Er Mu - Release that Witch

Because of this it would have to be a large caliber with a long barrel type of heavy artillery.

Roland first thought of those 15–16 cun (2.5cm) huge monsters that were used on battleships, with a range of several scores of kilometers, and powerful enough for a shot to dig several meters deep into the ground, only to quickly reject an unrealistic idea such as this. Although there shouldn’t be any problem on the processing side, but with Border Town’s current level of materials, it meant that at least nine out of ten cannons would be explode. And if he thickened the cannon’s wall to more than one meter, they would lose their practical value since he would be no longer able to move them.

By now he could only give birth to high-purity wrought iron that had the performance of ordinary steel. So the plan still had to be on the conservative side.

Roland finally set the caliber to the sacred number of 152 millimeters.

The cannon used a vertical wedge breechblock, which was upwards and downwards sliding door..When it was pulled down it exposed the cannon’s chamber, and after loading it with an artillery shell, the block could be moved back up to completely lock the rear, so that the gunpowder could only erupt forward. Compared to a spiral breechblock and horizontal wedge breechblock, its speed was faster, and its principle was also very simple and was a blueprint he already knew by heart.

However, if he wanted to implement rapid firing, the artillery had to be equipped with a recoil mechanism, which in simple terms resembled two bicycle pumps, one that was filled with a padding of oil and the other with a spring or gas. Due to the recoil the muzzle would press against the two tubes, and would simultaneously compress the oil and the spring. The oil was used to buffer the recoil, while the spring would store the power and push the canon back into its original position after the shell left.

Lastly the shell.

Since he was already using the sacred cannon, there was no way he could be satisfied with using clumsy iron balls and paper wrapped canister shot anymore. But Roland decided to develop two sets of artillery shells just to be safe, one would be the enlarged version of a bullet, with a warhead made out of solid metal; and another kind, one that had an explosive warhead and using an impact detonator, like the howitzers used by later generations. After all, he would surely come across some technological problems while developing the explosive warheads, things like the development of a reliable detonator needed repeated testing. Because of this he couldn’t guarantee that he could achieve it before the begin of the Months of Demons, therefore they had to first produce the former before they could resolve the problems of the latter. Even with a solid warhead, it should still be possible to easily deal with the slow-moving thick-skinned mixed beasts and fixed siege equipment.

Of course, no matter which kind of shells he used in the end, both would still consume a lot of smokeless gunpowder. In case they weren’t able to start large-scale production of the two acids, the new guns could only be used as special weapons, which would mean that wanting to employ a large artillery barrage would be impossible to realize despite how much he wanted to do so.

At this moment, one of his personal guards pushed open the door and entered the office.

“Your Highness, a secret letter from King’s City has arrived.”

Roland put down the quill and opened the envelope. From start to finish, the letter didn’t have a signature, and its handwriting was also very unfamiliar, but its short sentence made it clear that Theo was undoubtedly the one who had sent it.

“Today a group of about a thousand people left King’s City, while heading toward the Western Border.”

Longsong Stronghold, theater performance hall.

The curtain fell to the sound of the audience’s endless whistles and cheers. May wiped the sweat from her forehead and saw Irene’s gaze, full of excitement and expectation, lingering on herself; she gave two slight nods in response.

This acknowledgment made Irene cheer out loud, the moment the curtain hit the ground, she could no longer stop herself from rushing over, and forcefully wrapped May into a hug.

“Hahaha, I really can play it!”

So troublesome, May gave her a supercilious look and pushed her away, “At last you have made some progress and can now take the stage independently.”

“Miss may, then… what’s with me?” Rosia, another actor that was playing a witch cautiously asked her.

“You still have a long way to go,” she answered without hesitation, “Your expression is still stiff, your movements are sluggish, you also didn’t put any feelings into your lines. During the second act you made two mistakes, and during the fourth act you’d positioned yourself incorrectly, which is a typical mistake if you don’t memorize the script.”

“Haha, Miss May is indeed really strict,” Ghent awkwardly scratched the back of his head, “However, the audience’s response seems to be very good, if you listen, you can hear that the applause has yet to subside.”

“Most of these people are civilians who have never been to the theater, so seeing a play such as this is still a new thing for them,” May interjected bluntly. “If this had been a regular show, those several mistakes would have been sufficient for the nobility to all let out hissing sounds.” She paused, “If you want to go down the actor’s road, you are never allowed to be satisfied with temporary successes, only by continually improving yourself will you be able to gain a firm foothold on the stage.”

The surrounding people all simultaneously lowered their heads and said, “Yes, thank you for your guidance!”

May sighed, here we go again, I definitely cannot be considered as the drama tutor of this group of people. But in the end, she was too lazy to care about such a trivial matter and merely said, “All right, everyone carry on with your hard work. The ‘Witch Diary’ will be shown at least until September, so there are still many plays during which we can develop further. This is a rare opportunity; no one should miss out on it.”

“Yes!”

