Chapter 72: Walls and Firearms
Walls.
And not just any walls—sturdy defensive walls.
Only by relying on such walls could Coldwind Keep withstand this coming Kobold Disaster.
Levi spoke with a grave expression.
"We don't have much time."
"My lord, how much time do we still have?" Jeff asked.
"Ten days. At most, ten days," Levi replied.
City planner Jeff immediately went pale.
"This…"
Rune and Yalina both looked equally grim. With their strength, surviving this disaster themselves would not be difficult—but for the ordinary people of the territory, the danger would be immense.
Levi, however, remained calm. Looking at Jeff, he said, "I'll support you. The territory's resources will all be concentrated on building the walls. Only once the walls are completed will the territory truly be safe."
Jeff's expression eased somewhat. After thinking seriously for a moment, he said: "Ordinary walls won't be able to stop kobolds from climbing, so the walls we build cannot be too low. They need to reach at least two pole-lengths in height—roughly ten meters. At the same time, to satisfy combat requirements, the top of the wall must be at least half a pole wide—around two and a half meters."
"And to support walls of that thickness, the foundation absolutely must be solid. It needs to be at least one pole wide, dug deep, and heavily compacted. Fortunately, we have cement. We can use it to reinforce and harden the structure, which will save us a tremendous amount of time."
He paused briefly before continuing rapidly: "This is a massive project, and we don't have much time. We can't construct a complete city wall according to the original plans. Thankfully, our territory only borders the Mist Swamp on the western side, so we only need to build an emergency ring wall."
"As long as it blocks the kobolds coming from the swamp and protects all the territory's people, that will be enough."
"Because the wall will be built near the swamp, we must avoid the soft marshland and muddy edges during construction. We need to choose elevated ground with firm soil and relatively level terrain."
"The northern side can connect directly to the cliffs, and the southern side can extend to the bay. That means we won't need walls in those two areas, which will save us a great deal of time and manpower."
"The main focus will be the western side—the area connected to the Mist Swamp. The walls there should extend outward somewhat. Ideally, we should construct a barbican as well, making it easier to attack the kobolds from multiple directions…"
Jeff spoke rapidly, his thoughts flowing without pause.
"Good. We'll do exactly as you said."
"Starting now, the territory's resources and manpower will all be at your disposal. Whatever you need, ask for it."
"In short, the priority is to get the walls built. Once we have those walls, things will become much easier for us."
"Yes, my lord!" Jeff answered heavily.
After a brief hesitation, he added: "My lord… could we perhaps keep this matter from the other citizens for now?"
"I understand your concerns."
Levi did not even need to use Detection to read Jeff's thoughts.
On one hand, Jeff was worried about the accuracy of Levi's information, though he did not dare say so openly. On the other hand, he feared that if the news spread, panic would erupt among the people, making work even harder.
"For now, only the few of us know about this matter," Levi said. "And only the few of us will continue to know."
"That's good." Jeff let out a sigh of relief.
Levi then turned toward Yalina.
"Yalina, assist Jeff with the wall construction. Mobilize the territory's resources and spare no effort. Build the walls first."
"Understood." Yalina nodded solemnly.
"How many gold coins do we still have?" Levi asked.
"About thirty thousand remain. We've had heavy expenditures recently, and our whale brain oil reserves are down to one-third of what they used to be," Yalina replied after thinking for a moment.
"Contact the Sea Serpent Merchant Guild and the Sword and Flower Caravan. Have them urgently purchase bows, food supplies, spears, shields, rolling logs—anything useful. Don't worry about the price. Even if we have to pay extra, buy everything you can."
"If necessary, continue selling whale brain oil."
"Yes!"
The moment Yalina heard that, she immediately realized Levi was completely serious. Her expression sharpened.
Levi then looked toward Rune.
Rune first nodded, then shook his head.
"I'll do my best to train those lads."
"But the time is too short."
"And none of those kids have ever seen real bloodshed before. I don't even know whether they'll break and run when the time comes," Rune said bitterly.
"That depends on you."
Levi then looked toward Yalina and Jeff.
"You two go handle your work. Rune, stay behind."
"Understood."
Yalina and Jeff exchanged a glance with Rune before leaving the room.
The moment they were gone, Rune spoke with an expression that practically said I knew it.
"My lord, you're planning to take me into the Mist Swamp to scout the enemy."
