Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 109

Time passed.

From mid-autumn, through winter, and into spring.

And as the short spring came to an end, the days began to grow warmer.

The rapidly rising temperature was a sign that summer was approaching.

“This is the second summer I’ve experienced here.”

“Indeed. Time truly flies, doesn’t it?”

Griff placed his teacup down and grinned. Calliope, sitting across from him, nodded lightly in response.

I finished signing the last of the documents, rose from my seat, and stood before the window. The office was located in the rebuilt imperial palace within the lord’s manor, and thanks to its top-floor location after the reconstruction, it offered a view of the city.

“It has changed so much. One can hardly recognize its former appearance.”

Olymus, the capital of the empire.

A mere settlement of about 100 people until just a year ago.

However, that single year had transformed the settlement into a metropolis with a population of 120,000. Its urban area expanded to rival the capitals of old kingdoms.

“120,000 people… You’ve really gathered quite the crowd.”

“An achievement made through what amounts to forced migration.”

I gave a bitter smile as I watched the smog rising from the heart of the city. The smog was emitted from the largest armory in the city, a byproduct of melting copper to manufacture cannons.

“It was a drastic but necessary action.”

With a few exceptions like fertilizer and gunpowder, all sorts of factories—armories, textile mills, paper mills—were concentrated in Olymus.

The scale of the factories wasn’t just a building or two but was developed into village-sized complexes, considering future expansion, and all the engineers and their families from across the empire were relocated.

It was essentially an industrial complex gathered in one place. So, it was inevitable that the area would become excessively large.

“As a result, it has become a desolate place devoid of any beauty as a capital, but considering its purpose, this appearance is only natural.”

Olymus had to be a forward base.

My goal of conquering the different races remained unchanged.

Therefore, I developed Olymus as a base to support the conquest from the front lines, and 120,000 people were mobilized from across the country to operate the base.

“You’ve done well. It’s quite something to have accomplished this much in such a short time.”

“I wish we had more time…”

“But we won’t have that time.”

“Yes. By now, they must have completed their preparations as much as we have.”

Still, they would be surprised if they knew what we had prepared.

Tools to instill the meaning of respect in those who look down on us, excellent means of communication were prepared.

I saw an imperial soldier holding a walnut staff in the plaza in front of the imperial palace.

The Hybrid War.

Knock, knock.

“Excuse me, Father.”

The imperial chancellor, Skadi, entered the office.

I looked at the stack of documents she was carrying.

“A policy report?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s hear it while we walk.”

“Are you heading to the armory?”

“Yes. I heard they’ve finished improving the cannons.”

I left the imperial palace and began walking through the city.

Skadi stood beside me, with Calliope and several attendants following behind. The attendants were all members of the Imperial Guard, numbering only six, but they were powerful individuals personally selected by Calliope.

Skadi glanced at the guards and opened her mouth.

“Calliope.”

“……?”

“When are you going to fill the remaining three spots?”

Calliope didn’t answer.

“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me.”

“Soon.”

I gave a silent, bitter smile.

The remaining three spots Skadi just mentioned referred to the vacancies in the Imperial Guard. Since the Imperial Guard has a quota of 10 people, including Calliope, when would she fill the three spots excluding the seven members?

Judging from Calliope’s reaction, she didn’t seem inclined to actively fill the quota.

“Lower your standards a bit.”

“No.”

Skadi grumbled.

I felt the same way as her.

I didn’t know Calliope’s standards were this high.

To not be able to fill a quota of just nine people, excluding herself.

The seventh member was only selected a few days ago.

At this rate, it seems it takes more than a month to fill one spot.

If this continues, it might take another four months.

‘The minimum requirement for candidates in the Guard is high level. High level itself is extremely rare, but considering factors other than level, such as personality, the selection is bound to be slow.’

The lowest level among the guards was 66.

Since I acquired the Familiar Creation skill, I’ve created about 2,600 familiars, and among them, fewer than 40 have levels exceeding 60.

Yet, she’s considering factors other than level for these individuals…

It’s amazing that she’s even filled seven spots.

‘It seems she’s picking individuals with similar personalities to herself.’

