Chapter 1105: Invitation
Fortunately, Lin Li had learned a lot on The Star, especially the design of the power system of The Star, which seemed to have opened a whole new door for him. Although he couldn’t replicate the power system on The Star wholesale and plant it onto the warship that was under construction, he was confident in designing a power system that was even more suitable for this battleship.
The people in charge of the shipyard, especially the master-level shipbuilders who had been hired from all over the world, couldn’t help but be fascinated as they listened to Lin Li’s explanation of the design of the new power system. Some of them even applauded when they heard some interesting points. The ingenious design made them feel like they were entering a whole new world.
The power system was the foundation, and next they would have to deal with the defense system, firearms system, and so on. Of course, Lin Li didn’t copy the design of The Star entirely, and instead made certain corrections to each detail of the battleship according to the actual condition of the battleship. He believed that even if the battleship would not be as impressive as The Star after it was completed, it would definitely be one of the best in Anril.
However, Lin Li didn’t face much difficulty in solving the technical issues, because he could take reference from The Star. After the original design was modified, the construction of the new battleship would definitely require greater investment in aspects like the materials needed, which was an issue that had to be solved rather urgently.
What outcome would there be if the giant alchemical ships of the Gilded Kingdom had hulls that were made of wood!? Lin Li didn’t want to end up failing terribly by building his battleship based on reference taken from The Star. Even if the battleship could not reach the standard of The Star, the materials needed were key to making the best out of it.
According to Lin Li’s new design, the new battleship required a large amount of rare magical metals, but the demand could no longer be met by the resources that the Tower of Dusk had at the moment. However, in order to exert pressure on the Gilded Kingdom, almost all the forces of the Breezy Plains had suspended or reduced their business dealings with the Gilded Kingdom, and many of them were in the business of rare magical metals. The Tower of Dusk took advantage of this opportunity to take over the magical metal stocks of those forces at a more favorable price than the Gilded Kingdom’s.
Those forces were also glad about the Tower of Dusk’s intervention. Anyway, it didn’t matter who the buyer was as long as their goods could be sold. Besides, the Tower of Dusk did not abuse their authority and power to demand for lower prices, and even if their business dealings with the Gilded Kingdom resumed later, the Gilded Kingdom wouldn’t be able to bargain for lower prices easily, since the Tower of Dusk had offered a higher price than them this time.
Soon, the people in the shipyard began to build the battleship in an orderly manner according to the new design. Due to the fact that Lin Li had personally partic.i.p.ated, the construction progress was faster even though the updated design of the battleship had greater requirements. Of course, Lin Li did not only focus on the construction of the battleship. He would also return to the Sky Castle from time to time to guide everyone in the modification of the Sky Castle.
Such days were not exactly relaxing, because there were many problems that Lin Li had to take care of. However, compared to Lin Li’s adventurous lifestyle before this or the period of time that he spent studying in the inverted tower, he was much less busy now.
Time pa.s.sed quickly, and it was rather calm and peaceful in the Breezy Plains. Not only did the Gilded Kingdom not continue to cause any problems, the forces of the Breezy Plains did not fight over interests after truly submitting to the Tower of Dusk.
In the blink of an eye, a few months had pa.s.sed, and the battleship built in the shipyard of Ortland Port had already reached the final stage of construction. Soon, it would be sent to sea for testing. Moreover, the Tower of Dusk had purchased several Magical Crystal Cannons from the Gilded Kingdom over the past few months. After Lin Li and Angelano’s transformation, they were ready for installation on the newly built battleship.
However, just when the new battleship was ready for testing, the Gilded Kingdom, which had been silent for a long time, finally caused a stir again. Of course, this time they were not looking for trouble, but instead sent a team of envoys, and claimed that it was a friendly visit to the Tower of Dusk.
The leader of this mission was naturally Cantory, who was the special envoy of the Gilded Kingdom, and Elder Zumar of the Illuminati. They were accompanied by an entourage of nearly 100 people. The size of such a mission was already on the same scale as diplomacy conducted between two nations, especially since Elder Zumar, a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, was present. Perhaps even the diplomacy between two nations would not be worth the appearance of this Sanctuary powerhouse.
