Above The Sky
Chapter 82 - 82 78 Breaking the Balance 4 more please follow

82: Chapter 78: Breaking the Balance (4 more, please follow) 82: Chapter 78: Breaking the Balance (4 more, please follow) The main body of the Alchemical Cannon was a hollow metal cylinder, surrounded by three metal prisms as supporting braces, placed on a rotatable base resembling a millstone, and covered with densely packed, complex inscriptions.

To ordinary people, these inscriptions were like advanced math problems; just a glance at the symbols could make one’s head spin and feel dizzy, as if staring at something indescribable, almost to the point of madness.

But to those who could understand them, the inscriptions on the Alchemical Cannon were actually quite simple.

“Let me see…

Um, the city guard was right, there’s nothing wrong with the overall structure of the cannon, the gunpowder is dry, and the crystal sand is very pure…

As expected, the problem lies with the priming inscription,” Ian remarked.

It would have taken several minutes to inspect, but thanks to Scott’s tip, Ian identified the issue immediately—time was as precious as gold during the intense battle between Viscount Grant and the Indigenous Monsters.

He carefully examined which part of the inscription was faulty, “Hmm, so they used Rune No.

6 for ignition.

It’s stable, but it can’t operate in humid areas or underwater.”

“Who maintained this?

So lazy!”

There were a total of one hundred and three basic configurations for inscriptions, high or low, and almost all inscription circuits were built from these basic inscriptions.

The igniter of the Alchemical Cannon was not complex, but generally, Rune No.

12, which was prone to generate high heat, was used as the core.

It might be a bit complicated and prone to failure, so the person who maintained it last time took a lazy shortcut and opted for a simpler, more stable but more limited Rune No.

6.

“Switching back to Rune No.

12 or No.

11 would work,” Ian suggested.

Ian pulled out a small knife from his bosom.

Though it was not a professional Inscription Carver, low-level inscriptions below sequence 20 didn’t have high requirements.

Furthermore, he didn’t need to meet the standards of The Empire’s weaponry; it just had to work a few times.

With the physical qualities of a Sublimation Apprentice and the control he had honed over the past two months, Ian managed to carve an inscription structure that was nearly perfect.

Hum hum!

And the moment the Rune No.

12 was repaired and connected to the Light Ink cartridge, an extremely bright white light flared up.

The Inscription Circuit released its brilliance, the surging heat raising a hot wind that buffeted the faces of Ian and Scott.

“Good!”

Wiping off sweat and exhaling, it was Ian’s first real hands-on maintenance.

Although he was very accomplished, because of his young age and Elder Prude’s protection, he had never been to the front lines before.

The successful attempt this time only proved that his basic skills were indeed solid.

At this moment, based on his investigation and repair work, Ian even had a rough understanding of the operating principle of the Alchemical Cannon.

The cannon body itself was nothing special, just an ordinary metal barrel, heat-resistant and sturdy.

The real crux was the structure of the base—the ignition process of the cannon was quite unique, using a high-heat inscription to ignite the gunpowder dust, which then catalyzed the high-heat airflow to impact the Panshard Sand, instantaneously creating a large amount of charged dust for a second detonation.

Panshard Sand was a fine Alchemy Material, pale white, with a delicate and cohesive texture.

Under high-heat and high-pressure conditions, it would sublimate rapidly, turning into highly pressurized, high-temperature plasma and releasing an extremely high-intensity electrical current, thereby accelerating the cannonball.

This was also the principle behind Crystal Sand Explosives, a terrifying lightning explosive, and if it served as the propellant for firing a cannonball…

“This isn’t a cannon… This is an Electrothermal Cannon!”

Realizing this, Ian was once again shocked.

He might not have been able to fully understand the principles behind the Alchemical Cannon—after all, he came from a world of Spirit Energy and Alchemy that brushed against Earth sciences—but he could still grasp the specific physical phenomena, “Directly using high-pressure plasma to propel the projectile?

Isn’t this outrageously overkill?

The damage is off the scale.”

That being said, the boy was well aware that in Terra World, there were Behemoths immune to ordinary cannons; the giant crocodile outside the tower was a perfect example.

Even with an Electrothermal Cannon, if you didn’t hit a vital spot, it would only be lightly injured.

And as for Viscount Grant’s Powered Armor?

There was no need to mention that, avoiding a cannonball was probably as easy as play for him.

“Forget it, there will be plenty of opportunities to study the principles later,” Ian decided.

Although he was a bit reluctant, he still suppressed his curiosity and stopped studying the structure of the Alchemical Cannon.

He rotated the base of the cannon, preparing to fire the mighty weapon towards the dim night of Harrison Port, shrouded in sudden downpours and violent winds.

“Can you…

see anything?”

Scott was at that moment using a door plank to shield Ian from the incessant fall of lime debris.

