"Isn't it too much, Your Highness? Do you really intend to demonstrate?"
"Judging by His Highness's demeanor, it's clear he does! His Highness is going to demonstrate!"
"Alas! I hope this explosive doesn't disappoint His Highness. After all, His Highness has poured so much effort into its creation!"
Such whispers continuously reached Lin Tian's ears.
Lin Tian paid them little mind.
He knew that words spoken now were of no consequence.
Only when they witnessed it themselves would they truly understand the power of the explosive.
The soldier tasked with demonstrating the explosive's might, however, clearly understood its destructive capabilities.
As he approached the explosive, he couldn't help but tremble with fear.
Though the fuse was quite long, his hand still shook as he lit it.
This tremor caught the eyes of others, causing them to frown.
"Is this soldier so cowardly? He's afraid just lighting a fuse?"
"I don't know! By rights, the soldiers of Great Qin should not be so timid. This soldier is truly an anomaly!"
"Do you think he might have been scared by His Highness's words, and that's why he's so frightened? Haha!"
Hearing this, many found it plausible.
They concluded that the soldier was indeed timid and had been unnerved by Lin Tian's speech, hence his reaction.
However, what they didn't realize was that the soldier wasn't frightened by Lin Tian's words, but by the sheer power of the explosive.
He had witnessed the explosive's might firsthand. He understood better than anyone how terrifying these explosives were.
One wrong move, and he could perish right here.
Therefore, after trembling as he lit the fuse, he quickly retreated into a pre-dug trench.
Only there could he ensure his safety.
Otherwise, once the explosive detonated, he was as good as dead.
After he ignited the explosive, the other officials were still chattering away.
In their minds, they paid little heed to the presence of the explosive.
This continued until a sound that shook the valley echoed through the air.
"BOOM!!!"
This particular explosive had been generously packed. The amount of gunpowder was immense.
Thus, its detonation instantly reverberated in all directions.
Not only that, but countless officials and soldiers felt the ground beneath their feet tremble.
The intense vibration coursed through their entire bodies.
The officials who had been gossiping moments before were instantly terrified.
They flinched, and some tumbled unceremoniously to the ground.
Even those who remained standing instinctively covered their ears and crouched down.
At the moment of the explosive's detonation, they felt as though their very skulls were being lifted.
The immense power surged directly into their minds.
Even now, their heads were still buzzing.
Many had even lost the ability to think.
This outcome was entirely beyond their expectations.
Had they known it would be like this beforehand, they would have hidden away.
Instead, they were now stunned into silence by the blast.
However, while they were stunned, Lin Tian and Ying Zheng were not.
Firstly, their distance was considerable, so the impact was not as severe.
Secondly, Lin Tian had previously instructed Ying Zheng on how to prepare.
Therefore, Ying Zheng witnessed the explosive's power with his own eyes.
He saw a solid city wall utterly vanish under the force of the explosion.
If it weren't for a few remaining bricks and stones, Ying Zheng might have doubted his own senses.
"Gone? Just like that?"
"Indeed, it's gone. It seems we've used a bit too much this time!"
"Too much... too much?"
"Yes, the more gunpowder used, and the larger the explosive, the more terrifying its power. With sufficient quantity, making an entire city disappear is not out of the question!"
"Making an entire city disappear?"
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng was also stunned.
Having personally witnessed the explosive obliterate the city wall, he already had a clear understanding of its power.
He knew that explosives could demolish a city wall, making it vanish.
They could even create massive craters in the ground.
And with sufficient quantity, it seemed an entire city could indeed disappear.
But the sheer scale of such an act was so astonishing that Ying Zheng still found it hard to believe.
After all, the difficulty of constructing a city was immense.
It could take years to build just one.
Now, with just a few explosives, a city could be destroyed in a short period. Such a notion was impossible for anyone to accept calmly.
"Is... is this truly a weapon?"
At this moment, Ying Zheng even suspected it was a form of divine retribution.
Otherwise, how could it possess such destructive power?
He had never encountered a weapon with such immense destructive capabilities.
When Ying Zheng posed this question, Lin Tian immediately gave a definitive answer.
"Yes, this is a weapon. And it's not even the most powerful one. If it were just a bit stronger, it could level a mountaintop in a single strike."
"Level a mountaintop in a single strike? This...!"
Even someone like Ying Zheng was shocked by Lin Tian's words.
He already held Lin Tian's words in high regard.
And this was made even more so by the fact that he had personally witnessed the explosive's power.
He immediately believed what Lin Tian said.
"Can our Great Qin possess such a powerful weapon?"
"As long as our artisans are given sufficient time, they can create such powerful weapons!"
"Excellent! This is truly wonderful. I hope Great Qin can forge these terrifying weapons soon!"
"Once Great Qin possesses these terrifying weapons, there will be no problem in suppressing the entire realm!"
Ying Zheng was unaware of the full capabilities of cannons, yet even so, he could sense the terrifying potential of these weapons.
Therefore, he desperately wished for Lin Tian to craft these formidable weapons.
Lin Tian readily agreed, finding no impropriety in the request.
The explosives demonstrated today were merely for show, not the true extent of their power.
Future explosives would only be more terrifying.
The officials, however, remained unaware of this.
Only after Ying Zheng and Lin Tian finished their conversation did they suddenly snap back to their senses, recovering from the shock of the explosion.
At this point, every single one of them was utterly astonished.