Of course, the Tower of Dusk did not feel flattered at all. The members thought that it was normal for them to send a Sanctuary powerhouse since their president was a true Sanctuary powerhouse too. Besides, the Gilded Kingdom had been wishy-washy about the purchase of the battleship-cla.s.s Magical Crystal Cannons, which had upset many mages of the Tower of Dusk. They felt that they were already doing the Gilded Kingdom a great favor by allowing them to enter.
When the Gilded Kingdom envoys arrived, Lin Li was still conducting a final comprehensive inspection of the newly built battleship in the shipyard in Ortland Port. After receiving the news from the Tower of Dusk, he did not intentionally hang out with the people of the Gilded Kingdom, and instead carefully finished the inspection before returning directly to the Tower of Dusk by shuttling through s.p.a.ce.
When Lin Li returned to the Tower of Dusk, Gavin, a senior executive, was receiving the envoys of the Gilded Kingdom. Cantory and Elder Zumar, the two main figures of the group of envoys, were ushered into the reception hall of the Tower of Dusk, while the others were entertained by someone else.
“Elder Zumar, it’s been a long time since we met. What brings you here today?” Lin Li stepped into the reception hall and greeted Elder Zumar with a smile.
Seeing Lin Li walk in, Elder Zumar immediately stood up from his seat, also smiling, and said, “I’m actually quite guilty now that we’re talking about it. I haven’t thanked you for helping us on Cage Island previously, President Felic. This time we have come to pay a friendly visit to the Tower of Dusk. At the same time, we’d also like to express our grat.i.tude to you, President Felic.”
After that battle on Cage Island, Elder Zumar already had a new impression of Lin Li, and thought of him highly. Hence, he no longer put on airs around him. However, there was some displeasure in Cantory’s eyes, even though he still had a diplomatic smile on his face.
“Haha, there’s nothing to thank me for. Strictly speaking, that was just a transaction. If you really want to thank me, I would like the Gilded Kingdom to fulfill the agreement between us and prepare the Magical Crystal Cannons that we want,” Lin Li said half-jokingly. In other words, he meant that he wanted them to stop beating around the bush and saying meaningless things. If they were sincere, they would stop being wishy-washy about the Magical Crystal Cannon orders.
“President Felic, you’ve gotten the wrong idea. We are facing some difficulties. The production of Magical Crystal Cannons is very difficult, and we have to reserve some for the nation too. However, please rest a.s.sured that once we manufacture some new ones, we will definitely rea.s.sign priority to meet the needs of the Tower of Dusk.” Being old and experienced, Elder Zumar did not seem embarra.s.sed at all. Instead, he was very sincere.
Lin Li did not continue to put him on the spot, either. Instead, he walked to his seat, turned to Elder Zumar, and said, “Elder Zumar, please have a seat. You may not be here to deliver the Magical Crystal Cannons this time, but since you’re here, you’re a guest too. Let’s sit down and discuss what it is that you’re here for.”
“President Felic, we’re here this time mainly to extend an invitation to you. We will be celebrating the establishment of the Gilded Kingdom soon, and as a special envoy of the Gilded Kingdom, I have been entrusted by His Majesty the king to invite you, a friend of our kingdom, to our founding celebration.” While speaking, Cantory took out an exquisite and beautiful invitation card, and handed it over to Lin Li with a smile on his face.
Friend? Hearing this, the people present at the Tower of Dusk could not help but laugh. Indeed, politicians were all hypocritical. Everyone knew that the founding celebration was just to a.s.sert the power of the nation to deter those who had the audacity to become the Gilded Kingdom’s enemies.
If the same trick was used on other forces or kingdoms, it might still be somewhat effective, but the Gilded Kingdom was wrong to have tried that on the Tower of Dusk. The Tower of Dusk was now helmed by a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse. They also had a Sky Castle, which was built as a weapon by the High Elves, as well as a team of elite mages. If they really had to display their strength, the Tower of Dusk would probably frighten them instead.
