Extreme Cold Era: Shelter Don't Keep Waste
Chapter 155: Departure to Return Home

Chapter 155: Chapter 155: Departure to Return Home

The matters of the Northern Territory did not pose much of a hindrance to Perfikot; the old butler was even aware of France’s declaration of war against the Empire before she was.

After all, the telegram from the Empire was sent to the Northern Territory first and then forwarded to New Shaker City.

So, before Perfikot returned, the old butler had already arranged everything.

He summoned all the White Bear Knights and explained the situation to them, urging everyone to prepare for returning home to fight in the war.

During this time, the transportation lines initially blocked by blizzards had resumed operation thanks to the quick work of the Steam Knights, although coal supply could not be fully guaranteed, at least they could still obtain some fuel.

Savings, along with a rationing system, make it barely sufficient.

Especially with the large amount of wood cut down by the Steam Knights, which was prepared as fuel, though they only chopped for a few days, more than two hundred roughly processed logs and numerous branches and scraps greatly replenished the fuel stockpile at the fjord camp.

Foster meticulously stored all the coal, burning branches and other scraps first, and organized part of the workforce to continue chopping wood.

Although their efficiency could not match that of the Steam Knights, they could generally manage to fell one or two trees a day.

With this efficiency, it’s impossible to completely satisfy the camp’s fuel consumption, letting everyone use it freely, but maintaining basic consumption is not an issue.

Regarding the coal mine, Foster also had plans; he knew that the Eagle’s Beak Cliff base had developed explosives, so he let Al try using it for coal layer extraction.

However, he did not opt to use explosives to excavate tunnels, but only to blast open the surface coal layers.

Just a small stick was enough to collapse coal layers that originally took days to dig, turning the workers’ hard labor of using picks into merely breaking and loading blasted coal layers, undeniably saving manpower and greatly increasing extraction efficiency.

The only thing the old butler did not intervene in was the Eagle’s Beak Cliff base, serving two generations of alchemists from the Brandlis Clan, one crucial experience he gained was not to interfere in their research.

Dealing with things he did not really understand, the old butler wisely maintained Perfikot’s original arrangement, making no adjustments, but merely urging everyone to complete their research projects more efficiently.

The reason was, of course, the Empire’s impending war; their research might contribute to this war, given that the Empire had already recalled Perfikot, her research was bound to play a decisive role in this conflict.

So the various research groups at the Eagle’s Beak Cliff base had no objections to the old butler urging them to accelerate their research progress.

They clearly knew, apart from anything else, Al’s investigation of explosives was undoubtedly a new technology that could affect the course of the war.

As for other matters, they were unaware where Perfikot would apply these technologies, but with the Steam Knights and Flying Airship shining in front, who could guarantee their research project was not a key technology?

If in the past they were driven to the Northern Territory by the Royal Family offering high salaries and their curiosity for Arctic expeditions, now these professors and their students hoped their research projects could play an important role in the upcoming war, granting them honor and rewards.

Based on these expectations, when Perfikot returned to the Northern Territory, she was greeted by a base that had resumed operation, along with a completed steam turbine prototype and a block of stable explosives.

The completion of the steam turbine prototype did not exceed Perfikot’s expectations; she had already instructed them before leaving, Professor Archibald completing the prototype trial did not surprise her.

It was Al producing stable nitroglycerin explosives that brought her some surprise.

"How did you manage to stabilize it?" Perfikot curiously asked, having already discerned through the Eye of Omniscience that the stable nitroglycerin explosives were mixed with diatomaceous earth.

"After synthesizing the nitroglycerin as instructed by Count, I constantly sought ways to stabilize it, but couldn’t find a good method. Later, Professor Leonard suggested adding a stabilizer," Al explained to Perfikot, also acknowledging Professor Leonard: "Under his guidance, I tried adding various substances, one being a kind of soil from nearby, which has excellent water absorption. I mixed it with nitroglycerin, now even with strong impact it doesn’t explode."

Perfikot, after listening, nodded with satisfaction: "Well done, keep it up! You continue overseeing this project; I hope you can refine the nitroglycerin synthesis method for industrial-scale production.

You know, the Empire is at war, and this explosive surpassing black powder will have extensive battlefield application, relying solely on alchemists for manual synthesis is inefficient."

"Understood, rest assured, I will improve the nitroglycerin production!" Al, encouraged by Perfikot, expressed excitement.

"Mm, based on your achievements, I grant you knighthood in the name of the Northern Guardian; you are now an honorary knight of the Northern White Bear Knight Order, without holding the ennoblement ceremony due to the urgency," Perfikot said, turning to the old butler beside her, instructing him: "Support Al with any needs he has, I want to see a nitroglycerin production line in operation when I return.

Also, prepare his knight medal and other things, alongside a 200-pound reward. Though the ceremony is skipped, a knight’s entitlements must be honored, this will rely on you, Grandfather Fu."

"Rest assured, miss, I will handle these matters properly," Foster assured Perfikot.

After dealing with these matters, Perfikot took forty Steam Knights and all hand-held recoilless cannon shells, boarding the Flying Airship, commencing her return to the Empire.

Sitting in the cabin of the Flying Airship, Perfikot gazed at the clouds outside the porthole; her tumultuous mind finally found some calm.

Fatigue set in, bringing her to choose rest.

She clearly knew more tasks awaited her in Langton.