DK – Ch 323

Like Don't move Unlike

 

256

The Dark King – Chapter 323

Dudian directly left the 13th castle after bidding farewell to Tiffany. He didn’t expect that the so-called seminar would be a discussion of the basics. He was quite disappointed as there were no talks about innovation. However, it would not be right to say that he didn’t completely harvest anything. At least he was able to find out the level of senior architects.

The weaker they were the better for him.

Dudian got into his underground laboratory in his castle. These days he had found a solution for the power defects of the shark spear. If this method was exposed then it would cause a great uproar. He made a good design and the overall concept was revolutionary for this era. But he had to increase his status and position within the Temple in order to allow Barton and Joseph smoothly pass into the Holy Church and the military.

…

…

Castle in the Temple of Elements.

Master Quepos was sitting on the chair as he gently rubbed his neck. There were many papers in front of him. His age has passed sixty so he was given the position to audit the papers by the senior architects. The number of senior architects was limited and the number of seminars was smaller. At best there would be seven or eight papers a month. He was able to effortlessly finish his job. Right now he felt his shoulders were sore from muscle pain.

He leaned against the chair as he gently breathed. He looked at the maid standing by his side.

The maid has been with master Quepos for many years. She came over to knead his shoulders.

“Hey, I’m getting old … …” Master Quepos sighed. He didn’t care much about primary architects. Sometimes he would teach his inspirations to his students. He hoped that if they get famous this glory would be written under his name too. He needed few days to review the papers of the seminars by the senior architects. He will be able to receive a few extra points from the Temple for it. But now this decent and easy job felt a bit difficult.

He had thought many times to rely on his own identity to exchange for a ‘God’s blessing’ from the Temple. He wanted to restore the vitality of his body. The Temple internally advocated this move. They even gave discounts to the old masters. However, he had heard and saw many things about this ‘God’s blessing.’ Even though the latter would give him a powerful body and long life, but he didn’t want to touch this filthy thing.

“Master, this is the paper from the 13th castle.” A middle-aged butler came inside.

Master Quepos was bored but he still nodded: “Put it on the table.”

The butler respectfully retreated after handing out the paper.

Quepos glanced at the cover of the paper but he was too lazy to pay attention to details. He closed his eyes to enjoy the maid massaging him. He suddenly opened his eyes as he looked at the paper: “Recently there was a little boy called ‘Dean’ who was promoted to senior architect. I think he was assigned to the 13th castle…”

He sat properly, the maid stopped and retreated to the side.

Quepos opened the letter and read it. The handwriting was neat which made him satisfied. The more he read the more surprised he became: “It seems that the potential of the little guy is much bigger than of us old ones. He has been in the Temple for less than a year but was able to analyze the ‘cassia’ thoroughly. His points are very sharp. He may not only become a master in the future but better than a master. It’s possible that he would get ‘outstanding master’ title in the future.”

He pondered for a while and began to write.

“So talented… He is affiliated with New World consortium. He hasn’t been drawn out by other consortia which showed his mindset.” Quepos thought in his heart as he signed the three papers. He wrote down his comments and awarded the points accordingly. He gently blew on the papers so that the ink dried faster. Afterward, he took out a letter from another place and quickly wrote it up. He put it into the envelope and called out to the butler: “Send this letter to architect Dean. These papers have been evaluated. Send them back.”

Butler was surprised at master Quepos’s speed.

…

…

13th castle.

Tiffany, the old man with the red jacket as well as crooked nose middle-aged man and another black suited middle-aged man were sitting together in a manor and drinking afternoon tea. They were chatting about their own insights.

“Since the alloys were invented the steel and other alloy materials have occupied the market. In comparison to gold materials, our wood equipment seems out of date. Including the bow. Before the bows were made out of wood but now they are attempting to create the chord from steel.” The black suited middle-aged man said.

Tiffany nodded slightly. She was aware that products made from wood were knocked out from the market and it was a great blow to them. It meant that as time passed their products would be replaced with metal ones.

“I recently studied the difference between metal and wood. I believe that our wood faction is more important than gold faction.” The old man wearing the red jacket slowly said. The wood elements were his life’s love. He couldn’t accept the idea that the popularity of wood was going to be replaced by metals.

The crooked nose middle-aged man was about to say something when the sounds of a carriage echoed from outside. A person got off the carriage. It was master Quepos’s butler. The butler’s eyes lit up as he saw the four people in the manor. He strode inside: “Leisure time?”

The old man with the red jacket was familiar with the butler. He looked at him with surprise: “The review was finished so soon?”

