Chapter 66
As soon as the men reached a suitable field in the wilds, they started to clear the surroundings and started to prepare for testing of the Ballista prototype .
When John watched all the commotion, he thought and said to Vlad and Tornwall, "I think we would need a permanent testing field for the future as it would be hectic to always travel such long distances and make our men do such a hectic job . This not only creates commotion but it could also jeopardize the classification of our important weapons . This also reveals the information on the current firepower of our weapons . "
Hearing this Vlad also raised his own opinion, "Well its quite true but it would still need to be kept a secret when it comes for the testing of new weapons . "
"However it would be more convenient to keep confidentiality if we have a testing ground .
And you can't forget the fact that the best you can do is to delay the relaying of information since most of the time, information is leaked one way or the other . "
Hearing this John gave his order, "Okay, it's decided, we will start the construction of our testing grounds as our next project . Tornwall next time you see Ryfon at the town, tell him to meet me at my Mansion later on . "
Meanwhile, all the preparations for the testing had been prepared,
Head of the men, Lopez was handling all the procedures came to John, saluted him and made his report to John, " Sir all the preparations are complete . We are ready at moments notice to start our testing procedures . "
After Hearing his confirmation, John then ordered him, "Good, We will immediately start . Give notice to all the men to be on their posts as we will start our testing procedures in 5 mins . Hurry up . "
Lopez blew a horn which signaled all the men to be on their posts and keep guard . Hearing this horn, all the men started to head towards their designated posts .
For a while, everyone was tense as this was the first time for many people to test such a unique weapon .
John signaled Tornwall as he started to handle the Ballista .
"Fire!" Roared John .
Everyone was tense for this first shot of the Ballista, some thought, like always it would be a failure, some hoped for success and while some like John and Tornwall were fully convinced that it will definitely work .
After watching its first attack, everyone was shocked which included Vlad,
The first attack completely destroyed a big tree which was 550 meters away from them .
The second attack destroyed a small terrain 600 meters away from them which created a very deep hole inside .
Vlad thought after watching the first attack, 'So that's the reason why he wanted to keep the firepower of this weapon a secret, it seems I underestimated this weapon a lot . So it seems what Tornwall said was correct but this weapon alone would completely change how the wars would be fought in the future because of its firepower alone . The range of this weapon alone is a terrifying asset . I wonder how magicians would feel after the introduction of this weapon'
Watching the reaction of everyone, John and Tornwall showed a satisfied smile,
John was especially happy after watching Vlad's reaction from how intently Vlad was watching the newly made Ballista like a young boy who found his favorite toy .
Tornwall said when everyone thought it was all over, "Wait, wait, It's not all over, Let me show you all my biggest asset after I made this weapon, this is one of the reasons why I took 5 complete days to complete this project . "
He took out a specialized arrow of the Ballista from one of the carriages . This arrow was imbued with various patterns, he then loaded that Arrow with the help of some men . He said proudly as he explained about the specialty of the arrow to everyone present over there,
"This is a specialized arrow which is imbued with fire and wind magic . this arrow will travel 1 . 5 times faster and with 1 . 3x more distance when it activates wind magic and I don't know the current statistics when it comes to the output of its firepower, we can only know after more tests .
The other specialty of this weapon is that it catches fire to the targets as soon as it hits them . So this weapon has more uses compared to normal long-range weapons . It has value in destroying high-value targets on a battlefield . Okay, that's it, you can fire it . " Tornwall said proudly to everyone as he gave an opportunity to one of the men carrying the arrow .
That man was already excited when he watched the earlier performance of this weapon, This time when he got an opportunity to fire the weapon himself personally, he got pretty much excited,
As he heard the orders from Tornwall, he repeated the same procedures which Tornwall did previously as he excitedly fired the Ballista .
Boom!
The Ballista this time hit a top of a small hill 800 meters away, The terrain of the small hill was completely destroyed as the sound could be heard by all the nearby beasts as they scrambled to retreat in fear because of their instincts after watching the firepower of this weapon .
All the guards including Vlad were completely shocked after watching this scenario . They were very excited at the fact that they would be able to handle this weapon in the future .
"I wonder when we will be able to use this weapon in the future . " Said one of the men escorting them .
***
Watching this even John was shocked as he didn't expect to see such firepower from the Ballista after a rune was imbued to the arrow .
This time Tornwall completely stole the show from everyone,
Tornwall thought proudly as he watched the Ballista doing its work, 'I hope I can be qualified to get alcohol personally created by Lord John this time around after this performance . hahaha . '
Tornwall grinned as he was quite pleased with himself as he laughed when he thought about the current performance .
"It seems this was even outside of your expectations, weren't they?" Vlad asked John when he saw his surprised reaction when Tornwall suddenly brought out a new trump card this time around .
