The meeting had reached this point, and the iron mine development plan was starting to take shape.
Wulfrik concluded with a final summary: "Everyone, discovering this iron mine is a huge opportunity for our family's development, but we need to stay alert to any sabotage from our enemies."
"We must unite as one and ensure the Sowerbright family stands strong and prospers on the Aethervancia Continent!"
Throughout the meeting room, everyone responded in unison, their morale running high.
Wulfrik's decision-making and leadership gave everyone hope for an increasingly prosperous future for the family.
...
In the armory district at the northwest corner of Argentum Eagle Castle, twelve furnaces spewed flames that painted the sky red.
Wulfrik's black cloak billowed in the heat waves as his boots crunched over scattered iron filings on the ground, creating a crisp sound.
Three thick stone walls separated this area from the rest of the castle, with guards patrolling the battlements, gripping long halberds and vigilantly scanning every approaching figure.
"Young master Wulfrik!"
Barrett, the armory steward who'd gotten word of his arrival, hurriedly ran over from the forging area. His muscular arms showed beneath an apron covered in coal dust.
This burly man in his forties had a vicious scar over his left eye—a memento from a furnace explosion ten years ago.
"Why did you come here personally? There's way too much smoke and dust..."
Wulfrik raised his hand to signal that formalities weren't necessary, his gaze sweeping over the busy craftsmen.
More than thirty blacksmiths were swinging their hammers, the rhythmic pounding creating an odd kind of music.
Apprentices weaved between them, hauling red-hot iron blocks, sweat carving clear tracks down their young faces.
"That's exactly why I needed to come see for myself," Wulfrik's voice cut through the noisy forging sounds. "Tell me, how much equipment can we produce each month right now?"
Barrett wiped his forehead with the back of his coal-stained hand: "Young master, currently we can produce a hundred sets of quality armor, three hundred swords, plus two hundred longbows with matching arrows each month."
He pointed toward the finished goods area in the southeast corner: "Those were all made recently, and they've all passed triple inspection."
Wulfrik walked slowly toward the finished goods area, his fingertips brushing across a row of gleaming sword blades.
These weapons were expertly crafted, each sword bearing the engraved mark of a soaring silver eagle—the pride of the Sowerbright family.
But he knew that in the coming turmoil, this level of production would be nowhere near enough.
"Take me to the warehouse," Wulfrik suddenly said.
After passing through three iron doors, the dry air was filled with the scents of oil and leather.
On the warehouse's oak shelves, hundreds of sets of equipment awaiting distribution were neatly arranged.
Barrett took down a breastplate and tapped it lightly with his finger, producing a crisp ring: "This batch uses double-forging techniques, reducing weight by twenty percent while boosting defensive power by thirty percent."
Wulfrik carefully examined the equipment, mentally calculating how to maximize the use of these resources.
He realized that as the iron mine was developed, the armory's production capacity would also need to increase accordingly to meet the family's growing military needs.
Wulfrik suddenly turned around, his silver-gray eyes looking directly at Barrett: "I want you to increase production capacity fivefold within six months."
"Five... fivefold? Young master Wulfrik, you're not joking, are you?"
Barrett's eyes went wide, clearly shocked by the target Wulfrik had set.
Given the armory's current production capacity, Barrett was confident that aside from the other major ducal families and the royal family, absolutely no other family in Klan Kingdom could match them.
To increase production fivefold from this already impressive baseline—the difficulty was obvious.
If there was enough time, he'd be confident about slowly ramping up production to meet Wulfrik's requirements.
But with only six short months, this meant it was basically an impossible task.
"Young master Wulfrik, this task is really impossible to complete."
"Never mind that skilled craftsmen can't be trained overnight—just the iron ore our family provides each month can barely meet the armory's current needs."
"To increase production capacity fivefold would require several times more iron ore than we use now, plus massive investments in funding and manpower."
Barrett shook his head, looking quite troubled.
Currently, news of the iron mine discovery in Black Mountain was still top secret within the Sowerbright family, known only to a few key family retainers like Military Commander Sir Renard and the soldiers involved in the operation.
And since Wulfrik had issued a gag order, Barrett still didn't know that the biggest constraint on the armory's production capacity had already been solved.
Wulfrik looked at Barrett's troubled expression and smiled slightly.
He understood Barrett's concerns, but he already had his calculations figured out.
"Barrett, I know this is a huge challenge for you, but I believe the armory's potential goes way beyond what we're seeing now."
Wulfrik's eyes sparkled with determination and trust.
"As for the iron ore issue, you don't need to worry about that at all."
"The family recently discovered an iron mine with incredible reserves, and it'll be operational soon. Iron ore supply won't be a bottleneck anymore."
When Barrett heard this, surprise flashed in his eyes, quickly turning to excitement.
He hadn't expected the family to make such a major discovery—this was definitely a shot in the arm for the production capacity enhancement plan.
"Really? Young master Wulfrik, if that's true, then our production capacity enhancement plan has a real shot!"
Barrett said excitedly, his voice full of enthusiasm.
Wulfrik nodded and continued: "However, the craftsman and funding issues you mentioned are definitely real."
"For craftsmen, on one hand we can recruit lots of apprentices from villages throughout our family's territory and give them intensive training. On the other hand, we can use assembly line operations to boost production capacity."
"As for funding, the family will fully support the armory's expansion and upgrades."
"Young master Wulfrik, what exactly are assembly line operations?" Barrett asked, puzzled.
Barrett obviously didn't understand this revolutionary production method.
After all, this type of production system had never appeared on the Aethervancia Continent before.
Wulfrik patiently explained: "Assembly line operations means breaking down the production process for a weapon or piece of equipment into several simple steps, with specialized craftsmen responsible for each step."
"This way, craftsmen only need to repeatedly do the parts they're good at, which can dramatically improve production efficiency."
"Plus, some of the simpler steps can be handled entirely by apprentices. Training a skilled craftsman takes tons of time, but training an apprentice takes way less time..."
As Barrett listened to Wulfrik's description, his eyes gradually lit up.
He could almost see the armory under the assembly line operation model, with craftsmen each handling their own tasks, busily but orderly producing one piece of excellent equipment after another.
"Young master Wulfrik, this is an absolutely brilliant idea!"
"If we use this method, we really might be able to increase production capacity fivefold within six months!" Barrett said excitedly.