Equipment Printing School Mage

Sig blinked: [He said we are from the hall.]

[What hall people? How come we don't know. ]

Then, Karkoros turned and said to Emiya and the others, "Then, please allow me to introduce Karl Ola, one of the Flaming Fist. He is the only one in the Flaming Fist who truly keeps his word and no one dares to offend him. Even when Slani was still around, no one dared to speak loudly in his presence."

"Simply put—he's in charge of the entire Flaming Fist's logistics. All public funds must be approved by him, and all of the Flaming Fist's warehouses are under his management."

"But if the Marshal insists, as long as it's not a matter of principle, I have no choice but to give in." Ola snorted coldly, then glared at Karkoros angrily. "When Slani was here, you were well-known throughout the Flame Fist, otherwise you wouldn't have been appointed as the acting Marshal. Why did your style become like this when you were in charge alone?!"

"Ridiculous." Karkoros had no intention of giving in. "I've long felt that Slani is often too timid and compromises with reality too often. Now that I'm in charge, it's natural that I have the final say. Besides, I can't make decisions without you. If I make a mistake, then you can't shirk responsibility."

"——" Ola obviously had something to say, so before he spoke, he looked at the people of Emia for the second time.

"Obviously, they're trying to get rid of us. After all, these are the two most powerful members of the Flame Fist. There's really no reason for us to listen to their conversation." Sig curled his lips. "Although you asked me to come here to negotiate, you don't need me to teach you such basic skills as reading people's expressions."

Even if Emilia was not very worldly-wise, she would at least be able to see this.

He sighed and bowed to the two highest-ranking members of the Flame Fist: "Well, it's already late tonight, let's come back tomorrow to pay our respects—"

"It's not necessary."

At this moment, Karkoros waved his hand in front of Ola's shocked eyes: "Karl, just say it."

"Tomorrow?" Ola was stunned for a moment, then immediately flew into a rage. "Carcoros, you'd better not push your luck! There are some things we must keep secret even from them!"

Emilia was about to speak, but was interrupted by Karkoros who spoke first.

Karkoros' attitude was unusually firm. He slammed the table heavily and said, "No problem, just say it. They are just representatives."

"...You'd better know what you are doing!" Ola looked at Emiya with dissatisfaction, snorted heavily, turned his head away, and pretended that they didn't exist.

He coughed lightly and took a deep breath. "I just discovered that several of our previous orders have encountered some minor, but extremely fatal, problems at this moment."

Karkoros's face darkened. "Fatal? That's too strong a word. And don't you think I'm incredibly reliable?"

"I was careless, too." Ola sighed regretfully. "I have several subordinates I trust very much. They have never made any mistakes in their work over the years. But it just so happened that during this period, problems arose one after another with the orders they were responsible for."

"what is the problem?"

Ola was silent for a moment, then looked at Emiya and her group again.

This time, Karkoros's answer was still firm: "Ola, I said, no problem."

"...Ah." Flame Fist's logistics officer, Ranyan, sighed heavily. "Let me state my verdict directly—Flame Fist is effectively bankrupt. For the next period of time, we'll even have trouble paying salaries. I definitely won't be able to pay the bonuses you announced publicly unless we start borrowing money."

Just hearing this one sentence, not only the current Flame Fist Commander, but even Emiya and his group were instantly shocked.

"--Wait a minute!" Karkoros, who had been calm at first, suddenly started coughing. He stood up abruptly, closed the windows and door of the office, stroked his chest, and began to breathe heavily.

"...What happened?! I admit that I always spend money with only enough for a month's worth of food, and I know that the Flame Fist is under immense financial pressure. But you've never been the one to force every policy through! From financial hardship to outright bankruptcy, what's the difference between the two?"

"This is what I'm going to say next—the Flame Fist wouldn't have suddenly fallen to this point."

Carl Ola Ranyan took a deep breath. "In the past few days, Flame Fist has received several nightmarish news in succession. Even if any one of them hadn't happened, Flame Fist wouldn't have fallen to this point, but they all happened at the same time."

"First, and seemingly least important, a large caravan from the Calimshan Fram Chamber of Commerce disappeared at sea. Apparently, to save on hiring spellcasters, they chose a relatively smooth route, less prone to storms. Despite this, the caravan still disappeared. Meanwhile, the Chamber of Commerce was squeezed out by competitors, its funding chain shattered, and it has declared bankruptcy."

