Chapter 178: Imperial Decree Forbids MarriageChapter 944: Unconquerable
The most explosive and intuitive concept for ancient people was fireworks during festivals and thunder during thunderstorms.
Even with the development of weaponry like the red-clad cannon based on fireworks, it was fundamentally still reliant on gunpowder propulsion. Its lethality remained limited to the blunt force of the iron balls themselves. Later iterations incorporated gunpowder filling to utilize the explosive power against surrounding enemies, but this method paled in comparison to hand grenades which employed a highly concentrated gunpowder mixture with steel ball bearings. The limitations were simply too great.
The true use of gunpowder in an explosion on the battlefield was a groundbreaking first.
The Emperor of Heaven was stunned, his entourage was dumbfounded, and even the guards stationed far away were flabbergasted.
Everyone believed this was a divine miracle sent down by heaven's wrath.
"Hahaha."
Li Chen was quite satisfied with the effect of the explosion. He walked up to Huangji Tian and said, "If this kind of weapon were used on a battlefield, what do you think"
Huangji Tian slowly withdrew the overwhelming feeling, and said: "Indomitable."
Swallowing hard, Huang Ji Tian spoke in a tone bordering on reverence, "I estimate the explosion's radius to be around fifteen to twenty steps. Anything further out would still inflict some damage, but it would be significantly less."
Within this range, a dense hail of steel beads will obliterate all obstacles in its path, flesh included.
Li Chen let out a light smile, just being able to see through these things at first glance was already considered extraordinary talent by the standards of Emperor Extreme Heaven.
To outsiders, it would probably just be a gasp of "Wow."
"The killing range of this thing is about what you guessed, roughly like this. Within this range, anything that gets in the way will be killed. Outside this range, its power will diminish significantly."
Li Chen talked eloquently: “We have conducted tests, and once this device explodes, over a hundred steel balls inside will be dispersed in a circular shape. Within ten steps, it can pierce through two soldiers wearing armor, and if it hits a horse, it can pierce at least one adult warhorse.”
To those who heard it, it sounded like magic. But Song Yingxing, the only one who knew the truth, was completely astounded.
When did they conduct the test
And how is such power achieved
Song Yingxing subconsciously glanced at his own Crown Prince, but saw that the Prince had a nonchalant expression on his face and readily opened his mouth.
Li Chen did not pay attention to Song Yingxing's reaction, and said to Huangji Tian: "It has another characteristic, this characteristic makes it a nightmare for cavalry. Could the 13th brother guess"
Li Chen's words fell to the ground, and Huangji Tian furrowed his brows.
A servant beside him blurted out, "There was an explosion."
Li Chen couldn't help but glance at him again. He saw that the latter's eyes were gleaming, and there was a murderous aura around him that came from years of being in the army. Li Chen was very familiar with this kind of aura, having felt it on both Su Zhen Ting and Wu Qing Cang.
The man before me is undoubtedly a fierce general from the Jin Kingdom.
Nodding, Li Chen said: "That's right. Any cavalryman who leaves his horse can no longer be called cavalry. And as long as it is a horse, it is an animal. No matter how well domesticated, it cannot escape the nature of animals that are terrified by loud noises. This explosion alone is enough to startle dozens of horses nearby. And the emotions of a herd of horses are contagious. Once a large-scale chain explosion unfolds, those cavalrymen, no matter how well trained, will be unable to stop their warhorses from panicking."
Once the horses are in disarray and start running in all directions, what power can those cavalrymen havet seem to care about his answer and continued, "Being an official is good, but that requires a local official. Mountains are high and the emperor is far away. With real power in your hands, you're al...