Chapter 36:The Banquet Part 1
"They're here," Count Yuri von Krause said casually, spinning his Rank 8 dagger between his fingers.
"Fifty of them in the first wave."
"Fifty? Hardly a warm-up," Dmitri von Eisenberg, the Duke of Occidens, drew a massive two-handed crimson greatsword from his back that immediately melted the snow in a fifty-foot radius.
"Do not break formation, Dmitri," General Viktor von Raskolnikov commanded him.
"We protect the Grand Mages. Let them come to us."
Der Gnadenlose also drew his greatsword.
"Charge!!"
And thus, the Empire's greatest forces and the Sin of Gigatun war began.
....
Meanwhile,
Foreign Minister Charles Benedict Hawthorne stood atop the reinforced battlements of the Fortress of Aegis, the final defensive stronghold of the Federation of Libertas. Beside him stood the Federation's five Rank 8 Sword Masters and three Grand Mages.
"By the Gods..." General William, Libertas's highest-ranking Sword Master, looked at the approaching vanguard of the Leo Principality.
Ten thousand men marched rhythmically, unseen in this era. Even standing armies did not have that kind of discipline, not even in the superpower Empire of Kalia or Libertas.
They were clad in the newly forged black steel of the Leo industrial foundries. Every single soldier wore a Lenin Black Uniform.
But what drew the horrified fascination of the Libertas generals were the weapons slung over the soldiers' shoulders—one-shot rifles. They also carried swords in case close battles happened.
"What in Deos's name are those?" one of the Libertas Grand Mages asked.
"The Crown Prince called them... rifles," Charles answered.
As the army came closer, pulled by massive, heavily armored beasts, were five colossal war engines forged entirely of thick, riveted black steel, featuring barrels that pointed menacingly toward the sky.
The Federation's counterparts were even more fascinated by them. Charles could only tell the name.
The "Earth Shakers."
"The vanguard of the Leo Principality has arrived, as the Prince Regent promised."
Charles bowed deeply.
"Commander Fidus. Grand Mage Solon. The Federation of Libertas extends its deepest gratitude."
........
My daily routine remained rigorous, though the nature of my work shifted from battlefield logistics to grand-scale domestic engineering.
This morning also began with the battle between two attendants.
"The Prince Regent will wear the crimson silk tailored by the capital's finest weavers for the opening banquet."
"It commands respect and projects absolute authority. The nobles must be reminded of who holds the power."
"The Prince Regent will wear the colors of the Leo Principality's crest. It shows loyalty to his own bloodline, Lady Rosy."
I sat at my desk, rubbing my temples as I drank my morning tea, completely ignoring them as they bickered over fabrics and lapels for my birthday party.
My mind was already leagues ahead, focused on the massive administrative vacuum I was about to create.
Once the Eastern nobles were executed at the climax of the festival, their vast territories, farmlands, and trade routes would be left without administrators.
If I simply appointed military men to rule them, the economy would stagnate.
If I appointed other nobles, the cycle of corruption would simply begin again.
I needed a permanent, systemic solution.
After breakfast, I summoned Count Bellica Lauranto, my Minister of Finance, and Elias to my study.
"Minister," I said, rolling out a blank map of the Principality across my desk. "Within a week, a significant portion of the eastern territories will fall under direct administration of the Crown. I am abolishing the hereditary rights of the nobility."
"Abolishing... Your Highness, who will collect the taxes? Who will oversee the harvest quotas and local law enforcement?"
"The people who actually know how to do it."
"I am enacting the Imperial Civil Service Examination System soon, open to all citizens. Regardless of birth, bloodline, or race, anyone who wishes to serve as a government official, tax collector, or regional magistrate must pass a rigorous, standardized written examination covering mathematics, law, agricultural management, and basic logistics."
"This... this will completely destroy the nobility's monopoly on political power, Your Highness."
"That is exactly the point."