John: "Yup, I was quite surprised this time around, I guess I will have to reward him this time for this unexpected performance, I didn't expect that incorporating runes would have this effect on this Ballista . "
Vlad: "Well, it's not like this usually since Tornwall is quite unique in himself as he himself dabbled a lot in runes as he was making weapons previously over the years and to improve them he studied a lot of those weapons which included runes . Normally it is quite hard to imbue these runes in bigger weapons like this time around . "
John thought a bit and understood as he replied to Vlad: "Hmm . . . so that was the case when we saw its firepower, however, it still showed improvement in the quality of Ballista when we observed the earlier show . So, this will help me later on when things get tough, it has quite high value in its uniqueness . "
Vlad smiled a bit and said to him, "That's true, and its quite likely that you will need those weapons in this coming winter . This winter would be quite cold and fearful for the North-frontier town from what I know . "
John showed a mysterious smile as he said these words, "Maybe true, Maybe you could be wrong, I can tell you that everyone will experience changes from North-frontier spreading to the whole of Aelius Kingdom and across the boundaries . "
Vlad was quite surprised after watching his confidence and ambitions from his previous words as he thought and seriously said to him, "Quite possible since you have this weapon, but I can tell you one thing in advance, as soon as you showcase the real firepower of this weapon in front of everyone . The royal family will watch you like hungry wolves as well as a potentially hostile force challenging the throne . You may have heard about the rumors of Lorr Family, right? Are you really ready for the consequences which you will face because of revealing such a weapon? You need to make preparations for potential bloodshed . "
John smiled more mysteriously and said with confidence to him, "Well I have another option, that is to create another more terrifying weapon than the current one . This would also help me identify friends and foes . The very fact that you warn me already proves my instincts that you were different .
As for the royal family, I can always keep them under an illusion that I am in their control while I only provide them Ballistas even if I choose to reveal it . And I can always choose to release a weaker version of this Ballista . "
When John said that he would create a more terrifying weapon, Vlad shivered as he heard this and his blood almost ran cold on the mention on something more terrifying than this when it came to the range or firepower .
Vlad came back to his senses and made a very satisfied smile he heard John say this and thought, 'I guess my instincts were right when I betted on this kid when I felt something different about him . This kid shows eyes that he is already confident enough to create more terrifying weapons . '
Vlad smiled and said to him, "As I thought, you were really baiting people in the room when you revealed this weapon, I guess you intended to score two goals with that one arrow when you fired that shot and revealed about this weapon at that meeting . "
Vlad continued in a serious tone this time as he revealed one of the important secrets of big kingdoms and empires,
Vlad: "However I would still warn you to be more careful of the fate sorcerors of the kingdoms and not to underestimate the thrones just based on some factors, those guys have averted disasters for a lot of kingdoms whenever they faced big events . Even I almost got did in by their trap when they predicted my next assassination years ago and this is one of the reasons I am cautious and currently guarding Mistress instead of taking on high-risk targets . "
Vlad said with a nostalgic smile as he said to him, Vlad was someone who always liked to go against the odds as he this to John, "However, since I have already made a bet on you I guess I will stick to it as it is unlike of me to go back on my word . And I would also like to see how you deal with those assholes . After that incident, they always got on my nerves as I had to plan more thoroughly later on . You having space magic as your main element would be quite useful against them . " Vlad said with a satisfying tone as he thought about the miserable faces of those Fate sorcerors . Plus he also got the feeling that John would certainly screw them over later when he confronts them .
John laughed as he heard about Vlad's miseries of the past .
"When you said that you would create more terrifying weapons, do you plan to kill a dragon with it by making such terrifying weapons?"
John showed a confused expression when he heard about dragons for the first time and asked Vlad in return, "Dragons? Do they actually exist? From what I know, only the Royal family have dragon knights which they rarely use?"
"I guess you aren't planning about slaying dragons as you don't really know about Dragons . As for those dragon knights which you mentioned, they aren't really dragons but they are lesser dragons with little to no intelligence as they can be tamed this easily . However, those dragon knights of the kingdom's are quite strong . They were made with the very intention to create a balance between magicians, court officials and the Aristocrats . "
Vlad sighed, however, there was still a smile on his face as he thought about today's events, 'I guess this would be an eventful and exhausting year . However, I guess it would be worth it . '
Vlad called his assistant, Dearil and immediately ordered him, "Make a gag order for everyone to keep this event as a classified project . Anyone even peeping a sound about it will be dealt with appropriate consequences as for the compensation for this gag order we will increase their wages . "
Vlad then turned to John and seriously said to him, "You should make this gag order as well as it will be big deal if this information is leaked out early on . " Dearil was the same red-haired guy who guarded the forge .
Dearil glared at John as both of them chatted happily . He was more pissed after he heard from Vlad that John already recognized him when he detected him earlier when he unconsciously leaked a bit of killing intent .