Carl Ola slammed his hand on the table. "We just signed a long-term escort contract two months ago. To make this deal happen, we agreed to let the Chamber of Commerce pay us every three months. The good news is that the Flame Fist wasn't responsible for the caravan's disappearance, so at least we don't have to bear the cost of new equipment and pensions. The bad news is that the payment that was originally scheduled for next month, as well as future payments, have all gone up in smoke. Let's put it this way, we've lost 50,000 gold coins."

"Ah, what a misfortune." The Marshal's deputy pondered for a moment, "But it seems that such accidents are not unprecedented."

"Yes. Shipping is like this. You either give up a large amount of profit to the caster to ensure shipping safety, or you take a huge risk. Now the risk has come to you, which is a very common misfortune - the problem is what happens next." Ola slammed the table. "Chult Fortress is suddenly in danger. You know this."

Chult, the southwesternmost region of Faerun, is already tropical, and as seen in the Sharptooth Forest, it is teeming with wildlife and home to a large number of lizardmen. It's also said to harbor traces of ancient snakemen—and, of course, even dinosaurs.

The Flame Fist intends to travel across half of Faerun to get there, so the cost will naturally be huge.

Karkoros replied matter-of-factly, "I have no sympathy for this kind of expedition. The Church of Heim was able to cross the ocean to burn, kill, and plunder. They say they recovered tens of millions of gold coins, but didn't the church and the gods themselves still perish?" The deputy marshal sneered. "Now we're traveling thousands, even tens of thousands of kilometers, to maintain an expeditionary force in a fortress in the rainforest, letting the Flaming Fist soldiers farm, hunt, and prospect for minerals there—it's simply laughable! If anything goes wrong, I'd say canceling the plan would be the best option—it's just that there are so many interests involved that I can't object."

"I don't comment on your point, but the problem right now is that we've lost contact with three supply teams in a row, and the Flaming Fist soldiers there have reported that their armaments are severely depleted and in urgent need of supplies. If we don't urgently send more supply teams, those soldiers will probably starve to death in Chult."

Karkoros said expressionlessly, "Isn't that a good opportunity to get them back?"

Ola replied, "Even Slani can't make such an important decision arbitrarily—and you, as an acting marshal, are even less qualified."

"That's all I can do," Karkoros waved his hand. "It wouldn't be hard for me to transport those unfortunate people stationed in Chult. But transporting their supplies for several months? I'm incapable of that. And if word gets out, I'm afraid I'll be dead in the Ocean Tower soon."

"So, this is the problem." Ola slammed the table. "Now, we have to urgently hire a fleet and purchase a large amount of supplies: food, horse feed, consumables needed by priests, spare weapons and equipment - damn, the prices of these things in Baldur's Gate have risen to almost higher than Wang Yang himself, and the reason is precisely that a certain marshal's agent has been making large purchases in Baldur's Gate recently! I've never heard of anyone hoarding goods and raising their own prices!"

The Flaming Fist's logistics commander was clearly furious. He lunged at Karkoros and slammed his desk. "What's even more terrifying is that the port of Baldur's Gate has been incredibly busy lately. If we want to contact a fleet immediately, we'll have to resort to brute force! Do you know how expensive such a caravan would be? One hundred thousand gold coins! One hundred thousand! We've already lost a hundred and fifty thousand gold coins! Do you know how much the High Hall allocates to us each year?!"

"Calm down, calm down!" Karkoros held his shoulders and soothed him. "Actually, aren't the people of the Gond Church already working overtime to replace their weapons and equipment? I'll have the armor from the warehouse shipped over first. Those in the city can just wait for the latest protective gear."

And Ola snorted coldly: "--Mr. Elios de Karkoros, let me ask, do you know anything about armor?"

The Marshal's deputy thought for a moment and replied, "Rogues wear leather armor, and fighters wear heavy or medium armor. The worst medium armor is chain mail, and the best is half-plate armor. The worst heavy armor is chain mail, and the best is full-body plate armor—that's all right, isn't it?

"The Gond Church gave us two standard plate armor work cycles. Old Gutenberg said it was impossible for everyone to start working at the same time—many Gond priests don't know how to be blacksmiths, so two work cycles is the limit. So I agreed."

