C628
"The fact that you've already built the aircraft surpasses my expectations."
"You'll take the first flight, except for the few test flights I did with Valeria. Feel proud; I've created something no one else can even imagine! I'll come after inspecting the aircraft, so please wait while we talk about past stories."
"Alright."
Originally, the fastest way to get to the Phantom Fortress was to use the transfer portal.
The Phantom Fortress was located in the Vermont Empire, and the Vermont Empire had the most transfer gates in the world.
Moreover, since the current ruler of Vermont was Regent Dante, there were no procedural problems.
However, in the three years since Jin left, many things had changed in the world.
"By the way, wouldn't it be faster to use the transfer gate?"
At Jin's words, Valkas shook his head.Firstly, all the transfer portals in the world had been deactivated.
"It's due to the Chaos that has spread worldwide, Jin-nim. Originally, the transfer gates became extremely dangerous only during heavy snowfalls and rains, but now the omnipresent Chaos Particles play that role."
"Moreover, all factions entered a cold war called a ceasefire and closed all connection points. Anyway, they can't use them because of the Chaos Particles."
Additionally, battleships, which were considered exclusive to Zipple until Grenille appeared, are now quite common.
Not to mention Zipple and Kinzelo, even the imperial family (which joined Zipple along with the eastern part of the Empire, as Jin predicted) received their blueprints and operated several battleships.
"If Dr. Qwaul hadn't completed the flying ship, we would have had to use land and sea routes to get to the Phantom Fortress."
"He has completed more than ten flying ships so far, my lord. He just smashed them all, saying these kinds of things are trash. If it weren't for the Merchant of the Golden Snow Tribe, Tikan would have already gone bankrupt."
"Anyway, geniuses are known for being eccentric, aren't they?"
Additionally, there has been rapid development of Zipple's living golem, the imperial family's Demon Men, and Kinzelo's Legend-type Golems.
The subjects Jin saw in the Great Desert were in chaos, and there were certain codes.
At that time, as Jin predicted, each force was strengthening the test subjects through their own "chaos control."
Kinzelo had the highest Chaos Control, followed by Zipple and the Imperial Family.
However, each faction did not know exactly the technological prowess of the other.
Valkas and Gilly took turns explaining these things.
"By the way, the things that worried me when I saw the Zipple fleet in the Sota Desert happened exactly as I thought. I think it's fortunate that the enemies haven't added a few Kozec or Grenille-class battleships yet."
Unlike other factions, Runcandel only captured a few battleships.
Although the Seven-Colored Peacock confirmed that Runcandel had kidnapped the shipbuilders, they could not secure the key personnel.
Even if they secured the key personnel and all the blueprints, finding an engineer to produce them would be another matter.
Runcandel also made no progress in chaos control.
Of course, it was commendable to train only pure knights amidst horrible living golems and modified humans, but it was undeniable that Runcandel was falling behind.
"But there must be some things the Prophet has arranged. If my family is already under the Prophet's control, they must be hiding it..."
The blueprints and parts of the space-time device obtained in the Sota Desert were still in Tikan's possession, as three years ago.
And while Jin was away, Runcandel never targeted Tikan.
If the technological gap was really severe, Mother would have interrogated my companions even if she had to break her promise to me.
Jin said he would complete both the blueprints and the machine through the brothers of the tribe, but it was not difficult for Rosa to realize while Qwaul's research materials were continuously supplied to Tikan.
"But the reason my mother never pressured Tikan is because she judged it's fine. Or... it's the Prophet, not my mother."
After the rapid development of each faction's technology, Runcandel's external status had fallen to third place after Zipple and Kinzelo.
People's perception was definitely like that.
Some even commented that Runcandel was a clan with only a limited time left until it perished.
"If that assessment is true, it seems Zipple would have pressured Runcandel more regardless of a ceasefire."
"Yes, young master. The main factions still avoid serious conflicts with our clan."
"Because they are aware of my father's and the Prophet's existence."
There was still no news from Cyron's expedition.
At least, that Tikan knew.
"Didn't you say it was half a year ago when the Garden of Swords started controlling news about me?"
"Yes, young master. Until then, articles about your achievements and progress in closed-door training were periodically published. It was like printing your status as the next patriarch to both the family members and the public. Now, even the non-family bulletins do not publish an article about you, young master."
It was the reason why Jin's companions were worried about the possibility of Runcandel threatening Jin just before he arrived at Tikan.
It wasn't just media control. For the past six months, Runcandel had completely hidden all activities of the clan's top brass, sealing off the entire city of "Kalon," where the Garden of Swords was located.
At that time, rumors were circulating that the fallen Joshua Runcandel had been reinstated, or that Rosa had usurped the throne while Cyron was absent.
"As far as we know, Sir, there have been a total of seven explosions and earthquakes detected near Kalon since you left. We couldn't confirm if it was a civil war or caused by something else."
"There's a high possibility it was caused by Mother's rampage. If Tikan detected seven, there must have been many more."
