Translator: TransN Editor: Meh
After the exercise, Phyllis once again came to Roland’s castle accompanied by Agatha.
When they entered the office, she noticed that Roland Wimbledon wore the same expression as he had last time. He did not show any self-satisfaction, as if the exercise was nothing but an insignificant matter in his eyes.
However, Phyllis felt that the importance of this common person sitting behind the mahogany table had apparently grown a lot. She unconsciously addressed him with honorifics. "Your Majesty, please allow me to ask you a few questions before contacting the Taquila witches."
"Go ahead." Roland nodded.
"Can the weapons you demonstrated be mass-produced?"
In Phyllis' view, if the plan of seeking the Chosen One did not work out well, the war against demons would undoubtedly last many years. If the production of this weapon really required nearly 10,000 common people and the output could not meet their needs, Neverwinter would still be faced with a hard war.
By that time, she would be able to strive for more positions for the Taquila survivors.
After all, a force of about 100 God's Punishment Warriors controlled by witches was definitely formidable. When the Longsong Cannons could not stop the Siege Beasts that came from all directions, Roland would have to rely on them to break through the tight encirclement.
Roland smiled and gave the answer. "The first thing I must point out is that the Longsong Cannon isn't merely a defensive weapon. It may look too heavy to be carried by manpower or livestock, but for some vehicles, carrying them is no longer a problem. In fact, with a little improvement, it can turn into a weapon that can be used for both offense and defense."
"Ve… Vehicles?" Phyllis repeated. She had heard from Agatha earlier that His Majesty often said some awkward-sounding new words, most of which were straightforward, and that if she did not understand, she could ask directly. Generally, the king would be very happy to answer the questions.
As expected, Roland rubbed his hands and said, "It would be anything that can carry the cannons, such as, the simplest... three-masted big sailing ship, which can be regarded as a vehicle."
"But suchlike big ships can only sail in the Swirling Sea."
"I'm just giving you an example. There will be a free-wheeling vehicle on land in the future. Neverwinter has already embarked on developing such a vehicle, though it can do much more than simply carrying a cannon."
"An equipment that is capable of carrying such a heavy weapon as well as moving freely on the ground? But from the king's statement, it seems not to be prepared for cannons specifically." Just as Phyllis wanted to ask some more, Roland went on, "As for the output, after a new generation of processing tools is commonly used, I believe the cannons will cover all the walls of the border in a year or two."
Phyllis secretly gasped at the answer. "Covering all the walls of the border in a year or two? Even Mangonel and Ballista cannot be produced in such a large number in such a short period of time."
"If so, it will be hard for the Taquila survivors to play a role here."
To Phyllis, it was an answer that disappointed and satisfied her at the same time. Perhaps their positions would be lower than other witch organizations, but, it was always good to have less casualties in war.
However, in light of her previous experiences, she decided not to question him but rather to change the subject.
"I understand, Your Majesty. My second question is, I noticed during the artillery exercise that the last explosion was not caused by the Longsong Cannon, I’m wondering if it's your most lethal weapon?"
When she asked, Phyllis noticed a strange smile appear on Roland's face before he answered. "Judging from the technology we've mastered, it can only be counted as the simplest one."
"The simplest... one?" she said in astonishment. "You can make a weapon that could create a more violent explosion?"
"There's no end in the development of explosion." Roland shook his head. "The current level of weaponry Neverwinter possesses can be viewed as the second level, the third level will be better. At that level, it won't be impossible to burn a city into the ground in one go."
Phyllis was completely startled. She instinctively wanted to consider this statement as nonsense. "Crush a city in one go? No common people or witches can have this kind of power. Only deities can do it." But when she saw Roland's peculiarly shining eyes, she found it hard to deny what he had said.
In the end, she had no choice but to ask in a low voice, "What kind of weapon is that?"
Roland did not give a direct answer. He drank some tea before saying slowly, "What does the scene of the last round of explosion look like in your eyes?"
"Is this about my doubts?" She closed her eyes and a moment later said, "Like a sunrise."
If the smoke and dust were taken as clouds, the rising orange fireball would undoubtedly be the sunrise at dawn.
"Yes, it's just like the red light of the early morning sun. But the third level of weapon is the real sun." Roland raised the corner of his lip, as if he was narrating a thing made by God, "You can't look straight at it because it'll burn your eyes, neither can you come too close to it, for the glittering light will burn you all over. Its core temperature can turn stones into gases, and the air billow it generates is strong enough to smash houses."
The description made Phyllis shudder. She was unable to distinguish whether what he was saying was an overestimation or the truth. "How can we make it?" she asked.
"We have to accomplish two epic tasks. One is called resplendent radiance, while the other is called the distance to the sun, and..."
"Your Majesty!" Agatha interrupted him, frowning.
"Please don't talk nonsense at this time." Nightingale's voice also came to Phyllis' ears.
"Epic tasks? Resplendent radiation?" Phyllis found herself unable to understand even one word and Agatha was shrugging helplessly.
"Ahem, in short, it's very complicated, so I need more witches to push forward the research and speed up the technological development in Neverwinter." Roland coughed a little. "Of course, the things you found in the ruin may be helpful, so I hope we can start a deeper negotiation as soon as possible."
With a complicated feeling, Phyllis looked at the king, who was a common person, before taking off the ring on her finger. "As promised, I'll contact Pasha and other survivors for you. When I crush this Five-Colored Stone, they'll sense my location, but if you want to talk directly, I'm afraid it'll take one or two more days… I don't know when Pasha can get a magic core ready."
"Can we have a conversation anywhere?"
"Yes, but if the condition permits, a spacious place will be much better."
"Well then, you can crush the Magic Stone in the hall, that will make it a little formal." Roland said before he turned to Agatha and said, "You take her there for me."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After leaving the office, Phyllis took a deep breath.
She had done all she could do, next was to wait for the response from the rest of the survivors.