Chapter 50 - Fireworks and Firearms

“So beautiful…”

Tina looked up at the sky and muttered to herself.

Dazzling light continuously rushed into the sky and exploded into dazzling glory.

Kang De had specially asked if there were fireworks in the other world.

He found it strange at first.

It was understandable that the people of the other world did not discover any gunpowder for various reasons.

After all, in the history of Earth, many countries had directly or indirectly learned gunpowder technology from China in the 13th and 14th centuries through war, businessmen, stealing, and even cozying up to powerful people. In other words, if not for the ancient alchemists of China fiddling with this thing, the foreign devils would probably have to wait until they learned about chemistry.

It was not surprising that the people from the other world did not understand this.

However, they had magic and so-called alchemists.

Could not such a sound and light effect be done?

The answer was yes, but no one did it.

The mages studied questions like how to make the fireball larger and throw the ice spear further away. Improving a spell that was highly applicable, simplifying its element model, increasing its power, or reducing its magic consumption would earn them a reputation and practical benefits.

The Arcane Council and the magic academies of the various countries established a perfect system. They used magic patents, influence factors, and honor evaluations to integrate the spellcasters of the entire continent into a huge entity so that they could gather everyone’s wisdom and strength and push the magic system to continuously expand and improve the magic standards of the entire plane.

In this extremely utilitarian system, no mage would study boring things like magic fireworks, because the casters were extremely proud. They prided themselves as the forerunners of the world and walked the lonely path of exploring the ultimate answer to the world. Who would use their life’s path and achievements to please others?

Powerful spellcasters disdained doing such a thing, but low-level spellcasters could not do it. With the pitiful magic power of a junior mage, even if they were to be the human fireworks transmitter, they would at most release a few lightning bolts or bubbles before their magic power dried up. As for apprentices, they could probably only withstand seven or eight bolts…

They were useless.

As for alchemists, the logic was similar.

Just like universities on Earth, there were also popular subjects and unpopular subjects. The profession of the alchemist was extremely general and covered many fields. The most popular ones were materials science, potion science, enchantment science, botany, and architecture. Most talented alchemists went to study these.

Materials science could improve the smelting and manufacturing formulas to obtain stronger armor and stronger weapons. Enchantment was even more so. Botany was used to improve crops to obtain more yield benefits. Potionology was used for combat and medicine, let alone architecture. These were all urgently needed by the various countries. Alchemists who specialized in these subjects earned money and had a high social status. They were warmly pursued by the countries.

It was just like the popular industries like finance and coding on Earth for the past few years.

As for the other subjects, they were naturally unpopular and no one cared about them. For example, on Earth, studying medicine would have one’s legs broken by one’s family. Those who learned civil engineering would be hung on the streetlights by one’s family. Those who wanted to become teachers would be directly cut into minced meat by one’s family. In the other world, a job that earned little and was scolded by everyone every day would not have any takers.

In such an employment environment, how could alchemists go to study things like fireworks?

Therefore, this was probably the first time gunpowder burned in the sky of the other world.

That light was gorgeous and colorful. The so-called display was only so-so. After all, it had been enchanted with various elements, so its momentum naturally far exceeded the original.

The princess looked up with surprise and joy.

Even the knight was no exception.

Beautiful things were always worth admiring and pleasing.

“Is this something you use for celebration and praying?” Amidst the sound that shook the sky, Tina turned around and looked at Kang De. There was light in her eyes as she smiled happily, “Cathay has already become such a country. I feel envious and surprised. It’s really great to be able to focus on creating beautiful things.”

Kang De only smiled and said nothing.

He suddenly recalled Mr. Lu Xun’s words—the Chinese invented gunpowder, but they used it to make fireworks, while the Westerners used it to make firearms.

That was probably the meaning.

