Milo was among the alchemists that set foot in Merula in search of greener pastures. He and his master were the only ones from his city who embarked on the journey.
Milos master was once a great alchemist in city of Dauda, rumors claimed that he had a falling out with a noble which caused for him and his practice to be ostracized by his fellow alchemists causing him to go into reclusion. There was also the fact that both him and his master has no magic abilities and were commoners , which was already a slight against people of this world even though one in twenty people had access to mana and one in a hundred people had powerful magical abilities.
After his masters other disciples abandoned them , they fell into a moment of distress which only subsided when he heard a rumor that Merula was looking for alchemists. They were skeptical about it at first but later they realized any where else was better than Dauda .
Before they reached Merula the walls had already caught their eyes at first they thought it was just an exceptionally high wall but then when they came closer they noticed that it was just as thick as it was tall.
As they were still in marvel of the colossal walls , he bore witness to the Lord of the city. He looked so young but yet had the aura of someone who was not just a simple noble. Although most were skeptical, they still listened with apt attention . After that they were led to a building of apartments and rooms were assigned to each person. These rooms consisted of a sleeping area,a kitchen and a bathroom, mostly like a studio apartment. There were well crafted furnitures available, ceramic and steel eating utensils were also provided along with fruits ,meat and some bread for dinner. And do for people who had been on the road for weeks, they savoured every bite.
By morning at about ten am they were told that Damon had requested their presence.
They followed the ISB officer who led them not to the castle but to a building which turned out to be a laboratory . It was spacious filled with glass equipments and instead of a cauldron or a furnace, an oil stove was provided. This was the same type that had been previously produced for public use but had not been released to the public yet.
" This is where you all will be working from now henceforth" Damon announced " I hope it would be put to good use".
The crowd of alchemists just nodded their heads in response. Seeing that they were in agreement Damon continued.
" All the projects you will be working on are highly classified as you would be working with the military in some cases so if you know that you will not be able to keep secrets, you can please leave at this moment. For if you decide to stay and end up spilling secrets, you will face a situation much worse than death. But if you stay and progress is made , I promise you unimaginable rewards " .
Seeing that no one had stepped out, he then ushered them to the weapons testing grounds, there they were shown the power of gunpowder in their uses in cannons, guns and in explosive devices .
Then they were given their mission which was to produce an alternative explosive compound that was more powerful than regular gun powder, more stable and less corrosive. All expenses and resources needed for the research and production was going to be provided as long as results were guaranteed. This was going to be their test to determine if they were worth retaining in Merula.
Later that evening, sounds of battle could be heard from the forest in outskirts of the city. It was actually a training exercise between Damon and his red guard. General Barksdale was watching from the sidelines and in all his life he had never seen training go on like this.
It seemed like the red guard were actively trying to kill Damon. He was looking as Damon blocked a sword strike aiming for waist and almost immediately another guards fired a twelve gauge shell at him which Damon stopped with his telekinesis as the slug was just inches away from him.
What Barksdale was witnessing now was like the actions of a mad man. As soon as the training was over , Barksdale rushed over to Damon.
" My Lord, this is no longer training, this is madness. Are you trying to lose your life, please think about the people"
As the words left his mouth he noticed that some of the guards standing around had a subtle expression of amusement on their faces.
" You there," Barksdale pointed at a guard nearby " is the death of our Lord a source of amusement to you".
The guard immediately straightened himself, standing at attention before replying
" Forgive me general, we were just surprised that you failed to notice that the Lord was not even using his true powers ". The guard replied to the dismay of the general.
Damon then motioned for the General to come over.
" I want you to prepare the army for war with the Ronallas ."
" I thought we have his son as a hostage" Barksdale replied which prompted a small chuckle from Damon.
" Do you really believe that Lord Barksdale has any love for his son Katz , after all he has other children. Do you really believe that a man who has held a monopoly on the largest amount of mines east of the empire is going to give it up willingly just because we have his son . Infact men like him believe that his son is just a good enough price to pay for him to hold on to his mines . And that if we perhaps execute his son , then he would have a proper reason to attack and kill me.
So general, prepare the troops for war so we can crush the Ronallas with impunity".