I Became a Witch and Started an Industrial Revolution

The timing of the Britian Empire’s intervention was somewhat fatal—it came precisely at the critical juncture when the overall situation was on the verge of being decided but had not yet fully solidified. What had once been a clear trend suddenly turned unpredictable again.

Especially under Britian’s leadership, several neighboring countries dispatched their own national representatives to participate in this round of peace negotiations.

On the international stage, the serf uprising army had not yet captured the capital nor completed the full restoration of the territory to overthrow the Tsar and rebuild the nation. Therefore, they were considered a ‘non-legitimate’ organization, with no diplomatic recognition and no allies.

No matter how one looked at it, the serf uprising forces were indeed at a disadvantage in mid- to high-end combat power. With the Britian Empire right beside them, it could directly influence their economy, livelihood, and even military development.

If other surrounding nations were added into the equation, it would form a complete blockade, placing immense pressure on them. The wavering nobles would also begin to reassess the situation, allowing the Tsar to catch his breath.

The Britian Empire’s intervention, however, stemmed from deeper considerations. The very nature of the Tsarist Nation’s serf rebellion was highly ambiguous—and dangerous—to neighboring countries.

Whether empires or kingdoms, they all fundamentally belonged to the same system. The only difference lay in centralized authority versus feudal enfeoffment, but their governing structures were still centered around nobles and estate owners.

But the rebellion was different. This was an organization without noble leadership or participation, and one that was even preparing to conduct a reverse purge of the nobility. They could not allow such a state to emerge, as it would have an extremely negative influence on the populations of neighboring nations.

Take, for example, the semi-independent Western United Armed Forces in the western region of the Britian Empire. If the rebellion succeeded in founding a nation, it would greatly boost the morale of all uprising and rebel forces.

And serfs were not unique to the Tsarist Nation—every country had them to some extent.

To put it as a dark joke: across the Main Continent, not just empires—even most kingdoms—had a level of “automation” in noble life that was not inferior to the Alliance, and in some cases even surpassed it.

With a wave of the hand, water, electricity, and meals would arrive. In heat, there were cooling chambers; in cold, heated halls. With a simple stretch of the arms, clothes would automatically be worn—everything required no personal effort.

So who could say that human-powered automation wasn’t still automation?

Slaves had already become an indispensable component of both empires and kingdoms, as well as an extremely effective method of deterring the lower classes.

Being reduced to slave status was a punishment severe enough to condemn an entire family to eternal ruin—let alone an individual. Everything, including one’s life, no longer belonged to oneself, but merely existed as a livestock-like existence in human form.

In some regions, churches would even use slaves as ritual offerings—every part of the body having its own unique purpose~

If the Roshek Tsarist Dynasty were overthrown by serfs, it would be difficult to ensure that similar armed forces would not arise in other kingdoms under the same slogans.

At the same time, through this conference, the Britian Empire also sought to ease its ongoing military conflict with the Empire of Mantogore.

The meeting was held in the capital of the Kingdom of Suria, a relatively neutral nation. This time, there were even more participating countries than during the Seven-Nation Alliance—by one and a half.

The additional one was the Alliance representative, Coy Ackerman Astal, while the “half” referred to the current Roshek rebel forces, represented by Wellington, who had returned after studying in the Alliance.

As for why the Alliance—despite being the farthest from the subcontinent—could participate in such a conference and stand on equal footing with the two great empires, the answer was simple:

Because of its status as the financial backer.

To put it bluntly, even the two great empires now had to, to some extent, consider the Alliance’s stance.

The Alliance could say: “I may choose not to take a seat at this conference—but you cannot deny me one. Otherwise, I’ll start by reminding you about interest payments.”

Aside from the two kingdoms busy dealing with internal conflicts against increasingly powerful capitalist merchants—

Whether it was the Derro War or the war between the two great empires, both were supported behind the scenes by massive material supplies from the Seris Alliance.

The Roshek Tsarist Dynasty being pushed to the brink might have been the most severe case in this continental turmoil—but it was by no means the only one.

Other nations all had similar issues to varying degrees, especially those involved in war.

A war of attrition was the most exhausting and torturous form of warfare. None of these major nations’ industrial or agricultural foundations could sustain years of uninterrupted, massive supply consumption.

Thus, famine spread across both kingdoms and empires.

Take the Britian Empire as an example—on its western front, it had to suppress the restless Western United Armed Forces, while in the south, it was fighting the Beastmen Empire. The scale of material consumption was astronomical.

Especially in the west, where unrest had caused major manors and farms to stop supplying grain to the empire. With even fertile agricultural regions failing like this, the empire’s condition could only be worse.

According to intelligence reports, the Britian Empire had already begun implementing wartime rationing. Each resident was allocated a fixed monthly ration of 15 jin of flour and some basic necessities.

Everything else had to be obtained independently—the empire simply did not have more to give.

Because priority had to be given to supplying frontline soldiers with firearms, ammunition, mechanical bodies, food, clothing, and more. Civilians could only wait.

Even so, the empire’s internal supply system was barely holding together.

Since they couldn’t manage it themselves, they had no choice but to hand it over to a country that could—the Seris Alliance.

Mitia was an obsessive railway enthusiast. Wherever the army advanced, railway tracks would follow—because it was a guaranteed profitable investment.

Whether for military use, industrial purposes, or future civilian applications, railways never became obsolete. Efficiency meant money, meant life, meant everything!

By prioritizing the construction of railway and aerial transport networks, the Alliance had unified itself into a cohesive whole, amplifying its advantages in cost, production, and logistics.

The reason why several Main Continent nations could continue fighting year after year was precisely due to the Alliance’s continuous maritime shipments of flour, meat, steel plates, and various military supplies.

At present, the total tonnage of the Alliance’s merchant fleets far exceeded the combined military and civilian fleets of the Seven-Nation Alliance.

Moreover, as the war dragged on, the major participating nations had all accumulated significant debt to the Seris Alliance. Preliminary estimates placed the combined debt of four nations at nearly 5 billion Alliance Currency.

And the Alliance did not accept repayment in currency—it only accepted raw materials and precious metals. As a result, a large portion of the Seven-Nation Alliance’s precious metals had been absorbed by the Alliance, allowing Alliance Currency to become the dominant trade currency across the Main Continent, effectively granting the Alliance pricing power.

Through years of stable development, even without using military force, the Alliance had gradually infiltrated its influence into the Main Continent, becoming an indispensable part of its national systems.

This was also the fundamental reason behind internal disagreements within the Alliance—too many intertwined interests, too many complexities. Different positions led to different perspectives.

Exporting ideology was important—but proving one’s superiority and advancement was equally crucial. It was a matter of choosing the right point of entry.

Before the time was ripe, priority had to be given to strengthening the domestic foundation and improving the living standards of the Alliance’s people.

Then, through large-scale investment in education systems of other nations—such as selectively supporting one or two institutions as overseas academic hubs—talented students could be sent to the Alliance for further study.

These selected students were either exceptionally gifted or came from influential backgrounds—natural members of the elite class.

By subtly influencing their ways of thinking through environmental exposure, once they returned to their home countries and became key components of their national systems, the Alliance could gradually expand its influence outward.