The g of metal echoed through the workshop as the steam engine roared to life, its intricate meisms in perfect sync. The piston moved rhythmically, driving a spring-powered veyor belt that pulled iron sbs into the furnace. Each sb was heated until molten, then drawn out by a timer-trolled meism. The molten iron was swiftly shaped into arrows, hammered with the rapid force of the steam engine’s powerful thrust, and cooled into steel.

  One by ohe newly fed arrows were dropped into ice water with meical precision. The bcksmith apprentices, armed with tongs and keen eyes, carefully retrieved the arrows, iing eae for imperfes. The entire process moved like clockwork, a testament to weeks of relentless work and innovation.

  In the viewing area, a small crowd had gathered to withe marvel. Ravenna stood at the forefront, her pierg gaze locked oeam engine as it worked. Beside her were Marie, Alice, Sarah, Priest James, and a handful of other priests and knights.

  The room buzzed with awe and disbelief.

  “I... It actually moves on its own! And without using flowers fic!” James excimed, his voice filled with wonder as he stepped closer to the traption.

  Marie’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she approached the mae. “It’s making arrows all by itself!” she said, her voice tinged with childlike amazement.

  Alice, standing nearby, nodded in approval. “Mr. Nille, you’ve truly outdone yourself—and everyone here,” she said, her voice steady and warm, cutting through the hum of the workshop.

  Sarah and the other onlookers were too stuo speak, their expressions a mixture of astonishment and admiration as they watched the steam eirelessly fe arrows.

  Meanwhile, Ravenna turo Nille. His face was worn, dark circles under his eyes a testament to the tless sleepless nights he and his team had endured. She addressed him directly, her tone measured but firm.

  “You fi just in time. I know everyone is exhausted, but...”

  hough visibly apprehensive in her presence, met her gaze. Despite his fear of Ravenna, his for his workers outweighed his trepidation. “Yhness,” he begaantly, “my men need rest. We’ve been w tirelessly, jumping from one project to another without pause. I ’t push them any further, not without risking their health.”

  Ravenna’s eyes narrowed as her lips tightened. For a brief moment, tension filled the air. But then she exhaled, regaining her posure. Her voice softehough it carried the weight of authority.

  “The steam engine will free up much of your workload. What I need now is retively simple: create more equipment that allows the steam eo mass produce ons—not just arrows. Have the bcksmiths who are less fatigued hahis.”

  “But, Yhness...” arted to protest, his voice faltering.

  Ravenna cut him off, her voice rising with urgency. “There is a war ing to this isnd, he lives of our people are at stake!” Her deep bck eyes burned with iy as she stepped closer, her words sharp and unyielding. “I promise you, the bcksmiths will have their long-overdue rest. But right now, we don’t have the luxury of time. If we don’t prepare, everyone on this isnd will be dead anyway.”

  Nille froze, her words hitting him like a hammer. The severity of her tone, bined with the revetion of an impending attack, left him momentarily speechless.

  Alice, standing nearby, was equally taken aback. She hadn’t expected Ravenna to reveal such critical information so openly.

  After a long pause, Nille swallowed hard and nodded. “I... I will do my best to have it finished,” he said, his voice filled with a newfouermination. Though he didn’t fully uand the details of the looming threat, he could feel its weight bearing down on them. If Ravenna was this desperate, then the danger was far greater than he had imagined.

  Ravenna nodded in aowledgment, her expression softening slightly. “Thank you, Nille. Your efforts won’t be fotten,” she said, her voice ced with genuine gratitude.

  Meanwhile, at a vast, dimly lit warehouse he harbor of Ronin Town, Mainnd Ana

  The air was damp and cold, carrying the faint stench of saltwater and decay. Ihe sprawling structure was a cargo unlike any other: sves. This warehouse, one of many owned by the infamous crime syndicate Hercules and hosted by the Ronin family, typically served as a temporary holding station. Normally, sves were divided into smaller groups, ed up in separate warehouses across the town, and discreetly transported to au houses. However, this time, an unusual ge in protocol had taken pce—all the captives had been brought to this massive warehouse.

  Bradon sat in a cramped, filthy cell, his wrists chafed from the heavy iron shackles binding him. The faint glow of nterns flickered across the damp stone walls, casting eerie shadows on the faces of the ensved. Yet, for the first time in months, a flicker of something other than despair flickered in his heart.

  He wasn’t alone.

  In the same cell, his wife Cami and their 20-year-old son Samuel sat close, their presence a bittersweet fort. They had been torn from their vilge months ago, ripped from their lives by the Hercules syndicate. For most of that time, they had been separated, fio different warehouses with no way to know if the others were even alive. But st night, everything had ged.

  The guards, for reasons still unclear, had begun gathering all the sves from across Ronin Town, bringing them to this single, massive warehouse. For Brandon, this ued move had reunited him with his family.

  “Father, do you see anything?” Samuel asked in a hushed tone, his voice tinged with both curiosity and unease. Bradon stood he cell bars, peering through the gaps at the activity in the warehouse.

  “The guards are still bringing more people in,” Bradon murmured, his brow furrowed in thought. “It’s strahey were always so cautious before—keeping us separated, moving us in small, quiet groups. But now...”

  “Maybe they’re pnning a rger au than usual,” Cami suggested, her voice soft but steady. Despite the gravity of their situation, she tried to offer a sliver of optimism.

  Bradon nodded slightly, though his unease didn’t fade. “That could be it,” he admitted. “Maybe... maybe we’ll even be kept together this time.”

  Samuel, however, wasn’t vinced. “It doesn’t add up,” he said, his sharp eyes sing the bustling guards. “They always went out of their way to split up families and friends, making sure no one who knew each other could be bought together. Why ge that now?”

  It was a valid point, but before Bradon could respond, their grim refles were interrupted. A heavy-set guard strode toward the cells, the distinct, sickly green glow of a Filet Flower in his hand. The flower’s crushed petals released a faint, shimmering mist that activated the servitude spells embedded in the ented colrs worn by every sve.

  Bradohe familiar, suffog weight press down on him as the spell took hold, f obedieo his very bones.

  The guard’s voice barked through the air, sharp and anding. “Form a line! You’re b the ship—move, and do it quietly!”

  Bradon’s heart sank as he processed the and. A ship? That was new. In the past, the sves were moved discreetly by carriages, transported to nearby towns or au houses. But this—this was somethiirely different.

  “A ship?” Bradon muttered under his breath, his mind rag. “Where could they be taking us now?”

  Cami’s eyes darted toward him, worry etched into her features. “Do you think they’re moving us farther away?” she whispered.

  Samuel g the guards herding the other sves out of their cells. “Wherever they’re taking us, it’s not close,” he said grimly. “They wouldn’t need a ship otherwise.”

  The guard struck the bars with the hilt of his sword, making an ear-pierg g. “I said MOVE!” he snarled.

  Without a choice, Bradon, Cami, and Samuel shuffled out of the cell, joining the growing line of captives. s ked with every step as they followed the guards’ orders. Outside, the cold night air bit at their skin. Dockworkers and armed sentries moved briskly, preparing a rge, ominous-looking ship moored in the harbor.

  Bradon couldn’t shake the gnawing sense of dread g at his chest. Whatever y ahead, it wasn’t good. Yet as he looked at his wife and son walking beside him, he g to ohought: no matter what, he would protect them.

  For now, all they could do was obey and pray for a ce to escape.

  Read 12+ Advance Chapters by being a Patron : 42. Defensive Measures Part 1