stick proved far more effective than words or persuasion.

"These long spears are of little use. Honestly, I never expected them to manage four-meter spears," Sun Licheng replied, shrugging and smiling at Vina.

"In fact, we've prepared another kind of weapon," he continued. Seeing Vina's interest, he pulled a mischievous face. "But that's a secret for now."

Vina's previously excited face soured with annoyance, and she swung her large tail at Sun Licheng in a huff.

Sun Licheng, expecting this, burst out laughing as he dodged and ran, leaving Vina's attack striking only air!

Amid Vina's curses, Sun Licheng dashed back to his own house.

Once inside, his expression grew serious. He locked the door behind him, lifted the curtain, and entered the inner room. At the center of the room stood a peculiar device—complete with clamps, rails, a lathe, long drills, and a crystal sphere. This was his prized possession: a magical version of a CNC machine.

"Time to get to work," Sun Licheng said, slapping his cheeks. He picked up a bronze bar from the wall and placed it onto the machine.

He clamped the bronze bar tight, then activated the crystal sphere. As blue light shone from the orb, the machine began to operate. Flames flickered on Sun Licheng's fingertips as he channeled elemental guidance.

Following guidance from the goblin computer's CPU, Sun Licheng carefully controlled the flame's position and temperature, gradually shaping the bronze bar into a round rod, hardening its outer ring while keeping its core soft. Once the rough work was done, the CNC machine performed fine cutting with the lathe, and finally drilled a hole through it. The entire process took about twenty minutes, resulting in a one-meter-long bronze gun barrel.

Yes, a gun barrel—twenty millimeters in caliber, designed to fire black powder.

Sun Licheng had little trust in his subordinates. According to Mr. Dexterous's combat power model, a Flower Nation warrior had a combat rating of five, whereas Sun Licheng's was one hundred—and that didn't even account for his magical prowess.

Faced with such dismal figures, Sun Licheng abandoned any hope of melee combat. These warriors, with their paltry ratings, would do well enough banging drums on the sidelines.

Still, it seemed a shame to let such a force go unused, so Sun Licheng decided to turn them into a ranged strike force. Between crossbows and firearms, he chose the latter. Compared to bow and crossbow, guns were more reliable, with superior range and lethality.

Sun Licheng knew how to make black powder and had found all necessary materials, but he didn't know how to make percussion caps. Shifting his approach, he realized the magic circle could serve his purpose. After research with Mr. Dexterous, Sun Licheng successfully engraved a lightning magic array onto the bronze barrel. When the hammer struck, the array released a small bolt of lightning, igniting the powder in the barrel and firing the shot.

Originally, engraving such a tiny magic array was difficult, but Sun Licheng had found specialized tools and a primitive machine in the research lab. With Mr. Dexterous's help, he converted it into a magical CNC machine. Combined with elemental guidance and flame power, he easily completed the crucial task of engraving the barrel's magic array.

Soon, Sun Licheng finished making a muzzle-loading smoothbore gun. Its performance was impressive—devastating within eighty meters, though rather slow.

"Damn it, this is a world of magic, why stick with muzzle-loaders! Might as well make breech-loading guns."

Sun Licheng was exasperated by his two-minute firing rate and resolved to continue his research.

Anyone from the modern world knows that while guns are easy to make, bullets are true high-tech. In places like Afghanistan, homemade firearms are everywhere, but bullets are always imported, showing how difficult they are to produce.

Sun Licheng's idea was simple: use the principle of the falangji cannon to create a rudimentary breech-loading musket.

Since the magic array could spark through bronze, the issue of airtightness was solved. With Mr. Dexterous's precise calculations optimizing the bolt structure, range was not sacrificed much, and lethal distance remained above fifty meters.

Following this plan, Sun Licheng manufactured a batch of bronze cartridges, filled with black powder and lead shot, sealed at the front with wax—thus producing pre-made musket rounds.

He tested it—without special training, he could fire five rounds per minute, meeting basic tactical needs.

As for the magic array's charging problem, it simply required a charged magic crystal, and he had plenty; enough to arm his twenty-plus soldiers.

And so, the world's first single-shot black powder rifle was born.

"Boss, this rifle seems a bit awkward. Its range doesn't match the magic crystal cannon, its cost exceeds that of crossbows, and only its power outdoes the crossbow," remarked Mr. Dexterous after watching the rifle's prototype test.

Sun Licheng smiled in response, "First, it's an individual weapon, not as heavy as the magic crystal cannon. Second, the rifle requires minimal materials—no need to hunt magical beasts for tendons as bowstrings, and loading ammunition doesn't expose the user. Third, it's easy to train with, and attaching a bayonet turns it into a spear. Though not comparable to three-meter polearms, it's more than enough against ordinary infantry."

Seeing Mr. Dexterous nod in agreement, Sun Licheng's smile deepened. "Most importantly, this rifle doesn't consume much magic crystal—if made into a cannon, it would be even more effective."

"Boss, hearing your explanation, it really makes sense. With these rifles, Flower Nation's warriors could even hold their own against ogres of equal number. You're a genius in weapon design," Mr. Dexterous exclaimed, piling on praise that made Sun Licheng's face flush faintly.

Thus, the Flower Nation Model One Rifle was officially adopted.

For secrecy—and because production took time—the warriors continued training with spears.

In Sun Licheng's mind, discipline and fighting spirit mattered more than weaponry. A modern army could defeat a feudal force even armed with sticks.

So, despite his subordinates' doubts, he focused on rigorous discipline training, striving to forge a steel-clad army. Once they were equipped with rifles, these rabble could join him on his adventures.

However, another problem nagged at him: he lacked qualified officers.

Though Little Cabbage was clever and had an ambiguous noble status, she was a girl, after all, with a combat power of only two!

Little Medusa Vina had decent combat power—thirty—but no knowledge of military command, only able to charge wildly with her saber, leaving Sun Licheng helpless.

"Looks like I need to build up my cadre team as soon as possible. Damn it, I want to go home, not rule this place!"

Watching Little Medusa and his subordinates conduct their chaotic street-fight-style drills, Sun Licheng couldn't help but cry out inwardly.