Lord of Rot

Leech took it all in.

This included the news that Kro might be targeted.

But the farmer who’d delivered the message on foot had yet to return, so Kro would have to rely on his own wits. Still, Leech believed Kro must have already sensed the danger.

The swaying of the horse beneath him brought Leech back to his senses.

He had gone to the stables early this morning. The mare’s belly was growing larger by the day. According to the Groom, she would give birth to the Griffin’s offspring in the next few months. Whether it would be a Horse-headed Eagle—a type of Magical Creature—or just a freak of nature, they would only know when the time came.

The horse stopped before a construction site in the commercial district.

The roads here weren’t paved yet. There was only a three-way intersection, roughly marked out, cleared of weeds, and simply flattened.

A signpost stood there as well, indicating the direction of each path.

One pointed to the castle, one to the commercial district, and the other to Maitian Village.

Squads of slaves bustled about. Some carried red bricks, while others mixed mortar, piling together limestone powder, sea sand, and muddy water. They even added wood ash and furnace slag to increase its bonding strength.

The masons’ building techniques were not much different from those on Earth. With red bricks, houses went up as fast as weeds, with visible changes almost every day.

Following behind Leech was Gelan’s apprentice, Little Green Eye. He had inherited a pair of green eyes from his father, who was called Old Green Eye.

As the population grew, Gelan had insisted to Leech that they could no longer select apprentices and youths from among the slaves, but only from the commoners. Leech had agreed.

The nobility were the rulers of the Lu Leiyi Continent, the undisputed upper class.

Below them were the commoners. They could become craftsmen, merchants, or soldiers who sought to build a life of merit. They were free individuals who could travel to any territory and start anew.

Slaves were at the very bottom.

The situation for serfs was slightly better. The subjects of many lords were, for the most part, serfs. They were responsible for farming the land, handing over the vast majority of their crops to their lord and keeping a small portion for themselves.

Slaves, however, were property. Their very lives belonged to their lord, and they received no compensation for their labor.

Placing the children of commoners and slaves together would cause great dissatisfaction among the commoners.

Little Green Eye was the son of a commoner. Though his arithmetic was only average, he was sharp-eyed and quick-handed, making him well-suited for a secretarial role.

’As a lord, it’s just more impressive to have someone taking notes in a little book while I speak.’

And in truth, Leech did need a secretary to remind him of his daily schedule and jot down his sudden inspirations.

His mind didn’t work in a linear, planned fashion. Often, he would see something, realize it was backwards or inefficient, and his thoughts would branch out, reminding him of a superior method from Earth.

But ideas were one thing; whether Porcupine Territory had the skills and technology to replicate them was another. Thus, many of his ideas were simply shelved. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Though the young secretary had only been following Leech for a few days, he was already completely stunned by his lord’s inexhaustible well of ideas.

’There couldn’t be anyone in the world wiser than my lord. Did the Four Gods really grant him such wisdom? Why have the Four Gods never blessed anyone else with this knowledge for countless years, only to now cram it all into my lord?’

’But if it wasn’t a gift from the Four Gods, how else could he know so much?’

The secretary could vaguely guess the function of some of the entries in his notes, like a cart that could move without a horse, or a horse-drawn plow to save manpower. But there were many others he couldn’t comprehend at all. There were things called "hot air balloons," "airplanes," "submarines," "internal combustion engines," "steam engines," "landmines," and so on. Most of the time, he just wrote down the name and nothing more, as his Lord never explained what these things actually were.

Judging by the names alone, the young secretary had no idea what any of these things were.

He guessed the Lord had come up with the names himself, but he didn’t think they were just random nonsense. It was like the watermill; before it, no one had ever imagined that grinding flour could be so simple.

Satisfied that there were no major issues here, Leech rode his horse toward the smithy.

Black Ears had been relegated to the role of a toolmaker—quite literally, as he was now forging farm tools. He truly didn’t know how to make weapons, and Leech refused to let him waste materials.

Fortunately, Black Ears had grown accustomed to this life. What was so bad about making farm tools? As the population of Porcupine Territory grew, there was more than enough work to keep him well-fed and watered. After work each day, Black Ears would head to the tavern for a drink.

As for becoming a master blacksmith, Black Ears no longer held any hope.

After receiving Leech’s earlier orders, the blacksmiths from Linta Bay had already started swinging their hammers, crafting armor and forging weapons.

No matter the place, blacksmithing was a profession worthy of any lord’s respect. War was impossible without weapons and armor—they were the very arteries of conflict.

They were proud, and they had every right to be.

Though they didn’t dare forget their station when facing their lord, they carried themselves with a loftiness far beyond that of ordinary commoners.

Led by one of the blacksmiths, Leech entered the forge. The weather outside was already sweltering, but stepping inside felt like walking into a brick kiln.

A wave of scorching air washed over him, and his skin burned in the hot draft.

Leech’s gaze fell on a finished longsword on the table. He picked it up and gave it a couple of swings.

On Earth, this type of sword was called a bastard sword. Its blade was longer and thinner than the two-handed swords typically used in Porcupine Territory. It had a fuller to reduce weight, making it light enough for one-handed use, but it could also be wielded with two hands. Of course, it had its weaknesses; the slender blade was more prone to breaking than that of a two-handed greatsword.

A particularly famous bastard sword that came to Leech’s mind was Glamdring, the Foe-hammer, wielded by Gandalf in *The Lord of the Rings*—though that sword might have been a bit on the long side.