“Master Quepos was reviewing another paper so it happened that yours came the moment he was finished.” The butler laughed.

Tiffany smiled: “This is good luck! Can we see the results now?”

The butler handed out the papers to her: “I still have other things to do. You check. I got to go.” He turned away and left the manor.

Tiffany quickly opened the envelope and took out the papers. She quickly swept through the content: “Two hundred points? So much?”

The old man leaned over to check: “It’s two hundred points for the first paper. It is equal to a two-star research of an architect. So the three papers mean six hundred points? If we get 10% of that then that is…hahaha…”

Even as a senior architect getting the points for a two-star item just like that was a hard thing.

Tiffany lamented: “It’s possible to get so many points just for ‘cassia’? Imagine if all the plants were analyzed. Wouldn’t we get as many points as a master?”

The old man smiled: “You are asking for too much. This time such an award was given because of the methods. Any plant can be analyzed using this mindset. I assume they will give at best 10 points after a thorough analysis of any other plant.”

“It is also 200 points.” Tiffany opened the second paper. The comments written by the master had appreciation in it. She opened the third but her face turned ugly. There were no reward points and the comment was very simple: “Not feasible!”

The crooked nose senior architect knew that the third paper was his own. He observed Tiffany’s dazed appearance and his heart jumped as the blood gushed to his head. He knew that something was wrong.

Tiffany looked at him and saw the delight in his eyes. She handed out the paper to the man.

The crooked nose architect took over the paper in excitement but he was stunned on the spot in the next moment.

The old man wearing the red jacket tried to comfort him as he saw his appearance: “Since master Quebos said that it is not feasible then it means there are still problems regarding the solution. We can review it and ask people with a military background to grasp the source of the problem.”

The man’s face turned red as he clutched the paper and left.

…

…

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Dudian was eating breakfast as he was checking the newspapers. He had told Nicholas to hire a “mammoth” carriage and get clothing to wrap the weapons.

“Military newspaper.”

“Barbarians have occupied the Red Maple Mountains. The terrain is hard to attack. The military attacked at seven o’clock at night yesterday. The barbarians were defeated… It is reported that endless barbarians came over and the military couldn’t advance to Red Maple Mountains …”

Dudian carefully read the newspaper. He was in a higher position now and because of many exchanges with Old Fulin, he had learned how to read the meaning behind the lines in newspapers. The military’s night attack was true but defeating barbarians… Most probably they have exterminated small teams of barbarians. According to his deduction with the number of soldiers sent by the military, it would be very difficult to capture back the Red Map Mountains. Unless they had dispatched guards and knights. But there was no such record in the newspaper.

It would be very difficult to accomplish such a task with soldiers alone. He guessed the purpose of the military was making a final defense post close to the population. The current attack by the military in the Red Maple Mountains was a symbolic harassment. They were trying to prove to consortia and Holy Church that they are doing their duty.

Why would they defend the walls of the residential and commercial district? There were many factors that came to his mind but he deduced and ended at two. The first was that by relying on the wall’s defense they were reducing the consumption of goods by the soldiers. The second reason was that they were winning the love of the people. The repeated conscription by the military had caused public resentment. That’s why they were trying to create an image that they would sacrifice everything for civilians.

“They don’t just aim to win the war. They want to maximize their interest while winning the war…” Dudian muttered to himself as he put down the newspaper. He felt that he had learned something new but he didn’t feel joy at his harvest.

He finished his breakfast and sat in the hall in silence. His left hand was gently rubbing soft mud. It was another way to exercise the flexibility of his left hand. It was rubber mud which was made of salt, oil, and flour.

He used his left hand to squeeze the rubber mud into a small ball. He rubbed again and again.

Nicholas came towards him: “Master, are you waiting for something?”

Dudian nodded slightly and continued to wait.

It didn’t take long for Sergei and Gwyneth to come back. Before they thought that there was a power behind Dudian’s back but now they were aware that Dudian was on his own.

Especially after they saw so many envelopes sent to him. Moreover, messengers of consortia, reporters from newspapers as well as aristocrats and wealthy businessmen had come to see him. It was a proof that he was not inferior to the nobility or business giants that have been operating for decades.

“How is the situation there?” Dudian asked.

Sergei shrugged: “I sneaked past with Gwyneth. The mountains have been completely occupied by the barbarians. The military’s attack is simply a nonsense. Even if they send guards and knights it would be hard to face the barbarians. I would like to understand how these barbarians who are no different from monkeys can have such swords and knives? Which consortium is selling weapons to them?”