The magic spar is the main energy substance in this world comparable to oil, but it contains much more energy, and it can be directly transformed by magicians.

The reason why the Fran Empire still set up Storm Castle here in the face of the threat of the Monster Valley is because the Saint-Michel Mountains, which are adjacent to Storm Castle, are rich in mineral resources, which is also the main financial income of Storm Castle before.

But for a period of time, whether it was the various magic arrays, or Gandalf's magic cultivation, or even the magic rune plate armor forged later, all of this was based on the magic crystal.

In particular, the production of magic rune plate armor, the runes on it are drawn from magic hedron powder, which is the only way to have enough magical energy to drive the runes to work. Therefore, under the various large-scale consumption, the inventory of Storm Castle's magic crystals began to be consumed in large quantities, and it was a bit difficult to make ends meet.

After learning the news, Duke immediately summoned the mine manager Black, who was in charge of production at Fort Storm's mine, and he was in charge of mining Fort Storm's minerals before.

"Blake, how long can the magic crystals of Stormcastle last now?"

"Back to the lord, if you save a little, you can still support half a month's production. ”

"Then let's start the mine production, the magic crystal must support at least a month's production!"

Previously, due to the arrival of winter, under the threat of the Ice Demon, the entire production outside of Stormcastle was in a state of stagnation, and the mine was naturally the same. It is also because of the winter that the minerals excavated in late autumn and early winter have not been sold, and they have been supported until now by relying on inventory.

In fact, it is not only the magic spar that has begun to be in short supply, but even the most basic iron ore has begun to be in short supply with the mass production of the Storm Armor. The only thing that is not lacking is coal, a winter necessity that Stormfort has been stored for almost the entire year.

And Duke's determined one-month time is the production time required for all the equipment of the Storm Armor. Everything else can be delayed, and you can wait until the beginning of spring next year, the Storm Armor is the top priority of the Storm Castle at the moment, and all personnel must be equipped no matter what!

It's just that Blake's face replied with a sad face: "Lord Lord, the suspension of production in winter is due to the ice demon on the one hand, and on the other hand, it is because of the water accumulation in the mine in winter, which has a great impact on the mining of miners, and it is estimated that the output is not optimistic." ”

Mine drainage is an important part of the mining industry, because as the mine is dug deeper, groundwater inevitably appears. If it is not discharged in time, there will be no way to produce it. Before the use of mechanical drainage, it has always been used to drain water with human and animal power.

In the Middle Ages, both human and animal power will be affected by the cold, and drainage will become more difficult, and in the Middle Ages, there will be a serious decline in mine production after entering the winter, and this situation has not been fundamentally alleviated until the advent of the steam engine.

When Duke thinks of the steam engine, he thinks of an important thing, that is, the steam engine had actually begun to be used in practical use before Watt was improved, and the application aspect was the drainage of groundwater in the mine. Even the efficiency of the early steam pump far exceeds that of manpower and animal power!

As soon as he thought of this, Duke felt an inexplicable pain in the egg, and sure enough, there was a reason why there was no way to break out the industrial revolution with water power, that is, there were too many restrictions and the scope of use, and if you wanted to really get a qualitative change in productivity, you still need to make a steam engine.

But the problem is that he can't find the dwarf in this world at the moment, and needless to say, the Watt who improved the steam engine, whether he exists or not is a question. If he wanted to make a steam engine out of thin air, Duke didn't think he had the ability, and he didn't study engineering equipment before.

There is no way, the machine can't be used, so it can only be carried by manpower temporarily!

"Blake, start the mine operation, and at the same time recruit idle labor in Stormcastle to drain the water, and ensure the supply of magic crystals no matter what!"

"Yes, my lord!"

Blake didn't say much, since the lord had already made a decision, he would carry it out himself. However, it is foreseeable that such a forced excavation in the icy water in winter will cause unnecessary casualties, but there is no choice now.

Shortly after Blake left, he saw Serra returning from Galileo, and this time Serra had a distinctly excited expression on his face, unlike in the past.

"Well, Galileo didn't disappoint you. When Duke saw Serra's whole excitement, he guessed that it must be some of Galileo's inventions, which completely attracted Serra.

"Lord Duke, I believe what you said now, it is true that Stormcastle has the most advanced alchemy laboratory and alchemists on the continent, especially the magic of the microscope, which has opened the door to a new world for me. By the way, it's called the microcosm in your words?"

In the face of Serra's exclamatory tone, Duke just smiled and said nothing, when you truly become a member of Stormcastle, you will understand how superficial alchemy is a superficial scientific experiment!

However, at this time, Duke remembered the previous conversation with Black, as the most famous alchemist on the continent, Serra knew nothing about the steam engine.

"By the way, Serra, there's one thing I want to ask you, what do you know about the steam engine?"

"Steam engine, Lord Duke, why did you suddenly ask this, this is the highest alchemy of dwarves, which is rare in human countries. ”

Hearing Serra say this, Duke thought it was no fun, but he didn't expect Serra to continue: "But for the steam engine, I do know that there is an alchemist who studies these, and it is said that he also improved the steam engine. However, he is under the Inquisition for making inappropriate remarks about the Holy See, and if he refuses to repent, he is likely to be convicted. ”

Heresy? Duke became excited when he heard this word, what he wanted was heresy! Because only heretics were on the same side as him, and it was better to win them over to Storm Castle, otherwise ordinary great alchemists really couldn't say that they would join Storm Castle, after all, not everyone was like Fra's Alchemy Laboratory, who had explored the mysteries of porcelain firing for a hundred years, and made them have a pathological obsession with firing porcelain!

So Duke excitedly asked, "Who is this person, and where is he being held in the Inquisition?" Once the personnel and place of detention are determined, Duke even has plans to rob the prison.

"Imprisoned in Andorra la Vella, the main city of the Andorran kingdom, the alchemist's name, if I remember correctly, is James Watt. ”