raknovel Chapter 803 - 440: Intelligence Three Years Later
Chapter 803 - 440: Intelligence Three Years Later
The constant temperature barrier glowed faintly around the window sill.
The wind and snow were kept out, even the sound couldn’t get in. Heavy curtains hung down, and the indoor temperature remained at a level that made one reluctant to get out of bed.
Louis woke up to a slight numbness, simply because his arm had been pressed for too long.
He opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.
On his left, Sif was almost clinging to him, a leg draped over his waist, her breathing even, sleeping undefensively.
Her body temperature was slightly high, with a wild and direct warmth.
On his right, Emily was very close, yet maintained a proper distance.
Her hand rested on his chest, her body naturally curled, breathing softly.
The two of them clung to Louis like octopuses.
Louis didn’t move; he just continued staring at the ceiling, a hint of helplessness showing at the corner of his mouth.
Since his eldest daughter was born six years ago, no more children had been born, and these two wives seemed to have reached some consensus at a moment he wasn’t aware of.
Then the competition began, with the clear goal of having a third child.
Louis sighed in his heart.
Even for a Peak Knight’s physique, this level of sustained combat couldn’t be said as easy.
Carefully, he withdrew his arm, Sif frowned slightly and instinctively moved closer, while Emily moved lightly but did not wake up.
After a few minutes, Louis finally sat up in bed.
During his wash-up, he stood before the mirror, glanced up.
The person in the mirror was not quite the same as the one in his memory.
The lines were harder, the gaze steadier; the sharp sense of striving in his youth had been worn down by time and responsibility, leaving only a patient and enduring tenacity.
It’s been three years since the annexation of Gray Rock Province.
In these three years, the Red Tide’s territory hadn’t rushed outwards but thickened internally bit by bit.
The port had expanded more than tenfold. New docks stretched along the coastline segment by segment.
The storage area was completely rebuilt; food, minerals, timber, and finished products were each segregated, the foundation raised, with ventilation and damp-proofing addressed.
The main trunk road of the Northern Territory was resurfaced, allowing winter merchants not to gamble their lives rushing; the journey could be timed to the day, and delivery schedules could be written into contracts.
Five railway lines were constructed, three of which directly extended into Gray Rock Province, linking mines, quarries, and ports into a line.
Routes that originally took half a month of detours were compressed into a few days, altering the flow of goods, and many places for the first time were absorbed into a stable supply.
The changes were not only in material, but people gradually adapted to this rhythm.
Officials were stuck in their respective positions. Not relying on personal prestige, but the system made them clear; crossing the line would only cause more trouble.
The system began to operate independently.
Occasionally there would be friction, disputes, even mistakes, but all were confined within a correctable range, not sliding towards loss of control.
Louis no longer needed to oversee specific matters; now he was more like a symbol.
No longer the commander issuing orders daily, but standing atop the system, only writing in key moments.
Life changed accordingly, no longer awakened by urgent reports in the morning, rarely losing sleep over a ledger at night.
He dedicated more time to cultivation, now having reached the rank of Junior Peak Knight.
The higher a knight’s rank, the closer the body to its limits; each breakthrough felt like grinding bones with a blunt knife, relying not on impulse but on years of accumulation.
He could feel his strength growing, yet no longer surging; each inch of advancement required exponentially more time.
The remaining time was occupied by children, then fulfilling duties as a husband.
Lastly, it was sitting back at the desk, signing on the real grand directions.
Louis wiped his face dry, expertly opened the system, a pale blue light screen unfolded on his retina.
[Daily intelligence update completed]
[1: The Jade Federation gathers mercenaries, Empire’s Kaelin mobilizes legions, tension escalates at the Southwest border, probability of full-scale war rises.]
Louis glanced at it, not immediately averting his gaze.
Most outside wagered on the Empire, given the Empire’s knights and territory were greater.
Yet Louis, with an omniscient perspective, didn’t view it the same way; the Empire’s issues lay not externally but internally.
Kaelin and Duke Remont were nominally monarch and vassal, but in reality wary of each other.
Military power, supply, command chain, every link was probing each other, ready to draw swords anytime.
Louis could even imagine the scenes over there; the same batch of grain wagons, stamped with the prince’s seal in the front, detained by the duke’s inspectors in the back.
The same legion, awarded in daylight, someone seeking secret orders at night.
Once such a system hits the battlefield, what gets consumed first isn’t the enemy, but one’s patience and trust.
In contrast, the Jade Federation, greedy yet unified.
As long as interests are clear, they’ll pave every line for mercenaries, bonds, supply chains.
No one talks to them about honor, they only discuss accounts.
Of course, the longer this war drags on, the more beneficial it is for the Red Tide.
In the past two years, he sold eliminated outdated cold weapons and armor at a high price to Kaelin.
Those Longswords, War Axes, and plate armor had long been categorized as secondary in the Red Tide’s military sequence, but in the eyes of Imperial Capital’s military officials, still stock that could immediately complete the formation.
He had the workshop re-sharpen the blade, correct loose guards, reinforce plate rivets, recalibrate straps and buckles, then seal them in sets by legion number, with maintenance and replacement cycles attached.
The buyers were rather pleased to pay; they were never afraid of expense, only of running out of time.