I Am The Only Witch Hunter-Chapter 293: Strong Steel

Siderius explained to the people about Jude’s situation and that they would be managing his territory when he was gone.

"We aren’t taking in Scalize and his other domains. Remember that. What we do is simply manage his territory on his behalf." Siderius tapped the quiver on the table.

He was writing an official letter to make the alliance between the two baronies become real.

"Why don’t we take his barony, my lord? From what I heard, he would be leaving for a long time. When he returned, all of his people would have had a change of heart already." Henry said.

"That I can answer for you, Henry. My lord, may I express my opinion?" Roland said.

"Go on." Siderius nodded.

"A baron cannot have two baronies. Two baronies would become a county. Only a count can have a county." Roland said.

"Then why didn’t Lord Snow just become a count? He was assessed by the Royal Court to have the potential of a count, right?"

Roland shook his head. "When you are the leader, your strength alone is not enough. He must have his own force and military to become a count.

The other counts in Eldoria are all heirs of a long line of High Clan. They have the power and influence to inherit the title of a count. Lord Snow does not."

Siderius clapped his hands gently. "Masterfully said, Roland. That is only one reason why I refuse to become a count.

The second reason is House Arist. Count Rufus might not have any action now but we are enemies. If I became a count, he would have the perfect reason to challenge me. Our force is not ready to face his force.

That is where you and Nadia come in."

"Us?" Nadia’s brow furrowed. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Siderius nodded. "As the new Lord Commander your task is to create a military. You will listen to no one else but me.

As for Henry. I intend to make him Lord Instructor when he is ready."

"What is Lord Instructor, my lord?" Henry asked.

"Warden. Steward. Advisor. Bailiff. All are titles in my territory. But they are not ’Lord’. Because above them is a lord. A lord that will foresee everything of a branch.

Lord Commander is a leader on the battlefield of course.

Lord Instructor will be the one who picks who can rank up in our military and also the one who trains those special soldiers. Your task is similar to a Warden but Warden will take care of every day safety and the security of our territory. You would only need to build this special force.

This force is also yours to command.

They will be the 2nd legion of our barony, separated from the 1st legion of Nadia. These are anti-magic soldiers. Or more precisely, Witch Hunters."

Henry took a deep breath. "I don’t know if I can do this, my lord. I am very good at fighting. Teaching is a different thing."

"I know. That’s why Roland will be your partner. I intend to make him Lord Strategist. We have to use his bright mind somewhere.

He will help you in teaching those men into capable hunters. While you will be the one who leads them into battle. You two will be the leaders of the 2nd legion.

Any objection?"

Henry and Roland smiled. "No, my lord."

"The meeting is over. I will come by to the Herbal House first to teach Tanya and Anna about potions.

George. Do you want to send Finn a letter?"

"What for, my lord?"

"To let him learn the process of creating Strong Steel, of course." Siderius smiled.

George couldn’t hold his excitement and nodded repeatedly. "I will write to him right away."

Siderius spent a few days teaching Tanya and Anna about the properties of the spell and how to make basic spirits. Because they weren’t alchemists, they couldn’t alchemy spirit. The normal spirits could still be very useful with much less effectiveness.

These could be issued to the soldiers inside the territory or sold to other territories for coins.

Siderius taught the two of them three simplified versions of his tonic.

Fire Antibiotics to prevent disease and infection. The simplified version was Fire Purification. It was less safer than Fire Antibiotics and might cause a lot of discomfort. However, it could be mass produced by Tanya and Anna.

Flesh Restoration could speed up the healing process into seconds. The simplified version extended this into days. This was still much better than the weeks needed to heal a normal wound.

The last one was an entire new tonic. Siderius made the alchemical one first.

Tanya and Anna had been working hard in planting old herbs and discovered new ones. The gathering herb task was also a very popular quest in the Quest Office.

They discovered quite a few good ones that Siderius could use in the new tonic.

The new one was Mental Fortification. It could calm the mind and also prevent mental manipulation from the witches. The simplified version was less effective.

Tanya and Anna spent a few days learning from Siderius. They learned the knowledge by heart and now only needed to practice more to master the craft.

"Hmmm. If they show talent in potion craft, maybe I can teach them Alchemy as well. Only time will tell."

After the potion craft, Siderius went on to forge his second sword.

A week later. A cart drove into Santa Roberto. Finn the blacksmith was the driver.

"Finn, my friend! You made it." George stood at the gate to welcome.

Finn laughed out loud. "I can’t miss Lord Snow’s masterwork. What are we creating this time?"

"A higher grade of steel than Dull Steel. Lord Snow called it, Strong Steel."

"Strong Steel, huh? I wonder how strong it is."

"What do you have back there, Finn?"

Finn jumped down from the cart and pulled over the cover. Inside the cart were many different ores and ornaments.

"My secret stash of rare ores and items. I really didn’t have any use for them. I thought maybe Lord Snow will like it."

Siderius was in his office, drawing a schematic onto the parchment. It was the design for his second sword.

The first sword was Blazing Soul. It was durable but lacked attacking power because of its dull edge. The alloy Soul Steel circumvented this partially by adding flame power to it.

"For the Strong Steel. I have no intention of adding elemental power to it. Strong Steel is strong by itself but it doesn’t have that much room to add like Dull Steel.

Elemental power will only cause it to be impure and lower its power.

Instead of that... Engraving a few Alchemical Seals on it is better."