Xiao Xun said to the boss, "Do you know I've established a new military academy?"
"I've heard."
Xiao Xun nodded, "My purpose for coming here is to recruit him as the head of my academy's curriculum. In addition to his salary, he will receive a patent fee of one gold coin per month for his inventions."
The boss's eyes lit up instantly, "Are you serious?"
Xiao Xun nodded, "Since I'm here, there's no need for me to lie."
The boss shouted, "Lorlgard, we have distinguished guests!"
Hearing this, Xiao Xun sincerely praised the boss's robust voice.
Lorlgard's purple mage robes were gone, replaced by the commoner's shirt, vest, and tight trousers.
As soon as he saw Xiao Xun, he hurried over to salute, "Your Highness Svein, how did you find me here?"
This time it was Xiao Xun's turn to speak, "This is not a place to talk. Let's change location!"
He then signaled Bai Yang to escort the three back to the arsenal. Although this was a magical world, spatial mages were still rare, so Bai Yang's display of spatial magic was quite astonishing, attracting much attention and surprise.
The stout boss seized the opportunity to boast, "Do you all know? My brother-in-law is the head of His Highness Svein's military academy, and His Highness Svein personally came to invite him."
Xiao Xun, with Lorlgard, returned to the large conference room. After sitting down, he directly said, "I didn't realize until now, but you've put a lot into this gun!"
Lorlgard scratched his head, "It's all my duty."
Xiao Xun waved his hand, "Let's not talk about duty for now. I really like this gun, but I'm more concerned about whether the arcane runes and magic stones can be mass-produced."
Lorlgard nodded, "As long as there is an arcane mage, along with the corresponding scrolls and magic stones, mass production can be achieved."
Xiao Xun directly delegated the task to Lorlgard, "How about this! I now appoint you as the overall head of this gun. You will be responsible for the entire assembly line, including procurement channels and production efficiency. However, the name you came up with isn't very good. I'd like to call it the 'Arcane Transcendence'. What do you think?"
"Since Your Highness Svein trusts me, I will not fail in my mission."
Lorlgard readily accepted. This way, he would not only receive an extra salary but also personally oversee the debut of the weapon he had developed, a truly blissful prospect.
"Then let's not delay. You are officially on duty today. Go to the research institute next to the arsenal! They have gathered the best mechanics in this world. Let them help you refine it further. I want to see a finished product within a week."
Lorlgard excitedly replied, "No problem."
Xiao Xun then went to the military academy, first inspecting the classrooms and then the student dormitories. Due to limited space, eight students shared a home, with some even having over ten.
Besides students and teachers, there were no other leaders in this academy, and Xiao Xun's visit was sudden. Thus, the students paid little attention to this young man who was not much older than them.
However, some students recognized him and immediately organized those they knew to form ranks and greet Xiao Xun. Xiao Xun greeted them warmly, then asked if they were accustomed to the food and lodging, and if they had any suggestions to report to their teachers, the head of the curriculum, and the future leaders of the academy.
After saying this, Xiao Xun discovered that the military academy also had female students.
Xiao Xun thought to himself, "This is outrageous! What's going on with the recruitment office? Fighting is a man's business, why are they recruiting female students?"
He asked Bai Yang to take him to the recruitment office. There were still many people signing up, with longer queues than at other recruitment points. After all, Xiao Xun's Phoenix Army had defeated the Heavenly Calamity several times. Although there were casualties, they had never been annihilated. Thus, everyone wanted to join.
The military academy trained not only pilots and artillerymen but also military officers.
This was different from the old method of earning military merits through killing enemies, so people were scrambling to join. Consequently, there were no shortage of people offering bribes and gifts.
Xiao Xun went directly to the front of the queue. The person there was about to fill out the form. Seeing someone push past him, he became very unhappy, "What are you doing? Trying to cut the line, get to the back."
The people behind also began to complain, some even preparing to act to make a good impression on the recruitment officers.
They didn't recognize him, but the people at the recruitment office naturally recognized their commander.
They immediately stood up, shouted for the people in the queue to shut up, and quickly stepped out from behind the desk, "Your Highness Svein, why have you come personally?"
Upon hearing that it was His Highness Svein who had arrived, especially the person at the very front, he immediately lowered his head and trembled.
Xiao Xun looked at the registration roster, "I didn't restrict your recruitment by gender, but why did you recruit female students for the military academy? I'm not planning to train a cultural troupe."
The head of the recruitment office quickly explained, "Your Highness Svein, you misunderstand. Those female students are being prepared as magic archers and battlefield medics. Girls are meticulous, and magic bows don't require much strength, so female archers have high accuracy."
Xiao Xun didn't really understand, but having played games in a magical world, he knew there was such a thing, so he said nothing more. He looked at the long queue, "How many have you recruited now?"
"Reporting to Your Highness Svein, the academy has a total of one thousand people, and the army has forty thousand."
Xiao Xun pondered for a moment, "This way, post a notice. Classes at the academy will begin in three days, and the registration deadline is tomorrow afternoon. I'll give you another five hundred spots. If you can't fill them, don't accept subpar candidates."
"Yes!"
As Xiao Xun was about to leave, Bai Yang suddenly pulled out a letter, "My lord, this is a letter from Delvana on the front lines."
He opened it and it roughly stated: The Heavenly Calamity Legion has begun to gather troops and may attack at any time. The border arsenal has produced something similar to a tank as requested, which can fire cannons normally. However, the armor is too thick, and the magic stones cannot move it. If the armor is thinner, it is easily damaged. The mechanics here are completely stumped and want to see if there are any suitable solutions in the capital.
Xiao Xun folded the letter and asked Bai Yang to burn it. Looking at the gloomy clouds in the distance, he said, "The Heavenly Calamity is about to attack."
The rain was particularly heavy. This was likely the last rain of the season.
Xiao Xun sat at the dining table. For once, Seilepis was also present. Although the violins had been put away, everyone seemed to have lost their appetite.
After Seilepis ate a little and left, Xiao Xun followed. The other princes and ministers also withdrew.
After the two returned to the master bedroom, Xiao Xun looked at Mu Jiahe, "News from the front line indicates that the Heavenly Calamity Legion's army is pressing hard. It seems I'll have to go to the front line again before long."
Mu Jiahe looked into Xiao Xun's eyes. Unlike the first time she saw him, they were no longer like a dead pool but sparkled with starlight. It seemed he had made up his mind to deal with the Heavenly Calamity Legion and was confident of victory.
"What else do you need now?"
Mu Jiahe asked with concern. She knew this was a disaster for all of humanity, so as long as the man in front of her needed it, she would spare no effort to ensure it.
Xiao Xun said, "What we need now is time, and what we lack most is time. We are already far behind. If we cannot mass-produce those long-range destructive weapons, I'm afraid the destruction of the entire continent is only a matter of time."
Mu Jiahe muttered, "Time, time... If only the Heavenly Calamity Legion aged slower than us, if for every day they lived, we lived a year, then racing against time, we could crush them with ease."