Every time I see the guards, I wonder, are they her siblings or something? The familiars consider each other as siblings, so it’s not wrong, but their personalities are so similar that it feels like they’re connected by blood.

Silent and cold like dolls.

– She’s scary in a different way than Rachel.

Griff even evaluated her like this.

“Father, say something too.”

Skadi sighed deeply and looked at me.

“Well, isn’t personnel selection Calliope’s authority?”

It’s not that I have nothing to say, but with each person having their own role, it wouldn’t look good for me to interfere like this.

What was the reason for creating the administrative system?

It was to reduce my workload while ensuring each familiar’s role. Even with the smallest department, the Guard, which is closely tied to me, it was necessary to respect its independence as much as possible.

If I start meddling with things I don’t like, we’ll go back to before the administrative reorganization.

“You’re so good at getting out of these things.”

She frowned slightly while simultaneously smiling. I smiled back at her and received the report.

I turned to the first page of the report and checked the expected summer harvest.

“Average crop?”

According to the report, the summer crop yield was expected to be below average in Germania and Wallachia, while the Great Plains were expected to have the same bumper crop as last year.

“It’s a relief that it’s not a famine, even if it’s much lower.”

“Actually, there are areas where the harvest is poor. Especially in the regions where the Wolf Cult uprising occurred. They resisted by deliberately destroying fields and turning surrounding farmland to ashes.”

“How did you handle it?”

“We’ve reduced taxes for the affected areas for this year only. We plan to release government-held grain if necessary.”

“Is there enough grain?”

“Yes. We filled the warehouses in advance, and since there’s a bumper crop in the Great Plains, it won’t turn into a famine.”

“Hmm…”

I nodded silently but felt a great relief inside.

I didn’t expect a bumper crop in the first place.

It was impossible.

“It’s greedy to expect a bumper crop in land that has undergone uprisings and civil wars.”

“Yes, that’s right. As long as it’s not a poor harvest. We just need to avoid the worst-case scenario where a poor harvest leads to famine.”

Because the empire is a country without any foreign countries to sell grain to.

If a poor harvest had occurred this year, we would have been forced to starve to death.

“We just need to get through this year safely. If Pasimea supplies fertilizer in time for the autumn sowing, we’ll have surplus grain from next year.”

“Fertilizer… you mean saltpeter [potassium nitrate].”

I nodded.

The saltpeter mine that Pasimea secured last autumn.

The Antz region in southeastern Germania has soil with a high potassium nitrate content, to the point where white crystals form when it rains and the land dries.

The farmers in that region hated the soil, considering it poisonous. It was just dirty land where not a single blade of grass would grow, but to me and Pasimea, who knew the identity of the poison, it was more precious than a gold mine.

– The content is incredibly high! You can just sprinkle water on the soil, filter it, and boil the water to create high-purity saltpeter!

I recalled Pasimea’s excited explanation.

It was an enthusiastic reaction that made me chuckle.

‘I really did something I should be sorry for.’

That’s because if there were no saltpeter mines, we would have had to make saltpeter using ordinary methods. That ordinary method was to scoop up excrement from toilets.

During the conquest of Germania, she had to search the toilets all over the Great Plains to supply gunpowder for the 20 cannons.

If there were no saltpeter mines, she would have had to continue doing that forever.

It was only natural that she was so happy.

“Is that saltpeter really that effective as fertilizer?”

“You’ll see the results later.”

Saltpeter is also known as potassium nitrate. Since it’s a crystallization of two out of the three elements that greatly affect plant growth—nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus—it couldn’t possibly be ineffective.

And since Pasimea said she would find phosphorus to make artificial fertilizer, I just had to build gunpowder and fertilizer factories in the Antz region, where the saltpeter mine was located, and wait for the results.

Clang, clang!

As we arrived at the armory, the sound of metal greeted us.

“Be careful!”

“Slowly, slowly…”

On one side, casting technicians were pouring molten bronze into molds. The heat emanating from the molten metal could be felt even outside the wide-open door.

“Have you arrived, Your Majesty?”

The familiar who managed the armory approached.

“You said you finished improving the cannons?”

“Yes. This way.”

I followed him across the armory towards the warehouse.

The Olymus armory began construction immediately after securing the saltpeter mine. Increasing fertilizer production and crop yields was important, but it would be meaningless if we couldn’t protect what we had.

