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Chapter 178: Finally, the Time Has Come. (1)

While the knights were dedicated to their training, the reinforcement work on the hot air balloon was also completed.

Galbarik, whose pride had taken a hit before, thumped his chest and boasted.

“The reinforcements are definitely finished! There will absolutely be no accidents this time! Unless we’re attacked or some idiot does something stupid!”

Indeed, whether the dwarves had poured their pride into it or not, the reinforced hot air balloon completed its flight safely.

But it wasn’t just the hot air balloon the dwarves were entrusted with.

Ghislaine immediately checked on the other things as well.

“How about the under armor made from Blood Python? That was urgent too.”

“That’s all done. Cutting it was incredibly tough; even the wizards had a hard time.”

The dwarves worked with the wizards to create clothing that could cover vital areas like the neck, chest, arms, and legs from the Blood Python’s leather.

With limited materials, they focused on protecting vital spots rather than making full-body suits.

If worn under armor, it would be enough to prevent any serious injury for ordinary soldiers.

The leather of the Blood Python is notoriously difficult to cut unless using mana.

“Dwarves really are the best. The armor for the knights must be finished too, right?”

“We filled in all the missing pieces. That was actually the easiest part.”

There was a heartfelt sincerity in Galbarik’s words.

Making armor was truly the easiest task. It was something they had done most often, and they just had to repair the existing armor or fill in the lacking parts.

Ghislaine nodded. The basic weaponry to supply the knights was complete.

However, that didn’t mean they were entirely ready.

“I know how to reinforce the hot air balloon now, so we need to start additional production. We never know when the enemies might invade. We need to make it as quickly as possible.”

The dwarves hadn’t arrived until late, and material shortages had pushed back their start date, making the timeline a bit later than Ghislaine had initially planned.

Plus, reinforcing the hot air balloon had further consumed their time.

Since schedules hinge on human work, aligning everything perfectly isn’t easy.

Even though they had intentionally set tight deadlines taking such things into account, Ghislaine was still unhappy with the current situation.

But Galbarik wasn’t pleased with the schedule either.

“No, we’ve created a device that will go down in history, why can’t we take a break? There’s too much work, we’re all going to die! If this keeps up, we’ll go on strike! Guarantee workers’ rights to rest! Guarantee it!”

“No. I’ve said so many times there’s no time. But if we meet this deadline, I’ll give you a vacation.”

“A vacation? Really?”

Galbarik’s eyes lit up at the word vacation.

In a state where he was so busy he couldn’t even sleep properly, hearing about a vacation made his heart race.

For someone who was not just a slave by status but also rolling around like a real slave, a vacation was an irresistible temptation.

“How long are you thinking of giving?”

“I’ll give you a week. It’s not common to get a week off in our territory.”

Galbarik immediately entered into negotiations.

“Give me a month!”

Honestly, it was true that the dwarves were working the most and taking on all the important tasks, so Ghislaine readily nodded.

“Okay, then I’ll give you two weeks.”

“It must be three weeks!”

“I’ll give you one week.”

“Why is it going down again?”

Normally, even if they didn’t meet the three weeks, they would at least offer more than two weeks, right?

Caught off guard by this unfamiliar negotiation technique, Galbarik looked flustered as Ghislaine casually tossed out, “How about we settle at three days? No breaks would be even better.”

“…I’ll take one week.”

Galbarik’s tone became polite again.

Even if it was just a week, it was a relief to have made a promise. But it was hard to hold back the tears.

“I should’ve just accepted the two weeks when I had the chance.”

Still, taking a week off would allow him to catch his breath. As long as work didn’t pile up more than it already had.

Using the excuse of vacation, Galbarik quickly fled. He had completely understood Ghislaine.

Once Galbarik left, Ghislaine reviewed the achievements they had made so far.

After returning to the territory, he had been frantically working to prepare many things.

Immigrants were flowing in, and residences, workshops, and farmlands were expanding. Other facilities were also increasing rapidly.

Since the dwarves had arrived, various equipment and tools had also been quickly produced.

The knight order’s training was progressing smoothly.

Had it not been for Ghislaine’s future knowledge and the relentless effort of the people, this would have been impossible.

