Fredrinn Firecrown: The Weakest Villain

"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Roland and Fredrinn bowed deeply at the man on the throne. Seeing this, Argus followed suit.

Seated on the throne was a man who looked to be in his forties. He has short golden hair and a pair of penetrating ocean-blue eyes. He wore a stern look as he observed them. This person had the appearance of a tiger-like man. He was the current ruler of the Star Wind Kingdom, King Vulcanus Starwind!

"I've heard that you have something to report. You may speak freely." The king's voice rang like thunder within the throne room.

Fredrinn had never been this nervous before. 'So this is what it feels like to face someone so powerful!' He didn't dare lift his head.

"Your Majesty, we came here to inform you about what we discovered in Red Sun City…" Roland paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "During our battle with the traitorous Blackcrow Household, we discovered that the siege weapon they used was created by the Blue Sky Kingdom. It was an advanced weapon called artillery…"

"Get to the point." The king frowned.

Roland nodded, sweat trickling down his face. "I'm afraid that the Blue Sky Kingdom is already mass-producing the siege machine. Once those destructive machines are introduced on the battlefield, our army will face catastrophic losses! Your Majesty, we need to prepare some countermeasures before they bring those war weapons into the battlefield."

The king tapped his fingers on the armrest of the throne. "This siege machine that you are talking about. Did you bring it with you?"

Roland nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. It's inside my storage device." He replied without hiding the truth.

"Bring the item here." The king sent a look to the muscular man with the broadsword on his back.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The man summoned the royal guard responsible for keeping the storage items. He then handed the items to Roland. "Don't do anything foolish." He whispered to Roland.

Roland took a deep breath as he nodded. He then took out the artillery from his storage device and laid it down on the floor. "This is the siege machine, Your Majesty. It was destroyed in our battle. We did our best to repair it, but without the refining method, we weren't able to fix it to its original state and specifications." He muttered in shame.

The king stood up and walked down from his throne. The two flashily-dressed royal guards walked one step behind him while keeping their eyes on the trio.

King Vulcanus observed the siege weapon up close with a look of interest.

A moment later,  he went back to his throne and said. "Bring the old blacksmith here."

Fredrinn didn't know what was on the king's mind. He could only hope that whoever he summoned was capable enough to tell how dangerous the artillery was.

A few minutes later, the double doors of the throne room slowly opened. The person who arrived was a muscular, but short old man. He had a human-like appearance, except for his long ears and slightly reddish skin. This was the unique characteristic of a certain species, the dwarves.

[Void Tempering 1st Phase]

[Doros Steelarms] Favorability: 0

Fredrinn was stunned when he saw the name of the old dwarf. 'It's actually him!'

Doros was an important figure in the Star Wind Kingdom. Even the supreme household respected him. This was because he was the only Grandmaster-rank Blacksmith in the kingdom! Almost all the legendary-rated items that circulated in the kingdom were his creations!

When he was still a player, he didn't even have the opportunity to meet this high-ranking figure. He never thought that he would see Doros.

"Your Majesty!" Doros bowed deeply at the king.

"Doros, please inspect that machine and tell me your thoughts." The king instructed as he pointed at the artillery.

"Alright." Doros nodded. He then walked over to the artillery and began his inspection.

"From the design, it looks like an improved version of a cannon, but because of the array formations engraved on its body, it is more destructive and has a longer range. Even to a Nascent Soul martial practitioner, this thing could be dangerous.

Where did you get this, Your Majesty?" Doros only briefly inspected the artillery, but he already managed to identify the array formations and its mechanisms.

"Do you think it can be mass-produced?" The king asked.

"That's possible." Doros nodded while rubbing his chin. "If you give me some time to study it in detail, I should be able to replicate it even if we don't have the refining method."

Hearing this, the king smirked. "Then you have to convince them. That machine is their property."

Doros turned his head to Roland's group and smiled at them.

"We are willing to give this machine to the royal family," Roland said without hesitation. He didn't even bother to bargain with the old dwarf.

"You're one smart guy." Doros laughed when he heard this.

The king was pleased with Roland's decision. "In that case, I will accept your gift. Doros, please take it back to your smithy to be studied."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Doros bowed and left with the artillery.

"You have done a great service to the kingdom! It was only recently that you destroyed a rebel family and now, you even brought the siege machine. Tell me what you want. You deserve a reward." The king smiled, looking like he was in a good mood.

Giving the artillery was indeed the best choice, just like what his son had predicted.

"Your Majesty, please promote my Firecrown Household into a dukedom." Roland raised his head with a determined expression.

The king was taken aback. He raised his eyebrows. "No wonder you brought that gentleman behind you. This must have been your goal from the very start."

Roland felt nervous when he heard this, but he was already prepared to answer. "Your Majesty, we would like to join the battle in Mount Roshar, but with our current strength, we won't be of much help. The only solution I could think of was to increase our manpower. To do that, our household needs to become a dukedom!"

Hearing this, the king's eyes flashed with imperceptible light. "I see…"