A Wagered Battle

Howard walked over to the coking workshop near the steelworks' feed area and spoke in a loud voice.

"Each work cycle is divided into two shifts, with a duration of sixteen hours."

"Each work cycle includes one hour of maintenance time, operating on a rotation system."

He walked to the No. 2 coke oven and continued.

"The first stage of steelmaking is coking, where coking coal is mixed, crushed, and added to the coke oven, producing hot coke and crude coke oven gas through a carbonization process."

"The No. 1 coke oven has 53 chambers, the No. 2 oven has 53, and the No. 3 oven has 31, totaling 137 chambers. The standard coke-pushing sequence follows the 5-4 pattern."

"Coal charging time is sixteen minutes, and the time for a single coke push is eleven minutes."

The coke-pushing sequence is the order in which coal is charged and coke is discharged from the various carbonization chambers of a set of coke ovens.

Technical workers from House Finde had improved this process after study, reducing wait times and slashing the work time from twenty-six minutes down to eleven. At Howard's signal, they performed a demonstration.

"The coking time per oven is fifteen hours, and the quenching and screening time is thirty-four minutes."

"The total operation time for the entire oven is sixteen hours. Each of the two shifts must complete one cycle, with a yield of 137 ovens each. The standard coke output for one shift per work cycle is 2,013 tons."

The workers looked in unison toward a foreman who had previously served as a coking workshop foreman at the nearby Katowice Dome steelworks.

The bald foreman scratched his head and nodded slightly.

Although the time was tight, a well-coordinated team giving their all could indeed complete the task.

Subsequently, Howard introduced the standards for each process one by one. The workers realized that while the standards were difficult, they were achievable, and they gradually began to believe his words.

The blonde noble returned to the high platform and continued.

"This production cycle is the first cycle for the Magneto Steelworks to resume operations. I will give you time; as long as you finish before the next Nightfall Troupe arrives, you will receive a ration of corpse starch."

"The first team to finish will receive tuna, bread, and water."

"My own meals consist of this food; eighty percent of the people in the Upper Hive cannot even eat this."

"Those who eat it will be able to say in the future that they have eaten food better than the people of the Upper Hive."

The bald foreman was the first to react, slapping his head hard.

"What are you waiting for? Whether it's true or false, won't we know once we try?"

"What was that fish called again?"

Howard smiled and said, "Tuna."

"Those who want to eat tuna, get moving with the old man."

"You, you, and you—you three look the strongest. You are the coal-charging and coke-pushing team. Get moving immediately."

"Remember, fill it full, level it, pack it tight, and keep it uniform."

With four hours left until the Nightfall Troupe arrived, the bald foreman shouted.

"Done!"

He released the cart and walked quickly toward the high platform. All the workers stopped what they were doing and looked toward the platform.

Howard signaled the captain of the guard to let the soot-covered foreman of the coking team come up.

"Don't rush, it's yours and it won't go anywhere. I'll have the cook heat it up for you."

"No need," the foreman said hurriedly, "it's fine to eat cold."

Under the envious gazes of all the workers, he took the meal box and the water canteen.

"Thank you, My Lord, praise be to you..."

He spoke incessantly, held the reward tightly, and turned to walk down.

At the same moment, workers from other factories stared wide-eyed. They saw the foreman distribute the food to his subordinates, and when they swallowed it, their jaws nearly dropped. A thought couldn't help but surface in their minds.

[So that noble was telling the truth.]

Howard shook his head; since he had promised, he would not go back on his word.

The reputation of House Finde was worth far more than tuna and purified water. He pinched the bridge of his nose and looked down.

He discovered that everyone's aura was radiating the red of passionate excitement and the white of positive motivation.

After the blonde noble deactivated his spirit vision, he stood on the platform observing the crowd, finding that despite their exhaustion, they were like people injected with stimulants, their movements powerful and swift.

[Is this what My Lord meant by mobilizing the workers' enthusiasm?]

He nodded with satisfaction and said to the captain of the guard.

"You stay behind to distribute the corpse starch. Remember to follow the standards."

Afterward, Howard walked toward the newly expanded lounge where Nimrod had once stayed.

After closing the door, the blonde noble yawned. He was not a "Sleepless" like Bukayo; having not rested for nearly two work cycles, he felt weary.

Just as Howard was making a breakthrough at the Khanty-Mansi Dome, Nimrod met Thierry Vieira in the shantytown outside the Lukpo Hive City.

Thierry was about twenty-three or twenty-four years old. He was tall and well-proportioned with smooth muscle definition, and his short blonde hair accentuated his sharp, angular face.

His eyes were deep and bright, looking in astonishment at the giant holding a heavy halberd before him.

Thierry subconsciously tightened his grip on the heirloom longsword at his waist, and he asked in a deep voice.

"You are Nimrod, the new king of Tezwork."

"I shall be the King of Vostonia, and you, you shall submit to me."

Nimrod stepped forward, and Thierry felt a heavy pressure; he heard an unquestionable confidence in the giant's words, as if what he spoke was the truth itself.

"For thousands of years, hundreds of kings have wanted to conquer Vostonia, and no one has ever succeeded."

"How will you do it, with fewer than three thousand men behind you? You couldn't even take Lukpo."

"You are wrong," Nimrod said in a deep voice, "My confidence stems from my strength. I have heard that you are hailed as the greatest swordsman in Vostonia; I would like to see how much skill you truly possess."

Thierry smiled confidently, "Combat does not depend on size."

"If I achieve victory, will you, this so-called King of Vostonia, submit to me?"

"Since you are so confident, the loser shall serve the winner for eternity. How about that?"

Hearing Nimrod's bold wager, Thierry thought to himself.

I have killed over a dozen Ogryns; Nimrod is merely a bit taller, I will certainly be able to defeat him.

If I can truly control Tezwork, then my revenge is within reach. I will not be as reckless and arrogant as him; I will continue to harass with guerrilla tactics and build up my forces. I can definitely defeat Puhach.

If he really can defeat me, then he might be capable of killing Puhach, in which case serving him would not be unacceptable, but that is absolutely impossible.

"My King, please allow me to fight him first."

Rawlslev stared intently at Thierry, his voice brimming with fighting spirit.

Thierry glanced at the dark-skinned, burly man; his skin had been darkened by long-term labor.

A worker by origin?

Thierry frowned slightly. Nimrod, the giant, at least looked formidable, but this man could only be considered a sturdy fellow, yet he dared to challenge him.

"He represents you?"

"No one can represent my King."

Rawlslev said loudly, drawing a Las-pistol from his waist.

"This pistol is a master-crafted product of House Boleslaw. If you win against me, it shall be yours."

"It is indeed a fine weapon," Thierry nodded slightly, "I shall fight you first."

He drew his power sword and pressed the control device on the hilt, activating the disruption field.

Rawlslev simultaneously activated his Chainsword, and the two walked toward each other.

A cold glint flashed in Thierry's eyes as he suddenly stepped forward. The simplest first strike of the "Osberh-Vaya" style lunged toward Rawlslev's chest like a flashing fire snake.

If you calculate the output of this chapter, please note that if you calculate according to the parameters I set, the resulting coke production will be roughly correct. I have conducted research at steel mills and know that the current coke pushing sequences used are 9-2, 5-2, and 2-1; there is no 5-4, and the coking time is much shorter than it is now. The data is a reasonable improvement based on actual production capacity.