Chapter 770: Technological Barriers

Neither deputy dares to speak as they stare at Chick's almost savage expression.

They have never seen their superior like this. They have never seen Chick lose control of his emotions.

Chick draws a deep breath, but it takes a long time for him to calm down.

He gives them a bitter smile. "Watch more. Listen more. Ask less. Do not rush to conclusions."

Chick looks toward Peace Haven. "Someone is preparing to act on his own again. Henwell spread education and opened so much knowledge to everyone."

"Why does no one understand what he means?"

"Why do so many people think the lord of Blood Hill, the man who built Peace Haven, is someone they can manipulate and toy with?"

Edmond and Gio exchange a glance. The same shock fills both pairs of eyes.

After a long silence, Edmond ventures, "Once our lord emerges from seclusion, no one will be able to hide anything from him."

"This may be an opportunity for you, sir. You might use it to return to the center of power in Peace Haven..."

Chick sneers. "Heh. What a joke! If I wanted to go back, I would never have left."

"I am one of Peace Haven's founders. Why would I need to stand at the center of power?"

"Wherever people like us stand, that place becomes the center of power!"

"What do you think I came here to do?"

"The coming struggle for Billie's throne and the approaching calamity war will both reshape this region."

"Billie is one of Peace Haven's strongest neighbors. Any change here will have a major impact on Peace Haven."

"Youngsters like you could be used up and discarded before you even realized what happened."

The two deputies brighten with excitement.

Chick continues, "Bloodhorn Arena was awarded to our lord for his battle at Sunflower Fortress."

"The Western Federation recognized it, and the Billie royal family acknowledged it as an honorary fief granted to him."

"This is Peace Haven's overseas territory. With it as our headquarters, we must build a comprehensive intelligence network throughout Billie as quickly as possible."

"I have a certain reputation among the intelligence services of the various countries."

"Billie's Lightless Guard and Ashes are both watching me closely."

"I will teach you for three more months. After that, you will have to build your own networks."

"I will draw the Billie authorities' attention in the open while you fade into the shadows."

After Bloodhorn Arena was granted to Henwell, Billie also gave him the title of Bloodhorn Knight.

The Billie royal faction meant it as an insult.

Or rather, they imagined it was an insult.

No one on the continent cares about Henwell's noble rank anymore.

He controls nearly half a country's territory, commands hundreds of thousands of elite troops, and possesses exceptional personal strength.

He is a knight-lord who can stand as an equal among kings.

Calling such a man a mere knight sounds more like an insult to every royal family on the continent.

Henwell's fief here is not large. Its borders were drawn strictly according to the size of a knightly fief in the Billie Kingdom.

All land within two kilometers of Bloodhorn Arena belongs to him.

That is roughly ten square kilometers, about the jurisdiction of a small town.

After several years of construction, Bloodhorn Town has become the most prosperous settlement in Billie outside Yinxin City.

Three midsized military fortresses anchor three corners of the territory.

Neat rows of buildings fill the space between them, from the administrative hall to the market and trade district.

Bloodhorn Town holds three thousand soldiers and more than five hundred other armed personnel responsible for public order.

Another thousand elite cavalry are stationed inside Bloodhorn Arena.

Even a count in the Billie Kingdom would have to show deference to a force of this size.

Continued slave purchases and migration from Peace Haven have pushed Bloodhorn Town's permanent population above fifty thousand.

Another ten to twenty thousand people pass through at any given time.

Many come to spend money, while others come to trade.

Besides the factories in the industrial park, several restricted workshops operate inside Bloodhorn Arena.

They make high-end goods with proprietary manufacturing know-how that cannot be allowed to spread, all under the guard of the Bloodhorn Cavalry Battalion.

Bloodhorn Town opens to outsiders for five days each month. Visitors must apply in advance and pass reviews by both Billie and Bloodhorn Town.

The Billie Kingdom searches every buyer rigorously, and each person may take away no more than ten items from Bloodhorn Town.

Many categories of goods face even tighter controls.

These include extraordinary equipment made in Bloodhorn Town, replicated extraordinary potions, and finely made weapons and armor.

Private buyers cannot take such goods out. The checkpoint confiscates anything it finds.

Bloodhorn Town has undergone two rounds of industrial upgrades since Chick arrived.

It can now manufacture steam engines and produce weapons and armor on a small scale, from smelting to forging.

It can also smelt Ink Blue Steel, a replica of Billie's extraordinary metal, at far less than Billie's own cost.

Its replicated extraordinary potions grew out of enhancement-potion research and modifications to potions from various sources.

Their effects are weaker, but they are stable and far less likely to cause side effects.

Peace Haven approved these high-end products for manufacture only after Chick arrived.

Headquarters will release technology like this only when a core decision-maker such as Chick oversees the territory.

That is why Bloodhorn Town was allowed to build a steam-engine production line.

The forging works became possible only because steam engines provide a steady source of mechanical power.

Many people covet steam-engine technology. Some even send professional spies into the forging works.

Those caught are beaten and imprisoned while Bloodhorn Town waits for the Billie Kingdom to ransom them.

Others succeed in smuggling out the blueprints.

With enough money at stake, someone will always be willing to sell machine blueprints.

Modern steam engines have grown increasingly complex. Copying one is difficult, but still possible.

After all, this is an extraordinary world where extraordinary powers can be used.

But what happens once they succeed?

The cost alone is far beyond what they are prepared to bear.

Worse, their copied steam engines suffer from one problem after another.

That is the technological barrier Henwell created. When the steam engine first appeared, he deliberately held it back from widespread use.

He poured money into repeated upgrades. Even during Peace Haven's trials, he kept investing and asking for every possible technical improvement.

At first, everyone thought it was one of Henwell's oversized toys. By the time they understood its importance, the technological barrier was already in place.

Every major power has tried to copy Peace Haven's standard steam-engine model, but none has come close to matching its stability.

A poorly made steam engine can explode!

The barrier lies not in the complex machinery, but in the individual parts.

First comes manufacturing precision. Peace Haven has surpassed every other country in this field, reducing the tolerances between parts to almost nothing.

More important are the materials. After countless iterations, different components may use entirely different steels.

Wear resistance, high hardness, heat resistance, corrosion resistance, rust resistance...

This is the foundation of Peace Haven's materials science, built through more than twenty years of relentless annual investment from Henwell.

Peace Haven guards its materials research more closely than any other invention.