Chapter 918: Floating Warship

When approaching Gotham City, night had already fallen.

Anxiwodasi sat on the dragon's back, looking down at the city still ablaze with lights beneath the night sky; the skyscrapers stretched endlessly, traffic flowed like a river of horses and carriages, like a city that never sleeps, and the night view was hardly any worse than Mo Du's.

He couldn't help but exclaim, "Who could have imagined that just a few years ago this place was a wasteland overrun by the undead? Lei En, you did well!"

"Your talent for governing and development surpasses even a Wizard's innate gift," Oruoin sincerely praised.

"Thank you, Master, for the compliment," Lei En modestly replied.

Oruoin suddenly smiled, "Although I don't usually handle Empire affairs, I've watched the Empire's rapid development these past two years. In this world, no one is more suited to be Consul than you; I'm glad I supported you back then."

This time Lei En was no longer modest, and he nodded with a hint of pride.

Oruoin didn't notice that as he spoke, Anxiwodasi's eyes flickered beside him, his expression turning a bit complex.

Lei En patted the massive dragon beneath him, "Boleqi, don't enter the city; we'll fly north."

"Alright, boss."

The golden three‑headed dragon turned and flew north in the high sky; moments later, following Lei En's orders, it landed in a wilderness about a hundred li from Gotham City. This spot lay within the radiance of the God of Magic's statue; Gotham City had not yet expanded this far, and the surroundings were dark and barren, with the sea a dozen or so li to the east.

Anxiwodasi leapt from the dragon's back, surveyed the area and found no trace of buildings, nor any sign of the Floating City, and was instantly puzzled.

He had assumed the Iola Core would be delivered straight to the construction site of the Floating City.

"Lei En, where is your Floating City?" Oruoin asked, equally puzzled.

"It's not here."

Lei En smiled, lifted the crate containing the Iola Core from the dragon's back through the air, and explained, "This is merely a temporary spot where I decided to install the Iola Core."

Then a portal opened before them, and he bowed, "Teacher, Master, please come in!"

Behind the portal lay darkness.

The two Holy Soul Wizards instantly recognized this was no ordinary portal; the other side was not the Prime Material Plane. They exchanged glances and stepped inside.

Lei En followed behind, and Boleqi curiously kept up.

Reslin stayed behind to guard the Iola Core.

Anxiwodasi passed through the portal and immediately sensed the lack of gravity; his body floated lightly. The dry, stale air was heavy with metallic odor, and countless materials were piled on the ground like a massive factory.

This is a half‑plane.

Anxiwodasi knew Lei En had originally obtained an Origin Stone from the Nakxas Floating City, so owning a half‑plane wasn't surprising; what he hadn't expected was Lei En's choice to build a Floating City within the half‑plane. Could a half‑plane accommodate an entire Floating City?

Thinking this, he looked up and was instantly stunned.

Oruoin also looked up at the sky, inhaling a breath of cold air.

"Th‑this‑this‑this…"

Boleqi, who had followed, stared dumbfounded, his jaw nearly dropping, and stammered, "B‑boss! Is this the Floating City you built?"

A massive metal fortress hovered above their heads.

From the ground only its base was visible, resembling a triangular dagger magnified countless times, its armor plates forged from massive slabs of silvery‑gray metal; each plate was larger than a room, edges neat, some square, some rectangular, welded together flawlessly.

The base armor bore numerous devices, evidently capable of sliding or opening, and some protrusions etched with flowing runic lines, their purpose unknown.

Just looking at the base left the three of them awe‑struck!

It was the pinnacle of mechanical craftsmanship; they, being discerning people and a dragon, especially the two sharp‑eyed Holy Soul Wizards, could see that each base armor plate was forged from smelted magical alloy, its interior packed with countless rune sigils.

If it were just a single plate it would be understandable, but what lay before them numbered at least in the thousands!

Even merely smelting the unknown billions of pounds of metal once is a colossal undertaking, let alone infusing magical alloy, arranging rune sigils, designing, assembling, calibrating, and so on…

It's hard to imagine how much manpower and resources this would require.

Not to mention the production cost; just thinking of it makes one's scalp tingle—terrifyingly expensive!

Yet, in the half‑plane they saw not a single worker; aside from themselves, the entire half‑plane was silent.

