Chapter 1009: Chapter 952: The Sacred Industries Supervisory Bureau and the Lightning Furnace

"Yes, it’s been a year." Catherine looked Horn up and down, "You haven’t grown taller, but your hat sure has gotten higher."

"Haha, my height can stay the same forever," Horn laughed, "but your age is like the wheels of history rolling forward."

"You’re almost thirty too, I was born in 1415, older by a lot, no?"

"Born in the Imperial Calendar year 1415, that’s quite open..."

Watching the friendly exchange between Horn and Catherine, little Pierre couldn’t help but tug on Armand’s sleeve.

"Hmm?"

"Lady Catherine and His Highness the Saint’s Grandson, are they..." little Pierre mumbled, hardly believing his ears.

"They’re always like this, it’s nothing, just bantering," Armand replied with a smile, "That joke about the hat, Lady Catherine prepared it all night."

The whispered conversation was quickly noticed by Horn, who left the slightly flustered Catherine to approach the group.

"Are you the Saint Father’s Association representatives from various places?"

"Yes, Your Eminence," little Pierre straightened up nervously, his voice noticeably louder.

Armand introduced further: "These two gentlemen are Old Guillaume Pierre and Young Guillaume Pierre, a father and son duo who are our representatives in Whiteport.

This is Meyer Fatter, the head of the White Sands Branch of the Saint Father Association..."

Horn stepped forward to shake hands with each of them, and after greeting everyone, he finally had the opportunity to be alone with Catherine.

While Armand led a group to the lodging mansion, Horn and Catherine got off the carriage midway and wandered around the outskirts of the ry Court Barracks.

More precisely, it was the industrial area surrounding the ry Court Barracks.

But now, the peat alchemy vessels that once covered the ground were nowhere to be seen.

The peat industry had long since moved to the shores surrounding Nanze Lake.

If you stood on the shores of Autumn Dusk Island looking west, you could see rows of alchemical reactors over two meters high on the opposite shore of the lake.

The alchemy towers, with a metallic red sheen, continuously spewed milky white steam and emitted masses of blackened coal.

The mixed coal was sent off to be combined with clay to produce honeycomb briquettes.

The nicer-looking ones were further distilled.

This new technology brought by the Black Snake Bay Secret Faction, distilled coal not only burned hotter, but also lasted longer.

This high-calorific distilled coal was often shipped to potion and ironworks, used to heat vats and accelerate metallurgical and pharmaceutical processes.

Thus, the area around the ry Court Barracks transformed into large-scale three- or four-story ironworks and pharmaceutical workshops occupying several acres each.

The metallic-lustered distilled peat was being pushed towards the workshops by small carts on wooden tracks.

Next to the workshops filled with the smell of chemicals and the sound of steam whistles, Catherine, stepping on stone slabs stained black by coal dust, familiarly took hold of Horn’s arm.

In the cacophony of machinery and bubbling vats, Catherine was the first to speak: "By the way, has the design of the Lightning Furnace been completed?"

"Almost." Turning her hand over to hold Catherine’s hand, Horn gently stroked her fingers, "The blueprint is finished, we expect mass production within two or three years."

With the principle of the Lightning Furnace established, only design and construction remained.

The Mithril Alloy was to be the outer shell, the plasma bomb as the igniter, and the Moon Mercury Crystal as the energy source.

In theory, as long as there were enough Moon Mercury Crystals, molten iron could flow like in a blast furnace or electric furnace.

However, the issue preventing the Lightning Furnace from running smoothly was the rapid evaporation of Moon Mercury.

Lightning by nature should be gradual and lasting, but the Moon Mercury was consumed almost instantly, causing repeated explosions in the experimental furnaces.

"How was it built?" Catherine asked curiously, remembering how Hilov had been troubled by this a year ago, yet now it was suddenly resolved?

For some reason, Horn couldn’t help but smile: "Fate is whimsical, the Holy Council has been researching and experimenting with the controlled release technology of Moon Mercury Crystals.

Ultimately, they found a pink crystal from the Immortal Stone Field, a rare natural alchemical product.

Ground into powder and mixed into Moon Mercury, it allowed for controlled release and even the ability to determine the release rate through ratio."

"So why do you say fate is whimsical?"

"Because this stuff is actually right in our backyard." Picking up a thumbnail-sized cave crystal from the ground, Horn continued, "The cave forests are filled with these crystals."

Catherine was at a loss for words: "Why didn’t they try it from the beginning?"

"Blind spots." Horn shook his head, "Now that we have this bargaining chip, handling the Steel Guild in North Mangde County shouldn’t be a problem, right?"

"So you called me here just for this?"

"Who said that, I called you because of my personal wish; I missed you."

"Oh?"

"I wanted to meet with the Director of the Holy Union’s Bureau of Holy Assets to discuss the production situation for the next four years."

The hint of delight on Catherine’s face quickly turned dark.

The so-called Bureau of Holy Assets Watch, under the Holy Alliance, was tasked with overseeing the assets belonging to the Holy Father, all under Catherine’s care.

At the beginning of 1450, after settling internal affairs and restoring post-war order, Horn began restructuring the Meigedi Commerce Association.

The original Meigedi Commerce Association was constantly dismantled, sold, and redeemed, while simultaneously reborn and merged.

On the ruins of the Meigedi Commerce Association, a multitude of emerging enterprises were born.

But Horn did not dismantle everything; he retained certain monopolies.

The Peat Master Guild, the First River Transport Team, the Second Road Transport Team, the Ordnance General Directorate, the Hospital, and the Monastery, each monopolized energy, transportation, military industry, medical care, and housing and urban construction.

All workshops and business associations in these fields had to be merged into a single entity.

Of course, there’s also the near-monopoly on the grain market shared between En and En’s Favor.

This entire process was personally overseen by Catherine.

Her familiarity with the Meigedi Commerce Association made dismantling it incredibly smooth.

In almost just a year, the entire Meigedi Commerce Association had transformed into its current form.

Some parts fell under the official jurisdiction of the Holy Alliance, while others ventured into the civilian sector, freed from their shackles.

Horn’s reward to Catherine was the position of the bureau’s director.

While dubbed ’supervision’, it was effectively overarching management.

Though monopolizing all key industries, there remained one yet to be monopolized.

That was North Mangde County, where old aristocrats and old dwarves had united to form a mining and iron coalition.

The Steel Guild would also be coming; this time it was to discuss this matter.

Catherine was ready to find another opportunity to mock Horn, but seeing his barely contained smile, she gritted her teeth and embraced him: "You’re teasing me?"

"I truly missed you."

The two embraced, with their chins resting on each other’s shoulders, without speaking.

After a peaceful hug for a while, Catherine quietly said, "I visited Lupher’s firstborn daughter. She looks like a doll, with blue eyes and rosy cheeks."

"Mm-hmm."

"Considering the current situation, do you think the Witch and you could still have offspring?"

"..."

Horn didn’t respond; to be honest, he wasn’t sure.

At the very least, he could ensure the survival of one child, the first child.

Using the Angel’s blood, just like with Jia Li back then.

If it were confirmed that the first child would still be a stillbirth, he would use the Angel’s blood to save it.

But there wouldn’t be more after that.

Because, there’s only one vial of Angel’s blood.

At this point, Horn even hoped that the Holy Seat City would quickly send more Angels.

Catherine tactfully avoided the topic: "Are all four Saintesses here? Am I the last one?"

"No, there’s still Jia Li." Thinking of Jia Li, who had reconciled her inner conflicts, Horn couldn’t help but feel a headache, "And Jia Li—"