If there was one thing William was jealous of towards it was video game characters. Their innate ability to 'fast travel' would be a godsend. His selected company had set out almost three and a half weeks ago. William was starting to regret not thinking to look into making a car or some sort of motor vehicle.

This cattle drawn carriage shit was soooo slow. He was happy he had at least had the ability to make the carts more comfortable. After he returned with the bauxite he needed to start on making an efficient steam engine. Then further the technology by making a steam combine. If he could get that to work making some sort of steam vehicle for the rough wagon roads would radically speed up acquisition of resources.

William groaned another thing to add to list. There was also the irrigation system, implementing running water, and with electricity online installing lights. On and on it went. So many projects and not enough time to do them all. Well at least for now.

Every step forward and Runick was slowly becoming a modern town. With the advent of electricity, more so. The original villagers were grateful for all that he had done. His inventions and doodads made life easier for them. But they liked the simple easy life. They wouldn't go back to what they had. But his steel refinery was a glimpse into the future.

A future that not everyone was willing to be a part of. Before he left Issabel had brought up that she liked the progress but had warned him that he should probably move his more industrial machines somewhere else. He had agreed both heartily and tentatively. The machines he needed to make eventually needed room and the byproducts needed to be dealt with.

He didn’t feel like destroying the surrounding area with dumping waste. That was a very quick way of being removed especially when the waste could be used. Dumping that waste was just a really stupid thing to do in the first place. He could extract materials from waste materials through [ Recycle ]. Why waste the waste.

Even vented carbon dioxide could be used eventually if he taught Kena about the strong and weak forces. He still didn’t know how enchanting or runes worked. But if he could make real carbon dioxide scrubbers to then split the molecule or smash it back into limestone or something else it would be worth the effort. But right now that was a bit out of his wheel house.

As for relocating the dirty industries he had decided to move them to the river. If he built some waterwheels he could not only pump water but also create electricity for Runick. Two birds one stone.

The problems would come from protecting any new construction. The river was a good thirty minute walk. Not exactly conducive to building a connected wall. If the industrial sector was its own separate then it would run into the issue of supplies. There were ways to combat this maybe a subway of some sort. Things to think about for the future.

Eventually the carts reached a landmark at the end of the month. It was a hidden side road. It was just barely wide enough to get a single wagon down. William had the caravan stash the wagons and cattle into a hidden glade that the hags had taken notice of on the map. Leaving a few people to guard the precious animals.

He led the rest along the side road. Now according to the hags the group of bandits were held up in some ruins. Currently for William however there was a bigger concern then some bandits.

The area around the bauxite was that of a jungle. It was just the beginning of summer but the chance of mosquitoes was high. Thankfully nobody had bites yet or open wounds. With all the preparation William had done he had forgotten a key tenant of modern life. Modern medicine. He was the only person with the faintest of ideas on such things.

While this world had divine magics to combat any type of disease, even in a fantasy game such magic didn’t help against the spread of a plague. While William wasn’t a medical practitioner in any regard he knew a basic hygiene regime could at least cut down such problems heavily. Problem was he wasn’t well versed in tropical diseases.

Other then the deadly ones and their cures he was at a loss. Thankfully he had tested making medicine. He knew the names and remembered some of their chemical structures. But it was only for the ones that were pushed in his textbooks or were easy to aquire. The other problem was the same as the creation of the Gatling guns they would work but they couldn’t be replicated.

So he could make the medicine but he didn’t know dosage, its strength, or side effects to look for.

There was a reason he stayed the hell away from going into the weeds on chemistry. He delved the deep crevasse of chemistry for what he needed. Explosives were something he loved deeply. But the craziness of the higher levels of organic chemistry was on a whole different level. Much to his chagrin now as he led the group along the wagon trail through the potentially deadly jungle.

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Thankfully he had Cluci. His top cover was top notch. The wagon trail was well maintained. Evidence of cutting back new growth was prevalent everywhere. It was when Cluci landed to tell William that there was a clearing up ahead that William finally focused.

Thankfully William had produced a few more guns since the pitiful thirty five. The armory back in Runick now held somewhere around eighty air rifles. The steel refinery had heavily sped up production of new guns. This allowed William to bring a total of forty people with him armed with the rifles. But could leave a healthy amount at home.

Unfortunately while he had forty people they were not nearly as great shots as the guerrilla force. He made much larger groups of ten. He then had Grock lead the groups. He and Kena would be trying to peacefully remove the bandits. William told Grock he needed to have the groups move forward as cohesively as possible. If the treeline appeared more suddenly then anticipated they were not to break cover.

