Wasteland Lord: Starting from Thirty Days to Live

Once the powder is prepared and evenly mixed together, the production of black powder is not yet complete.

After that, alcohol is added to the mixed powder to thoroughly moisten it. Then, the mixture, which has now become a lump, is kneaded into small balls and placed in the basement to air dry.

The air-drying process would take several more days. While waiting for it to air-dry, Vittorio went to the blacksmith and obtained the outer shell for filling the explosives—a thin, round, hollow iron ball with small holes pre-drilled in it to be filled with gunpowder.

This iron sphere is also specially made. First, a clay mold is made, and countless raised patterns are pre-carved on the mold.

Next, a thin layer of molten iron is poured onto the mold, forming a hollow iron sphere.

After the molten iron cools, the soil can be crushed and poured out of the hollow iron ball, thus completing the casing of a hand grenade.

From the outside, this grenade looks like a round, dark iron ball.

However, if you look inside, you can see that there are countless recessed grooves that correspond to the raised patterns on the mold.

The pattern wasn't for aesthetic purposes, but rather to create fragmentation grooves on the grenade's outer casing beforehand.

When this traditional explosive grenade explodes, the greatest source of damage is not the black powder itself, but the rupture of the outer casing caused by the explosion, resulting in flying debris.

This is what is known as a fragmentation grenade.

In this situation, naturally, the more fragments there are, the more unpredictable the flying angle will be, and the greater the damage will be.

Therefore, it is essential to create fragmentation grooves in the grenade casing beforehand.

It is also important to note that this type of iron shell cannot be made of low-carbon forged iron sheets, but must be made of cast iron formed in one piece, and the more impurities, the better.

The more impurities a material contains, the more brittle it becomes, and the easier it is for it to explode and form perfect fragments.

Of course, in addition to the metal sphere, Vittorio also prepared a ceramic pot with shrapnel grooves to see which of the two grenades was more powerful.

A few days later, after the gunpowder pellets had dried, Vittorio personally carried out the final assembly.

First, place the earthenware pot and the iron sheet on the table in front of you, and then fill them with gunpowder one by one.

When two-thirds of the powder has been filled, gently press it down with a wooden stick to reduce the gaps between the black powder particles.

This step must be done gently, and metal rods should not be used to prevent static electricity generated by friction from causing an explosion.

Finally, they filled the hole with a fuse and sealed the opening with mud.

The fuse was also made in advance, with a spiral fuse made by winding thin hemp rope. The fuse was soaked in alcohol, and then a layer of black powder was spread on the outside. After drying, a layer of animal fat was brushed on the outermost layer, which could both aid combustion and increase stability.

Once the fuse is inserted, seal the opening with mud, and the two grenades are complete.

Looking at the two dark little things in front of him, Vittorio was already eager to test their strength.

Vittorio carefully picked up the two grenades and went to the training ground outside the castle.

The training ground was now surrounded by layers of people, all of whom had come to see the news that the lord had invented a new weapon.

When Vittorio arrived at the training ground, he did not immediately begin the exercise. Instead, he ordered his men to retreat, at least thirty meters away.

These people were initially very puzzled, wondering why they had to retreat so far away, and whether it was necessary.

Before Vittorio's experiment, Edmund, Isolde, and Irene all came to watch, wanting to know what new thing Vittorio had.

But when they saw what Vittorio was holding, they were all disappointed.

"My lord, is this the new weapon you spoke of? It looks... quite ordinary." Edmund's words were rather tactful.

"Is an iron ball even considered a weapon? If thrown accurately, it could kill someone," Eileen retorted as always.

Isolde stared at it intently, but after a long time she couldn't figure it out, so she shook her head.

Vittorio didn't take their confusion to heart; instead, he told them to back away as much as possible.

"You'll soon find out whether it works or not."

The next second, when Vittorio lit the fuse and threw it toward the center of the training ground, they realized how naive their idea had been.

With sparks flying, the fuse ignited rapidly and then flew into the hollow grenade.

The moment the flames died down at the exposed part of the fuse and entered the grenade's interior, a loud bang came from where the grenade landed.

A large crater appeared out of nowhere where the grenade had fallen, as if a bolt of lightning had struck it.

Along with the sound, the outer shell of the grenade instantly shattered into countless torn fragments that flew in all directions. The speed of the fragments was also affected by the explosion, becoming extremely fast. Almost no one present, except for Isolde and Edmund, could see the fragments flying everywhere.

Even after the explosion ended, all the onlookers were still in shock, staring wide-eyed at the center of the field in disbelief.

"What...what is this? Is it divine magic? Or a secret technique?"

"No...impossible. I didn't sense any fluctuation of power from the lord at all. At most, he was just using his arm to throw something as far as possible."

While the others were still whispering and discussing what had happened, Edmund had already walked to the center of the field and was checking on the scarecrows that had been placed there.

The scarecrows, which had been firmly planted in place, were now all askew, especially those closer to the grenade.

The scarecrows that were further away, though not fallen, were not in a good position either, because they were covered with countless shards of pottery.

It was as if a master craftsman had forcefully inserted these ceramic shards into the scarecrow's body.

Edmund looked at the scene before him and felt incredulous.

On the path of transcendence, he was Vittorio's first teacher.

He knew very well that with Vittorio's current strength, it was impossible for him to do such a thing.

Before his very eyes, so many pottery shards were propelled out at such a rapid speed, causing such a massive explosion.

Then there's only one possibility: there's something strange about the two dark things Vittorio is holding.

Vittorio looked at the incredulous expressions on everyone's faces, but he showed no pride; in fact, he seemed somewhat dissatisfied.

"The ceramic shards are fast, but their kinetic energy decays quickly. They can only fly about twenty meters at most before they can't be used to attack anything further away."

"Furthermore, the pottery shards weren't inserted deep enough into the scarecrow's body, so they weren't quite good enough as a weapon."

"Then let's try this outer shell."

Vittorio tossed the metal grenade in his hand, then caught it again, bending down somewhat cautiously.

"I forgot, I forgot, I can't make any big movements."

He then opened his mouth wide and made a sound, signaling Edmund not to stand in the center of the field so as not to affect him.

"Edmund, step back a bit, and this time tell them to step back even further. I have something even more powerful."

Standing in the center of the field, having witnessed everything that had just happened, Edmund was already incredulous. But now, hearing Vittorio say that he had an even bigger one, Edmund was almost numb with surprise.

"Why am I not surprised at all? Perhaps I should have gotten used to it by now. This is Lord Vittorio, and of all the people I've ever met in my life, no one has more tricks up his sleeve."