Immediately afterward, Lorist headed with Reidi to the artillery training base in the Blade Mountain Range. This was the guarantee of the family's future conquests on the battlefield. Lorist's greatest ace in the hole had been dealt a devastating blow before it was even fully formed, which left him feeling especially stifled and furious.
Schwade had already taken up his position as commander of the artillery battalion. He reported to Lorist that currently 342 soldiers who had recovered from their injuries had returned to duty, bringing the total to just over 1,300 soldiers, with over 100 more who were permanently disabled. This time, 1,563 soldiers had sacrificed their lives in the Great Swordmaster attack. What hurt the most was that over half of the fallen soldiers were trained artillery crew members.
Lorist then went to visit
During the daytime Great Swordmaster attack, Jim had used the artillery's grapeshot capability to blanket a large area of the battlefield, arranging 46 bronze cannons into a defensive line. A thunderous barrage killed three Great Swordmasters on the spot and critically wounded two more, forcing the enemy to retreat. However, he hadn't expected the remaining Great Swordmasters to use the cover of darkness to infiltrate the artillery position. Once they closed to melee range, the bronze cannons became useless, and the soldiers were forced to fight them in close combat.
Three thousand artillery soldiers against nine Great Swordmasters — it was a massacre. The soldiers had absolutely no way to resist. As casualties mounted, the severely wounded deputy commander Paul Bins grabbed a gunpowder barrel and a torch and charged forward. A tremendous explosion left nothing but scattered remains of Paul Bins, and even though the Great Swordmasters dodged as fast as they could, one of them was still critically wounded.
Seeing that this method worked, the other soldiers followed suit, grabbing gunpowder barrels and attempting to take the Great Swordmasters down with them. Explosions echoed through the valley one after another. After another Great Swordmaster was critically wounded, the surviving ones finally grew afraid. While cursing them as madmen, they retreated from the artillery training base with their injured companions.
By the time Jim reached this point in his story, tears were streaming down his face and his voice was choked with sobs. Lorist was also deeply saddened. He could only comfort Jim, assuring him that he would not let the Great Swordmasters who had attacked the artillery training base go unpunished and would definitely avenge the sacrifice of the artillery battalion soldiers. After urging Jim once more to focus on his recovery, Lorist left his quarters.
Compared to the gravely wounded Jim and the heroically fallen Paul Bins, Professor Bob and his wife from the gunpowder laboratory hadn't been too badly shaken. The meticulous Jim had moved the elderly couple to safety before the Great Swordmasters arrived. Although the gunpowder laboratory had been thoroughly ransacked by the Great Swordmasters — even more than half the building had been destroyed — Professor Bob was safe and sound. For Lorist, this was the best news possible.
Professor Bob introduced to Lorist his recent years of research and insights into gunpowder. Regarding the bronze cannons, his achievements were granulation and standardized loading of gunpowder charges. Lorist had only mentioned these concepts in passing before, but after years of persistent experimentation, Professor Bob had finally achieved both goals. These two achievements alone doubled the firing rate of the bronze cannons. The current difficulty had shifted to the heat dissipation problem of the bronze cannons, which Professor Bob planned to discuss with Master Julian and Master Sid again to see if better materials could be used to cast the cannons and resolve the issue.
Beyond this, Professor Bob's greatest achievement was improving the collection and refinement process for saltpeter. In terms of practical impact, Lorist considered this to be Professor Bob's most significant contribution. The Galentea Continent was not Earth. Certain physical and chemical principles and laws in this world deviated from those on Earth. For instance, gunpowder on Earth required one part sulfur, two parts saltpeter, and three parts charcoal, plus specific material ratios to produce the standard black powder formula. But in this world, an additional portion of fire crystal powder was needed to achieve the same explosive effect as black powder on Earth.
Unfortunately, Lorist had been nothing more than the owner of a small handicraft factory in his previous life. Physics and chemistry were not his strong suits. Although he possessed some basic common sense, in a world like Galentea where certain laws differed from Earth's, his knowledge was completely useless.
