Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World

"Well, if Lord Libett decides to come, we welcome him. But we must be prepared for war," declared Marcus, the Chairman of the Council, making his final decision.

He turned to Joe Foster. "My friend, how about you take care of hosting him?" he asked.

"I am willing to take on this challenging task," Foster nodded in agreement.

The Chairman then asked, "Could you now inform everyone about our military preparedness?"

The Horn Bay Alliance mainly purchased its weapons from the Northwest Bay.

Initially, the Alliance did not want to rely too much on Northwest Bay, but the weapons sold there were of such good quality and reasonably priced that they couldn't resist. The cost of manufacturing a sword locally or buying it from elsewhere was enough to purchase five to ten swords of decent quality in Northwest Bay.

This led to the Alliance increasingly depending on Northwest Bay for expanding their armory, as everyone wants to get more for less money.

The members of the Council couldn't fathom how Northwest Bay managed to keep the prices so low, especially for iron, a crucial material for weapon-making. They wondered if Northwest Bay had a way of producing iron directly from ore.

Foster cleared his throat and confidently stated, "Colleagues, although the Horn Bay Church is likely to receive support from the Vatican once war breaks out, we are also well-prepared to counteract this advantage."

"Next, regarding weapons, we currently have a stockpile of one hundred thousand spears, thirty thousand swords, ten thousand longbows, thirty thousand short bows…"

"In terms of large equipment, we have constructed one hundred ballistas, thirty large catapults, one hundred small catapults, siege engines…"

"For animal power, we have a total of thirty-five thousand horses and ten thousand mules…"

"Regarding food supplies…"

The arms deal with Northwest Bay was mainly conducted by Foster's eldest son. The Marquis himself was very interested in this matter, and before the meeting, he had compiled various data on paper.

Soon, Marquis Foster finished reading all the statistics from the paper.

He concluded, "If we arm our troops according to these numbers, we will create an army in Horn Bay unlike any before, a force rarely seen even outside Horn Bay. Thanks to the weapons from Northwest Bay, we can equip every soldier for both offense and defense, rather than a bunch of militia armed with pitchforks and in tattered clothes."

"Our army's organizational structure is highly advanced. When recruiting soldiers, we only need them to show up; the government provides uniform weapons and armor and conducts training. In contrast, our inland neighbors still require their soldiers to bring their own weapons."

"Additionally, we have negotiated with various mercenary groups in Horn Bay, and they are more than willing to be hired by us—of course, when needed."

After listening to Foster's detailed description of the military preparedness, everyone in the Chairman's office was filled with increased confidence.

Horace, excited, waved his fist and said, "That's right, we should respond with fist for fist, sword for sword. The Church Army will certainly be intimidated facing the full might of the Alliance. But—"

He suddenly furrowed his brow and spoke in a cautioning tone.

"We must beware of traitors, especially those who constantly support the Church."

Everyone chuckled quietly upon hearing this, knowing full well that Horace was referring to 'the devout Simons', a very faithful council member who often clashed with Horace. Recently, due to the tense situation between the Alliance and the Church, Simons had stayed at home, avoiding participation in Council discussions.

At that moment, a council member suddenly asked, "During ground battles, does our fleet have combat assignments?"

As soon as he asked this question, the room burst into laughter, causing him great embarrassment.

The inland bumpkins have warships? Against a bunch of landlubbers, do we even need to discuss the matter of the fleet?

However, Chairman Marcus still answered the question: "Although it might seem trivial to everyone, I have decided to prepare a hundred warships as a precaution. A large number of combat-capable ships are already registered and no longer undertaking long voyages. If needed, our ports can assemble at least fifty fully crewed ships within three days."

"Prepare for the unexpected?"

Horace asked, "Does that mean preparing for the possibility of our allies betraying us and siding with the Church?"

The Chairman replied, "Oh, Mr. Horace, let's not maliciously speculate about our allies with whom we have signed mutual defense pacts. I trust the integrity and character of our allied rulers. My concern is about their level of military preparedness. They might not be as well-prepared as we are."

"If— I mean, if one of their ports gets captured from the land, it could threaten our merchant ships. As long as they have money, they can still recruit a bunch of desperados at sea."

"Additionally!"

Chairman Marcus looked around at everyone and said,

"We must be wary of the threat from the Vatican. Even though their ports are a bit far from us, we cannot be too careful."

…

"Achoo!"

A militia on duty sneezed, feeling a bit dizzy as he covered his nose and blew it, carelessly touching the brick wall next to his post.

This was a checkpoint of the Horn Bay Alliance located on the border, a new addition from half a year ago.

Since the Alliance's conflict with the Church became public, numerous such checkpoints have been constructed along the border. Each checkpoint typically consists of a five or six-meter high watchtower made of wood or stone, accompanied by a small hut for the guards to rest, usually manned by two to three soldiers or local militia.

Their purpose was not defense but vigilance.

The militia on duty felt unlucky, suffering from a cold, but his request to go home and rest had been denied by his superiors, all due to the damned situation.

Huh? What's that?

His pupils quickly focused on something in the distance on the road.

This road, once a busy trade route, carried most of the trade between the Horn Bay Alliance and the inland nation of the West Cylan Principality. However, as the situation worsened, the road had become increasingly deserted. Nowadays, one would only occasionally see rabbits darting across.

But now, a caravan of horses and carts appeared on this deserted road.

Was it an invasion by the inland nation?

The militia grew highly tense, staring intently in that direction.