novelraw Chapter 72: Nine Times Strength Value
Chapter 72: Nine Times Strength Value
The dawn had already broken.
In the area around Highmount Fortress.
In a secluded part of the wild mountains, a white fleece blanket was spread over the grass.
Romon lay back comfortably with his hands behind his head, enjoying the service of two lovely ladies.
Akalaisi, as his personal bodyguard, didn’t need to be on the offensive. Meanwhile, the cat-eared Nini, quick in her movements, took care of matters and then hurried back to Romon’s side.
"Nini, the technique you taught is quite good," Romon complimented her.
Originally, Akalaisi had the physical attributes, but her skills with such large breasts were quite unrefined.
It wasn’t until Nini personally instructed her that she understood: she had to use both hands to support her chest while providing service with her mouth.
Romon gazed at the rising sun, waiting until it passed through several layers of clouds before he finally reached the peak.
"Mm..."
Akalaisi instinctively chewed, swallowing with a soft gulp.
"Ah, what a shame, didn’t you leave any for me?" Nini said, eyeing the situation with a greedy expression.
"Next time, Nini, I have something else to take care of."
Romon quickly dressed and flew off toward the Dwarven factory.
What he had provided to the Dwarves was not just generous policies during the war, but he had also personally sourced a large amount of coal ore for them.
Coal ore, unlike magic crystal ore, wasn’t a consumable. It released very limited energy, and could only be used in steam-powered machinery, not in magical constructs.
However, Romon’s goal wasn’t to use coal to develop new industries but to expand the Dwarves’ existing furnaces.
The materials for the third-generation machines were all smelted and forged by Dwarven craftsmen. As the scale expanded, Romon needed a more refined assembly line.
Feeding fuel and stoking fires were simple tasks that didn’t need the Dwarven engineers’ time. By hiring additional workers, efficiency could be greatly increased.
"Lukoff, report on the situation," Romon said as he landed at the Dwarven factory using Flight magic, immediately asking.
"My lord, currently, we have 5,124 third-generation machines in stock. We have enough materials left to make about 500 more. If we need to continue production, we’ll need to purchase more raw materials soon," Lukoff replied.
"Once this batch is finished, pause production. I need you to oversee the expansion of the large furnace. I’ve found a high-quality coal source for you, and..."
As he spoke, Romon gestured toward the ground beneath him. Soon, the ground began to heat up, and, to Lukoff’s horror, a Charcoal Sprite—Black Coal Ball—emerged from the earth.
"Wh-what... What is this? A Charcoal Sprite?! My lord, how did you bring it into the factory?!" Lukoff hastily moved to shield the production line, taking a defensive stance as though ready to protect it with his life.
"Don’t be nervous, Lukoff. I didn’t expect you to recognize a Charcoal Sprite."
Few people recognized the Charcoal Sprite. Manton and the regular army at the time didn’t know what it was. Even Talia, who had seen many things, didn’t recognize it at first.
Only Akalaisi and now Lukoff immediately recognized it.
"I certainly recognize it," Lukoff said, a hint of fear in his voice. "In our line of work, we often end up attracting them. This is the third time I’ve encountered a Charcoal Sprite in my life, and every time, it’s never ended well."
"Well, luckily, it’s my pet now. Its name is Black Coal Ball."
"Pet?" Lukoff looked at the unusually calm Charcoal Sprite, and, despite his surprise, had to believe Romon’s words. Apart from Taming, he couldn’t think of any other way to calm down such a volatile creature. He complimented, "My lord, you’re incredible, even managing to tame it."
"Just luck," Romon replied, shifting the topic back on track. "I can have it control the furnace temperature. With that, the smelting process will be much easier. You can feel free to expand the furnace—expand it big, to a scale that won’t need replacing for ten years."
Upon hearing this, Lukoff chuckled and nodded, though there was still something unspoken in his eyes.
That kind of subtle expression was easy for Romon to read.
So, he asked, "What is it? Anything you want to say? Feel free to speak up."
Lukoff scratched his forehead and, after a moment, motioned for Romon to follow him. "Let’s talk over there."
He led Romon ten meters away and spoke in a hushed tone. "My lord, you should be aware of the Charcoal Sprite’s temperament, so we’ll need to keep our voices down for the next part of the conversation."
"Mm, I’m listening."
"It’s like this. When I encountered the Charcoal Sprite twice in my life, I’ve always had an idea. I want to use the Charcoal Sprite’s power to create something with similar explosive properties to a bomb," Lukoff said, going on about his concept, the expected explosion power, how to approach it, and the possible risks involved.
Romon, after listening, asked only one question: "If successful, how large of an area of Stone Town could this bomb destroy?"
