Iron and Fire

Standing beside that enormous, imposing War Machine, Hom could not help but look up in awe at its iron-gray armor, its pipes and Mechanical Structure concealed beneath Shield Devices. Beside him, Knight Maryland, once the commander of Stone Fortress and now a Cecil officer, let out a quiet sigh of admiration. "It's a beautiful machine, isn't it?"

Hom tilted his head slightly and glanced at the knight, who had once again donned armor and pledged his loyalty to the duchy.

After a full year of labor reform and ideological reconstruction, followed by more than half a year of education, and after passing rigorous evaluations and oath-taking procedures, this former royal noble had been given the opportunity to pledge loyalty to the lord of the southern territory.

He had once been assigned to the engineering troops of the Second Legion, participating in construction and production across many northern regions. He had witnessed and personally experienced the workings of the Cecil Order. Throughout that process, the knight had displayed a sincere and conscientious attitude as well as outstanding personal ability. He was transferred, promoted, and ultimately assigned to the First Combat Corps, where he became the commander of the Iron Throne.

There were quite a few "reformed people" like him in Cecil. After all, talent was scarce in this era, and some of the intellectuals needed during the early stages of production and construction had to be selected from among the Old Nobles. This might leave certain hidden dangers in the future, but it was still better than dying in the mud during the earliest stages of development.

Knight Maryland, whose character had always been sound, was one of the most trustworthy and promising among such "reformed people."

Hom, born a serf but now one of Cecil's officials, smiled. "It truly is