Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 88: Live Ammunition Test
“Operating a cannon is so complicated—aren’t you afraid you’ll mess up the steps from nerves?”
A teammate asked.
“Of course I was!”
Sitting up on his bedroll, Blue turned to that teammate and said.
“Back when we first started training, the one-eyed instructor gave me a hard scolding for messing up. But after a few more runs, I memorized the process. As the gun captain, I also have to direct the crew, so I must know every step by heart.”
“Wow! From vice-captain in the militia to gun captain in the artillery team—you’re really moving up!”
Kadir said enviously.
“Not too bad.”
Blue replied, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
Everyone accepted Blue’s promotion without complaint. After all, he was the most hardworking and diligent person among them.
In fact, Kadir had only started taking things seriously because of this big oaf’s influence—otherwise, he might never have been selected for the musket team.
“But you guys haven’t actually fired a real shot yet, have you? How powerful is the cannon really? How does it compare to a trebuchet? Probably only the lord knows the answer.”
Another teammate sounded a little disappointed—he really wanted to witness the cannon in action.
“No worries…”
Blue replied.
“In two days we’ll be doing a live-fire test to evaluate the cannon. Everyone’s allowed to observe from a distance, unless they’re on duty. That’s what the one-eyed instructor said.”
“Oh? Now that’s something to look forward to.”
Said Kadir, and the rest of the group quickly echoed his excitement.
Two days later, on a relatively clear afternoon, the artillery unit was finally scheduled to conduct a public live-fire test.
The test site was a flat area to the south of the camp. The cannon would be fired in the direction of the Sky Mountains.
The lord himself came to witness the cannon test, along with many other curious onlookers.
The snow around the area had been cleared away, and the cannon was positioned squarely in the center.
Under Viscount Jarvis’s arrangement, Blue’s team was assigned to fire the first shot.
After aligning the barrel to the correct direction, Blue swallowed nervously while his teammates loaded the cannon.
So many people were watching—it made him tense.
When everything was ready, the crew member in charge of ignition turned to report:
“Gun Captain Blue, we’re ready to fire on your order.”
“Fire!”
Blue ordered without hesitation.
The fuse was lit. A moment later, a deafening boom erupted. A heavy iron ball, propelled by the force of gunpowder, blasted out of the barrel.
Its flight path was too fast for the naked eye to follow. In the blink of an eye, the projectile had flown far away, crashing into the ground and sending snow and dirt spraying everywhere.
Not only that—the ball continued to bounce after impact, flying even farther ahead and adding secondary damage.
Everyone present had heard gunpowder explode before, so they weren’t startled by the cannon’s roar.
But the results of the live test still shocked them. Even Kadir’s jaw dropped in disbelief.
“Whoa!!”
“That cannonball flew so fast!”
“Not just that—look at how far it went!”
The crowd broke into an excited discussion, amazed by the cannon’s power and range.
The ball’s first impact was several hundred meters from the cannon—clearly farther than a trebuchet’s effective range. And with the bouncing after impact, it could deal even more destruction.
Unlike the rocks hurled by catapults, which mostly become useless once they hit the ground, cannonballs remain destructive even after impact.
Since the results met his expectations, Owen, watching from a distance, showed no strong reaction.
On the other hand, Mapel, standing beside him, stared wide-eyed at the impact site—this power was astonishing!
If muskets could penetrate armor and pose a threat to knights, then cannons left them utterly defenseless. In the blink of an eye, a cannonball could reach its target, likely shattering a knight’s armor on impact and killing them instantly.
The range of this weapon exceeded that of ordinary long-range magic, even surpassing most large-scale spells.
Another surprised observer was Lusha, who had been invited to witness the test.
After seeing the cannon’s destructive power firsthand, he quickly requested.
“Lord Owen, may I borrow one of your cannons? With it, we can execute our revenge plan far more effectively.”
Since swearing allegiance to Owen, Lusha had humbled himself and now considered himself a subordinate of the lord.
“That’s possible.”
Owen replied, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
“But how do you plan to transport the cannon to your target location? There’s no smooth or safe path through the forest, and moving such a heavy weapon is no easy task. Even if you manage to bring it in, the forest is filled with tall trees. How will you aim accurately? Where will you even set it up? In short, this needs a proper discussion between both sides.”
“You’re right.”
Lusha admitted, realizing he had been too hasty.
“That said, you can start by sending five men over to learn how to operate the cannon. You never know when that knowledge might come in handy.”
“Understood!”
Standing behind the artillery crew, Viscount Jarvis raised his hand to shade his eyes and whistled softly as he surveyed the distance.
He had already been briefed by Owen about the cannon’s power. Still, the actual results were more impressive than he expected.
Next, Viscount Jarvis instructed a soldier to place a wooden stake where the iron ball first landed. Then he had a length of rope laid out from the stake back to the cannon’s muzzle.
This long rope had markings every meter to measure the cannon’s range.
After recording the distance, Viscount Jarvis gave Blue a signal to continue firing.
Bru nodded, instructed his team to clear the barrel, and adjusted the angle slightly upward before preparing the next shot.
With another thunderous boom, the cannonball flew even farther than before, eliciting excited cries from the crowd.
“Huh? Why did it fly farther this time?”
Kadir wondered aloud.
After a moment’s thought, he realized that Bru had adjusted the cannon’s elevation. The higher the angle of the barrel, the farther the projectile traveled.
It was just like how knights raised their bows slightly when aiming at distant targets.
Kadir guessed that the same principle applied here.
The crew measured the distance again and recorded it. Bru fired two more shots. The final cannonball soared so far it looked like it passed the 1,000-meter mark.
Then the next artillery team took over. Each group fired four times before rotating.
Four teams, four shots each—sixteen test firings in total, finally yielding enough data.
Now Kadir understood. This test was meant to measure the cannon’s effective range so they could better estimate the impact zone in future battles against undead monsters.
Looking at the dark, imposing cannon, Kadir suddenly felt like his musket wasn’t so impressive anymore.
No, no, no! He shook his head. That kind of thinking was wrong. Cannons might be powerful, but they required a whole team to operate and were inconvenient.
By comparison, muskets were much more mobile. They might not rival a cannon in power, but they were more than enough to handle most undead threats.
Cannons were better suited for large undead monsters, like that giant rotting boar from before.
The fact that Lord Owen had created a ranged weapon even more powerful than a catapult filled everyone—Kadir included—with renewed confidence in defending Bianshu town.