And my purpose in increasing crop yields was to secure a standing army armed with gunpowder weapons.

As soon as we obtained a stable gunpowder supply, I took action.

“Is the recruitment of technicians going well? I heard there was a shortage.”

“Pasimea sent a large number of technicians from Germania the other day, so we managed to resolve it somehow.”

“Pasimea did?”

“Yes. She said there were quite a few technicians who were out of work after the Wolf Cult uprising. So, it seems she found them more easily than expected.”

I chuckled at the unexpected gain.

Considering that Pasimea had to directly teach and create the technology herself because there were no casting technicians when we first made bronze cannons, things had turned out quite easily.

“This is it.”

Several assembled bronze cannons were lined up in the armory warehouse.

The manager placed his hand on the smallest of them.

“It’s bigger than what I saw last month.”

“That one was too small. Since we focused on mobility, the durability was poor, and it couldn’t withstand internal explosions. So, we decided to increase the thickness, even if it meant increasing the weight.”

I pushed the cannon slightly. It rolled easily since it had wheels, but it felt heavier compared to the small cannon that had previously exploded internally.

“It certainly has some weight to it.”

“But it’s much more stable.”

“Are you sure?”

Boom!

Just then, a cannon shot was heard.

It was a demonstration firing at the training grounds beyond the outer walls.

“Do you hear that? We’ve been firing it continuously since earlier, but there’s been no news of it breaking down.”

“What about the performance?”

“It can fire a 1.5kg projectile up to 1km at a rate of one shot per minute.”

“The effective range would be about half that.”

“Yes. But the operating personnel is only three people, and it can be pulled by a single horse, so if it moves with the infantry while firing, the distance should be sufficient.”

“Indeed.”

I nodded, comparing it to the cannon abandoned in the corner of the warehouse. That cannon was an early model used in Germania.

“You’ll definitely feel the difference when you compare it to that.”

“That’s right. That one… I’m sorry to Pasimea, but it couldn’t be used in actual combat. It was the first time making a cannon, so it was lacking in many ways.”

The first cannon, the one used in Germania, had many shortcomings. It was because I gave Pasimea the idea of a cannon, and she made it in a poor working environment.

“The barrel is too thick, making it incredibly heavy, and the short barrel and stone cannon design result in an infinitely low hit rate. And the difficult operation is a bonus.”

“Hmm…”

Pasimea, who identified the problems of this cannon through actual combat, considered the performance expected of a cannon and improved it one by one.

The ambiguous size was clearly divided into field guns and siege guns, and in the case of field guns, they had to have the mobility and reload speed to move with the infantry and break through the enemy’s ranks.

Several improvements were made over half a year.

The result was the field gun in front of me, completed today.

“You’ve really done well.”

“Ah, but that’s not all.”

The manager pulled aside a curtain next to him.

Then, a hidden cannon was revealed.

“This is…”

Skadi’s eyes widened.

A huge siege cannon that made the field gun look cute.

Its length was more than three times that of the field gun, and its thickness was even greater.

“Hehe, are you surprised?”

The manager smiled as he stroked the siege cannon.

“We’re not just going to fight people, are we? We need to break down walls too. The projectile this thing fires is 10 times heavier than the one that field gun fires. It consumes a hell of a lot of gunpowder, but… I heard the gunpowder supply is sufficient.”

“Yes, it’s sufficient.”

“Then what’s there to worry about?”

He patted the siege cannon, which was three times as long as the field gun.

“I heard there are so many fortresses in southern Wallachia. Take this thing and teach them that times have changed, Your Majesty.”

Times have changed, huh.

I saw the soldiers guarding the armory entrance.

They were neither knights, mercenaries, nor conscripts.

They were standing army soldiers, newly established after the administrative system reform.

“…”

The soldiers, called the Imperial Army, had a unique appearance.

They wore blue-dyed cloth uniforms instead of armor. Their only weapons were a longsword at their waist and a long wooden stick slung over their right shoulder.

‘Musket.’

The wooden stick was a musket, a matchlock musket.

