The second recruitment drive for Border Town went much more smoothly than the first, thanks to the increased and better-quality food supplies provided to the militia after the winter rationing. During the weekly family visitation days, many team members would secretly deliver the bread and dried meat they had saved during the week to their relatives. Roland instructed Carter and Iron Axe not to interfere, and the relatives joyfully brought the food home, spreading the news among their neighbors.
A people's militia stands as a powerful propaganda model in its own right. Word of mouth among neighbors carries far more weight than deliberate town hall propaganda. By now, most residents of the old town district are aware that the militia formed by Your Highness not only offers generous pay and three daily meals, but also makes battles against evil beasts seem less daunting. As a result, when the second recruitment campaign began, the old district saw a dramatic increase in members, with even new district residents signing up.
The number of qualified candidates far exceeded Roland's expectations, so the second militia unit was expanded to two hundred members, with Carter leading their daily training. When the bugle sounded, they would march to the city walls as auxiliary forces, ready for deployment.
Both Chief Knight and the Minister's Assistant have raised objections to this proposal. Currently, the First Militia Unit has proven capable of defending against the evil beasts, making the recruitment of a second unit—whose size exceeds twice that of the First Unit—unnecessary. The food and salaries exceeding the standard allocation for civilians would increase fiscal burdens, while the additional Golden Dragons would prove largely ineffective.
But Roland stuck to his decision.
This is because these people are not prepared to deal with evil beasts.
He hesitated to share the plan brewing in his mind with his subordinates. Even before the Duke launched his attack, Carter had already conceived the idea of storming the fortress—a notion that would likely be utterly unacceptable to both Carter and Barov if revealed now.
Unlike Border Town, the Long Song Fortress stands as the official frontier of the Kingdom of Graycastle, its ten-meter-high walls built from stacked bricks and stones. The Duke and the Six Great Families of the Western Border are stationed in the inner city, with a mobilizable force of around a thousand troops. Theoretically, even with their own militia of fewer than three hundred men, they would be utterly incapable of capturing the fortress in a siege—no matter how advanced their firearms were.
The Witch cannot wield the God's Stone as a decapitation weapon, a fact Roland had repeatedly confirmed to Nightingale. Nobles like Duke Lain and the Six Great Houses would spare no effort in acquiring the God's Stone—though outsiders call it a donation. This stone, which requires donating several to dozens of Golden Dragons to obtain, can suppress the Witch's abilities within a certain range. It is the Church's most potent weapon against the Devil and their primary annual income source.
Roland's only chance is in the field.
In this era, most Lord wars follow a conscription system. To prevent their troops from deserting, Lords typically lead their own forces into battle, giving Roland the chance to launch decisive campaigns. Yet he remains at a loss as to how to seize this opportunity. His experience in luring enemies into battle comes solely from films and historical accounts, never from actual combat.
Since he couldn't figure it out, he figured it was better to focus on what he was good at.
Roland stretched lazily, stepped out of the office, and headed alone to the wooden shed in the backyard.
The assembled Steam No.2 unit stood motionless at the site's center. At first glance, its surface appeared far smoother than Steam No.1's, with weld lines on major components now perfectly even. This masterpiece was Anna's new ability—their green flame could penetrate microscopic crevices to fuse materials, creating a seamless assembly of unprecedented integrity.
Guided by the principle that subsequent models surpass initial ones, and modified versions outperform later iterations, the Steam No.2 was equipped with a centrifugal governor. As the first automated control and feedback system in human history, its emergence holds profound significance. The governor's structure is remarkably simple: a main shaft with two articulated rods welded to iron balls at both ends, combined with a rotating central rod. At first glance, it resembles the bamboo dragon kite children often played with. By rapidly twirling the bamboo shaft, the two rotating blades automatically rise due to centrifugal force.
In a steam turbine governor, the two iron balls function as turbine blades. When operating, the main shaft rotates driven by the steam engine. During high output, the balls accelerate and rise under centrifugal force, pulling the rod to close the valve. When output decreases, the balls slow down and descend due to gravity, opening the valve. This mechanism maintains the steam engine's operation at a relatively constant power output.
With the speed controller, the No.2 steam engine can now handle some more delicate processing tasks.
All the gears previously delivered to the blacksmiths for production have now been completed and neatly arranged in a corner of the shed.
From the perspective of industrial assembly line production, none of these gears could be considered qualified work—they were all discarded into the defective goods box, destined for reprocessing. Yet in this era, they have become rare masterpieces. The involute-designed gears inherently possess a harmonious aesthetic, while the wheel discs, coated with lard, radiate the unique luster of metal.
Apart from the gear set, the carpenters had prepared the bases, foundations, and other components for planing. He instructed the guard outside to summon Anna, and together they began assembling the first steam-powered boring machine.
Roland's plan identified this as the quickest route to mass-producing firearms.
Hand-forging a single gun barrel by a blacksmith was extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive. With the boring machine, however, he could simply cast iron rods and use a boring cutter to drill holes directly, producing over a dozen gun barrels in a single day.
At the same time, by changing the cutting head, the boring machine can also be used to cut the rifling, and the firing accuracy of the flintlock gun will be further improved.
This way, he was confident that by the end of winter, he could fully arm both militia units with nearly three hundred men.
Yet Roland couldn't guarantee his vassals would remain composed to reload and aim when facing Knight charges, instead of abandoning their weapons and fleeing. After all, both units were newly formed and lacked combat experience.
Therefore, he must deploy more powerful firepower to crush the enemy before they can even mount an attack.
That is the artillery.
As the 'God of War' in human military history, artillery's lethality and psychological impact far surpass firearms. A six-pound field gun could strike when the enemy was regrouping. In this era, mixed forces couldn't maintain discipline under artillery bombardment. With just three to four field guns, the enemy couldn't even attempt a charge.
He had meticulously laid out his plan: with a manual milling machine, he could produce functional gears; with gears and a controllable-speed steam engine, he could build a steam-powered boring machine; and with the steam boring machine, he could manufacture various gun barrels and cannon tubes.
With at least two months remaining before the Evil Demon's Moon concludes, the Border Town militia will gain full combat capability to rival the Duke's forces if the plan proceeds smoothly.