Steel and Mana

Chapter 248 – Reports

"The reports have arrived, My Sovereign."

"Start with the losses. How many soldiers did we lose?" I asked, hearing Merlin's report in our weekly meeting within the throneroom. While asking, I was sitting calmly on my throne, alone this time as my wives were the kids. To my surprise, Arthur managed to get sick and was now sleeping with a pretty high fever… So, maybe I looked a bit more frustrated than I intended, making Merlin gulp while meeting my eyes.

"None." He answered quickly, making the other ministers sigh in relief. "But there was… an issue."

"That is?" I quickly asked, my voice coming out, once again, a bit stronger than I wanted. "No need to sugar-coat your words; lay it out as it is."

"They had two mages accompanying the army. Our defenses proved perfect, and with the live data we now have, I can further perfect it… I mean, our shield and trojan spells. But when one of the wizards was killed, he almost exploded."

"Exploded?" Others asked, gasping, making me raise my eyebrows because this was… new. Were they trying to scuicide themselves? Do I need to worry now that Pascal will literally throw exploding wizards at us? Probably not... they shouldn't be such an expandable resource. Not even for him!

"Yes. By Major Pion and Knight Polo's recounts sent back home, it is clear that when he was stabbed through the heart, some kind of formation activated within him, exciting the mana in his body. The Rook managed to deactivate it before it could drive his magic to explode, but… This means we have to be careful with enemy mages. They could detonate and wipe out who knows how many people around them. We can't tell what kind of explosion it would have been, but it wouldn't be pretty, going by my gut feelings, My Sovereign. If that one goes through with it, it could have meant that we lose our soldiers present at that time."

"Damn…" It wasn't just me who cursed, but everyone else at Merlin's table. Now, this was a new development, one that I didn't see coming. "This has to be related to Pascal." I hummed, thinking it through, "When Yuri killed that necromancer years ago, accompanying Duke Kustov, he didn't explode."

"I agree." Merlin nodded, looking at the others before continuing. "I guess they have implemented something into their mages, expecting them to fall. With how paranoid he is, we can easily pinpoint this to be Pascal's work. We also received news that our agent, who is currently going by the codename Elvira, has arrived in Cerna. I took liberties and sent a message forth that explicitly tells Empress Mirian and the Duke not to touch that mage…"

"Good. We need to be extra careful!" I agreed, playing with my fingers while sitting back in my chair, "Until we learn more of this, we need to act as if every enemy mage is a potential, volatile threat! If we have the opportunity to kill them while being in the middle of their own troops, good. Otherwise, make sure to only incapacitate them!"

"I will be able to look more into this phenomenon, My Sovereign."

"Are you going to travel?" I asked with a smile, but he shook his head, smiling back at me.

"While our battalion easily stopped the enemy, they did more than that. They sent a group back with the corpse of the exploding mage, and they also captured the second one."

"Do not bring that man into my city!" I ordered sternly, making Merling quickly jump to his feet, saluting me.

"No, no, no, I never wanted, My Sovereign! He will be housed on our testing ground, and I am already done with the plans to build a temporary holding cell for him. It will be equipped with a shield and jamming spell for extra security! I will discover the magic in him and develop a method so we don't need to fear killing them. Our spells worked already; I just need to make sure we are prepared to cancel out a chain reaction if our enemy becomes desperate!"

"Be careful. It doesn't worth anything to me if I lose you, Merlin."

"Don't worry!" he smiled, still holding the salute. "I would be afraid to die because even in death, to anger Elena that much? It would be more dangerous than going into battle naked, My Sovereign."

"Good, keep that in mind."

For the rest of the meeting, we discussed how the railway was progressing and how the second train made its first test run down to the Black Region and returned with two carts full of coal. Maybe Levy really just needed a proper smack in the head by our cannons to change his mind about us. He even sent back letters that he was willing to pay and operate a plant that could manufacture trains. Of course, I wouldn't give the train to him just yet, but building carts? It was much more manageable and would take a load off of my industry here. I instructed my ministers to look into it and come to an agreement so we could speed things up.

I was willing to give him anything he needed to improve his mines, though. It benefited me greatly, so investing in the Black Lands was a no-brainer. If I can make it so that his region begins to prosper, it would be perfect. So, that part was being actively worked on, alongside modernizing their mines, selling surplus food to them, and, of course, giving them access to mundane things. These are primarily goods that we already tend to forget to count as luxuries but in a place like Levy Tobrok's home region? Getting cheap soap? That's a godsend.

