Ezekiel laid out his notes for the Greek fire molotov on top of a table, looking over everything. He read over the ingredients one last time to make sure that it all sounded right: petroleum, tar, sulfur, phosphorous, quicklime, and soap. Ezekiel nodded to himself, figuring the ingredients sounded right based on the stories and effects of Greek fire back in his world, as well as basing some of the materials that were used to develop napalm. Ezekiel then said to himself, "Readers, don't try this at home. I could be very wrong about these ingredients, so don't try to recreate Greek fire like I am." He then opened his Book of Knowledge, a source of information he felt he hasn't used in a while, and began flipping through to see if there was any way to gather the ingredients that he was currently missing. He knew how to make quicklime, he already had soap ready to use, and he could gather tar from some of the furnaces that burned items using coal. Although not seeing another alternative to get it, he could easily get raw phosphorous from his own urine. The only ingredients that could pose a problem would be sulfur and petroleum, as those might be a little harder to find. However, Ezekiel quickly found where he needed to look for the missing ingredients: a market selling rocks and minerals and a mine, both of which were rather close in a nearby city based on the map inside of the Book of Knowledge.
Ezekiel, after deciding to go to the city, went to find Bear. I'll need someone to do a bit of heavy lifting and driving, thought Ezekiel. Ezekiel found Bear after a bit of searching, telling him what the plan was. Bear then nodded, saying, "Alright, I'm in, little bro! So, what's this thing you're making?" Both of them began walking to the cave entrance, with Ezekiel explaining, "It's a little tool I like to call Greek fire, but it's my version of it." Bear then asked, "Sounds dangerous. What does it do?" Ezekiel chuckled, saying, "It's pretty fucking dangerous, but in essence, it's a flame that can't be put out by typical methods. The flame also sticks and can even burn on water, so it's basically the flames of Hell." Bear's eyes widened, asking, "But that's impossible! Water should put the flames out, and the flames themselves can't stick to anything! How can you make something that does all of that?" Both of them reached the surface and began getting into the cart at this point, and Ezekiel simply grinned, saying, "Science can make it happen, to put it shortly." Bear took the reigns of the cart and began heading towards the city, with Ezekiel sitting close behind him.
A short while later and almost at the city, Ezekiel suddenly said, "It sounds great and dangerous, but the problem is that I don't know exactly how to make it. For all I know, I could be completely wrong with these ingredients." Bear scratched his head, asking, "How come?" Ezekiel sighed, saying, "The formula itself was lost to time, as an ancient civilization in my world that was known as the 'Byzantine Empire' were the ones to develop it. However, since it was so destructive, they kept its formula a closely guarded secret to ensure the enemies didn't get their hands on it. The closest we've has ever gotten to recreating it is the development of napalm, which is similar to Greek fire in many ways." Bear then said, "So, in short, this may work or it might not." Ezekiel said, "Yep. Trial and error are gonna be what I'm relying on for this to work." As Ezekiel finished his sentence, both Ezekiel and Bear passed through the front entrance of the city, which was guarded by one bored-looking guard. I don't blame him, thought Ezekiel.
Once inside the city, Ezekiel began looking for the rock shop, which he hoped would be selling rocks containing lime and sulfur. He found it with surprising ease and bought a lot of rocks like pyrite and limestone containing the elements he needed, all for a really cheap price too. Ezekiel and Bear then began heading towards the mine, and once there, Ezekiel bargained with one of the head miners to get some of that "black gooey stuff," as the head miner put it. Ezekiel was pleased to get a barrel full of petroleum for a real cheap price too. If only they knew the wonders that this "black gooey stuff" could do, thought Ezekiel, who had a sly grin on his face as he had Bear haul the petroleum back to the cart. With the missing ingredients no longer missing, the two of them headed back to the Freedom Legion base.
