Warhammer: Return of the Dragon.

After the dinner, Karl waited for Kurt who was late. The emperor was also curious about what kind of talent the marshal, who looked delighted, had found in prison.

"How's it going."

"Much better than expected... A Caledor noble with dragon allies, an engineer who designed the prototype of Ulric's Thunder, a man who is good at..." Kurt thought about the crazy wizard. The file showed that Duva secretly bought several Druzian prisoners for transformation experiments and installed rune steel sheets as fine as a net under the elves' skin.

The experiment was a success, but it also made his research more and more unpredictable, turning the first few Druzis into iron men who only used their internal organs to maintain normal life functions.

"A mage of medical skills."

"Three?" Carl pondered for a while. While visiting the military camp, he also asked about a lot of Caledo's laws.

Minor fights, insults, and frauds would only result in detention in detention centers around the city. More serious cases would be sent to a secret prison in the Annulli Mountains, from which no one had ever returned.

It seems that Prince Caledor's wish was fulfilled, and several criminals who were difficult to deal with in the Dragon Palace were sold to the Empire as a favor. It seems that there are many forces involved behind these three criminals, which is also a point worth considering.

"What about the situation in the military camp?" Kurt took off his coat and cloak. The height of the Dragon Ridge Mountains made the marshal, who usually lived in the plains, a little uncomfortable. The frequent strong winds seemed to blow away his beard.

This time it was Carl's turn to remain silent. After seeing the strength of the Dragon Kingdom's army with his own eyes, he doubted how long Bretonnia could last.

In the most direct way, the Dragon Kingdom has restored its former glory as a cavalryman. After the Dragon Prince returned to the sky, a large number of brave young men from the people have taken over the banner of the former elite nobles charging into battle...

In Tal Kared alone, there are thousands of heavily armored cavalry stationed. Their excellent training, luxurious equipment, and handsome horses make Karl suspect that they are thousands of gold mountains in motion.

But Caledor's real military fortress in Ulthuan was Caledor's Rest. After Imrik was crowned Phoenix King, the military fortress stopped expanding due to concerns about its relationship with the royal court. It has now turned into a behemoth that occupies most of the plain.

That was the real military assembly point, where the elite of the entire Dragon Kingdom gathered. Carl couldn't guarantee how much he had seen in Tal Kaled.

"I doubt very much that the elven cavalry can advance from Marienburg to Ostermark without any hindrance."

Although he had a premonition, Kurt still felt a little nervous: "At least now, we don't have to think about how to face this behemoth..."

"That's right." Carl nodded. The elves were just an unlikely imaginary enemy. Instead of thinking about how to confront them, it would be better to think about win-win cooperation. At least at the banquet, Draconir had vaguely revealed some important ideas for cooperation.

The emperor took out a few manuscripts. These were the cooperation items he had drafted in half an hour, mainly involving magic, navigation, people's livelihood...

"What do you think is missing?"

Kurt took it and looked at it carefully, closing his eyes to think about what he had seen and heard today, and pondering the projects that could provide the greatest benefit to the empire.

"This is the first day, Carl... What new ideas do you think the Dragon Prince, who has repeatedly shown us that the Empire cannot go against Caledor, will have on the second day?"

Karl was stunned, then shook his head and smiled. He was indeed a little anxious.

"Then let's wait. I just hope these won't be the last few days of my life."

…………

On the second day, perhaps to get rid of the troubles of the nobles, His Royal Highness finally had time to stroll in Anaheim, the land of Caledor, with the emperor from the old world. Giant ships carrying thousands of tons of iron blocks came from the north, constantly delivering urgently needed raw materials to the steam cars in the port area. After being processed into usable steel, the high-quality raw materials will be sent to the industrial center of Caledor, the Anvil of Val, to be transformed into armor worn by warriors and magic weapons in their hands.

The inferior steel will be sent to the nearest military factory, and through the wonderful combination of gears and conveyor belts, it will be transformed into shells that are fired at the enemy.

Thick logs rolled to the ground. Some elves dressed in Asrai costumes were asking for the raw materials that Athel Loren urgently needed from the timber merchants who came from the northern frontier in a tone that was not very proficient in business communication.

The hulled wheat was like a yellow and white ocean. It was dispatched by court officials and sent to Qingyan Port to become food that nurtured the growth of generations of people and the nutrition needed by soldiers after fierce battles.

Thick black smoke enveloped the entire fortress, and preparations for war were being made at full capacity.

At this port terminal that had been expanded many times, Carl saw an extremely strange phenomenon.

Huge amounts of minerals and timber came from the north, meat, sugar, and medicinal plants came from the south in an endless stream, wheat and primary processed raw materials came from the west...but this original military fortress did not have any usable resources locally.

In one hour, the port's throughput may exceed a thousand tons. Each ship may stay in the port for no more than half an hour, and after being loaded with cargo, it immediately sets off.

"The logistics distribution center is a test site that we have been planning for many years. Anaheim accounts for 40% of Caledon's total transportation volume. It does not produce any items, but can provide everything.

If Dawnhold needed 100,000 arrows, the previous procedure was to go to the palace quartermaster's office to request a receipt, the palace would contact the Anvil of Vaal to forge 100,000 arrows, and then dispatch a transport ship from the nearby Dragon Bay to the Southland.

But now, Dawn Fortress only needs to send a request to Anaheim, and the quartermaster will deliver the appropriate amount of arrows from the warehouse according to the strategic material consumption analysis table over the years."

Draconian's casual explanation gave the two people from the empire a great shock. This requires extremely fast information flow speed, sufficient cargo reserves and transportation capacity to ensure that the materials needed in each area can be processed in a timely manner.

And this premise also requires that the transportation routes are safe and reliable enough. The elves make their living by the sea. Except for the capital, Tal Kaled, which is located on the towering Dragon Spine Mountains, all other cities in Caledor have large ports.

If the Empire wants to make a similar...

Karl thought about it and decided to give up. The Elector would definitely not reveal his own material needs to the Emperor, so as not to show weakness. However, if he combined the railway plan to build a small logistics distribution center in Rickland, it seemed possible.

“How much administrative efficiency can this improve?”

Karl's focus is always on the most important position. Sometimes the emperor issues orders for disaster relief, but it takes several days to prepare the supplies alone, not to mention the possible corruption.

The supplies were delayed again and again, and by the time they were delivered to the villages and towns, all the people had been eaten by the beastmen.

The speed largely determines the extent of an emperor's actual rule.

No wonder Caledo had no worries at all. The territories were located at the two poles of the world. The rapid delivery of supplies also meant that the army could arrive quickly and suppress all those who were dissatisfied by physical means.

Draknir smiled but did not give a direct answer: "Karl, I am not a technocrat, and you are not an engineer from Rick County. Compared to these details, you and I have more important things to focus on.

Keep going forward. I hope what we see later will break some of the empire's stereotypes about Caledor." (End of this chapter)