Chapter 141. Factory City (2)

There is a common belief that the discovery of fossil fuels led to the invention of engines and generators, followed by the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.

This is a widespread error.

Perhaps it’s a result of numerous omissions in other areas when history textbooks or educational broadcasts teach the history of the Industrial Revolution, focusing on the theme of humans being replaced by machines.

I once heard a panelist on a public broadcasting program say that 18th-century Britain began mass-mining coal due to wood depletion, and in that process, the steam engine emerged.

At first glance, this part makes it seem like the discovery and use of fossil fuels are directly linked to the development of the steam engine.

Of course, it’s not entirely wrong.

Britain's abundant coal reserves certainly contributed to the flowering of the Industrial Revolution there.

However, the history of fuel itself is longer than that of the Industrial Revolution.

The most widely known example is the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Zhuge Liang, considered one of the representative strategists of the Three Kingdoms, operated state-level salt factories.

At that time, some regions of the Shu Han kingdom produced salt by boiling groundwater, and Zhuge Liang was said to have dramatically increased production by using ‘huojing’.

This ‘huojing’ is natural gas.

So, almost two thousand years before the Industrial Revolution, humanity used fossil fuels in some form.

Unfortunately, the world of ‘Warlord Conquest’ was less blessed by such natural boons.

Oil is never even mentioned, and coal deposits are concentrated in the Eastern Empire.

At best, magic stones or natural gas are accessible high-quality fuels, but…

“Currently, the Empire's domestic magic stone production is extremely small. Most of it is imported from the Northern Archduchy or the Dwarves.”

Bart's explanation was accurate.

Magic stones are mostly found in the mountain ranges where Dwarves live or near the frozen lands of the north.

As for natural gas, almost the entire supply comes from the Dwarven mountain ranges.

This is why one must be on good terms with the Dwarves to dream of an Industrial Revolution in this world.

“To create the factory district that you and the head of the Kambad Merchant Guild have planned, we need to be able to secure a large amount of fuel consistently. The current volume of magic stone imports is far from enough,” William said.

It was a difficult problem.

Even I would have trouble obtaining large quantities of those two things right now.

Price and transportation were issues, and the Dwarves also treated magic stones as a strategic asset.

But one cannot give up on a dream.

I had prepared an alternative.

“Originally, we had wood or charcoal made from burning wood, but on this expedition, we gained another option. It's the peat we brought from Karnburk.”

Peat.

A type of coal mainly found in swampy areas.

I knew it was formed when moss, grass, trees, and the like accumulated in swamps and carbonized over a long period.

It’s a bit different from coal in that peat is a soft mud, not a hard lump of stone.

Therefore, it has the inconvenience of needing to go through a drying process, such as being blasted with warm air.

Nevertheless, since it’s literally something you get from digging the ground, it was said to be widely used as fuel in the old days.

The reason I included Karnburk Fortress when conducting ‘territory negotiations’ with the vampire duke, who had now become my loyal subordinate, despite it being slightly off the expedition's shortest route, was precisely this peat.

Karnburk Fortress was a strategic point virtually surrounded by swamps.

Naturally, it was a rich source of peat.

Even in the game, the peat from this region was treated as a specialty product.

However, William knew something I did not.

“After returning from the expedition, I ran some tests on the peat brought from Karnburk Fortress.”

“Tests?”

“Yes. Generally, the value of charcoal as a fuel overwhelms that of peat. In fact, the calorific value of peat is even lower than that of well-burning wood.”

“Calorific what?”

“It means that for the same amount of burning, charcoal burns longer than peat, Sir Brol.”

I see.

That was news to me.

Well, it wasn’t like I was an expert in this field.

The very fact that a fuel called peat existed was something I learned from Warlord Conquest.

Then should I use charcoal instead?

While I was contemplating, William dragged over a large box.

It was filled with something like black gravel.

Dried and crushed peat.

“But what you brought, my lord, was different.”

William grinned at me.

“Its calorific value was about three times greater than that of ordinary peat.”

“?”

“Not only that, but it also had far fewer of peat's chronic problems, such as low durability, the resulting decrease in stability, excessive dust generation, and uneven firepower.”

“……”

“I felt it once again. Just as Bishop Alina always says, you truly see beyond the vision of ordinary men, my lord.”

“As expected of you, my lord…”

“What, did you calculate all this?”

Bart and old man Brol turned their heads towards me.

“……”

I had no idea.

***

There is a proverb that says a blind cow catches a mouse by stepping on it backward.

It refers to a situation where one benefits from an unexpected windfall unrelated to one's own abilities.

While it sounds good at first, it is also an indirect expression of the person's incompetence.

My current situation was exactly that.

Sshhh- ssshhh-

Steam was leaking from the pipe.

Clatter clatter!

A chain linking the gears rattled as it turned.

Thump! Thump! Thump-thump-thump-thump...

In the center of the machine, the sound of explosions from within a cylinder that seemed to be the combustion chamber began to accelerate.

"Here we go."

Clank!

The moment William pulled the lever, the entire warehouse echoed with vibrations.

