The smoke dissipated, and Desair could now see the extent of the devastation caused by the shell he had fired. This terrifying power had only been mentioned in some records of magicians...
Living in a world with magic, Desair had heard of more potent forces. However, the earth-shattering might emanating from a small iron tube designed and manufactured by mortals was truly astonishing.
At this moment, Desair was utterly speechless. The target was of his own choosing, and he had personally ignited the fuse of this cannon. There was hardly any room for deceit, and now he confirmed one fact: what he was witnessing was the true power of the cannon!
With such a weapon, even the sturdiest enemy fortress would be no different from rubble. As long as these cannons could be mass-produced on a large scale, human defensive structures would be rendered useless.
If these weapons became widespread, they would have a decisive role on the battlefield as well. After all, this thing could fire beyond the enemy's range, delivering long-range strikes against their formations.
While more potent forces existed in their magical world, Desair couldn't help but be astounded by the cannon's incredible destructive capability.
With just this leap in military technology, the Lord of Serys City before him could easily conquer the world and achieve victory in countless battles.
Thinking of this, Desair recalled the story that Chris had told him before: How much profit could one make by investing in a ruler of a country?
What Chris lacked now was capital and the time to accumulate it. Once he truly rose to power, there would be little profit to be had by joining in later.
With these thoughts in mind, Chris's earlier condition became incredibly tempting: "The Dragon Tate Family will become the richest family in the world, without exception; and within this family, there will be only one voice, and that will be yours!"
"Gulp..." Feeling a bit thirsty, Desair swallowed a mouthful of saliva and then handed the torch to Vagron beside him.
He walked step by step to Chris's side, looking up at Chris, who was much taller than him. "If... you can really do it... what you said... the Dragon Tate Family will stand by your side! Forever loyal to you!"
"Now, how much money are you willing to spend to buy the position of the world's richest person?" Chris looked at Desair, smiling, and asked.
Desair thought carefully for a moment, then glanced at the two cannons in the distance before solemnly replying, "1,976,000,000 gold coins!"
"About that much!" Chris nodded in satisfaction and said with a smile, "I won't let your investment go to waste... Happy cooperation."
"Happy... cooperation! I'll leave now. In ten days, I will purchase provisions, steel, and everything else you need and return here. As for your taxes, you don't need to worry; I will directly pay 1,000 gold coins in the Arant Empire. In addition, the 2,000 gold coins I have with me will stay here!" Desair said eagerly.
"Thank you!" Chris smiled and nodded, ending the conversation.
Watching Desair leave, Deins expressed some concern, "Money can be enticing... My Lord, can we trust him?"
"As long as he has great wisdom, or in other words, as long as he's not foolish, he won't easily betray us," Chris confidently replied, "Eliminating Serys won't bring him greater benefits, but it will give him another enemy... That's not a good trade."
"So, what do we do next?" Vagron, holding his sword, asked behind Chris.
"You stay here as my trusted aide and keep a close watch," Chris ordered. "We'll return to the castle. We must have a defense plan in place to ensure our safety."
"You mean?" Vagron asked with a serious expression.
"Now we need to think about how to protect ourselves!" Chris looked at the two cannons in the distance with confidence.
The group quickly returned to the castle in Serys City and laid out a detailed map on the round table in the meeting room.
The Arant Hill Family had gained control of Serys City, a pivotal trading hub rich in resources.During peacetime, such places were often prosperous, but during times of war, they were vulnerable from all sides. Serys City was a sought-after prize, but it was also an unfortunate battleground.
"We must break free from this position of being attacked from all sides," Chris said, folding his arms and furrowing his brow. "Fighting on multiple fronts is a grave military mistake."
Chris knew very well that any nation caught in a multi-front war, no matter how powerful, would eventually find itself in dire straits, or even completely defeated.
France, with the military genius Napoleon, fell into disarray during the Peninsular War, fighting on two fronts. Germany, with its exceptional military capabilities, also faced the challenges of two World Wars, resulting in two bitter defeats.
With so many examples before him, Chris felt it necessary to break free from the predicament of being surrounded on four sides. Only then could he stand undefeated after igniting his ambitions for supremacy.