Once back inside of the cave, Ezekiel got right to work, with various members of his party coming and going, stopping by in curiosity to see what Ezekiel was working on. He began with the easier parts of getting everything together. He gathered his phosphorous in a cup by urinating in it, he grabbed a bar of soap, and then he scraped the tar from the bottom of a couple furnaces and stored it in a jar. Ezekiel then moved onto the harder parts, which were extracting the elements from the rocks and making quicklime. Ezekiel knew that using two pot distillation would work best for extracting sulfur, so he asked a blacksmith to lend him a furnace, two clay pots with holes in them, and a pipe. While the blacksmith was gathering these items for him, Ezekiel decided to save some time and crush up the rocks containing sulfur in them, as he knew the smaller pieces would make it easier to burn. Once the blacksmith gathered these items, Ezekiel connected the two pots with holes in them to the pipe and dumped the small pieces of sulfur rocks inside one of the pots. The pot that had the sulfur rocks in it was then placed into the furnace and heated to a very high temperature. Once the rocks have been heated up, the fumes and evaporated sulfur should go into the pipe and into the other pot, which then cool and condense into raw sulfur. The pot being heated should have some stuff leftover in it, but we don't need it, thought Ezekiel. Ezekiel quickly handed some of the blacksmiths in the area some makeshift gas masks, as he suddenly remembered that hydrogen sulfide gas was created from this and can be poisonous if too much is inhaled. Ezekiel also noticed that there was a way for gases to escape the cave via a built-in shaft, so Ezekiel didn't have to worry too much about it. Once the sulfur was being extracted, Ezekiel quickly got to work on the quicklime.
Ezekiel grabbed a small spare clay pot, knowing that it would be able to withstand the heat needed to form quicklime. Ezekiel then put the limestones inside of the clay pot and put it inside the furnace, which was about 1000 degrees Celsius, and Ezekiel could tell the temperature was at 1000 degrees Celsius due to the pot turning a bit red. Ezekiel quickly put on his own makeshift gas mask and had people in his area do the same, as making quicklime also forms calcium oxide and sulfur trioxide, which is a poisonous gas. After making sure everyone had a makeshift gas mask on, Ezekiel let the pot sit inside the furnace for about 3 minutes after seeing that the limestones were red hot. Ezekiel then pulled out the clay pot, happy to see that the limestones had indeed become a fine white powder called quicklime. Ezekiel let the quicklime cool, then grabbed a glass jar and put the quicklime into it, storing it for now. Ezekiel then went to check on the sulfur, and that was completed quicker than Ezekiel expected it to be. With his makeshift gas mask still on, he took out the clay pot from the furnace and saw that there was almost nothing left. The clay pot that was not in the furnace contained a yellow rock-like substance, and Ezekiel grinned, realizing that he had gotten his hands on pure sulfur. He let the sulfur cool a little bit more, then put it inside of a jar. With all of the ingredients now ready to use, Ezekiel began working on the Greek molotov, short for Greek fire molotov.
Ideally, Ezekiel was looking for a sticky gel that was flammable and lasted a really long time while also being close to impossible to put out. The first step was to figure out the proper ratios to make Greek fire and test it. Ezekiel tested many variations of it, but he couldn't seem to find the right consistency and stickiness to make the gel. Using his flame magic to test its flammability, he found himself constantly making adjustments to the proportions of each ingredient that was being used. In these tests, sometimes the substance didn't even catch fire, but other times it did but didn't last very long. Trial and error was the only way Ezekiel knew how to go about rediscovering the secrets of Greek fire, and this grueling process took two days of continuous work for Ezekiel to figure out. On the second day, an exhausted Ezekiel grinned, as he realized that in his most recent test, the fire had lasted for a good while and couldn't be put out easily. It also stuck to test surfaces and burned as it should. There was one last test that Ezekiel had to do, and that was testing its capability as a molotov. Ezekiel asked around for an empty glass bottle, to which someone kindly gave him an empty glass bottle. Ezekiel then put the sticky gel inside of the bottle, wrapped a flammable cloth at the neck of the bottle, and headed outside to test out the Greek molotov.
Ezekiel took the cart to somewhere not too far away, but just to an area where he had more control over the burning capabilities of the Greek molotov. The last thing he wanted was there to be a forest fire and causing a lot of trouble for the Freedom Legion. Once he found a good area where there were enough items that would catch fire but not cause a forest fire, he lit the cloth with his fire magic and tossed the molotov as hard and as far as he could. The bottle shattered on impact with a nearby tree, and the sticky gel spread out. The cloth that was on fire hit the gel, and the fire instantly spread out on the gel, and it quickly spread to other flammable things like dead leaves and wood. However, the fire didn't spread too far, and Ezekiel realized that he was lucky it didn't. Happy to see that his creation had worked and unearthed a long-forgotten formula, Ezekiel watched as the fire eventually died out on its own and headed back to show off his new weapon.
