"Absolutely beautiful..." Within the lord's residence of Meinn City, Lord Ensair was rubbing his hands in excitement as he looked at ten identical chairs.

"You're saying that a young man from the Irenshill family in Seris City made these?" He reached out to touch the glossy finish of the chairs, greed apparent in his voice as he turned to the nearby merchant.

"Yes, my lord! I spent 20 silver coins on each chair, and they are indeed produced in Seris. I've confirmed it many times," the merchant respectfully replied.

Seris had developed a new woodworking technique that had Lord Ensair salivating. He hoped to acquire this technique to further enrich himself.

"And these beautiful fabrics..." After examining the chairs, Ensair turned his attention to the colorful fabrics. His hands caressed the smooth texture of the fabrics, and he was lost in their beauty.

For a moment, he forgot to speak, completely absorbed in the admiration of the rainbow-like fabrics.

Finally, the greedy lord snapped out of his reverie and assumed the demeanor of someone in power. "Very good... very good!" He nodded ostentatiously and turned to his generals. "What are our chances of attacking Seris?"

As soon as the lord posed this question, the general knew he had a desire for war. After a moment of contemplation, he replied, "We have about a 70% chance of success."

While Seris had elite soldiers and superior armor and weapons, they needed to defend four directions, which would stretch their forces thin.

"We only need to defend two directions, while they must defend four. Though they have more troops, they'll have to spread them out... that's our advantage," the general explained, offering a seemingly feasible plan of attack.

"We'll gather our forces first and launch a surprise attack on the border! Seris City will be caught off guard and will suffer heavy losses." Instead of relying solely on his own forces, the lord aimed to prolong the war, hoping that other powers would join in. "Once our attack proves effective, and they are forced to retreat to Seris Castle, other forces from different directions will take advantage of the situation."

Everyone understood the allure of wealth. After hearing the general's plan, Lord Ensair immediately saw it as a viable option.

He believed that as long as he shared the spoils with the lords from other directions, the Empire of Irenth wouldn't bother with such a minor matter if he were to bear the 1,000 gold coin tribute from Seris City. If he were willing to pay an additional 300 gold coins, he might even improve his standing.

With these thoughts in mind, Ensair couldn't contain his excitement any longer. "Summon all the soldiers! Find a way to arm the peasants as well! I will personally lead the army to conquer Seris!"

"Wise decision, my lord! With such remarkable craftsmanship... those craftsmen should belong to Meinn!" His trusted retainer, standing beside him, praised him with a sly grin.

"Send a message to Lord Grelor of Wucok Port! Borrow 500 elite soldiers from him! As long as we take Seris City, I'll share half the spoils with him!" Ensair, feeling that his own forces might be insufficient, made what he considered a prudent decision.

...On the other side, Chris sat on a high platform, watching the first-generation artillery undergoing training in the distance. His face couldn't hide his delight.

After creating two prototype cannons, he improved the design and, using a combination of manual labor and mechanical assistance, produced 20 more advanced cannons. Thanks to a new smelting formula, Chris's blacksmiths incorporated special materials into the cannons, forging robust modern artillery barrels.

With the application of rifling technology, the new cannons featured rear-loading and fixed ammunition, along with touch-sensitive fuses, significantly increasing their firepower.

Compared to the 1880 artillery observed by Desair, Chris's weapons were now at the level of 1900 or so, comparable to the artillery used during World War I.

In recent days, Chris had also improved the artillery carriages, adding hydraulic recoil systems. This turned his artillery into a prototype of modern field artillery.

It was all thanks to the inexhaustible technical knowledge in his mind that his weaponry had made a significant leap.

Twenty 90mm-caliber howitzers with a range of 7 kilometers and rapid loading capability were now at his disposal. These cannons provided formidable fire support for his troops in both field and siege scenarios.

To serve these cannons, Chris had personally selected and trained 50 soldiers from his veterans. Through intensive training, they learned modern artillery management and tactics, allowing for the transmission of knowledge to future artillery crews.

The limitation to Chris's rapid military expansion was the fundamental knowledge of his people and the shortage of industrial equipment. Despite having the blueprints for advanced technologies like the U.S. F-22 fighter jet in his mind, he lacked even a single electric milling machine.