John smiled as he said to Vlad, "Well you don't need to worry . Before coming here and deploying my men at the forge, I had already informed them about the gag order and took my most trusted men when we were going to the testing of our weapons in the future . "
"I very well understood the consequences of revealing this weapon for everyone to see . There would be a battle royale for it if they saw it in action first hand . "
Chapter 67
After the testing,
John then called Tornwall, "I am very happy with the results and with the effects of the currently improved ballista, the very fact that you tried to improvise this weapon and gave a good result to us was very satisfying . "
John continued as he smiled and said to him, "As for the reward, you will certainly be getting one of a kind Alchohol which you haven't tasted ever . I will be immediately ordering the start of construction of a new distillery in North-frontier town to meet our domestic needs, it would anyway be useful for the town as it would increase the employment opportunities and it would also increase the popularity of our town when it comes to making unique food and beverages, it would be quite good for advertisement among other duchies and domains of other lords . As you know rich only lack experiences, not money so it would be better for us anyway . "
Hearing this good news, Tornwall was a lot more pumped than usual today . He was already pumped up enough after that incredible show a while ago but now he was pretty much excited as he knew that he won't be disappointed by John because he already tasted all the food at Hope which was recently created by John these days and he knew about its quality which was leagues apart from anything he had dined and wined even as a high ranking official in the dwarven country .
Eating at Hope and drinking beer from Red had become the favorite moment for Tornwall these days after arriving at North-frontier town .
Hearing that news Tornwall replied to John, "I guess, improving weapons of any type comes as a part from my previous work so it was only natural of me to help and create a better weapon suiting our needs . And getting John to personally create a new alcoholic beverage was certainly worth the effort . I guess this alcohol would become as famous as the dishes from Hope . If every improvement of mine could make you create more beverages comparable to those dishes from Hope then I would be happy to dedicate even more of my time just to get a taste of those unique beers and wines . "
Hearing this John laughed and replied to him, "Well, What I can assure you is that after drinking that alcohol you won't be disappointed by what I have experienced after drinking some famous beers and wines in Aelius . "
"However after this event, I want you to take the dwarves who were bought personally by me earlier and make a team out of them . This team will be focusing on producing these Ballistas for the preparations of winter . The team producing these ballistas will have to sign a confidentiality agreement with us . In compensation, they will get freedom from slavery 2 years earlier compared to the current contract for maintaining confidentiality and increased wages plus incentives . "
"So we will practically be building a special workshop for the production of these ballistas .
However, due to political reasons, you will also be required to build a less powerful version of the current ballista so that people don't become too much wary and hostile to us this early . "
Tornwall very much understood why John wanted to make a less powerful version of the Ballista for a show . So that even if the current power of the ballista is revealed then it would be an illusion for their enemies about their current power, "Okay I will make sure to implement those orders, Are there any plans about the small miniature ballistas . is there a need for a live test . "
John: "Hmm . . yes we will make them equipped for our warriors if they are good, they can be pretty much useful to our men for their archery training and for practicing their shooting, as for its presentation, I can pretty much already guess its power however we will still need a live demonstration to make an accurate guess on its real firepower . "
Tornwall asked for confirmation from John, "As for the lower grade version, how much do you want its power and speed to be lowered to the standards that match our current situation . "
John thought a bit and said"Well lower its performance by half and I just wanted to confirm one thing, could all the runemasters upgrade the firepower of that Ballista like you did earlier? nah, make it 40% of the current power . "
"Well there are quite a handful but it requires a lot of energy and time to engrave magical runes to suit the current weapon and if it comes to runemasters comparable to be me? I don't think there are more than 30 people who can engrave runes as masterfully as I can do on this whole continent . You see I am someone who focused a lot when it came to improving weapons anyway possible and hence I got acquainted with runes early on in my profession of weapon making . most of the runemasters could only reach 50 percent of my power when they make runes . One of my strong points is when I make weapons, I know about it inside out and hence the advantage over other runemasters . "
"The miniature Ballista will be tested a bit later after we complete our current conversation . "
"And yes make sure to take all your trusted men who were recently recruited from our current batch of slaves . They could also get an increase in their wages and other incentives which they could benefit from later on if they agree to the confidentiality agreement . I suggest this since we are short on labor . "
This was one of the ways John wanted to build more trust about him among the slaves which would benefit and reflect about him later on, As slaves see more benefits, they would eventually start developing a positive image on John which would be useful for John later on in future . He didn't want to be seen as someone who dabbled in the Slave-trade for future historians and people to see .
Hearing the current wave of good news Tornwall replied in a very happy tone, he had a big smile plastered on his from the time he heard that John will be making an alcoholic drink personally because of his results . This made him quite proud .