Muskets commonly bring to mind flintlocks that ignite gunpowder through the friction of flint, but the ignition method isn’t the defining characteristic. Generally, if it’s short and small in length and caliber, it’s an arquebus; if it’s long and large, it’s a musket.

By that standard, the matchlock guns the Imperial Army soldiers carried were muskets.

Due to productivity issues, wheel locks and flintlocks were temporarily put on hold. To subdue the different races, they needed to increase destructive power and accuracy, so they had no choice but to increase the caliber and length of the muskets.

“How are the matchlock guns? Is production increasing?”

“Yes, it’s increasing very steadily. Last month, the average daily production of matchlock guns was 11, and this month, it seems it will increase to 14.”

An average of 14 per day means about 420 are made in a month.

A quantity more than enough to fully equip a large company.

“We stumbled for a while getting used to it, but as everyone got the hang of it, the number of defective products decreased, and the speed started to pick up.”

“That’s a relief.”

When the armory was completed, the quality of the products in the first month was simply unusable. It was deemed that there were virtually no usable products, so they were discarded, and even after that, there were many defective products for several months, so productivity was at rock bottom.

The armory only started running properly about two months ago.

In the meantime, the production of matchlock guns was only 200.

“How much do you think production can increase?”

“Well, assuming the number of technicians continues to increase and they get the hang of it, I think it’s possible to reach an average of 30 per day within this year. If we expand the armory, it’s possible to produce even more.”

900 per month, a quantity that can arm 10,000 people annually.

Of course, considering the attrition rate, it would be less than that.

“You’ve worked hard. I’ll continue to rely on you.”

I patted the manager’s shoulder and left the armory.

“You seem to pay a lot of attention to the armory.”

“Because that place is Olympus’s heart.”

“Not the Imperial Palace?”

“The palace has no value. Do you think that building a splendid palace will make the different races respect humans and see them as equals?”

That will never happen, even if the sky splits in two.

“There is only one way to teach respect to the different races: that they will die if they don’t respect us. They must be made to realize that if they don’t want to die, they must respect us.”

“Those are terrifying words.”

Skadi chuckled.

“Do you think the weapons made in the armory can do that?”

“Not yet. We’ve only just produced something usable. It’s not enough yet. We need at least twice the performance of that.”

It would be enough against humans.

But the opponent isn’t human.

“But even now, if we have enough, we can shift the balance somewhat in our favor. After all, what I’m asking of the Imperial Army is to assist you, not to fight opponents of your caliber.”

“Hearing you say that, I want to see it soon. Not just training, but in actual combat. I’m curious to see if it’s really effective against them.”

I nodded.

“We’ll have to do some culling in the Nerup Plains this month. At that time—”

Just then, a messenger approached me with hurried steps.

“Your Majesty, a letter from Nuadir of the Security Forces.”

“Is it urgent?”

“Yes.”

I stopped walking and unfolded the letter.

It was about an incident that occurred in western Wallachia.

Since it was somewhat expected, I scoffed.

Rather, it should be seen as having erupted at the right time.

“What does it say, Father?”

“Nuadir has uncovered slave trading in Wallachia. It seems the western lords have been secretly selling freed slaves to the Republic.”

“Those damned nobles… not knowing their place.”

I handed Nuadir’s letter to Skadi.

She frowned as she read the letter.

“We don’t need to go to the Nerup Plains. The Republic will come first.”

I thought of Pinto, the merchant in northern Wallachia.

When I stopped his slave trading, what did he do?

“The reasons are different, but they do the same thing.”

The Hybrid War (2)

Skadi crumpled the letter.

“We showed them mercy, but this is how they repay us.”

Crunch…

The content of the letter was simple.

The governor of Wallachia, Pave Kuslorov, suspected that the number of slaves freed in the west was less than expected. Since conquering the kingdom, he had issued a decree to free slaves and ordered the number of freed slaves to be sent to the governor-general’s office, but the numbers sent from the west were excessively low compared to other regions.

In response, Security Forces Minister Nuadir searched the west and discovered that some lords were engaging in slave trading.

“It was expected. Aren’t nobles that kind of bunch?”

“That’s true, but… I can’t help but be angry.”

It was because a large number of nobles were co-opted to quickly suppress the civil war. Half of the two kingdoms’ territories were manors detached from central administration.

