The weather was getting colder day by day, and Roland was getting up later day by day.

As the ruling class, he certainly has the right to sleep in. Especially the big bed with three layers of velvet blankets, when he lies down, the whole person will fall into a soft envelope, which further fuels his mood of lying in bed.

When Roland finished washing up and walked into the office, Nightingale was already there waiting for him.

"Well, I ate half of your breakfast while it was hot, and now it's cold," she said, looking at the half-missing bread on the table, as if she were the owner of the place.

"No one has taught you to be humble before the prince," Roland reached out to remove the plate and sat back at his desk, "I remember that you were very polite at first. ”

He sighed in his heart, he really didn't see that this guy was actually a self-acquaintance, not to accompany Anna, but to hang out by himself. She used to hide her figure, but now as long as there are no outsiders, she dangles around the office generously, not even wearing a hood.

"Is it like this?" she jumped off the table and bowed down with an impeccable aristocratic salute, "You've been getting up late lately, and I see that breakfast is still on the table, so I'll help you sort it out a little." Your Highness," she leaned over Roland, "you don't care anyway, do you? and you don't like the tedious etiquette, I can see it." ”

Do you have heavenly eyes, Roland sneered, this can also be seen?

He sighed, "Whatever you want, but then you'll eat it after you've had breakfast." If I want to eat it, I'll order another serving. ”

"Yes, Your Highness!" she smiled softly, grabbed her plate and ran aside.

Roland spread out a blank piece of parchment, ready to complete the halfway drawing he had drawn yesterday.

If you want to hold the border town, the battle after the onset of winter cannot be a crushing victory. Although an army that had not seen blood was not a qualified army, Roland was worried that in the event of a large loss, this group of people who had been trained for a short time would not have the courage to stand on the city walls.

He needs a weapon that spans the ages to gain absolute superiority over the beasts.

Undoubtedly, it was the musket.

In fact, this era already had all the conditions for the appearance of muskets. Alchemists often prepared something known as snow powder for use in court ceremonies. This thing is the wrong formula of gunpowder, it burns slowly, and most of the time you can only hear it when you put it in the copper pipe.

In about another 100 years, the prototype of the musket, the musket, will appear. This firearm is cumbersome to operate and requires the cooperation of two people to complete the loading and firing action, and can only be used as a single-shot weapon under normal circumstances. And its rate of fire and power are not comparable to a well-trained archer.

Roland certainly had no interest in reenacting history, and like the steam engine, he could use the witch's abilities to create muskets of combat value.

"I looked at the order on the table when you weren't here," asked the nightingale, swallowing the last loaf of bread, and asked nonchalantly, "what are you going to do with so many ice mangs?"

The upper class of the aristocracy liked to use ice mango - that is, saltpeter - to make ice in the summer, and then cool milk, wine or juice to enjoy it. Thanks to the blessing of the season, the price of saltpeter is now very low.

"To make chilled cheese, it's not cold enough to freeze," Roland flickered.

Although the woman in front of her is not an enemy, she is not as knowledgeable as Anna. Unlike the steam engine, there are not many technical barriers to such things as muskets, and once they spread, they are obviously detrimental to their farming plans. Before finding out her details, it's better to hide some things first. Thinking of this, he tentatively asked, "Is the Witch Aid Society responsible for training killers in addition to finding the Holy Mountain?"

"No, they're just poor people who have come together for their dreams," Nightingale waved her hand, "and I've only been helping for the last two years. ”

"So you've been working for someone else before?" Her beautiful throwing skills can't be thrown without guidance and years of hard work, Roland is very sure of this, "Is there anyone else besides me who is willing to take in a witch?"

"Take in?" Nightingale's expression became a little strange, "how is that possible...... If he had known that I would become a witch, he wouldn't even let me in the door. As for the future, if I hadn't been of any use to him, I'm afraid he would have been secretly executed a long time ago. ”

"Oh, can you tell me about it?"

Nightingale smiled and shook her head, but this time there was more emotion in her smile, "Your Highness, when the time is right, I will tell you." I know what you're worried about, but rest assured, I was free five years ago and no longer have to work for anyone. ”

The negotiation test failed, and it seems that his charm attribute is not high...... But her answer also confirmed her own belief that at least five years ago, she had done something shady for someone. Fortunately, his use of the Nightingale seems to have originated only by chance, and not because he planned to recruit witches on a large scale like himself.

Roland didn't ask any more questions, and continued to look down and draw his own drawings.

To his slight surprise, the nightingale, who usually likes to come to him, became quiet, and the only sound of the fire burned in the room remained. By the time Roland raised his head and moved his aching neck, she was nowhere to be seen in the office.

"Don't say hello when you go," he muttered, folding the parchment in his hand and putting it in his close-fitting pocket.

After a few busy days, with this drawing, the design of the weapon - or rather, the reproduction - was completely completed.

It was the famous flintlock pistol that he was going to make. This weapon has been tested for a long time, and the difficulty of making it is similar to that of an arquebus, with gunpowder in the rear and lead pellets in the front, and a rate of fire of nearly three rounds per minute, which is more than enough to deal with mutated beasts with no IQ to speak of.

Most animals don't climb walls, so the firing distance is about equal to the height from the top of the wall to the ground, which is twelve feet. Even if you aim with your feet at this distance, you won't miss the target, and the muzzle velocity of the bullet is almost undiminished, so as long as the beast doesn't evolve a skin harder than steel, it can basically kill with one shot.

The disadvantage of flintlock pistols is the time it takes to make them. In the beginning, like the arquebus, it was hammered out by craftsmen, and it took about three months to make the whole gun, from the barrel to the trigger. Among them, the barrel is a large head, and the iron sheet must be knocked into a round tube, the iron powder is pasted, and then the rifling is engraved in the bore. Although no sophisticated instruments are used, the craftsman must be skilled in making a good barrel.

That's why Roland built a steam engine in the first place.

With a steam engine, he was able to use a steel drill to drill the chamber directly into a solid iron rod, which made it much faster and did not require a skilled craftsman to operate, only a workbench that could hold the iron rod in place.