The cannons and ammunition he had manufactured using the most traditional methods already possessed power beyond this era. However, Chris knew he couldn't withstand the consumption and devastation of a prolonged war in his current state.

He felt like the Eighth Route Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War, with a thin industrial base and only able to solve immediate issues, unable to support a protracted large-scale war.For him, there was some good news: other nations in this era lacked even this level of industrial foundation.

"Range 40! Loading complete!" On the artillery position in the distance, the commanding officer waved a small flag as he shouted orders.

Soldiers, who had practiced loading solid training shells repeatedly, now labored to remove the heavy shells from the gun barrels, preparing for the next loading cycle.

The shells were expensive, and the artillery required a considerable number of personnel. Among the 500 new recruits Chris had enlisted, 400 were specially trained for the artillery.

Each cannon was operated by a crew of 10 soldiers, including a commander, a gunner, three operators, three loaders, and two personnel responsible for the horse-drawn carriage.

In addition to these 10 soldiers, another 10 served as reserves, learning the necessary skills for future expansion of the artillery units.

"Lord, just received a message: all the special carriages prepared for these cannons are completed. These cannons can now keep up with the marching speed of the cavalry," Vaglorn, Chris's aide, reported, bringing good news.

As someone who knew about the future of industrialization, Chris had prepared carriages for the entire army to ensure swift mobility. This gave him a fast and maneuverable force capable of quickly reaching any crisis point.

For every five soldiers in his artillery, there was a four-horse, four-wheeled carriage responsible for transporting the horses, supplies, shells, tents, and tools. Standard infantry also had carriages for every 10 soldiers, ensuring swift movement.

Chris had spared no expense in preparing 100 carriages of various types, giving his entire force access to wheeled transportation.

"Now, no matter where a problem arises, we can immediately deploy 500 cavalry and 500 infantry to that direction," Chris said, relieved after twenty days of hard work. He was now prepared to face future battles and had the strength to protect his wealth.

"Lord, there have been some unusual movements near the earthworks, and it seems the northern barbarians are showing an interest in us," Vaglorn reported some less favorable news after conveying the good news.

The wealth of Seris had attracted the attention of neighboring powers, and this situation was not ideal. The peace they were experiencing seemed more like the calm before a storm.

"Increase our northern garrison by 100 soldiers! Strengthen the border guard to 300 troops! We must make our stance clear! We can't afford to appear weak in this matter!" Chris instructed, furrowing his brow.

"Understood, my lord!" Vaglorn felt the mounting pressure. Besides the 500 new recruits Chris had established, 300 troops were nearly the entire force they could deploy now.

If the northern tribes made any further moves, Seris would have to transfer cavalry and new recruits to the northern border. For Chris, who had a limited number of mobile units, this was far from good news.

"Lastly, Mr. Desair has kept his word. He paid the tribute to the Empire of Irenth on our behalf, and the imperial tax collector has just delivered the tax receipt, praising our proactive tax-paying attitude," Vaglorn mentioned another matter, his tone somewhat bitter.

Seeing Vaglorn's expression, Chris chuckled. "Hahaha, did the tax collector spend a lot on that? He must have wanted to impress the Empire, right?"

"When the imperial tax collector left, he filled an entire cart with the most expensive purple fabrics," Vaglorn complained with a tone of regret.

"It's not expensive! As long as the Empire of Irenth doesn't pressure us, that money won't have been spent in vain!" Chris responded, recognizing that the issue wasn't the expense. He lacked time for development and sufficient defensive forces. If he could resolve these issues, then spending a little extra was undoubtedly worthwhile.

"Lastly, the parts you requested yesterday have all been manufactured. Mr. Chris, the blacksmith, asked me to convey that the steam engine can now be assembled," Vaglorn remembered something and added.

"Continue the artillery training! Make good use of the time we have! What we lack now is time!" Chris stood up, patting Vaglorn's shoulder. "After all, good news outweighs the bad, and this is the best news!"

With that, he descended from the platform and rode towards the direction of the workshop.