Chapter 774: Chapter 429: May the Sun Shine on Gray Rock_2

As these words fell, many subconsciously straightened their backs.

"It’ll be exhausting, and it’ll be hard." But I promise, Red Tide will never disappoint any striver.

The achievements you establish here will directly determine your futures.

Whether you seek nobility, wealth, or a place in history, Gray Rock Province is your stepping stone."

This time, no one laughed, but Pete felt something slowly close within his chest.

It was no longer just repayment or mere personal loyalty to Louis but a sense of duty endowed with direction.

Suddenly, he realized he was not only saving compatriots he had never met but also climbing a path uniquely his own.

No order was given.

Chief Steward Green of Gray Rock Province stood up first, pressing his right hand to his left chest, "May the Sun shine upon Gray Rock!"

Next was Pete, followed by more people.

Three hundred Red Tide officials rose almost simultaneously; their movements were not uniform, yet they were exceptionally resolute.

Everyone pressed their right hand to their left chest, "May the Sun shine upon Gray Rock!"

The shout exploded under the dome, causing the crystal chandelier to tremble slightly.

Louis stood in the morning light and nodded slightly to the crowd.

In that moment, he resembled a statue clad in light, yet there was no sense of aloofness or distance.

After the meeting ended, the doors were pushed open again.

Cold wind blew into the hall as Pete strode out.

Outside the doors, in the square, a crowd of Gray Rock commoners gathered, clad in tattered clothing, eyes filled with apathy.

They had no idea what had happened inside, only instinctively watching the group dressed in dark uniforms.

Pete paused for a moment, looking at them, and felt a warm and unprecedented impulse in his heart.

Just wait, we are bringing the Sun.

......

The heavy oak doors closed behind, the door hinge gave a low, dull sound, completely isolating the clamor of the five hundred outside. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

The meeting room suddenly became quiet, leaving only the crackling sound of burning logs in the fireplace.

Unlike the crowded large meeting hall, this was a small meeting room.

A long, black walnut conference table lay quietly in the center.

Louis sat at the head of the table, and to his left was Green.

This Chief Steward of Gray Rock was once merely a Knight, having served as the manager of Mai Lang Territory, and now sitting here, he represented the highest authority of the Red Tide administration in Gray Rock Province.

His back was straight, but his hands unconsciously intertwined, with no expression of nervousness on his face.

Along both sides of the table were a dozen or so people.

All of them were from the Red Tide headquarters, core officials, and technical leaders summoned from a thousand miles away, who just sat in the first two rows of the large meeting hall.

Each had abilities repeatedly tested in the Northern Territory.

Green took a deep breath and slowly pushed a black ledger with a frayed cover to the center of the table.

"Lord Louis," his voice was low, "the situation is worse than we imagined."

He paused, seemingly searching for the right word.

"This is not a mess," Green finally said, "it’s a graveyard."

The ledger, its pages’ edges yellowed and curling, was opened; the writing upon it, dense.

"To prepare funds to attack the Imperial Capital, Raymond sold off all the registerable iron ore reserves in the province." Green turned the pages, his tone gradually chilling, "Not satisfied, he then emptied the province’s treasury to buy the support of several legion commanders.

To gather military provisions, he forcibly collected several years’ worth of taxes from the populace, and to gather equipment, he ordered the smelting of farmers’ ploughs and iron pots."

Someone at the conference table subconsciously clenched their fists.

"Young and fit men were conscripted en masse," Green continued, "now in the province, those left are either the elderly, sick, and weak, or expendables locked in the mines."

He closed the ledger, his voice settling.

"Simply put," Green raised his head to look at Louis, "the current Gray Rock Province cannot sustain even a single mouse in its warehouses, and the blacksmith shops can’t find a single nail. We need to support these 200,000 people and resume production; it’s like climbing to the sky."

Louis did not open the ledger: "A mess is called a mess because the previous master was incompetent."

His gaze swept both sides of the conference table: "That’s why I called you professionals here. Share your thoughts."

Valentine, the Director of Mining, spoke first.

He was an old craftsman who had spent a lifetime in the mines, his hands as rough as stones. Clearly, in his mind, he’d turned Gray Rock’s mines over and over many times.

"I’ve been down several main mines." His tone was honest, without embellishment, "Conditions are far worse than in the Northern Territory. Ventilation is nearly absent, and drainage relies entirely on manual labor."

He paused as if he remembered something, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily lifted slightly.

"Of course," he added, "nowhere in the world could truly surpass the Northern Territory’s mines in advancement."

Soft chuckles echoed in the meeting room.

Valentine quickly composed himself, becoming serious once more.

"But the problem isn’t the veins." He lifted his head to look at Louis, "I’ve looked closely, and the ore veins in Gray Rock have good orientations and tidy strata. If we dig them using the system from the Northern Territory, their scale could even surpass the Northern Territory."

He raised two short, thick fingers, tapping on the tabletop: "We’re only missing two things: ventilation and drainage."

"The problem is still power." Valentine furrowed his brow, "Large steam engines, like rock crushers or pumps, can’t find suitable fuel here. If we use Qi Pulse stones, they’d have to be transported from the Northern Territory, and the cost is exorbitantly high; it can’t sustain a long-term operation."