Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 198 Weapon Upgrade
As Louis and Mike were discussing the mass production armor plan, a series of hurried footsteps broke the lively atmosphere.

"My lord!" A young knight, covered in sweat, rushed into the main hall, stopped, and, slightly out of breath, saluted.

"Lord Hillco asked me to inform you that the magic explosion bombs you ordered to be prototyped are all ready! They are now waiting for your inspection and testing in the alchemy workshop!"

Louis's lips curled slightly upon hearing this, clearly in a very good mood: "Heh...it seems today is truly a good day."

He turned to Mike, his tone filled with interest: "Why don't you bring a few of your core craftsmen along for a look? I happen to have some business to attend to and need their help."

Mike was taken aback: "The alchemy workshop... I can get involved in it?"

Despite his doubts, he readily nodded, for he would never refuse Louis's orders.

Surrounded by a group of craftsmen and knights, Louis rode to the alchemy workshop outside Red Tide City.

…………

Outside the alchemy workshop, the air still lingered with the thick scent of magic potions.

The first thing that catches the eye is Hilko's face, which is almost bursting with joy.

He waited at the door himself, almost unable to contain his excitement as he came forward to greet them.

"Lord Louis, you've come at the perfect time!" His eyebrows almost rose to his forehead. "You must see for yourself this; it's absolutely the pinnacle of my alchemical career!"

Before Louis could respond, he turned impatiently and walked toward a table in the corner of the inner room.

The table was covered with thick, multi-layered fireproof cloth, with an irregular raised outline in the middle.

"Ding-ding-ding-!"

He lifted the curtain with both hands, revealing what lay beneath it as if presenting a treasure.

A dark red, egg-shaped object lay quietly on the table, about half an arm's length long. Its shell gleamed with a cold metallic light and was covered with a strange, dark, semi-transparent coating that shimmered slightly, as if it were quietly absorbing the magic in the air.

"The outer shell is made of cold iron, and I've lightened it without sacrificing strength," Hilko said rapidly, like a child eager to show off.
"The core ingredients are purified magic marrow, red platinum crystals, and fire scale ointment. You know, when fire scale ointment meets red platinum magic crystals, whoever tries to stop it dies!"

Mike, who was standing nearby, gasped and looked at the alchemical egg with a complicated expression.

I have a vague suspicion that if this thing explodes in the city, it might send the alchemy workshop to its doom.

Louis simply nodded, unperturbed by the fancy terminology and exaggerated explanations.

"There's no point in saying more," he said calmly, his gaze fixed on the magic bomb as if it were a work of art awaiting verification. "Let's just test it."

The test site was set up in a desolate open space outside Red Tide City.

The cold wind howled, yet the wilderness was eerily quiet, as if an impending explosion was imminent.

The test target was already in place.

Those were three adult Ice Wild Boars, their bodies covered in thick ice shells and grayish-blue fur.

It was nearly two meters long, with muscles bulging like rocks, and a pair of blood-red beast eyes staring intently at the crowd, its nostrils snorting hot air.

This wild boar is a cold-region-specific variant of the wasteland wild boar. It is fierce and difficult to tame, with thick skin and meat, and extremely high fire resistance.

Even a fully-fledged knight wielding a sharp sword would find it difficult to pierce their skin.

That is why they were chosen as the victims of this experiment and were tied to the demon bomb at 10, 20, and 30 meters away, respectively.

They were firmly fixed to giant iron stakes by thick black iron chains, with each of their four limbs wrapped around them and gripping the ground tightly.

A metal ring muzzle was added to its head to prevent it from escaping after being bitten.

Even when bound, this dangerous beast would still struggle, roar, and howl, its chains clanging loudly.

On the distant rock platform, Louis, Mike, and Hilco stood side by side, with a group of knights and craftsmen behind them.

Everyone was on high alert, the atmosphere was tense yet expectant.

Hilko, his face beaming with barely suppressed excitement, murmured, "Come on, come on, come on..."

Louis's gaze was calm, his tone low and clear: "Let's begin."