In the Galentea Continent, two factors had shattered Lorist's dream of an age of firearms. The first was the steel used for forging weapons. At Master Sid's dark iron refining base, they still relied on primitive forging techniques to work refined iron into the needed steel. Although Lorist had provided the concept of water-powered forging machinery, forcibly elevating the
The second was the lack of saltpeter deposits for gunpowder production. It was said that only the underground saltpeter mine in the Dwarf Kingdom of the Titanini Mountains existed, with limited reserves that the dwarves guarded like treasure. The gunpowder Lorist used was entirely dependent on collecting and refining natural saltpeter. For the Norton Family, the greatest factor limiting the artillery battalion's presence on the battlefield was the stockpile of gunpowder.
Lorist's past-life experience on Earth didn't apply in this world. Take granulation, for example — on Earth it was simple: wet the powder, knead it into a lump, use a sieve to form granules, and dry them. But here, following the same procedure produced gunpowder granules that became smoke-producing powder, emitting thick smoke instead of violent explosions when ignited. Professor Bob's theory was that the fire crystal powder lost its effectiveness when wetted, and experimental results confirmed this. It took Professor Bob three full years of research and experimentation to overcome this difficulty.
The granulation of gunpowder not only improved its quality, enhancing firing effects and power, but also reduced the amount of saltpeter used. It also made standardized gunpowder charges for the bronze cannons a reality. Additionally, during his years of research, Professor Bob discovered the optimal nutrient medium ratios for cultivating saltpeter, more than doubling the yield from collected sources. This finally increased the family's gunpowder stockpile several times over, making the artillery battalion's deployment on the battlefield an inevitability in the near future.
Although Lorist was grieved and furious over the devastating blow to the artillery battalion, Professor Bob's good news filled him with elation. There could be no better news than this. Lorist immediately granted Professor Bob the title of Viscount of the territory, an announcement that would be made at this year's New Year celebration. Professor Bob was equally overjoyed — he would no longer have to watch Master Sid showing off in front of him. They were both Viscounts of the territory now, neither one ranking above the other.
Lorist lingered at the artillery training base for about ten days before heading to Master Sid's dark iron refining base, where he stayed for about half a month. After readjusting production plans and arranging for Master Sid's group to cast a new batch of improved bronze cannons for the artillery battalion, Lorist finally returned to Fury Bear City with Reidi and
When he arrived back at Fury Bear City, it was already October 7th. At the end of September,
Naturally, the jealous Princess Silivia was furious, demanding to know whether Lorist had gone to the Dina barony to recover from his injuries in seclusion or specifically to get Adoli pregnant again. This left Lorist in an extremely awkward position. Making matters worse, the four concubines all demanded equal treatment. As Fenna Gali put it, Elder Sister Adoli was merely Lorist's lover, yet she had borne two of his children. They were his concubines, and they certainly wouldn't fall behind. And so... Lorist began another round of blissful yet agonizing conjugal life...
Fatty Shi, Steward Speer, and Steward Kodan came to report to Lorist. As the three people holding the highest decision-making authority over the Norton Family's administrative affairs, their expressions were quite different. Fatty Shi looked bitter and weighed down with worry. Steward Speer was beaming with joy, his face radiating cheer. Steward Kodan wore a blank, expressionless face.
Fatty Shi delivered his report first. The migration affairs he was responsible for had already been planned and arranged. With the assistance of Sedecamp and
Migration affairs were tedious and complex, and Fatty Shi had worked himself to the bone. He looked considerably worn down. Lorist nodded, accepted his suggestions, comforted him with a few words, and told him to pay attention to his rest, suggesting he delegate more tasks to Sedecamp. After the migration affairs were fully settled, Lorist would also discuss military reform of the family's armed forces with the three of them. Meanwhile, Fatty Shi would also need to oversee this year's New Year celebration — the first to be held since Lorist's promotion to Sword Saint. It was sure to be a grand celebration of unprecedented scale.
Next came Steward Speer, who was clearly excited because the family had received an unexpected windfall. When Lorist asked, sure enough, it turned out that the war spoils from the Norton Family's armed forces' campaign against the Forde Commercial Alliance had arrived in Northland, escorted by the Flying Tiger Corps. Originally, when Lorist had led the family forces to sweep through Andewulf Province, Porteorge Province, and Campona Province, they had seized two to three million in spoils. Later, the Flying Tiger Corps' devastating defeat of the Forde Commercial Alliance's 100,000-strong reinforcement army allowed them to penetrate Malivia Province and eliminate a third of the Forde Commercial Alliance's noble territories, seizing another three million or so in valuables.