With so many feudal lords, it was obvious that some would deceive the reports, thinking, ‘Decree? Slave emancipation decree? I can just pretend to do it!’, and sell the slaves to the different races.

Skadi, who held the title of Imperial Chancellor, couldn’t possibly not know this. However, expecting it and experiencing it are different feelings. She took out a cigarette with a frown.

“It’s a good thing in a way. We should use this as an excuse to conduct a full investigation of the Wallachian lords. Now that the civil war is over, they can’t possibly rise up now.”

“What do you intend to do with the investigation?”

“I’ll confiscate the territories of anyone who has even slightly violated the decree and send Imperial officials to govern them directly.”

“Do you have officials to send?”

“It will take time to sort things out anyway. Can’t you just keep creating them in the meantime, Father?”

I chuckled softly.

“That’s not wrong. Since I entrusted the work to you, that’s all I have to do.”

Skadi waved her hands in embarrassment.

“Ah, I didn’t mean it that way…”

“Skadi.”

Calliope and the guards glared at her with fierce eyes. Skadi coughed awkwardly and turned her head.

‘Imperial officials, huh.’

I smiled and counted the familiars I had created so far.

The number of familiars created so far was about 2,600. Excluding those who died in conflicts, there were about 2,200. About one-third of them were familiars capable of administrative work, so about 700.

Considering that there were only about 200 when the administrative system was reorganized, it had increased considerably.

————————————

[Familiar #%성]

[Grade: 6-Star]

[You have created a familiar with 무$^위.]

[The race of the familiar created is fixed to *@&$(*.]

[The grade range of familiars created from 6-Star is $&*#$ to SSS.]

[*[email protected]^ Skill cooldown is 3 hours@[email protected]*&.]

[This @&*^!# grade 성*@^( is possible[email protected]&^.]

[Time remaining until next use: 10 minutes 02 seconds.]

————————————

The reason was, of course, that time had passed and the skill grade had increased by one level. 5-Star was one person every 4 hours, but with 6-Star, it decreased to 3 hours.

That meant I could create eight familiars a day.

‘It’s a shame that the rate of decrease is gradually decreasing.’

Up to 4-Star, it decreased by more than 50% each time the grade increased, but for 5-Star and 6-Star, the rate of decrease was decreasing, such as 30% and 25%.

At this rate, it might decrease to minutes next time.

‘It’s fortunate that there are increases in elements other than the cooldown, but I don’t really understand the meaning.’

[The grade range of familiars created from 6-Star is $&*#$ to SSS.]

The end of the creation grade range has changed to SSS.

Since the characters are broken, I can’t know the minimum range, but it’s not a problem because I can roughly guess the minimum range by using the skill. The real problem was that SSS.

It was a grade I had never heard of, so I was stunned for a moment even after confirming it.

‘Is it because the characters are broken?’

Since the characteristic of broken characters is special characters, it probably isn’t.

‘I don’t know.’

Presumably, S-grade was a familiar with a minimum level of 90 or higher.

Calliope, Pasiphae, and Skadi were all over 90.

But SSS? What kind of familiar is going to come out?

‘Unless it’s a case of receiving item effects, the maximum level is 100. If this law is still valid, SSS won’t exceed that… but in the first place, the grade SSS itself is something I saw after coming here, so I can’t say anything.’

I’ll have to draw it myself to know.

“Father?”

“Hmm.”

At Skadi’s call, I woke up from my thoughts.

“Is the Minister of Military Affairs currently in Wallachia?”

“If you’re talking about Gerhard, he’s inspecting the Wallachia Expeditionary Force.”

“If I order him to send some of the Wallachia Expeditionary Force to Nuadir to support him, how many can move?”

She thought for a moment and replied.

“Most of the Wallachia Expeditionary Force is tied up in the southern border fortresses. The only forces that can actually move are two divisions of the Imperial Army and two companies of familiars.”

“Two divisions and two companies, huh…”

The Imperial Army counts 6,000 men as a division based on full strength, and familiars are counted as 100 men per company.

This is the Imperial Army’s newly established organizational unit by Gerhard, with one division consisting of 3 brigades, one brigade consisting of 2 regiments, and one regiment having 2-4 battalions.

