As Karl's massive, rumbling truck vanished over the horizon, the three DRIS officers—Rook, Dullahan, and Libera—stood beside the newly dropped Tyrant's Throne of Undying Fury. The air was thick with the scent of fresh lumber and newly milled steel.

Rook broke the silence, his hand resting on the polished wooden stock of his new Gewehr 71. "Well, that was efficient. We got the Throne, additional manpower, new uniforms, and a new standard issue weapon that makes our old flintlocks look like museum pieces. And all the additional supplies we need."

Dullahan, ever the pragmatist, was already thinking about deployment. "Before we focus on hunting bandits, we have to make use of the new manpower immediately. We'll start reinforcing the eastern and southern borders with proper earthworks, fortifications, and watchtowers."

"We still have to train the new recruits, Dullahan," Rook reminded him, tapping the rifle. "This new mechanism is complex. It's a quantum leap from a simple matchlock. They need to understand the bolt action, the cleaning, and the maintenance."

"It's going to take time to drill them to standard," Dullahan agreed with a sigh. "A Ghoul is smart, yes, but experience is not built in a day. Even with the new upgrades."

"I can estimate at least two weeks of focused training before they're ready for the frontline," Rook said, looking at the confused cluster of new recruits being directed toward the supply crates. "In the meantime, we'll have at least ten of our most seasoned Ghouls form up two patrol squads. They will constantly patrol to the west and find a good, defensible spot for our second outpost—something beyond the one-kilometer fence line."

Vitro, having finished directing a builder Ghoul with a load of support beams, walked over. "I overheard that. As soon as we finish with this outpost—the barracks, the armory, the forward HQ—I can pull my building crew and help you boys with the second outpost. The commercial buildings can wait; they're not a priority right now."

He gestured expansively at the perimeter. "What's most important here is setting up the defenses and fortifications around the official border. Metal fences, ditches, trenches—the full package."

Rook gave him a genuine smile. "Oh, thank you, Vitro. That solves a massive issue for us. Our problem lies squarely with the construction effort and having to divide our existing manpower between patrolling and heavy building."

"Yeah, we're really thankful for your support," Dullahan added. "The Lord has prioritized security, and that means working together."

Vitro smiled. "It's not a problem. It's just our job. We simply have a different role, and as I said, prioritizing our security is the utmost priority. A strong border is a strong business model, after all."

Libera, who had been quietly inspecting the new uniforms, then spoke in a low, almost breezy voice. "In the meantime, I'll go back to scouting the forests near the Grayhorn village. Since those orc friends to the east have yet to muster their own defenses, they're likely to be easy targets for bandits and orc raiders alike. I'll also scout for some bandits on the way. The Lord gave us a direct task for recruitment, and I aim to deliver." He then melted into the thin treeline as if the light itself avoided him.

Vitro gave a firm clap of his hands. "Then I'll handle the fortifications and all main construction. We'll have them finished by the end of the week."

Rook said, "And I'll lead the seasoned soldiers, forming a platoon to sweep the west. Establish our presence and map out the terrain for the second location."

Dullahan confirmed, "I'll focus on basic training for the new ones, rotating them with the older ones for patrols on the eastern and southern borders. They need exposure, but supervised."

Rook and Dullahan went their separate ways. The outpost was now a hive of activity. Soldiers lined up at the supply crates, eagerly taking the new uniforms and weapons.

"Look at this rifle, Fane. It smells like oil and fire. Nothing like the powder we're used to," a soldier said, turning the Gewehr 71 over.

"And the uniform. It's actually comfortable. I won't lose a button every time I shoulder a log," another Ghoul replied, pulling on a canvas boot. "The blue coats were for show, these are for work."

"Better get used to it," a veteran soldier grunted, reloading his new rifle. "With this thing, we can actually hit what we aim at, not just scare it."

---------------------------

Later that afternoon, Karl, Leo, and Dolrik arrived at the residential zone, hopping off the pickup truck.

Karl stepped out, surveying the neat rows of two-story wooden houses built in a grid, all connected by a network of meticulously laid stone roads. "Wow, Vitro really went all out with this one. It's got that Wild West suburban vibe—minus the dust and the danger. Damn, this is fantastic work."

