A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 373 Gao Po Precision Instrument Factory

The one with the tall, imposing figure riding a horse and swaggering through the streets is, of course, Bart.

The mage accompanying the army seemed to have gained some weight after marriage, almost reaching the standard of "robust". He wore a white robe with gold trim, and besides an enchanted ring on one hand, he had spellcasting material pouches hanging from his waist and on his saddle.

Not only that, but the horse harness was also decorated with classic metal ornaments. Rorschach used Arcane Vision to look at it, but there was no magical reaction; it was just decoration.

Ignoring his status as a mage, he would definitely be the kidnappers' favorite easy target.

Rorschach thought for a moment, then reached out and tapped Gez on his shoulder. The bird's eyes immediately lit up with the light of wisdom.

The march had been along narrow paths, some of which were overgrown with vegetation due to lack of foot traffic, making them unsuitable for tall horses. Bart frequently checked his pocket watch and complained to the commander traveling alongside him, "I don't think we'll reach the south camp before sunset."

"If that's the case, then we'll have no choice but to set up camp here. Fortunately, it's winter now, so we don't have to worry about mosquitoes," the commander reassured him.

Suddenly, Bart felt a chill run down his spine. He looked around suspiciously, seeing only a single branch and leaf, but the mage still felt a gaze upon him. Bart activated Arcane Vision and was about to scan the area when...

"Ah, my eyes!" Just as Bart was about to scan 360°, he was suddenly blinded by sand.

The commander, on high alert, immediately ordered the troops to halt and establish a defensive perimeter, then sent scouts to investigate the forest. Unfortunately, they only heard a few bird calls; nothing else happened.

"It's probably just sand and gravel blown up by the wind that happened to get into your eyes." Having found nothing, the commander assumed it was a natural phenomenon, put away the scout, and continued forward. He took out some essential oil: "Are your eyes alright? I have some henbane eye drops prepared by a doctor here." Henbane is a southern plant, and its juice can soothe the eyes.

"No, I still suspect there are enemies." Bart remained vigilant for a while, and only relaxed his grip on the scroll after confirming that there was nothing unusual. Although he did not find any enemies, he was much more cautious. He removed all the ornaments from his horse and took off his pure white cloak, changing into the same uniform as the other knights.

A strange bird call rang out, startling Bart. He tried to catch the bird, but it had already disappeared into the branches.

Rorschach reached out to support the clone, retrieved the soul, and fed Gez a few more small insects.

Once he confirmed that Bart had concealed his presence, he set off with peace of mind. Since this army wasn't taking the main road, and Bart hadn't told him about it, there must be some inconvenience involved, so Rorschach didn't press the matter. Bart probably wouldn't be able to see the bird clone, but he couldn't guarantee that the other accompanying mages wouldn't notice anything amiss.

The marching column was not long, and there was no special transport team following them, indicating that their range of activity was not far, and they should be within the territory of Bain, where they could resupply locally.

Rorschach watched as the last soldier disappeared into the forest before revealing himself and mounting his horse. "That's enough for now. We need to hurry on our way."

When Rorschach arrived in Lancaster, the sun was just about to set. He pushed open the door of a small factory, carrying the bird on his shoulder and the last rays of winter's light as he stepped inside.

The factory nominally belonged to Becken Gopper, who had shed his "bad apprentice" status and become the factory manager.

Of course, "Gauper Precision Instrument Factory" is just a code name. Like the other three major factories, it also belongs to the true creator, Rorschach. From Munich to Würzburg, no one would question this.

Luo Xia no longer cared about the intricacies of equity and monetary value; he only cared whether these factories could realize his ideas, how much material goods they could generate, and how many people's livelihoods and even lives they could control.

The factory in front of me was still relatively empty. All the machine tools were a size smaller than those at Kempson, because it specialized in precision engineering. As the name suggests, the small factory was no longer limited to making watches. Especially since the (forced) studious Gopper had studied systematic mechanical theory and rudimentary classical mechanics, he was confident that he could even try to make the instruments proposed by Rorschach.

The pressure gauges, timers, and flow meters used in the Bassford and Kempson steel mills all came from here, and there were even prototype thermocouples. However, the metals here are different from those in Rorschach's previous life. Only the principles are known, and continuous experiments are needed to accumulate data. It will take a long time before they can be put into use.

The other watchmakers were very interested in this factory. They were already resentful when they heard that a young, inexperienced watchmaker like Bacon Gopper was earning the same wages as a master watchmaker. The "small man's factory" owner, Bacon Gopper, even offered high salaries to recruit people and poached workers from other workshops.

In response, the experienced workers all berated him for breaking industry rules, while simultaneously sending their own children to work in the factory, repeatedly instructing them to perform well in front of Luo Xia.

Upon seeing Rorschach arrive, Gopper immediately rose from his worktable to greet him. The other apprentices glanced at him and then immediately buried themselves in their work, trying their best to appear professional and "ignoring everything else"—this was also part of "performing well."

Luo Xia was satisfied with the situation. After looking around, he headed to the closed workshop accompanied by the factory manager.

The only reinforced workshop in the factory is guarded by two earthen golems covered in steel plates and heavy hammers, which consciously make way for their master.

Inside are alchemy-related items, such as several sets of "Sky Knight" equipment displayed on the shelves, each with slight differences, as well as sealed computing unit parts.

"Is it assembled?"

"Yes." Gopper unveiled the curtain for Rorschach—in the center of the workshop were two analytical machines, designed by the Munich Institute of Technology. Of course, they were the work of the Byrnes who reverse-engineered the Istani blueprints, simplifying the parts and compressing the size to obtain a "miniature" mechanical computer the size of a wardrobe.

Compared to sophisticated computing units like clocks, these two machines have much more redundant structures and can perform much simpler calculations.

Many of the parts here were handcrafted by the craftsmen in the outer workshops, but they didn't know their purpose, and all of them were assembled by Gopper. Rorschach also only trusted this craftsman who had received the "secret contract."

The mage cast the [Etheric Membrane Space Compression Technique], and the two machines rose off the ground, spinning and shrinking until, in Gao Po's reverent gaze, they were only the size of a palm, like exquisite music boxes.

"Congratulations, your magic has improved again." Gao Po smiled ingratiatingly.

"Um?"

"When you shrunk that cavalry equipment last month, it didn't have this much compression ratio." He gestured to show the size.

"Compression ratio" came up; all that learning wasn't for nothing. Rorschach chuckled, "You do know how to use the words you've learned."

Gao Po felt he had successfully pleased Luo Xia and chuckled along.

But the mage's smile turned inexplicably sinister: "Berkon Gopper, you can't say things like that to other spellcasters. A mage's spellcasting skill is like a woman's age; mentioning it casually is an offense."

After giving him the reminder, Rorschach handed him two finished scrolls, both containing Arcane Vision. This would be very helpful when assembling alchemical instruments, as not all circuits are exposed on the surface. After explaining, Rorschach quickly left the instrument factory.

(End of this chapter)