The elderly always have an unrealistic protective instinct towards their descendants.
This stems from the instinct of life propagation, and even Kudel, such a resolute vampire civilian protection officer, couldn’t avoid this tendency.
He claimed that after becoming a vampire, he had lost most of his human emotions, but in reality, these emotions hadn’t vanished into thin air.
They were just carefully hidden by Kudel beneath his vampire shell.
Murphy originally thought he was an anomaly among vampires, but compared to the extremely awkward Kudel, he was actually a relatively normal vampire.
Can you imagine that in the hundred-plus years since Kudel became a vampire, he had used “Blood Thirst” – a power considered core by other vampires – in combat fewer than five times?
The vampire’s craving for blood was forcefully suppressed by Kudel’s iron-like will, which itself was quite a miracle.
“I could explain my intentions for ‘abducting’ your granddaughter with many logical reasons, but I know those would only intensify your anger.
So I’ll be direct.”
Murphy gestured as he explained:“You also know about the previous deal between the Greyclaw faction and the Gnoll warlord Kenport. Whether the defense maps of the entire Saxony region are known to the Gnolls is now uncertain.
And the Anju region is directly north of the Saxony region, separated only by the Dilana Mountains.
Those mountains are indeed treacherous, and the Goldflower Kingdom has built fortresses there along with several Silver Dwarf outposts, but do you think the Anju region can still rest easy if the Black Plague chooses this route to advance?
I admit I’m fostering an unwarranted fear, but the fact is, letting your granddaughter return to her hometown isn’t any less risky than letting her stay in Transia, staying by your side.
At least here, you can protect and guide her.
Becky truly has talent!
She might become a rare female Golden Knight among humans.
More importantly, her pursuit of power isn’t driven by fame or other things, she aspires to become a legendary knight like you.
This itself is a miracle, and fate has brought her to your side.”
“Having my granddaughter stay with a group of vampires? I can hardly imagine it.”
Kudel said in a low voice:
“I trust you, but only you few. My granddaughter would be an irresistible ‘feast’ for any vampire.”
“Then you should teach her how to deal with vampires like us, even train her to become an outstanding and lethal ‘vampire hunter’.
She absolutely has the talent for it!”
Murphy said gently:
“Isn’t teaching her how to properly hold a sword better than letting her live in ignorance of such risks? Moreover, we already have a Holy Grail.
When necessary, we only need to guide Becky to change her faith, and with just a little time, she can become a Holy Grail Knight like you.
Tell me, where else on the continent would be more suitable than here for Becky to step onto the stage of legend?”
“I cannot argue against that.”
Kudel sighed, and after several seconds, he said:
“But I always feel that your insistence on keeping my granddaughter in Transia isn’t because you value her talent and future, you have other plans for her.
This makes me uneasy, Murphy.”
“A powerful blonde female knight is too hard to find.”
Murphy didn’t hide his certain “intentions,” saying:
“We already have a Torrent Knight Order, their numbers will increase in the future, and they need a Grand Master or Grand Inquisitor or Grand Lord who can convince everyone.
I could even push Becky to the position of ‘Crusader General’ in the future, as long as she wants it, as long as she’s willing. At least in Transia, her life has countless possibilities.
Of course, I didn’t come to find you just because of Miss Becky.
Regarding what we’ve been planning all along. About the military defense line between the Baroness of Shadow’s territory and the Foul Swamp, I’ve decided to start construction next week!
We have just over 4 months, and with the help of the rapid construction technology currently used by my warriors, we can barely complete the construction of a defense line before the crisis emerges.
There are now over 10,000 Kobolds gathered there.
Labor isn’t lacking, but they need some supervisors to direct them. I want you to be in charge there, and I’ll assign excellent deputies for you.
You just need to oversee the place, specific affairs will be arranged by others.”
“Hmm.”
Kudel didn’t refuse, but then he asked:
“I read the intelligence Adele passed to me about those Gnoll sorcerers in the Foul Swamp. How do you plan to deal with them? Or will you let them continue searching for King Gnawbone’s treasure there?”
“That’s a problem that must be solved! It’s a terrible hidden danger.”
Murphy said in a low voice:
“After the King of Fighters Championship ends, I will mobilize all available forces in Transia to enter the swamp. Hog has already found us a path for smooth advancement.
Don’t look so surprised, Kudel. I only said we would build defense lines, I never said we would fight the Gnolls on our own land.
The defense lines are just precautionary; I’ve already chosen the real battlefield.”
The Governor flexed his fingers, saying:
“I’m certain that after the 100-day grand construction ends, the Foul Swamp will no longer be Transia’s border. We will fight alongside the Blood Pact Knights in the Dark Mountains.
Yes!
This will be Transia’s first proactive expansion in history!
We will bring the flames of war to the Gnolls’ territory, and you, Kudel!
You will form our vanguard together with Maxim, like two fierce fists thrust out by Transia. We will no longer be on the defensive.”
