When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist-Chapter 757 - 712 The Secret of Hollow Soil

As the commander of the Military Police, Raphael couldn't keep Leonardo for long, especially since after creating the Hydraulic Winding Machine and Spring Cannon, he had already become a senior engineer at the Royal Engineering Academy in the Mechanical Palace.

Leonardo bid farewell to Raphael and walked out of the café, stepping onto the sidewalk outside.

He pressed down his hat to shield against the wind and frost, and the military police escort stationed outside immediately hurried over to stand at Leonardo's side.

Considering that several senior engineers and Dwarf Artisans from the ry Court Barracks were attacked and stolen from after the New Year Festival banquet, Horn had to tighten their protection.

Raising his head, Leonardo looked at the city before him.

The crimson sunlight reflected off the stained glass in a dazzling display, casting a golden-red light on both the river and the bridgehead.

Ferryboats crowded the channel of the Parra River, with boatmen standing at the prow, shouting angrily as the boats collided while transporting vegetables, goods, and people, carving out ripples on the water's surface.

Yet, there were always one or two small boats that could precisely navigate through the gaps between the vessels, disappearing from sight before the curses reached them.

It was already past six in the morning, and the crowd heading to work had grown significantly.

These groups of workers gathered at the dockside, waiting for the next ferry to take them to the downstream factory district.

They wore thick velvet hats, rough wool coats, and knitted scarves and gloves. Their thick, full beards or sideburns trembled with their shouts.

With the influx of massive amounts of wool from the Shattered Stone Plain and the spun yarn from South Mangde County, the clothing industry of the ry Court Barracks also prospered.

Plus, with not-so-low wages and redemption coupons, almost everyone could afford a coarse wool coat to keep warm in winter.

The low price of yarn allowed women at home to knit a wool vest or scarf for their husbands or fathers and brothers.

In such a cold winter, workers took off their coats and scarves, headed to the grassy area beside, and struck a pose to start doing push-ups.

More accurately, they were using push-ups or parallel bars to practice the Knight's breathing technique.

With the development of cured meat and abundant mountain forest fishery resources in mountainous regions, while not every meal was meat, it was normal for citizens to have meat once a day.

It might just be a few eggs and two sausages, but it was enough for an ordinary person to practice at least one segment of the breathing technique.

They typically spared twenty minutes to an hour daily to practice the breathing technique, for the Longsword of the Leia Kingdom invasion hung over their heads, poised to fall at any unknown time.

If necessary, they would take up swords and armor to fight for their country.

Due to the immense threat of Leia and the Chao Character Army, nearly everyone in Thousand River Valley was practicing the breathing technique and learning military knowledge.

In rural areas, during the leisure of winter, the Captains of the Church Protection Army would call out the villagers to practice marching in formation, Long Spear Technique, breathing technique, and some knowledge of terrain orientation.

These Captains of the Church Protection Army were essentially the placements for disabled retired soldiers.

Of course, some of them were also assigned as mail carriage drivers or public carriage drivers.

Just like the driver of the public carriage Leonardo was about to board, a retired veteran from the Black Champion Army.

Standing by the bell at the bridgehead, a double-decker two-wheeled carriage pulled by two chestnut mottled horses slowly approached.

Seeing the seven or eight scholars and monks seated atop the carriage, Leonardo greeted with a smile, "Lorne, you're a bit late today."

"A small thief without sight tried to steal something and I had to shoot and break his leg, which took quite some time," Lorne tipped his hat brim, "Get on."

Clutching a briefcase, Leonardo boarded the carriage without paying; as a senior engineer, he could ride public transportation for free.

If it were an ordinary artisan or engineer, they would have to pay a fare of about Half Dinar.

On the carriage, Leonardo encountered an old acquaintance: "Bachelor Kerben, what a coincidence to see you so early today?"

Bachelor Kerben, due to previously hiding and fleeing, was accustomed to working at night, a night owl.

Thus, he usually went to work in the afternoon, returning to his residence in the early morning.

It was quite rare to meet this Alchemist Scholar so early.

With bloodshot eyes, Kerben looked up and, upon seeing Leonardo, flashed a creepy smile displaying his rotten yellow teeth, "What a coincidence, Leonardo."

Although Leonardo belonged to the Senius camp, he wasn't truly a student of Senius.

So despite the bad relationship between Senius and Kerben, it didn't affect the friendship between Leonardo and Kerben.

After all, whenever Leonardo encountered material problems during the design and manufacture of machinery, he'd either seek Alchemists or Dwarves for solutions.

Squeezing in beside Kerben, a strong smell of tobacco and coffee wafted into his nostrils.

Leonardo sniffed and, somewhat unsure, asked, "Were you up all night? Still on that hollow soil issue?"

"Smartass... cough cough cough—" As soon as Bachelor Kerben spoke, he started coughing hoarsely, and Leonardo quickly moved to pat his back.

Pushing Leonardo's hand away, Bachelor Kerben caught his breath before continuing, "I researched all night yesterday and finally solved the mystery of the hollow soil!"

The so-called hollow soil was the red clay causing gravity anomalies, collected earlier by Horn in Black Snake Bay.

Now even Leonardo perked up, "You're truly a genius. May I ask, what's the deal with hollow soil?"

"Haha, my friend, before I inform Your Highness Hilov and His Majesty, you're not qualified to hear its secrets." Kerben proudly lifted his chin and pursed his lips, "I can only say, other Alchemist Priests always thought it was like swamp soil, containing only peat, but you know what? They were wrong."

Upon finishing, Kerben revealed a mysterious smile, making Leonardo itch with curiosity.

It was known that any breakthrough in his machinery was largely dependent on advances in materials and power.

Unable to dispel his curiosity, Leonardo simply didn't head to the Engineering Institute, following Kerben to the Mechanical Palace instead.

"Has His Majesty risen?" Kerben asked the guard at the entrance. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"His Majesty is having breakfast..."

"Who else is dining with him?" Kerben directly interrupted the entrance guard.

"Um, Her Highness Hilov and His Excellency Senius..."

"Wonderful—too wonderful." Before the attendant finished, Kerben clapped his hands together excitedly and rushed through the main gate.

Seeing the guard's confused look, Leonardo could only nod politely, lift Kerben's heavy suitcase, and struggled into the courtyard.

By the time he arrived at the dining room, sweating heavily, he saw Horn reluctantly wiping his mouth and turning towards Kerben, "Alright, alright, I'm done eating. Go ahead, I'm listening."

"Your Majesty, I have completed the task you assigned me," Kerben spread his arms, "I have unraveled the secret of the hollow soil, extracting more than one metal, some of which have never appeared in this world before!

At this time, someone wrote in their dissertation, 'Only within a solid rocky mountain can metallic ore occur'!

Who, I wonder, who? Hmm, guess who?

Oh, it's our learned and omniscient, great scholar, His Excellency Senius!"

Without looking at Senius, whose face had turned from bronze to iron black, Horn stifled a laugh and turned his head towards Kerben, "You know I require results to be reproducible, right?"

"Of course, I reproduced it three times, all successful." Kerben turned around, took the suitcase from Leonardo's hand, placed it on the ground, and opened it directly.

Inside were neatly arranged various metals, ranging in sizes from soybeans to fists, all shining with an unfamiliar metallic luster.

"Wait a moment." Suddenly, Horn stood up from his chair, quickly approached, and picked up a piece of metal, "This... is... Mithril?!"