"No need for something that troublesome."
With Detection at his disposal, Levi had no need for conventional scouting. Based on the intelligence it gathered, Detection could even extrapolate future developments. It was far more useful than any spy.
Levi simply snapped his fingers.
A single alchemical firearm condensed into existence in the air.
But that was only the beginning.
One after another, more alchemical firearms materialized in midair. The cost, however, was obvious—Levi's face gradually grew pale from the rapid consumption of his Magic Power.
In the end, Levi produced twenty alchemical firearms along with a massive sack of gunpowder.
Although Rune had already witnessed this ability many times before, seeing it again still left him too shocked to speak.
Creating matter from thin air.
It was almost like creation itself.
This power was simply absurd.
Godlike.
If he had not already known Levi was a wizard, Rune might genuinely have mistaken him for an angel walking among mortals.
Then again… perhaps angels really were just wizards.
Rune looked at Levi with an indescribably complicated gaze.
Levi himself remained calm as ever.
"I'll set aside part of my time each day to synthesize these alchemical firearms and their corresponding gunpowder," he said to Rune.
"Roughly twenty guns per day. Later on, the number may increase."
"Mm, I previously produced two alchemical firearms as well."
"Your task is to use these alchemical firearms for training purposes. Select reliable personnel and train a firearm unit for me," Levi said.
"Oh… right!" Rune froze for a moment before nodding, the look in his eyes becoming even more complicated.
"Then go ahead, Rune."
Rune turned and left immediately.
Suddenly, Levi's voice sounded once more behind him.
"As for the whereabouts of your lover, I still need a little more time. Please be patient."
Rune paused in place for a brief moment. Without turning back, he said: "Thank you, Lord Levi."
"Go on," Levi said softly. "The territory is counting on all of you."
"I won't disappoint you," Rune promised solemnly.
With that, he resumed walking and left Levi's room.
Levi casually found a place to sit, closed his eyes, and began meditating to recover his Magic Power.
He had far more important matters to deal with.
Whether it was the Church's high-ranking inquisitor mentioned in Intelligence Three, or the witch from Intelligence Four who intended to summon Miss Odelle back to her side—
Compared to those threats, the kobold invasion was practically insignificant.
Although it would be inconvenient for Levi to personally intervene, the introduction of modern cement and alchemical firearms would already be more than enough to deal with the kobold army that was about to invade.
Right now, Levi's most important task was to raise the spell Nightingale Polymorph to the level of a Third-Ring Spell as quickly as possible.
With that thought in mind, Levi entered a deep meditative state.
Several hours later—
Levi's Magic Power had fully recovered, though the increase in Spiritual Power was negligible.
Which was entirely expected.
He left the room. With a thought, the spell crystal belonging to Nightingale Polymorph within his Sea of Souls trembled slightly. Magic Power poured into it, flowing along mysterious pathways and resonating with reality itself.
Levi's body immediately began to transform dramatically.
He transformed into a massive, ferocious Second-Order high-tier magical beast—
The Two-Headed Demon Owl.
[You have cast Two-Headed Demon Owl Polymorph once. Experience +3. Current EXP: 1534/1600.]
...
[You have cast Two-Headed Demon Owl Polymorph once. Experience +3. Current EXP: 1575/1600.]
...
[You have cast Two-Headed Demon Owl Polymorph once. Experience +5. Current EXP: 1600/1600.]
This happened two days later.
The spell had finally reached the threshold for advancement.
And Levi upgraded it immediately.
In an instant, the corresponding spell crystal within Levi's Sea of Souls melted like ice before rapidly condensing once again into a new, more complex, radiant spell crystal.
A brand-new Third-Ring Spell crystal.
Its birth once again strengthened Levi's Sea of Souls. The growth rate of his meditation-based Spiritual Power would increase, his Magic Power recovery speed would improve, and his perception of the mysterious elements of the outside world would become sharper as well.
Levi's consciousness touched this new Third-Ring Spell crystal.
Information instantly flooded into his mind.
With a thought, Magic Power surged into the new Third-Ring Spell crystal, resonating with the power of the outside world as Levi's body rapidly transformed once again.
Based upon the original Two-Headed Demon Owl form, a third head emerged directly above the other two.
A human face.
And that human face vaguely resembled Levi's appearance from his previous life.
Third-Ring Spell — Human-Faced Demon Owl!
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