Chapter 011: Invention

Lying on the soft bed, Du Fan fell into a drowsy sleep. After all, the day had been filled with too many tasks, enough to trouble him greatly.
“Ah! Who are you?” Suddenly, a scream woke Du Fan from his sleep.
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Du Fan carefully looked at the girl standing at the door, staring at him in surprise.
The girl was about eighteen or nineteen years old, with a round, oval face, dark eyes, rosy cheeks, and an air of youthful vitality. Her delicate hands were as fair as jade, appearing almost transparent against the green backdrop. Her black hair was tied up in a princess-style bun, adorned with a pearl hairpin decorated with tassels that swayed gently in the breeze. She had a fair, pure face and soft, fine skin. Her brows were long and graceful, her eyes sparkled like stars. Below her small nose was a tiny mouth with thin lips slightly curved upward, carrying a hint of sad smile. Her entire face was delicate and beautiful, so ethereal that it seemed free from any trace of mundanity. She wore a dress with floral patterns on a white background and a white pleated skirt. Standing there, she appeared dignified, noble, quiet, and elegant. So pure and tender, like a budding lotus flower, untainted by the world.
A beauty, absolutely a beauty.
Even someone like Du Fan, who had encountered countless beauties in the capital, was amazed by her.
“I’m sorry, miss. I didn’t know this was your room,” Du Fan said politely, bowing slightly.
For some reason, whenever Du Fan became serious, it seemed as if a white light enveloped him, making him appear so holy that no one could feel angry around him.
“Are you the new lord? I heard you’re quite impressive—daring to give away all the food.” Curiously looking at Du Fan, the girl leaned against the door, showing no trace of the etiquette expected of a noblewoman.
“Being impressive because I gave away food? Heh, you haven’t seen my more impressive side yet.” As he spoke, Du Fan stared intently at her chest. His holy appearance was completely shattered by that glance.
“Hmph!” The girl raised her nose and quickly stepped toward Du Fan, pushing him away while saying, “Fine, you’re impressive. Then don’t come into my room!”

Noble etiquette dictates that one should never casually touch the body of the opposite sex, yet this girl dared to do so. Du Fan was certain she was not from a noble family. But then he remembered this was the city lord’s residence, and the girl was clearly dressed in noble attire. He immediately realized she must be Lilith, the one Simbat had mentioned—also the sister of the former city lord. Perhaps she had inherited her noble status because she was young when her family was killed, but she likely hadn’t had much exposure to noble etiquette.

Shaking his head, Du Fan turned and returned to the room on the right, as that was also the main building and likely where he should stay.

Upon entering the room, Du Fan shook his head again. Compared to Lilith’s room, his own was nothing but a doghouse. There was a small wooden bed, which was relatively tidy, but the crumpled luggage was hard for him to accept. Aside from the bed, there was no other furniture in the room—not even a simple desk.

It must have been Simbat who helped tidy up the room.

Du Fan could tell at a glance that the style was simple, just like that of soldiers—everything in the room was kept minimal.

Turning and leaving the room, Du Fan knew his old servant, Old Mark, hadn’t had time to arrange his room yet; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been in such a state.

But since Du Fan had already rested and his tired spirit had recovered somewhat, he simply left the city lord’s residence and returned to the square.

In one corner of the square, beside a crude long table made by cutting half a tree down, and several lopsided chairs still with some branches and leaves hanging on them, Elsik, George Obba, Bati Oramt, and Simbat each held a charred stick, using it to draw on a piece of parchment.

Du Fan didn’t disturb them and quietly approached.

It wasn’t that Du Fan didn’t trust these people. After all, these were the only ones he could rely on for now. Once the territory had taken initial shape, Du Fan would have to return to the capital to deal with matters related to the church—things he couldn’t handle on his own. So, the fate of the entire city of Doha depended entirely on the careful cooperation of these three people.

“Lord!” Simbat sensed Du Fan’s arrival and immediately dropped his stick, giving a proper soldier’s salute.

Truly worthy of being a soldier from the Northern Legion, someone who had fought on the battlefield—always more vigilant than ordinary people.

