The Bandit Gang and Gunpowder

Chapter 68 The Bandit Gang and Gunpowder (4k)

Southwestern border of the Kingdom of Augustus, on the eastern side of Bald Eagle Ridge, at the foot of the mountain.

The village was a scorched wasteland, its ruins ravaged by looting and war, the air thick with smoke and a faint smell of blood.

Outside the dilapidated fence, an army in gleaming armor, bearing the coat of arms of the Tully family, was clearing the battlefield.

Several soldiers threw the last bandit's body into the blazing incinerator, the firelight illuminating their tired yet somewhat pleased faces.

The young adjutant, William, wiped the bloodstains from his neck guard, strode to the front of the column, and gave a crisp military salute to a middle-aged knight on a tall horse with a stern expression.

"Reporting to Sir Humbert! The battlefield has been cleared! The remaining bandits, numbering about fifty, have fled southwest. They are in disarray, their armor and weapons scattered, and they are like frightened birds. Please allow me to lead the cavalry to continue the pursuit; we will surely wipe them out and eliminate this threat forever!"

His voice carried the distinctive strength of a soldier and an unquestionable sense of justice.

His gaze was fixed intently on the rolling mountains to the west, where the territory of the Ironrock City Cress family met the territory of the Tully family.

Ser Humbert, the Tully family's border guard captain, sat upright on his horse, slowly raising his hand to stop his eager lieutenant. His voice was calm but undeniable: "No need to pursue."

"What?" William's adjutant was stunned, almost thinking he had misheard. "Sir! This Blood Raven bandit gang is notorious. They have been burning, killing, and looting on our territory for three whole months. Countless villages have been destroyed, and countless people have been killed. Now is the best time to wipe them out completely!"

He couldn't understand why they stopped when victory was within their grasp.

Sir Humbert's gaze swept over the ravaged land before him, his eyes filled with no pity, only cold calculation.

He tugged at the reins, turning his warhorse to face southwest, a faint, cruel smile playing on his lips.

"William, look carefully, what's that place ahead?"

William followed the light and replied, "Yes—it's the border bordering the Kress family. Further west is a branch of the Misty Mountains, and to the south are the Wind-Eroded Highlands—"

“That’s right.” Sir Humbert interrupted him, his voice low but clear to the surrounding officers. “That place is no longer the territory of the Tully family. Those Blood Ravens will become the neighbors of the Reiss family.”

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, his tone cold and matter-of-fact: "Let those Blood Ravens, those mad dogs, cause trouble on the Kress family's territory. Let them taste what it's like to have their territory disrupted! That's fair."

William, the adjutant, remained silent. He knew that there were many conflicts between the Tully and Cress families, and their relationship was not good, which was why Sir Humbert had done this.

This was certainly against the code of chivalry, but as a lieutenant, he had no reason to object.

Sir Humbert ignored him and ordered in a deep voice, "Send word! Cease the pursuit! The rear guard becomes the vanguard, retreat to Hurricane Keep! We'll establish a defensive line and fortify our defenses under the Vale Territory. Our mission is to ensure these scum don't escape back to our territory. As for whether they go after the Kress family or feed the barbarians on the Wind-Eroded Highlands, that's none of our business. Let the Kress family worry about it."

With the order given, the Tully family's army began to retreat in an orderly fashion, their banners fluttering in the wind as if in a triumphant return.

Only a few young officers, like William, glanced back at the mountains to the southwest, a shadow of unease passing through their hearts.

They knew that although the "Blood Ravens" had been defeated, their core members remained. That group of extremely vicious outlaws, composed of deserters and criminals, was likely to unleash another bloodbath on the Kress family's territory.

Inside the Lord's Mansion at Jinshi Ridge.

After returning to his room, Matthew began to carefully study the mysterious Rubik's Cube. He tried to use his mental power to guide magic into it, but it did not elicit any response.

This thing looks like a complex cipher machine; you might need to really master the permutations and combinations to activate it.

-

Matthew picked up the animal skin again. The writing on it was still like cryptic gibberish. It seemed that to decipher the information, he would first need to figure out what the writing was.

"Never mind, I'll study it slowly later." Matthew put away the Rubik's Cube and the animal skin, and then continued to practice the Wizard's Hand.