After finalizing the last tests of our coal plant, determining that we would hook up the city to it the next week, I left all that we discussed behind me as I walked back to my room. My mind was already on a different matter, a much more important one. Opening the door, trying not to look nervous, I asked quietly, seeing that Arthur was asleep in his crib.

"How's the little one?"

"He is fine." Mikan smiled, walking over and patting me on the back. "Kids tend to get sick now and then; it is how they become stronger later on!"

"I would be much more nervous," Sasha continued, sharing in my bubbling panic, stroking my sleeping son's head, "if you were not here, Mikki! I saw enough people die with a high fever…"

"As I said, he will be alright. Don't worry!"

"Are you sure?" Yuri asked, just as nervous as us, biting onto her thumb.

"If Mikki says it," Luna countered us proudly, hands on her hips, "it is! You are just scaring the others with this much worry! I will make a soup for you all, ensuring we don't get each other sick, though! Okay?"

"Good idea." I nodded at once, rubbing her head and making a mess out of her hair while she grinned at me. "Prevention is key, as we always say. Also, Luna is right. We can't scare you guys, hm?" I smiled at Leyla, taking her from Mikan's arms and hugging my daughter, who looked to be on the verge of tears.

"Daddy… he won't die… no?"

"Duh! Of course not! Look, your little brother is sleeping so soundly in Yuri's arms... If he isn't bothered, all will be fine!" I chuckled, kissing her face as everyone was now looking at Leyla, wanting to hug her. "Okay, girls, you make the best soup! I'll stay with Mikki and look after Arthur~ Don't worry, my angel; your brother just needs a good night's rest, and all will be good!"

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Life was upended in the city of Cerna. It was difficult to readjust after the three sons' rebellion and the consequent exile of the Zimmermann family. Then, the Kustov family, dukes at that, arrived straight from the capital. For many, this was a sign that they were falling out of favor. However, after everything that happened in the capital, it was soon understood that they weren't being discarded; instead, they were preparing for the inevitable, escaping before the actual storm hit and dodging execution and retribution. At the moment, they were the current most loyal followers of Mirian Ishillia and the key supporters of the changes she introduced.

For the average citizen, it didn't matter who ruled over them. What changed their lives, though, were the laws passed down from their Empress. It slowly stripped away all the power from the nobles and gave them, the regular folk, more and more privileges. They could finally have a voice and protect their interests against those born into privilege.

There was a short scare right after the Kustov family arrived that all the changes were for nothing, but they continued enforcing them, even more so than before. Those nobles who now thought about getting the city for themselves, replacing the Zimmermanns, and becoming the rulers of the Silver Region had to realize that it would never happen. Their fate was even worse than that because Duke Kustov took their powers, and they were chased away if they didn't fall in line. When the schism finally happened, those who tried rebelling, taking the chance, were put to the sword, and all their belongings were carried away by the Kustov family's warriors.

There was no chance for the nobles to fight back or find supporters because the people who worked the region's industry conducted the trade, and produced their steel were happier than ever. Without going through hoops and multiple different taxes or tariffs of the other nobles, they began directly trading with the Kustov family or the merchants arriving from Avalon.

Then… rumors began arriving. Rumors of a strange and beautiful machine that was traveling within the Frontier, spewing white smoke and pulling carts that would be hard for even a hundred horses. Were these rumors plausible? This was not true for everyone, but those merchants who frequently went to the Black Region or took up the journey to directly visit Avalon came back as different people.

To others' surprise, they refused to speak. Instead, they began moving and preparing. That alone told enough for the rest of the sharp-eyed merchants. A wind of change was coming, and those who didn't act fast will be left behind. Their conjecture was further reinforced when the Judgement arrived, carrying a massive, demonic, yet beautiful machine. As for what it was, nobody knew, but nobody dared to ask. Not after the Empress herself announced that from now on, she would be fighting for her Empire from the city.

In just a day, Cerna became the second capital of the Ishillian Empire, and although there was very little chance that nobles would flock to her and her cause… the people were with Mirian. And they outnumbered the nobles, hundreds to one, growing every day...

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