Magic, steel, heavy industry

Chapter 50 Gunpowder and Alchemists

"An alchemist? How can there be an alchemist among the refugees?"

Vilan looked at Llorente in surprise; this was completely contrary to his stereotype of refugees.

But Llorente simply shrugged and explained what had happened.

He took a few craftsmen and able-bodied men and went to mine for the second time, but when he arrived there, he found that the group of Casalans had already piled up the sulfur they had dug up.

Their leader even stepped forward and said that they had already helped the lord mine the ore, and only hoped to exchange it for a little bit of food.

Llorente keenly sensed something was wrong; were these people really that smart?

Under his questioning, the leader finally revealed the truth.

It turns out that among the Casalan refugees was a master alchemist who knew what sulfur was. It was he who deduced that the Anvil Territory might continue to collect it, and if they made good use of this opportunity, they might be able to exchange it for some food.

Upon hearing the news, Llorente immediately went back and brought the food without saying a word.

Of course, he also met the alchemy master, and at his sincere request, the old man agreed to meet with Vilan.

After saying this, Llorente added, "I just learned that serfs actually make up only half of the refugees in Casalan, while the other half are free people, most of whom are literate, and the number of artisans far exceeds that of other refugee groups."

Vilan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized what was happening.

Yup!

The situation in the East and the North is different. The situation in the North is relatively stable now, so nobles and freemen will not leave their homes. Therefore, those who escape are serfs who cannot survive.

But what about the East? With warlords running rampant, who cares whether you're a serf or a free man? Free men might even suffer more, since serfs are hardly worth anything. If they're going to rob someone, they'll definitely target nobles and free men first!

Therefore, those who had the idea and the ability to escape Casalan were actually the free people; the serfs were just following them.

Vilan hadn't thought it through at all, so he misjudged the situation of the Casalan refugees, and he gave a somewhat ashamed smile.

"It seems I'm still too naive, Mr. Advisor. I owe you a lot for this."

"You don't need to underestimate yourself. No one is omnipotent except God."

"Thank you for your comforting words. Okay, now let's talk about that alchemy master. Where is he now?"

"It's right outside the workshop, but the leader of the refugees came along too. He seems to want to talk to you as well."

"We can talk, we can talk. Go and meet them!"

Vilan waved his hand, completely ignoring the so-called leader; his mind was now filled with thoughts of alchemists.

The two quickly left the workshop and saw two raggedly dressed people under guard, curiously looking at everything in the workshop.

One of them had a calm expression and cautious eyes; it was Mad Cat.

The other person had graying temples and a somewhat hunched posture.

After Llorente gave his introduction, Vilan looked directly at the old man and asked, "You know alchemy?"

The old man was taken aback for a moment, then straightened his appearance and bowed very politely, saying, "Your Excellency, please allow me to introduce myself. You may call me Merino. I used to have my own alchemy workshop in the Eastern Territory."

Merino spoke with a heavy Eastern accent, but fortunately, Vilan could understand him. His eyes lit up with joy, and he suppressed his excitement as he said, "Mr. Merino, I am Vilan Northstone, the lord of Anvil Territory. On behalf of Anvil Territory, I welcome you."

Vilan's enthusiasm completely stunned Merino and Mad Cat. They had anticipated the difficulties or threats they might encounter, but they never expected it to turn out like this.

This young lord actually showed such respect to the refugees!

My God, is this really not a dream?

Seeing the surprised expressions on their faces, Vilan realized that he might have gone a bit too far, but there was nothing he could do; no one could understand his yearning to become an alchemist.

He straightened his expression and said to Mad Cat, "I need to speak with Mr. Merino alone for a while. I'll see you later."

Mad Cat suddenly felt a toothache. He was clearly the leader, so why did this lord seem more interested in the old man?

He nodded and remained where he was.

Vilan then led Merino into the workshop.

"Mr. Merino, I happen to have some things here that I'd like you to take a look at; perhaps you'll find them interesting."

Merino was about to reply when he suddenly smelled a pungent odor.

"Is this sulfur? And saltpeter? Are you really alchemizing gold?"

He looked at Vilan in surprise, after all, no lord would personally conduct alchemical experiments, as that was a very dangerous thing.

Vilan nodded. "As you can see, I have discovered a new alchemical principle: mixing sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal in the right proportions can create explosives with powerful energy, which I call gunpowder."

After saying that, Vilan led Merino to the gunpowder experiment room.

Looking at the table full of ingredients, the other person could no longer hide the shock in their eyes.

"My God, you actually know alchemy! I mean, that's incredible. Only a true alchemist knows the properties of sulfur and saltpeter, but I swear, no one has ever combined them before. Are you sure that 'gunpowder' is really feasible?"

"I'm sure!"

Vilan answered without hesitation, and then gave Merino a detailed explanation of the composition and manufacturing method of gunpowder, as well as his magic powder.

After hearing this, Merino glanced at the raw materials on the table.

He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Mr. Vilan, I'm starting to believe you're not an alchemist. The extraction of these raw materials... is far too abundant..."

"?"

Vilan blushed with embarrassment. What do you mean by "too rich"... that just means it wasn't extracted completely!

On the other hand, the fact that Merino could see through this at a glance shows that he really has something to offer.

Vilan immediately took a deep breath and said, "Mr. Merino, if you can help me make gunpowder, I am willing to hire you as the chief alchemist of Vilan Workshop. You will lead the alchemy workshop to develop the most advanced alchemy technology in the world. You will also receive a generous salary and bonuses. Of course, all work must be kept absolutely confidential."

Looking into Vilan's sincere eyes, Merino's eyes widened, his expression somewhat dazed.

He never expected that he would be forced to flee his homeland to escape that damned warlord and become a starving refugee. He thought he would never be able to touch his beloved alchemy again in his life, but today, he received such great respect from a stranger lord.

He didn't know if Vilan was telling the truth or not, nor did he know how much the generous salary actually was, but one thing he was certain of was that.

"If I could develop a new alchemy here, I would die without regret."

"Great! I'll prepare food and new clothes for you right away. These tattered clothes don't suit the status of a chief alchemist."

"Wait a minute, Lord Vilan, if... I mean, if I successfully produce gunpowder, could you grant me a request?"

Merino looked up, his eyes pleading.

Without any hesitation, Vilan replied, "Of course, I will never go back on my word."