Reborn as the Failed Lord with my Resource Gathering System.

Two days later, the bright sun shimmered down on the workers, who were still active on the mining site, following each and every one of Seraphina's orders.

News of their progress had spread.

Many of the villagers had already taken note of the massive undertaking.

While they didn't know the exact details, they understood that their young lord was working on something important.

And if it was a project from Lord Dorian, they reasoned, it was most likely another grand miracle. Their barony had grown so much because of him, after all.

As such, the people of the barony began to volunteer, offering their help for free. The young men handled most of the heavy duties, while the women, led by the baroness herself, would provide care, food, and water to make the men's jobs easier.

With an air of professionalism, Dorian moved towards Gatty's team, Seraphina walking right behind him.

They both looked exhausted, as though they could collapse at any second. Their lack of sleep was evident, a fact not lost on the workers.

Upon reaching the manager, Dorian stretched a blueprint out to Gatty.

"How many men do you think are available to work on this?" Dorian asked. Seraphina was resting her head on his shoulder, struggling to stand on her own two feet.

Gatty took the papers with a nervous look on his face. Glancing at the schematics, he could tell it was yet another incredible invention, just like the windmills they were currently building.

Except this one seemed to be a machine purely for crushing, grinding, and purifying materials with mana.

After getting a good read on it, Gatty raised his head. "Is this the special requirement you spoke about, my lord?"

Dorian barely managed a nod. "Yes. It's just as important. What do you think? Can it be done alongside the windmill project?"

His question hung in the air. A lot of the workers were still focused on the exterior of the windmills, along with clearing the inner mining hole for the towers to be placed in.

Seraphina chimed in, slightly raising her head from Dorian's shoulder. "We are almost done with the Dragon's Breath towers, correct? If that is the case, then we can slow that down to build this. Have the men move to this project instead."

Gatty held the paper tight. "Alright, leave it to me."

Immediately, Dorian and Seraphina lazily raised their hands for a thumbs-up. And with that, Gatty was gone to coordinate his team.

"My Lord…" Seraphina called out before she returned her head to his shoulder.

"Yes."

"Are you sure Maria is doing alright? You sent her to my parents' barony to get the magic crystals, no? She is not exactly someone I envision when speaking about negotiation."

Dorian sighed. "And that is why I chose her specifically to go," he looked to the side. "Right, we haven't secured the road there. We should probably get that done."

Seraphina turned her gaze in the same direction. "Ah, true. I forgot to get the road maintenance team. I'm sorry."

"No better time than now, I guess."

Just as Dorian was about to say something else, he heard the sound of horses stopping right outside the mining zone.

"Is she here?" asked Seraphina.

"Seems like it."

They both headed out, walking past the gate only to indeed see Maria and her commanders standing outside. Dorian was happy to see them, a smile gracing his face with every step he took forward.

"What took you guys so long?"

"We ran into a little incident on our way back, my lord," Aces replied from the back, his head slightly bowed in respect.

Then Maria spoke, moving closer with the boxes of magic crystals in her hand.

"Magic crystals. Thirty-three in total. Will that be enough?" she stretched her hand forward.

Dorian stared at the box for a good second, using his Analysis skill to make sure the quality was exactly what he needed.

Once he had done a thorough check and could see that the quality was indeed high, he smiled, grabbing the box and handing it to Seraphina.

"Here, they can begin now. Just as it was in the blueprint."

Seraphina took the box from him. "On it. I'll let you know if there are any issues along the way."

With that, Seraphina was gone, heading towards the other group to continue the Dragon's Breath project.

Then, right after…

"And also…" Maria stepped to the side, allowing Dorian to get a direct view of Aces. "One of my soldiers has something to report."

Dorian looked at the young man with the long red hair and strangely closed eyes.

"I see. I figured as much, seeing as you mentioned facing an issue on your way here." He sighed. "Sure, let's head to the mansion first."

…

A few days later, the project was complete.

Standing tall side by side were four towers, each having massive wooden wings mounted at their top, along with ladders on the walls and a small door leading inside the tower itself.

Standing with his arms folded, Dorian could see workers moving in and out of the towers, making sure everything was exactly as it needed to be.

The inside of the windmills had been lined with the refined volcanic ash plates, padded to the inner walls to not only help regulate temperature but also allow mana to flow and direct the wind exactly where it needed to go.

In this case, the wind entering through the turbines needed to go down; as such, the plates were arranged to direct the airflow into the depths, where multiple black crystals had been arranged in a spiral form. Each tower had about seven to eight black crystals.

One of each was used as a mana power bank to regulate the rest, but when all was said and done, the project had finally reached its end.

"Lord Dorian! Everything checks out; the magical crystals have been safely secured!" Gatty yelled from on top of one of the towers.

Maria and Seraphina, who were right beside Dorian, couldn't help but be impressed at how far they had come in such a short amount of time.

If this project were to work, they could help other countries expand their reach in gathering resources, boosting the economy of the kingdom itself.

Taking a deep breath, Dorian finally responded…

"Good. Insert them into the holes!"

The order was received, and the workers carried on with it. Since the towers were built on giant platforms with wheels underneath, it was easy for them to move each tower and slide it into the prepared shafts.

Once inserted, they would cover the base with gravel, hardening it in place to stop the structures from breaking the ground when they began to work.

At the bottom of the mining ground, Diggy and his many clones sealed each shaft's opening with a net-shaped cover made from volcanic ash.

It was designed to evenly disperse the wind to every corner of the mine.

In due time, the four towers were set and placed into their respective holes, towering about sixteen feet in height and forty feet in diameter.

The sheer view of the colossal structures caused the other villagers to gasp in awe upon seeing them for the first time.

It was finally ready.

The Dragon's Breath project was ready to be launched.

...

[A/N]

We are almost done with the dragon project; now, we move to our battle with the greedy lord Embre, and the looming threat of the dragon egg.