The flag bearer, upon receiving the order, swung his arm, and the crimson flag flew out with a whoosh!

The knight in the distance swiftly lit the fuse embedded in the magic bomb, and the bomb activated in an instant, flashing a barely perceptible purplish-red light.

"Giddy up!" The knight immediately pulled on the reins and spurred his horse to gallop away from the explosion area.

The silent, detonating bomb lay quietly in the center of the chain, like a still pebble.

However, at the moment it was lit, all sounds seemed to freeze in the air.

The crimson shell that had defeated the magic bomb trembled slightly, and the next instant—!
boom! ! !
The instant the Magic Marrow Crystal Core came into contact with the Red Platinum Magic Crystal, it was as if a small sun had been ignited.

A blinding red light suddenly converged at the explosion point, like the opening of a fiery pupil that devours everything.

The ground began to crack rapidly under the intense heat and pressure, and waves of heat surged out like a hammer, swirling up loose soil and weeds in the hot wind, burning and turning into smoke and dust.

The core melt layer of the Fire Scale Paste was detonated in the second second.

Crimson liquid flames suddenly erupted, like an angry serpent roaring out of the ground, whipping up a three-meter-high pillar of fire.

Flames scattered and spewed out, drawing eerie yet elegant arcs of fire that tumbled in the air like blooming flowers of hell.

The temperature in the epicenter instantly exceeded 1,500 degrees Celsius.

The distorted heatwave continuously compressed the air, and black dust rose up, obscuring half the sky.

boom! ! !
A deafening roar, like thunder, shattered the heavens and the earth, unleashing a raging torrent of wind.

Gravel and soil flew like a torrential rain, and even the stone wall behind the observation platform trembled slightly.

The crimson flames spread rapidly along with the air currents.

The shockwave carved a flat, round "fire arc" into the ground, indiscriminately unleashing carnage in all directions.

The iron chain emitted a painful groan, rapidly deforming and turning red-hot in the extreme heat, before finally snapping and falling to the ground with a clang.

The chains broke, but the three icy wild boars bound to them did not escape; instead, they struggled and roared in the firelight.

Their supposedly "fire-immune" fur quickly began to char and turn to ash, and their ice armor cracked and crumbled.

The exposed skin and flesh also quickly rolled over and charred.

In just two seconds, the wild boar's howls were swallowed up by the merciless flames.

Only charred remains lay clinging to the scorching ground, resembling molten statues.

Observing from a distance, Louis estimated the kill radius to be around ten meters, providing precise and effective coverage.

After the fire subsided, the ground was left charred black, barren of vegetation, with embers still burning, while the remaining flames of the fire scale ointment licked everything like tiny tongues.

Even objects that are not directly hit will be baked, charred, and destroyed within ten seconds if they come into contact with these blazing flames.

After a few seconds, the pillar of fire gradually subsided, but the flames still flickered in the scorching air, like the embers of victory after everything had been burned away.

After the explosion, all that remained in my ears was the buzzing of the aftershocks.

After the initial roar, the world seemed to fall into a brief period of deafness, with only the sound of embers burning in the wind and the echo of stones shattering on the ground.

The air was filled with the combined smell of blood and coke, mixed with ashes, floating in the firelight.

The flames gradually died down, but the smoke lingered. The people on the high platform remained silent for a long time.

Mike broke the silence first, not by speaking, but by suddenly gasping for breath.

His eyes widened as he stared intently at the charred ruins, his lips trembling slightly.

"This...this can actually be used on humans?" His voice was hoarse with disbelief. "Even magical beasts...were left with nothing but bones..."

Even though he was a tough guy who had fought on the battlefield for ten years, his back was soaked with sweat and his throat felt like it was being scraped by burnt sand.

Not to mention the craftsmen responsible for monitoring and recording, all of them were pale-faced, as if they had just peeked back from the edge of hell.

Although no one was actually scared enough to wet their pants, everyone was sweating profusely, their eyes darted around, and they could barely stand.

“This is my creation…”

Hilko, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. He crossed his arms and wore an almost morbidly blissful smile.

