Chapter 155 Prototype

Moving on to his next stop, the Gatharix Weapon Company which is located behind the shipyard. They're responsible for producing both cold weapons and firearms to supply to his military.

Yes! Swords, bows and arrows are still used especially in Inver and Sidgean. He is their main supplier thanks to the enticing cheaper price offered. War always breaks out between Inver and Inverloch because of their bitter relationship. To his surprise, Sidgean keeps ordering more steel swords and arrowheads. The amount is stupendously high. They basically can obliterate the Duchy of Camble multiple times.

Since he hadn't fully grasped the situation, he refrained from making any assumptions yet. The spy network there is still in its infancy.

He'll give them time to grow.

His arrival startled the workers.

They immediately stop whatever they're doing and look at each other, unsure about what to do. Should they bow? Should they say something? What to say? Who's going to say it?

To not complicate things, he ordered them to not mind his presence. The way they freeze on the spot reminds him of himself when his teacher purposely stops by his table during the exam and takes a peek at his answer sheets.

Riz chuckled. It brings back some memories, "That's some funny thing during my school days. Though it doesn't change the fact I am still underperformed in teachers' eyes."

His reminiscence stopped when his chief researcher, Goban and head manager, James Gray paid his respect to him.

"Your Majesty, it's an honour to have your presence in this place. You don't need to come here personally. If you call us, We would be more than willing to go to you." said James.

"I can do that but why should I waste my time on such formality? Since I'm here, I might as well take a look. So, Goban, please show me the progress."

"Please follow me to the testing field." Goban led the way while his subordinates scurried to grab the improvised flintlock musket.

Shortly thereafter, Riz was presented with a long rifle musket. There's not much change in appearance except for the ignition mechanism. Instead of a flintlock, the musket in his hand uses a new cap lock mechanism.

"After an arduous two and a half years of research, our chemist named Jenkins Darcy finally succeeded in discovering what your majesty has described as mercury fulminate. The weapon your majesty is holding right now is a percussion muzzleloader rifle. We made some changes to our standard-issued flintlock musket. First, instead of smoothbore, we make it rifled to increase in accuracy. Second, we change the projectile shape from a round ball to a hollow-based cylindrical-conical shape bullet. It's a .58 calibre. And lastly, we develop a new pre-measured powder to optimize the usage of black powder."

Goban handed the king a leather-made cartridge box. He promptly opened it up and took a look inside. One cartridge had fifty rounds of ammunition "So, I simply had to take one of these and load it up. Does that mean it's time to get rid of the apostles?"

"You're correct, your majesty. Those apostles were very uncomfortable and could hinder the movement of our soldiers during the operation. This cartridge box can be hung on the waist, allowing for a shorter time of reloading. Allow us to demonstrate it for you."

Several men come over and start the demonstration. Goban stood by his side to explain how the mechanism worked.

Riz hears the explanation in silence even though he can already grasp the working principle behind it. It is not that complicated.

"It has a similar loading procedure as a flintlock musket. You first need to take one pre-measured powder. It contains both the propellant and the projectile. Load it through the muzzle and ram it down with a ramrod. Then, we take the percussion cap which has a fulminate and places it over the nipple hole. When the trigger is pulled, the hammer strikes the cap against the nipple and denotes the fulminate. The produced sparks then ignite the black powder inside. Once the black powder was ignited, the lead skirting of the bullet will expand and grip the rifling grooves. The bullet could travel faster and further."

Bang!

Bang!

The bullet was shot by them a second after Goban finished his explanation.

"Wow!!" Riz faked his surprise while clapping his hand. He had seen firearms with better performance before so he wasn't actually impressed.

Nevertheless, he needs to avoid disappointing his research team since they are working hard to materialize the firearm for him. Moreover, the cap lock mechanism is the first step toward making modern firearms.

"So, what is the effective firing range of this rifled musket?" Riz genuinely asks. He had a hard time when it came to remembering specific numbers.

"Around 200 meters to 400 meters. Its maximum firing range is up to 900 meters."

"What about the firing rate?"

"Around two to three rounds per minute, your majesty."

Considering the reloading procedure is much simpler than flintlock, Riz was satisfied. The firing rate wasn't going to increase by a lot until the breechloader was invented. He could wait for it.

"Given our current technology, how much can this company produce, James?" Riz was thinking about replacing the flintlock with this percussion cap rifled musket for his soldier. The new one is obviously superior.

James does some mental calculations. After a couple of minutes, he confidently replied, "We can produce 5,000 muskets a month. However, if you're thinking of replacing them, we can retrofit the current musket for you. You can save money that way."

"Alright, let's do that." Of course, he would agree to save money. "Just make sure there's no problem with the weapon. I won't compromise on the quality. If you think the musket is old and needs to be replaced, please do so."

"Do not worry, your majesty. I won't let the faulty weapon escape this place." James assured his boss.

As Riz was about to leave, Goban called him. "Your Majesty!! There's one more thing you forget."

"What is it, Goban?"

"You forget to give a name to this weapon."

'Oh, sh*t! Here we go again.' Since when did it become a tradition for him to give the name? Regardless, Riz keeps thinking of the name or they will keep pestering him. "Uhmm...How about Ryntum Rifle Model 303 sound?"

"Excellent name, your majesty. We can call it RR-M303 for short." Goban agreed with the name.

"It's good that you like the—"

"Milord!" A feminine voice chimed in into their conversation.

Riz subconsciously turns around. He sees a red-haired beauty with a pair of light blue eyes walking towards him. His personal maid, Charlotte came to meet him. Her face screams of emergency with a hint of tiredness.

"What's wrong, Charlotte?!"

"Here." She gave him a black envelope. "We get this from our agent in Barlia."

Riz's face turned for the worse. He promptly opened the letter and read it. After reading the letter, only one word came out of his mouth, "Sh*t!!"