Elias had achieved a minor miracle with the counterweight system, but the euphoria of 700% efficiency gains faded quickly. The next problem was logistical. The iron ore, even the "high-grade" ore they were now pulling, still had to be transported to the capital over seventy miles of muddy, primitive roads.
Elias was staring at one of the barony's transport carts—a heavy, wooden monstrosity with solid, iron-rimmed wheels—that was currently stuck in a shallow mud pit.
MAOI Scan: [Object: Transport Cart A-3] Efficiency Rating: 11%. Critical Flaws: Wheel-to-Axle Friction (High), Ground Pressure (Excessive), Suspension (Non-Existent).
"This isn't a cart, Kaelen," Elias groaned, tossing a pebble at it. "It's a mobile anchor! It's losing 65% of its motive energy just fighting axle friction and sinking into the mud. We need better roads, and we need better wheels."
Sir Kaelen, standing pristine despite the muddy surroundings, bowed slightly. (Internal Monologue: "He is now criticizing the very foundations of the kingdom's transport. Soon he will tell us the sky is built poorly.")
"My Lord, a road is a project for the Royal Engineers, not a Baron. We should perhaps focus on securing a cavalry escort for the upcoming shipment to ensure delivery," Kaelen suggested stiffly.
"A cavalry escort costs money! And a Royal Engineer would take three years and charge me a bribe for the privilege!" Elias shot back. "We're building our own road. And we're doing it with cement."
Elias's new construction project involved mixing the lime and volcanic ash he'd acquired with the water from his new piston pump. The miners, still bewildered but now obedient, watched as the mixture dried into a rock-hard, continuous surface.
"This is Structural Cement, lads! The cheapest, strongest bonding agent known to civilized man!" Elias declared, tapping the dried path. "It turns your useless mud and sand into a permanent, load-bearing road! No more sinking!"
His real focus, however, was on the wheels. He set the miners to work crafting simpler, larger wheels and, most importantly, inserting hardened wooden ball bearings between the wheel hub and the axle.
MAOI Optimization: [Project: Ball Bearing Axle Upgrade] Projected Friction Loss Reduction: 40%.
The result was an ugly, clunky cart that looked identical to the others, but when pushed, it glided almost effortlessly across the ground.
"Behold, Kaelen! The friction is gone! We have effectively engineered a frictionless plane that will reduce our delivery costs by a minimum of 35%!" Elias's face lit up with greedy triumph.
Kaelen stared at the mundane-looking cart. (Internal Monologue: "He eliminated friction... without using magic. I feel a growing, terrible sense of dread. What is the value of my sword against a man who defeats physics?")
Elias decided to test his invention immediately. He loaded the upgraded cart with a symbolic amount of his new high-grade ore and ordered Kaelen to drive it to the nearest toll booth—which was controlled by a minor clerk named Clerk Lyrus, who answered directly to Duke Vesper.
The next day, at the toll booth, Clerk Lyrus smiled thinly, ready to levy a massive tax on the struggling Thorne Barony.
"Baron Thorne's shipment, is it? We must assess the tax based on the 'Manpower and Risk Factor' needed for transport. Since the Ironspur roads are notoriously treacherous, the tariff is quite high."
Elias, dressed not in velvet but in surprisingly clean leather work clothes, stepped forward. "Incorrect. We must assess the tax based on the current state of the route and vehicle."
He produced a meticulously detailed, official-looking document he had created overnight: the "Baronial Transportation Efficiency Report, Form 3-B."
"As you can see," Elias stated, pointing to a hand-drawn chart that was 90% technical jargon and 10% lies, "the installation of our new Structural Cement Pathway combined with our Ball Bearing-Optimized Transport Unit has reduced the transport's risk and manpower factor by 78%."
Lyrus blinked at the incomprehensible graphs and percentages. He was paid to count money, not decipher engineering formulas.
"This… this is a new tax document. I've never seen this form!" Lyrus stammered.
"It's a Baronial form," Elias said with a winning, utterly dishonest smile. "If you refuse to honor my Certified Efficiency Report, you are essentially refusing to acknowledge the Baronial right to Optimized Infrastructure. I'll be forced to take this matter directly to the Royal Court—and they hate paperwork more than they hate poor people."
Faced with a mountain of unfamiliar paperwork and the wrath of the Royal Court's administrative system, Lyrus instantly folded. He stamped the lowest possible tariff on the shipment.
Elias had not only gotten the shipment through efficiently, he had forced a representative of his rival, Duke Vesper, to acknowledge his "optimized" efficiency on an official document.
Walking back, Kaelen stared at the ground. "My Lord. You didn't defeat him with a sword. You defeated him with… a form."
Elias winked. "Swords are a destructive force, Kaelen. Bureaucracy is a passive, inescapable mechanism built for exploitation. And I just built a better one."
He looked toward the horizon, where his new road started. "The road is ready, the carts are optimized, and we've established a tax precedent. Now, Kaelen. We need to find a way to mass-produce this steel. And for that, we need a lot more charcoal."