This sounded a little biased, but it was actually very reasonable. Ever since the invention of gunpowder, although ancient China continuously developed all kinds of gunpowder weapons, there were no fundamental improvements. The West had deduced the most suitable formula for black gunpowder through rigorous scientific theories, and China had repeatedly used the five elements theory to explain the principle of gunpowder. Moreover, the production process was extremely crude and had never been improved. Compared to the gunpowder of the 19th century in the West, Chinese gunpowder was really only worthy of setting off fireworks.

However, it was no longer the same as before.

Not only could Chinese gunpowder be used to make fireworks, but it could also be used to move mountains and seas.

He glanced at the smiling princess.

The Chinese already knew what to do with gunpowder.

Not only were there beautiful flames shining in the sky, but there were also death flowers blooming on the ground.

If Mr. Lu Xun knew in the netherworld, he would probably be gratified. The Chinese could also make powerful weapons with gunpowder, and… every Chinese person knew how to do it.

The Chinese man, Kang De, who had wandered into the other world, naturally knew.

Even if he did not know the exact precise ratio, he could guess from the best chemical reaction equation of black gunpowder burning… A few hundred years ago, only the most outstanding chemist could discover this. Now, every serious middle school student could calculate it.

Kang De looked up at the colorful lights that kept flying into the air.

These fireworks introduced the power of elements and were even more dazzling than the original. They were simply not like fireworks, so they could scare the elves who had no knowledge of this. More importantly, to Kang De…

“Gunpowder can also be mixed with elemental power and produce magic characteristics…”

The combination of this cheat and various Earth products could produce countless possibilities.

In an instant, a strange emotion suddenly surged in his heart. Unknowingly, he seemed to have comprehended something, as if he had grasped something as if he had thought of something.

“Kang De?” The girl noticed his abnormality. “What’s wrong?”

Kang De came back to his senses and still smiled.

The matter of the gunpowder suddenly made him have many thoughts.

He thought that with the books in the bookstore, the Earth resources in the siege, the education, thoughts, and ideas he had received, and this magical cheat, perhaps an ordinary person from Earth could also do something in this other world… just like the protagonist in the story.

However, this was not a story after all. He was a living person.

He did not have such a strong mental fortitude that he could quickly throw his parents, family, and familiar life to the back of his mind after transmigrating. He thought about being able to return home safely and reunite with his family. Compared to a grand ambition that involved risk and danger, he wanted to live safely and steadily to avoid dying in another world.

According to the general pattern of the story, he probably had to leave this island with Tina and throw himself into Goethe’s anti-invasion war without any hesitation. He had to help Goethe with technology, defeat the elves, and establish his dominance. Then, he had to marry the princess, rule the country, and walk to the peak of his life.

So on and so forth.

However, the reality was always more complicated than the story.

The reality was that he did not have a deep relationship with these Goethe people. He had only participated in their war with the elves to protect himself. He had desire and ambition, but compared to this, he wanted to go home more.

If he was given two choices, the first being to stay in the other world and fight for supremacy while the second was to return to Earth, he would definitely choose the latter.

This was because the other world was fighting a war. There were dragons, magic, and so on. There were also gods who might encounter trouble one day. When he returned to Earth, his current physical fitness was countless times stronger than the peak standards of humans on Earth. With a cheat like extraction and enchantment, it was better to return to Earth and be the protagonist of an urban novel than to be the protagonist of a transmigration novel. It would definitely be extremely satisfying.

Therefore…

He looked at the beautiful girl close at hand and hesitated.

It was said that Tina had a mission and would definitely not stay here for long. After defeating the elves, the next problem would surface—the Goethe people would definitely leave. What should he choose?

In other words, if he did not follow Tina to avoid being blocked by the elves at sea, what was the chance of the Penguin encountering the elf battleship again at sea? What was the chance of survival?

If he asked the captain to send Tina to the capital before returning to pick him up to go out to sea, what was the probability of them agreeing? What did he have to pay? Would they think that he was not friendly enough by doing this, and would not agree?

