Danmaku, my skills refresh weekly.

"That's all there is to it. Could it be that our commander is actually some kind of hidden genius?"

During the conversation, an object was suddenly thrown from the third-floor corridor.

The crowd scattered in all directions, and with a clang, a shard of porcelain shattered, filling the courtyard with the rich aroma of wine.

"This is... divine wine? Is it Lord Soma's?"

No one dared to complain, and they all looked up.

A gray-haired boy carrying a huge bundle sat cross-legged on the railing. He tossed a clay-sealed wine jar up and down in his hand, his expression arrogant.

Wow————

"Who...is that? How come he's holding divine wine?"

"Could it be that Chanis has been killed? Is he the new commander?"

Clang—

"quiet----"

Charles threw the wine jar again, and countless drunkards squatted on the ground licking the wine, which also suppressed the noise.

Ciel rested his chin on his hand, looking down at this group of walking corpses who had sunk into their desires.

Having experienced the same feelings, he understands one thing very well.

As long as Soma exists and the divine wine can continue to be produced, the number of adventurers like the ones at our feet, who are no different from zombies, will continue to increase.

Regardless of what happens in the future, for now...

They will all be pawns of the Charles!

"Listen up, you pigs! From now on, I am the new vice-captain of the Soma Familia! If you want divine wine, you'd better behave yourself! Understand?"

Most people were already lost in the divine wine and couldn't hear what Charles was saying. And these weren't his targets either…

“You mean… the vice commander?” A dwarf stepped forward, looking up to meet Charles’s gaze.

"You are... Chandra? I remember you were also a high-level adventurer."

“Exactly.” Chandra stared at Charles suspiciously:

"Deputy Commander? So that means Chanis is not dead?"

Charles scoffed, "Lord Chanis's methods are beyond the comprehension of you mortals. My appointment as vice-captain was precisely Lord Somo's intention, and also Lord Chanis's assignment. Do you have any complaints?"

"……No."

Chapter 54 gives these Western natives a taste of the Four Great Inventions.

"To succeed, you have to go crazy and charge for money at all costs! Go all out once, drink for three years! Only by working hard will you become rich! Sleep on the floor today, be a team leader tomorrow..."

The loud slogan echoed from "Sacred Tree Audio".

Charles stood on the high platform and shouted:

"Have you remembered everything I said? The clan needs manpower, and even more so, a huge amount of funds. Repeat what I said again!"

Inside the courtyard, the teams, divided into several groups, made a ruckus for a moment before each group selected one person.

"The resource group is mainly responsible for procuring items available on the market: hot spring soil, charcoal, cryolite, etc."

"I'm from the engineering team. We're responsible for grinding, crushing, and storing."

"We are in the processing group, responsible for classifying materials and mixing and packaging them."

"We're from the logistics team, responsible for providing the workers with 24-hour working conditions!" A group of mid-level adventurers, armed with weapons, swallowed hard.

Looking at the perfectly aligned "Palu"s, Ciel nodded in satisfaction:

"start!"

beside.

Returning late, Chanis stared at Charles suspiciously:

"Making them deputy commanders is one thing, but why are you making them do these strange things?"

Charles said with a loyal expression, "Brother Yi... you know me. Have an orange to calm down?"

Seeing that Chanis had put an orange in his mouth, Charles explained in a serious tone, "Brother, think about it, the more outrageous the order, the clearer it is to see who is loyal to you. If there are already people who are disloyal, they will definitely try to sabotage your plans."

“What you say makes sense. But isn’t wasting precious manpower too costly?” Chanis said with some concern.

Not to mention acquiring those materials, the daily profits from adventurers alone are considerable.

Charles lowered his voice: "Brother! Have you ever heard of an old saying?"

"what?"

The bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish!

"How to say?"

Charles whispered close to Chanis's ear, "What do you think those secret factions need an ignition device for?"

"Ignite...ignite?"

“Exactly!” Charles’s lips curled into a cold smile. “No matter what they do, their ultimate goal is to start a fire. The Dark Faction wouldn’t use it for lighting, would they? Think about it? What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the Dark Faction?”

