After reading the data of the 122mm howitzer, Lu Chen's lips curled into a faint smile.
With such a powerful weapon in hand, the barbarian cavalry was no longer a threat.
What a pity—there were too few shells. Only one thousand.
Two hundred howitzers, yet just a thousand shells. The system was truly stingy.
Although a thousand shells might seem like a lot, when divided across the howitzers, that was only five per gun. Not to mention, Lu Chen needed to train the new army and let the soldiers witness firsthand how these shells were fired.
Demonstrating the usage of the 122mm howitzers would undoubtedly waste some shells. By the time they reached the battlefield, they might not even have a full stock left.
At this moment, Lu Chen called out to those outside the cave: "Alright, you may come in."
Hearing the prince's voice from the depths of the cave, Mu Changtian and the others immediately stepped inside.
Upon entering, they froze, staring at the howitzer positioned in front of them.
"What is this?"
Had there been something like this in the cave before?
Unlike Mu Changtian and Mu Jingwu, Li Feng and the others had already seen Lu Chen summon weapons out of thin air, so they weren't too shocked by the sudden appearance of this massive weapon.
However, even they couldn't hide their excitement. The shape of the howitzer bore a strong resemblance to the mysterious weapon Lu Chen had wielded before—only, it was significantly larger.
To Li Feng, this howitzer resembled a scaled-up version of the Barrett rifle Lu Chen had used previously. If that gun could take down a martial master, wouldn't this beast be capable of annihilating even a grandmaster?
Mu Changtian circled the howitzer carefully and asked, "Your Highness, what is this?"
Lu Chen replied calmly, "A howitzer. Have the soldiers pull it out. I will show you all what it can do."
Everyone was momentarily stunned but quickly composed themselves. Several soldiers stepped forward to move the weapon.
They didn't know what exactly this machine was, but they could feel from its weight and the solid metal structure that it wasn't ordinary.
Mu Changtian and the others didn't press Lu Chen about how the weapon had appeared out of nowhere. They were far more interested in seeing its power.
They guessed that the 10,000 new recruits had been brought in specifically to form an artillery battalion, trained to operate this mysterious device.
Soon, the howitzer was pushed out. When the soldiers caught sight of it, they began murmuring among themselves.
"What is that?"
"Looks like some kind of siege weapon."
"It has wheels… maybe it's a siege cart?"
"But why bring it here?"
"It doesn't seem like a siege vehicle… Look at the material. It's entirely metal. Wouldn't that be far too heavy for a typical siege cart?"
…
Lu Chen ignored the chatter. He turned to Mu Jingwu. "Captain Mu, gather the new troops. This king will demonstrate how to operate this weapon."
"Yes, Prince!" Mu Jingwu answered crisply, then swiftly moved to assemble the 10,000 soldiers.
Once the soldiers had gathered, the howitzer was positioned in an open space.
Lu Chen retrieved the instruction manual for the howitzer from his system inventory and made a few basic adjustments, referencing the plain terrain firing chart.
Then he turned to the crowd and commanded, "Cover your ears!"
The soldiers obeyed without hesitation, clamping their hands over their ears.
The next instant, a deafening boom split the air, and the ground trembled beneath their feet.
Even with their ears covered, they could still hear the monstrous roar.
A shell fired from the howitzer screamed through the air and detonated in the woods ahead. A massive pit appeared instantly, dirt erupting several meters high, while several nearby trees were blown clean apart.
The sight left everyone dumbfounded.
Shock. Awe. Disbelief.
They had never seen a weapon this terrifying.
Just the firing shook the earth—what kind of force was this?
If that shell had landed among their own troops, how many would've survived?
Mu Changtian and the others stared in silence. Their minds could hardly process what they had just witnessed.
Could this be the so-called "mysterious weapon" Lu Chen had referred to?
If they had such a weapon—better yet, many of them—what threat could the barbarians possibly pose?
Not only barbarians—if they had enough of these weapons, even unifying the world might not be impossible.
Mu Changtian and his son Mu Jingwu exchanged glances, and the shock in each other's eyes was unmistakable.
They had long suspected that Lu Chen's apparent retreat to the north was more than it appeared. Perhaps he had come to Beijun to lie dormant, preparing his strength for a greater ambition—the eventual unification of the world.
And now, seeing this devastating weapon, their suspicions were confirmed.
With this as the trump card, what city wall could stand in their way?
Even the strongest city gates would be blasted apart. Even a top-tier martial master struck by one of those shells might be blown into pieces.
This—this was the Northern King's hidden card.
Lu Chen turned to look at the stunned crowd behind him.
"General Mu," he asked, "what do you think of this king's mysterious weapon? Can it handle the 300,000 barbarian cavalry?"
Mu Changtian snapped out of his trance. "Congratulations, Your Highness! With such a divine weapon in hand, the prince will surely unify the world!"
"…Unify the world?" Lu Chen blinked. When did I ever say that?
Mu Changtian pressed on, his tone urgent. "Prince, how many of these… siege carts do you possess?"
He didn't know what else to call them. They had wheels, and they fired projectiles—it was close enough.
Lu Chen didn't bother correcting the term. "This king has one hundred howitzers and around eight hundred shells."
He didn't reveal the full number. For the upcoming battle, a hundred howitzers and that many shells were more than sufficient.
Mu Changtian asked again, "Your Highness, those shells… were those what you just fired?"
Lu Chen nodded. "Correct. The howitzer is simply the launching mechanism. The real power lies in the shell."
As he spoke, Lu Chen squatted beside the wooden crate holding the ammunition and opened it, pulling out a shell.
Everyone present fell into deep thought.
Great Xia definitely didn't have the technological capacity to produce such a thing.
Where had the King of Bei obtained such devastating weapons?
Mu Jingwu finally spoke up, "Your Highness, is there any way for us to manufacture these shells?"
Lu Chen replied calmly, "Not yet. But it won't be long before we can produce something similar."
That statement instantly ignited excitement in everyone present.
If they could mass-produce such fearsome weapons—then in the future, who in Great Xia, or beyond, could possibly stand against the Northern King?
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