Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Chapter 211 The Wind-Chasing Arrow

Under normal circumstances, even a single magic crystal from an ordinary level three magical beast would be worth at least thirty gold coins. And taking a basic magic crystal cannon projectile as an example, to successfully launch such a projectile, at least three level three or higher magic crystals would be required.

In this way, the cost of the magic crystals used to make the projectiles alone is already over a hundred gold coins. It is conceivable that using magic crystal cannons for combat or defense is by no means easy, and the investment in both resources and wealth is enormous.

Furthermore, the black iron used to manufacture the shells of bullets is also quite valuable! This black iron is extremely hard, and it is very difficult to mine and refine, which is why its price remains high.

Moreover, simply forging the outer shell of a bullet is far from enough; runes must also be carefully engraved inside the bullet's outer shell.

The labor costs and various rare materials required for this delicate work alone would cost at least twenty gold coins.

Therefore, the manufacturing cost of just one basic bullet already exceeds one hundred and twenty gold coins!

However, this was not the end of the story. The weapon refiners responsible for crafting the projectiles and selling them on the market were determined to make a profit from them.

After all, they have invested a lot of time, energy, and superb skills.

It is also worth mentioning that the craftsmen qualified to refine these magic crystal cannonballs must be at least at the fourth level of craftsmanship to be competent in this task. Only craftsmen of this level have enough ability and experience to complete this arduous task.

According to the classification of weapon refiners, a level four weapon refiner is equivalent to a junior weapon refiner master. Reaching the master level weapon refiner is already a very high status. The crafting price of weapon refiners at this level is also much higher than that of ordinary weapon refiners. Therefore, the lowest market price for a junior magic crystal cannonball is 150 gold coins.

One hundred and fifty gold coins are enough for an average family to live on for more than ten years. The cost of an intermediate-level magic crystal cannon is at least three times that of a basic one, and the cost of an advanced one is as high as ten times.

The cost of just one high-level magic crystal cannon projectile is enough to sustain an average family for hundreds of years.

This doesn't even include the expensive magic crystal cannons. This is why even the wealthy Lord Liao of Shangyuan City only purchased four basic magic crystal cannons for defense.

Although the Magic Crystal Cannon is a powerful weapon, it also has many limitations. Not only is it expensive, but it also does not have the legendary ability to instantly kill everything.

The fundamental reason is that its cannon is bulky, has poor mobility, and a slow rate of fire. It can only achieve good results by blind firing at densely populated areas. If it is used to attack small groups of enemies, it is like using a cannon to kill mosquitoes and has no effect at all. Therefore, the magic crystal cannon is generally used for defense and deterrence.

"How difficult is it to manufacture the Demon-Slaying Arrow? How much does it cost?"

Mo Yuming then asked.

"The manufacture of the Demon-Slaying Arrow is much simpler than that of the Magic Crystal Cannon. Ordinary weapon refiners can make its shaft and arrowhead. Inlaying magic crystals and engraving runes into the black iron arrowhead can be easily handled by weapon refiners of level two or above, because the explosive runes on the arrowhead are one of the simplest basic runes."

Generally, a level one weapon refiner can refine it, but it is still a bit difficult for a level one weapon refiner to inscribe it into a small arrow. Therefore, for such delicate work, it is generally more appropriate for a level two or higher weapon refiner to make it.

The biggest challenge in making the Demon-Slaying Arrow is cutting the magic crystal. To reduce costs, a magic crystal usually needs to be cut into several pieces, depending on the characteristics of the Demon-Slaying Arrow.

The magic crystal contains enormous and extremely violent energy. If the process of splitting it is not handled properly, it will explode. Once the magic crystal explodes, even if the weapon refiner who split the magic crystal is well defended, he will be blown to pieces and either die or be seriously injured.

The crystal splitting is carried out on a splitting disc engraved with runes for suppression, explosion prevention, cooling, and solidification.

The weapon refiner must first activate these runes, and then continuously manipulate them to operate stably.

Unlike one-time runes, these runes require continuous manipulation by the user, otherwise they will stop functioning.

Once the runes in the dividing plate are running stably, a magic crystal is placed in and a specially made rune knife is used to divide it. This process is also related to the refiner's skill level.

A novice weapon refiner cannot control it. A level two weapon refiner can only split a magic crystal in two. A level three weapon refiner can split a magic crystal into three to five parts depending on their strength. A level four weapon refiner can split a magic crystal into six or more parts. Generally, a magic crystal can be split into five to eight parts. If it is split any further, it will not have much power. Therefore, splitting magic crystals generally requires a weapon refiner of level three or above.

Based on the manufacturing process, the cost of producing one Demon-Slaying Arrow is approximately six gold coins.

"That's what Old Huo replied."

Mo Yuming felt a pang of heartache upon hearing this. This war was simply burning through money. Not to mention the magic crystal cannon, firing a single magic-breaking arrow would cost six or seven gold coins, enough for a soldier's salary for two years.

Recalling his previous battle with Wu Ji, he had ordered the captured Demon-Slaying Arrows to be used as ordinary arrows, and after several battles, tens of thousands of Demon-Slaying Arrows had been used up.

What a huge expense! You don't know the cost of oil and salt until you're in charge of the household. Mo Yuming felt it was such a waste.

However, if given the chance again, Mo Yuming felt he would still make the same choice, since the lives of soldiers were more valuable than the Demon-Slaying Arrow.

Any cost is worthwhile if it can minimize soldier casualties.

"What other types of long-range attack weapons can we produce?" Mo Yuming asked.

"Aside from magic crystal cannons and magic-breaking arrows, the only ranged attack weapons available are ordinary crossbows and machine crossbows. These are all conventional weapons that can be manufactured in most armories."

Needless to say, we were even worse off. But because of their large size, crossbows required multiple operators and were not very convenient to use. They were generally only used to shoot at specific targets. Now that we have catapults, crossbows have basically become useless.

There is another type of arrow called the Wind Chaser Arrow. Although we can also manufacture it, the manufacturing process is quite complex, time-consuming, and difficult. However, its lethality is not great, only slightly stronger than ordinary arrows. It is generally only used by martial arts practitioners, and the army has never kept any spares. "Old Huo said after thinking for a moment.

"What is the Wind Chaser Arrow?" Mo Yuming asked curiously.

"The so-called 'Wind Chaser' arrow is that after it is shot, it is extremely fast and travels a long distance. With the same force and bow and crossbow, its range is at least twice that of an ordinary arrow. In addition, it has another characteristic: it is very quiet when it is flying, making it difficult to detect and even more difficult to dodge."

This is mainly because its shaft and fletching are made from the bones and feathers of flying magical beasts, and the shaft is engraved with runes for chasing the wind and accelerating. The craftsmanship is highly complex, and the types of magical beasts that can be used to make these arrow shafts are few in number, expensive, and produced in small quantities. Therefore, the cost of one arrow is at least two gold coins, hundreds of times that of an ordinary arrow.

Mr. Huo explained.