Qi Ji understood, nodded, and walked to a magic cannon fixed on the side deck. He imitated Meili's previous actions and pressed his palm on a metal panel at the rear end of the cannon:
"After adjusting the angle, I just need to inject spiritual power into this area, right?"
"You can only 'annihilate', there is no 'repel' option!"
Meili said as she walked to another magic cannon. Her expression was quite unpleasant, but she tried her best to suppress it, so as not to let the negative emotions revealed further reduce the already low morale.
"These monsters will not retreat. They are not normal creatures at all... The danger will not be resolved unless they are all killed."
Hearing this description, Qi Ji couldn't help but think of the "dirty ghost" in the gray forest.
If possible, we can catch a few and study them. Maybe we can find some commonalities...
“Do you need my help with debugging?”
Meili kept fiddling with the magic cannon in her hand, and asked Qi Ji without turning her head.
"No thanks. I learned some basic ballistics in school."
Qi Ji said casually, and bent down to shake the connecting rod next to the base, adjusting the elevation and horizontal angles of the rotating cannon with a teeth-grinding sound of metal friction.
"Does the Mage School teach this?"
Meili was stunned, but seeing that Qi Ji's actions were quite professional, and knowing that it was not a bad thing to have another knowledgeable person, she did not doubt it:
"That's good. Listen to my instructions later and fire together."
In a sense, Qi Ji did not lie. In her unsealed memories, there was a part in which the "protagonist" worked as an artilleryman for a period of time.
Although it is a breech-loading cannon from the First World War and is very different from the magic cannon in hand, many key points are still applicable. Moreover, Qi Ji can rely on his super strong thinking, computing and observation abilities to temporarily analyze and integrate operating skills.
The magic cannon was designed based on a rotating cannon, and its operation was relatively simple and intuitive. After just over a minute, the two of them roughly adjusted the angle of the magic cannon and set the landing point to two kilometers to the southeast.
By now, the crew on the deck could see with their naked eyes the obvious white waves rising on the sea, like silver snakes tumbling and dancing on the plains, and approaching at a very fast speed.
"This is the first time I've seen so many sirens..." someone whispered in fear.
Everyone was sweating.
From the perspective of physics and biology, creating such conspicuous and exaggerated waves is a very uneconomical way of parading:
Not only will it greatly increase resistance in the water, but it will also make its own traces too conspicuous, making it easy to be discovered by prey or predators.
In the natural environment, such creatures will not exist for long and will soon be eliminated and become extinct.
But alien species... are exceptions, and sirens are the exception among exceptions.
These monsters don't follow any "natural rules" at all.
"Prepare……"
Meili frowned, estimating the distance of the surging waves. When it entered the range of the magic cannon, she shouted loudly:
"Fire!"
The spiritual power that had been ready for a long time was activated instantly, and was injected into the magic cannon through the metal panel. When the spiritual power accumulated to a certain threshold -
"Bang!!!"
Two dazzling blue lights flashed by, and two short, strong, and highly penetrating explosions exploded at the same time. The bamboo-shaped shells immediately left the barrel at a speed that was indistinguishable to the naked eye and fell heavily towards the target!
"Wow!"
"Wow!"
After a full ten seconds, two snow-white splashes of water suddenly exploded in the distant sea surface. The shock wave spread in a circular shape, causing white marks on the sea surface, covering an area of dozens of meters before fading away.
The splashes caused by the two shells were one large and one small. This was because the calibers of the two magic cannons on the Challenger were different. The caliber of the light magic cannon captured from the pirates was slightly smaller, and the corresponding explosive charge was naturally less.
However, the smaller splash of water exploded right in the center of the incoming wave. When the waves subsided, it could be seen that the area and amplitude of the wave had become much smaller. At the same time, a deformed outline seemed to appear on the sea surface.
In comparison, the deviation of the more powerful shell was horrific. It landed hundreds of meters away from the Siren and failed to cause any effective damage.
"Good accuracy!"
Meili was surprised to see this, and couldn't help but look at Qi Ji with a shocked look.
The one in charge of controlling the light magic cannon was Qi Ji, and he hit the bull's eye!
This is almost unbelievable!
Although the error of the shells fired by Meili was extremely large, this was the normal situation for the first firing of artillery - whether it was a magic cannon or a conventional cannon, three to five "calibration shots" were required to gradually reduce the deviation and allow the shells to hit the target.
After thinking about it, Meili could only attribute Qi Ji's one-shot success to luck, but in order to boost his confidence, she still cheered him up with a happy face:
"Well done! Remember to adjust your distance for the next shot, those beasts are getting closer."
