Blackpine Weapons Stun the Crowd

When the Governor's Mansion's approval reached the Armaments Directorate, Vane was checking the sealed inventory of the Inner Fortress's Third Arsenal.

A knock sounded at the wooden door. A recorder from the Armaments Directorate entered carrying a sealed case and said quietly, "The Governor's Mansion's approval for the Tear Knight Standardized Military Readiness Pilot."

Vane opened the case, took out the order, and read it from beginning to end. His brow gradually furrowed.

The order was clear: the Governor's Mansion and the Sacred War Reconstruction Institute would jointly establish the Tear Knight Standardized Military Readiness Pilot, with Sheen Greenwood as its director.

That meant some of the authority the Armaments Directorate had held would temporarily pass to Sheen.

As the chief of ordnance who had long overseen the Armaments Directorate's operations in Tear Knight City, Vane was naturally displeased.

He handed the document to Lorenz, whom he had just summoned. "Take a look."

Lorenz accepted the order. As chief master of the Tear Knight Holy Relic Workshop, his hands were covered in calluses from years of wielding a hammer.

He read it line by line, his expression slowly darkening.

He knew Sheen's name and considered him a capable young man, but auditing accounts was not the same as understanding the Tear Knight Workshops' craft traditions.

"A young man from Blackpine is going to direct Tear Knight's standardized military readiness?"

Lorenz frowned. "The Tear Knight Workshops' standards were built up by generations of artisans. Ordinary armaments may be less complex than Holy Relics, but for the governor to—"

"Lorenz," Vane interrupted.

Lorenz fell silent.

"You may question the plan, Deputy Envoy Sheen, or whether Blackpine craftsmanship suits Tear Knight. But do not disrespect the governor."

On the Tear Knight Defense Line, the governor was far more than a noble.

As chief