A clearing outside of Storm City is designated as a site for a steel mill and a weapons workshop. It is now a construction site, with workers, wagons and raw materials replacing the empty countryside. According to the initial plan, a small steel mill will be built here in the near future to facilitate the extraction of raw materials from the two metal mines and their processing into steel that meets the standards.

Part of the steel produced can be used as a loading embryo plate to the weapon workshop for secondary processing, and to produce various weapons and equipment. If there is additional productivity, it will produce the required artillery walls or ship components for other weapons manufacturers or shipyards. Of course, this depends on the subsequent partner and the field of production.

Most importantly, the steel mill would lay the foundation for Allen's independent development and production of tools of war.

However, due to the current production conditions, this steelmaking plant in Storm City can only use furnace ironmaking technology, and the quality of the steel produced is at the middle and lower level in the empire. But even this criterion is sufficient. After all, the technology of smelting with blast furnaces was only mastered by the royal family, and the high-quality steel produced was also a strategic material, and it was almost not circulated in the market.

Of course, the Empire's blast furnace ironmaking technology was still in its infancy, and they were still capable of producing alloys. Compared to the magic energy furnace technology that Earth currently masters, this is almost like the difference between primitive and modern people. Using the Magic Furnace, the Federation's steel mills were able to produce the outer shell of the Magic Starship, and even the lowest standard of the Star Shell was a superalloy made of composite materials.

At this moment, the foundation of the factory is almost completed. The masonry and other raw materials that have been shipped in the past few days have been prepared for a long time, and as soon as the foundation is completed, the construction of the factory can begin. As for the most important component of the steel mill, the furnace capable of high-temperature smelting, it was purchased by the Chamber of Commerce in Violet Harbor and is expected to arrive in a month.

Alan came to inspect the construction site, and he could foresee that after the steelmaking plant was put into operation, the two metal raw ore under Storm City Control would continue to provide raw materials for steelmaking. These raw materials will be transformed into steel, and the emergence of a large number of steel will lead to the development of weapons manufacturing. In a year or two, Storm City will become a heavy industrial city on the borderlands, and the chariots and artillery that come with it will start to walk out of here.

He believed that this would bring enough shock to the nobles in the empire.

"Lord Allen."

One of the guards trotted over and reported, "Miss Adele, please return to the City Lord's Mansion." ”

"Is there anything urgent?" Alan asked casually.

"Yes, there is a mission from the Black Iron Castle that has just arrived, and it needs to be received by you personally."

Alan was surprised: "The envoy group of the Black Iron Castle? ”

A group of black cavalry passed through the gates and drove into the streets of Storm City. The inhabitants of the city looked curiously at the group, from knights to horses, whose armor was pitch black and heavy, and in many places stretched out sharp spikes, like the fangs of wild beasts. Even the horses they stepped on were draped in harnesses much heavier than those in Storm City.

Despite the fact that there were only eight cavalrymen, it gave the impression of a torrent of steel. It is not difficult to imagine that if such heavy cavalry were formed, it would be a headache for the steel lion on the battlefield. It's just that with the financial resources of the entire Jazz Territory of the Black Iron Castle, the Heavy Cavalry Black Cloud Knights created by Sir Sirloin are only thirty horses.

But on the frontier, thirty hoplites were enough to shape the pattern of a local war.

After the cavalry, there was a sumptuous carriage. Someone in the carriage lifted the curtain and sighed, "I remember the last time I came to Storm City, I sent the third lady here, and after so many years, this city is really different from what it used to be. ”

There were two men sitting in the carriage, and looking out the window was a middle-aged man. With a solemn face and thick knuckles of the palms sticking out of the cuffs, even if you sit on the side of the carriage, the strong sense of presence will make you feel that the carriage is extremely narrow. Even in this carriage, it is much larger than the size of an ordinary carriage.

Sitting across from him was a young man, in his early twenties. With a little immature face full of disdain, he snorted coldly: "What's the big deal, the streets of our Black Iron Fort can be much wider than this. See, there is only so much of their main way, and we know that their pattern is very limited. ”

"Watch your words, Bill. We've come with your father's kindness, and I don't think Sir wants to start a war because of your careless words, right? ”

"Got it, Uncle Hagus." The young man changed his sitting position and said, "Then again, it's just a storm city. If it weren't for your strong opposition, I don't think it's our envoys who are here now, but our army of the Black Iron Castle, right? I really don't know what you think? ”

"As I said before in front of your father, since Storm City has a strong man who can kill Dick, it should be worth our careful handling of our relationship with each other. You must know that Dick had already used the Boiling Blood Crystal at that time, and his strength was equivalent to that of a level 19 knight. ”

"So what, I'm level 15 now. Give me two more years, and I'll be able to take out a level 19 knight too! The young man said very stubbornly.

