Chapter 476: Alloy No. 55
After arranging matters with Jefferson, Henwell heads to the Smelting Department.
The person in charge, Revoco, is a middle-aged man who started as a blacksmith from Cloud Tree City.
Since childhood, he’s been curious about various materials, but due to the apprentice system and the circumstances at the time, he could only obediently work as a blacksmith.
However, as a blacksmith, he’s not exactly qualified, his crafted tools often lack quality.
Partly, this is because his skills aren’t top-notch, but also because he frequently experiments with new materials and forging techniques.
If it weren’t for Peace Haven’s large-scale plan to recruit craftsmen, he probably would have been out of work by now.
On the verge of being dismissed, Revoco understood that if he stayed, he’d eventually be forced out.
So, he took a risk and moved his family to Peace Haven, which was still finding its footing.
At first, his work in Peace Haven’s smelting workshop wasn’t impressive.
Fortunately, Henwell promoted assembly line and semi-mechanical fusion processes, which allowed a blacksmith like Revoco, who’s a bit rough around the edges, to handle tasks with ease.
He was discovered because of issues with the steering mechanism and axles in the Grand Carriage wagons.
At that time, the Grand Carriage factory in Peace Haven offered large rewards to anyone who could improve these problems.
Revoco participated but his ideas weren’t accepted.
Still, his concept caught Henwell’s attention, Revoco proposed using an alloy with high material strength to compensate for mechanical flaws.
When Henwell learned that Revoco had already mastered a kind of copper alloy, he immediately recognized raw talent.
Soon after, Henwell brought him into the Blood Hill estate.
Henwell personally taught him for a while, focusing mainly on alloy material science.
Henwell’s courses were extensive, and Revoco wasn’t the only one in the materials science training class.
But in later practical research, Revoco stood out as the best.
Sometimes, you have to admit that talent matters. Revoco might lack natural skill in forging, but his metallurgical talent is exceptional.
In just two years, he became the main head of Peace Haven’s Materials Department.
Over the years, Revoco has been responsible for developing extraordinary alloys.
Great progress has been made, with several types of extraordinary alloys already developed.
Now, Revoco hands Henwell a longsword. “Sir, this is made from Alloy No. 55. Please take a look and see if there are any shortcomings.”
Henwell lightly swings the sword a few times in his hand, quickly gaining a deep understanding of the entire blade.
Revoco stands beside him and explains the properties of the metal. “Alloy No. 55 is a quarter lighter than refined steel alloys. In terms of strength and toughness, it’s over twice as good as refined steel alloys. With further development, its performance will only improve.”
Henwell nods slightly. “What about the drawbacks?”
Revoco hesitates for a moment but doesn’t hide anything. “Its conduction efficiency for Fighting Spirit hasn’t reached the standard, only a bit more than half of what the top extraordinary alloys from other countries achieve.”
Seeing Henwell frown, Revoco quickly adds, “However, Alloy No. 55 has a huge advantage that’s hard to match. The production cost is only one-fifth of the top extraordinary alloys from other countries. If mass-produced, the cost could be reduced even further.”
Henwell does a quick mental calculation. The metal cost for this longsword alone is still over two hundred gold coins.
Adding in craftsmanship costs would tack on several dozen more coins.
Even with mass production cost reductions, it would still exceed two hundred gold coins.
Henwell’s elite troops don’t just carry one longsword. They need a full set of weapons, including short and long arms, armor, and crossbows.
That adds up to equipment costs exceeding two thousand gold coins per soldier.
Even with Henwell’s vast wealth, equipping an entire army on this scale is unrealistic.
If he grits his teeth and outfits a single legion, it would be comparable to the elite corps of other nations.
At best, it would crush other countries’ top legions, which sounds impressive.
But Henwell wants an army large enough to conquer the entire continent, which requires massive elite gear support.
Given Peace Haven’s financial situation, they can afford at most one legion equipped with this extraordinary gear.
That’s already pushing the limit and would force budget cuts in many other projects.
This doesn’t align with Henwell’s plans at all. It simply won’t work.
Noticing Henwell’s expression, the researchers, including Revoco, feel uneasy.
This achievement is something they should be proud of, but knowing Henwell has spent so much money without meeting all the targets makes them cautious.
Henwell senses their mood too. Though he’s clearly dissatisfied, he understands this is the current limit of what they can achieve.
Henwell doesn’t respond directly but changes the subject. “Tell me about Alloy No. 55. What’s the extraordinary principle behind it?”
Revoco replies, “Sir, the essence of extraordinary alloys lies in the fusion reactions of several micro magic minerals. This fusion is quite special. We’ve summarized some patterns and even made some bold hypotheses.”
“Some combinations of micro magic minerals can generate strong extraordinary fluctuations, but they’re very unstable. Others maintain extraordinary fluctuations for a long time but with less noticeable effects.”
“The so-called extraordinary metals from other countries use a specific special ratio, they employ high magic minerals to produce strong and stable extraordinary fluctuations. “
”We, however, have been slowly studying ratios, trying to fuse micro magic minerals or diluted high magic minerals. The goal is to create an extraordinary alloy with consistent and stable extraordinary fluctuations. Alloy No. 55 is one of the best among these.”
Henwell flips through the documents Revoco hands him, these are top-secret, level-one files from Peace Haven.
As Revoco continues, Henwell asks, “So the strength and stability of extraordinary fluctuations are the core of extraordinary alloys?”
“Exactly! This determines how long the extraordinary fluctuation lasts.”
Henwell zeroes in on the key point. “In other words, Alloy No. 55 hasn’t yet stood the test of time. We don’t know how long its extraordinary fluctuations will remain stable?”
Revoco sighs. “Yes, that’s right. We need time to verify how long its extraordinary stability lasts. According to the data we’ve gathered, extraordinary metals from other countries aren’t permanent either, they have a limited lifespan. Generally, they last about thirty years. Our estimate is that Alloy No. 55’s extraordinary stability can last over fifteen years.”
“We still don’t understand why some legendary weapons maintain their extraordinary properties indefinitely. Based on their materials, they should have lost the extraordinary reaction long ago. Yet some not only retain it but even grow stronger.”
Henwell smiles. “Because of people, because of the influence of spirit and will.”