After Paul and Catherine's wedding, Rodney XVIII immediately set off south, feeling extremely uneasy about the information Paul told him about the Arcane Society.
On his return journey, Rodney XVIII specifically requested to travel back to Crystal Radiance aboard Alda's warships. Paul granted the King's wish, assigning a small fleet of three warships to escort Rodney XVIII to West Port, the closest port to Crystal Radiance.
Also accompanying him was Mellon Ganard, head of the Royal Economic Zone, who was also returning to Northwest Bay for Paul's wedding.
The special economic zones of the Kingdom have now become an important source of tax revenue for the Kingdom Government, and Mylon has become a trusted and relied-upon right-hand man of Rodney XVIII.
Besides Mylon, there was also Willing Viscount Dylan, a former West Port official, and Harrison, the eldest son of the Abbott family. These people whom Rodney XVIII relied on shared some common traits: young, quick-witted, interested in new things, and "lacking" respect for tradition.
After landing in West Port, Rodney XVIII traveled at a leisurely pace, stopping and going about his way. What should have been a half-day journey by fast horse took him almost two days.
The reason His Majesty the King was so slow was that he was surveying the terrain between West Port and Crystal Radiance, and also wanted to lay a railway connecting the two cities.
Rodney XVIII witnessed the construction of a railway in Northwest Bay. He was interested in anything new in Northwest Bay and learned that it was a high-speed, high-capacity, and efficient transportation system that did not rely on animal power but was driven solely by machines. He was very curious about it.
Under his continued questioning, Paul showed him an oil painting depicting the entire completed train and railway.
Through the contrast with other objects in the painting, Rodney XVIII offers a glimpse into this iconic behemoth of the industrial age. Although it exists only in the painting, its immense power can still awe anyone who sees it.
Huge wheels rolled over the tracks, the locomotive spewing thick white smoke, steam billowing and rising, piercing the sky, as the steel dragon traversed the plains.
The train, riveted together from thick steel plates, resembled a series of steel fortresses strung together. The entire train was like a giant beast breaking free of its restraints, smashing through all obstacles with overwhelming force.
"We need to find a way to build a railway," Rodney XVIII immediately decided.
Today, the royal domain has two centers: Crystal Radiance, the political center, and West Port, the economic center. Although the two cities are geographically close, the King wants to connect them more closely, and there is no doubt that the railway is the best way to achieve this goal.
Upon returning to Crystal Radiance, Rodney XVIII enthusiastically held a parade.
After more than a year of training, the Kingdom Government's new army construction has begun to show results, and the young king is eager to test the army's achievements.
In the square in front of the palace, the new soldiers stood in neat formation, their faces solemn and their eyes resolute. They wore crisp uniforms, their bright colors gleaming in the sunlight, the brass buttons and epaulets on their chests flashing with a cold light.
As Rodney XVIII announced the start of the parade, the soldiers began to move in perfect unison, like a moving wall, their steps so synchronized that the sound of their footsteps was deafening, as if the square itself were trembling.
Their movements were precise and powerful; their bayonets gleamed coldly in the sunlight, and their gun barrels stood straight as a forest, exuding an inviolable aura. Every movement was full of power.
Ten formations rolled across the square like steamrollers, announcing that the Aldo Royal Family had regained control of a powerful armed force.
Many people were present to watch the parade, including some of Giles's personnel stationed at Crystal Radiance, some openly and some covertly.
News of the King's military review reached Five Rams City at lightning speed, attracting the attention of Grand Duke Greedy Wolf. Giles was on high alert.
What terrified him was that, in addition to the quality displayed by the soldiers themselves, the king's army also had firearms and cannons, both of which were powerful new weapons. During the Horn Bay War, Giles's army had suffered greatly at the hands of these two weapons.
Giles managed to obtain some black powder, which was said to be a key ingredient in the weapons used by the Alda army. He gave it to his Alchemists in an attempt to decipher its secrets.
The alchemists were overjoyed and immediately began their work.
This is a powder that has been ground very finely, and its composition cannot be determined by visual inspection alone.
However, they determined the presence of sulfur by the pungent smell of the burning black powder. Since the sulfur was not in the form of black powder, it was likely a mixture containing sulfur.
The Alchemists requested more samples for their research, a task Giles assigned to a spy embedded in Alda.
Things went relatively smoothly, and his spies continued to send back several batches of black powder from the heavily guarded Alda military industrial system.
Alchemists continued their research, but they isolated all sorts of strange things from it, such as saltpeter, coal dust, flour, and even pepper.
They mixed some known ingredients together, but only produced a pile of combustible powder; they did not reproduce the intense combustion of the original black powder.
It seems the Alchemists still have a long way to go to live up to the generous treatment His Highness has given them.
Besides recreating the black powder, Giles also envisioned a defensive mechanism to stop those deadly metal projectiles, whether large or small.
However, the calculations were pessimistic because, during the Horn Bay War, Giles had done everything possible to strengthen the defenses of his prized army—the Undead Army —without hindering its operations. Even the physically robust Undead Army... The thick metal armor worn by soldiers couldn't stop a small bullet at a considerable distance, let alone a large metal bullet. Once that thing hit a dense crowd, it was practically a matter of equality for all.
Giles had a premonition that he and Paul Greiman would eventually clash, so he and his vassals racked their brains to devise an effective defense.
However, before he could come up with a good solution, news arrived that the king was holding a large-scale military review at Crystal Radiance.
"Perhaps Rodney XVIII is trying to intimidate the orcs in the north," the vassals advised their anxious lord.
But Giles didn't think so. According to his intelligence, the north of Aldor seemed to have been entrusted to Paul Greiman, who also commanded a powerful army, by Rodney XVIII.