————————
“Brother Loyalty, look at the gun barrel I just made! Hey, I tell you, it’s absolutely first-rate.”
In the temporary office of the “Otherworld Weapon Design Area” at the “First National Armament Factory of Transia” being built at the former location of the great beast cave in the Anderma Hills, Brother Loyalty, who was holding a pipe and frowning at a stack of weapon blueprints, heard the excited call from outside.
He sighed, rubbed his already balding hairstyle, first put all the blueprints “replicated” from elsewhere into the safe behind him, then slowly walked out holding his pipe.
Though Brother Loyalty’s level was still a pitiful 9, the “outfit” he wore now was unique among all players.
A shirt and waistcoat topped with a flashy black tailcoat, paired with crisp trousers and boots, the most outrageous thing was the monocle decorating his eyes, and a black top hat on his head.
Actually, there was supposed to be a cane too.
But Brother Loyalty found it troublesome and never carried it, replacing it instead with a pipe he got from a Bataxin merchant.
Such a unique outfit certainly couldn’t have been dropped from monsters. In fact, this costume set named “Capitalist” was Brother Loyalty’s achievement reward after being appointed factory director.
Probably due to some dark humor from the development team, the parts of this set also had very meme names – the monocle was called “Surplus Value”, the top hat “Old Money”, the tailcoat “Exploiter’s Skin”, and the custom cane “Conscience”.
Besides these set pieces, outside the gates of Transia’s armament factory stood a peculiarly shaped custom lamppost, which was also part of the “Capitalist” set.
It was named “Noose”.
When Brother Loyalty previously paraded around in this extremely exaggerated costume, he really grabbed quite a bit of attention.
Now everyone on the forum, whether they play the game or not, has nicknamed him “Brother Capital”. Brother Loyalty doesn’t mind this, he just thinks the development team really knows how to play.
And players want exactly this kind of uniqueness!
Therefore, the Capitalist outfit that felt somewhat awkward to wear at first has now been accepted by Brother Loyalty. As long as he’s not in combat status, he wears it every day without taking it off. Paired with two leather gloves, it can better conceal Brother Loyalty’s “secret weapons”.
Namely his mechanical left arm and mechanical right fist, which are also unique among players!
Hey, who says the fun of gaming is only in monster hunting and doing quests?
Brother’s already the game’s first factory owner without doing anything.
He sauntered out of his office with the pipe in his mouth, and immediately saw a group of his “weapon engineers” gathered together discussing something in the spacious workshop.
This workshop was built for them recently by Grayman and his work team along with Blood Vulture Spirit Mages, and is part of the Transia armament factory building complex.
Some assembled machinery has been placed inside, but because the large steam engine that powers the auxiliary machinery is being transferred from elsewhere by the Carpe family, production can’t start yet.
In fact, even if the power source arrives, Brother Loyalty doesn’t plan to start production immediately.
He still needs to wait for Countess Sharon to arrive with improved blueprint proposals, to convert these production lines originally meant for “steam-powered firearms” into “otherworld gun modules” before real work can begin.
Governor Murphy himself said that although this conversion would take up a lot of manpower and resources, causing initial production volume to rise slowly, this matter must be approached step by step from the beginning, absolutely cannot abandon the “independent research and development” plan for the sake of production volume.
Support from top leadership gave Brother Loyalty peace of mind, and he was no longer anxious about production.
These days while other players eagerly ran off to compete in Transia’s King of Fighters Championship, he and his group of very “sketchy” little players discussed here every day how to better operate the armament factory and tried to select and design their first “flagship product”.
But easier said than done. Even someone like Brother Loyalty who had actually smelled gunpowder couldn’t help but be overwhelmed during first operations, let alone these “enthusiasts” – just the gun barrel crafting process alone was enough to discourage most outsiders who eagerly came to apply as “engineers” at the armament factory.
Blueprints, who can’t copy them from the internet?
The question is whether you can turn those blueprints into reality, that’s the difference between a dreamer and an engineer.
“Look! Brother Loyalty, the gun barrel I made. Hey, I tell you, it’s absolutely first-rate.”
The little player “Night Phantom Bat Puppet”, who had been good friends with Brother Loyalty since the forum lurking days, proudly held up a black gun barrel with both hands and presented it to Brother Loyalty.
The latter took it in surprise, felt it for a bit and asked:
“Hot working? Cast product?”
“Yeah, you’ve got good eyes, spotted the process at a glance. These idiots thought I drilled it by hand, they didn’t think about where I’d get that much strength.”
Night Phantom Bat Puppet grinned and said:
“I made the mold myself following online instruction documents, tried a few times and got this. After all, it’s 15th century technology, not too complicated.”
“Hmm, tested the strength yet?”
Brother Loyalty asked, and Night Phantom Bat Puppet shrugged:
“Not yet, wasn’t I looking for you to approve some pointed bullets to test it?”
“Hey, cast gun barrels have air bubbles inside, be careful of barrel explosions.”
