Release That Witch

On the promised fifth day, Roland finally finished preparing all the ingredients needed to produce guncotton.     

He made a serious error during the electrolysis of the salt water. He used the copper strips Anna cut out as the electrodes, causing the electrodes to dissolve. He ended up wasting an entire pot of the salt water. Saturated brine was typically used to prevent the dissolution of chlorine in water during the electrolysis process, but salt in this era was not an inexpensive, everyday item. He felt like he was uselessly throwing away gold royals when discarding the contaminated salt water. He was finally able to solve the issue after using carbon rods as the electrodes.     

He boiled the caustic soda with water to remove the grease. When he ended up with grease-free cotton gauzes, he brought the rest of the caustic soda to the chemistry lab.     

The esterification of guncotton was the most important step of the process. Roland was not entirely sure of the theory, only that he needed to soak the gauze in acid and remove it after nitrification. He did not know anything about the acid ratio or reaction time. Roland told Kyle to form multiple teams to conduct the experiment. Hourglasses were used to control their timing. They repeatedly washed the gauze after soaking in acid, before soaking them again in sodium hydroxide solution. The wet gauzes were then taken to the castle for Wendy to dry.     

They used concentrated nitric acid during the esterification, so most of the trial products were inflamed very quickly. Among them, the gauze soaked in the 1:2 ratio of nitric acid and sulfuric acid produced the best result. After obtaining a general prescription, the lab started the mass production of guncotton. After soaking and washing, the soldiers from the First Army took them away. Not even the chief alchemist knew the use of the guncotton they created.     

The maids would cut the dried gauze into squares the size of a fingernail, where the gauzes were delivered to North Slope Mountain in boxes. They would end up in the backyard of the firing room. Without machines, these procedures had to be done by manpower. Seated scattered on the ground, the guards used wooden sticks to push the guncotton towards the bottom of the shell and seal the ignition hole. Black gunpowder was then poured into the shell with a funnel and compacted. They tried to make sure the amount of gunpowder in each shell was the same.     

The last step was to force the bullets in. Anna's bullets were well-fitted with the shell. They only needed to push the bullets in with their hands and use a hammer to tap it lightly.     

Despite the somewhat inefficient procedures, they could still produce hundreds of bullets within a day. On the sixth day, Carter tried the new weapon. As a competent chief knight, Carter's hit rate saw a dramatic improvement after a few days of continuous training. He performed much better than when he was undergoing Roland's rifle practice for his military training.     

After the creation of bullets, Carter no longer had to hold the flintlock in an unnatural position with his wrist crooked downwards. As long as the guncotton remained intact, the cartridge would remain clean. Carter was a hundred times more sensitive to sparks than the black gunpowder, allowing him to fire accurately.     

On the last day, Roland took advantage of the remaining time they had and made Carter Lannis practice quick gun-drawing and double-gun shot. The 12mm caliber pistol had a considerable recoil even when using black gunpowder. When the pistol was used with one hand, it was difficult to maintain the accuracy of the second shot. However, in Roland's plan, this was his last resort if Ashes attacked him in a close combat.     

Carter would enter the battlefield with double pistols. In a long battle, 10 bullets would be enough to determine the outcome. If it became a close combat, he could use the other gun to fight back. Considering that the enemy was using defensive weapons, Roland chose rigid iron-made bullets to increase the penetrating power and lessen the cavity lethality at the same time. Due to the technology limitations of this era, it was likely that the giant sword Ashes owned was made out of cast iron. Its lavish appearance would not enhance its quality. The poor forgery of the huge iron weapon would instead cause imbalanced internal stress and would not make a good shield. In Roland's opinion, the giant sword would turn out to be a useless weapon. If his luck was not particularly bad, the possibility of her winning was pretty low.     

If Ashes wanted to defeat Carter, she had to get close to the knight. This was the disadvantage of cold weapons compared to hot weapons. If the ability of Ashes was not as insane as being able to visualize the ballistic trajectory and dodge the bullets, she would have no chance to defeat Carter.     

*******************     

It was close to the evening when Ashes finally saw Maggie fly back to their room.     

"Why are you back so late these days?" she asked, closing the window.     

"Lightning took me to catch the birds." Maggie transformed back into her human shape and took out a roasted bird thigh. The room was full of the delicious smell. "I bought one for you too," said Maggie.     

"I've already eaten." Ashes shook her head. "Is Lightning a witch of the Witch Cooperation Association?"     

"Yes." Maggie nodded enthusiastically. "She has the same flying ability, but she's much more agile when using the ability." After a short pause, she asked, "Sister Ashes, must you have to fight this battle? I think... they wouldn't follow you. Their lives here are good."     

Ashes was stunned, but she did not answer.     

"Even I want to stay here." Maggie sat on the bed. "The bed is soft and the food is good. At lunch, I saw Prince Roland bringing his plate to the backyard and eating with the witches. Everyone seemed to have a good time. The prince would occasionally talk, too. He's totally different from those detestable nobles. Lightning took me to play Gwent in the afternoon. It's a game where two parties draw 10 cards each to compete. The one with the bigger number would win. It's really fun. They gave me two sets of the cards. Sister Ashes, do you want to play? I can teach you."     

"No..." Ashes shook her head and took a deep breath. She noticed the change in Maggie. However, she did not realize she was mistaken until this moment.     

Most witches lived their lives in fear and insecurity. A shelter for them to live in peace was all they coveted. Take Maggie for example. She had to hide in a cottage room in the slums of King's City before Tilly accepted her. Like a real bird, she squeezed herself into the narrow beams of the roof to pass each night. Even when Tilly decided to cross the ocean to the east, Maggie ran around to inform the witches hidden in the cities. She did not rest for half a year. It was probably the very first time she lived such a peaceful life.     

Was it not the same for her? It was only after meeting Tilly that she began to experience a life she had never once imagine in the past. Ashes was used to the peaceful life in the palace, but she neglected the meaning of the small town to the witches. The sense of belonging was the most priceless thing for them. They wanted to stay here and protect the land just like how Ashes wanted to protect Tilly.     

If Roland Wimbledon could indeed withstand the fanatical God's Punishment Army as he had said, then this place would be a better choice than the Fjord without question. It was tempting to establish the kingdom of witches in an unfamiliar place, but no one could predict how many more hardships would come.     

But if he could not withstand the army, should the witches leave?     

Her emotions suddenly calmed.     

If she thought about it from another perspective, Ashes would still stand by Tilly and protect her even if Tilly could not keep a foothold in Fjords. Tilly was the person who granted a home to her. Ashes had no reason to leave her.     

"This place is under the constant threat of the Church. If they could not withstand the God's Punishment Army, Border Town would be destroyed sooner or later."     

There was no longer any need to insist on this battle anymore... But she still decided to do it anyway, whether for admonition or perhaps even proof.     

"What if they could do it?" Maggie mumbled.     

"I hope so. So I'll help them prove this," Ashes said in a low voice.     

She closed her eyes and made the mental preparation to give it her all.