"I will make sure to inform them of this good news . I am pretty much assured that they will be excited on working for such an honorable project which would benefit everyone in the north-frontier town later on, whether its employment, defense or honor to be able to protect their own homes . "
"As you have already given the good news of making personalized alcohol, they will pretty much be excited to taste that beverage . This would be a piece of very welcome news for all the dwarves as you know we are quite heavy drinkers and love it second to none . "
John laughed and said, "Haha, I am pretty sure they will spend most of their wages on alcohol if they don't control their urges on alcohol . And the most I am worried about is you as you are pretty well known when it comes to drinking . "
Tornwall grinned and said, "Haha, you don't have to worry Lord, this will only motivate us to work more splendidly so we earn more and spend more on the things we enjoy most . "
Vlad heard them from the sidelines as he thought of a sinister plan to irritate Tornwall as he joined them with a curious look, "I am hearing a pretty interesting talk between the two of you and from your expression, I can guess that you were rewarded quite heavily for your current performance . "
Tornwall proudly said after hearing Vlad, "That's true, after my performance, John decided that he will make an alcoholic beverage to suit us and we can get access to better alcohol in the North-frontier town as you know trade here is quite low which creates a shortage on certain goods which are needed for everyone . So previously before when this project started, John promised me that if I can show a good performance then he will consider my proposal on building a distillery dedicated to making various types of new beverages and he will personally make one alcoholic beverage as my reward . So I guess my face pretty much reflects my current happiness . "
Vlad thought about Tornwall's answer and said, "So that was the reason you were so happy because from what I know, very few things can make you happy unless it is related to alcohol or it is related to new technologies and those are also the things which can make you angry easily . So the reason this time was related to alcohol . hmmm . . "
Vlad continued with a sheepish smile as he knew what would be the answer from John but he still said it to both of them, "However, from what I know, there are a lot of people involved in this business, don't make too many enemies, you wouldn't want to piss off another dude, do you? And this time it would be the brother in law of the king which you would piss of this time . From what I know, he is a duke from central . "
Everyone knew he was duke from central but Vlad still emphasized on both the things .
Tornwall panicked as soon as he saw Vlad's speak, "Hey, hey, don't ruin the party over here, go and deal with your own business and first deal with that kid over there instead of bothering our important business . "
Tornwall continued and snarled when heard another big aristocrat would ruin all of his efforts as he said, "as for those snotty guys from capital I can simply make more of those weapons if they dare point their swords in the direction of my Alcohol . . .
Ahem . . . I mean if they dare point their swords in the direction of North-frontier Town . I won't let anyone dare to ruin my plan . "
Both John and Vlad laughed as they watched this show from the sidelines as they were quite amused by Tornwall's act .
When Tornwall saw this, he understood he was already being played by Vlad when he made those remarks earlier . Tornwall's whole head was red hot after realizing his current situation as he angrily pointed his finger at Vlad and cursed him, "Damn you, you planned all this from the start since can't stomach my happiness . Didn't you, right?"
Tornwall angrily stamped his feet, he thought a bit and said to Vlad with a sheepish smile, "I will make sure to make under par weapons with no runes when it comes to your deal, now let's see who will have the last laugh . hahaha . . . " Tornwall laughed with a high nose as he said that to Vlad .
Vlad smiled cunningly and said to him, "Well just for your information I made sure to add a clause that would have consistency in quality of weapons for both the parties i . e John and Bluesea house when I signed it with John so it's not my problem whether you make good weapons or not .
Vlad harrumphed and continued, "As for those runes, I don't need them I can anyway hire one of those guys from Fire Abyss kingdom . "
Tornwall was pretty annoyed as he heard that Vlad had already included factors outside of his expectations when he had the deal with John but he still replied .
"Can you really? I wonder because from what I know they aren't that easy to persuade and make them work for others . "
"Well I can any way make them forcibly work for me, so there won't be a big problem," Vlad said without any sense of shame, rather he was proud of it .
John watched as both of them bickered with each other,
John stopped their fight and said to both of them seriously, "Tornwall, you don't have to worry, they will attack us sooner or later so you don't have to worry about them attacking us . The only question is when will they make a big move . As for those alcohols, I will only make it a luxury wine at the start which would only be served in my Mansion, Hope, specialized shops in limited quantity every day in North-frontier town and our business partners to properly handle this situation so you and your folks won't have to worry about the shortage of Wine . This will anyway enhance the reputation of our town in the long run so its better this way . "
Chapter 68
After Hearing John,
Vlad said after hearing John's option of making it a limited item, "Hmm . . . quite a better solution without any real direct confrontation against the Royal family, they will take it as a sign of you retreating back . Additionally, if the wines are better than expected then it will only increase the value and goodwill of your wines where people will try to contact you privately for getting extra wines at premium prices . "
John: "As far as I know, our main focus after making the workshop would be the high-speed manufacturing of ballistas so that we are prepared in time . We don't have to worry about the profits of wines if they are sold or not, this time it is only for domestic and private consumption of men . "
John smiled a bit and said to Tornwall, "Vlad as well likes wines from what I heard from Melanie . Though he doesn't drink a lot, he fancies fine wine a lot from what the master said in her earlier lessons . So you shouldn't worry that much . "
Tornwall looked at Vlad with an irritated face as John continued, "Meanwhile our other focus will also be diverted on successfully making a prototype which is less powerful . "
To this Tornwall replied, "Lord I don't think we would have any problems when it comes to reducing the power of the Ballistas as I can give a personal guarantee . So I think we can focus on other projects . "
John: "Hmm . . . Okay, since you have given your assurance I don't think there will be any problems . "
After their break,
John turned to the head of the escorts and gave him new orders,
"Gather all the men and prepare for the testing of Tornwall's miniature ballista this time around . "
Lopez immediately prepared for the next round of tests as all the men gathered to their respective posts after he blew his horn and gave the orders .
These men were very disciplined as they followed his orders immediately .
After the previous performance, a lot of people's attitudes towards Tornwall changed . They had eyes of worship when they saw this weapon .
