What Happened That Day

Frederick had been worried about one thing: the newly built village would need a lot of draft horses for plowing and pulling carts.

According to current tradition, the draft horses in a village were the private property of the lord or a certain wealthy individual. Other villagers would pay a rental fee when they needed them.

Horses were not cheap. A luxurious warhorse could cost over a hundred Florin Gold Coins, while a first-rate one was around 80 Florins. Even a timid riding horse cost 10 Florins. A common draft horse could be brought home for 1 Florin, and a sturdy one required 2 Florins.

It was impossible for a village to have only one draft horse. The total number added up would be enough to give Frederick a headache. Firstly, he didn't have enough money. Secondly, there probably weren't that many for sale on the market. Thirdly, there wasn't even enough pasture to feed the horses in the near future, which was why he had the idea of using an excavator.

Now that the excavator wasn't an option either, Frederick thought about it and could only settle for the next best thing.

The light element was once again molded into a model by his mental power. This time it was much simpler; it was the kind that used the deformation of "Magic Muscle" to replace the cylinder of a single-cylinder internal combustion engine.

Although this type of engine had many drawbacks, it was better to have something to use when there was no better option.

This engine would drive a winch at the edge of the field via gears. The rope on the winch would pull a plow cart or seed drill with several plowshares. Pulling the plow cart across the field from one end meant that one row of land was plowed, which was more efficient than using draft horses.

At the same time, it could also power water pumps and small steel mills for grinding flour, making it much more useful than draft horses.

Aumert pondered for a moment and said, "This machine can theoretically be made. We can use the cheapest Magic Muscle. The power is sufficient and the price is not high, so mass production is also not a problem."

"However, it has a drawback common to all Magic Muscle: it will seriously overheat and eventually burn out when used at high frequency for a long time."

"Because it's controlled by magic, there's no way to cool it down with magic."

Frederick wasn't very familiar with this material. He had only studied the Golem Puppet that had just been moved in for the past few days, so he couldn't offer much advice.

"Just pour water on it," Manuel suddenly said. "Have someone nearby carry water and pour it on occasionally to cool it down. What's the big deal?"

Aumert fell silent, then finally said, "Yes, that can work. I'll arrange for someone to try it tomorrow."

Frederick was also speechless, then arranged, "This machine can be prioritized. If it works well, we might be able to sell it at ten times the cost."

Aumert's spirits immediately lifted.

Everyone discussed some other matters, and the meeting ended half an hour before dinner.

Frederick and the others simply stayed here chatting and bragging, then went to the restaurant when it was time to eat.

He didn't know what they were talking about, but Ah Fu sighed deeply and said, "Ah... why is the King targeting us?"

The meeting room suddenly fell silent. This was a question that everyone couldn't figure out.

"It's simple," Richard Nahl said in a deep voice. "Because King William gained nothing from last year's war, and the other nobles in the country are very dissatisfied with him."

"However, although Henry died in battle, he gained a great reputation because of the final battle. William became jealous."

The people of Wessen Territory immediately focused their gazes on Richard Nahl.

They knew the general circumstances of the old Count Weissen's death in battle, but were completely unaware of the details.

Richard Nahl was silent for a moment, then looked directly at Frederick and said, "There are some things you will know sooner or later. The reason I didn't tell you in advance was that I was worried you would be too impulsive. What could an eight-year-old child do?"

"Now it seems you are more mature than I expected, so I'll tell you."

Frederick and the others' expressions became solemn, waiting for Richard Nahl to continue.

"I learned of Henry's death in the theater of the Kingdom of Gaul." Richard Nahl's words startled everyone.

He continued in a deep voice, "It was an opera praising Henry's courage, honor, and sacrifice. The villain was Juste of the Kingdom of Gaul."

"Juste?" Manuel exclaimed. "Is that His Excellency Juste, the Magic God, leader of the Royal Mage Corps of Gaul?"

