Release That Witch

Roland had been thinking about bullets for the revolving firearms. Circular lead bullets and loose gunpowder were an arrangement that was simply too backward. Taking Anna's ability into consideration, the direct manufacture of copper shells for ammunition was technically feasible. The key concern was that there did not have a reliable primer to ignite the black gunpowder in the cartridge for reliable firing.     

In early times, the outer shell of the ammunition was generally made out of mercury fulminate which was extremely sensitive to impact. When one pulled the trigger, it would stimulate the firing pin, and hit the base of the bullet. The mercury fulminate would flare up, igniting the black powder, and eject the bullet from the chamber.     

It was unfortunate that even after breaking his head over it, he still could not recall the necessary raw materials he needed for the mercury fulminate. From a literal point of view, he would definitely need nitric acid and mercury. However, if he looked at the result of the chemical equation he had written down, it became apparent that these two substances would only produce nitric acid together.     

In addition, knowing the raw materials was not equal to the successful production of finished products. Roland would still have to discover the right concentration and temperature for the reactive process, and whether he still needed to add another catalyst or not were also key factors in the production of the finished product. Moreover, because of the sensitive properties of mercury, it was easy to trigger an explosion during the manufacturing process. If it exploded one could easily lose a few fingers, so Roland was afraid of trying it out personally.     

So, Roland had no alternative but to settle for the second-best option, using metal shells but keeping the old flintlock ignition. This required that the spark could enter the interior of the shell to ignite the gunpowder. So, he had to leave a hole in the bottom of the shell, but he still had to find a method which would prevent the gunpowder from leaking.     

Obviously, these two points were contradictory to each other: the greater the opening, the faster the leakage of gunpowder. Yet if the opening was too small, it would become too difficult for the spark to ignite the gunpowder.     

He needed something that would allow the spark to ignite the powder, while at the same time blocking the hole, to prevent the leakage of gunpowder.     

Roland's first thought was nitrocotton, also known as guncotton.     

It was one of the few chemicals which he still remembered that could be used for weapons because it had such a simple production method: the cotton just had to be soaked in two strong acids. The two acids it used were the commonly available sulfuric acid and nitric acid, and there would be no danger involved in producing them. Even though he had wanted to wait for the hopefully soon, arriving alchemist, he now had a deadline of seven days. It was time to roll up his sleeves and get to work.     

Taking the quill, Roland began to write down his long-standing idea on draft paper.     

The first ingredient he needed was cotton, and the best cotton was yarn that had not been woven or dyed. It was exactly this kind that he had brought back with him from his visit to Duke Ryan's castle, and was now also piling up in his warehouse. The cotton yarn needed to be skimmed. Otherwise the grease attached to its surface would prevent the nitrification. He was already familiar with the material required for removing the oil, which was sodium hydroxide, also known as lye or caustic soda. It was also one of the raw materials needed for making soap. To produce soap, one had to add fat to caustic soda, and then stir it until it became solid. Afterward it could be used as washing soap. But Roland had been too busy developing industrial and agricultural technology and defending Border Town against foreign enemies. He had not found any time to invent this kind of daily necessity yet.     

As for how to prepare sodium hydroxide, the simplest method was probably to electrolyze salt water. So the prince found that in order to build a new bullet, the first thing he had to develop was a DC generator.     

*******************     

Ashes walked along Redwater River, feeling somewhat depressed.     

Since the other witches now knew that she had come to Border Town to take the witches of the Witch Cooperation Association away, their attitude towards her had cooled down considerably. There was no longer any of the warmth she had received last night.     

Moreover, she noted that most of the witches practiced their ability in the castle backyard. Roland had also found the way to avoid suffering the demonic bite. Originally Ashes had wanted to use this vital piece of intelligence to show her goodwill toward the other witches, but that plan had been unexpectedly shattered right from the beginning. She had nearly nothing else left to persuade them to move.     

What surprised Ashes the most was Roland Wimbledon. His appearance had not changed much, but there was an indescribable temperament in his gestures, very different from his previous image as a dandy.     

How could this be? Previously, he had been fairly incompetent. When he was in trouble the first thing for him would be to escape, he had never stood up for others, and even if a problem was clearly caused by him, he had been afraid to take on any responsibility. That time when he had thought about harassing her, she only needed to throw him a hateful look, to make him fall to the ground in panic. But she had later heard from Tilly, that he had claimed that he had fallen by accident, and that Princess Tilly was at fault for having such an ugly woman as her personal guard?     

Since then, Ashes' impression of Prince Roland had fallen to the lowest possible ranking.     

Previously she had believed that such a type of person would be easy for her to handle, but during today's negotiation she had failed to gain the upper hand. Especially after he suggested a one-on-one duel, she discovered that her threat of using military force would not work, since he had not thought about escaping. Instead, it might even have had the complete opposite effect. Threatening him personally had also reduced the other witches positive impressions on her.     

Ashes sighed. If she could be as smart as Tilly, every problem that appeared before her could be easily solved. If Tilly were faced with a situation like this, she would surely have been able to come up with a solution, right? If she had not wanted to help Tilly as much as possible, Ashes would have taken the next ship heading to Port of Clearwater and left the Kingdom of Graycastle as soon as possible.     

Unconsciously, she found herself outside the town. On the other side of the river, there was no longer a lush wheat field, but instead unclaimed woodland.     

When Ashes was ready to turn back, she suddenly felt the fluctuation of magic power behind her. Subconsciously turning her head, she saw a dagger coming directly towards her cheek, slicing horizontally. The magic power fluctuation had transformed into surging waves, and Ashes suddenly felt a piercing pain in her cheek. The other person's systematic and coherent skills were clearly nothing one could expect from an ordinary person. Ashes no longer hesitated. Putting aside her passive attitude, she concentrated on avoiding the dagger. She put all her strength on one foot and jumped out of the way.     

Her opponent disappeared into thin air, and then appeared behind her within a blink of an eye. Ashes was totally unable to follow her opponent's movement.     

She drew her giant sword and rotated quickly, creating a dull roaring sound. Dust rose up from the ground. She launched an all-directional attack with her sword but the enemy evaded. In front of this unknown enemy, even this trick attack of hers ended in complete failure. When her sword swept through the attacker's vanishing position, it encountered nothing.     

"This is terrible," she thought. Every muscle in her body became tight, and she was ready to encounter the next round of attacks, but then the shadow disappeared in front of her. Dust settled slowly, and the person again appeared near Ashes, playing with the dagger she held in her hand.     

It was Nightingale.     

"Is this a warning?" Ashes asked, frowning.     

"Of course not," Nightingale said, putting her dagger back on her waist. "I just wanted to see the strength of an Extraordinary."     

"Really? I thought that you wanted to say..."     

"Do you think I would force you into leaving Border Town so quickly, or otherwise be rude to you?" Nightingale interrupted her. "If that was the case, there would be no difference between Cara and me."     

Cara? Why would she mention the former leader of the Witch Cooperation Association? Ashes was confused.     

"You can rest assured that I won't hinder you from approaching any of my sisters. If anyone is willing to leave with you, I don't think His Royal Highness will stop you. I certainly won't. But..." Nightingale paused. "If you threaten to hurt His Highness, I guarantee you that next time I won't be deliberately stabbing the air beside you." Here she grinned and then disappeared into thin air. "Enjoy your time in Border Town."     

Sure enough, it was a warning. Ashes shook her head.