Meanwhile not bothered by them, Tornwall proudly presented his miniature version of the ballista he had made recently to test the comparable firepower of the original ballista .
This test was successful as well .
After the tests, the range and the firepower of the miniature version were quite satisfying to everyone present over here .
After watching this Vlad even he wanted to place an order as he thought, 'It can be quite useful to our men who are doing overseas missions as it has high firepower, accuracy and range, it would also decrease their chances of fatalities . Meanwhile, this weapon would increase the chances of success of our missions, However, I can't ask that fatty directly for that weapon .
Vlad thought, "Maybe I should simply ignore that fatty and ask John for a deal like how I did it earlier . However, the important thing is it would reveal our weapon to our enemies if used in missions so it would be quite hard later on . I guess it would be hard to equip our assassins with these crossbows as this fatty would certainly create an obstacle when I place an order . I hope he doesn't ask too much' Vlad frowned a bit and thought as he saw this weapon .
Even John was quite satisfied with this weapon after watching its firepower and range,
They ended all their tests for the day and returned to the North-frontier town for the day .
before leaving John called Tornwall and reminded him to visit him the next day as he had important matters to discuss with him the next day .
After some while in the evening, Tornwall visited the forge .
Tornwall proudly walked into the forge, most of the men working in the forge immediately recognized him . Red immediately came to greet him, watching this, others got on their own work after they saw both the heads conversing .
Red grinned and said to him, "I can already guess that you had a good day today from how you are walking and acting all cocky . So why don't you already reveal the good news . "
Tornwall laughed and said, "Hahaha, I guess I can't hide it even if I ever wanted to hide it . As you guessed already, I had a great day today, Anyways, lets head in so we can discuss some important matters today . "
They headed inside Tornwall's office,
Tornwall: "We had a successful test of the currently developed weapon . So lord is currently planning to build a workshop which specializes in making them . "
Red heard Tornwall and said to him as he understood John wanted a special workshop, "So it was a successful test . . . "
Red thought a bit and continued, "what did you make which would require a specialized workshop for confidentiality?"
Tornwall grinned and said with a mysterious smile, "Well, you will only know when you sign the confidentiality contract and As expected you too will be included in the current project as you are one of my trusted men . So what do you say? wanna join in? You can get your slavery reduced by 2 years and increased wages if you join this project . These are one of the benefits which I have the liberty to reveal . "
Red didn't think long and immediately answered him as he was already interested in this from the time when Tornwall mentioned about it in the morning, "It's still better than nothing, the wages are better and I can remove my status as a slave early on, I guess I will join you up . "
Tornwall already expected Red to join him as he replied to him, "As expected since you have decided to join us, your first job will be to gather all my trusted men and reveal this news to them . If they are interested then they can meet me personally too for more information . However, there is better news . "
Tornwall proudly said this news at last to him, "For my splendid performance, Lord has promised me to personally create alcohol as a reward . As you know most of the signature dishes of Hope have been created by Lord so we can expect a lot from the wines, beers and other types of alcohol he creates . "
Red laughed as he answered because he expected to see John's beers as well, because if it was just at the same standard of Hope then he could improve his Brewing of alcohol .
He laughed and answered Tornwall, "Hahaha, as expected from you, you made us all proud if you can make Lord create wines and beers because of your performance . I am certain all those guys would be quite happy after hearing this news . Maybe I too can learn some techniques which I can improvise further later on . "
****
A few days later,
At the imperial university,
Professor Glenn Blackrose was working in the Imperial city's University . He joined just recently and was only working for 3 years now . Glenn's father was fallen noble however due to their status as nobles and high education of Glenn, Glenn was able to get a good paying Job at Imperial University .
Inside his office, he was with his assistant Prague,
Glenn cursed in irritation as he got a letter of rejection again this year from the high committee of the Imperial University, "Damn those old farts are still not approving my book for mass production after such excellent results over the years . "
During these years Glenn had a very good reputation among his students and his theories were well received by them however he never got the rewards of his results as his family had offended a big family years ago and that was also one of the reasons they fell from nobility .
His assistant Prague then replied to him in a sad tone as he understood his frustration, "Glenn as you know already, those resources are hoarded by all those old-timers and it would at least take you 2 years for them to consider your work and 3 more, later on, for them to consider to publish your work if you can make a reputation however even I am not sure about it . "
"Because as you know, not a lot of people are literate and as books are handwritten it is always a time-consuming matter . Plus you would need a lot of money just to publish one book and most of those resources are either hoarded by rich, powerful or those old-timers at the university . Plus those guys would want to fawn over those aristocrats over us since we don't have any influence nor do we have any power . "
Glenn understood this but he still said in frustration,
"Then why did that good of nothing guy from the Jewel family got the recommendation so early without any credentials nor without any achievements? I fucking hate their hypocrisy . All he does is use the work of other guys to mooch off . Don't you remember how he stole my previous work and showed it as his own work? I couldn't do one thing against him nor the Imperial university helped me when I reported about this matter in any way, whether monetarily or emotionally . I could have at least used that money to fund my own works . " Gleen said with a lot of frustration .