"This is a big problem!" Karl Ola shouted. "Do you know how long it takes to make a full set of plate armor? At the fastest, it will take half a month, and in reality it will probably take much longer than that. In other words, this set of plate armor will not be able to be put into storage for at least a month. And you, Karkoros, previously signed a contract with the Watchers, another guard team at Baldur's Gate. In the contract, they agreed to purchase our Flaming Fist's old armor at a discount, correct?"

Karkoros had already sensed something was amiss. He asked, puzzled, "What's going on? With better armor available, who would still want to wear chain mail? Thousands of suits will just sit there rusting away. Wouldn't it be best if we could sell them? It's hard to find someone who's willing to take advantage of this."

"On the surface, that's the case, but unfortunately, there are big problems with the contract."

"what is the problem?"

Ola sighed deeply. "I've carefully studied the contract. It contains a clause about purchasing a fixed quantity of one thousand sets of armor: the armor must be made of steel, fit snugly, be comfortable to wear without causing fatigue, and have no visible damage."

Karkoros asked in confusion, "...So? What's the problem? It's normal to have these requirements for things you wear, right? I definitely ask for these when buying ordinary clothes. I can't sell something that's uncomfortable and badly damaged."

As soon as these words were spoken, all those present who had some knowledge of similar matters sighed in unison.

Mars, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke up. "Your Excellency, Acting Marshal, you've probably never worn armor, let alone understood the differences between them. In fact, the comfort levels of different armors vary greatly, and it's likely difficult to change them simply by adjusting the style."

Emiya sighed. "The most fatal thing is, isn't the protective gear used by most Flame Fist soldiers still primarily chainmail? This kind of armor is hot in the summer and cool in the winter, and the weight distribution is unreasonable. No matter how you adjust it, it can't be considered comfortable."

The paladin patted his chest. "By comparison, plate armor of the same weight is much more comfortable. With all due respect, if you include that clause, the contract you signed might mean you must provide the buyer with a thousand sets of plate armor within a certain timeframe. Chain mail is absolutely out of the question..."

At this point, a strange smile appeared on Xige's face. "In the Flame Fist's warehouse, are there enough armor other than chain mail to cover a thousand sets?"

"Of course it's not enough!" Ola immediately concluded. "Only those with a military rank of Iron Hand or above will be issued scale armor, and only those with a rank of Jingwei or above will be issued plate armor based on their merit. There are only a hundred spare sets of armor in the warehouse! Even if we stripped all the armor of the mid- and high-level Flame Fist soldiers, we would still owe others nine hundred sets of armor. This means we have to buy a thousand sets of armor at this time of high prices, and then sell them to others at a damn discount! What's even more terrifying is that if we're not efficient enough in acquiring armor, we'll have to pay additional liquidated damages! And we only have ten days left!"

At this point, Ola's rage could no longer be contained. She rushed forward and grabbed Karkoros by the collar. "So! Do you understand what's happening now?! If we can't request emergency funding from the Council of Four tomorrow, the Flame Fist will soon be unable to afford even firewood for cooking!"

At this moment, Emiya asked in her heart: "Ms. Sig, what kind of reward do you think I can get if I help solve the problem at this time?"

[Eh? Eh?] Sig was stunned for a moment. [Isn't this already a dead end? How can you help?]

[You just need to tell me whether this deal is possible or not.]

Thirty-two Profane Alliances

Flame Fist is in a desperate situation right now, so naturally there will be people celebrating.

The Eltoril people were now following Grand Duke Valakan's troops, heading north along the Bay Avenue. However, this former public road had been completely swallowed up by the outer city.

Amid the clatter of horseshoes hitting the solid stone pavement, Jesus Valacken quietly reined in his horse and silently retreated to the end of the group, riding alongside the leader, Rex. He asked with a smile, "Sir, this evening has been filled with surprises. According to our original plan, tonight's debate should have been even more dramatic. But now, it seems like I'm just an innkeeper who happened to pass by and managed to snag a guest from Flying Dragon Rock."

Rex didn't smile. Instead, he replied indifferently, "I'm sorry, but that group of adventurers arrived so unexpectedly, and every word they spoke about was based on life, kindness, and the honor of Elturgard... As Eltoril's emissary, I could only agree at the time. Ultimately, this conflict itself was a reckless act. It's not necessarily a bad thing that it ended peacefully like this."

"Humph, I'm not the one who should listen to this."

"Heh." Facing Jesus' rebuttal, Rex did not comment and just smiled.

In this somewhat incoherent exchange, the cavalry teams in front and behind the two of them could only look at each other in bewilderment.