Woooooong-!

I could feel it.

The explosion in the combustion chamber was being converted into mana.

The converted mana gradually accumulated in a converter next to the combustion chamber, and upon reaching a critical point, it flowed rapidly through a pipe.

It was just like how in an internal combustion engine, air is forced from a high-pressure area to a low-pressure one due to an explosion, or how electricity flows along a conductor due to a potential difference in charge.

"Whoa..."

Leaving Bart's exclamation behind, the mana flowed along a special material conduit to its destination.

It was a temporarily installed furnace.

After a sound like striking flint, tick-tick, flames erupted from within the furnace.

A super-high temperature flame, reminiscent of fire magic, poured out even without a mage.

"Wh-what is that?"

A wave of heat rushed out.

Old man Brol covered his face with his sleeve.

The indirectly transmitted heat was considerable despite the distance, and just as I was contemplating deploying a shield, something went wrong.

With a pssshh sound, the fire went out.

An accident.

[[Barrier] is deployed.]

A generator accident has a high probability of leading to a major disaster.

After protecting the group with the barrier, I immediately checked the mana generator.

The problem wasn't there.

Along with the ground-shaking vibrations, mana was still being generated.

I scanned the conduit to its end, looking for any holes, but the result was the same.

The mana was flowing without issue.

Then the furnace was the problem.

"Haha… I am still inexperienced with rune magic. How embarrassing."

William laughed sheepishly.

He pointed at the furnace, which was now only blowing lukewarm air, as if the previous firepower had been a lie.

"Creating a semi-permanent flame rune is proving to be difficult. I am currently learning from the delegation sent by the Dwarf King."

I answered, calming my startled heart.

"You did well. This much is already a huge achievement."

"Thank you. It will be resolved soon, as I just need to study a little more."

"Take your time. There's no need to rush. Safety is the most important thing."

"I will keep that in mind. Actually, it's not a big issue. The fuel was the biggest problem."

William said, holding up a basket filled with dried peat.

It's a relief that it's not a big deal.

"It was resolved because the peat you brought is of such high quality, my lord. In terms of simple calorific value, it's comparable to the coal from the Eastern Empire."

By the way, I still don't know why that peat is so good.

The game doesn't explain things like this.

It just says that the specialty of Karnburk Fortress is peat.

Fortunately, old man Brol was by my side.

Just like in a university lecture when you don't understand the professor's explanation but are too embarrassed to raise your hand, and someone in front raises their hand high and asks a question, he suddenly asked.

"Commander of the Artillery, I don't get what you're saying about calorific value or coal or whatever."

"Ahaha, it's not a difficult concept. The magic peat you brought, my lord, is half magic stone."

"That sounds difficult."

"…Is it? To explain it more simply..."

The explanation that followed was roughly this.

The calorific value of peat is not originally good.

However, the peat from Karnburk is different.

The reason was the vampires.

For the past several hundred years under vampire rule, this land had been covered in the mana of necromancy.

That mana seeped into the swamps, accumulated, and became firmly embedded in the peat.

Come to think of it, there are plenty of swamps on this continent.

On the other hand, regions where peat was a specialty were few and far between.

"What's surprising is that if you go just a little below the surface layer, the peat from there shows no trace of necromancy. Nature is truly amazing."

A complex explanation continued for a while.

I couldn't bring myself to dampen the enthusiastic researcher's morale, so I stood by quietly.

While Bart's eyes shone as he eagerly nodded, old man Brol yawned repeatedly.

The old man glanced at me and muttered.

"Looks like you understand everything, my lord."

I don't understand either.

"Well, you use magic so freely. It's only natural your mind works extraordinarily."

That's thanks to skills.

"In conclusion, death energy has accumulated and been purified in the Karnburk swamps for a long time, turning into pure mana."

"Then wouldn't mana also accumulate in the trees?"

"Not really. Answering as a priest, even if a living being's exterior gets dirty, it's not corrupted deep inside. That's why it can be purified with miracles."

William continued, wearing a priest-like smile for the first time in a while.

"Just as the grace of Luark washes away the sins of us who have sinned on the surface. The undead, completely dead, can move, but neither purification nor repentance is possible."

Well, I suppose so.

This is a world where gods and miracles actually exist.

If only a body remains after death, wouldn't the soul have already gone to hell, heaven, or somewhere else?

Personally, I wasn't particularly interested, but my calling card was that of a devout paladin noble.

I had to at least add a comment.

"It is all the grace of the devout Luark."

"Haha, that's right. It is Luark's grace."

‘This guy is a complete fraud…’

‘Eyeball, calm down. You'll get used to it. It's actually kind of funny if you watch long enough.’

Let's ignore the local broadcast from the subspace.

They're clearly jealous that another god is being praised.

Just then, Bart took out his pocket watch and spoke.

"My lord, it is time to move again."

"Where do we need to go?"

"To the newly cleared sugarcane fields and the sugar factory where the last harvest is being processed."

‘Sugarcane? Sugar?’

‘Tick-Tock??’

‘Hup…?’

‘Kiiiing?!’