27 Long-Ranged Artillery Cannon

1 week after the Balloon Test, Wall of Border Town.

Roland made every witch and officials come to the wall of the town to test a new weapon.

Looking at the weapon, Agatha was confused.

It was a long tubular object apparently made of metal, a bit like an iron spear enlarged several times, but without the typical spear head. Its whole body was smooth, with a silver-grey color, likely not made of iron. The parts at the controlling end of the tube seemed complex, in addition to the fixed rest, and it had two shorter tubes fitted in the lower side. It neither had ropes nor arrows. In light of such design, it didn't look like an enlarged version of a ballista or trebuchet.

Seeing everyone watching the watching the new weapon, Roland was enjoyed and said, "This is the latest developed weapon of Border Town, a symbol of justice and glory, the 152-millimeter fortress-type standard artillery!" Roland exclaimed, "Compared to the 12-pound field cannons that we tested 1 month ago, it has a number of improvements, all of its characteristics are outstanding, surely worthy to be called an era-changing weapon!"

'... It's looks like it shoots a ball like cannon. So why did he say that it was an era-changing weapon?...' Agatha thought.

"It's useless to continue talking, lets carry on with the test. Iron Axe, begin." Roland said.

"Yes, Your Highness." Three people wearing uniforms immediately moved into action.

Agatha stood at a side, staring intently at the cannon.

She saw a man sliding down the metal slab at the back end of the long tube, then another man immediately stuffed an orange-yellow pointed object into the pipe, and then closed up the metal slab.

"Report, preparations are complete, ready to fire!" A random soldier said.

"Everybody, cover your ears," said the prince as he made a motion with his own hands. "Open fire."

'Wait… The preparations are already complete?!' Agatha thought and wanted to ask but a loud bang suddenly resounded in her ears, leaving a buzzing sound inside. The surroundings seemed to suddenly become distantly quiet, a red-orange flame erupted from the front section of the metal tube, it was a dazzling and short moment. The explosion contained a powerful force, making the wall beneath her feet tremble, feeling the heat wave head-on made her drew back a couple steps. The cannon itself was too heavy and sank backwards, but it soon returned to its original position.

Agatha shook her head and turned her eyes to the snowy open area ahead, but no changes could be seen.

'Where is the ball?!' Agatha thought while shaking her head.

'He said that this weapon is more powerful then the cannon but i don't see any ball?!' She thought.

"Did you see the point of impact?" Roland asked Iron Axe.

"It landed in the hill close to the red flag," Iron Axe said using a binocular and waited for a moment to continue, "but it still went further."

"This weapon is somewhat like the cannon that you know of, it launches a projectile out and it's used to fight enemies that are far away. In order to observe its range, I had Lightning drop a marker every 1 kilometer, the red flag was the last one at 5 kilometers from here." Roland explained, "According to the measurements you are familiar with, 1 kilometer is almost 300 zhang (3.33 m), close to 2 li (0.5 km) of distance."

"I can't see where the shell fell." Roland touched his chin and said, "The next test will be three bursts of rapid fire at a flat trajectory, the close distance attack is next."