Du Fan nodded, partly as a response to Simbat and the others who had come to see him, and partly as an acknowledgment of Simbat’s abilities.
“What are you studying?” Approaching the table, Du Fan frowned at the messy scribbles on the parchment. Even as a genius, he likely wouldn’t be able to figure out the purpose of those black lines without one of the four explaining them.
“Replying to the lord, we are studying the construction of the city walls and discussing with Bati the items that need to be purchased,” Elsik replied respectfully.
“Oh? What issues are there? Tell me.” To show his approachability, Du Fan put on his holy guise once again and sat down in the chairs, ready to listen to their discussion.
Elsik respectfully brought the parchment to Du Fan and pointed to the scribbled black lines, explaining, “George just had an idea. He invented a replica some time ago. If we use this replica to make the outer iron walls, even if enemies attack the city, we can kill many of those trying to climb the walls right away.”
“Oh?” Du Fan curiously glanced at the seemingly simple-minded blacksmith, George. Even in his past life, on a place called Earth, although he was just a rascal, he still greatly admired inventors who could create things.
Scratching his head, blacksmith George brought a metal plate over to Du Fan. The plate wasn’t a single piece but consisted of two parts, connected in the middle by something similar to a fold. Aside from the short lower part, the upper part was covered with sharp spikes. Even though they were small, the spikes gleamed menacingly, demonstrating blacksmith George’s skill.
“Lord, this plate without spikes is buried beneath the city walls. On one hand, it prevents attackers from digging tunnels into the city, and on the other hand, it serves as a foundation for the real protective iron plate above,” said blacksmith George as he stood the plate upright. “Normally, these plates are connected to the city walls with ropes, so no matter how strong the enemies are, they can’t damage the plates at all. But if there are too many attackers and the defenders are overwhelmed, we can loosen the ropes, causing the plates to collapse instantly. Any enemies within the range of the plates will be crushed or killed by the spikes.”

“Good, good, good.” Du Fan stood up excitedly. Such an invention was perfect for both offense and defense. If such iron wall structures could really be built, then the city of Ha would become a nightmare for those who tried to attack it.
“Lord, there are still some shortcomings,” Elsik quickly reminded him.
“What deficiencies?” Du Fan asked in confusion.
“On one hand, building such walls would require even more funds and time,” Elsik said, pointing at the spikes. “Especially these spikes—if they were actually placed on top of the protective iron plates, each one would be quite large, making it easier for attackers to grab hold of them. If the lifting mechanism fails to kill all attackers at once, they could use these spikes to climb up our walls as we raise the plates.”
After considering the size of those spikes, Du Fan realized Elsik’s concerns were well-founded. But for him, these weren’t problems at all. He only regretted that those with managerial wisdom often lacked cruelty.
Picking up a charcoal stick, Du Fan wrote down the names of several items on the parchment and said, “By the Light God, I’ve stumbled upon the formula for a potion. I originally intended to destroy it along with those who committed sins, but I never had the time. Now, for the safety of everyone in the city, I think placing it on those spikes will ensure that heretics who desecrate or reject the Light God receive their due punishment.”
Poison—lethal poison—was something Du Fan never lacked. Of course, he could also remember ordinary formulas clearly.
Upon seeing the formula on the parchment, everyone reacted differently. Elsik frowned slightly but said nothing, while blacksmith George and Simbat were happy to have found a solution. Only Bati gave Du Fan a strange look before lowering his head, his smile disappearing instantly.
By observing their expressions, Du Fan already understood their thoughts and feelings clearly.
“Are there any other problems?” Du Fan asked further.
“Reporting to the lord, there’s also the issue of procurement. Our current workforce isn’t enough to mine the iron ore George needs, so we must purchase it. But there are three provinces nearby, and I don’t know where to buy it from. After all, they’ve always used us as targets for extortion,” Elsik said, with Bati adding in a lowered voice.

As the finance minister of Doha City, Bati must have a thorough understanding of the finances and prices in the three surrounding provinces. However, since Du Fan has not yet visited any of these provinces, based on Siluo Province’s previous reputation among the nobles of these three provinces, Bati is unlikely to be able to find out even the actual prices, let alone arrange purchases.