Thanks to everyone working together, they achieved results that far outpaced the development speed of an average territory.

But was that enough?

Ghislaine shook his head.

‘Not enough.’

If this were any other territory, he would have enjoyed the progress with a joyful heart.

But for Ghislaine, who had powerful enemies to fight, such feelings were a luxury.

Even now, Ghislaine’s wealth was rapidly decreasing while the tax revenue was nearly non-existent.

The only products from the Penris Territory amounted to nothing more than cosmetics. Most of what the workshop produced was war supplies, and food was in the process of being bought rather than sold elsewhere.

The number of low-rank knights had increased rapidly, but conversely, the military strength consisted entirely of the knight order.

They were no match for the great lords with thousands or tens of thousands of troops.

That’s why Ghislaine couldn’t afford to rest.

‘There must be absolutely no mistakes. We must minimize the damage.’

The Penris Territory was pursuing extreme development, and any slip-up would surely lead to disaster.

Just as Claude had said, such a precarious state could hardly be called a normal territory.

For that reason, winning this war was tremendously important.

It was either a perfect victory or a perfect defeat.

Nothing in between.

To win without sufficient power, they would have to execute a risky operation that the enemy could not predict.

‘Preparations are almost complete. The time to fight will come soon.’

Organizing his thoughts, Ghislaine stepped outside and looked up at the sky.

‘It’s getting warmer.’

Even now, no one seemed to notice. The north’s weather has always been mercurial, after all.

But Ghislaine, having come from the future, knew exactly what the current weather changes signified.

Feeling that the time was drawing near, Ghislaine summoned his retainers and gave new orders.

“All construction currently in progress will be halted for the time being.”

Everyone looked bewildered and exchanged glances.

They had been rushing when they were short on time, so it was only natural to be surprised when told to stop.

Rather than feeling good about not working, fear on what other mess might occur came to the forefront.

Claude cautiously questioned in a scared tone, “Why the sudden halt on construction? We need to speed up housing work to accommodate the next wave of immigrants.”

“I’m not saying to stop entirely. The dwarves will focus on making the hot air balloons, while everyone else will be redirected to work on waterways, reservoir construction, and expanding reservoirs.”

Claude and the retainers tilted their heads in confusion.

Waterways and reservoirs were essential facilities for agriculture, and Ghislaine had emphasized them several times before, so they were the first tasks taken care of when working on new arable land.

The waterways and reservoirs were already well-maintained enough to handle the current production levels without needing to increase them.

Having a comprehensive understanding of the territory’s work status, Claude asked again, “We’re already well-prepared with excess reserves in case of an unexpected disaster. We’ve stored water in the communal reservoirs of each village as well as here.”

At those words, Ghislaine shook his head.

While he knew that something could happen in the future, he hadn’t witnessed the situation firsthand in his past life.

He had only seen it in records.

Without direct experience, any events would inevitably require more preparation than expected based strictly on records.

“There’s no harm in being too prepared, right? The foundations are already laid, so it wouldn’t be difficult to expand. Think of it as drawing water from the surrounding rivers while working. In fact, ask Perdium for funds and laborers to create a few more.”

At this, Claude nodded several times and took his leave.

Controlling water was one of the lord’s critical duties. Especially in barren areas like the north, its significance was even greater.

There was no such thing as being overboard.

Ghislaine then asked Claude, “How’s the food situation? Are we still purchasing?”

At this, Claude showed a visibly tired expression.

He had heard mention of food at every meeting. Just the thought of the word made him want to vomit.

“I’m expanding storage because it looks like it’ll burst. We have so much food surplus that even the stray dogs and cats around have gotten fat. By the end of this harvest, you’ll be hailed as the food king of the north.”

Since the territory residents had gone from starving to full, morale was high, and it was only natural for them to praise their lord.

But from Claude’s perspective, he couldn’t simply be glad about it. Too much money was being spent on food purchases. It had reached a point of wasting money.

At first, Claude just let it slide. They would need large amounts of food for defense preparations.

But now, it was simply too much. In terms of quantity, they could survive in the castle for over a decade. Of course, it would all rot away before then.