"To our north, there's a stronghold," Vagron pointed to the north of Serys City, explaining to Chris. "Further north, there are seven other lords who have even more cavalry than we do, and they're formidable. Moving farther north, we have the Land of Bitter Winds, which has an enormous territory."
Attacking from the north seemed like an unwise choice, at least for now.
"Comparatively, we face the greatest defensive pressure from the north, with those lords being both greedy and strong," Vagron said with some frustration. "Usually, we station the most soldiers on the northern front."
"In the west, we have the Kingdom of Higgs, which also has a significant territory and strong military power," Deins pointed to the west of Serys City, continuing the briefing. "Higgs borders both the Holy Demon Empire and the Arant Empire, making it formidable and a thorn in the side of the Arant Empire."
This kingdom had its share of challenges and needed substantial effort to defend against. In fact, the Arant Empire had stationed lords like Chris along the border as a line of defense and a firewall.
"That leaves us with the south and east," Chris said, looking at the map and pressing his finger on the south. "Our south is the Arant Empire, and we're currently paying them taxes, so our safety there is relatively assured."
Their focus now shifted to the two castles in the east. Vagron placed his hands on those two castles on the map and continued, "In the east, we have Meine City and Crossing Point City."
"Meine is primarily an agricultural domain, though its terrain is treacherous. The lords further to the east possess more cavalry than we do, and they're highly formidable. Moreover, if we continue eastward, we encounter the Void Sea. While the location offers geographical advantages as a harbor, there's only one route inland, which is through our Serys."
Attacking from the east was not a favorable option either. Chris nodded, considering the situation. "What we need to do now is to bolster our forces and strengthen ourselves!"
"Our expansion plan will require an additional budget of around 700 gold coins, with the goal of increasing the number of soldiers in our territory to 2,000."
"We'll raise our cavalry count to 500, and we'll divide our infantry into two groups: one for guarding Serys City as city guards, and the other for field operations."
"Additionally, we'll allocate 1,000 gold coins to improve the conditions for all active-duty soldiers! We must intensify our training to prepare for potential threats from multiple directions." Chris allocated most of the gold coins Desair had left them.
"My Lord, should we... perhaps wait a bit longer..." Deins hesitated with his words, carefully choosing them, "before committing such a significant sum to prepare for a war that may not happen? The development of Serys might significantly slow down..."
"I know," Chris conceded, acknowledging Deins' point. "But our current situation is perilous. If we fail militarily, we're finished, aren't we?"
"War may not necessarily break out, my Lord..." Deins looked at Chris, hoping his lord would be more rational, "Shouldn't we reconsider?"
"We don't have the time to reconsider!" Chris waved his hand, looking at Vagron. "So, what we need to think about now is how to win in a potential war that might erupt!"
"It's true; we don't have time to reconsider." Recognizing the critical nature of the situation, Strid added, turning to Deins. "We'll soon be under scrutiny from others!"
As Strid spoke, Deins realized that the rapid expansion of the woodworking machinery and the popularity of affordable wood products in the region would make Serys a prime target.
"Alright! It seems that we must fortify ourselves before others see us as an easy target," Deins reluctantly agreed, realizing that reinforcing their defenses was the right course of action.
"Don't panic! Haven't I already completed experiments on several types of machinery?" Chris reassured his subordinates with confidence. "Let's put these machines into production!"
"We'll spend the gold coins now, and we'll find a way to earn them back, won't we?" Chris patted Deins on the shoulder. "You'll soon realize that, for us, gold coins are just numbers."
That same day, 30 women, having completed their training, began using Chris's newly designed looms, causing the price of cloth production in Serys City to drop by over ninety percent.
What was more astonishing was that, thanks to Chris's provided dyeing and printing techniques, the colors of the fabrics were exceptionally beautiful, fetching double the price compared to other regions.
Serys City quickly became prosperous, and Chris recovered the gold coins spent on his expansion plan almost instantly.
On another front, the advancement of their forging technology astonished the blacksmiths of Serys: the new furnaces could reach unbelievably high temperatures, making it easier to forge various metals. This increased the production speed of cannon barrels significantly.
With more job opportunities, every commoner in Serys City wore a smile. They all knew that Serys was on the rise, and this land was becoming incredibly wealthy!
