Chapter 240: Chapter 236: A Hasty Month
Time flew by quickly, and in the blink of an eye, a month had already passed, and the Northern Territory finally welcomed the arrival of spring.
The snow melted with a smile, and the fjords thawed. After a long winter, the Northern Territory finally regained its greenery, and navigation with the outside world resumed.
However, this spring arrived a bit later than expected. According to Perfikot’s inquiries with the local natives, the start of spring was nearly half a month later than usual.
To the local natives, this was simply an unusual cold spell. Although spring came a bit late, similar events have happened before, albeit very rarely.
But for Perfikot, this meant their time was running out, as the prolonged winter was solid proof of global cooling.
Time truly is running out.
And in this swiftly passing month, Perfikot did not idle or waste time. Instead, she led the alchemy team to attempt the construction of the first prototype of the snake-shaped shield machine.
Although she previously made a miniature model, a model is ultimately just a model, and many details are hard to manifest on a model.
Only by actually crafting the prototype can one truly understand what issues remain during usage.
However, the Northern Territory currently lacks the capability to manufacture large mechanical parts, relying on the alchemists to handcraft them would be too wasteful and impractical.
Therefore, throughout this month, her primary task was to disassemble her miniature model, and together with other alchemists, study the structure of each part and translate the research findings into blueprints.
Once the blueprints were completed, Perfikot dispatched the Flying Airship to the New Continent to order the necessary parts from there.
According to Perfikot’s calculations, the period during which the factories on the New Continent were producing the parts coincided with the thaw in the Northern Territory, allowing these parts to be shipped over by freighter without worrying about transportation.
In addition, Perfikot continued to implement the relocation of factories to the Northern Territory from the New Continent and the Empire, establishing an industrial system in the Northern Territory.
The progress on this matter was quite smooth, and all sides attached great importance to it. The first batch of factories relocating to the Northern Territory was ready, and some of the equipment shipped from the Empire was already loaded on ships, just awaiting confirmation of the thaw before setting sail.
While the New Continent’s actions were not as swift as the Empire’s, they did not fall behind on the necessary preparations.
Taking advantage of their proximity and the fact that not all areas in the Northern Territory were frozen, these capitalists formed an explorer team, entering the Northern Territory in this season to conduct site assessments and preparing the groundwork for the construction work to commence after spring.
Upon hearing this news, Perfikot could only sigh at the capitalists’ ruthlessness while wishing them success.
She had limited energy to focus on such matters, because during this month, the Northern Territory was not quiet.
With the Wild Mane Tribe as the first to step forward as an example, several surrounding tribes chose to submit after some negotiation, becoming subjects under the rule of the Lord of the North.
Yet, there were tribes less amenable to the situation, seeing no difference between the Lord of the North and the white demons from the New Continent who occupied their homeland, viewing submission as akin to being slaughtered, they decisively raised their flags in rebellion, resisting the Lord of the North’s rule.
Perfikot was naturally uncompromising towards such matters.
She summoned the chieftains from various tribes that had submitted to her, explained the situation, and instructed them to provide supplies and guidance to the rebellion suppression force she dispatched, while explicitly demanding that these chieftains accompany the forces on their expedition.
The chieftains from various tribes understood that Perfikot was establishing her authority and setting an example, so there was little opposition, and they obediently set out with the rebellion suppression force.
However, the suppression force dispatched by Perfikot seemed somewhat playful to them, as she only sent a squad of five Steam Knights, alongside approximately fifty soldiers and two alchemists for logistics.
This size of a suppression force hardly seemed to take the other side seriously, it was as if they were simply disregarding the opposing tribe entirely.
Yet, to the chieftains of various tribes, while they considered it playful, they raised no objections, rather they were eager to witness the prowess of the white warriors, bringing along their tribe’s Ancestor Warriors.
They held two intentions: firstly, should Perfikot suppress the rebellion smoothly, they would cheer and partake in the spoils.
But should this small suppression force fail, they would defect on the battlefield, joining the rebellious side, similarly raising their flags against Perfikot.
Certainly, some suspected Perfikot wished for the natives to fight amongst themselves, with the five-member squad merely overseeing, essentially intending for these submissive tribes to dispatch troops instead.
Nonetheless, Perfikot clearly stated before the suppression force departed that she did not require troops from these tribes, rendering such speculation groundless.
In summary, under the gaze of all sides, the suppression force quickly located the rebellious tribe and launched an attack.
The tribe resisting Perfikot was a large one, they revered bears as their Ancestral Spirit and called themselves the Barbarian Bear Tribe, one of the larger tribes among the many native tribes in the Northern Territory, boasting nearly a hundred Ancestor Warriors, plus the able-bodied men from their tribe and several others pulled in, amassing a force of nearly a thousand people.
This scale was already quite substantial among the native tribes.
Though during past wars where native tribes resisted white invasions in the New Continent, larger armies were gathered, such a size was rare in the Northern Territory.
Given the harsh survival conditions in the Northern Territory, the population size among tribes couldn’t compare to southern tribes.
Yet, the harsh environment in the Northern Territory had hardened the native tribes, making their warriors bigger and burlier, and relatively more savage compared to southern tribes.
To the rebellious tribal chieftain, the so-called Lord of the North was just a fraud, lacking a strong army, thus resorting to conciliatory tactics to subdue tribes, merely to disguise her inability to conquer the Northern Territory.
The fact she dispatched a five-member squad for suppression proved this point; had she an army, why only send five?
They had two hundred Ancestor Warriors and eight hundred able-bodied men! One thousand against five, the advantage was ours!
So he chose to charge ahead, and then...
Then the chieftains from various tribes loyal to Perfikot witnessed how the Steam Knights, regarded as top-tier killing machines even in the old world of the whites, crushed the rebellious tribe.