44: Chapter 44: Using Rum and KPIs to Undermine the Dwarf Kingdom

"Go do it," Levi's voice was calm and clear, as if issuing the most ordinary command. "In the private name of Elder Odin, through the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce, send an invitation to a 'New Era Forging Technology Seminar' to all registered blacksmiths and runic apprentices in the Deeprock Kingdom."

Evelyn's violet eyes flickered slightly, instantly grasping Levi's intention.

She didn't ask further, merely bowed gracefully, her figure retreating like a wisp of smoke, disappearing into the shadows of the doorway.

This succubus assistant's execution was always as reliable as the most precise machinery.

Elder Odin snorted, neither approving nor disapproving of Levi using his name.

His mind was no longer on these trivial matters.

His head was filled with the technical blueprint described in that report, a design as mad as a devil's whisper yet full of deadly allure.

"Where is my laboratory?" The old dwarf asked directly, a hint of impatience in his tone that even he hadn't noticed.

"It has long been prepared for you, please follow me." Levi's smile was as warm as ever, and he personally led this living legend through the castle's thick stone corridors.

When a massive gate, cast from black iron and inscribed with soundproofing and anti-prying runes, slowly rose before Odin, even this grandmaster, accustomed to the magnificent forges of the Deeprock Kingdom, couldn't help but catch his breath.

Behind the door was not the smoke-filled workshop he had imagined, but a vast space, almost luxuriously spacious.

Bright magic crystals were embedded in the high dome, illuminating the room as if it were daytime.

On rows of neat shelves, rare metals he had only seen in ancient scrolls were stacked—Star Iron, Mithril Ingots, Molten Heart Ore... The sheer variety and abundance made his weathered heart pound uncontrollably.

What made his eyes widen even more was the enormous experimental platform in the center of the room, polished from a single block of obsidian.

On it, various models of forging hammers, carving tools with precision comparable to elven craftsmanship, and dozens of different magical crucibles and alchemical devices were all present.

There was no pungent smell of coal smoke in the air, only a faint, intoxicating scent of magic elements mixed with metal.

This wasn't like a laboratory; it was more like a sanctuary prepared for the God of Forging.

Levi didn't disturb him, just stood quietly to the side.

He knew that for such a technology fanatic, no amount of sweet talk could compare to a laboratory filled with top-tier "toys."

Odin reached out his calloused hand, trembling as he caressed a fist-sized piece of Star Iron, which shimmered with a faint blue glow.

The cold, heavy touch made his entire body's blood boil.

"These... are all for me to use?" he asked without turning his head, his voice hoarse.

"Of course," Levi's voice carried just the right amount of respect. "Everything here, including all resources transported in the future, will be entirely at your disposal, without any restrictions."

"Hmph." Odin withdrew his hand, primly puffing out his chest, but his eyes, which were already glued to the experimental platform, completely betrayed his inner fervor.

"That invitation, do whatever you want with it, just don't bother me."

Before he had even finished speaking, he had already rushed to the experimental platform like a gust of wind, grabbed a blank parchment and a charcoal pen, and began sketching rapidly.

He muttered to himself, his words filled with runic terminology and metal ratios that outsiders couldn't understand.

This dwarf grandmaster, who had just been as stubborn as a mountain, had now completely entered a state of frantic absorption, forgetting everything else.

A subtle curve appeared at the corner of Levi's mouth as he quietly exited the laboratory, gently closing the heavy iron door behind him.

It was done.

In the following days, Blackstone Territory entered a peculiar yet highly efficient operational rhythm.

Elder Odin's invitation, like a giant stone thrown into the stagnant water of the Deeprock Kingdom, stirred up countless ripples.

The invitation itself was meticulously worded, merely discussing "the future development direction of runic technology," but it included a concept sketch of a new weapon, exceptionally complex and ingenious, drawn by Odin himself.

This sketch was nothing short of a sage's revelation for young dwarf artisans with progressive ideas or those suppressed by the traditional system.

Two weeks later, the first batch of twenty young dwarves, dusty from their journey, arrived at Blackstone Territory.

They had imagined the "seminar" would be held in a solemn hall, where they would listen to Elder Odin's teachings.

However, Evelyn, the succubus assistant who greeted them, led them to a bright office.

Greeting them was not Elder Odin, but the human lord with a gentle smile, Levi.

"Welcome, everyone, from far away." Levi got straight to the point, distributing twenty documents printed on fine parchment. "These are your employment contracts, please review them."

The dwarves exchanged bewildered glances, picking up the contracts.

When they saw the terms, heavy breaths filled the room.

"Blackstone Territory Senior Rune Researcher... monthly salary, three hundred gold coins?" A young dwarf rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

Three hundred gold coins!

This was the highest salary a chief artisan in the Deeprock Kingdom could earn!

"Project dividends included... five percent of total profits allocated based on contribution?" Another dwarf's hand trembled, almost dropping the contract.

In the dwarf forging system, there was no such thing as "dividends"!

Working for a master for a lifetime without pay was the norm.

"Work-related injury, accident, disability... full severance pay and lifelong support?"

One unheard-of, outrageously generous clause after another challenged their ingrained perceptions.

"This... isn't this a seminar?" someone stammered.

"Knowledge only has value when converted into productivity. Empty talk is a waste of time." Levi smiled and snapped his fingers.

The office curtains were drawn open, revealing the training ground outside.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A series of uniform explosions sounded as ten guards fired in unison at target carts a hundred meters away.

The terrifying power, even through the window, made these young dwarf artisans feel the vibrations on their skin and a chill rise in their hearts.

"This is our current level of technology," Levi's voice calmly stated. "It's crude, it's barbaric, but it's effective. And you will have the opportunity, under the leadership of Elder Odin, to create an era that surpasses it. Your wisdom will determine the form of the next generation of weapons, and your names will be remembered alongside legends."

