Lord: Starting with Summoning the Regular Army of Earth

Chapter 103 Flying Thunder Cannon

Iron Rock City, Earl's study.

As Count Kress listened to his eldest son Renault's report, his resolute and sharp face revealed no emotion, only the imposing presence cultivated over a long period of holding a high position, giving off an invisible sense of oppression.

This made Renault's voice sound somewhat unconvinced.

"Father. These are the weapons of the bandit leader Blood Raven and his deputy, Barbarian Bone. Please take a look." Renault gestured to Harold behind him, who respectfully presented two weapons, their bloodstains dried and blackened. "I didn't expect these bandits to be so patient. It's been almost a month before they prepared to attack Emberstone. They've almost used up all the bait I sent to Emberstone Ridge. Fortunately, I didn't get impatient. I even pretended to be relaxed and careless, but in reality, I had already prepared an ambush. Finally, the big fish took the bait. In this battle, our army suffered seventeen dead and more than thirty wounded, and we annihilated thirty-nine bandits. We also confirmed that our leader, Blood Raven, and deputy leader, Barbarian Bone, were among them. Another minor leader, Ghost Hand, is missing. I guess he's been monitoring the movements of our Ironrock City, but he doesn't have many men left and can't pose a threat anymore."

Renault had already memorized his story perfectly and cleverly incorporated the casualties from the previous goblin attack into his report.

Count Kress picked up the Blood Raven's battle sword, examined the menacing raven engraving on the hilt, weighed it in his hand, and slowly put it down.

He didn't doubt Renault's words, after all, he knew Renault wouldn't dare lie about this, and besides, Blood Raven and Savage's weapons were right in front of him, enough to prove everything.

Although he showed no outward expression, he was actually very happy inside, and was already imagining how interesting the old bastard Tully's expression would be when he saw these two weapons.

After a moment of silence, Count Kress did not continue the topic, but instead asked, "How is Emberstone Ridge now?"

This question made Renault's heart tighten, but he didn't show it on his face and immediately perked up to respond.

He carefully chose his words, trying to convey the appropriate concern a father should have for that side of the family, without appearing overly concerned about the former king's illegitimate son.

At the same time, it is also necessary to cleverly explain the whereabouts of those aid supplies.

"Father, Emberstone Ridge is developing better than expected." Renault's tone was somewhat complicated, with a hint of surprise at Matthew's abilities, but more so with a sense of frustration at being taken advantage of. "That Matthew, with our help—uh, I mean, with the aid I sent, and the help of the Blackwood family, has managed to tidy up that wretched place and make it somewhat presentable."

He paused, observed his father's expression, and continued, "A decent-looking wall has been built. Although it can't compare to our Iron Rock City Wall, it's quite substantial and can keep out wild animals and small groups of bandits. As for the inhabitants, there seem to be many more than before. I wonder where they bought those slaves—"

Count Kress paused for a moment as he tapped his fingers on the table. Although his face remained expressionless, his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, clearly indicating that the situation was somewhat unexpected.

Unexpectedly, Matthew was more resilient and capable than he had anticipated. It seemed that this illegitimate son was not a good-for-nothing after all, and had actually taken root in that desolate place.

"However, Father, there is one more thing." Renault changed the subject. "Just today, my men saw with their own eyes the carriage of the Golden Flower Merchant Guild heading to Emberstone Ridge. The person in the carriage was very likely Lady Eleanor herself."

"Golden Broom?" Count Kress frowned again, his sharp gaze fixed on Renault. He seemed to understand why Emberstone Ridge had developed so rapidly and steadily.

Unexpectedly, Eleanor of the Plantagenets would help Matthew. This shrewd woman wouldn't do anything without a profit; logically, she would never do anything without a return.

They would certainly not be so kind as to risk offending the royal family by helping a baron who is not favored by the king.

But surely this woman couldn't be interested in Matthew, could she?

That's not entirely impossible.

Matthew was indeed handsome, and as the king's illegitimate son, young and strong, Eleanor, a woman who liked to collect handsome men, could very well have something happen between her and Matthew.

"Yes, Father, I suspect that the rapid development of Emberstone Ridge may be due to the support of the Golden Flower Merchant Guild," Renault said, offering his guess. "I think this matter may be related to the Blackwood family. Perhaps Lady Alicia knows people at the Golden Flower Merchant Guild headquarters and asked them to help out."

Count Kress nodded noncommittally, not delving into the topic further.

On the one hand, in his view, given the geographical location and resources of Jinshi Ridge, even ten Golden Flower Merchant Guilds would not be able to turn it into a place that could threaten Iron Rock City.

On the other hand, there is very little information at the moment. Some people have seen the Golden Flower Merchant Guild members go to Jinshi Ridge, but they don't know exactly what they did, so he can't draw any conclusions.

"With the banditry eliminated and the border temporarily at peace, that's a good thing. You did quite well this time, and you didn't disappoint me. Go down and properly comfort the families of the fallen soldiers, doubling their compensation. Also—keep a close eye on Jinshi Ridge and the movements of Jin Quehua. Report any unusual activity immediately."

"Yes, Father!" Renault felt a great weight lifted from his heart, knowing that he had temporarily passed this hurdle.

He bowed respectfully and led Harold out of the study.