Leo agreed, shielding his eyes from the setting sun glinting off the windows. "It indeed is, My Lord. The speed with which Vitro's team works is quite impressive."

"How many houses does this have in total, again?" Karl asked, doing a quick mental calculation of housing capacity.

Leo consulted his datapad. "Since this is the initial foundation, it only has twenty-six two-story houses and ten apartment-sized buildings—also two stories. Enough to house our current workforce comfortably with room to grow."

Karl nodded. "Then all this residential zone needs now is a high-speed, well-paved highway connecting it directly to the dungeon."

Dolrik spoke up, scratching his chin. "My Lord, I've been thinking. With this many homes, what's the plan for electricity? Lighting, heating, perhaps refrigeration for the canteen?"

"Oh, yeah, right, I forgot," Karl admitted. He hadn't considered the utility grid yet. "While a power grid isn't a critical priority—we can use wood fires and mana lamps for now—I'll give you a side task, Dolrik. Design a comprehensive generator and capacitor system for the town."

Dolrik's eyes lit up. "That's wonderful, My Lord. I can handle that easily. Since we have ample access to shock stone and shock steel, we can design a direct electrical generator—a very powerful one."

Karl shook his head quickly. "No, that's not efficient, Dolrik. It's too wasteful on resources. Shock stones are expensive to craft, and that material needs to be reserved for high-end military applications. We need to think volume, not power density."

He paced a few steps. "How about you design a large-scale wind turbine farm or a steam-powered generator using elemental stones? We can just alternate cheap fire stones with standard lumber for the steam generator if need be. The central idea is to find a cheap, safe, and easily deployable alternative. You don't need to follow my examples, but your brief is simple: design a stable power source that is as cheap and resource-light as possible, utilizing magic or non-magic alternatives."

Dolrik's smile widened, accepting the challenge of cost-effective engineering. "Consider it done, My Lord. I will draft a few prototypes immediately."

As Karl, Leo, and Dolrik walked through the newly constructed residential zone, Karl gestured toward the grid of houses. "Talking about electricity, we'll need to have at least two substations spread toward the west and the east. Normally, large-scale power stations store electricity using hydroelectric pump-storage."

Karl paused to explain the concept. "In simple terms, they pump water from a lower reservoir toward an upper reservoir. When electricity is needed, the dams slowly release the water to be generated by turbines. It acts like a massive battery." He shook his head. "But since our terrain isn't suitable for that at the moment, we need a reliable way to store the energy."

Dolrik immediately offered a solution, his eyes alight with technical excitement. "My Lord, we can try the shock steel battery. Shock steel has a property that naturally stores energy. The thicker the metal is, the more energy we can store. That also applies to mixing shock stone alloy with normal steel. The more shock stone we incorporate in the crucible, the greater the shock steel's capacity to store and discharge energy."

"But how will you deal with the discharge?" Karl pressed, ever focused on control.

"We can tweak that using the arcstone circuits," Dolrik explained. "With a simple arcane circuit, we'll have a precise, controlled release of the energy. It's entirely safe."

Karl smiled, already envisioning a regional monopoly on power. "Alright, Dolrik, you add that to your to-do list. The initial generator is the immediate priority. The storage solution is secondary. For now, your first priority must be to keep assisting the DRIS and Vitro with the construction supplies. We can halt the production of firearms and ammunition temporarily."

Karl turned to Leo, his tone shifting back to military logistics. "How many stocks do we have on the Gewehr 71 and the old flintlocks?"

Leo, without missing a beat, pulled out a small, white notebook that perfectly matched his pristine suit. "My Lord, we have 674 pieces of the Gewehr 71 and 1,431 Kentucky flintlock long rifles."

"And the ammunition?"

"We have approximately 1,500 to 2,200 of the 11mm Mauser black powder cartridges for the Gewehr and roughly 8,000 to 10,000 black powder charges for the flintlocks."

Karl nodded. "That's going to be enough for now. What about the cannons? We need to have at least one set up on the southeast and one on the southwest border."

Leo reported, "We currently only have five of them in stock. We can ask Dolrik's apprentice to cast more, provided the materials are available."