Once back in the cave, Ezekiel asked Tokuda to gather the commanders in the meeting room, and once they were all in there, Ezekiel entered the room with the Greek molotov, casually setting it in the middle of the table. The commanders looked at it with curiosity, and Lionel asked, "What is this you bring us?" Ezekiel grinned, saying, "A new weapon that'll bring a lot of destruction. Even the soldiers that can't use magic can use this easily." Lionel picked up the molotov and inspected it closer, then asked, "Can you do a demonstration?" Ezekiel nodded, saying, "Not here. It's highly flammable, so we'd need to go somewhere else to try it out. We've got a cart for transportation if you'd like to use it." Lionel gave the molotov back to Ezekiel and said, "That should work. Leonardo, Thelisia, does this work for you?" Leonardo nodded and smiled, and Thelisia grinned and gave a thumbs-up. Lionel then said, "That settles it. Please, lead the way, Ezekiel." Ezekiel nodded and they all headed to the cart.
The four commanders and Ezekiel were aboard the cart and were about to leave when suddenly, Ezekiel's party came out of the cave. Bear quickly shouted, "You were gonna leave us behind when doing a scientific demonstration?! Little bro, that's cold!" Ezekiel scratched his head and had a guilty smile on his face, not sure what to say. Ezekiel looked over at Lionel, and Lionel shouted back, "Fine. Come with us, but we don't have room for anyone else currently. There's another cart nearby, so use that." Ezekiel's party found the cart and attached some horses to it, and they followed behind Ezekiel's cart.
Along the way, Ezekiel explained how to use the molotov and what its purpose was. "This is what I call a Greek molotov. Inside of the bottle is a gel-like substance that is highly flammable. When the bottle is thrown with a lit rag at the top, the bottle will break, releasing the gel inside of it. The gel will spread out and the rag will light the gel on fire, causing a fire instantly. Anyone can use it, so people with magic don't have to be the only ones to use fire magic anymore." Lionel looked impressed, saying, "A fiery weapon of magic that can be used by anyone? Sounds like the thing we've been needing. However, I'll have to see it before I can say anything." Ezekiel nodded, responding, "Of course." Right as he said this, the carriage stopped, and they all hopped out of it, with Ezekiel's party stopping a bit away from them.
Ezekiel looked around and found a good patch of items that would burn but not cause a forest fire. Ezekiel then grabbed a few of the molotovs that he had made from the carriage and set them down on the ground. Ezekiel then said, "Bear, Suko, Tokuda, Lionel, can you do the honors and test out the weapon?" The four of them nodded in reply and Ezekiel handed each of them a molotov. "One at a time, please. I wanna demonstrate that really anyone can use it," said Ezekiel. Suko inspected the Greek molotov in his hand and asked, "How do we use it?" Ezekiel replied, "Light the rag and throw it." Suko nodded, then breathed flames onto the molotov rag to light it, then threw it at a nearby tree. The bottle shattered on impact and the tree was suddenly lit ablaze with flames. Ezekiel then looked over at Aqua and Kairi and asked, "Now, can you try to put out those flames for me?" Aqua and Kairi tried to put out the flames using magic, but to their surprise, using water or wind magic didn't affect the flames at all. Bear then threw his molotov at a nearby pile of dead leaves that instantly erupted into flames. Tokuda used his levitation magic to have his bottle drop onto a bush and it caught fire quickly. Lionel was more than impressed and had Suko light his rag for him. Lionel then tossed his Greek molotov and watched with glee as it erupted a nearby bush into flames. Lionel turned to Ezekiel and said, "I'm impressed! These will help tremendously! Can you produce more of these?" Ezekiel grinned, saying, "If you're willing to buy the ingredients, I'll show some of your people how to make it." Lionel smiled, saying, "Deal," sticking out his hand. Ezekiel grabbed Lionel's hand in a firm handshake, sealing the arms deal.