Moreover, if he decided to leave with Tina, what would be his identity? How could he get along with the Goethe people? What should he do after arriving on the continent? Should he continue fighting the elves until the end? Of course not, but if not, what should he do? What identity should he act in?

Kang De was a person who liked to think about things.

Especially when he was on a deserted island, he thought about it almost every day.

As soon as his thoughts approached in this direction, he could not stop.

“Kang De?”

Seeing that he did not speak for a long time, the princess asked, “Should we leave?”

Only then did Kang De come back to his senses. At the same time, his phone began to vibrate. The alarm clock he had set sounded. He nodded and waved in the air. A few seabirds flew down and grabbed the remains of the finished fireworks and quickly rose into the air. He took a deep breath and said, “Let’s go.”

The knight who had not spoken said in a low voice, “Will the elves fall for it?”

Kang De glanced at the rift valley. He had spent a long time tossing and turning inside and had arranged for the animals to be in charge of switching the buttons. Although it was rushed, he was still confident.

“At the very least, those things will definitely scare the elves… As long as they feel that this place is very important and that there’s something very impressive, and they can’t let the Goethe people beat them to it, that’s fine.”

He said, “The real battlefield is not here.”

The knight nodded. “I understand… The key to the outcome of this battle is whether we can successfully capture or destroy the Wayne Wings. As long as the elves don’t have a ship to use, all the initiative will fall into our hands.”

“Not only that…”

Kang De listened to the sound of the tide not far away and smiled.

The knight raised his eyebrows and said, “Please enlighten me.”

“You’ll know when the time comes… It’s hard to say if I’m confident.”

Kang De said in a relaxed tone, “Next, it’s time to give this stage to our elf friends. I hope they can have fun inside.”

The knight looked warily at the cracked entrance of the valley. His soul felt a dangerous aura.

“What…” he asked, “…is in here?”

Previously, Kang De and his animal friends had gone in with bags of things. The knight and the princess were left outside. After a few hours, Kang De came out covered in dust and asked what was inside. He did not say, but from the looks of it, he had clearly fought a few times.

“It’s some dangerous things. I’ve only walked a short distance. If I’m not wrong, this is the source of the mutation of the black beast on the island… As for what it is…”

Kang De smiled and said, “Let our elf friends investigate.”

The knight said uneasily, “If there’s really something powerful inside and the elves obtain it…”

Kang De patted his shoulder, “I was originally only 70% relieved. Now that you’ve said this, it’s 90%… Don’t worry, I’ve already made arrangements. Moreover, after seizing the ship, if things don’t go well, we can still escape.”

“…What arrangements?”

“I didn’t use the arrangement previously.”

On the Second North Island, in the valley where Kang De lived, the door of the warehouse had already been opened. The pigeon cooed as some huge birds gathered in the square and oil barrels were pushed out.

On the other side of the island, in the Goethe camp, rows of energetic sailors and soldiers were standing in front of Captain Oswald. The ships were on standby.

On the Wayne Wings, Master Rackles returned to the ship with a mixture of excitement and disappointment. After the pillar of light soared into the sky, the captain and Sir Taize finally decided to send troops, but he was still invited back to the ship. After all, on the Holy Seal Islands, a spellcaster like him could not help and would instead become a burden.

He hoped that they would gain something…

The master whispered hopefully.

Pushing open the cabin door, he was stunned and a little surprised because the parrot that had flown away during the day was now standing on his clothes hanger and saying to him in Elven language, “Welcome! Welcome!”

“Little guy, I thought you would never return.”

It had to be said that this made him a little happy. He walked to his magic platform and prepared to continue the experiment he had not completed previously. As he walked, he said, “If this operation goes smoothly, we’ll definitely gain a lot. I’ll obtain great honor and improvement. When I return to my hometown, I’ll…”

Suddenly, he was stunned.

This was because he discovered that a fragment of a holy artifact was missing from the magic platform.

The war hammer, short stick, long knife, and other fragments were all there, but the dagger was missing.

In the next moment, his heart turned cold.

…