One month ago May had received a notice from the Ministry of Education, the members of the theater team were instructed to go to Longsong Stronghold and perform. These so-called members were those inferior performers she had met at the start of her journey to Border Town, and Irene Eltek.

Perhaps it was because His Highness the Prince and acting Duke Petrov had reached an agreement with the theater to let them free its schedule, so that the crew could perform the “Witch Diary” trilogy. And so, with this group of amateur performers, together with the newly added actors who also couldn’t be considered as well-known actors, were now openly performing on the stronghold theater’s biggest stage. At normal times, they might not even be selected as a substitute for a supporting role. Now however, not only were they able to play the role of an important character on stage, but they could also perform hand in hand with the Star of the West, which made a lot of people lament about the impermanence of destiny.

When May returned to the backstage area, she couldn’t refrain from puckering her brows.

There at the lounge, she saw a group of people disturbing everyone with their noise, seemingly trying to start a dispute. The moment they saw May appear, more than a dozen followed the leadership of one woman as they stepped forward and began to surround her.

These people were all actors of the theater. May also recognized the woman leading them, she was called Bella Dean and was a famous actor that belonged to a different group. Some nobles even went so far as to say that she was May’s biggest competitor for the position as the Star of the West, but in fact, whether it was her acting or fame, she had never been able to pressure May.

“Guess who I’m finally able to see?” Bella bypassed May and slowly started to walk over towards Irene one step at a time, “A group of inferior actors who’ve sneakily returned from the countryside.”

“What did you say?” Irene asked with a bewildered face, Ghent, Rosia, and the other’s faces all turned stiff and they couldn’t stop themselves from taking two steps back.

“Pfff,” Bella covered her mouth and said, “She doesn’t even know her own identity and status.” These words aroused a burst of laughter from the group, “Then let me say it directly to you, a big city such as Longsong Stronghold isn’t a place where people like you should come to perform. Moreover, the stronghold theater also doesn’t welcome such a vulgar and third-rate performance. What ‘witch diary’? it’s just a few stray dogs all howling in grief. Who could ever be interested in seeing this kind of drama that’s bad enough to spoil one’s appetite? The earlier you get lost and return to Border Town, the better.”

“You,” Irene suddenly turned red, “What do you call a third-rate performance? didn’t you hear the applause of the audience?”

“Ha, audience?” Bella sneered sarcastically, “You call those people who work in the mud, and come in contact with hoes and furnaces every day, an audience? Don’t make me lose a tooth from laughing! Just catch some monkeys and make them run in circles and they will also be cheering loudly! If it hadn’t been for the free tickets, would they ever have the spare money to come and see you perform?”

“I…” Irene opened her mouth but didn’t know how to properly refute.

“The theater already has to deal with a continuous fall in revenue since you came to perform on the big stage every Wednesday. Furthermore, even we are being affected, as long as you and your drama keep on playing here, the nobility will not come!” Bella raised her voice, “Who would be willing to sit on greasy and dirty chairs covered with mud bits? I in turn, also do not want to come into a messy theater that your group of country bumpkins have left behind.”

The other side has apparently came to pick a quarrel, May thought, with the sudden appearance of Border Town’s performers, many people from the theater crowd have indeed lost their chance to appear, but by no means is Bella Dean suffering under this effect. According to the news I’ve received from some acquaintances, after my departure from Longsong Stronghold, the theater deliberately tried turning her into the new Star of the West, so they naturally cannot cancel the drama she’s starring in.

Looking at Bella’s action from this point of view, her purpose was clearly evident. Even though it seems she was scolding Irene and the others, in reality, her attack is directed against me. If these people shrink back, I alone cannot perform the Witch Diary and will have no other option than to go back to Border Town in shame. In this way, by defeating them, it is equal to defeating me. Moreover, by recovering an opportunity for the other actors to play, her prestige is also bound to rise; in that way establishing her place as the new generation’s Star of the West.

But I will never become the stepping stone for someone else!

“The theater’s income is falling, are you serious?” May turned and said thoughtlessly, “How can you come up with such a naive judgment as to think that the theater is unable to make ends meet just because of giving away free ticket. The theater manager has undoubtedly reached an agreement with His Royal Highness and Petrov, concluding that the loss of revenue would naturally be paid for by Border Town’s City Hall. This is a business contract, not someone playing house. You really should use your brain rather than rely on your imagination to start shouting and screaming.”

“You… are only talking nonsense!”

“In the end, the decrease of the income is merely because of you and this group of inferior actors with no status.” May showed a faint smile, “There was one time when I was performing at King’s City Grand Theater, which is an open-air theater. It just so happens that on the day of the show it was raining. However, the nobles still came and filled even the last seat. So, you’re saying it is because of the commoners that the nobility is unwilling to watch your show? No, it’s simply that they do not enjoy coming over to watch a play that is performed by a group of monkeys.”

“…” The scene fell into a strange silence, not only did no one step forward to blame them further, they weren’t even trying to find an excuse.