Richard Nahl nodded and continued, "That day, Juste led a surprise attack on the supply camp where Henry and his men were stationed. At that time, the camp stored military rations that had just been transported from the country. If they were destroyed, the front lines would starve, and the war wouldn't have to be fought."

"At first, Juste didn't make a move. He just broke through the camp's defensive magic in the shortest possible time, and then the Royal Knights and Royal Mage Corps attacked the camp."

At this point, Richard Nahl picked up his teacup and drank all the tea, then looked at Ah Fu and asked, "There's something you haven't told Frederick, is there?"

Ah Fu replied respectfully, "Master Henry said before he went on the expedition that if he didn't return, that item was not to be seen until Master Frederick had a child."

Frederick was stunned, and the corner of his mouth twitched. It couldn't be something like 'to practice divine skills, one must castrate oneself', could it? Dad had already started growing a beard before he went on the expedition, and I even pulled at it to play with. It wasn't fake.

Richard Nahl glanced at Frederick and said, "That's a magic the Weissen Family obtained many years ago that enhances strength by burning life force. It's not a secret anymore; many people know about it."

Everyone in Wessen Territory except Frederick nodded, and Franz said, "Yes, I've also learned it."

Richard Nahl continued, "At that time, Henry and his eleven knights used this magic, and their strength doubled. Their first charge scared away the enemy who outnumbered them five to one."

"In the subsequent battle, no one hesitated or retreated in the slightest. Many died with the enemy."

"Juste made a move, and Henry was quickly suppressed. He offered him the entire Low Countries region in exchange for his surrender."

"Henry's answer was to burn his remaining life force, surprisingly almost killing Juste."

"I went to see Juste before I came. I saw his injuries, they were very severe. He almost died at the time and needed several years to recover."

"He said that at that moment, Henry's strength was not below mine. If he had had even half an extra breath, he would have lost his life."

Richard Nahl looked at Frederick and said seriously, "Juste asked me to tell you that if you want revenge, he's waiting for you."

Psyche held her teacup and continued the topic, saying, "This magic can be stopped at any time. As long as you don't die, the consumed life force can be slowly recovered later."

"Perhaps you won't recover to your peak, but surviving is not a problem."

The meeting room was silent for a long time. Frederick and Ah Fu occasionally wiped away tears. Franz leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling, softly reciting the prayers of the Church of Light.

Manuel sighed. Nobles could receive the treatment they deserved by surrendering on the battlefield, waiting for their families to send ransom to return home.

In current wars, countless soldiers were often killed and wounded, while the nobles remained unharmed. Nobles like Count Henry von Weissen and his knights, who fought to the death for the responsibility on their shoulders, were almost non-existent in recent years.

Manuel confirmed it once again: their king was an idiot. A loyal subject like that should have had his orphans heavily rewarded and been held up as an example, not have his territory coveted with every possible scheme, as was happening now.

The people of the Kingdom of Gaul valued romanticism, bravery, loyalty, and all other noble qualities. It was no surprise that exemplary figures like Count Henry von Weissen were welcomed there.

Even if he was an enemy on the battlefield, as the Gauls would say, precious qualities knew no enemy or friend.

Manuel wrote a few lines in his notebook, planning to arrange things upon his return.

Frederick quietly stared at the tabletop in front of him for a long time in silence. Looking up, he said to Richard Nahl, "Master, please tell Juste that the grievances on the battlefield will be settled on the battlefield."

Then, he looked at the people from Wessen Territory and said solemnly, "This grudge... I won't let a single one of you get away."

The lack of detailed information released by the Rhine Alliance regarding the surprise attack on the supply camp made the incident highly unusual. There was likely a hidden reason behind it.

Frederick had initially kept firmly in mind that there were intelligent people in every world, and he shouldn't assume others were fools just because he was a transmigrator.

However, the recent series of events seemed to be telling him that he might have been wrong.