Snow covered Elarion beneath a gray northern sky.

Yet despite the freezing winds sweeping across the mountains—

The city moved faster than ever.

Factory whistles echoed constantly through the industrial districts. Steel convoys rolled day and night. Rifle drills thundered across the training grounds beyond the fortress walls.

The assassination attempt had changed something fundamental.

Not merely politically.

Psychologically.

Now Elarion no longer prepared "just in case."

Now it prepared for war.

Inside the central strategy hall of Fortress Elarion, officers and administrators filled the chamber while massive maps covered nearly every wall.

Frontier routes. Supply depots. Artillery positions. Industrial output estimates.

The atmosphere felt sharp. Focused.

No wasted movement remained anymore.

Lucien stood beside the northern operations table while reports arrived continuously from:

the western frontier,

Frostpeak mines,

artillery foundries,

and rifle factories.

Cedric leaned against the map table while reviewing military summaries.

"The southern frontier camps expanded again."

Malen answered immediately.

"They’re building permanent fortifications."

Lucas looked tired already.

"Wonderful." "So now everyone is preparing for war while pretending they aren’t."

Fair observation honestly.

Lucien calmly continued reviewing production ledgers.

"Then we accelerate."

That answer no longer surprised anyone.

Economic pressure?

Expand production.

Military pressure?

Expand logistics.

Assassination?

Expand security.

At this point half the officers privately suspected Lucien would respond to dragons by building larger furnaces.

Honestly not impossible.

Lucien finally looked up from the reports.

"Current rifle production?"

A logistics officer answered immediately.

"Improved furnace output increased steel allocation by thirty percent."

Another officer continued.

"Ammunition reserves stable." "Field cannon production continues." "Coal reserves remain sufficient for winter operations."

Lucien nodded once.

Then:

"Expand stockpiling."

Several officers immediately began writing.

"Triple ammunition reserve targets." "Prioritize artillery shell production." "Expand western supply depots."

The room grew quieter.

Because those were wartime logistics orders now.

Not precautionary measures.

Malen noticed it too.

The peak knight stepped forward slightly.

"You believe conflict is unavoidable?"

Lucien answered calmly.

"Yes."

No hesitation.

No uncertainty.

Just certainty.

And somehow—

That felt heavier than any dramatic speech could have.

Far below the fortress walls, Elarion transformed rapidly.

Workers reinforced roads leading toward the frontier. New warehouse districts expanded beside the rail planning yards. Artillery crews trained constantly despite snowfall.

Even civilian districts changed.

Volunteer militias formed. Emergency shelters expanded. Food reserves increased.

Nobody panicked.

Which honestly frightened outsiders more.

Because Elarion prepared for war the same way it built factories:

Systematically.

Later that evening Lucien descended into the lower industrial district accompanied by Cedric and several guards.

The massive forge halls glowed orange against the snowy darkness while steam hissed through iron pipes overhead.

Workers moved continuously between:

furnaces,

steel presses,

machining stations,

and ammunition workshops.

At the center of the main forge complex—

Ironbreaker the dwarf stood atop a steel platform screaming at three exhausted engineers simultaneously.

"No!" "If the pressure valve explodes again I’ll throw ALL OF YOU into the furnace personally!"

One young engineer raised a shaking hand weakly.

"Master Ironbreaker... technically it only exploded twice—"

"TWICE TOO MANY!"

A nearby steam pipe burst loudly.

Nobody reacted.

Apparently this happened often.

Cedric watched silently for several seconds.

"...How is this city still functioning?"

A passing worker answered casually:

"We stopped questioning that months ago."

Fair.

Very fair honestly.

Ironbreaker finally noticed Lucien approaching and climbed down from the platform while wiping grease from his gloves.

"Bah." "You arrived at a bad time."

Cedric looked around the forge hall.

"This is considered bad?"

The dwarf pointed angrily toward a partially dismantled steam mechanism nearby.

"That idiot apprentice nearly turned the pressure chamber into shrapnel."

The apprentice immediately defended himself.

"It was a controlled failure!"

Ironbreaker looked ready to commit murder.

Lucien wisely ignored the argument.

"How long before expanded rifle production stabilizes?"

The dwarf crossed his arms proudly afterward.

"With the new furnace?" "Two months maybe."

Cedric blinked.

"That fast?"

Ironbreaker snorted.

"The south keeps threatening war." "So we stopped sleeping."

