Day 53.
The bread had been eaten. The celebration was over. Now, Rian was back to business.
He stood in his study with Caelum and Varg. On the table lay a rough map of the area behind the fort—the "Jagged Peaks."
"We need Sulfur," Rian said, pointing to a volcanic vent marked on the map. "It's the final ingredient. With it, we can make the 'Black Powder' that will shatter the Orcs."
"That area is dangerous, My Lord," Varg warned, tracing a scar on his arm. "The mines there were abandoned not just because of the gas. The miners said something... howled in the dark."
Rian nodded. He waited for the chime.
[Ding! Daily Intelligence Report - Day 53]
[1. Resource Location: Pure Sulfur]
Location: Deep inside "Vent Shaft B" of the old mines (2 miles North).
[2. Entity Detection: The Starving Remnants]
Target: The survivors of the Snow Wolf Pack you destroyed on Day 5.
Composition: 3 Female Beta Wolves (injured/starving) and 8 Pups.
Status: They are hiding in the cave entrance, blocking the Sulfur. They are dying of hunger.
Opportunity: Without an Alpha, they are desperate. They can be tamed with High-Quality Meat and Nature Resonance.
Rian smiled. "Two birds with one stone."
He turned to Hance. "Load the sled. I want 50 lbs of fresh raw beef. And bring Caelum."
"Me?" The Elf blinked. "I grow plants, Lord Rian. I don't fight wolves."
"You won't fight them," Rian said, grabbing his coat. "You're going to talk to them."
The Den of Bones
The journey to the mine entrance was treacherous. The wind howled through the jagged rocks.
When they arrived at the dark, gaping mouth of the mine, the smell of rotten eggs (Sulfur) was faint, mixed with the smell of wet fur.
Grrrr...
Out of the shadows, three pairs of glowing blue eyes appeared.
Three Snow Wolves.
They were smaller than the Alpha Rian had killed, but they were still dangerous. However, Rian's Intel was right—their ribs were showing. Their fur was matted. They were weak.
Varg raised his spear. "Shall I kill them, Boss?"
"No," Rian ordered. "Lower your weapon. If you scare them, we lose the army."
Rian stepped forward, holding a large chunk of bloody beef.
The wolves snapped their jaws, backing away to protect a pile of dry grass behind them. Tiny yelps came from the pile. The Pups.
"Caelum," Rian whispered. "Do your thing. Calm them down."
Caelum swallowed hard. He stepped forward, lowering his hood. He extended his slender hands.
He didn't hum a song of growth this time. He hummed a Lullaby.
A soft, green aura surrounded the Elf.
"Peace, sisters," Caelum spoke in a strange, guttural language. "We bring no steel. We bring life."
The female wolves hesitated. The magic soothed their instinct to kill, but their hunger remained.
Rian tossed the meat.
Thud.
The chunk landed in front of the lead female.
She sniffed it. She looked at Rian. Then, starvation won. She tore into the meat.
Rian tossed more. Piece after piece.
"I killed your Alpha," Rian said softly, though they couldn't understand his words. "But I will raise your children better than he ever could."
As the females ate, Caelum slowly walked up to them. He touched the head of the lead female. She didn't bite. She leaned into his touch, exhausted.
"They accept the pact," Caelum whispered, his eyes shining. "They are tired of running, My Lord. They want a pack. They want safety."
Rian walked past the eating mothers to the grass pile.
Eight balls of white fluff looked up at him with blue eyes. They were tiny now, but in a year, they would be monsters the size of ponies.
[Ding! Unit Acquired: Snow Wolf Pack]
3 Adult Females (Defenders)
8 Pups (Future War Mounts)
Loyalty: Bought with food. Needs maintenance.
"Varg," Rian ordered. "Load the pups onto the sled. Wrap them in furs. The mothers will follow us back to the Fort."
Varg looked at the pups with a grin. "A Wolf Cavalry... The Orcs won't know what hit them."
The Yellow Gold
With the wolves pacified and fed, the path to the cave was open.
Rian lit a torch and walked deeper into the mine shaft.
The air grew hot. The smell of rotten eggs became unbearable.
And there, on the walls of a volcanic vent, it glowed.
Yellow Crystals.
Sulfur.
"Jackpot," Rian covered his nose with a cloth.
He used a pickaxe to scrape the yellow rocks into a bag.
"Charcoal. Saltpeter. Sulfur."
He had the Holy Trinity of destruction.
The Return
When Rian returned to the Fort, the sight was legendary.
The Lord of Iron walked through the gates, followed by three massive wolves who trotted obediently at his heels.
The serfs gasped and scattered.
"Do not fear!" Rian shouted. "They are part of Blackiron now! Grom! Build a kennel next to the barracks. And make sure they get leftovers from the kitchen every day."
He went straight to the Alchemist's hut.
He slammed the bag of yellow rocks onto Elara's table.
"Sulfur," Elara coughed. "You really found it."
"Grind it," Rian ordered, his eyes intense. "Mix it with the Charcoal dust and the purified Saltpeter."
He gave her the ratio—the most guarded secret of his old world:
75% Saltpeter, 15% Charcoal, 10% Sulfur.
"Mix it wet," Rian warned. "If you mix it dry, the friction might blow this hut to the moon. Dry it after it's mixed."
Three hours later.
Rian stood on the empty snowfield outside the walls.
He held a small clay pot filled with a black, granular powder. A fuse made of oil-soaked string stuck out of it.
He placed it under a large boulder.
He lit the fuse.
He ran.
Hissssss...
BOOM!
A flash of orange fire tore through the twilight. The boulder didn't just crack; it shattered. Debris flew fifty meters into the air. The sound echoed off the mountains like the roar of a dragon.
On the ramparts, Varg, Grom, and the guards fell to their knees in terror.
"Thunder..." Varg whispered. "He summoned thunder."
Rian stood up from the snow, dusting off his coat. He smiled.
It was a small explosion. A firecracker compared to modern bombs.
But in this world of swords and arrows... it was a nuke.
[Ding! Technology Unlocked: Black Powder]
[Military Strength: S-Rank Potential]
[Empire Status: Dangerous]
Rian looked at the smoking crater.
"Let the Orcs come," he whispered. "I have a surprise for them."
End of Chapter 30