"Did you see that wave of fire unfold?! It was absolutely mesmerizing! Ah... I can't resist trying out the other one too!"

Louis glanced at him sideways, speechless at his excited expression, but a rare look of shock also appeared on his face.

He wasn't unfamiliar with things of incredible power, but this thing... truly exceeded his expectations.

"That's a bit too much," he said in a low voice.

But simply observing from a distance is not enough.

After confirming that the temperature in the epicenter had dropped slightly, Louis, along with Mike, Hilco, and several well-protected knights and recorders, cautiously stepped into the center of the explosion.

Beneath our feet lay vast stretches of scorched earth, the soil completely carbonized, cracking and crunching underfoot.

The plant roots and stems had vanished without a trace, yet the air still carried the smell of burning flesh and bone.

Those Ice Wild Boars, once hailed as "Wilderness Tanks"—high-firepower, magic-resistant beasts—now had no intact corpses to be identified.

At the end closest to the detonation point, only half of the collapsed skeleton remained; the rest of the body had been completely melted and charred, with ashes scattered in the wind, and even the iron chain was reduced to a charred red section.

The second one barely managed to leave behind a charred remains, but all its fur and skin had vanished, leaving only cracked bones inlaid with burn marks. Fire scales were still licking and burning on the remains, the flames glowing a dark red, extremely eerie.

The third head was on the edge; although the torso remained, the entire back was charred and cracked, like pieces of flesh torn apart by the hand of hell, utterly lifeless.

The surrounding area within an eight-meter radius was completely cleared, barren of everything, with even the rock surfaces showing signs of carbonization and peeling. Based on the pitiful state of these three Ice Wild Boars, one can infer the power of this magic bomb.

Within ten meters, they are directly burned and completely carbonized.

Within 20 meters, the high temperature will burn any living thing and it will die.

Within 30 meters, the blast wave can cause shock and cracking, possessing destructive and armor-piercing capabilities.

“It’s not just firepower.” Louis crouched down, examined the wreckage, and said slowly, “Fire scales are adhesive when they burn. Even if the surface of the target is burned away, the bones will continue to burn.”

He flicked a piece of bone, and sparks flew out instantly, almost burning the gauntlet.

"And the penetrating power of the blast." He looked at the Ice Wild Boar lying dead on the edge of the scorched earth in the far distance, a hint of solemnity in his eyes.

"Even though it was 20 meters away from the epicenter, the fire didn't reach it, but look, the skeleton was cracked, the internal organs were shattered on the spot, and blood was flowing from all seven orifices."

Mike swallowed hard: "Good heavens... if even these tough, fire-resistant wild boars are like this, what would happen to those heat-sensitive insects if they were called out?"

Louis pondered for a moment, then looked towards the far end of the wasteland.

"Compared to the previous 'Ice and Fire Dual Heaven' magic bomb, although it no longer contains ice mist and poison gas, this 'high-purity magic bomb'... has increased its pure firepower by at least three to five times."

He squinted, as if he could already see the mother hive howling in the flames.

“There are still some drawbacks.” Louis stood up and brushed the dust off his gloves. “The main problem is that it’s too expensive.”

As he spoke, he held up three fingers: "Magic Marrow, Red Platinum Magic Crystal, and Fire Scale Ointment."

"The first two are fine, we stockpiled quite a lot before—especially the magic marrow, the mine is stable and we can supply it."

“But Fire Scale Ointment…” he sighed, “The Fire Scale Viper was only just captured, and even if we manage to extract enough, it’s only enough to maintain a small-scale bomb.”

Upon hearing this, Hilko gave a soft snort, but he also understood the limitations of reality.

“That’s what you call a work of art. Anything that can be mass-produced is destined to lack soul.” He shrugged. “But what do you want to do?”

Louis glanced at him sideways: "We can build ten high-powered versions, specifically for core targets."

For the rest, make a medium-power, low-spec version, reduce the proportion of fire scale paste, weaken the temperature and burst amplitude, and prioritize ensuring quantity.