Prague said, "Well as you know, that guy has connections in the court unlike us who are fallen nobles, so it's always a dirty game which we can't win unless we have a good backer or we take risks . "
Prague then gave his suggestion, "Well, we can still pool some of our money from the 3 years we gathered and try to make it work out . What you think?"
Glenn sighed as said to Prague, "The problem would be that it would be time-consuming if we can't get enough men to finish our works without any mistakes . and do you think we can gather enough men and resources for this Job? All those papermakers are hoarded by Big nobles . "
Prague sighed as he thought and reminded him of a certain matter, "Then why don't we take a look at that letter we just got recently, I don't think anyone could make those papers nor can anyone imitate same characters in 10 continuous pages no matter how proficient they are, there will always be some differences, why don't we . . . "
Glenn nodded and said, "I understand you, but from what I know that place is far away in the northern border and that place is a big hotbed right now . Do we still continue?"
Prague seriously said to Glenn, "However can we still achieve your dreams if we continue like this?"
Glenn nodded with a smile and said, "True, we will need to take our chances, it's better than dying as a no one . and us leaving would anyway create doubts and questions among some students at least . And from what I understood from our history, The places which were hotbeds either got ruined or boomed because of some events and some people . I guess there would be interesting people over there since they can make this paper . "
Chapter 69
Prague said seriously after hearing Glenn, "After considering all the pros and cons of remaining at the Imperial University, it would be better to try our chances at the North-frontier city . "
Glenn thought a bit after Prague's influence and said to Prague, "Okay, it's decided, we will move there and announce our departure in the coming days, I guess some people would anyway be happy that I cleared their way . "
Prague said a bit hesitatingly, "Maybe, but the management would certainly be unhappy and try to get back at us for leaving them without a good reason as they would think we are rebelling because of their unfair treatment . "
Glenn frowned a bit and said, "Well, I don't care anyway . We only need to be prepared if they try to do anything funny . And I guess since Baron John has personally sent this letter to us, he is prepared to face the consequences of hiring us . Recently I heard he had also offended Prince Hector but because of a certain backer, Prince Hector isn't acting directly but I am sure with his petty personality he will try to get back at him soon .
Anyways Eva too lives over there, even she sent me a letter but I thought it was not worth it previously until I got a letter personally written by the Lord of North-frontier town and also that rejection letter from management again . "
Prague smiled after hearing Glenn's decision and said to him, "It is still better than nothing, who knows maybe we can change something if we go over there . A lot of people got invitations from them and also others which included increased wages and better resources however a lot of people have shrugged it as we did earlier as they think how much resources can the north-frontier town give them to support their works . However, a lot of people who are at the other end of the stick were moved by their offer because they are not in good books of management or other powerful aristocrats plus they have not seen results of their hard work over the years . One such person is Professor Hague who published his work on the cruel reality of the Slave-trade over the years which included propaganda from the state which normalized it . His resources were seized the moment he published this work and gave it to upper management . This work was censored to the masses and only professor Hague carries it now . He was quite stubborn on some of his views . however, he kept a low profile as he understood that after that incident, his life could be in danger since he was someone who is powerless . You know what happened to professor William years ago after he wrote about the scandals about the throne and some court officials, I guess Hague is afraid of dying without achieving anything great and one of the most important reasons is most nobles wouldn't hire him in their domain as they might get implicated by their rivals because of him .
The most horrifying thing about Professor William was that his wife ended up dead and his daughter in a whorehouse, only his boy escaped that massacre . I guess that incident scared a lot of people . "
Glenn thought a bit and said, "Yes I remember Professor Hague, he was given a lot of cold shoulder by upper management, He gave me quite an impression when I met him for the first time, he had a determined gaze when I met him . Well, where did you get this information? and it seems Baron John intends to hire anyone capable even if they are misfits for some and are hard to control . The very fact that he is willing to court these people to educate his masses means that he has the political will to confront the Imperial University, even if it means going head-on against them however his only obstacle would be the funding to operate such a massive project . However, I am relieved to know that we are being hired by someone who is fearless on certain issues so I guess I will bet on this chance even if it means I am taking a wrong path . "
Prague said to Glenn in a mocking way and a determined gaze, "We don't know if it is a wrong path unless we try it . From my current information, some of those guys who got the invitation are going there because of the increased wage, as they don't see a future over here . As for the information regarding professor Hague and professor William I got it from the brats gossiping as usual . You might know how our University has a lot of children from noble households and their gossiping habits, don't you?"