Qi Ji nodded silently, bent down and rotated the connecting rod to slightly change the angle of the gun barrel.
Two strong sailors immediately stepped forward, unscrewed the breech of the magic cannon, stuffed the heavy shells into it amidst the scalding heat, and then closed the breech cover.
The advantage of this cannon is that the energy that propels the shells comes from the spiritual power of a supernatural being, so the shells do not require propellant, only a solitary bamboo-shaped warhead, which is quite convenient and safe to store, and is also more convenient to load.
In just over ten seconds, the two magic cannons were fully loaded. Meili and Qiji simply adjusted the angle and fired at the same time again!
"Bang!!!"
With the same combined sound of cannon fire, two huge and thick water columns rose above the sea again.
This time, the shells belonging to Mary landed much closer to the Sirens cluster, and the edge of the shock wave had already touched the outermost part of the waves.
But what surprised everyone on the boat was that... the smaller splash of water still exploded in the center of the sirens cluster!
"This, this luck is too good, right?!"
Meili was immediately shocked by her beauty, and her eyes suddenly changed when she looked at Qi Ji.
Chapter 429 Imminent
It was not until the two magic cannons launched their second round of salvos that the rest of the conventional cannons were loaded and roared.
“Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!”…
Sporadic cannon fire broke out on the deck, and after more than ten seconds, a few lifeless waves splashed on the water surface where the sirens gathered.
The two ships had a total of about ten conventional guns, but the landing points of the shells were extremely discrete. Almost none of them fell into the swarm of sea monsters, and most of them sank into the sea with exaggerated deviations and did not hit any target.
These conventional artillery pieces were large, black, and crude muzzle-loading guns. Not only were they extremely slow to load, but they could only fire solid spherical stone bullets.
Not to mention the large error, low accuracy, low muzzle speed, and cumbersome and slow adjustment, the completely non-existent range lethality alone is enough to show that their usefulness in the current situation is almost zero.
As long as the target is not hit directly, no damage will be caused.
Nearly ten shells fell, but apart from adding some momentum and atmosphere to the explosive bombs of the magic cannon, it did not play any role.
"Adjust! Reload!"
Under the command of the first and second mates, the sailors cleaned the gun barrels, loaded and compacted the propellant, inserted the fuse, stuffed in stone bullets, and adjusted the angle. Although their movements were very hurried, the overly complicated and cumbersome operations still made the firing rate slow.
When everything was ready, the second round of salvos was launched at the order of the first mate. The magic cannon operated by Qi Ji and Mei Li had already fired two or three shells during this period.
"Yao Lingwu, which school did you study artillery?!"
As for the two ladies, Mary's mood at the moment was extremely complicated.
From beginning to end, she and Qi Ji fired a total of four or five rounds. After the first two "calibration shots", her hit rate had increased significantly, and almost every shell could cover the surging and gradually approaching waves.
However, every shot from the light magic cannons under 105 landed squarely on the area where the Sirens were most densely populated. Every column of water that exploded would cause at least one deformed and twisted corpse to float to the surface.
If it happens once or twice you can call it good luck, but if it’s so accurate every time... it definitely can’t be luck!
Meili had not received any systematic education in a formal mage school, so she did not know what these academic mages learned in class. When Qi Ji said that ballistics and artillery use were taught, she believed him.
But learning is one thing, but controlling the magic cannon to hit the "bull's eye" every time on a bumpy ship is simply a fantasy!
Mary had heard many rumors and legends about sea adventurers, navigators, and captains, but she had never heard of a "sharpshooter" of this level.
Qi Ji turned his head slightly to look at her, shrugged, and answered casually:
"Imperial National University."
Of course it's nonsense. There really is no gunner in the world who is as skilled as her.
After all, no one has her thinking, calculation and observation ability, which allows her to instantly calculate the most appropriate shooting angle and strength through factors such as wind force, wind direction, deck ups and downs, gravity, air resistance, air pressure, etc., to ensure that every shot hits the most appropriate and most efficient position.
Some high-level extraordinary people may be qualified enough, but people at this level do not bother to use cannons. Wouldn't a long-range spell be more effective than a cannonball?
Meili saw her calm and indifferent face, with an expression of "it's just a trifle, not worth mentioning", and her heart was immediately in turmoil:
"The extraordinary person who graduated from the Imperial National University... turned out to be of such a high level?"
Of course she had heard of the Imperial National University, the top university in the human world, but she had never seen a transcendent person who graduated from it.
Because those who can study spiritual power in this school are either descendants of aristocrats, wealthy businessmen, or government officials. In short, they are either rich or noble, and they have extraordinary backgrounds. After being gilded by the Imperial National University, they have a bright future. Why would they become adventurers?