He wanted to master this technique before the blast furnace was built, so that he could realize his vision and truly assist the technical team in achieving a leapfrog development and developing the steam engine ahead of schedule.

In the evening, after the personnel rotation was completed again, Matthew also noticed that there was a large amount of life essence in the magic pendant.

According to his initial calculations, this amount of life essence should be enough for him to summon fourteen more giant goblins.

In this way, the territory suddenly had eighteen goblins, which was definitely a force to be reckoned with, and could provide a boost to the two exploration teams.

Matthew also called Sun Zhengwu over to discuss and formulate a personnel allocation plan for the Big Goblin. As the leader of the next adventurer team, Lei Hu was naturally on the list.

"By the way, Team Leader Sun, after I return this time, could you please ask Commander Qin for me about when I might be able to meet with my parents?" Matthew suddenly changed the subject and brought up this matter.

It's been a month since he transmigrated to this world. It would be a lie to say he doesn't miss home or his parents, but he just didn't show it. After all, men have pride.

He was like a wanderer working far from home, always wanting to share good news but not bad, not wanting his parents to see his previous difficult situation and hard living conditions.

Otherwise, they would definitely be even more worried about themselves.

Now his lord's manor has been completely renovated, his food, clothing and daily necessities have improved, the atmosphere in his territory is getting better and better, and he is deeply loved by his people.

It seems I can finally give my parents a reassuring answer.

At least they don't have to worry about not having enough to eat or wear, or about their safety.

"Understood. I'll go back and immediately ask Commander Qin for instructions to make arrangements for you as soon as possible. I'll let you know in advance," Sun Zhengwu said solemnly. He understood Matthew's feelings.

"Okay, thank you for your help, Team Leader Sun!" Matthew smiled broadly.

"It's what I should do," Sun Zhengwu said with a smile and nodded.

Matthew released Sun Zhengwu from his summons, allowing his consciousness to return to Earth.

After Sun Zhengwu's figure transformed into points of light and merged into the magic pendant, Matthew walked to the window, looking at the lights in the territory and breathing in the cool night air.

Although it was already dark, the sounds of children playing and even women talking and laughing could still be heard from not far away, probably coming from the workshop.

Since when, life within the territory has become increasingly vibrant.

The safe environment has finally allowed these children, who used to have to hide at home after dark, to come out and let loose.

The work-point system also motivates most of the residents to work. Even though it is already night, many women are still weaving ropes, baskets, and other crafts in the workshops.

After all, these were all recorded as work points per piece. The more pieces you wove, the more grain and cloth you could exchange for, and even salt and sugar.

"For the sake of the territory's development, I'll continue to hone my magic. I'm going to wipe out everyone!" Matthew thought to himself.

But now he has indeed found a new direction to strive for. The development of the territory cannot rely solely on the people of Blue Star climbing the technology tree in this world little by little; that would be too slow.

The power of magic seems to be able to accelerate the technology tree, and the combination of technology and magic will produce a synergistic effect greater than the sum of its parts.

Therefore, I am not only responsible for connecting the consciousness of the Blue Star people with this world.

Furthermore, it shoulders the responsibility of effectively integrating Earth's technology with the magic of this world to realize more possibilities.

Putting aside his chaotic thoughts, Matthew sat back on the bed and began practicing magic.

Meanwhile, the workers in the blacksmith shop, carpentry workshop, soap workshop, and brick kiln were also working tirelessly to increase production.

It wasn't just the staff from Earth; many young people within the territory were also involved.

At that moment, Nacal, Bob, Yodl, and several other young men were busy moving bricks at the brick kiln.

"Carl, your pants are practically showing your backside. You'd better use your work points to buy some cloth and get a new pair made," Bob said, glancing at Carl's tattered pants.

"Yeah, Karl, why haven't I seen you go to the lord's manor to exchange things lately? You work so hard every day, you should have accumulated a lot of work points, why don't you exchange them for some daily necessities?" Yodel asked while carrying bricks.

"Karl, are you saving up so many work points to exchange for a wife? Hahaha," another young man joked.

"That's right, I'm definitely going to exchange for a woman with big breasts and a big butt," Karl joked, going along with their conversation.

