The workshop was filled with the smell of sweat, various hammering sounds echoing in the air.
All kinds of craftsmen were working tensely and orderly in their respective positions.
Even apprentices had been drawn into the busy work.
The entire workshop functioned like a precisely operating machine, each link closely coordinated.
The industrial embryo of the Crimson Tide Domain was quietly taking shape!
Vaerik looked at all this with a satisfied nod.
This time his goal was clear, heading straight to the depths of the workshop to find the leader of the craftsmen—Mike.
Mike was hammering a wooden board, pretending to be busy to cover up the fact that he had just been slacking off.
Only when Vaerik approached did he put down his tools and show an excited expression: "My lord, what brings you here?"
"It's time to build a castle," Vaerik said directly, without any preamble.
"Build a castle?!" Mike was instantly excited; he had been waiting for this day for a long time.
"My lord, give me fifty years! I will definitely build the largest, most magnificent castle in the Iron Blood Empire's Northern Province!"
"Fifty years? I'll be seventy years old, and you'll probably be in a coffin," Vaerik replied, speechless.
He suspected Mike was a wonder enthusiast.
Mike laughed heartily: "If I die, my apprentice will build it. If my apprentice dies, his apprentice will build it!"
The corner of Vaerik's mouth twitched slightly, and he couldn't help but quip: "Are you the Sisyphean Builder? 'Generation after generation, without end.'"
Mike scratched his head: "Who's the Sisyphean Builder?"
Vaerik waved his hand helplessly: "Not important. Let's be realistic, we don't have much time. The castle needs to be built quickly. Fast construction, must be functional, defense is most important."
As he spoke, he took out a castle design drawing he had made from his coat and handed it to Mike.
The drawing marked the functions of various areas of the castle in great detail.
"The castle must balance defensive efficiency, functional integration, and aesthetics, but defense is still most important. 80% focus on defense, 20% on livability, never weakening defense for comfort."
Vaerik pointed to the detailed annotations, explaining.
Mike looked at the drawing, his expression subtle, and finally said with difficulty:
"My lord, this design is great... but this kind of stone castle would take at least ten years. Given this complexity, it might not be completed even in thirty or forty years."
Vaerik was dumbfounded: "Ten years? Thirty or forty years?"
He had thought his plan was thoroughly efficient, only to find it was completely unrealistic.
He had originally planned to build a sturdy castle as quickly as possible, not expecting that even thirty or forty years wouldn't be enough.
Mike looked at him, smiling somewhat awkwardly: "To be honest, with our technology and number of workers, to achieve this level, we would have to take it slowly."
Vaerik frowned deeply, calculating in his mind.
The Crimson Tide Domain had now developed to a certain scale, but it remained fragile and vulnerable to external threats.
The castle wasn't a luxury of life but a barrier between life and death.
Now the Cold Moon Tribe was in turmoil, but once unified, they would definitely head south.
Moreover, the Northern Province had more dangers than just this, with the glacier orcs further north, as well as the original Snow Country rebels and other crises.
These crises were like a speeding dump truck racing toward the Crimson Tide Domain.
Vaerik didn't have time to wait another ten or thirty years.
He couldn't possibly wait until old age to move into this ideal castle.
He changed his question: "Is there a faster alternative?"
Mike was stunned for a moment, stammering: "Um... well..."
He looked at the hammer in his hand, then at the busy craftsmen around, seemingly trying to find a reasonable solution, but in the end could only shake his head helplessly.
"I ain't educated, don't have no innovative mind," Mike said with a bitter smile.
Vaerik sighed helplessly, waving his hand: "Forget it, I'll figure something out myself."
After speaking, Vaerik closed his eyes and began to recall those classic architectural forms he had seen in his previous life.
The high walls of castles, the solidity of watchtowers, the heaviness of fortresses—all these buildings cycled through his mind, but they all required vast amounts of time and resources to build.
"Not good enough, not fast enough..." he murmured.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Vaerik's mind like lightning breaking through silent darkness.
"Earth building!" he blurted out.
Earth building, he remembered this type of building from his travels in distant lands in his previous life.
It was a unique fortress recognized as a world heritage treasure, with walls on all four sides, sturdy and durable, with a large capacity that could accommodate hundreds of people.
Known as the "Great Ancient Castle."
Most importantly, an earth building could be built quickly!
"Yes! This is what I need!"
He quickly picked up a nearby pen and rapidly modified the drawing, changing the originally complex castle design into a large cylindrical structure.
Mike stood by, frowning: "This is quite bare, not very aesthetic."
Vaerik rolled his eyes: "Aesthetics? What use are aesthetics? Practicality is most important! Being able to stop enemies and accommodate everyone is the key!"
He pointed the pen tip on the drawing and explained: "Look, this circular structure can disperse external pressure to the maximum extent, providing strong defense.
And using earth as building material, the cost is low, the speed is fast, and it doesn't require too much time and resources!"
Mike helplessly touched his hair and began to carefully observe the "castle" designed by Vaerik.
But he quickly realized that what Vaerik said made sense.
Although this "earth building" looked simple and rough, it was undoubtedly a practical and efficient choice.
Vaerik stood in the center of the craftsmen's workshop, waving the drawing in his hand, beginning to explain his building plan to the craftsmen one by one.
"First, location is important," he pointed to a marked place on the drawing.
"The castle should be close to the hot spring area, but not too hot. The geothermal energy from the hot springs provides natural heating for the building.
And in winter, we can also introduce hot spring water under the floor through pipes. The floor will naturally be warm, with warm feet in winter, equivalent to natural heated beds.
This way, we won't have to worry about cold in winter."
The craftsmen widened their eyes, having never thought of such an operation.
Seeing their reaction, Vaerik showed a smug smile and continued: "Then there's the defensive outer wall. We'll use a 1-meter-thick stone wall formed into a circular structure, plus hot spring clay, cast into a central earth wall, making it sturdy enough and defensively high.
The inner circle consists of wooden-framed houses, with giant logs as pillars, crossbeams for reinforcement, divided into multi-level residential areas.
The first floor is for storage, the second, third, and fourth floors for living, with ladders made from carved tree trunks as steps, both simple and practical."
He drew the simple internal structure on the drawing.