They are all elites who are destined to enter the national management and even decision-making levels. They live in completely different worlds from people like Mary who wander in the no-man's land all year round, and there is basically no intersection between them.
In a sense, this little wizard who called himself "Yao Lingwu"... was the first "professionally trained" extraordinary person she had come into contact with so far.
Therefore, she inevitably had the impression that the Imperial University's graduates had too high standards:
"That's incredible! When I have money in the future, I will definitely hire a superhuman like this as a ship guard for a long period of time! I wonder if Yao Lingwu is willing to do that..."
"This thing looks so disgusting."
Qi Ji looked at the group of sirens that were approaching within a kilometer, and couldn't help but twitching his eyelids.
At this distance, even a mortal's eyesight is sufficient to see the details of the shapes of these monsters.
It is difficult to describe their appearance in concise language. Generally speaking, they are similar to the rigid sutures of sea snakes, octopuses, squids, salamanders and various aquatic mollusks.
A bunch of unrelated tentacles, tentacles, organs, limbs, claws, fangs, and eyeballs were spliced and mixed together extremely roughly and without any harmony, just like a pile of offal in the kitchen of a seafood stall, and each one looked different.
The only thing they had in common was deformity, filth, and profanity. The slippery surface was dripping with disgusting slime, and the limbs of the body were crawling and twisting restlessly, never stopping.
They are huge in size, each one is four or five meters long, with slippery and slender limbs slapping the water surface randomly. They move forward in the sea in a very inefficient and energy-wasting posture, stirring up exaggerated and conspicuous waves on the sea surface every minute and every second.
There is no doubt that this way of swimming is very uneconomical, and it is just like the blind struggle of a drowning person, but the sound is so loud that it has brought a great mental shock to the sailors on the ship, and they are all trembling.
Qi Ji had seen realistic rubbings of this alien species in the core library of the Imperial National University, so he knew what it looked like, but there was a huge difference between looking at a photo and seeing it with one's own eyes.
The fishy, salty and wet smell, the surging and ferocious sense of power, the endless roar, the murderous aura that comes towards you... these are feelings that photos and portraits cannot provide.
I have to admit that this thing is scary, and it would be an abnormal reaction for most people not to be afraid.
"Cease fire, everyone take up your weapons in case of emergency!"
Meili had a stern expression and immediately issued a new order.
There is no such thing as "angle of depression" for conventional artillery:
Due to the limitations of processing precision, the diameter of these shells is smaller than the inner diameter of the barrel. If the angle of the barrel is pressed down to a negative number, the round stone bullets will roll directly out of the muzzle.
Therefore, when the distance of the Sirens cluster approached within one kilometer, these cannons completely lost their meaning - even if they fired straight, the shells would fly over the Sirens' heads.
Moreover, these artillery pieces only fired two or three rounds in total, and basically no shells fell into the swarm of sirens, and they failed to cause any effective casualties at all.
The recoil also caused the entire ship to shake violently, seriously affecting her aiming of the magic cannon.
Meili knew that letting the sailors fire further would only waste gunpowder, so she waved her hand to stop them and only let the two magic cannons continue to fire.
“Bang!!!” “Bang!!!”…
The magic cannon fired two more rounds of blue light salvos.
At a distance of less than one kilometer, these two expensive cannons could hit the target wherever they were pointed. Both Qi Ji and Mei Li successfully made the shells fall in the area that could cover the Sirens, causing the number of this group of crazy mutated monsters to decrease again.
But instead of being happy, Meili's face became even uglier.
"Damn it... there are just too many of them. It's too late!"
She cursed under her breath, but her voice couldn't help but tremble slightly.
Even if the incoming sea monsters were discovered early, even if the two magic cannons were firing at full power, even if the accuracy of the 105 was incredibly high, even if the killing efficiency of killing nearly ten sea monsters in six or seven rounds of volleys was enough to become a topic of conversation for half a lifetime...
But now, there are still two sirens that have not lost their ability to move. They are sweeping towards us madly and violently like a landslide or tsunami. They are only a hundred meters apart and are very close.
Even with the magic cannon's reloading speed, there was no time to fire again.
"Crash! Crash! Crash!..."
The dense tentacles and limbs slapped the water heavily, making a loud and chaotic noise.
The sirens have no vocal organs and cannot howl or cry, but the waves that rise into the sky and the terrifying appearance that is unbearable to look at are enough to destroy the will to resist of most mortals.
Facing such a murderous beast at such a close distance, even the bravest warriors could not remain calm. The crew members retreated with cries and screams until their backs were leaning against the deck railings, with no support to retreat, and it was obvious that they had lost all their will to fight.
