Chapter 9: Do You Support It or Not
Year 832 of the Falling Stars Era, March 7th, Moldavia Main City, Lord's Mansion.
A three-story castle, entirely constructed from granite, stood in the city center, exuding a simple yet imposing aura. These uniformly textured, fine stone materials all came from quarries near the Great Aias Volcano. To celebrate the succession of their new lord and show respect, the quarry owner had donated his finest materials.
Black-bordered golden flags were erected on both ends of the castle's towers, the emblem of a hand gripping a sword fluttering in the wind. Before the gilded gate, guards clad in silver armor stood at their posts, as immovable as bedrock.
Inside the Lord's Mansion, servants and maids bustled back and forth, moving items. They hung portraits of past lords along the corridors and hallways, and carefully placed the trophies of this generation's young lord—the heads of various magical beasts and wyverns—on the walls of the great hall.
And at the very bottom of the castle.
But by the second edition, which began in 832, Joshua had already started preparing to establish a large war band. The information and news he could obtain at that time were no longer so superficial. By then, the warrior had already qualified to participate in major events, had led companions to slay and conquer many powerful enemies. Not to mention now, when he was already a Gold High-rank warrior, destined to enter the Ultimate realm, and in complete control of a County territory. Much information unknown to him in his past life was now open to him. As long as he continued to advance and develop at this pace, he would absolutely have the ability to alter the course of history in the future, ending all those wars that had not yet occurred before they even began.
But whether it was the intrigues among the nobility or the conflicts between nations, the warrior had no interest whatsoever. Those were things he had already defeated in his past life, things that no longer posed a challenge. What could attract him now was only the mastermind behind everything: the Chaos Evil God in the Void, the true source of all strife.
"Moraiya has agreed to my request. The Rune Dwarves will send a team in a few days to build the prototype of the Rune Factory. Once I refine the Mana Armor design with the Old Dwarf and Number 3, I should be able to produce a finished product within a year or two."
Sitting back at his desk, Joshua took out a black notebook and began recording his plans for the future. After writing for a while, he fell into thought again: "The resources near the Great Aias Mountains are enough to support the initial industrialization of Mana technology in the territory, but funding is an issue, and so is the availability of personnel with the corresponding skills."
Number 3 was currently in the church's blade-sealing room, transcribing most of the Mana technology data she knew. However, these technical materials from the Carlis people were far too profound. At Joshua's level, he could at most understand the most basic parts. He estimated that even the Old Dwarf might not understand much. To actually put them into practical use would likely take many years.
Just as Joshua was planning for future development, a pale blue magic circle lit up in front of his desk.
The warrior was slightly startled, but he quickly reacted. This was a simple communication array he had specifically requested to be installed. It was linked to the main array at the top of the castle, connecting to the Empire's entire magical communication network. However, currently, only two people knew his communication address: one was the Old Dwarf, and the other was Nostradamus, who was recently leading a team to set up teleportation gates everywhere.
Moraiya had contacted him not long ago, so the one calling now should be the Old Mage.
Activating the array, Joshua indeed heard Nostradamus greeting him in a low voice.
The Old Mage's communication this time was still about the matters concerning the Northern teleportation gates. Although most space-time passages had been closed and the factors affecting teleportation had disappeared, not every location was suitable for building a teleportation gate. He was contacting Joshua this time to inform him that his students had found several suitable locations for building gates, but were being rejected by the local residents. Therefore, he hoped Joshua would grant permission for his students to move freely within the territory to search, without being obstructed.
This was not a big problem. Joshua readily agreed, promising that as long as the Old Mage's disciples came, they would receive the corresponding permission.
The two discussed other issues as well, the conversation lively. Time passed, and the call was soon coming to an end.
"...Besides that, Joshua."
Nostradamus's voice came through the communication array, sounding somewhat solemn and hesitant. He spoke slowly: "I have an idea."
"Please, go ahead."
Joshua replied naturally.
"What do you think of me opening a mage academy in the North? How does that idea sound?"
(To be continued.)