Release that Witch

The so-called upper part consisted of a wooden shed which was placed between the two masts, and which later would be used to store guns and ammunition. When it began to rain, the shed could also be utilized by the crew as shelter. The roof of the wooden shed was extra thick so constructed that a person could stand on it, a special place only created for Wendy. As long as she stood on the roof, her magic ability would range far enough to cover the entire sail.

The stern rudder was made of melted iron, and its installation was a bit cumbersome. First, it was required that they put the rudder shaft through a previously made hole, which now laid under water. To steer the ship, Anna welded a triangle plate at the side of the rudder shaft, which ended under water. At the other end of the rudder shaft, which ended on the deck, was melded an iron ring which could freely rotate.

The welding was naturally done by Anna, who was also shocked and puzzled by the fact that a stone bathtub could float on the water. Since she had the same problem like Nightingale, she also asked the same questions.

So Roland had to answer the questions, again and again. Afterward Anna went to the side and sat down to think about it.

Well … I have still a long way before me before I will be able to raise the education level.

*

In the end, Van’er didn’t know if it was better to become a gunner or if it was better to stay with the hunter squad.

Everything changed when he got the important order three days ago.

His Royal Highness decided to transfer out some members of the first and second militia team, who performed exceptionally, building a new elite force. When Van’er’s name was called, he felt very pleased. But when he was asked if he wants to join Iron Axe’s hunter squad or the new gunner squad, he didn’t know what to choose. He was aware of the new flintlock, which allowed them to fight against the demonic beasts, due to its much stronger penetrating power than a hand crossbow. Currently, only Iron Axe, the Chief Knight and a number of senior hunters were allowed to use this weapon. Van’er was supposed to join the hunter squat without hesitation, but he instead spoke out of turn and asked, “What is a cannon”?

When he learned that a cannon is ten times as large as a flintlock and that its power is a hundred times stronger than the strength of a gun he fell into a dilemma.

Apparently, the more powerful the weapon used by oneself is, the higher one’s own value is for the Prince. So joining the artillery seems to be the better selection than the hunter squad, but the advantage of carrying a gun is that it is possible to carry it while walking through the town, attracting the eyes of the people, which was always Van’er’s dream. Although the cannon’s power is ten times that of a gun, surely it isn’t possible to carry such a powerful weapon while walking through the streets, right?

Until the last day of the deadline he wasn’t sure what to choose, but in the end, he took the artillery. The last point which brought the decision was that the salary of a gunner was five silver royals higher than that of a hunter.

With his decision, the rigorous training began.

A cannon needs five people to operate it, and to Van’er’s team were assigned Jop, Cat’s Claw, Nelson and Rodney. Since Van’er was previously a vice captain within the first militia team, he was also chosen as the gunner.

Compared to guns, this cannon gave ten times more trouble! Since the beginning of the previous month, Van’er had secretly observed how Iron Axe operated his gun, making it able that he even was able recite the process fluently from memory. But the cannon had to be always switched from the limbered and mobile state into the ready to shoot state, always having to go through the tedious work.

Stop the horse, pull out the pin, pull the hook, move the cannon cart, push it towards the shooting spot, prevent it from dropping, these processes needed five people to cooperate in tandem. Such as when pulling the hook, the other people have to push the support cart away from the cannon, turning it from a four-wheel vehicle into a two wheel vehicle, without that the cannon’s barrel would drop to the ground.