Glenn thought and said, "I guess that's true as those children can't control their mouth . Anyway, what I liked about the letter is his big ambition where he plans to educate all the people from his city, regardless of their status . You also saw his plan for a systematic way of removing slavery from his city . I guess Professor Hague was probably moved by his plan . I only came to this conclusion after I got your information regarding his previous work . And from his initiatives, I can see that he is planning big and long from how he even planned to remove slavery and his plan to teach all the people regardless of their status . I guess if he becomes strong enough he will disregard the laws of Aelius and make his own laws according to his values and people of the land . "
Prague also continued, "A lot of professors got the same invitation like us but it seems Baron John had only written that letter to us as he was quite interested in your theory of teaching and need for reduced taxes . However, I don't know and can't confirm the personal letter for professor Hague . "
Glenn said without any hesitation, "He most probably got it since he is working for such a long time and has a lot of experience on how the Imperial university deals with certain situations . Experienced men would be valuable to him and he certainly would know about him . I am only wondering why he is spending such large amount on teaching people because most of the Nobles only create Knight schools unlike the other schools of learning where there is no real benefit for them unless they have resources and reputation of royal family to create a profit as you know most of the people are poor and can't afford such education . "
Glenn smiled and continued, "Maybe he sees something which we can't, I wonder what we will see after the success of such an ambitious plan . "
Prague too nodded and said, "That's true, However, the biggest surprise was the arithmetic Professor Liam who has announced that he will head to North-frontier town . I wonder what persuaded him to make such a decision to work there? He even proclaimed that anyone pursuing a career in Arithmetic and Mathematics should follow him to North-frontier town for higher studies . Anyway, he has always been an odd one when it comes to certain things . However, I don't think he was Joking when it came to the topic of arithmetic and mathematics .
And from rumors, in a few days, Baron John is going to reveal the internal policy of his city where he will reveal the laws for his town . I wonder how it will play out . And recently there are rumors that he is creating a new type of army called the police force which would only focus on the internal order of the city . Quite a unique creation of dividing the work of army for invasion and defense while another force for internal order of the city . "
Glenn asked Prague, "The division of work for army in internal matters and outside is quite a unique and good idea since the teams would focus on their main jobs without the need for diverting their strength and time on other matters, This may also increase the efficiency of particular forces when it comes to certain matters .
Anyway, what do you think of their papers, ink and how they write on those papers? they were quite identical characters so its hard to believe that someone can copy the same identical characters on other pages . I believe they made something which gives them power and resources for publishing in quantity and hence their confidence in providing us with enough resources because unless you are a duke you won't be able to get hands-on so much resources whether it is men or material . "
Prague thought a bit and replied to Glenn, "I don't know, but that may also be the reason they are quite confident in funding this project of educating everyone from small to old in that town . As for the paper, it was of higher quality compared to the papers we use over here . They may have higher costs which we don't know or they may have revealed it to us just to showcase their prowess . Recently they have been creating a lot of new things, from my sources, the recently popular Soaps in the upper aristocratic circles have been produced by them and the designs for new the clothes which were provided by the Snake family has also been provided by them . Because of this, recently a lot of traders and people have been visiting North-frontier for better opportunities . However, people still don't like the idea of living in a border town where beasts could invade them at any time . "
***
Meanwhile, at John's Mansion, there was an important meeting taking place where all the officials were present .
Chapter 70
Glenn and Prague's conversation ended as they got ready and left for their classes .
***
Meanwhile, at John's Mansion, there was an important meeting taking place where all the officials were present today .
Recently Joseph had arrived back and so too had Jack after handling all the matters concerning at their home .
Meanwhile, Tornwall had completed his next prototype with half the firepower and Jay had selected all the required men for his police force which would help him keep the internal order of the town . These Days Ryfon was most busy with his work as he had to coordinate with multiple individuals for the construction of various projects . He also had to coordinate with Brick factory, cement factory, concrete factory and other various factories which required the construction of buildings . So basically he was the head of all the major constructions taking place in the city these days . In short, he had most manpower allocated to him after road construction which was headed by Arnold .
Ryfon first reported his work to John at the meeting, "Lord, as per your orders we have immediately finished the construction of Testing grounds for weapons at the earliest . We have especially chosen a place on the outskirts of the city so that there won't be any commotion during the tests in the future . Additionally, if any suspicious individuals wander there we can immediately report and investigate their backgrounds and arrest them if required . There are some men already deployed at the testing fields . "
"The construction of for the police headquarters and Ministry of Internal affairs are near completion .
As per our plans, School and University grounds have been built at the center of the city near Lord's Mansion as we will expand later on so it will be better built there . "
John, "Were there any problems that need to be addressed?"