But at this moment, he had a sense of ambition, like a sparrow trying to understand the ambitions of a swan. Just as his friends said, he had indeed accumulated a lot of work points. It could be said that apart from a few skilled people, there were very few people in the territory who earned as many work points as he did every day.

But what he wanted to exchange was neither supplies nor the woman he mentioned.

Instead, he wanted to use these work points to exchange for an opportunity with the lord—an opportunity to learn swordsmanship from Knight Conrad.

Although he dared not hope to become a knight, he felt that if he could learn some skills and become the lord's bodyguard, he would be content to stay by his side.

But he didn't tell anyone else about this dream, including his best friend.

Because he knew those guys would laugh at him, and he knew that once some dreams were spoken aloud, they might reduce his motivation to work hard by half.

He now needs to channel this energy into his work, working harder than anyone else to earn the most work points.

He doesn't even find moving bricks hard anymore, because he sees this physical labor as a way to hone his body, giving him a stronger physique, more endurance, and a more resilient will.

Inside the conference room of Zero Point Base on Blue Star.

The core members of the Super Dimensional Strategy Department, the members of the think tank, and the staff of the support department, along with the group leaders and key experts who had just returned, held a new round of working meetings to share key information.

The meeting was chaired by Qin Weiguo, the chief commander of the Super Dimensional Strategy Department.

The first piece of information shared at the meeting was a detailed account of the "Thunderbolt Purge" operation, including the results and details of the operation, such as the discovery of mysterious remains and the potential presence of dangerous creatures in underground caves and lakes.

The meeting then focused on Matthew's proposed exploration and expansion plan, as well as the possibility of increasing the number of personnel deployed simultaneously to two hundred.

The group had a more detailed discussion and study of the matter, and made work assignments and personnel arrangements around the two plans.

They must consider all issues and aspects to ensure the smooth progress of the mission and the maximum utilization of resources.

The climax of the meeting's discussion focused on the "Hand of the Wizard" that Matthew possessed.

When Professor Zhang Hongjian finished explaining how the "Master's Hand" might solve problems such as casting and finishing, skipping related equipment development and potentially enabling the early manufacture of steam engines, the atmosphere in the conference room became extremely enthusiastic.

This is because it truly accelerated the technological development of the other world, and allowed them to see even more possibilities.

Moreover, Matthew's knowledge of magical power also accelerated their exploration and research into the magical power and system of the other world.

In the future, Matthew will not only be a pioneer in exploring other worlds, but also a forerunner in exploring magical powers.

With him around, they can learn about the magic system of the other world more quickly and effectively.

Afterwards, the other group leaders also talked about the current progress of their respective groups' work, as well as some problems they were facing, and discussed solutions with everyone.

Professor Wang Qinian also reported on the significant progress in the research on the application of ash.

They have completed the engineering design of a safe processing equipment specifically designed for the characteristics of rock, and the core components are being manufactured. It is expected to be put into production within three days.

The system consists of two parts:

First, a low-speed wet mill that utilizes the water power of the Teardrop Creek, using a crushing method rather than shearing, and operating under the scouring of water flow, fundamentally ensures grinding safety.

Secondly, the hydraulic oscillation multi-stage sieving system can accurately classify powders in water.

"Our goal is to be the first to stably produce gunpowder with a particle size concentrated between 120 and 200 mesh," Wang Qinian summarized. "Based on test data from small-scale manual grinding samples in the laboratory, the black powder prepared by mixing this powder with refined charcoal powder and sulfur powder in a specific ratio has achieved the theoretically expected optimal values ​​in terms of detonation velocity and power, and its stability meets safety standards."

He looked at Qin Weiguo and his colleagues, his tone full of anticipation: "Once this equipment is officially operational, we will be able to establish the first semi-automated, high-capacity, and safe black powder raw material production line in Jinshi Ridge. It is estimated that the daily processing capacity of crushed and screened high-quality black powder raw materials can reach more than 50 kilograms, which will provide the most basic material support for subsequent weapon trials, such as landmines, explosive charges, and mine blasting."

This news was equally exciting. Everyone understood that this technological breakthrough would bring a qualitative leap to the defensive capabilities and engineering construction of Ember Ridge, and would be a milestone as important as the steam engine.

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