The Hex family has been friends with the Spencer family for generations, and the Spencer family system is large and complex, and has a considerable voice in both the political circle and the military department, while the Hex family tends to promote the development of industrial technology in the human empire. The two families hit it off many years ago, and since then they have become the most powerful family alliance in the Human Empire.

At this moment, a bullet casing was carefully sealed in an iron box with flannel cloth at the bottom, and a team of royal guards personally escorted this iron box from the desert country to the Maginot Line, and sent it to the Hex family in the interior of the empire as quickly as possible.

After two long journeys without sleep, the royal guards finally delivered the iron box to the Hex family before the time requested by the Prince.

Going out to greet the royal guards was Oppenheimer, the head of the Hex family.

A few years ago, it was he who single-handedly brought the two industrial crystallizations of Hex's Mithril Heavy Armor and the Oblivion Archer's Crossbow to the top of the Human Empire. It is no exaggeration to say that he single-handedly changed the traditional mode of warfare in the foreign world of the Human Empire.

The captain of the royal guard handed the iron box into Oppenheimer's hands and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I've heard that you've been sleepless all the way, so let's rest for the night before you go?" Oppenheimer asked, looking at the dusty royal guards.

"No, we're going back to the temple right now. The captain of the royal guard, who had seen the new forces of the orc kingdom on the border, explained Prince Camur's instructions before leaving: "Your Excellency wants you to immediately start studying the contents of this box, which is related to the future war trend of the human empire. ”

"I understand. Oppenheimer nodded solemnly, and after seeing the royal guards leave, he immediately gathered the backbone of the family's research on cutting-edge technology, he wanted to see what was in this box that could move the prince.

There are a total of 87 elite research personnel in the Hex family headquarters, all of whom are concentrated in the conference room, but what is different is that this time their eyes are no longer flashing with wisdom, but with question marks in capital letters.

The tin box had been opened, and apart from a letter from Prince Camuel, the only thing left was the shell of the metal shell.

"It's... What is this? This is a newly developed weapon in the Orc Kingdom?" asked a technical backbone who had contributed a lot to the development of the Oblivion Arrow, asking the voices of everyone present.

"No, according to the Prince's letter, this thing is not a weapon per se, but it can be determined to be the remnants of some kind of weapon. Oppenheimer raised Prince Camus's handwritten letter, his brow furrowed into a capital letter.

"Like an annihilation arrow that has lost its enchantment?" a technician asked.

"It's not the same thing as that at all, right? This thing is cylindrical, hollow, and this vacant spot should be the original weapon loading. Another senior family cadre picked up the shell case with tweezers and watched it carefully.

"Family Master, we need more information and clues about this new weapon of the Orc Kingdom. The old cadre carefully put down the tweezers and bullet casings and said: "Otherwise, with only the existing information, we will not be able to understand what this is." ”

"It's not that there are no clues, but I hope that after reading the Prince's letter, everyone will be able to sit in their chairs unharmed. Oppenheimer took off his gold-rimmed glasses, wiped them spotlessly, and put them back on.

All the family officials and technicians were in their hearts.

They know what this action of the head of the house represents, which means that he is serious.

"The enemy's attack was unprecedented, cutting at a distance of at least more than 1,400 meters, and when the handful of sparks in the distance shone on the snowy hills, it took less than a breath for a cavalryman to die. The Misoli silver armor mass-produced by your family is as fragile as white paper in the face of this new weapon of the orc kingdom. ”

The voice slowly fell, the atmosphere in the conference room was solemn like lead, many young technicians had already slipped under the chairs, the back of the older backbone was wet with cold sweat, Oppenheimer took off his glasses, and his fingers trembled slightly.

"The prince redeemed the two mercenary groups that were defeated in the territory of the orc kingdom in more than half a month, and this information comes from the confessions of those mercenaries. Oppenheimer said.

"A precision strike at a distance of more than 1,400 meters? It's almost impossible!" After a long dead silence, someone finally couldn't help but erupt in silence.

This feeling was stronger in their hearts than ever.

The human empire's industrial capacity on Middle-earth is second to none, and only the Iron Hill Dwarves who can occasionally craft artifacts pose a certain threat to them, and as for other races and forces, there is no room for comparison with them.

It's like a human guy marrying a beautiful wife, only to find out the next day that the orc king next door has married a beautiful woman, who can stand it?

"Among the standard weapons installed in our army, those with an attack range of more than 1,000 meters are only large weapons and equipment such as birdwing ballistas. ”

An old cadre slowly spoke, "But this kind of weapon that can only be used in siege or defense is too huge, and the accuracy is really not very high, if you want to accurately hit the moving cavalry, even the most experienced crossbowman can't do it, not to mention that according to the Prince, when attacking, that kind of weapon will emit fire, which is very different from all the weapons and equipment in our empire in service." ”

"I say, could it be the use of special weapons such as gunpowder?" A middle-aged man in a fiery red robe sitting very close to the head of the house, Oppenheimer, stretched out his hand, and a slightly hot magic wave emerged, and the bullet casing was wrapped in a hazy void flame and flew to his palm, dripping and spinning.

The middle-aged man who spoke was Master Fisher, who served as the family's magical advisor.

He is a well-known fire mage in the Holy See, and he is a famous teacher, and because of the recommendation of the Prince and his own excellent magical ability, he soon succeeded in becoming a behemoth like the Hex family.

"What is Master Fisher's opinion?" Oppenheimer asked.

"Actually, even if I don't say it, you can see some clues when you disassemble this thing, and all I can do is omit some steps for you. ”

Fisher pointed to the hollow inside the shell and said, "My mana fluctuations can detect nearby fire elements, and this thing has a fairly strong fire element left inside, so when I walked into the conference room, I noticed this for the first time." ”

Oppenheimer's eyes refracted an inconspicuous light behind the lenses, "It's been more than two months since this thing was picked up from the realm of the orc kingdom and then in front of us, and there are still strong fire element fluctuations left in it?"

"Yes. Fisher flipped the shell over and pointed to the dark place in the depths of the hollow where light could not be found: "There has been a violent photothermal reaction in here, which has left scorched black marks, and I think this is the power of this weapon." ”

A gleam flashed in Master Fisher's eyes, "It's like dynamite used to blow up mountains." ”

Master Fisher's words were like pebbles thrown into a lake, splashing ripples in a dead pool, and many of the backbones and technicians in the conference room were by no means mediocre, and they suddenly felt that they had found a key breakthrough and began to discuss fiercely.

"In such a small space, a violent photothermal reaction will inevitably produce strong kinetic energy and directional propulsion, thus forming a long-range strike capability!"

"But how to solve the problem of generating strong kinetic energy at the same time as generating strong reaction force?"

"This can be compensated for with the right equipment and handling skills, just as the average soldier has difficulty handling a bow and arrow, but a crossbow can help them quickly become proficient. ”

"Enough kinetic energy alone is not enough to produce a kill, and the hollow part of this thing must have had some kind of sharp and deadly component embedded in it. ”

"This kind of weapon can't be thought up by those despicable orcs anyway, there must be other forces behind this, could it be dwarves?"

The appearance of this weapon is a dangerous sign that it can fundamentally shake all the advantages that the Human Empire has established in foreign wars, and it is the task of the Hexes to ensure that these advantages can be maintained forever.

"From today onwards, all the backbone and technicians of the family will put aside the work at hand, and give priority to cracking the new weapons of the orc kingdom with this idea. Oppenheimer took off his glasses and announced the future direction of the family's research as the head of the family.