For example, if the radius is reduced to within five meters, the fire wave will be lower, but the shockwave will still be present.

Louis thought that the powerful ones could be used to destroy the mother nest, while the weaker ones could be thrown in large quantities, enough to clear the nest and drive away insects.

After listening, Hilko nodded: "Okay, I'll go back and change the proportions, and make three versions of the recipe."

However, if Firescale Vipers ever become bred, I still want to create an ultimate version without any nerfs. I could even make it bloom a fiery lotus flower, burning a crater into the entire mountain.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and his voice was filled with an almost fanatical ecstasy, as if he could already see the flames engulfing the heavens and the earth.

Louis smiled helplessly, already used to this madman's sudden "artistic madness".

After all, he was also a bomb fanatic, so he could understand the feeling of creating a bomb of this caliber.

Then Louis turned around, looked at Mike, and smiled, "Old Mike, you weren't scared, were you?"

"Wow, this thing... it's pretty powerful. But then again, it's nothing special."

Mike clicked his tongue, a forced smile on his lips, but his eyes couldn't help but glance at the charred and upturned mound that had just been blasted by the magic bomb.

He was so shaken that he almost fell off the rock, but now he's standing up straight.

"Like that?" Louis raised an eyebrow at him, a smile playing on his lips.

Mike stroked his beard, which was curled by sparks, and coughed. "Well, okay, that was intense. But as for whether I've ever seen an explosion like that... back in my day, when I was repairing oil tanks in the army..."

“Mike,” Louis interrupted him, getting straight to the point, “I need you to build a launcher. One that’s farther, more accurate, and more stable than the short-barreled cannons you made before.”

He casually unfolded a neatly folded sheet of paper, a sketch he had drawn earlier:
A short, thick metal launch tube with a tail structure for ignition and launch;

It is equipped with an adjustable elevation angle device for throwing at different distances;
Below is a folding tripod, which facilitates terrain adaptation and stable shooting.

The edges of the drawing also had a few lines of text scrawled on them: "Modular design", "Useful in rain and snow", "Quickly disassembled and portable".

“None of these conditions can be omitted.” Louis looked at Mike. “You have so many talented people under you now, don’t say it’s not possible.”

Mike's eyes lit up as he looked at the blueprints: "This idea... wow, you really dare to think of such a thing."

He straightened up, rubbing his chin, the surprise in his eyes turning into excitement. "If we could really build it, this thing could traverse mountains and destroy formations. Let alone the Snow Oathbreakers, it could blow the brains out of Frost Giants..."

But honestly, if someone else had said this idea, I would have laughed it off. I believe you though.

As he said this, his tone suddenly carried a hint of barely perceptible emotion: "My lord, you are the lord I have met in recent years who is most capable of using both his brain and his courage together."

He wasn't the kind of lord who only dreamed, nor was he the kind who only knew how to fight recklessly. If you had appeared in the North ten years earlier, perhaps this land wouldn't have so many troublemakers now.

Louis said softly, "You're exaggerating."

Mike then seemed to realize he had said too much, so he coughed and changed the subject: "Hey, I'll take this job. I'll need to pick a few capable craftsmen with steady hands and quick minds to do it... I'll make a list of materials, and I'll need your help in allocating them later."

“Okay.” Louis nodded, his gaze sweeping over the craftsmen present. “You will be in charge of the main design and manufacturing. I will find a way to allocate the materials.”

“Leave it to me.” Mike grinned.

Just as Mike and Lewis were engrossed in discussing the structural details of the launcher, the area was cleared out.

Hilko made a grand entrance once again, his expression as confident as ever, even tinged with pride.

“My lord, since the Magic Bomb has satisfied you, then allow me to continue demonstrating the true charm of the Fire Scale Ointment.” As he spoke, Hilko waved his hand, signaling his assistant to place a Cold Iron Bucket on the table.

The assistants moved quickly, placing the bucket steadily, and then lifted the lid to reveal a black and red liquid flowing out, slowly bubbling like lava.