Ryfon shook his head and said, "No, Sir, the only problem is manpower however we are continuously being supplied with more manpower every day so there is no need to worry about a lack of manpower . The most important thing is, the people from nearby villages have started to migrate to the North-frontier town because of the lucrative wages and less travel time from their villages . "
John thought, 'Maybe I should introduce Wheelbarrow's and Bicycles to increase the efficiency of construction and reduce travel time, any way we will leave it for later . '
John signaled Tornwall as he asked his question, "Okay, Tornwall what's the progress of our Ballista . "
Tornwall immediately understood and said without any fluctuations in his emotions, "We have just recently finished our prototype for the ballista and conducted tests with which we were quite satisfied and as per your orders, we have started the building of Ballista factory . It is in the outskirts and marked as a classified place which comes under Military laws as these are secrets which can't be leaked . We can begin a public test for officials at any time with short notice . "
John smiled a bit and made a decision, "Hmm . . . that's good, we will conduct a test later on just before or after Prince Hector's Banquet which would also serve to send a message to some people . "
"Okay, Taylor make your report . "
Taylor: "Previously, because of a low response to our invitations for the University and after your plan to reveal some of the information on our papers and printing, some of the professors from the imperial university have been moved and started to respond to us . Professor Hague is one who has responded first to us after you wrote a personal letter to him, He was especially more interested in how you were systematically going to remove the Slave trade from North-frontier city . Previously he wasn't interested because he heard that you were aggressively involved in the Slave trade . He has also visited the city recently after our guards noticed him and have reported about him . In a few days, he would most probably visit us at Mansion . Meanwhile, The letter from Professor Glenn and Prague has responded to our previous letter and they mentioned that they would come to visit us in a few days after they complete all of their preparations . However, there is one matter which is quite concerning . "
John thought and said, "Hmm . . . Its good that the Printing house and Papermaking factory made quite an influence and moved them enough to join us . Make sure to short-list people who are capable and can be lured over here and we don't need to worry about money . "
John continued as he frowned when he heard there was some concerning matter, "What are the concerning matters that you are talking about?"
Taylor hesitated a bit but finally said, "It's the Radiant church and some representatives from other churches, they wanted to buy paper in huge quantities with some people interested in our printing and they were making some unreasonable demands which included their dislike for the presence of demons and demi-humans . And most of important of all they didn't like our close relationship with Vlad . They also were expecting to have a meeting with you in the future,"
John frowned as he heard about the churches being interested in the papers they were producing as he replied to Taylor, "Hmm . . . Tell them we are on shortage and don't have resources to fulfill their demands, delay them as much as possible . Sell them some paper to appease them however say no when it comes to our printing methods .
As for the presence of demons tell them its all business and we have already signed our contracts so we can't go back on our contracts . I will think about meeting them later on, tell them these days I am busy in training . " John understood that this was a pretty sensitive and tricky matter where Radiant church was trying to show their influence and power to him .
Taylor, "There was another matter, they subtly told that if we don't heed their advice then they would most probably use other means so that we listen to them . I think they would most probably use their church and refuse to offer healing services altogether which they usually provide in all the domains . It won't be a problem now that we are a small city but they could become a big influence when our city grows and would need their services as there are very few alternatives for light magic and 60% of the light magicians are in Radiant church while the remaining 30% is mostly hired by Royal family and remaining 10% is with other Aristocrats . The Royal family faced the same problem 128 years ago and since then they have always been trying to balance out the power which Church has over the masses and hence the Royal family cultivated their own light magicians over the years . "
John thought and said, "It seems I will have to speed the construction of Medical school and Medical department if we are going to face this problem in the future . You don't need to worry about their threats for now as I will have a solution to their threat of healing services . As you might know that I am a potioneer and if the need arises I will personally head the creation of medicines and medical departments in the North-frontier city . Are there any other matters which you wanted to report?"
Taylor immediately reported other matters and ended his report, "There is some good news, because of our maintenance of roads, traders are quite happy and had a positive view regarding the smooth concrete roads which we repaired during there days . Meanwhile, we have started the construction of the brewery to meet the current demands of North-frontier City . "
This time Jay reported his work which he did over the few days, "I have selected a few men already who would finish their initial training for police force in a few days and start their work for keeping internal order in the town, I think it would be best if we launch the police force after announcing our new laws as people would accept them much easily after new laws are announced and the need for a new force to keep internal order of the town where miscreants don't roam free without any punishment for their actions . However, I would still need time to select a guy as a new chief . "
John nodded and replied, "It's good that you already selected people, I was only waiting for you since I too planned to announce the launching of the police force and new laws on the same day as it would have more effect and understanding among the populace . Taylor hand me the document which I already prepared a few days ago . "
Taylor handed over the document which John asked him for .
John took the documents, handed those documents to Jay and said to him, "Take these documents and look for any changes which you want it to be changed . However, only the serious ones which needs rectification would be changed . Hand all the copies of these laws to the men in training . If they can't read and write, send them to the school's immediately from now on . "
****
Meanwhile, Jack and Joseph were conversing after meeting at the restaurant in North-frontier town,
Jack asked Joseph after he heard his decision, he was quite shocked, "Are you sure you want to do this . this is quite a big decision because in your absence your brothers will cease more power and resources from the main family . "
Joseph then said to Jack, " I have decided at last that I will move my headquarters and base of operations at the north-frontier city from now on and I have already discussed this with Phillip, he will handle the trade in Pearl city for some time and groom a man for handling the business over there . I understand the consequences of this decision but from what I know it can go either way and I don't want to regret because of delaying my decisions . Plus as you know, a lot of pirates have already started to target our fleet and I can't expect to get more help from Marquis or father as they will ask for more share to balance out my power with my brothers as I am growing rapidly because of this trade route as I am also selling raw materials to John . "
Jack sighed as he heard Joseph's decision to move his headquarters here at North-frontier town .
Jack thought as he too was influenced by Joseph, 'Maybe I need to take a decision as well . What am I fearing?'