Chapter 83: Blueprints For War!

Roderic pressed on the blueprint section right away.

The screen in front of him changed immediately.

—————Blueprint Shop—————

[Metal Spike Wall] - 250 Throne Coins

[Guillotine] - 250 Throne Coins

1

[Heavy Crossbow] - 250 Throne Coins

[Iron Caltrop] - 500 Throne Coins

[Tripwire Alarm System] - 500 Throne Coins

...

Roderic’s smile widened.

’’Now would you look at that...’’ he muttered. ’’Aren’t these all quite the interesting blueprints?’’

Scrolling slowly through the section, his eyes lit up with excitement.

Hundreds, if not thousands of blueprints passed before him.

Weapons, traps, tools, even literal buildings!

There seemed to be no end to the possibilities.

Roderic continued scrolling for several minutes without using the search option.

The further he went, the more ridiculous the blueprints became.

Simple structures gradually gave way to fortified watchtowers, siege engines and enormous defensive walls.

Then came those involving magic.

[Flame Burst Mine] - 5.000 Throne Coins

[Gravity Suppression Trap] - 8.500 Throne Coins

[Mana Detection Tower] - 15.000 Throne Coins

[Fortress Barrier Core] - 50.000 Throne Coins

...

Roderic slowly came to a stop.

’Magic traps and items...’ he thought, amazed. ’They must be overpowered.’

He pressed on the Flame Burst Formation out of sheer curiosity.

An expanded window popped up right away.

[Flame Burst Formation]

Price: 5.000 Throne Coins

A formation that releases a second-circle flame burst after a predetermined time.

Required: Second Circle Fire Mage, Fire Mana Crystals, Ember Lizard Blood.

...

’Never mind about that.’

Roderic closed it immediately.

Even with the blueprint, House Whitemane had absolutely no way to make something like that.

Still, that hardly ruined his excitement.

’Maybe not now...’

His territory was still small.

Given enough time, however, he could recruit the people and gather the resources necessary to build these things.

Roderic returned to the enormous list.

For now, he simply needed to focus on what could help against Deres.

’Let’s narrow this down.’

His fingers quickly moved across the screen.

Roderic began adding filter after filter.

Luckily, the system allowed him to set up surprisingly easy ones.

’’I need things that don’t take too long,’’ he instructed. ’’Preferably something simple and cheap to produce as well.’’

The thousands of options immediately began narrowing down.

Roderic excluded even more, refusing any magic options or anything other than traps.

Finally, only a few hundred options remained.

’’Much better.’’

Roderic leaned forward with interest and began scrolling once more.

And soon, he’d found several very interesting options.

[Weighted Net Trap] - 500 Throne Coins

[Iron Caltrop] - 500 Throne Coins

[Tripwire Alarm System] - 500 Throne Coins

[Chain Ripper Trap] - 1.500 Throne Coins

Roderic stared at the four options with a growing smile.

They were simple, but that was exactly what made them useful.

The weighted net could be hidden and released over groups of soldiers, trapping several people at once beneath a heavy reinforced net.

Caltrops were even simpler.

They were essentially large, four-pointed metal spikes, similar to the ones ninjas were famous for scattering on the ground behind them.

The tripwire alarm system wasn’t particularly deadly, but it had its tactical purposes.

Then there was the final one.

Roderic pressed on it once more.

[Chain Ripper Trap]

A concealed anti-cavalry trap that rapidly pulls a long metal chain above ground when triggered.

...

His brows couldn’t help but rise.

’Oh, that’s nasty.’

As unfortunate as it was for the opposing horses, the trap could remove entire lines of cavalry.

Roderic smiled slightly.

’Perfect for clearing out their large groups.’

Combined with the bear traps already being produced, he could make advancing through Whitemane territory an absolute nightmare.

Yet the longer Roderic stared at the list, the more his smile slowly faded.

’Something’s missing,’ he thought, frowning.

Ordinary soldiers wouldn’t be a concern anymore.

But knights...

Especially those at the second aura seal or even the third.

What he needed was something with enough force to kill one on impact.

’Maybe a weapon, like a cannon,’ he thought. ’But of course not a real cannon. That’s too far-fetched right now.’

Roderic rubbed his chin.

After thinking for several seconds, he returned to the filters.

’’Forget traps,’’ he muttered. ’’Show me weapons instead.’’

The list changed instantly.

Hundreds of new blueprints appeared one after another.

Roderic scrolled through them mindlessly.

Before long, his eyes suddenly lit up.

’’What do we have here?’’ he muttered, sitting up straight.

[Metalpiercing Ballista] - 5.000 Throne Coins

That certainly seemed promising.

Roderic immediately pressed down on it.

[Metalpiercing Ballista]

Price: 5.000 Throne Coins

An extremely powerful, enormous ballista that shoots razor-sharp bolts capable of piercing aura knights and two-circle forcefields.

...

Silence fell for a moment.

Unbeknownst to Roderic, a huge grin had appeared on his face.

’’Piercing aura knights?’’ he said slowly. ’’Even two-circle forcefields?’’

He read the description one more time, making sure he hadn’t misunderstood.

But there was no mention of it requiring magic or something else impossible.

The entire weapon relied purely on its enormous size and mechanical force.

’’It’s a tad bit expensive,’’ he muttered, still grinning. ’’But I’m willing to lay down this price any time!’’

Without wasting another second, Roderic added it to his selection.

His eyes moved back towards the four traps from earlier.

There wasn’t much reason to hesitate anymore.

’’System, purchase all five blueprints.’’

[8.000 Throne Coins deducted.]

[Blueprints successfully purchased.]

[Remaining Balance: 9.802 Throne Coins]

Roderic sucked in a cold breath, his heart aching as he saw the coins disappear.

But as he saw the blueprints appear in front of him, Roderic knew he’d made the right choice.

’’I’ll create physical copies once I’m back home,’’ he muttered. ’’Then I’ll have to call the blacksmiths together.’’

Roderic already felt his head starting to ache.

Explaining how he’d gotten this would be yet another annoying task to do.

’’Ah, whatever.’’

’’I doubt anyone will have the time to ask me once I detain Margaret.’’

Leaning back in his seat, Roderic let out a soft breath and glanced out the window.

It didn’t seem like he’d have time to rest properly any time soon.

After another moment, he bit down on his lip.

’’Forget about everything,’’ he told himself. ’’The most important thing will be forming my second aura seal...’’

If Roderic could successfully form it, he’d feel truly prepared for the upcoming war.