All of them made their way back to the Freedom Legion base, and once back, Lionel ordered some of his soldiers to get to work on gathering the materials needed to make the Greek molotov. Lionel then said, "Commanders and, uh, 'Nation of Science' members, head to the meeting room immediately. We'll finalize everything for the attack on enemy camp #4 there." Everyone met up in the meeting room immediately, and Lionel walked in a couple minutes later. Lionel sat down at the head of the table and said, "With this new weapon that our friend Ezekiel here has developed, this opens up new opportunities for us in this war. However, I wish to stay with the plan Ezekiel has come up with for attacking enemy camp #4, using, what was it, gorilla warfare?" Ezekiel corrected him, saying, "It's 'guerilla' warfare." Lionel then said, "Yes, that." Ezekiel then said, "We don't have many mages, but we do have a lot of people that can throw. Using the Greek molotov, we can easily burn their supplies and make them panic, which would be better for us, the smaller army of the two. Stick to my original plan and we can overtake the camp once they've been sleep deprived and start going hungry." Lionel nodded, saying, "We'll begin the attack in a couple of days. This will give us time to produce more of these 'Greek molotovs' and prepare for the upcoming sabotage. Dismissed." With that, everyone then left the room and began preparing.
*A couple days later*
The day had finally come to begin the attack. It was dark outside, but not dark enough to where nothing was visible. Ezekiel was behind Lionel and Tokuda, along with a small force of about 20 soldiers, with a mix of archers and foot soldiers. Everyone could see the wooden walls of the camp from the tree line they were hiding in, as well as the guards that were on top of the corners of the wall. Rina was among the archers, and she was the designated leader of the archers for this mission. Bear, Suko, Aqua, Mia, and Kairi were among the soldiers, although they were merely backup in case something went wrong and a full-scale attack was needed. Lionel then said, "Archers, take your positions and quickly take out those guards." Rina and the other archers took their positions in the trees and quickly took out the two guards. Lionel then said, "Soldiers, make a hole in the wall, and do it quietly." The soldiers advanced to the wall, and one of the soldiers began chopping into the wooden wall with an axe. After a couple of minutes, the soldiers were able to make a hole in the wooden wall, and one by one, they crawled through the hole and were now in enemy territory.
Ezekiel and Lionel climbed a tree to see the progress of the soldiers as they made their way through the enemy camp. The soldiers took out a few roaming guards in the camp, but they were quiet about it, so no one detected them. After a nerve-racking couple of minutes, the soldiers had finally reached the supply tent. One of the soldiers lit a torch, then proceeded to light two of the Greek molotovs, and two soldiers quickly grabbed one molotov and threw it at the supply tent. The soldiers then quickly went back to the hole in the wall and retreated to the tree line, meeting back up with the others. A guard inside of the camp noticed the flames and sounded a bell, which Ezekiel assumed was an alarm. However, by this point, the flames had destroyed a good amount of their supplies. Lionel sat atop the tree, smiling, saying, "I can't believe it actually worked." Lionel saw the flames were trying to be put out by other guards who saw the fire, but nothing could put them out. Lionel then said to the troops, "We'll wait for them to tire and starve, then we attack. Until then, I call today a victory! But we can't celebrate just yet, they'll be looking for us. Let's head on back to the base." Lionel got down from the tree, followed by Ezekiel. The troops then quickly rallied on Lionel and they all headed back to the base. He's not a bad commander, thought Ezekiel, who was rather impressed by his leadership skills.
Once back at base, Lionel gathered the people in the cave for a special announcement and victory celebration. Lionel then publicly praised Ezekiel in front of everyone, saying, "I used to think that war was all about honor and merit, fighting face to face with your enemy. I still believe it to some extent, but as times change, so does war and the ways you fight it, as young Ezekiel here has taught me. Today was a victory with no casualties because of him, and may we continue to be their allies, because I sure wouldn't want him as my enemy!" The crowd cheered, along with Lionel. Ezekiel scratched his head and looked down at his feet, a little embarrassed about being praised like this. Lionel then said, "May science prosper in our favor and help us win this war!" The crowd cheered once again, and the victory party began, lasting throughout the night.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfzRKOZSA1s