Soon, their destination came into view.

The Outer City was a place where refugees gathered and settled, a place where people who had reached the end of their rope came together to lick their wounds. Therefore, Rivington should have been representative of the entire Outer City. Even in the more affluent areas, the living conditions there could not compare to those in the Inner City.

However, there is one exception.

"...Castle?" Rex looked at the end of his vision.

There, a high wall or castle lit by torches stands proudly among many low buildings, like a date palm tree thriving in an oasis.

Rex was so shocked by the scene that he pulled the reins and stopped his horse. "There's such a place in the outer city?"

"The Outer City wasn't built in a day. It's almost been a hundred years since the Scourge. The people of the Outer City must start a new life." Jesus turned his horse's head and spread his arms. "Everyone, during the Scourge, the refugees from the south went through untold hardships and finally escaped the scourge's pursuit, settling down in an unaffected city. Unfortunately, although this city was large, it couldn't accommodate the refugees, who were several times the number of residents. Ultimately, the refugees were forced to struggle for survival outside the city, and all their belongings slipped through their fingers like sand."

"Eventually, these once wealthy and powerful people gathered together and established numerous settlements outside Baldur's Gate. This was the last bit of dignity the refugees managed to preserve—although, compared to the buildings in their hometowns, it was still so shabby it would make their former compatriots laugh."

However, the style of the building in front of him was very different from that of the Sword Coast - from the faintly visible green gems used to decorate the top of the round tower, it could be seen that the builder was definitely not someone who lived in the central land of Faerun.

Rex glanced back at his hesitant subordinates and asked, "What is the name of this... castle?"

This was a perfectly common question, yet Valakn hesitated for a moment. Then, pretending to be nonchalant, he asked, "Is this important? We just created it to flatter ourselves."

Rex, however, seemed not to understand the refusal in the words and insisted, "Go ahead and tell me."

Jesus glanced at the dark El Toril cavalry, swallowed, and whispered, "...Little Karinshan."

Karin... Shan?!

This country's reputation is well-known throughout Faerun, but it is definitely not a good reputation.

There's one thing about this realm that most other Faerun nations find intolerable: slavery is still legal in Calimshan. Genies have long held the reins of power in Calimshan, to the point where Genigen, the offspring of humans and elementals, are ubiquitous.

——And in such a country, humans who are especially wealthy and powerful... naturally have close ties with the giants of Calimshan.

Of course, what makes the people of Faerun in most areas extremely uncomfortable is that they may also become slaves of the Calimshans.

As soon as this name came out, the faces of the people of Elturgard changed almost immediately. The troops that were originally advancing stopped in their tracks and put their hands on the weapons at their waists at the same time.

Rex glanced back calmly and scolded, "Don't be ridiculous! Just because it's called Little Calimshan doesn't mean all the residents there are Calimshans, and it certainly doesn't mean that the people there will still act like Calimshans decades later!"

However, the Calimshans have long been a notorious threat in Faerun. Even though they suffered a brief setback during the Arcane Blight, they have gradually recovered in recent years. This is far from being something that can be dismissed with just a few words. Rex looked at his hesitant subordinates, sighed helplessly, and turned to Valakn. "Well, is there any reliable shelter nearby? I'll take them there first."

Valakn answered without hesitation, "There's a large hotel called the White Castle on our way here. It has dozens of excellent rooms. I've already asked, and they have plenty of vacancies tonight."

Such a compromise was reluctantly accepted by the people of Elturgard, but the back and forth delays took a lot of time, so that when Rex appeared alone outside the gate of Little Calimshan again, even the moon had already set below the horizon.

There, Jesus Valraken sighed, "—It's not easy. Being an emissary of Elturgard, maintaining your identity publicly, and secretly acting as a liaison between the Gods and the Non-Gods, playing the self-proclaimed righteous Elturgard in circles... It was incredibly difficult for me to play charades with you earlier."

"I'm used to it. I don't feel tired. Although the unexpected appearance of those adventurers was definitely beyond my expectations." Rex asked calmly, "Is Raphael here?"

Jesus shrugged. "You are the last one to arrive at this meeting. Even the Red Mage arrived earlier than you."

Rex remained calm. "As long as we don't resort to violence, Karkoros will simply be the Flaming Fist's acting Marshal. After all, the position of acting Marshal doesn't offer him any particular benefits, so the slow death of the Flaming Fist won't truly irritate him."