He also looked out the firing window in front of the cannon but could see only a vague curtain of rain, “Even if it hits…”

The young city guard swallowed the second half of his sentence, while Ian’s eyes lit up with an aquatic halo.

The boy laughed lightly before replying, “Don’t worry, I can see very clearly.”

After a pause, his tone turned solemn, “And I can definitely hit the vital spot.”

Focusing with bated breath, Ian’s brows lifted slightly, and the Spirit Energy halo in his eyes shone like a faint moonlight.

This was his first time operating a cannon and his first time voluntarily pushing his Spirit Energy to the limit he could currently control.

In an instant, the entire eastern part of Harrison Port was enveloped in Foresight View, transformed into a Mist Domain emitting various halos.

The two most conspicuous ones…

Viscount Grant clad in Aether Armament, and the Great Shaman riding the Swamp Crocodile Dragon, were also within his line of sight!

“Hmm…”

His brain felt as if it had been struck by a sledgehammer; Ian was seeing countless sparks burst forth as if a bomb had exploded before his eyes.

Streams of fresh blood flowed from the corners of his eyes and nose, and his body felt hollowed out, exhausted as if he had just completed several hours of the rigorous training Hiliard had demanded.

This was the price for forcibly spying on a large area and beings far stronger than oneself.

However, in contrast, two massive purple mists appeared in Ian’s eyes.

They were clashing, colliding, each exerting their power, using water, steam, mud, and rocks for offense and defense.

Towards the direction of the Viscount’s Mansion, there was also a stream of purple mist.

“Second Energy Level…

it’s purple, huh?

Seems like the Viscount’s Mansion really does hold treasures.”

Taking a deep breath, Ian employed the Breathing Guiding Technique.

He used the Origin Quality stored within the Primordial Seed and the glycogen stored in his liver to alleviate the current fatigue: “That smaller but more solid one is the Viscount.

I don’t need to pay attention to him; I’ll concentrate on observing that Crocodragon…”

With his words, the mist representing the Crocodragon gradually became thicker, Spirit Energy responding to his will.

Soon, the purple mists reflected in Ian’s blue eyes took on the appearance of a constantly flowing and changing image, like a thermal imaging display.

But what was most crucial was that on the side of the Crocodragon’s body, composed of many dark purple mists, there was a very obvious, extremely tenuous ‘vulnerable area’!

“Such an obvious weakness?”

Ian was taken aback; he indeed wanted to find the Crocodragon’s weak spot but thought it might be the eyes or the base of the tail, or perhaps the softer abdomen.

He hadn’t expected this old crocodile to have an old wound: “It looks as if it’s been cut open by a sharp blade or weapon, deep into the viscera.

Who could be so powerful?”

Without thinking too much about it, he maneuvered the cannon to turn—the base of the cannon, which usually required two people to force it to move, was slowly turning under the power of Ian’s Spirit Energy.

Then, he fired!

Crack, a blazing white light burst forth, the high-temperature gunpowder gas mixed thoroughly with the Panshard Sand, causing it to sublimate instantly and explode with a dull thunderous sound at the base of the Alchemical Cannon—this thunder propelled the cannonball, which shot out a two-meter-long Electric Arc Flame Tongue from the muzzle at a speed surpassing that of sound, hurtling towards the Crocodragon that was still entangled with Viscount Grant!

Boom!

With the sound of a long-missed cannon fire, the Mud Shield on the left side of the Crocodragon’s foot splattered and burst, causing the behemoth to painfully sway its body to one side.

But that was all; the enraged Crocodragon even turned its head, its six crimson eyes locking onto a nearby tower that was slightly tilting.

—— It had an effect, but it didn’t hit the vital spot!

This crocodile was like a moving range of hills, continually self-repairing.

Unless one used an entire artillery corps to bomb continuously, it would be very difficult to inflict a fatal injury!

Ian silently prepared to reload.

Since the first shot missed, he would take another one.

Right at that moment, Scott lifted a cannonball and approached.

He had obviously taken a cannonball from the nearby storage as soon as the boy had aimed, ready to assist Ian with the second shot!

“…Thank you!”

Ian glanced in surprise at the young city guard with a resolute expression and nodded, then rapidly loaded the cannonball with Scott’s help.

Then, facing the Crocodragon that ignored Viscount Grant’s attacks and insisted on attacking the tower, Ian once again opened Foresight View with calm, correcting the error in his last shot in his mind.

He aimed.

Following that, he fired again.

Boom!

The incandescent flame tongue lit up, the speeding cannonball tore through the dark night like a meteor.

At the same time, accompanied by a thud of tearing, a large wound burst open on the flank of the Crocodragon!

In an instant, including Viscount Grant, everyone was shocked to see the enormous beast emit an earth-shaking roar of both rage and pain.

Scalding blood erupted like a volcano, and one could even see large chunks of flesh and blood spilling out!

The balance of the battle was broken at that moment!