Iron Axe knew he was under surveillance.
The Orion participants in the test explosion were relocated to a two-story building near the castle. From the windows, one could see a stone wall encircling the area, with guards stationed at the entrance and exit.
He couldn't care less about it, even finding it downright reckless of Your Highness to send just two bodyguards as guards.
To this day, the thunderous roar of that test explosion still reverberates in Iron Axe's mind—no weapon had ever struck him with such overwhelming force. In the Far South, he witnessed the crimson flames erupting from the earth's depths, burning for decades; at the Endless Cape, he faced winds and waves that swallowed the sky... Yet the will of Heaven remains unfathomable. These are the decrees of Mother Earth or the Sea God, the iron whip God has ordained to punish all living beings.
Yet Your Royal Highness, through sheer willpower, usurped the divine authority of the Three Gods and attained a power verging on divine retribution—though still far from the thunderous might of the true Heavenly Father, it was a realm beyond human reach.
In Iron Sand City, any participant deemed useful would typically have their tongue cut out. Of course, this was not the most secure measure—only the dead could remain eternally bound to secrecy. As for outsiders? A single glance at them was considered blasphemous, and no foreigner could ever join the core echelons of the Mojin tribe.
Though aware of his half-tribal heritage, Prince still permitted him to witness the Fire of Heaven's Wrath firsthand and even tasked him with leading the Orion Order. This trust stirred a surge of passion within Iron Axe.
In Iron Sand City, he endured countless betrayals and schemes before fleeing to the southern borderlands of Graycastle. The racial divide between the Sandfolk and the Continentals, with each group claiming half of his bloodline, subjected him to relentless discrimination. Desperate and disillusioned, he eventually made his way to Border Town, where he resolved to spend the rest of his days hunting. Little did he know, it was here that he would earn the favor of Your Royal Highness.
He was certain that with this new weapon, His Highness Roland Wimbledon would undoubtedly win the contest for the crown.
The thought of serving the future King filled Iron Axe with excitement.
"Everyone, assemble downstairs!" Iron Axe heard the call and peered out, only to find the Fourth Prince's Chief Knight, Carter Lannis, approaching.
He immediately straightened his attire, hurried downstairs, and stood at attention before Carter. Having participated in the militia's training, he knew Your Highness favored disciplined and uniform troops. The other hunters, however, moved much more slowly, and it took the six of them about thirty minutes to form a proper line.
"Old place, come with me." Carter didn't care much, leading a group out the door straight toward the city walls.
It was the same location as the previous test explosion, but no security cordon was set up this time.
At the scene, besides Roland, there were four Knights—all under Carter's command. Iron Axe noticed Your Royal Highness fiddling with a peculiarly shaped metal rod in his hand while explaining something to the Knights.
When Roland saw the group with the iron axe, he stepped forward and asked, "How's it going? Are you comfortable with your new place yet?" "Thank you, Your Highness, for your concern," they replied, bowing in greeting and all expressing that their new home was very cozy.
Iron Axe thought the new place was far better than the old one. At least it wouldn't leak, and the roof wasn't made of light-transmitting straw, but neatly arranged tiles.
"That's perfect," Roland nodded. "The current arrangement is for safety. Once the Demon's Month ends, you'll be able to return home. I've already paid your families for the first month's wages, and you'll have weekly visits with them—of course, accompanied by guards." "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness," the Orion hunters said cheerfully.
Iron Axe was genuinely taken aback. Setting aside the ironclad rules of the Sandfolk, even the Graycastle army's administration should not be so lax. Could this be due to Your Highness's personal tolerance? He felt a vague unease—striving for the throne demanded ruthlessness, a lesson he had learned all too well in Iron Sand City.
But when the Fourth Prince announced they were testing a new gunpowder-based weapon, Iron Axe instantly brushed aside all his worries. Without blinking, he stared as the Prince presented two oddly shaped iron rods to the crowd.
"This thing is called a 'firearm'," Roland said, "and now I'll show you how to use it."
The blacksmith had mastered the new weapon in half an hour.
The black powder that can attract the fire of divine punishment—namely gunpowder—is poured into the barrel, a lead pellet is inserted, and the rod is thrust straight to the bottom. Then, gunpowder is poured into the rear chamber, aiming at the target, and the trigger is pulled.
Though he considered himself gifted in combat, adept with swords, knives, hammers, axes, and spears, these skills were honed through years of rigorous training and real combat. To master a single weapon in half an hour—such speed could only be matched by a hand crossbow.
The other musket was handed to Carter.
Chief Knight was equally fascinated by this novel weapon, and once he picked it up, he couldn't put it down.
After several rounds of simulated drills, Roland had the two men conduct live-fire tests. The target was already set up—a half-body plate armor propped up by wooden poles, positioned about thirty feet (approximately 10 meters) away by two other Knights.
Iron Axe and Carter aimed horizontally and pulled the trigger, following Prince's instructions on the shooting method.
The deafening boom of the first shot sent everyone present into shock, and Iron Axe was no exception. But soon, all faces turned to astonishment.
A small hole appeared on the target's half-body plate armor. The lead bullet cleanly penetrated the thickest part of the plate armor's front section.
Before the strike, Iron Axe had scrutinized the armor. It was unmistakably not some shoddy handcrafted item. The forged hammer and anvil marks on the collar confirmed it was a standard Graycastle blacksmith's armor. The thickest section at the front was about half an inch thick, providing enough protection against close-range crossbow fire. For such iron canisters, heavy crossbows, war hammers, or long spears were the wiser choice.
By comparison, the musket, though equally user-friendly, far outperforms the crossbow in power. Its loading speed matches the crossbow's, but when it comes to accuracy... a thirty-foot target doesn't tell the whole story.
"Your Highness, the production of this item..." Carter began to ask.
"Right now, we only have these two. When the Demon's Moon arrives, we'll produce at most two more," Iron Axe said, noticing Carter's obvious relief. He could roughly guess Carter's thoughts—if such weapons were easy to make, just a few days of basic training could train a large number of quick-to-learn "warriors" armed with muskets. They weren't limited by age, profession, or even gender—even frail women could pose a serious threat to Knight.
Though not as devastating as the Heavenly Punishment Fire, it was still a formidable weapon. Iron Axe mused that its immense power allowed him to effortlessly slay some tough, large-scale evil beasts on the city walls. Had he possessed a musket when facing the hybrid beasts back then, the outcome might have been far less disastrous.
Only Roland truly understood the real meaning of this weapon.
He himself opened the curtain of the war of the hot weapon.