Then, when Lorist was gravely wounded in his confrontation with the Storm Sword Saint, Tiger Ross and Jost, seeking revenge against the Forde Commercial Alliance, took the Flying Tiger Corps and the Hunter Cavalry Corps to the front lines. Without Lorist to restrain them, the two were like wild horses set free, leading the Flying Tiger Corps and the Hunter Cavalry Corps to sweep through five provinces of the Forde Commercial Alliance. The spoils and war trophies from this campaign were beyond count. Just the four-wheeled wagons transporting the valuables numbered close to a thousand. Tiger Ross and Jost were well aware that their act of disobeying orders would anger Lorist, so they decided to seize more valuables and capture more people to mitigate their guilt...
Steward Speer was delighted because the combined value of this haul exceeded fifteen million gold Forde. Of that, gold coins alone accounted for seven to eight million, with the remainder consisting of precious artworks, decorative crafts, gold items, jewelry, and other valuables. This was only the second time the Norton Family had received such massive war spoils — the first being the destruction of that slave kingdom.
Since so much had come in, Lorist was generous with his spending. He immediately allocated a series of expenditures. The family's three great corps had been fighting externally for years, and the soldiers needed rest and rewards, so two million gold Forde disappeared right away. Another million was allocated to the gunpowder laboratory and the artillery training base — for pensions for the fallen soldiers, for rebuilding the artillery battalion, and for Professor Bob's research funds, all considerable expenses.
Additionally, the research funds for Master Sid, Master Farin, and Master Julian, the costs of recasting bronze cannons, the procurement of standard equipment for the family's three great corps, and other reimbursement costs filled a long list that Lorist produced. Steward Speer calculated with a pained expression and found that out of the fifteen million gold Forde windfall, only a little over half would actually make it into the family treasury. However, Steward Speer understood the priorities, and with furrowed brows, he gathered the list to approve the expenditures upon his return.
Steward Kodan was the last to report. He was responsible for the trials and sentencing of all personnel involved in the coup orchestrated by Steward Hanske. Steward Kodan produced a file folder containing the verdicts for over a thousand implicated individuals. However, on a sheet at the front of the file, several names were listed without proposed sentences — these required Lorist to personally decide their fates.
The first name was Lesket. As Lorist's eldest son, Steward Kodan had left a blank line after his name, believing he had no authority to propose a punishment for Lesket, given the complexity of the situation.
Lorist asked what punishment an ordinary commoner would receive for the crimes Lesket had committed. The answer was simple: the executioner's block or the gallows — take your pick.
"I once said that even princes are subject to the same laws as commoners. So, the gallows it is. The sins he has committed would be enough to hang him a dozen times over. Being placed on a pedestal and made into a puppet is not a crime. The fault lies in lacking self-awareness, compounded by being pampered and indulged from birth, cultivating such a tyrannical character. Had he not committed these crimes, I could have forgiven him. But to let him continue living now would bring shame upon the Norton Family. He brought the Norton Family not glory, but disgrace! The decision is made..."
Lorist personally decided the fate of his eldest son, Lesket. Though father and son had rarely lived together and shared no deep bond, they were still blood. Remembering the ecstasy he had felt over a decade ago when Lesket was first born, Lorist could not help but shed tears...
Perhaps Lesket's final fate had stirred something in Lorist, because all subsequent sentences for the implicated personnel were harsh and severe. The mastermind, Steward Hanske, was stripped of his family titles, and all seventeen members of his household were beheaded and displayed publicly. All personnel selected for Lesket's personal guard were also hanged, and their families were exiled to the Haneabada Islands. In addition, the three hundred or so individuals who had been the first to respond to Steward Hanske's call to install Lesket as the family's heir were similarly sentenced to hang, with their families also exiled to the Haneabada Islands.
The remaining implicated individuals, having committed lesser offenses, had their relatives forcibly relocated out of Northland and exiled to Muyeyuan Province. All sentences and verdicts would be publicly announced. The implicated individuals and their relatives numbered over ten thousand in total — for the family, this was nothing less than a political earthquake.
"As for the handling of the First Guard Corps, I will postpone that for now. I am considering whether to implement a military reform of the family's armed forces..." After completing the sentencing of all implicated personnel, Lorist left these parting words before departing from his study with a dark expression.
...