Another tall thin player named “Barrett” warned:
“I think if conditions allow, we still need to use cold forging. I asked the gunsmiths of the Carpe family, they said there’s similar rolling equipment in the armament factory in the Anju region, and in the Halfling factories there are already 19th century level drilling machines and reamers.”
“That’s still the Halflings’ stuff no matter how good it is, we don’t have it.”
Night Phantom Bat Puppet said defiantly:
“I know the problems with hot working too, accuracy and durability aren’t great, but what can we do when we have no choice right now?
Using manual methods is still better than importing gun barrels in bulk from the Carpe family for assembly, right?
Besides, we’re making bolt actions now! Not semi-automatics, casting technology is enough, rifling can be drilled manually.
It just takes more manual labor.
We can talk about industrial upgrading after we survive the Black Plague.
The People’s Army under Maxim ordered 1,500 breech-loading rifles just for the first batch, you need to produce this batch first!”
“I was just saying, I know conditions are difficult now.”
Barrett rubbed his nose and said:
“I agree the bolt action is sturdy and practical, but if we want to establish fire superiority for Transia’s soldiers, semi-automatic has to be put on the agenda.
Have some ambition, will you? Did we come all the way here just to make some bolt actions?
Isn’t that embarrassing?”
“Stop arguing! What are you fighting for, don’t you understand we’re a team?”
Brother Loyalty calmed down his most capable and somewhat experienced “right and left hands”, removed his pipe and revealed:
“In a while, Lady Palen will represent Transia on a visit to Halfling territory. We’ll submit a report requesting the equipment we need, see if we can get some ‘advanced stuff’.
If that doesn’t work we’ll at least get some machine tools and we can start replicating from scratch if we have to. The semi-automatic matter will have to wait.
You two go test the gun barrel, I need a sufficiently rigorous report. Go get your bullets, and if possible, get the cast production volume up first.
I’ve already commissioned Mr. Portman to search for suitable wood for our gun stocks, a woodworking factory will start construction next door in a few days.”
“Alright!”
The two assistants didn’t refuse, taking Night Phantom Bat Puppet’s gun barrel outside. Brother Loyalty watched these two leave and couldn’t help thinking:
“You two bastards are actually so sketchy, hand-crafting gun barrels, this won’t do. I’m putting your names on the high-priority monitoring list right away, to prevent you from getting itchy hands and doing things you shouldn’t in reality.
Kids, don’t blame old uncle.
This is for your own good!”
“Brother Loyalty! You’re here, quick, come see the good stuff I made!”
Just as Brother Loyalty was thinking, another excited call made him turn around to see a little player wearing chain mail with cloth draped over the armor to make a surcoat, dressed exactly like a medieval knight, walking over with a box and a face full of joy.
On his surcoat was a red shield-shaped emblem with a crudely dyed design of a fist gripping a sword.
This was the symbol of the “Torrent Knight Order”!
This group of roleplayers had successfully left a strong “perception” among local residents with their neat and uniform attire.
However, the player before him with the ID “Legendary Hero” was an exception.
He acted exactly like a knight when roleplaying, but would occasionally chat with other players in a normal person’s posture and tone, making him seem very out of character.
Ever since the Torrent Knight Order began large-scale inspections for vagrants in the Seicob territory and Anderma Hills, this “Sir Hero” would visit Brother Loyalty every few days.
“Look! I made what I promised.”
He rushed to Brother Loyalty’s side, put the box he was carrying on the table and opened it, revealing several uniform-length gray cylindrical objects inside.
Brother Loyalty’s eyes widened as he tremblingly reached out to touch them.
He exclaimed:
“F**k! Homemade detonators? Damn, you were actually the sketchiest one! Brother what do you do in real life? How can you even hand-craft these things?”
“Oh my, you flatter me, these aren’t detonators, I don’t have mercury fulminate, not even nitroglycerin. It’s actually just black powder with some ‘secret ingredients’ added. The explosive power hasn’t increased much, but it’s more convenient and safe to carry and transport. I figured everyone might need it someday.”
Legendary Hero took a stance of hiding his skills and fame, waving his hand saying:
“As for me personally, heh, just an ordinary safety officer.”
“What kind of safety officer knows this stuff! Quick, tell me the truth!”
“Well, I’m really a safety officer responsible for mining operations, some call me a demolitions expert, heh, don’t worry, I’m certified.
And professionally trained, definitely won’t mess around.
Let’s see how these detonators I made turned out first. Ah, couldn’t find many materials here, could only make a few rough ones.”
“You stay here, I’ll arrange specialized testing. If it’s adopted, I’ll apply for allowance for you.”
Brother Loyalty said to Sir Hero with a “youth these days are promising” attitude. The latter waved his hand, chatted a bit more before turning to leave, mounting his warhorse at the door and quickly galloping off to continue inspecting vagrants with his companions.
In the factory, Brother Loyalty looked at the several detonators in the box before him with a cautious stance, saying in a low voice:
“You’re going on the priority monitoring list too! Damn, what kind of characters has Alpha Company recruited? This is too sketchy.”