With Kena in tow just behind him and Cluci at a distance he would see the metal of these bandits.

Evidence showed them as weak as badly made paper mache. The bandits didn’t have a watch. They barely had a wall made out of the ruins and a poorly made palisade. The guards they did have were too busy drinking and and were barely paying attention to that which was outside.

When William started yelling through his favorite giant megaphone he swore he saw one of them fall off the wall. He would have to confirm it with Cluci. William barely considered these people bandits right now but maybe their better forces were elsewhere at the moment. He had to give some benefit of the doubt.

Killing idiots made one feel like they were kicking puppies. Killing bloodthirsty killers made one steel their nerves. So William tried to get their attention again in a voice similar to a game host he exclaimed. “I say again. Hail! To those inside we wish to speak.” A well built but obviously drunk man leaned on the crenelated structure of the palisade and yelled back.

“What youu want stranger?” “I wish to come to an agreement of sorts with you and your comrades.” “What type of agreement?” “One where you get to hopefully retain a hold upon mortal faculties.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “It means that you and your cohorts get to live on.” “You picking a fight?”

“Yes, but I hope not to as I wish this to remain as bloodless as possible.” “Then yer a coward.” “My good man killing your fellow persons isn’t a good answer to all problems.” “t’s worked for me so far. Killings simple and easy. ‘Stab’. No more argument. I get what I want. Simple an’ easy.”

“So you don’t think on your future prospects. How your actions will influence others and their possible retribution.” “That sounds incr’ibly compl…compli…it sounds hard. Why should I care? I just run away with the goods and I’m rich. I’m done with this whatever this is. You don’t even have weapons. How you s’pposed to kill people without a weapon stupid.”

“My friend, you are what I would call incredibly short sighted. May I speak to your leader as you have been quite rude.” “No, you can fuck right off. Scamper on back to whatever hole yah crawled from.” “Are you sure you don’t wish to change your mind maybe another one of your colleagues…” “I said fuck off. I am boss while the boss is gone.” “Your funeral then.” “Yeah and I would like to see you hurt me, skinny.”

Smiling, William raised his left made a finger pistol and ‘fired’ it. A ‘crack’ that then echoed across the ruins was heard about when the back of the head of the acting leaders head exploded outwards into a pulpy mess. The body turned corpse wavered for a few moments then fell off to the side.

Without a clear hierarchy of command the gate of the palisade wall opened. A giant of a man stepped out. He was at the front of the reamining small group of bandits brandishing crossbows and various pikes.

On cue he had Kena step back exactly one hundred and fifty three steps then told to go prone. William stood his ground against the mob of bandits. They truly were a mob as well. They formed into a loosly cohesive line directly behind their behemoth. William trying to still lessen the blood spilled then continued speaking.

“Friends, I know you may be slightly riled up at the death of your comrade but I offer something that has more worth then his life. Your lives. Trust me when I say that all of you will die if you move to get at my charming student behind me. Beating me to a pulp will serve to gain you nothing. Your only reward will be blood and an unfinished bid for revenge.”

The behemoth started to run forward the smaller crossbowman barely keeping up. Will pointed at the behemoth with right hand. The man had to be half giant in some way. Instead of the cold intelligence from one of the smarter giant races. This wall of flesh wanted unrelenting destruction. William shook his head in disgust sometimes rabid creatures had to be put down.

He raised his left and pulled the trigger. Unfortunately, the shot went wide as the half giant started sprinting it skidded across the top of his skull and wounded one of the crossbowman trying to keep up.

Another shot rang out but it was made in haste as the giant quickly closed the distance to William. It took a sizable chunk out of tree trunk of a neck the half-giant had. But still he kept coming. He drew a gigantic axe from his hip brandishing it in both hands. A third rang out this time finding its mark striking the head of the bullish half-giant.

However the damage seemed to be superfluous to how it actually looked the new hole in the cheek spewed blood and tissue out the back of the exit yet again wounding another man carrying a pike. William could see an individual drop blood trickling down the bleeding neck of the half giant when the fourth shot rang out this one hit something vital. In through one eye and out the back.

The audible pop of the eye was enough to make William nauseous but he remained steadfast. The half-giant made it to William but by then the movements were erratic. The giant face planted next to Will almost knocking the megaphone over. The rest of the bandits had slowed to a walk then a shocked standstill still maybe a hundred feet in front of William.

William somewhat shocked himself at the sheer battering the half giant had taken. Quickly shaking the shock he took the opportunity to lean over and speak.

“So ladies and gentlefolk how about that deal I proposed?”