At this time, a division consists of 6,000 men, a brigade of 2,000 men, a regiment of 1,000 men, and a battalion of 300-500 men.

And the familiars under the Imperial Army are called special forces, with the squad as the smallest unit and 10 men as the quota. However, special soldiers are the official name for ordinary people, and I and the familiars collectively call them familiars for convenience.

In other words, the forces that Gerhard can mobilize in Wallachia are 12,000 Imperial Army soldiers and 200 familiars. Since the Wallachia Expeditionary Force is engaged in local warfare, the actual size should be seen as a force reduced by 5-10%.

“Is that all?”

“Yes. That force is the reserve. Unless we draw separately from the southern fortress, that’s all the available manpower.”

“That’s not enough.”

Skadi’s eyes widened at my muttering.

“Not enough?”

I took the letter back and read it.

The following was written at the end.

– The group that traded with the criminals has been identified as merchants from the Republic. Upon receiving news that they were crossing the border, a squad was dispatched to prevent their escape.

If someone sold the slaves, there must be someone who bought them.

The buyer in the letter was a merchant from the Republic.

The Republic’s official name is the Cesena Republic.

It was a human nation subservient to the Naga [a serpentine race].

“When I stopped Pinto, the merchant in northern Wallachia, from trading slaves, do you know how Pinto reacted, Skadi?”

“I heard he gathered the northern nobles and invaded.”

“It’s the same. The reasons are different, but the reaction will be the same.”

“Are you saying it will lead to a full-scale war, not just a local conflict?”

“Yes.”

A look that asks why.

It’s natural that you don’t understand.

“The Republic is not a human nation.”

“Yes?”

Skadi blinked.

“Do you mean it’s a puppet state subservient to the Naga?”

“No. From the ruling class to the ruled, they are not human.”

“I’ve never heard that the Republic’s population is not human. I’ve heard reports that the Republic’s citizens are particularly protective of the different races.”

“Then haven’t you heard this? The people of the Republic have unique appearances, their eyes are large and protruding, and their skin shines like scales.”

“…Are you saying.”

I nodded.

“It’s the same as the Order of the Church. They are a larger and more human-like race than those guys. But inside, they are hybrids that are neither human nor Naga. They buy humans to increase their numbers while offering tributes to the Naga’s mother god.”

It’s fundamentally different from the southern nations that chose to stand by and pass transit rights and concessions. It’s not a human nation, and it’s a nation that needs to hunt humans to survive.

“The Orcs bought humans through Pinto and bred. The Republic is also buying humans through merchants to increase their numbers. So, what will they do if I stop human trafficking?”

“They’ll come to hunt directly.”

Yes, just like Ugdash and Pinto did.

Hybrids of Naga and humans will flock.

“How many troops can we send to Wallachia?”

“All that’s left are the two regiments and three squads of familiars stationed to defend the capital. To increase it further, we’d have to draw from the Great Plains Expeditionary Force.”

2,000 Imperial Army soldiers and 30 familiars are the reinforcements I can send to Wallachia.

I tapped my temple with my index finger.

“Leave the Great Plains Expeditionary Force as is and take only the capital regiments and squads. Also, mobilize the newly formed musket riflemen.”

“The musket riflemen only number 200…”

“It doesn’t matter. The Imperial Army won’t be fighting the Naga.”

The armory has just started operating normally. We need to continue production for at least half a year to arm a brigade-sized Imperial Army with gunpowder weapons.

Humans armed with cold weapons cannot face the different races.

“Let’s see how effective the riflemen are against the hybrids.”

Skadi nodded and was about to issue the mobilization order but stopped.

“Father, are you going to call Horatio too?”

Horatio.

The A-grade familiar created when the familiar creation skill became 6-Star.

He was appointed as the Chief of the Naval Affairs Department under the Ministry of Military Affairs immediately after creation, but being the Chief of the Navy in a country without a navy, he was no different from the president of a ghost company that didn’t even have a proper headquarters, let alone a naval base.

By now, he’s probably hunting aimlessly or helping with drills as usual.

“Even if there’s no navy, he’s not irrelevant when dealing with the Republic. Besides, artillery fire is his specialty. Call him.”