Evil dragon has a warm heart
Chapter 426 - 426 425 Black Fire Brick

Chapter 426: Chapter 425: Black Fire Brick Chapter 426: Chapter 425: Black Fire Brick After deciding to hire Crooked Hat William to teach in the yet-to-be-established technical school, Lord Russell, accompanied by William and his son, inspected the Blackfire Brick Kiln.

The Black Oil furnaces were already operating, with no standardized equipment customization. These Black Oil furnaces were designed based on the masters’ experience, but the results were quite impressive, with the output being no worse than coal.

Slag bricks could now be mass-produced and were being transported continuously to the construction site of the new castle.

“Sir, look,” William pointed to the smoking chimney. The chimney was thick, surrounded by a ring of stair scaffolding, “This chimney not only expels smoke but also air-dries the clay bricks using the black smoke produced by burning Black Oil.”

William proudly said, “It was our workers who figured this out. The smoke from the Black Oil contains magic power, which makes the slag bricks stronger and more resilient, impervious to being smashed.”

Pausing, he continued, “Because there’s not enough clay slag, the production of slag bricks is intermittent, so we produce more of these ordinary bricks… After being air-dried by the magic power in the black smoke, these ordinary bricks also become stronger, only their color has turned from red to black.”

Rows of black bricks were neatly stacked on the ground.

Lord Russell picked one up and roughly felt it, indeed finding it to be more resilient than ordinary bricks.

It was not that the hardness had increased, but the resilience had.

Ordinary brick was fragile and easily broken, but this black brick, imbued with a certain substance from the black smoke, had become extraordinarily resilient.

“Hmm, very good, very good. These black bricks are enough for building castles,” Russell commented contentedly.

Crooked Hat William chuckled alongside, “Lord Russell, your castle certainly deserves better quality slag bricks for its construction. These black bricks, while decent, are still a notch below in grade. They are better suited for building ordinary houses.”

William added, “The Blackfire Tower of Scholars over there is built with black bricks. It sustained an explosion right after completion and didn’t collapse; it only cracked in a few places.”

The previously rudimentary Blackfire Laboratory had been upgraded to the luxurious Blackfire Tower of Scholars.

At only fifty meters tall, it didn’t compare to the hundred-meter height of the Great Scholar Tower at Red Castle, but in the pioneering land of the Blackfire Plains, it was already considered quite magnificent.

The efficacy of the black bricks had already been proven in practice.

Russell immediately delightedly named them: “From now on, these bricks produced by the smoke of Black Oil will be called Blackfire bricks. This can become another key product of the Blackfire Brick Kiln, following the slag bricks.”

“Yes, Sir!”

“Produce more Blackfire bricks, of course, but don’t forget to collaborate with the Blackfire Tower of Scholars and continue exploring new types of bricks,” Russell said. Then he recalled something, “Oh right, which worker figured this out?”

William mentioned a worker’s name.

Russell immediately had the worker called over, then briefly inquired about the process of discovering the smoke-cured bricks.

He then rewarded the worker on the spot with a Gold Coin, “This Gold Coin isn’t just for the Blackfire brick, but for the invention itself. I will permanently establish an ‘I Love Invention’ award in my territory, where anyone with a fresh and unique invention will receive my reward.”

Amid envious glances from others, the worker took the Gold Coin.

A seed of invention began to spread from here.

After planting the seed casually, Russell concluded his tour of the Blackfire Brick Kiln and walked toward the Blackfire Tower of Scholars, surrounded by Katie and other knights.

The tower had just been constructed and hadn’t even been furnished yet, but the scholars couldn’t wait to move in.

Soon.

Russell, led by Grand Scholar Placido, stood on the top floor of the Blackfire Tower of Scholars. While it was only over fifty meters high, he could still look out over the entire Blackfire Plains.

“After the Black Oil Distillation Tower is completed, I plan to leave, Lord Russell,” Placido said.

Under his design, the first Black Oil Distillation Tower in the Shadowflame Grand Duchy and perhaps the Dragon Sleep Continent would soon be born. However, Placido seemed not to understand the significance of this distillation tower, nor could he foresee the advent of the industrial era.

In his view, it was merely a research on magic power metal.

“Sir, are you going back to Red Castle to conduct some research?” Russell asked.

“Yes, Lord Russell, you are eligible to know the research I am preparing for,” Placido explained. “The Grand Scholar Roundtable is planning to develop equipment aimed at Snow Giants based on the Lightning Spear and detection arrows.”

“Aimed at Snow Giants?” Russell was surprised.

“Yes, it involves using the Power of the Earth and the magical vibrations of the ice caps to locate the traces of Snow Giant Da… Of course, it’s still just a concept now, and it might not be possible to develop it, as you know, Snow Giants are on the same level as dragons.”

“As long as there is hope, we must try,” Russell quickly came to terms with Placido’s departure. “It’s just a pity that I currently don’t have extra financial resources; otherwise, I would definitely sponsor your research.”

Placido smiled, “Don’t worry about that; the Council of Elders has approved enough research funds.”

The crisis brought by the Snow Giants had never been as urgent; therefore, the ministers of the Council of Elders were also anxious. Plus, it was the generosity of Generous Red Castle that led them to approve sufficient funds for the Great Scholar’s Research Society.

“I hope you can achieve results soon.”

“Hopefully so.”

…

After completing the inspection of the Black Oil Mine, Russell went to the new castle that was under construction, which, like the Fluorescent Castle, spanned fifty acres.

However, those fifty acres included several components such as the walls, main castle body, towers, lawns, roadways, and moats.

Currently, the main focus was on constructing the body of the new castle.

“Sir, the main castle will be completed within the year, so we need to discuss the castle’s name, your family’s flag, and emblem as soon as possible,” Charles followed Russell and introduced him to the various constructions.

Although he hadn’t changed the noble surname.

Russell had effectively started a new family in reality, so there had to be his own Baron Thunderflame flag and emblem; he could no longer use those of the Fluorescent Fungi Family.

“The name of the castle will be Cigar Castle,” Russell was well-prepared, “As for the family flag, on the basis of the Fluorescent Fungi Family flag, add the silhouette of a unicorn. The emblem will combine the elements of a unicorn, Black Oil Dragon, and a sword.”

Charles took the order, and the specific design work would definitely require him to arrange for someone.

Russell then asked, “How many knights have come to join our land by now?”

“Fifteen Great Knights, forty-eight knights,” Charles replied. “They are currently all arranged around the Blackflame Plains to oversee the reclamation.”

“Set aside some time—let’s do it tomorrow night, gather all the knights, including Eric and others,” Russell said. “I plan to recruit a few official followers tonight…and you should also discuss the knights’ performance.”

“Yes, Sir,” Charles pulled out a notebook and handed it to Russell, “Sir, I have recorded the knights’ performances in this book.”

“Hmm, quite well prepared.”

“Hehe,” Charles laughed, “how could I not do my best in serving you, Sir.”

Russell nodded, said nothing more, and began to browse through Charles’s notebook.

It detailed each knight’s work content, as well as their performance in recent days, including both their professional conduct and personal behavior.

The notes were written by Charles, inevitably containing many subjective judgments.

But after reading them, Russell already had a basic understanding of the capabilities and character of the knights who had come to join him.