Chapter 492, Not Much Help

Translator: Silavin

 

“Firearm?” Yan Hua widened her red eyes, thinking she might have misheard, as she had never heard this term before.

 

“Shaman, what is a firearm?” Yu Ying asked curiously, thinking the name sounded rather formidable.

 

“Shaman, does it have something to do with fire? Because the name has the character for fire in it,” Co Co asked.

 

“Shaman, is this weapon more powerful than a bow and arrow? Would it be difficult to make?” Sha Lan inquired curiously.

 

“This firearm is many times more powerful than a bow and arrow,” Su Bai smiled.

 

It was worth noting that firearms first appeared on Earth with their power and history being well documented to be revolutionary. When a firearm was fired, those without any defence would all perish; its lethality could be described as formidable beyond comparison.

 

Of course, the difficulty of making a firearm was also very high, not as simple as making a bow and arrow.

 

“Shaman, how do you make this firearm? Can it be made before the snow season arrives?” Yan Hua asked curiously.

 

Yan Hua was quite concerned about whether they could forge a firearm before the snow season arrived, especially after hearing that the power of those Ferocious Beasts could not be withstood by bows and arrows, so she was particularly worried.

 

Because seeing the Tribe develop to this state, becoming better and better, she was even more reluctant to see the Tribe perish.

 

“It is certainly difficult to make a firearm, and one might take some time, but if we can make one, we would not need to worry,” Su Bai said.

 

With the power of a firearm, one gun could ward off several Ferocious Beasts, and then they could buy some time for the other Totem Warriors.

 

“Shaman, what materials do we need? I can go find them immediately.” Yan Hua asked right away.

 

“I can help too,” Sha Lan added.

 

“To make a firearm, the first thing we need is iron ore, but we don’t have iron yet…” Su Bai said seriously.

 

Although he had ideas in mind, the materials had not yet been secured.

 

Ordinary wood could not be used to make a firearm; the most important thing was to use iron ore to forge the barrel. Otherwise, once a bullet was fired, the barrel would shatter completely, which was undoubtedly a significant problem.

 

“Shaman, where can we find this iron ore? Can we find it near us?” Yan Hua asked curiously.

 

“Iron ore is extremely difficult to find; it’s a very scarce resource, but if we can find it, the benefits it brings to the Tribe would be unimaginable.” Su Bai said.

 

“Shaman, tell us what iron ore looks like, and we’ll go find it right away,” Yan Hua said immediately.

 

“There are many types of iron ore, with many different colours on the outside, making it rather difficult to find. You can search based on the colour of the iron ore; just bring back any stones that look similar,” Su Bai said.

 

“Yes, Shaman, please tell us. I have a good memory; I’ll remember everything,” Sha Lan quickly said.

 

“Iron ore can be dark grey, dark red, yellow, brown, and so on. Iron ore is different in every place, so look for these characteristics…” Su Bai said.

 

He was not very certain whether they could manufacture a firearm before the end of the snow season, as finding iron ore was also a lengthy process. Furthermore, after finding it, they still had to refine it into iron.

 

Moreover, after refining it, they still had to forge the barrel, which was not an easy task in this era. The conditions required for such matters were simply too stringent and strict, sometimes if not forged properly, the firearm would be ruined, and it might even injure its user.

 

“Yes, Shaman, I’ve remembered everything. I’ll go with them now to find iron ore,” Sha Lan said immediately.

 

“You can look for iron ore on nearby mountains. Most large iron ore deposits are distributed on mountains; don’t waste time in other places,” Su Bai instructed.

 

“Yes, I understand,” Sha Lan nodded.

 

“Shaman, I’ll go too,” Yan Hua added.

 

“En, be careful,” Su Bai nodded.

 

*Step step step…*

 

Su Bai, watching the silhouettes of the young women as they left, placing his hopes on them.

 

However, he was also considering some other methods, after all, what if they could not find iron ore?

 

There was not much time left before the snow season arrived. If they could find iron ore and manufacture a firearm during the snow season, it would certainly be a good thing.

 

But he also had to consider what weapons they could make to fight those Ferocious Beasts if they could not find any iron ore.

 

“Shaman, you still look worried. Is this iron ore very difficult to find?” Yu Ying asked with concern.

 

“It’s not easy to find, so it will take some time, but even after finding it, making this firearm is also going to be really difficult…” Su Bai frowned.

 

Manufacturing a firearm required very strict industrial conditions, so he needed to start preparing the materials for making the firearm now.

 

Although they might not be able to find iron ore, preparations had to be made in advance. Not finding it now did not mean they would not find it in the future.

 

“Shaman, what should we do if we can’t find iron ore?” Yu Ying asked.

 

“We’ll just have to make preparations for defence,” Su Bai said helplessly.

 

He planned to set up more watchtowers on the wooden wall so that the Tribe’s people could stand on them to observe distant situations.

 

If they discovered traces of Ferocious Beasts in advance, they could make preparations ahead of time, rather than being caught in a flurry when the time came.

 

He took out paper and began to sketch the pattern of the Tribe’s wooden wall, later drawing many different watchtowers on it.

 

Then he began to draw some defensive weapons and so on, which were weapons to be mounted on the wooden wall.

 

Those weapons were catapults. Catapults were simple to draw and not difficult to make, not requiring too much time.

 

Yu Ying could not help much at the moment, so she could only silently watch from the side, but her face was filled with worry.