Even if the retainers tried to advise him, Ghislaine barely listened, making it exhausting to discuss.

Ghislaine just nodded a few times and continued speaking.

“Prepare supplies for an army of 3,000. We’ll be departing soon.”

Claude looked at him in utter disbelief.

Even combining the haphazardly raised knight order, the territory only had about 500 troops.

This confirmed it.

‘My lord really can’t count!’

*

The news about the Penris Territory purchasing large quantities of food reached Harold’s ears.

“What? That Ghislaine is still buying food?”

“Yes, thanks to him, the prices of food in the north have risen significantly. He’s buying anything from merchant groups coming from other regions.”

Harold couldn’t contain his laughter at his retainer’s report.

“Hahaha, what a fool! The prices will drop once the harvest ends, and he can’t even wait for that! Just because he made some money from runestones and cosmetics, he throws it around without a care!”

“Seems like his agricultural improvements turned out to be in vain, and now the harvest yield is dropping. With more immigrants arriving, it appears there’s a significant food shortage.”

“Of course. It was nonsensical from the start. It was predictable. If he doesn’t want to starve, he’ll have to keep buying food.”

Thanks to Ghislaine sealing off the territory, rumors about the food production in the Penris Territory hadn’t spread yet. So everyone just assumed his agricultural improvements had failed.

‘If I couldn’t achieve an increase in yield, then this rookie stands no chance.’

Harold had a pleasant smile on his face.

He couldn’t help but feel good knowing that someone he found irritating had taken a big hit.

After a moment of thought, he asked his retainer, “How much surplus food do we have left?”

“During the last war, Digald was in charge of supplies, so we’re still well-stocked. Once this harvest ends, there should be quite a bit left.”

“Good. Then let’s sell our surplus at a high price this time. We need to give that arrogant fool a solid loss.”

“Understood. I’ll arrange to have our merchants buy first.”

The retainer’s reply made Harold smile in satisfaction.

The Desmond Territory boasted the highest food production in the north alongside Raybold.

One of their main sources of income was food sales, so such an excellent opportunity couldn’t be missed.

“It seems the heavens are smiling upon us. We were on a tight budget due to the last war.”

From Harold’s perspective, it truly felt like a fortunate opportunity.

With the repercussions of their defeat in Perdium still lingering, they had to spend an astronomical amount of money to restructure their forces and support Amelia.

Was that all? The money spent trying to acquire the northern territories was also substantial.

With all this, it was no surprise that even the Desmond Territory was swaying.

If the Duke faction and Count Cabaldy hadn’t supported them, they wouldn’t have even been able to rearm.

The main product, food, was approaching its harvest season, so selling it at high prices would be challenging.

Yet, such a golden opportunity has come.

They could replenish their lacking funds while inflicting losses on Ghislaine, which couldn’t be better.

“Indeed, what had succeeded before was merely by luck. That rookie had become a bit too arrogant. Now that he’s hit the wall of reality, he’s seeing his limitations. He doesn’t even understand how important food is, churning out luxury items like cosmetics and gallivanting around the capital.”

Harold made an effort to belittle the cosmetics—something even the Duke faction had praised. He had to do it for his pride.

Otherwise, he couldn’t endure it.

“Whoever controls food can tighten everyone’s throat. It’s the most crucial factor in the north. Far more important than cosmetics.”

The food situation of the north was governed by Desmond and Raybold.

Transporting it from other regions only added additional costs, making it far more expensive, so that was only natural.

As much as he wished to squeeze every bit of life out of food supplies, he couldn’t pursue that method with a competitor like Raybold.

But that wouldn’t last long.

“Once Amelia’s rebellion succeeds, we can fully grasp the food supply in the north.”

The lords in the north, caught in their weaknesses, would kneel without putting up a fight.

Thus, it was no surprise that the Duke faction and Harold were so focused on Amelia’s rebellion.

If it weren’t for that, they would have devised some justification to simply wipe Ghislaine out long ago.

“Heh heh, for now, I’ll sell you some food so you can eat your fill. When the time comes, I’ll consume you.”

Harold smiled again. His mood was splendid.

 

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