"The era of ruling a province simply because your great-grandfather held a title is over. We will build a true meritocracy. Those who score the highest will be assigned to manage the newly vacated lands. The state will fund their travel and pay them a generous salary in our new paper currency.
Have these edicts posted in every city square by noon. We will convene the exam in a week. Prepare what needs to be done, Elias and Minister."
"Your will is my command, Your Highness!"
With the future of the nation's administration secured, I left the palace and rode out to the industrial district to check on the physical foundations of my nation.
The capital was expanding rapidly to accommodate the influx of refugees, merchants, and the newly established Royal Bank branches.
The population had surged to 200,000, twice the previous number, because we accepted every slave who ran away to this place for freedom and every refugee who fled from the wars. The economy was also a factor, as beginner merchants and caravans were trying to start businesses and competing to buy our products, which could only be produced here and sold at higher prices in other nations.
Soup and paper were the most popular products of our nation.
I found Thorgar standing at the edge of a massive construction site where the new military academy was being erected.
"Your Highness!" Thorgar greeted me, wiping sweat from his brow.
"The iron frameworks are up, but cutting and transporting the stone blocks from the quarries is bottlenecking the entire project. We won't have the walls up before winter for the new part of the city."
I gestured for my royal guards to bring forward several heavy sacks we had brought from the palace stores.
"What's this?"
"A gift from the eastern volcanic hills, combined with crushed limestone and a few specific chemical additives."
It was the recipe for Roman concrete—a technology that had allowed ancient empires on Earth to build structures that lasted millennia.
"We call it Leo Cement."
I ordered a few laborers to build a simple wooden mold. I poured the grey powder in, added sand, gravel, and finally water. I mixed it into a thick, heavy sludge.
"It looks like mud, Your Highness," Thorgar noted skeptically.
"Watch."
Normally, the concrete would take hours to cure and harden properly. I didn't have days.
I channeled a surge of earth mana into my hands, applying the structural engineering techniques Duchess Zemlya had been drilling into me.
I pushed the mana into the wet mixture, violently accelerating the chemical binding process, forcing the moisture out and locking the molecular structure into place.
Within ten seconds, the sludge stopped bubbling.
I kicked the wooden mold apart. A perfectly solid, impenetrable block of artificial stone had been made.
Thorgar drew his heavy smithing hammer and brought it down on the block with all his might.
The hammer bounced off with a sharp CLANG, leaving barely a scratch on the surface.
Thorgar's jaw dropped.
"By the forge... you can pour stone into any shape you want?"
"Exactly. Build wooden frames for the walls, pour the cement, and let it dry. What took your masons months will now take only hours.
I want the academy finished by the end of the month. Use it to build the capital city's new part, and I also want a massive shipment of this cement sent to Governor-General Ares and Provisional Governor-General Lupus to rebuild the cities."
"It will be done, Your Highness! This changes everything!" Thorgar bellowed, immediately shouting orders to his foremen to begin mass-producing the mixture.
By the time I returned to the palace, as the sun began to set, I stood on the high balcony of my study, a glass of southern wine in my hand, looking down at the main gates of the palace.
A long, glittering procession of heavily guarded, luxurious carriages was rolling through the gates, bearing the crests of each noble house.
The sounds of lutes, drums, and cheering crowds echoed over the palace walls.
I could see the pompous lords stepping out of their carriages, looking around at the booming, industrialized capital with eyes wide with greed.
Beside them walked their beautifully dressed daughters, dreaming of becoming the next Princess, and sons dreaming of becoming friends with the Prince Regent.
Vane materialized from the shadows of my balcony.
"Nobles from across the realm, including the Eastern Faction, have arrived, Your Highness."
"All of them, led by the Marquis Orientis, just as you predicted."
"Make sure they are treated with the utmost hospitality, Vane."
"Give them the finest rooms. Pour them the oldest wine. Let them feast and dance until their feet bleed."
I looked down at the carriages rolling into the trap.
"Soon the Leo Principality will be cleansed of its parasites once and for all."
(Continue.....)