It was difficult to guess the current state of the Garden of Swords just by hearing the story.
If Rosa went berserk and the Family's command was in danger, or if a civil war broke out, other factions wouldn't have remained idle.
If the technological gap were severe, they would have attacked Tikan, and if Joshua had been reinstated, he should have already revealed himself at the forefront.
None of those scenarios were happening. This worried Jin even more.
The worst possible scenario is this:
The Prophet has already taken control of the Family, and their power is enough to make other factions fear them.
Runcandel has protected and left Tikan alone so far only to confirm and incorporate the "new information" that Jin would bring.
"...I'm sorry. We should have gathered more information before you came, Sir."
"The world has changed much faster than I thought. I am more than grateful that all of you endured without deaths or serious injuries. Don't speak like that, Sir Valkas. You all did better than expected."
Indeed, Jin felt it was a miracle that all his companions remained unscathed amid the world's upheavals.
"Anyway, it's better to reserve all judgments about my clan until I visit them myself. Depending on the situation, I will either have to make more progress during the remaining six months promised by my mother or return immediately. Taking care of urgent matters like Smarion Proch is important for now."
As the conversation continued, Qwaul reported that the inspection of the flying ship had concluded.
Following him to the shipbuilding area prepared on the middle layer of Tikan, Jin couldn't help but marvel.
'The scale isn't comparable to the shipbuilding area in the Sota Desert, but anyone can recognize at a glance that Dr. Qwaul's shipbuilding surpasses Zipple's technological prowess at the time.'
Tens of thousands of gears, machines functioning so elaborately they seemed beautiful.
In the center, in a spacious area prepared like an altar, the first masterpiece that Qwaul hadn't destroyed displayed its elegant figure.
It wasn't a large ship known in the world like Kozec, Grenille, and other mass-produced warships.
"It's small."
"Yes. It can embark five people, and the mounted firearm is just a main cannon, which is an improved version of the mass-produced dragon lance of the imperial family."
Because of this, Qwaul said the firepower of the flying ship was poor, but the dragon lance was the strongest weapon of war in the Empire until before the War of the Sword Emperor Castle.
Reducing the mass-produced version of the dragon lance without deteriorating its performance and installing it in a small ship was something only Qwaul could do in the world.
In the first place, only Qwaul is capable of producing a "small warship."
"However, the performance of the built-in protection artifact is comparable to Enya's dragon fire shield. It's an artifact created by Valeria and me, akin to a definitive example of magic and magical engineering at this moment."
Qwaul's eyes turned red while explaining.
How many walls of magic and magical engineering had they broken before making this... At the moment of completion, even Valeria seemed to be crying.
"You've worked hard, Dr. Qwaul. Here's a handkerchief...."
"Eh, damn it. I just got a speck of sawdust in my eye. Anyway, the official name of this warship is synchronous wavelength-tracking spatial jump ship. If I define it easily in one word."
"....You're saying it's a ship capable of instant teleportation?"
"Yes. Moreover, this ship surpasses all the deficiencies of the transfer gates, which have now become a symbol of the ancient era. But, it requires immense power, which is a challenge we will have to address."
Despite Qwaul's credibility, it was hard to believe until experienced firsthand.
It was that shocking.
"The name Valeria and I gave this ship is Red Owl."
It seemed that Valeria had come up with the name on her own.
"It's not going to happen, but the manual is inside, so take a look in case of an emergency. Now, try it!"
Jin, Gilly, and Valkas boarded the Red Owl's cabin with puzzled faces.
"Don't we need to operate it separately?".
"The arrival and return coordinates were set to the Ghost Castle and Tikan. When the launch bay opens, just press the button in the center of the cabin. In the blink of an eye, you'll be in front of the Ghost Castle. Also, the camouflage is still under development, so when you get there, pay attention to exposure first."
"Camouflage?"
"I don't know when it will be developed. Anyway, keep in mind that the day the Red Owl gets damaged, Valeria and I will kill you no matter what."
Creak..!
When Qwaul opened the launch bay, Jin could see the endless sky and sea.
Then, when Jin carefully pressed the button in the center of the cabin, the Red Owl enveloped itself in mana and vibrated for a moment, and the Red Owl started running with explosive acceleration.
Just like the ship of the Pirate King Cosmos when he was a Provisional Flagbearer, or faster than that.
Jin and his companions were stunned by that absurd acceleration and, in an instant, felt their heads go blank and their vision darken.
When they opened their eyes a few seconds later...
Jin and his companions blinked as they beheld the desolate landscape of the Ghost Castle on the other side of the cabin window.
"...Is this really happening? Is it real?"
Even after seeing it with their own eyes and experiencing it firsthand, it was still hard to believe it was real.
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KO-FI
'Ko-Fi' for Adv4nc3 Ch4pt3r ( Up to '120' more ch4pt3rs) Publication of up to 6 w33kly ch4pters, thanks.
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