"No, no, that's fine," Karl dismissed. "I'll have them prioritize the thick metal beams for the border fences instead. While we could set up a concrete castle wall, that's way too inefficient and costly. We can just set up a thick, layered metal fence which our soldiers can shoot through from the interior trenches."

He continued, laying out his production timeline. "As soon as the border security is done, I'll have to expand the civilian industry first with the Engineering Works facility to build more trucks, and of course, that means I have to summon new Ghouls with it and to populate the residential zone even more."

"Aren't you going to hire the living, My Lord?" Leo asked. "They could be useful laborers."

"Not at the moment," Karl said. "But we'll have the Kobold villagers from the Dark Forest arriving tomorrow. We can give them farming and construction jobs temporarily."

Karl frowned slightly. "Talking about them, why did they take so long to evacuate the Dark Forest? Didn't we warn Orkesh and our other Kobold employees that the entire forest is dangerous? A forest with a sulfurous fog and ponds that constantly pour out sulfurous clouds of smoke is a massive health risk."

Leo sighed, the logistics of dealing with the living often proving complex. "I warned them two months ago. The kobold employees left to assist for the evacuations, but it turns out that, the villagers are stubborn and needed to be convinced and persuaded. Then they finally started to believe the warnings after they started showing signs of extreme coughing, and some were even coughing up blood. After that, they finally decided to evacuate the abandoned village they found."

Karl rubbed his Lich temples. "Ahh… I understand. They had just lost their original homes to Orcs and found an abandoned village in the Dark Forest. That feeling of finding rest after days of walking... But an abandoned village is abandoned for a reason." He paused. "Sometimes you can only convince people when their lives are in imminent danger. No matter what world, it's all the same."

"Anyway, at the very least, our residential zone will temporarily be populated. Kobolds hate to rely on others for handouts, so they'll likely choose to rebuild their own village eventually. Tomorrow, we'll offer them work: farming, construction labor, or enlisting as one of our soldier."

Leo suggested, "Why not assign them as workers to our factories and workshops, My Lord? That's where the real efficiency gains are."

"Nahh," Karl scoffed. "It's too risky for now. Besides, they're not as adaptive at learning complex tasks as we ghouls are, and they need rest. You might overwork them accidentally."

"Ahh… that is indeed a problem," Leo conceded. "While we do have the option to eat now that we've regained our five senses, eating isn't a requirement since we aren't exactly 'alive' anymore."

Karl smiled wryly. "Exactly. Hence why I insisted on building these residential zones. It is a requirement for you ghouls to have a break time to experience being alive again, or else you get… creative."

Leo looked confused. "Creative, My Lord?"

Karl leaned in conspiratorially. "I just saw two people having sex behind a staircase on this morning. And get this: I was checking the inventory in the main storage room and I saw eight Ghouls having an orgy, or something, and three other guys playing cards during work time."

Leo's composure cracked, and his eyes widened. "Shall I list their names and issue a punishment, My Lord? Such conduct during working hours is unacceptable."

"No! That's not what I meant," Karl chuckled. "I mean we have to assign a break time and leisure period from now on. At most, twelve hours a day of rest, as well as a monthly salary, overtime pay, and all that human (or Ghoul) resources stuff. We have to keep our employees happy and productive."

Leo, pulling out his notebook again, began furiously scribbling the new policy. "We will have to assign who is on night shift and who is on day shift."

"Yeah, and we'll rotate that every month to keep it fair," Karl added. "Speaking of quality of life, should we put one grocery store in this zone?"

"Absolutely, My Lord," Leo said. "Although it's not necessary for our survival, many Ghouls still like to eat and taste food, like myself."

"What about a pub, My Lord?" Dolrik chimed in.

"That might also be a good idea," Karl mused. "The essentials of an after-work hang-out. Recreation and stuff. Hence why we need a commercial zone for these things. It benefits not only our Ghouls but also our Beastkin visitors. But of course, we still need to reinforce the security of our border and our military first."

Leo sighed contentedly. "In my estimatate, it would take us three months just to lay the foundation for a commercial zone as well as to finalize the new policy and changes."

"Well, that's that, then. Let's not rush things. Come on, let's go back." As they turned back towards the pickup truck.

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