"So, for the current Flame Fist, whether I arrive earlier or later, the outcome will be the same."

Thirty-three Equipment Copy School Mage

"—Can you help rescue the Flame Fist from this predicament?"

Hearing Emilia's words, Karkoros' voice obviously hesitated for a moment: "Can you contact her now? She might be able to provide help, but can you make the final decision on her behalf?"

Ola simply shook his head. "Young man, the entire Flame Fist organization is grateful for your speaking out now. But with such a large difference, no matter who's behind you, you need to carefully consider it."

At this point, he snorted coldly and glanced at Karkoros: "—Even if the great wizard next to him started auctioning off his wealth and performing arts, it would still be difficult to raise this amount."

Calcoros lay back in his seat and answered without mercy, "I've only ever taken my salary from the Flame Fist. Beyond that, I haven't touched a blade of grass or a tree. Conversely, my own income has nothing to do with the Flame Fist. Someone is deliberately attacking the Flame Fist with a large number of spellcasters. Fine, I'll investigate, even take action. But now you want me to pay out of my own pocket? No way."

"Ha, it's really confusing to hear such words coming from the lavishly spending Marshal of Flame Fist." Ola waved his hand and continued to say to Emiya, "In short, young man, this sentence should not come from your mouth, and it should not appear here and now - you can report it now. I hope we can hear the same answer at the four-person meeting tomorrow."

Emiya raised an eyebrow. "Two Burning Flames, you may have misunderstood. What I just said was not a representative of someone else, but a personal suggestion. I, Emiya of Lunya, know a little about creation. If you are willing, I am willing to provide paid assistance."

"...understand creation?" Ola hesitated and turned to Karkoros. "It seems that mages who truly understand creation are quite rare, right?"

"Mages who can write scrolls are everywhere, but those who truly understand creation are rare... I only know how to copy scrolls." Karkoros waved his hand. "The main problem is that buyers willing and able to purchase magical items aren't everywhere, and the initial investment costs can't be saved. The investment a mage puts into their job is already expensive enough."

The old wizard sighed. "After all, what we need most right now isn't actually magic items. Arming the Flaming Fist soldiers with magic weapons and magic armor is far too expensive, even I haven't considered it. Therefore, normal creation abilities are useless to us."

Emiya answered seriously, "But I do know how to make weapons and armor—or rather, I've only made weapons and armor so far."

"A wizard who can craft armor and weapons! Ha! Hahahahaha!" Karkoros was stunned for a moment, then the elderly wizard couldn't help but burst out laughing for the first time. "You... you're really bold! In all my decades of life and experience, I've never heard of a wizard who can craft armor and weapons!"

He pinched his gray beard, coughed a few times, and tried to suppress his laughter. "Sorry, sorry, this incident is too rare, I couldn't help it the first time, and I didn't mean to be sarcastic... Mr. Emiya? Can you tell me your school of thought?"

"Shaping energy."

Karkoros was stunned for a moment, then pressed his brows hard: "Shape...Shape energy?!"

Suddenly, the great wizard couldn't contain his laughter and kept patting his legs. "You said you were a mage of the Transmutation School, so there's still a chance of that happening. Evocation? That would be possible only if the equipment replicators in your Evocation School belong to it! Although, I think even if such a school exists, it must be affiliated with the Transmutation School."

Meanwhile, Ola tried hard to maintain a straight face, his face still twitching. "Mr. Emiya, this isn't something you can easily decide. I'd appreciate it if you could discuss the final plan with your commander or superiors before discussing it with us."

Karkoros, who was standing aside, was already laughing to the point of being out of breath. He had just stood up from his seat, staggering a little, and almost fell back on his seat again from laughing so hard.

He clutched his chest, trying not to die of laughter. "How old are you? Considering your age, you're already quite talented to be a full-fledged mage. Even if you come from a blacksmith's family, you must have been a very young apprentice to a mage, never even holding a hammer. And now you're telling me you're a gifted mage, capable of crafting hundreds of suits of armor in just a few days?"

At this point, Karkoros waved his hand with unwavering resolve. "It's a good thing for young people to have ambition and confidence... Anyway, tomorrow at noon, the Council of Four will begin its meeting in the Supreme Hall, and the various factions will use the morning to discuss and process the afternoon's agenda. We'll see you then. Thank you for your hard work tonight, coming to Flying Dragon Rock late at night to help Flame Fist. Flame Fist will remember this kindness."