The barrel and muzzle primarily serve to release pressure, so they endure much less stress.
With a good start, all that's needed next is optimization.
"Guys, let's go back!"
Li Meng hoisted the Magic Cannon and headed back the way he came.
In the following days, Li Meng focused on one thing: repeatedly optimizing the various parameters of the Magic Cannon.
Five days later, the forest deep within echoed with the booming sounds of cannon fire once again.
The testing ground in the forest had long become a mess, with numerous trees lying haphazardly on the ground.
This time, the cannon fire continued for more than half a month.
Another new day, in the morning.
At the testing ground, Li Meng stood beside a massive and heavy Magic Cannon.
The Magic Cannon had a caliber of 200 millimeters.
The thickness of the barrel and muzzle reached 300 millimeters.
The entire diameter of the muzzle and barrel was 800 millimeters.
The entire barrel was about five meters long, with the diameter of the breech reaching three meters.
"Such a massive thing must demand high structural strength from the ship."
Li Meng doubted whether a wooden ship could really bear the weight of the Magic Cannon.
"It seems the structure of the airship and the firepower deck needs to be reinforced."
However, Li Meng did not intend to halt the construction of the first airship.
The first airship was an experimental prototype.
Future designs would be revised according to needs.
Li Meng crouched down and picked up a shell from the ground.
Next was the task of creating explosive shells.
Though it sounded easy, it was extremely difficult to accomplish.
In this world, magic might be omnipotent, but getting multiple rune Magic Arrays to work together was no small challenge.
Li Meng and Xiao Bai discussed for days and nights while engraving the rune Magic Array inside the barrel.
Finally, they decided on a combination of seven rune Magic Arrays.
The seven rune Magic Arrays were: Explosive Fireball Rune, Mana Transfer Rune, Mana Constraint Rune, Mana Barrier Rune, Mana Amplification Rune, Mana Enhancement Rune, and Magic Energy Gathering Rune.
The Magic Cannon could be made by himself.
After all, the task of casting the cannon could be handed over to the Goblins.
He only needed to do the final engraving of the rune Magic Array.
But as for the shells, being consumables, it was better to make them more common.
Li Meng had no intention of becoming a slave to war, spending his life laboriously making shells.
So the production of shells had to be simplified.
Moreover, mithril couldn't be used to engrave the rune Magic Array.
The value of mithril was too high, and using it on shells was too wasteful.
"Let's go back!"
Li Meng hoisted the Magic Cannon and left the chaotic testing ground.
In the following months, the forest outside the Iron Cave quieted down.
Li Meng focused wholeheartedly on researching the method of making explosive shells in the Iron Cave.
"Woof Woof, go play somewhere else, I'm busy!"
In the afternoon, by the underground riverbank of the Iron Cave.
Li Meng sat by the bank, staring blankly at the large iron ball in his hand.
Beside him, Woof Woof rubbed against Li Meng's leg.
Woof Woof had returned months ago, bringing with it a group of bouncing Skuggs to the Iron Cave.
The Skuggs loved the fiery Iron Cave.
The presence of Fire Crystals in the Iron Cave indicated it was a place where fire elements accumulated.
As a fire-attribute Magical Beast, Skuggs naturally liked such an environment.
"Woof woof!"
Woof Woof barked a few times, then bounced away.
Looking at the large iron ball in his hand, Li Meng sighed inwardly.
The production of the shells had hit a snag.
Following Xiao Bai's suggestion, Li Meng mixed Fire Crystal powder with Water Slime mucus to create an enchanted liquid.
Though the superconductivity of the enchanted liquid wasn't as good as mithril, it was still usable.
However, the only drawback of this enchanted liquid was its instability.
"Roar!"
At that moment, Woof Woof's roar suddenly sounded from behind.
Li Meng turned to look and found that Woof Woof had accidentally bumped into a rock.
Its body instinctively expanded, growing larger and larger until it became a massive creature with a diameter of five meters.
This scene made Li Meng's eyes light up.
Looking back at the shell in his hand, Li Meng's eyes brightened.
"If a delayed fuse doesn't work, then a contact fuse it is."
Although the structure of a contact fuse is a bit more complex, it's not impossible to simplify.
The instability of the enchanted liquid is the best thing for making a contact fuse.
With a plan in mind, Li Meng stood up and hurried to his alchemy table.
In the following months, Li Meng focused on one thing: simplifying the production process of the shells.
Four months later, on a certain afternoon, the most important experiment officially commenced at the testing site.
This time, a cannon platform appeared at the testing site.
The ground was covered with a thick layer of planks.
The Magic Cannon was also mounted on a steel cannon base with wheels.
Li Meng held a shell engraved with a fiery red rune Magic Array on its surface and loaded it into the muzzle.
The shell wasn't solid; it was hollow inside.
Inside, there was a Fire Crystal.
The Fire Crystal inside served as something akin to an explosive.
When the shell endured force beyond a certain limit, the Explosive Rune Magic Array on the shell's surface would be activated.
This activation relied on the instability of the Fire Crystal.
Once the shell's casing exploded, it would detonate the Fire Crystal inside.
The intensity of the explosion depended on the size of the Fire Crystal and the amount of mana.
"Everyone step back, or you'll die!"
Li Meng waved his hand, shooing away the nearby Goblin underlings.
Upon hearing this, the Big Goblin quickly stepped back.
Seeing that the Goblin underlings had moved to a safe distance, Li Meng took out a Fire Crystal and inserted it into the groove of the high-grade rune Magic Array.
Then he adjusted the angle, aiming the Magic Cannon at a large mountain several kilometers to the north.
The upward elevation of the Magic Cannon could reach 40 degrees.
When deployed on the airship, a dedicated cannon base would be designed.
The elevation would only be higher.
The problem of shells falling out of the barrel at a downward angle was also easily solved.
The shells loaded into the barrel wouldn't touch the bottom of the barrel.
The bottom of the barrel would have a space for the exposed fireball to explode.
Therefore, in design, the diameter of the bottom of the barrel was slightly smaller than the barrel itself.
When the shell was loaded, it would get stuck in the barrel due to its own weight.
Thus, even at a downward angle, it wouldn't fall out.
Finally, Li Meng took out a small hammer and struck the Fire Crystal.
With a "bang," the Fire Crystal flashed.
As the mana leaked out, the Mana Absorption Rune Magic Array lit up.
"Boom!"
The next moment, the Magic Cannon shook violently.
The deafening sound of cannon fire echoed through the air.
A dazzling tongue of fire spewed from the muzzle.
In the sky above the forest, a trail of white smoke streaked by.
Seconds later, a mountain five kilometers away suddenly flashed with fire.
A massive fiery mushroom cloud slowly rose from the cliffside.
The explosion's flames and shockwaves tore apart a large section of the mountain.
For a while, rocks rolled and debris flew.
It took a while for the flames to gradually dissipate.