He paused, looking around at the faces flushed with excitement.

"Now, those willing to sign this contract and usher in this great era, please stay. For those who wish to continue with theoretical discussions, Blackstone Territory will also provide travel expenses for your return."

Not a single dwarf left.

That afternoon, twenty signed contracts lay neatly on Levi's desk.

Next to Odin's laboratory, a rustic tavern named "Furnace Heart" sprang up in just three days.

Levi personally issued a new regulation: all members of Odin's laboratory, with their work badges, could enjoy unlimited free refills of Blackstone Territory's highest quality rum every night at the tavern.

Not only that, Levi also had Evelyn devise a simple and crude "KPI assessment plan"—for every technical hurdle overcome, the quality of the alcohol that night would immediately double, replaced with precious fruit wine from the Elven Kingdom; for every phased experimental goal completed, all team members would receive a heavy bag of gold coins as an extra bonus.

This rule was like a drop of hot oil splashed into a raging fire.

The young dwarves, already passionate about technology, burst forth with astonishing energy under the dual catalysis of alcohol and gold coins.

The "Furnace Heart" tavern became their second laboratory.

Every night, it was bustling with activity.

A group of red-faced dwarves, one hand holding a wine glass, the other clutching blueprints, debated the circuit design of a certain rune, spitting as they spoke.

When the arguments grew heated, two of them would grab wooden plates and iron tankards from the table, rush to the anvil in the tavern's backyard, and clang away, trying to prove their theories through practice.

The lights of the laboratory had not been extinguished since the day it was built.

Brunhilde, more than once during her late-night patrols, saw these mad dwarves, one hand holding a wine bottle, the other a carving knife, drunkenly inscribing extremely precise runes on their experimental pieces.

She thought it was absolute nonsense, a desecration of forging.

But when she checked the results the next day, she had to admit with shock that these test pieces, completed under the stimulation of alcohol, far surpassed conventional ones in both creativity and efficiency.

"Lord," ten days later, the Iron Lady Brunhilde stood before Levi with a complex expression, handing him a report.

"According to my assessment, under Elder Odin's theoretical guidance and the reckless attempts of these... little lunatics, they have completed the first phase of 'Rune Modular Compatibility' testing. This progress, if it were in the Deeprock Kingdom, would take at least a full year."

Levi took the report and nodded with satisfaction.

What was 996? (9 AM to 9 PM, 6 days a week)

007 (midnight to midnight, 7 days a week) plus alcohol, that was the true primary productivity.

He looked out at the brightly lit laboratory, where the clamor, arguments, hammering, and burping sounds blended into a unique, chaotic yet vibrant symphony of research and development belonging to Blackstone Territory.

He had dug deep enough into their foundation.

However, just as Blackstone Territory's tech tree was climbing at an unprecedented speed, an urgent secret letter from the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce was delivered to his study by Evelyn at the fastest possible speed.

The envelope was sealed with wax, imprinted with a special hourglass mark representing the highest level of alert.

Levi tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter.

His gaze swept over the lines of text written in code, and the smile on his face gradually faded, his eyes becoming cold and sharp.

Evelyn stood silently to the side, clearly feeling the gentle aura around her young master dissipating, replaced by a deep, icy killing intent like an abyss.

The content of the letter was simple, yet shocking.

The Deeprock Kingdom's Council of Elders had finally reacted.

But their reaction was a hundred times more intense than Levi's worst-case scenario.

The Council of Elders unanimously passed a resolution: declaring Elder Odin, who had left the country without authorization and leaked core technology, a "traitor who stole national treasures."

All dwarf artisans who had gone to Blackstone Territory were uniformly defined as traitors and their accomplices.

And the response to these "traitors" was not persuasion or arrest, but a thousand-strong legion composed of the kingdom's most elite Lava Guard.

Their mission objective was singular—to "completely erase" Blackstone Territory, this land that bred heretical technology, and to raze all "heretics" and "traitors," along with that damned castle, from the map of the Terrarium Continent.

Levi held the letter to the candlelight, watching it slowly curl, blacken, and finally turn into a wisp of ash.

He slowly stood up and walked to the window, looking down at his territory.

In the distance, the laboratory lights were still bright, and the faint sounds of revelry from the tavern could be heard.

Everything was thriving, full of hope.

But at the edge of the horizon, a storm capable of crushing all of this into powder had already formed.

A thousand Lava Guard.

These were not ordinary dwarf warriors, but chosen from tens of thousands of the most elite dwarf warriors, each seasoned in countless battles, each equipped with runic armor and weapons crafted by grandmaster artisans.

They were the Dwarf Kingdom's sharpest battle-axes, the mobile fortresses guarding the Deeprock Kingdom.

Such a force could easily flatten a weak human duchy.

And Blackstone Territory, even with the guards who could now barely operate firearms, had a total armed force of no more than three hundred.

To confront them head-on would be like throwing an egg against a rock.

In his previous life as a project manager, he had encountered countless crises.

Unreasonable client demands, sudden changes from Party A, internal strife among team members... but never once had he faced a direct, physical "reckoning" like this.

The air seemed to solidify.

Evelyn watched Levi's silent back, his tall figure casting a long shadow in the moonlight. She could feel an invisible pressure enveloping the entire room.

After a long while, Levi turned around, his expression having returned to calm, but his black eyes held no trace of a smile, only cold calculation.

"Evelyn."

"At your service."

"Have Brunhilde come to see me. Also, inform all artisans that the firearm production line will operate three shifts, twenty-four hours a day, starting tomorrow. For ammunition reserves, I want to see a doubled number within three days."

His voice was not loud, but every word was like a nail, hammered fiercely into the silent night.