Again— fair.

Lucien studied the forge hall quietly afterward.

Then almost casually asked:

"And the machine gun?"

Silence.

Complete silence.

Several nearby engineers immediately looked upward.

One apprentice pretended sudden interest in a wall.

Cedric slowly turned toward Lucien.

"The what?"

Ironbreaker stared for several seconds before scratching his beard.

"...Still unstable."

Now Cedric looked even more concerned.

"There’s a WHAT being built?"

The dwarf ignored him completely.

"Feed system jams." "Barrel overheating." "Ammo cycling still problematic."

Then after a pause:

"But..."

His grin slowly widened.

"...it works."

Cedric looked deeply alarmed now.

"What does ’works’ mean exactly?"

One engineer answered nervously:

"It fired continuously for nearly twenty seconds."

The strategy officer stared blankly.

"...Twenty seconds?"

Ironbreaker puffed proudly.

"Before exploding."

Cedric pointed immediately.

"There!" "That part seems important!"

The dwarf waved dismissively.

"Minor engineering issue."

A nearby worker quietly muttered:

"It killed the test dummy."

Ironbreaker looked offended.

"That means it succeeded!"

Honestly difficult logic to argue against.

Lucien remained calm through the entire conversation.

"Estimated completion?"

Ironbreaker thought briefly.

"If you want reliable battlefield deployment?"

He rubbed his beard slowly.

"Six months maybe."

Cedric immediately interrupted.

"No."

Everyone looked toward him.

"No?" "What do you mean no?"

Cedric pointed directly at Ironbreaker.

"You are NOT giving him rapid-fire weapons before I emotionally prepare myself."

Ironbreaker looked deeply disappointed.

Lucien ignored both of them and turned toward another section of the forge hall.

There—

Gandalf the wizard stood surrounded by scattered parchment blueprints, half-disassembled pipes, and what looked suspiciously like a cannon attached to wheels.

The old wizard adjusted his glasses while muttering to himself.

"No no no... if the recoil launches the operator backward again then the angle is wrong..."

Cedric froze.

"...Why is the wizard building artillery?"

Gandalf looked offended immediately.

"It is NOT artillery."

He proudly pointed toward a long metal tube resting on a wooden support frame.

"It is a portable anti-armor directional explosive launcher."

Silence.

Cedric blinked slowly.

"...You made a shoulder cannon."

"Precisely!"

Lucien stepped closer calmly. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"The shoulder-fired weapon?"

Gandalf nodded proudly.

"The prototype works."

Cedric immediately looked suspicious.

"How many people died testing it?"

The wizard coughed lightly.

"That is not the important question."

"...How many?"

"...Three."

Cedric covered his face.

"The kingdom is actually doomed."

Gandalf ignored him completely while pulling open another enormous blueprint across the table.

This one showed something far larger.

Massive iron plating. Steam pressure chambers. Tracked movement systems.

A landship.

Even unfinished on paper, it looked monstrous.

Lucien observed the design silently.

"The steam tank."

Gandalf’s eyes gleamed immediately.

"Ah!" "Now THIS is genius."

Ironbreaker shouted from the other side of the hall:

"YOU SAID THAT BEFORE THE LAST EXPLOSION TOO!"

The wizard waved dismissively.

"Minor setbacks build character."

Cedric stared at the blueprint carefully.

"...That thing is enormous."

"It must be," Gandalf answered proudly.

"Armor thickness requires weight." "Weight requires stronger engines." "Stronger engines require larger boilers."

Then excitedly:

"And larger boilers require glorious engineering!"

One nearby engineer quietly whispered:

"He hasn’t slept in four days."

Reasonable honestly.

Lucien studied the blueprint carefully.

"How long?"

Gandalf rubbed his beard thoughtfully.

"For movement?"

"Combat capable."

The wizard became noticeably less confident.

"...Longer."

Cedric immediately nodded.

"Excellent." "Very reassuring."

But Gandalf pointed toward the blueprint proudly anyway.

"When completed, normal cavalry will become obsolete."

That statement silenced the nearby engineers.

Because suddenly—

They realized the scale of what Elarion was attempting.

Not improved warfare.

A completely different kind of warfare.

Lucien’s gaze remained fixed on the massive steam tank blueprint silently.

Then:

"Accelerate development."

Cedric looked personally betrayed.

"WHY DOES EVERY CONVERSATION END LIKE THIS?"