Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 970: Section 634: Some Promises (Part 2)_2

Chapter 970: Section 634: Some Promises (Part 2)_2

Lulu is quite sharp-witted; no ordinary lie could ever deceive her.

It’s no secret that Malin has seen Nobles before. Malin is certain that among those Earls, even Dukes, there are high-ranking members who are adherents of Northernism. Whether they joined to get a slice of the pie in the upcoming upheavals, or they have other unspeakable motives, remains unknown.

In any case, Mendel’s murder made Malin see clearly the drama of love and kill amongst the Royal family, the Nobles, and the Northern righteousness of the Northern Kingdom.

How interesting it is.

Anyway, with the date of the counter-attack drawing ever closer, Malin has no choice but to put aside the work here and start making preparations for the offensive.

With the conclusion of the conflict with Sydney by the Union of the North, Sydney’s second-line troops began to disarm – they were preparing to take over the equipment of the first-line troops; their original equipment was reclaimed by Malin and sent to the North.

Sydney’s front-line troops began to upgrade to semi-automatic weapons en masse. Goethe was in its final stage of development; the Western Wasteland began major development operations. Dwarves, humans, Half-humans, everyone was developing the fields. The Sydney Union began subsidizing every mother who gave birth to a child, clearly stating that this initiative was not aimed at all human kingdoms.

By this time, the early arrival of the Tide of the Dead was already no small secret within the Supernatural Realm. With the increase in frequency and density of rifts appearing across the lands, this small secret could no longer remain hidden.

Therefore, Malin’s arms trade has multiplied countless times – the orders have been backlogged for almost ten years now. Malin has expanded his workshops to phase fourteen, but still couldn’t meet the demand due to the explosive increase of Dwarves, Half-human, and Gnome craftsmen joining. As more and more Dwarf clans began to emerge from the deep mountains, those who couldn’t find space in the overcrowded Dwarf Royal Court started moving towards Carterburg. More and more Dwarves arrived in the mountains, the ore they mined, and the scrap found in ruins across the land, after being recycled, provided substantial help to the workshops.

Malin’s trading center began large-scale trade with the Sea Clan, who needed high-quality Metal Ingots. Malin produced alloy ingots, exchanging them for a large quantity of metal scraps from the underwater cities of the Sea Clan.

The AI ladies sorted these materials, and sometimes they would find some very strange things, such as a laser rifle stored in a vacuum pressure can, a product of the era before the great destruction. Even after eight millennia, the device could still work with a replacement battery.

Once the output lock was released, the device could shoot through a steel breastplate, creating entrance and exit holes, and instantly burning a big hole if directly hit – undoubtedly blinding anyone in its path.

The only problem is battery life; the device requires a new battery pack after six shots, with each pack weighing three kilograms, which is hardly affordable for average people – carrying six battery packs means lugging around eighteen kilograms. The size and weight are this gadget’s most fatal flaws; only a monster like Malin, who could travel swiftly with a backpack full of battery packs, could truly enjoy such a toy.

So Malin handed a set of blueprints for the device over to the academies in Regensburg, telling them to have a go at it—look, the most advanced laser rifle, effective range two kilometers, hardly any deviation calculation needed, no need to worry about falling short, go figure it out.

It is said that the Dwarves fell in love with the device at first sight – it can effectively kill Spirits and the different kind in the underground. The laser could almost ignore the shells of most Spirits, and not even the different kind could withstand the laser’s damage after thirty different species were tested.

During this time, Meng Quyi invited Malin to visit Thainan as an ambassador from the Western Human World. To be honest, Malin was very tempted, but considering that the battle in the North was about to commence, he expressed his intention to discuss it later.

Meng Quyi also thought it should be so, thus the matter was postponed.

To tell the truth, Malin really wanted to see his homeland, even if it might have been destroyed, even if it might have sunk into the sea, even if it had completely changed beyond recognition.

But Malin still wanted to take a look.

Lulu sensed what Malin was thinking and strongly suggested that Malin could take the opportunity after the war to visit the Eastern Human World.

"How about we all go see, as a family?" Lulu’s proposal moved Malin, but what about the children? Should they be arranged to stay in the Semi-Plane?

Wait a second, that’s a brilliant idea! It’s settled then!

Thinking of this, Malin no longer hesitated. After discussing with Faye and the others, his loved ones also expressed their agreement. Thus, Malin contacted the Spirits and asked them to build an estate in the Semi-Plane. When the time comes, the rat maid servants can set up in advance, and then they can just move in with their bags.

It really is a perfect solution. In this way, Malin can also travel between the Eastern and Western Human World through the teleportation channel.

Having his family in the Semi-Plane would also ensure their safety. As for Nova, she cannot be moved from Farole, but Malin can establish a teleportation channel directly to the Royal Palace. If the time comes to fight and flee, he can manage both without error.

Thus, Malin discussed the plans for the eastward journey with Old Man Meng, who naturally agreed to Malin being one of the envoys on the return visit. He stated that he could introduce Malin to the current Emperor of Thainan and also said that Thainan would undoubtedly welcome a Transcendent being like Malin.

The Thainan envoy group also agreed to postpone their return journey, planning to sail back with Malin after the Northern campaign ends.

Then Malin discussed this matter with His Majesty Manheim and His Majesty Goethe. Both Kings felt there was no issue, so Malin entrusted the two to speak with other Kings, aiming to form a delegation that would travel with the Thanan group to the East.

After everything was agreed upon, Malin informed the proponents of the Northern cause, reassuring them not to worry—Malin would record the coordinates of the Copenhagen teleportation center. If there truly was trouble between the Northern cause and the Nobles, he would be ready to come at a moment’s notice.

The council’s ten members all approved of Malin’s travel plans—with Malin’s talents, if he were to see any better weapons in the Eastern Human World, he would surely be able to reverse-engineer and replicate them. It is the consensus of all craftsmen in the Western Human World that if talent were a stone, Malin would possess seven out of ten measures of it.

Besides, even if Malin taught everything he knew to the craftsmen of the Eastern Human World, it wouldn’t matter. If the entire world were to face an invasion, as long as the Eastern Human World exists a day longer, the invading Chaos would not be able to turn its attention to the Western World.

This is both self-rescue and saving others.

No one would complain about anything; and even if someone complains in the future, that would be a concern for the future—as long as they survive the Tide of the Dead, there will be a future. If they don’t survive this attack, there would be nothing left to complain about.

After arranging everything, Malin looked at the last four days of March on the calendar and sighed.

With Northern weather warming up, more and more supplies and equipment reached the Northern Kingdom. Everyone who came to see the soldiers had to admit, the tenacity and courage displayed by Malin’s troops left every visitor deeply shocked—perhaps for the first time in its history, this Kingdom had an army that was not fearful of field combat with the Chaos.

Now Malin’s camp housed more than half of the frontline forces, a massive training ground where every life is forged daily.

To dine with Lord Malin, every squad is giving their all to perform excellently.

Malin appreciates healthy competition, and so it became that the top twenty squads each day would receive Malin’s encouragement, and he would dine in their mess hall.

This will not change, even if attending a banquet, Malin would only join after he has finished his meal.

Malin did this, and so did several Marshals, and thus the morale of the entire army visibly increased.

On the third day from the end, when His Majesty Manheim appeared in the dining hall with Malin, Malin proudly showed His Majesty what a real soldier looks like.

All soldiers in attendance stood up with the most standard of movements, saluting them in surprise under the watchful eyes of His Majesty and the accompanying Nobles.

It was the most standard military salute.