Lukoff had visited Stone Town a few times, though he wasn’t familiar with its inner workings, he had a good sense of the overall size of the town.
"About six bombs should be enough to level the entire Stone Town."
Six bombs to obliterate an entire town?
That kind of power was exhilarating!
Romon was certainly intrigued. He was eager to possess such a technology right away.
"Make it! Go ahead and develop it with confidence. I’ll personally approve a research area for you."
"Really, my lord?"
"Of course, really."
...
That same day, Lukoff threw himself into the research phase, leaving Romon to take charge of the furnace expansion work that he had originally assigned to Lukoff.
Romon recruited another 200 workers from Stone Town to assist the Dwarven engineers.
A whole day passed with the work.
The next day.
The plan was to enter Millbrook in three days, but now there were only two days left. If today wasn’t counted, it was just one day remaining.
Fortunately.
Today was also the day the simulation rounds were scheduled to reset. As Romon watched the countdown in the Simulator Blueprint ticking down, the words "Remaining Simulation Rounds: 9" appeared at the bottom.
Now.
With the major tasks falling into place—successfully slaying Thomas Nightingale, and killing his Priest—Romon could push further west with even greater strength.
The more times like this, the more he needed the safety net of a simulation to guide him.
He only had one life, and if he failed, it would be over. He would rather leave his mistakes in the simulation content than allow them to manifest in reality.
Therefore, the strategy for the first round should focus on advancing, testing things step by step.
Romon first took a broad view of the situation.
[Population: 24,395]
[Food: 99,870,000]
[Production Capacity: 4,800]
[Economy: 667,260]
[Culture: 462]
[Power: 18,400]
[Territory Ownership: Sionnas Empire]
The change in population primarily came from attacking towns, forcibly attracting settlers. Aside from a handful of craftsmen, the remaining population consisted of 17 high-ranking Elves.
As the territory expanded and the population grew, food supplies naturally surged as well.
He zoomed in on the map, and now, the aerial view of Thune Territory looked like a shield. The Great Wilderness occupied most of the right side, while Stone Town and Highmount Fortress, though not at the same elevation, lay along a similar latitude.
At the bottom was his original base—the castle.
From a strategic standpoint, he should have moved his main base deeper into the territory rather than being so close to the border. However, given the real-world geography, the eastern mountain range stretched far and wide, and for years, the Lord in the eastern region hadn’t made any significant moves.
Therefore, there was no immediate need to relocate. After all, moving would cost money, and the third-generation machines were already a huge drain on resources. Now that he had also allocated funds for Lukoff’s bomb research project, money was even tighter.
With military strength came confidence in daily life, so where he lived wasn’t a matter of great concern.
The overall production capacity of the territory had doubled compared to before.
As for cultural values, since the earlier overuse of the social figures’ sacrifices, the growth had slowed significantly. He’d have to find another opportunity to work on this, perhaps involving prominent figures from Highmount Fortress and Millbrook for another round of cultural boosting.
What put Romon most at ease, however, was the last figure—[Power: 18,400].
It had increased ninefold.
As a Lord who was always managing the operations, he knew exactly how this growth came about. The Dwarves’ contributions were enough to be recorded in the history of Thune Territory.
"Next, we need to keep pushing westward toward Millbrook, but we mustn’t stretch the front line too far at once," Romon thought to himself.
Most Lords would be wary of expanding beyond a town’s control before fully securing its population. He needed to solidify his grip on Highmount Fortress before he could turn his attention to Millbrook.
Only once both were thoroughly "absorbed" into Thune Territory could he move forward to conquer the next region.
So, he observed Millbrook, which had already been taken and had an army stationed there, but first returned to Highmount Fortress to implement a full deployment.
Then, he submitted the report.
[First Round Completed! A new "Lord’s Edict" is enacted in Highmount Fortress. Due to the success of Stone Town, it is widely praised. The people of Highmount Fortress, under the leadership of Lord Mangton, immediately began the "Adventurer Volunteer Service" signing ceremony.]
[Second Round Begins!]
Highmount Fortress was relatively easy to handle, thanks to the clever leadership of Mangton. In just one round, Highmount Fortress had followed in Stone Town’s footsteps.
And then Romon began to fret.
Millbrook was a hard nut to crack, far tougher than Highmount Fortress. That meant their officials were more loyal to the Nightingale family, which spelled trouble for Romon.
Winning over the people of Millbrook would likely require several times the effort it took to subdue Highmount Fortress.
With that in mind, Romon braced himself and started planning for the second round.
He stuck with the special edicts as his primary tool, supplemented by targeted, individualized measures, then clicked Submit.