"We can't see the whole picture here," Lei En laughed, "Follow me."

He expanded a psychic field to envelop the three, lifting them into the sky. The closer they got to the metal fortress, the stronger the oppressive pressure became; the terrifying weight hanging overhead inexplicably stirred extreme unease and danger.

Anxiwodasi observed more details; even up close, the base armor showed no flaw whatsoever.

He had previously wondered whether the metal fortress might be too small.

Its volume was less than a tenth of the Floating City's, yet now it seemed enormous!

Most of the Floating City's interior consists of mountains, soil, rock, or blank space; only a minuscule portion—perhaps less than one percent—has been truly altered by the Wizards, essentially semi‑processed. Yet every armor plate, every component of this metal fortress, every inch of space, has poured countless effort and material; for the same volume, the workload exceeds that of the Floating City by more than tenfold!

If it were as large as the Floating City, the workload would skyrocket to unimaginable levels, possibly enough to build a dozen or more Floating Cities.

Soon, Lei En led the three to the side of the Star Destroyer.

"What a huge Electric Light Cannon!" Boleqi exclaimed.

The Star Destroyer was likewise sheathed in armor; it resembled the blade of a dagger—thin relative to the whole ship—yet stood over thirty meters tall, about ten stories, with a striking row of gun barrels.

Anxiwodasi also recognized them as Electric Light Cannons, which had long been installed in Gotham City.

However, these Electric Light Cannons before them had noticeably thicker and longer barrels, each consisting of two parallel tubes; from end to end, eight such cannons were mounted on the side, totaling sixteen barrels. The ball turret could clearly rotate, targeting all foes on this side.

One can imagine that the opposite side of the metal fortress also houses eight massive Electric Light Cannons.

The altitude continued to rise.

The three finally saw the Star Destroyer's full shape; indeed, its upper side was also entirely covered in solid metal armor, two plates joining like the faces of a sword blade at a shallow angle, the spine between them—when magnified countless times—resembling two silvery‑gray metal ridges.

The fortress's front was fully exposed, with few devices.

But at the rear, three tiers of deck‑like metal structures rose atop one another, the third tier bearing a tower‑like building whose summit supported a massive platform.

The wing‑shaped platform extended outward on both sides, nearly two hundred meters long.

Obviously, this platform was the metal fortress's core control hub; its high position and clear view made it as important and functional as the Weizelan Tower is to the Weizelan Floating City.

On each side of the base beneath the platform, where it meets the armor, there were four double‑door Electric Light Cannons.

Lei En led the two and the dragon in a circuit around the Star Destroyer, and indeed on the opposite side they saw eight identical double‑door Electric Light Cannons.

When they looped to the Star Destroyer's rear, they spotted seven propulsion engines—three large and four small. The three large ones were main engines, their exhaust nozzles over thirty meters in diameter; even idle, one could feel the terrifying heat they would emit when active.

Ouluoyin kept exclaiming in amazement, sparing no praise.

He doesn't have a Fu Kong Cheng, but that doesn't hinder his understanding of Fu Kong Cheng; Lei En's metal fortress may be small, yet it feels far more grand and spectacular than other Fu Kong Chengs.

"What a magnificent creation!" Ouluoyin sighed.

Bo Erqi kept nodding nonstop, his eyes fixed straight ahead, with only one thought in his mind: how much did building this thing cost?

Anxiwodasi looked at Lei En and asked, "You say this isn't a Fu Kong Cheng; it indeed isn't. Then what should it be called? A floating warship?"

In Ai Lun E Si's history, the concept of floating warships once appeared; in the previous era, the Elf Empire even built a real one, but it was merely a retrofit of sea warships to let them fly and fight in the air, riddled with flaws, and ultimately never delivered much power.

The concept of this metal fortress is similar to that of a floating warship, yet it is clearly far more powerful than the Elf's flying vessels.

"No, Master," Lei En replied seriously, "I call it a Star Destroyer."

Star Destroyer!

The two of them and Long's faces all shifted slightly; the name's meaning is blunt—annihilate stars—but can it really do that?

Lei En explained, "My Star Destroyer is equipped with thirty-two double‑linked Electric Light Cannons, each capable of firing nine‑ring power Electric Light beams, and it has three firing modes. Master, you've seen similar before, but theirs had weaker energy sources, so this one's power and range are far greater."

