“Cannons are heavy. They must be attaching wheels and using horses to pull them, huh?” I mused.
“Yes,” Paula replied. She pointed to one of the destroyed cannons and a batch of spears. “And they had a carriage nearby for transporting stone and iron spheres.” She and her machine bow squad had investigated the weapon for me before I got there.
The thing was bigger than I expected, over two meters long, and the iron spheres were bigger than bowling balls. It would be difficult to adjust the firing angle for projectiles that size, never mind transporting them. I was already constructing a prototype in my mind. If I were to make one of these…
Larger wheels would make it versatile on all kinds of rough terrain. I would also extend the barrel to make its shots more accurate, then give the barrel’s interior a spiral shape so that the projectiles would spin on their way out. If I could fully harness the gunpowder’s explosive power, I could create a cannon with several times greater range and power than Yelenetta’s design—all depending on the shape of the projectile, of course.
“Ah, but with this design, the wheels and frame might take damage from the recoil,” I murmured. “Oh, what if I build supports to keep it in place when it fires? That should stabilize it for successive shots, too.”
I kept modifying my creation until I landed on a solid design not much like the original model. The longer and thinner barrel looked remarkably stylish. Li’l Van’s amazing taste was at it once again.
Li’l Van’s style is nothing if not explosive. Get it? Explosive? That stupid thought circled my mind while I admired my new cannon. Until I noticed everyone staring at me, that is.
I laughed. “Ah, sorry! The whole point of this is to figure out how to defend against their cannons, not make cannons for ourselves!” This prompted the usual looks of disbelief from the peanut gallery. They moved with such synchronicity, in fact, that I wondered if they had practiced for this moment. It made me feel strangely isolated. “…Ahem. Anyway, this is only my opinion, but I’d like to lay out my ideas for how to enhance our new fortress city going forward.”
My attempt to change the mood was successful: I was met with staggered applause. Thank you, thank you very much.
“The nature of a cannon is such that it can fire directly at a target. Well, actually, if the cylindrical portion of the weapon wasn’t built correctly, there’d be no telling where its projectile was going to fly—but they did in fact take care designing this thing, so that’s not something we have to worry about. I would like to start by altering the terrain so that our enemies can’t aim at us at all.”
Paula went bug-eyed. “Wait, you want to alter the terrain?” The rest of the group wore similar expressions.
“Yup. Sloped terrain and mountains make it impossible to fire cannons. In fact, depending on the position they’re fired from, they could even explode from the recoil. For example, imagine if the weapon fell over on a slope and caught friendlies in an explosion? We’re going to make it so they can’t use their cannons.”
I asked the still-confused group to get some people together for me. Paula and Dee scouted the road ahead, checking the area.
A member of the order called to me from the nearby forest, “Yelenetta’s army invaded from over here!”
I looked in his direction. “Ah, I see.” Indeed, there was a small gravel path wide enough for a single carriage to pass through. I couldn’t imagine how difficult it must have been to traverse in large numbers. They must have known we only had a small group present at the fortress. Otherwise, why take such a risk?
I was consumed by the desire to find the traitor and pinch their butt. But for now, my main objectives were to perfect this fortress city, go home, and take a nice long bath.
“Could you guys gather timber for me?” I asked everyone. I’d get my hands on more materials and make Yelenetta’s secret road visible at the same time. Two birds, one stone.
At this point, cutting down the trees of the forest was little more than a bonus stage for the Seatoh Village Chivalric Order. With all their practice and training under Dee’s watchful eye, they’d basically perfected their lumberjack skills. This was nothing to them. They swung their axes with perfect form, then used their incredible strength to transport the timber for me. Normally you’d have to cut off the branches; Li’l Van’s talents at arts and crafts made that unnecessary. In the end, the area alongside the road was nice and clear.
And of course, the timber changed form with a touch from Li’l Van’s divine hand.
I changed the shape of the road, adding uneven terrain and even walls. The enemy would be unable to fire their cannons with their view obscured, and the trajectory of their projectiles would change if they had to pierce walls before they could get to us. I also created a relatively clear downward slope so that we could easily target them from our position. This was bait: while they adjusted the trajectory of their cannon fire, we could rain hell down on them with our ballistae.
“All right,” I said finally, “this should do the trick.” It took a full day, but we were finally finished adjusting the road in anticipation of a Yelenetta follow-up attack. I sighed, letting satisfaction settle over me.
Murcia, meanwhile, gazed at the unfamiliar road, a serious expression on his face. “I see,” he said reflectively. “Your magic is amazing, sure, but that alone wouldn’t be enough to accomplish something like this. It’s your creativity that has led to your success.”