Chapter 489: Airworthiness and War Preparation

"Call Buluokesen and Altman here. I need to establish a set of regulations to ensure the safety of this airship and all subsequent aircraft; they won't have the luxury of being refined over hundreds of years like gyrocopters."

After Sinuoli clearly stated his position, Malakai wisely shut his mouth. Even a Slayer wandering the edges of the Qunshan knew what weight the words of the Ancestor Chosen, the restorer, carried. Unless the Mother Goddess stood up to explicitly oppose him, his instructions were equivalent to divine oracles.

"Malakai Makaisson has provided a blueprint for a Thunder Airship. I believe the Southlands need to develop this type of aircraft. I called you here not only to coordinate resources but also to ensure its safety and usability through your joint efforts."

They showed different attitudes toward this Slayer Engineer. Yanmei still harbored resentment for the massive losses Malakai caused to Haimenguan, while Buluokesen knew that if it weren't for his father being the Guildmaster, the trouble he caused while tinkering with Warpstone would have earned him the same treatment.

"Buluokesen, I appoint you as the engineering representative to lead the organization of the review and approval of relevant design data. Your work needs to be precise down to the component level, and for critical parts, it must be elevated to the material level."

"Kalade, you will serve as the manufacturing representative. In addition to improving craftsmanship, you must build a quality inspection system to ensure that every part is produced in strict accordance with the blueprints approved by the engineering representative, ensuring the document matches the reality."

"Altman, you come from a background as an airship engineer, so you will carry out your work as the airworthiness representative. Organize personnel to design sufficient ground simulation experiments and aerial test flights based on past experience to ensure the airship's overall performance meets safety and reliability requirements under expected operating environments and usage limitations."

"You 'representatives' represent not just my royal court, but every citizen of the Southlands and even the world, every life that might be affected by the airship's operation."

Sinuoli emphasized at the end that aircraft pilots were the most difficult personnel to train under any circumstances. To gain the trust of air force soldiers and passengers, safety was the top priority; he did not want to produce flying coffins and then force people to go up and operate them.

"Understood!"

"As you wish!"

In the days of managing the Southlands, Sinuoli established absolute prestige among his subordinates and formed a set of management methods. When he said "discuss," it meant everyone could speak freely and brainstorm, but when he issued instructions seriously, obedience was the best choice.

Andemuge directed the West Factory to infiltrate the Withered Swamp, confirming that the Skaven's movements had temporarily ceased. As for the agitation in the hearts of Lord Lagos of Tongshanbao and his daughter due to the sudden extra care for the Southlands, that did not fall within Sinuoli's considerations.

Due to the cancellation of the plan to send troops in alliance with the Skaven, Gotrek successfully assisted the Ash Lord in clearing out all the Chaos Dwarfs in the Black Fortress who were devout believers in the Bull God.

At the same time, they brought back Valaya's oracle: Drazhoath would lead his elite troops to join Sinuoli's army. After her own resurrection, the Mother Goddess certainly would not sit idly by and watch her husband and sons continue to sleep, and Sinuoli tacitly avoided discussing this with her to maintain a close alliance.

As the summons spread across the Old World, many Human heroes besides the Dwarfs rose to respond—facing the Chaos Demon Army to fight for the protection of this world was the highest honor, and it was enough to wash away most shame or doubts.

Compared to heading straight for the Chaos Wastes, joining Sinuoli's army was undoubtedly more economical. Direct teleportation to the battlefield saved long treks and entanglement with minions; the mortality rate could be relatively lowered; even if one sacrificed heroically, it would not go unnoticed, as the great battle would be widely sung by bards under the witness of the Demigod Dwarf King.

Sinuoli reported this situation to the second-generation Slann. Their directive was: first, ensure the Humans are loyal and reliable—if they are corrupted or fall during the confrontation between the two armies, Sinuoli alone will be held accountable; second, ensure they have a certain level of strength, not lower than the average level of the Dwarf legions.

Under the guidance of such a program, Sinuoli accepted three teams: the elite church armed forces personally selected by the Grand Archbishop of Sigmar, composed of Warrior Priests of the Order of the Silver Hammer and Inquisitors and Witch Hunters of the Order of the Purifying Flame;

A powerful corps composed of mercenary adventurers active on the northern border of the Empire and Kislev. It is now led by Theodore Bruckner, who won in several internal duels.

The Dwarf King received this strong fighter, who had a lush brown beard and hair, and stood two heads taller than the Emperor's guards. What troubled Theodore was the questioning of his identity—

Although he hated evil and held infinite enthusiasm for his compatriots, there were still widespread rumors that he was a bastard left behind by a Norsca barbarian chieftain after a raid, and even worse, that it was the blessing of the Chaos Gods that gave him such strange strength.

The feat of assisting Kislev in expelling the Vampires who had usurped the throne for nearly a hundred years was praised by the new Tsar as promised. With one handshake, Theodore knew that the young Dwarf before him, who seemed unremarkable, was an order-aligned powerhouse worthy of following—the extraordinary power surging within him was even more profound than the sum of the legendary Bear God's son and the Dapushou.

The third team was naturally the Questing Knights of Bretonnia—the Lady of the Lake had long suffered from aesthetic fatigue regarding Minotaurs, Trolls, and the like, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to gain her attention and blessings; they urgently needed opponents who could deeply "hit the spot" for her.

In addition to those already adventuring in the wilderness, led by the Duke of Pala Weng, dozens of landed Knight nobles threw down their lances and Shields, and under the accompaniment of the Crusade Vow and the Prophetess's blessing, they shouldered their greatswords and charged into the fray.

Sinuoli was not anxious because of this; he agreed with the Slann's judgment—destroying enough Earth Vein Network nodes outside of a direct assault on Itza could also prevent the ritual from proceeding smoothly. The ones he built himself in the Southlands could also potentially become targets.

Considering that the resources on hand were not that abundant, Sinuoli toured northward, emphasizing the importance of the Earth Vein Network to every garrison commander and deploying defensive strategies according to local conditions to cope with possible impacts.

At Red Cloud Mountain, Belegar took the opportunity to rush over to report to him on the development and military situation in the areas surrounding Eight Peaks. After Geerya-Edan discovered that the Angrund Clan was not an easy opponent, he captured Jinshicheng in the Nan E Di to settle down; both sides were accumulating strength, probing each other, and were not yet ready for a decisive battle.

The Greenskin harassment slowed down the road construction plan, so the Dwarf Kings decided to settle for the next best thing and first complete the repair of the Earth Vein Network between Eight Peaks and Tiefengbao, laying tracks so that the two major fortresses could support each other.

Looking at the grand blueprint outlined, Sinuoli could imagine what a magnificent sight it would be to fully connect the World's Edge Mountains. But now he needed to use the Warhammer in his palm to win the time needed for his race to develop.

"It is time. Pass my order: everyone gather before the Earth Vein stones!"