Hot Air Balloon

Hot Air Balloon

The blazing glow of molten iron shone over several people, turning their faces bright red.

"Unbelievable!" Mariana covered her red lips in astonishment. "I never imagined iron smelting could be so... magnificent!"

She simply could not find a more suitable word to describe the scene before her.

Over her long life, Mariana had seen countless things and considered herself fairly knowledgeable.

But in her impression, the iron-smelting process was nothing more than this: a blacksmith built a furnace out of clay, no more than half a man's height at most, and roasted iron ore inside it. After a certain amount of time, he opened the bottom of the furnace to let the molten iron flow out, then hammered it after it solidified, finally producing a small ingot.

Compared to the scene before her, that was practically child's play.

Catherine was staring as well. She murmured, "How much iron does a plant like this produce in a year?"

She had meant her question to express astonishment, but Paul, who was always eager to show off, naturally would not let the opportunity pass.

"About two thousand tons!"

"Two thousand... tons?" Catherine and Mariana widened their eyes at the same time.

"Ah, more or less!" Seeing their expressions, Paul felt secretly delighted, though his face remained utterly indifferent.

"Paul, you're not exaggerating, are you?" Catherine asked with a frown.

As a former commander of the Royal Family's army, she had once been very concerned about the iron production within the Royal Territory. After all, the army's weapons, armor, and equipment all depended on iron.

Catherine had once made a rough estimate of how much iron the Royal Territory could produce each year.

Three thousand tons! Yet Paul was now telling her that this single Iron Smelting Plant could produce two