Beside Monkulus Manor stands the old castle of this knight.

However, by the time Juer Dan, Kolman, and their group arrived, it had long since turned into a substantial ruin through erosion and decay.

Sunlight filtered through the clouds, casting dappled shadows on the ancient stones, each bearing witness to countless histories.

However, such stones were too cold and gloomy; no one wanted to live in such an environment.

These knights had long lost the diligence of their ancestors, and it was truly uncomfortable to live in such a chilly fortress.

Besides, shouldn't money be spent wisely? Wouldn't it be better spent on luxurious clothes and hosting banquets?

What era is this? Probably only those Norn Barbarians and the Knight Order still think about fighting and killing.

Crawling through a hole near the outer wall gate, Lauren lowered her head, then lifted it, only to see a few lone stone pillars pointing to the sky.

Standing beside the pillars, Juer Dan stomped on the ground vigorously, but left no trace.

"Not bad." He patted the dust off his hands after feeling the rough stone ground. "The foundation is solid, no need for reconstruction."

Lauren looked up at the family crest carved on the broken wall, feeling a touch of sentiment.

In the 23rd year of the Imperial Calendar, after the Empire had gained a foothold on the eastern continent, Elder Aier and the bishops of the Empire issued the famous "Opening Order."

As long as you were willing to explore and pay taxes, any land you cultivated was yours.

As a result, a large number of Empire immigrants began to expand eastward, inevitably exposing the frontier villages to the sights of local barbarian tribes.

To resist the invasions of barbarians and monsters, each village would shelter deserters, retired Legion Warriors, or simply elect a sheriff from among their own people.

This sheriff was the predecessor of the knight.

In the history of the Empire, there's this counterintuitive knowledge: at the time, nobles were appointed, knights were elected, and bishops were hereditary.

At that time, castles were mere fortresses on hillocks, with an arrow tower erected and a ditch dug around. When bandits and barbarians came, they would hide inside.

Using these dirt fortresses as strongholds and outposts, the Empire's legions began advancing deep into the continent.

They would plunder the wealth of the local natives and capture them as slaves.

Essentially, these actions were the Empire's colonial conquest wars to expel native inhabitants.

The natives living close by became the ancestors of today's Public Register Farmers and serfs. Those dwelling far away, shielded by the mountains and forests, formed the current Norn Kingdom.

Even to this day, some Leia people still call the Norn people barbarians.

During the colonization wars, a large number of sheriffs participated in battles as cavalry, making significant contributions.

At the time, the nobles of the old Empire, who bore the "Aier" flag, were unwilling to grant noble titles to these peasants and thus gave them the title of "knight" without rank.

Knights thus officially stepped onto the stage of Imperial history.

Unfortunately, during the "Slave Uprising," Luogong City, the predecessor of Holy Seat City, was burned down by the Rebel Army.

By then, the central authority of the Empire was completely exhausted, leading the Empire into an uncontrolled state and the dark age of warlord conflicts.

During this period, knights began to take the historical stage, expertly combining breathing techniques with heavy armor, becoming a crucial military group for warlords and rapidly phasing out the infantry corps model.

At this point, advancements in architecture, along with the wealth gained from wars and plunder, allowed the knights to transform from peasants into hereditary rankless nobles.

Along with the transformation of attire and status, knights replaced wooden walls with stone ones and turned their main fortresses from pure wooden structures into ones of earth and wood.

"... As the dark age ended, castles gradually evolved from earth and wood structures into brick and stone structures over intense warfare, with some castles being constructed for over a century, giving them their current scale."

While introducing to Juer Dan, Lauren gently touched the crumbling brick and stone walls, feeling a gritty sensation at her fingertips.

But now, this castle, built over hundreds of years, has been abandoned by its owner, ignored, and exposed to the wilderness for a hundred years.

Moss grew on the stones, and inside the tower, rotten wooden boards hovered above animal skeletons on the half-spiral stairs.

The tower door couldn't even be opened from Lauren's side, and on the porch, there were indecipherable ramblings carved by someone, "You have no right, you have no right."

"According to the higher-ups' orders, we need to build a defense line here." Juer Dan stood on the mound, surveying the surroundings.

The mound rose over three meters high, and the castle had three floors. The corner towers at the highest points perfectly allowed the view of enemy movements in all directions.

Even standing on the broken walls of the castle, the view below could be seen clearly.

Hundreds of sappers sweated profusely, burying their heads to dig ditches in the ground, transporting baskets of stones and bricks into the ditches.

Lauren voiced the long-standing confusion in his heart, "I still don't understand the significance of us building a defense line here."

Juer Dan found a low wall to sit on, and Lauren was a step slow, not telling him that there was dog feces on it.

Juer Dan was completely unaware: "In the pre-war Legion Commander's meeting, His Holiness has clearly pointed out—this defense line is not just for defense, but to induce them to attack us proactively."

"Without a castle, they would attack us; how would they attack if there's a castle?"

Kolman and Juer Dan exchanged a glance, and Kolman openly said: "Tell him, this is an open strategy, unsolvable."

"It's simple; the enemy's intentions are too easy to understand." Juer Dan grinned, "They just want to lure us to fight them in the wild, then use their numerical and mobility advantages to gain the upper hand.

Marshal Jeshka often spoke of a basic military principle: never do what the enemy wants you to do.

So His Holiness let us use a fortress-advance tactic. With the aid of these fortifications, their numerical and cavalry advantages can't be utilized."

After pondering for a moment, Lauren countered, "But that assumes they'll proactively attack us, not sit there, and we don't have much time."

"You're right." Kolman appreciatively leaned against the wall, his right leg a prosthetic, able to stand but uncomfortable for long periods, "That's exactly what I asked then."

"His Holiness said, deploy the land distribution team, initiate." Juer Dan mimicked Horn's tone from back then, "With Monkulus Castle, we'll distribute land near Black Pottery Town, and once distributed,

the fortress advances further, then to the next castle, and distribute land near Monkulus Castle. See if the knights get anxious."

Lauren immediately understood, His Holiness the Pope was implementing a strategy of burning the bridge after crossing. If they dared to relinquish their land, then the Salvation Army dared to distribute it.

Either way, they were catching fish with a rakehead. If the Ibe Knights took the initiative to attack, even better, the Salvation Army would rely on the fortress to grind it out with them.

But if they didn't come, the constructed fortress would serve to block the knights, simultaneously weakening their economy and strengthening the frontier. In two months, the fortress defense line could take shape.

With the support of local farmers, logistical problems could be greatly alleviated.

Even if Horn went to assist Rapids City, the knights would have a hard time breaking through the layers of fortresses guarded by clockwork artillery.

After the light dawned on Lauren, he still had some concerns: "But we only have two thousand five hundred men, and many are engineers; can this ruin withstand anything?"

"Do you know how many days it takes for mortar to set without the aid of natural Divine Art?"

"Seven days when it's humid, five days when dry."

"What about with alchemy... I mean, natural Divine Art?"

"Three days."

Juer Dan laughed: "Then do you know how long mortar takes to dry on the Tbe Plain, given the presence of natural Divine Art?"

Lauren blinked and tentatively asked, "Two days?"

Juer Dan held up one finger: "Not even a day."

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