The man smiled, not ready to continue the meaningless conversation. He glanced out the window, not knowing where he had flown to.

Alan arrived at the Lord's Mansion before the envoys arrived, leading Bloy, Lucy, and Regis to receive them. He was accompanied by Regg, the head of the Knights, and several important officials in Storm City. When Eren saw the Black Cloud Knights, he subconsciously used these hoplites as imaginary enemies. It is conceivable that the hoplites were definitely called human tanks on the battlefield before the advent of combat vehicles. If the standard of these cavalry is level ten, then the destructive power they can produce is very amazing.

But it is not without a way to deal with them, the bursting heavy artillery and the hot attack method are the nemesis of the heavy cavalry. The former has more destructive power than the armor defense of the hoplites, as well as the effect of breaking the defense. The latter uses the thermal conductivity of the armor to have a soft-kill effect on the hoplites.

As Eren observed the Black Cloud Knight, Lucy gently bumped him. When he came to his senses, it was the envoy of the Black Iron Castle who stepped out of the carriage, first a tall man, and behind him a young man with a proud expression. There was also a carriage in the back, and the person who got down turned out to be Fellowes, the vice president of the Iron Flag Chamber of Commerce. Seeing that the people of the Iron Banner Chamber of Commerce were also in the envoys, Alan became interested in the intentions of the Black Iron Castle.

In the reception hall of the City Lord's Palace, led by the tall man, the entire delegation performed impeccable aristocratic etiquette to Allen. After Alan returned the salute, the man smiled and said, "I am Hagus, the founder and current head of the Black Cloud Knights. This time I came to bring Sir Sharon's kindness to Lord Allen. Sir Sirloin wishes to agree on the peaceful coexistence and mutual benefit of our two cities, and that Lord Allen will give serious consideration to our proposal. ”

Alan nodded, "I want to hear about it." ”

Baron Sirloin meant simply, through Guò Hagues, and he expressed to Alan his desire for peace, not war. and invites Alan to travel to the Bloodstone Wasteland to sign a peace agreement between Stormcity and Black Iron Keep. As a sign of sincerity, the Iron Banner Chamber of Commerce that came with the envoys this time brought an order for equipment for 100,000 gold coins, even if the weapons workshop in Storm City is still not completed.

After listening to Hagus's words, Alan did not immediately take a stand. Instead, he first arranged a place for the envoys to rest and settle, and invited Hagus and others to attend the dust washing banquet in the evening. After the legations left, Alan glanced at everyone and said, "You can speak freely." ”

"My lord, the attitude of the Black Iron Castle this time is very strange." Reg was the first to say, "As far as I know, Hagus of the Knights of the Black Cloud and Sir Sirloin are not ambassadors of peace. I always felt like they must have something brewing behind this. And if it's a peace deal, why go to the Bloodrock Wastelands. It's not our Storm City territory, and I'm afraid they'll take advantage of it against you. ”

"It's also not the territory of the Black Iron Castle, and if it's going to be bad for Allen, wouldn't it be easier to invite Allen to the Black Iron Castle?" Lucy put forward her opinion: "I don't disagree with Captain Reg, but I think that Black Iron Castle should consider that if we are enemies, we may end up losing both, so I propose this proposal for peaceful coexistence." ”

"Personally, I don't think they should start a war without a chance of winning, because then they would not be profitable. Unless Sir Sirloin is obsessed with personal vendettas, or if our strength is pulled away by them, that's another matter. ”

A Storm City treasurer also said, "In our current situation, peaceful development is more beneficial than starting war. If the Black Iron Castle didn't throw tricks, the adults might as well seriously consider their mention. ”

After listening to the opinions of a few more people, Alan nodded and said, "I know, you guys go down first, I want to think about it alone." ”

In the guest room of the City Lord's Mansion, Hagus was looking out the window with his hands down. On the couch in the back, the young man named Bill complained, "I really don't know what to fear about such a city lord, he is even younger than me." Could it be that Uncle Hagus and his father were afraid of such imps? Father, forget it, but Uncle Hagus, you have level 19 strength, if it were you, you would be able to kill Dick's kind of goods, right? ”

"You're right, but what's the point. When the most ferocious beasts meet in the wilderness, they will not attack each other first, but will test them first. If you find that your opponent is weaker than you, then it is worth fighting. Otherwise, losing both sides will only make the scavenger eagle cheaper. Hagus looked back and said, "The situation is like this, we are evenly matched with Storm City, and there is no value in starting a war at all. ”R1058