“This isn’t ordinary kerosene.” Hilko raised his eyebrows dramatically. “It’s been catalyzed by fire scale ointment, and with the addition of a very small amount of refined magic essence, once ignited…”

He snapped his fingers, and his assistant immediately lit a sample in the distance.

boom!
Flames seemed to suddenly leap from the ground, and a three-meter-high wave of fire shot straight into the air.

The heat was intense, and the air was thick with the scorching smell of burning sulfur.

Mike clicked his tongue in amazement and muttered under his breath, "Wow, if you poured a whole bucket of this stuff on someone, there wouldn't even be any bones left..."

But Hilco wasn't finished: "And it won't go out in rain or snow; it can burn steadily for several minutes even in mud or puddles."

Louis squinted at it for a while, then shook his head slightly: "It's not that it can't be used... but it's too complicated and not cost-effective. This level of high temperature and sustained heat is not enough to match the rarity of Fire Scale Ointment."

Hilko shrugged and spread his hands: "Sir, as you know, I'm not particularly interested in weapons other than magic explosions. How about... you come up with the idea, and I'll make it?"

Louis did not answer immediately upon hearing this, but lowered his head and remained silent for a moment, his gaze falling on the charred ground left after the fire scale ointment had burned out.

The heat still lingered in the air, like a battlefield that had not yet subsided.

He began to piece together various fragmented inspirations and images in his mind.

Louis suddenly looked up, a glint of inspiration flashing in his eyes.

“If it weren’t splashing,” he muttered to himself, “but instead… spraying it out directly?”

He thought of the weapons that had been phased out in his previous life.

It wasn't an explosion thrown out, but a close-range, continuous spray of flames that caused damage.

The raging flame held in his hand was like a released fire serpent, burning everything in its path.

The insect corpse's struggling limbs were burned and twisted in mid-air, forced out, twisted, and charred by the high temperature.

That's right, it's a flamethrower.

In an instant, Louis had a rough idea in his mind.

Hilko blinked, looking at him suspiciously, and asked, "Spray...out?"

“Yes.” Louis’s eyes sharpened, his tone resolute. “Using the viscosity and high ignition point of the fire scale paste, combined with a compression ejection system, we can create a controllable flame path.”

As he spoke, he picked up a pen and paper, and with a flick of his wrist, sketched a simple and clear structural diagram on the parchment.

"This is the main jar, used to hold fire scale oil... You can think of it as a super fire oil made by alchemy. Once ignited, the temperature can exceed 600 degrees Celsius, and it can continue to burn in any environment."

"The other canister contains compressed gas, like a powerful air pump. It's not for ignition, but rather for 'spraying out kerosene'."

"The kerosene is 'pushed' by compressed gas at the back and sprayed through a metal pipe to the nozzle at the front."

"The nozzle should have an igniter inside, like a flint. When you press the trigger, it will spark. The oil will spray out, and the spark will ignite it, turning it into a real tongue of flame."

Upon hearing this, Hilko's previously nonchalant expression became focused, and he couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement: "...Sir, you really dare to think so."

“Don’t just stand there and look,” Louis slapped the blueprints into his hand. “You need to prepare a special fire scale paste with the right proportions. It can’t be too thin or too thick. It needs to be sprayable and stick to the target without falling off. Can you make it?”

Hilko took the blueprints, glanced at them carefully, then shrugged and smirked, "Don't worry, sir, this is too easy. I'll be able to get it up and running for you in no time."

“Very good.” Louis turned to look at Mike.

"High temperature, continuous, controllable, propulsion-oriented..."

The old craftsman stared intently at the blueprints, his beard trembling slightly, but a hint of eager anticipation gradually appeared in his eyes.

He said in a gruff voice, "My lord... your brain is truly frightening."

He paused, then grinned. "But I like it. I just love the stuff that pops out of your brilliant mind!"

“You’ve worked hard,” Louis said softly. “We’ll probably need it soon. Mike, you’ll probably be busy for a while. Of course, I won’t treat you unfairly in the future.”

Mike straightened his back and patted his chest with his thick hand: "Just say the word, and I'll do it even if it kills me!"

(End of this chapter)