Chapter 27: Can’t Use It
Su Xiao examined the metal catapult and dozens of green phosphorus incendiary bottles nearby. The metal catapult was quite large, over six meters in length and about three meters wide.
As his hand touched the metal catapult, Su Xiao raised an eyebrow.
[Green Phosphorus Incendiary Bottle Launcher]
Origin: Tribal Alliance · Dwarf War Workshop
Quality: Purple
Category: Siege Equipment
Capacity: 1–5 (Currently loaded, status: 5 Green Phosphorus Incendiary Bottles)
Durability: 69/75
Loading Requirement: Throwing Weapon Mastery Lv.10 or above.
Equipment Effect: Long-Range Precision Launch (Active): After loading, can precisely launch Green Phosphorus Incendiary Bottles between 100 to 1400 meters.
Rating: 150
Description: Developed by the Dwarf craftsman Warner, later improved by multiple Goblin alchemists.
Price: Unsellable.
Note: This is a war implement. Before the Tribal Alliance’s defeat, this item cannot be stored in the inventory, nor can ownership be obtained. If the war is won, this item will become a war trophy, exchangeable for battle merits or directly seized.
…
This launcher was actually a piece of equipment. Unfortunately, it was a war implement, and until it was converted into a trophy, ownership could not be gained.
Moreover, loading this thing required Throwing Weapon Mastery Lv.10 or above. Su Xiao had never even heard of such a skill, let alone mastered it.
Although he couldn’t load it, that didn’t mean Su Xiao couldn’t use it to launch the Green Phosphorus Incendiary Bottles, since they were already loaded.
Su Xiao decided not to launch it for now. Instead, he picked up a Green Phosphorus Incendiary Bottle from the ground. This item was likely also a war implement. If so, he couldn’t take even one bottle away. The reason was simple: during combat, carrying such a thing would be a creative way to die. If an enemy broke the bottle, it would be hilarious.
Su Xiao checked the attributes of the Green Phosphorus Incendiary Bottle. As expected, it was also a war implement.
After a moment of hesitation, he picked up a metal syringe and pierced the needle into the wooden cork of the Green Phosphorus Incendiary Bottle.
Su Xiao remained on guard, ready for the thing to spontaneously combust. Fortunately, the syringe needle was very fine, and the Green Phosphorus Incendiary Bottle didn’t react violently.
Using the metal syringe, he extracted some green phosphorus solution. This substance was an alchemical product. If he had time, Su Xiao could study it, given his considerable alchemy skills. With luck, he might even be able to replicate it.
He disassembled the metal syringe and retrieved a small glass tube about the length of a little finger, filled with the green phosphorus solution. The glass tube was made of high-strength glass, hard enough to rival metal, making it safe to carry. Moreover, the amount of green phosphorus solution inside was minimal. Even if it broke, he could quickly tear off the clothing that came into contact with it.
The roar of battle cries came from behind Su Xiao. His current position was somewhat remote, near a small patch of forest, and the Tribal army hadn’t detected him yet.
As for why the Green Phosphorus Incendiary Bottle Launcher was placed in such an out-of-the-way spot, the reason was simple: to reduce the chance of being discovered by the Dark Elves.
The Dark Elves were a special unit of the Empire, typically serving as scouts or assassins. Over seventy percent of them were female. The Dark Elves possessed an innate ability: their skin and hair could absorb light, allowing them to remain invisible for extended periods. There were rumors that Dark Elves spent most of their lives invisible. Female Dark Elves were too beautiful, often attracting the covetous attention of male “animals.”
These male animals included human males, male Elves of other races, male Orcs, male Dwarves, male Goblins, and male Trolls!
Perhaps only the straightforward Giants on the continent wouldn’t be tempted by the sight of a female Dark Elf, given the vast difference in size.
Dark Elf scouts, capable of prolonged invisibility, were the greatest threat to war implements. As a result, the Tribal side hid their war implements appropriately, minimizing the number of soldiers nearby to avoid attracting the Dark Elves’ attention.
Once a Dark Elf discovered a war implement, having more soldiers nearby was useless. Dark Elves carried a type of alchemical corrosion bomb, which was highly corrosive to most metals.
It was worth noting that a Dark Elf could carry at most one or two alchemical corrosion bombs. The reason? These invisible scouts couldn’t wear clothes.
Dark Elves used their skin to absorb light, achieving invisibility. If they wore clothes, their invisibility would drastically decrease, or even fail entirely.
Imagine beautiful female Dark Elves wandering naked near the battlefield, looking for opportunities to assassinate enemy commanders or destroy siege equipment.
As for where the Dark Elves hid their alchemical corrosion bombs, naked Dark Elves didn’t have many places to hide things. Of course, they tucked them into… don’t misunderstand—they just stuffed the alchemical corrosion bombs into their braids, wrapping them in their hair.
Because of the Dark Elves’ existence, there were very few soldiers near this war implement. Only a few necessary Goblins were left, and alchemical traps were set up around the area. This served both as fire support and as bait. For this reason, most Dark Elves had to know some basic alchemy to avoid the Tribal army’s traps.
However, Su Xiao completely ignored the alchemical traps nearby. He had flown in.
Su Xiao studied the Green Phosphorus Incendiary Bottle Launcher. Its structure was complex, with hundreds of large and small parts. Loading it was extremely difficult, but launching it wasn’t too hard.
The launcher had a control lever. Based on Su Xiao’s observation, pulling the lever should launch the Green Phosphorus Incendiary Bottles.
Su Xiao took a rope from his storage space and tied together twenty-five Green Phosphorus Incendiary Bottles nearby. Carrying the bundled bottles, he walked toward the launcher.
At the tail end of the launcher was a two-meter-long launching arm with five grooves, each holding a fixed Green Phosphorus Incendiary Bottle.
Su Xiao tied the bundle of Green Phosphorus Incendiary Bottles to one of the already loaded bottles.
His reasoning was this: since he couldn’t take the launcher or the bottles with him, he might as well use them all. The problem was that, aside from launching, he knew nothing about the launcher’s other functions, such as adjusting distance, direction, or height.
Since he couldn’t adjust it, Su Xiao decided not to bother. The launcher was already loaded and ready to fire. That meant its current target was likely the Imperial army.
The weight of five Green Phosphorus Incendiary Bottles was naturally different from thirty. In Su Xiao’s plan, after successfully launching the Green Phosphorus Incendiary Bottles, the thirty bottles would fall into the Tribal army due to their weight. Even if they didn’t land exactly, he had other backup measures, though it would reduce the time the green phosphorus burned the enemy.
A white object was attached to the Green Phosphorus Incendiary Bottles. This was an alchemical bomb, Su Xiao’s contingency plan.
Gripping the control lever on the launcher, Su Xiao hoped for a smooth launch. A successful launch would mean a large amount of battle merits.