The swords used in Porcupine Territory were heavy, two-handed greatswords, a reflection of Baron Porcupine’s fighting style: wear the thickest armor, wield the heaviest sword, and fight the toughest battles.

A section of the blade about two fingers’ length from the hilt was left unsharpened, forming a ricasso to allow for a better two-handed grip.

It also featured parrying hooks, which an untrained eye might mistake for a second crossguard.

The bastard sword the blacksmith had forged was expertly made. Leech placed it back on the table, quite satisfied.

It proved these blacksmiths possessed extraordinary skill. Even if they weren’t legendary craftsmen, they were certainly experts at forging weapons.

He walked toward one of the blacksmiths, who was bare-chested and wearing only a simple leather apron. He was hammering a thick iron plate.

It was clear the man was putting his all into it; sparks flew with every strike of the hammer.

Smithing was grueling work, especially performing such strenuous labor in this heat. It was the middle of a blazing summer, and Leech found it almost unbearable just standing there. The blacksmith’s skin was flushed a deep red, and a greasy sheen of sweat coated his thick body hair.

The red-hot chunk of iron slowly deformed under the hammer blows. When its glow faded, the blacksmith tossed it back into the forge and turned to Leech. "My Lord!"

Leech nodded slightly. "If you had something that could hammer the iron for you, nonstop, handling all the initial shaping, could you work faster?"

"Are you talking about Magic?" The blacksmith didn’t quite understand his lord’s meaning. ’How could anyone hammer iron nonstop?’

But Leech continued, "It would hammer the iron nonstop, with even more force than you can manage. Like..." He trailed off for a moment, then pointed at the blacksmith’s anvil. "Imagine this being lifted up high and then dropped. Of course, it could also be lighter; the height would be adjustable."

The blacksmith mulled it over for a moment before replying, "If what you say is true, my Lord, it would certainly save us a lot of tedious work. It might not help much with crafting armor, but it would save us the effort of hammering ingots into plates."

"Good."

’Porcupine Territory isn’t ready for full-scale mechanization, but I have a few simple tricks to make smithing faster and more efficient.’

’Watching these smiths just stand here, hammering away all day with so little to show for it... It’s a complete waste of time and life.’

Next, Leech discussed the production of "iron tubes" with the blacksmiths.

He needed a hollow iron tube, which could be rolled from sheet metal. It had to be about a finger’s width in diameter, and he also tasked them with producing iron balls that could fit snugly inside.

"’And you need to use a blade to carve grooves on the inside,’ Leech added, gesturing to illustrate."

"’Wrap it in at least two layers to keep it from bursting.’"

No one understood what Leech was talking about, but the blacksmiths nodded obediently. Making iron tubes had to be easier than making armor, at least.

After giving several more detailed instructions, Leech left the forge.

The summer breeze felt surprisingly cool against his skin as he stepped out.

Leech turned to his secretary, Little Green Eye. "Have all the carpenters meet me at the watermill. I’ll wait for them there."

"Yes, my Lord."

Half of the watermill’s great wheel dipped into the river.

The modified riverbed now had a drop in elevation, making the current stronger as it approached the mill.

The current turned the wheel, and the wheel turned the millstone.

It saved a tremendous amount of human effort.

When all the carpenters had gathered, they looked upon Leech with awe.

It wasn’t just because he was their lord, but because of his inventions and wisdom. The watermill was a testament to the genius of the carpenter’s craft. After studying its basic principles, not a single one of them could help but sing its praises.

Some said that the carpenter, Fla, had just been lucky. Blessed with the Lord’s ingenuity, he had merely followed instructions and brought the idea to life. Now, the late Fla held the honor of having created a legendary device like the watermill.

Everyone wants to leave their own legend in history, whether a legendary blacksmith, a legendary carpenter, or even a legendary rat-catcher.

"I have a couple of small ideas I’d like your help with."

Hearing Leech say this, the carpenters’ ears immediately perked up.

’Does this mean we’re building another watermill?’

’If so, our names will surely be recorded in history!’

Of course, most people didn’t know what happened a hundred years ago, and history had always been a distant concern for the common folk. But pursuing glory was in the very nature of the Lu Leiyans.

Leech said, "I want to build a type of hammer to help the blacksmiths forge iron. I’ve already worked out the basic design; the rest will be up to you to research and construct."

"It will use a water wheel. The water’s power will lift a heavy hammer high, and then a mechanism will release it, letting it fall freely."

He gestured.

That’s right. He was describing a water-powered trip-hammer.

A lever-operated trip-hammer would save enormous amounts of time and dramatically increase efficiency.

To think it was another use for water power and the water wheel! The carpenters were astonished; they had never imagined such a method could be used for smithing.

In truth, it would rarely occur to carpenters to invent something to improve the efficiency of blacksmiths.

Given enough time, the technology might have developed on its own, but Leech was unwilling to wait. It fell to him, the "inventor of the water wheel," to push things along.

The carpenters returned to their workshops and began their research. They already had the basic concept, and the key component—the water wheel—had already been invented. Building a water-powered trip-hammer wasn’t the issue.

The challenge lay in achieving stability and a consistent speed.

"The river’s flow is too unstable, I’m afraid it won’t work."

’Didn’t they dig that big pit for the brick kiln?’

’We’ll just dig it bigger. Might as well build a reservoir.’