It wasn't until he was quite far from the Earl's mansion that Renault finally breathed a sigh of relief and began to think about how he could treat himself to a night of pleasure.

After all, I've suffered so much over the past month, so I have to indulge myself tonight and eat something good.

The following day, Will was assigned by Matthew to visit the Goldfinch Merchant Guild in Ironrock with a beautifully packaged "limited edition" soap infused with a special fragrance.

The meeting took place in Mrs. Eleanor's elegant and private tea room.

Without much small talk, Will directly conveyed Matthew's intention to cooperate: Emberstone Ridge accepts the friendship and investment of the Goldenrod Merchant Guild and is willing to regard Goldenrod as its top priority business partner when "Ironrock City undergoes a transformation".

As a demonstration of sincerity, in addition to a stable supply of soap and bar soap, Matthew also proposed that the Goldenrod Merchant Guild be given priority in supplying some of its superior products.

Eleanor ran her fingertips over the delicate soap with its elegant orchid scent, her eyes sparkling with wonder.

This is the product she's been dreaming of lately—a product that will make the Golden Bird Flower shine brightly in the royal city, and even throughout the entire Southern Continent.

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However, in her view right now, the collaboration with Matthew far outweighs the benefits that the soap can bring.

The "better products" Will just mentioned also filled her with anticipation.

After all, in her view, Matthew's ability to gain a foothold in that place known as a dead end in such a short time, and to develop at an astonishing speed, shows that his "foundation" is unfathomable.

"Lord Will, please convey to Lord Matthew that the Golden Flower Merchant Guild is deeply honored." Eleanor's smile was gentle and sincere. "We can discuss the details of the cooperation at our leisure. Right now, what does Emberstone Ridge need?"

Will handed over a list, which, in addition to regular supplies such as food and cloth, also listed some magical materials, specific minerals, and rare plant seeds that were strictly controlled by the kingdom.

Eleanor carefully examined the document and became even more certain of her guess: this former king's illegitimate son was definitely not an ordinary person, and might even be a powerful alchemist.

No wonder they were able to develop such a revolutionary cleaning product as soap.

"Some things—require time and connections to handle," Eleanor pondered, "but the Golden Flower Merchant Guild has no shortage of connections and time. Rest assured, the first batch of supplies will definitely be delivered to Jinshi Ridge within ten days. Subsequent supplies will be transferred in batches through clandestine channels."

The cooperation was thus established.

In this way, the Golden Flower Merchant Guild’s vast and efficient network began to serve Jinshiling. Some scarce resources that were hard to obtain on the market began to be quietly transported to the border through caravans disguised as ordinary merchant caravans.

Of course, all of this did not escape the watchful eyes of the Kress family.

Inside Ironrock City, several pairs of eyes belonging to different factions silently recorded the increasingly frequent "trade" exchanges between the Golden Finch Flower Merchant Guild and Emberstone Ridge.

Meanwhile, the blast furnaces and steam engines at Jinshiling were running day and night.

Lathes, drilling machines, planers and other machine tools were also manufactured one after another.

When the first cast iron platform, smooth as a mirror after being planed, was lifted off the ground, cheers erupted throughout the workshop.

This means that the bases of large equipment, machine tool bodies, and even the bases of future artillery carriages can be machined with high precision.

The liberation of productive forces is a chain reaction.

More sophisticated parts, in turn, made it possible to manufacture a second and a third steam engine.

The project team assembled a highly skilled workforce and established a "Steam Engine Mass Production Group," which began utilizing existing lathes,

Drilling machines are used for mass production of standardized parts.

In just half a month, amidst a deafening roar, the second steam engine was successfully ignited and put into operation.

It is slightly smaller than the first one, but its structure is more optimized, its operation is more stable, and its power output is increased by about 15%.

The steam engine was immediately installed in the newly built steel rolling mill and began to drive the heavy rollers to roll the steel produced by the blast furnace into steel plates and profiles of uniform thickness.

Steel production capacity and quality have subsequently made a leap forward.

With qualified steel plates available, the weapons development team's vision was quickly realized.

The "Flying Thunder Cannon" project was subsequently put on the agenda.

This is an extremely rudimentary but powerful muzzle-loading smoothbore mortar concept.

Using seamless steel pipes that have been rolled, the inner wall is machined by drilling and boring to serve as the barrel. Cast iron shells with tail fins are then cast and filled with black powder and iron nail fragments.

When firing, the shell is loaded from the muzzle and stabilized by the tail fins, and then fired at a large angle to attack targets behind the city wall or in clusters.

Although its range, accuracy, and safety are far inferior to modern artillery on Earth, in this world dominated by cold weapons, this weapon, which can easily launch several kilograms of explosives hundreds of meters away, is undoubtedly revolutionary.

More importantly, its manufacturing difficulty is far lower than that of breech-loading rifled guns, which require precision machining.

At the same time, using high-quality steel and simple stamping and rolling technology, the first generation of "Jinshiling Breastplate" and "Pot Lid Helmet" began trial production.

Although it was not light, its defensive capabilities far surpassed those of leather and chainmail of that era.

With the addition of cast iron-cased landmines, pull-type grenades, and steel-armed crossbows that have already been mass-produced and continuously improved, and which are beginning to be distributed on a small scale, the military strength of Ember Ridge is undergoing a qualitative change.

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