Lin Li looked at the invitation in his hand with a smile, and said, “I have long heard that the Gilded Kingdom has a heritage of thousands of years, and since you live on the sea, your kingdom has a very different look from the countries of the continent. I believe you have also invited other forces apart from the Tower of Dusk, right?”
“Yes, this time it’s going to be a millennium celebration, and the scale of the celebration is going to be much larger than usual. In addition to the Tower of Dusk, we have also invited the Mithril Alliance, Caesar Family, the Glittergold Trade Union, and other forces of the Breezy Plains.” Cantory was rather frank about it, and he even sounded very proud. He was obviously already thinking about how shocked the Tower of Dusk would be when they saw the strength displayed by the Gilded Kingdom.
When they heard Cantory’s answer, the people of the Tower of Dusk immediately understood that the Gilded Kingdom obviously wanted to deter the other forces of the Breezy Plains too, and not just the Tower of Dusk. They wanted to take advantage of this so-called founding celebration to display the strength of the Gilded Kingdom to the other forces in the Breezy Plains to make them choose between the Tower of Dusk and Gilded Kingdom.
In fact, during the Cage Island incident back then, the Gilded Kingdom had pulled the same trick. Instead of heading straight to Cage Island with their battleships, they chose to pa.s.s through the Blackwater Swamp and Levidan Canyon to showcase the mighty strength of the Gilded Kingdom in front of the forces of the Breezy Plains. Unfortunately, things ultimately escalated beyond their expectations, and did not go according to plan. In the end, they not only failed to achieve a deterrent effect, they even had to ask for help from the Tower of Dusk and the forces of the Breezy Plains.
“Okay. By the way, didn’t you mention that the Magical Crystal Cannons are too large to be transported conveniently? Why don’t you help me prepare a batch of Magical Crystal Cannons, and I take them back myself after the celebration?” Lin Li did not delay anything, and directly made that request to Cantory.
The Gilded Kingdom had been refusing to honor the deal for the Magical Crystal Cannons by using the excuse of problematic transportation. Thus, they had been supplying only two cannons to the Tower of Dusk each month. Of course, that excuse was, to some extent, also a fact. A standard cargo ship could only transport one Magical Crystal Cannon at a time, and if the Gilded Kingdom only operated two ships a month, it could indeed only transport two.
Lin Li was very enthusiastic about solving this problem for the Gilded Kingdom. No matter how many Magical Crystal Cannons there were, it would not be a burden to his Ring of Endless Storm at all. If he were to load them openly, he could probably load the entire fleet of the Gilded Kingdom into his Ring of Endless Storm too.
However, they had no idea that Lin Li had such an incredible storage device. After all, spatial storage magic devices were very precious and rare in the entire Anril, not to mention one with infinite s.p.a.ce like the Ring of Endless Storm. Generally speaking, even if it was very precious, such devices were known as artifacts that only had a few cubic meters of s.p.a.ce according to legends. A few cubic meters of s.p.a.ce would not be enough for an ordinary magical crystal, let alone the Magical Crystal Cannons.
Hence, after hearing Lin Li’s words, there was some contempt in Cantory’s eyes instead of anger. He smirked, and said, “Is that so? We’re more than happy to have you share the pressure of transporting the Magical Crystal Cannons for us, President Felic.”
When Cantory said that, Elder Zumar who was at the side, vaguely felt that there was something wrong, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint where the problem lay. As a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, the only possibility he could think of was that Lin Li was probably intending to use his Domain World to store all the Magical Crystal Cannons. However, the Domain World was not omnipotent, and Sanctuary powerhouses were not G.o.ds, either, and it was impossible to constantly keep the Domain World open to transport the Magical Crystal Cannons back to the Breezy Plains.
Hence, Zumar didn’t stop Cantory. Instead, after Cantory finished speaking, Zumar said to Lin Li, “President Felic, let’s put aside the matter of the Magical Crystal Cannons for now. I have something else to share with you that I believe you will be interested in.”