"Explosion...?" Chanis's lips twitched.

What's this kid up to?

"Big brother, what do you think... if a device that could ignite fire from a distance appeared now, could we sell it to the guild after the Dark Faction prepares for their major operation?" Xia Er grinned slyly.

"Do you think they might try to buy our item, which costs less than 500 Fali, for the price of the magic sword?"

"Hiss—" Chanis gasped.

The way he looked at Ciel changed...

“You’re a real talent… but what about the Dark Faction…” Chanis hesitated.

"Brother!" Charles interrupted his thoughts: "Think about it, every war has a winner and a loser. What if Finn and his men accidentally win? How will we handle the situation?"

"You mean?" Chanis asked, both surprised and delighted.

“That’s right! Lord Chanis, if Finn wins, we will just endure the humiliation and secretly carry out our plans! If the Dark Faction wins, then this insignificant impact will naturally not be investigated. At worst, we will just hand over the money we have earned.”

Upon hearing Charles's explanation, Chanis secretly weighed the pros and cons.

This is a get-out-of-jail-free card, a life-saving charm!

Gradually... he raised the corners of his mouth:

"Charles..."

A heavy hand landed on the boy's shoulder: "You really are loyal to me!"

……

After Ciel explained the crux of the matter, Chanis readily agreed to take Ciel's place and oversee the work closely. He also instructed Ciel to find the traitor as soon as possible.

The entire plan wasn't complicated, and Charles didn't intend to make any gunpowder himself. Although he remembered the mnemonic 'one part saltpeter, two parts styrax, three parts charcoal,' he knew nothing about the specific proportions or the process.

But stopping the "suicide bombers" doesn't require explosives, nor does it require a magic sword. Given the sensitivity of the Fire Stone, ordinary fireworks would suffice.

In fact, Orario doesn't have any real gunpowder.

The main material of the so-called "bombs" is firestone. These are made from rocks dropped by lava monsters. Including Lyra's grenades, it seems that only Helge of the "Knights of Fenana" from a thousand years ago truly mastered "gunpowder".

Unfortunately, this technology has likely been lost long ago.

Ok……

This might be a bit of an overstatement, but at least the "Omnipotent One" does possess explosive agents, which might be something even more advanced.

As for now...

"Hey, have you seen Lily Luca?"

Inside the workshop that had been converted from a former workshop, Charles casually pulled over a member of the group to ask him a question.

"Lily? That supporter of Palum?"

“Yes, that’s right.” Charles said seriously, “I suspect she colluded with external forces to transfer the family’s assets.”

The group member's expression turned serious, and with a casual gesture, he exposed the little devil hiding in the corner.

"Captain, that damn Palum is over there!"

Charles turned his head and saw the small figure tremble. He lowered his head and quickly carried out his work, a complete reversal of his initial lazy and leisurely work attitude.

"Lililuka! Come here!"

"Yes!"

Before me stood a young girl named Palum, about eight years old, with messy chestnut-brown hair. However, because she was Palum, it was not very clear that she was a child; only her delicate features revealed a hint of childishness.

"What were you doing just now?"

“I…” Lily’s pupils contracted, and she sat down on the ground in fear.

She never imagined that in just one week, the supporter who was in a similar situation to her could rise to the position of deputy commander.

Yes……

Lily had been following Ciel.

Unlike Sharl, who had been a supporter since childhood, Lily had been an adventurer. However, due to her lack of qualifications and funds, the fali she earned was insufficient to cover the costs of weapons and medical treatment, let alone maintain her divine wine.

She only became a supporter after realizing she had no talent.

Then the suffering began, which happened only two years ago.

It's not surprising that she encountered Ciel. Both of them were oppressed by their own clans, and as a senior, Ciel naturally taught Lily some skills in dealing with monsters.

Perhaps it was out of consideration for their shared clan, or perhaps it was just a casual act. In any case, Lily had been keeping an eye on Ciel ever since, but now…