"Where are the thirty‑two?" Bo Erqi had already counted, finding only twenty‑four.

As soon as he finished speaking, eight armor plates on the Star Destroyer's underside slid aside, revealing eight circular turrets; their barrels spun rapidly, able to strike every target below.

"So it was hidden,"

After the demonstration, the bottom, the upper deck, and the Electric Light Cannons on both sides of the hull retracted, their barrels covered by armor, making the defense tighter.

Anxiwodasi shook his head, "Even with many nine‑ring Electric Light Cannons, the attack power still seems a bit lower than that of a Fu Kong Cheng."

Lei En smiled, "The Star Destroyer also has a main cannon."

Clack—clack—...

At the Star Destroyer's very front, at the tip of the dagger‑shaped blade, a massive mechanical whirring sounded as layers of armor slid to the sides, revealing a pitch‑black barrel. Its caliber exceeds ten meters; most of the barrel is hidden inside the Star Destroyer, so its length is not apparent.

The barrel is etched with a dense array of runes; it hasn't been activated, yet an energy source is clearly present, keeping it in standby, and the emitted energy fluctuations are astonishing.

"I name this main cannon the 'Star‑Annihilating Cannon.'"

Lei En said, "Its principle is the same as the Electric Light Cannon; fundamentally it's an electric light beam, but I've reinforced and modified it, using an optimized Titan Furnace as its power source. When fired at full strength, its power exceeds most Ten-ring Spells."

"Ten-ring Spell!" Ouluoyin was startled.

"Master, to be precise, it's not a spell," Lei En said, unsure how to explain. The Star‑Annihilating Cannon is his application of massive energy; the rune array is merely auxiliary, and the firing resembles the laser cannons of ancient sci‑fi concepts.

Anxiwodasi's face grew solemn, "How long does it take to ready the Star‑Annihilating Cannon, and what is its firing rate?"

"It's similar to the Ultimate Ao Fireball, just a bit faster," Lei En replied.

Anxiwodasi fell silent.

He was familiar with the Ten-ring Spell Ultimate Ao Fireball; Tim*Kenan's Flaniss Floating City uses the Ultimate Ao Fireball as its most powerful attack, releasing it in five seconds and then able to fire again after a thirty‑second interval; it made a spectacular display in Banbei City the previous year.

However, the Ultimate Ao Fireball is one of the weakest in the Ten-ring Spell, a trade‑off for faster casting and firing rate.

And Lei En claimed the Star‑Annihilating Cannon's power surpasses the vast majority of Ten-ring Spells!

Just that alone makes the Star Destroyer's lethality exceed that of all Fu Kong Chengs. Anxiwodasi, who took part in part of its design, now seeing the whole, finally grasps Lei En's overall concept: the Star Destroyer has two energy systems.

The Star‑Annihilating Cannon and the Electric Light Cannons are powered by the Titan Furnace, focusing on offense.

The Iola Core supplies power to the Star Destroyer, used for jumps and defense.

Both energy systems operate simultaneously, complementing each other to maximize both attack and defense, eliminating the Fu Kong Cheng's weaknesses.

Absolutely a genius's idea!

However, only Lei En can master both the Titan Furnace and the Iola Core—two entirely different knowledge systems—and fuse them perfectly.

One can imagine how many difficulties and challenges must be overcome; if it were him, he wouldn't dare claim he could definitely succeed.

He even feels he couldn't reach Lei En's level.

At that moment Anxiwodasi noticed that on the slanted deck of the Star Destroyer's upper level was engraved the Augustus family crest: a war hammer crossed with a crescent moon, the crest's main color gold‑yellow, background scarlet, standing out vividly on the silver‑gray armor plate.

The Star Destroyer bears the crest in many places, and beneath each crest is a line of identical symbols.

It's clearly a form of writing.

But Anxiwodasi didn't recognize it; he furrowed his brow, searched his mind for a long time, and couldn't recall what script it was, having no recollection at all.

"Lei En, what does that line of symbols mean?" he couldn't help asking.

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In his mind Lei En answered that it was a hint he saw in the Prophet Mei Difu's divination years ago, and he engraved it on the day the Star Destroyer was completed.

He wondered what consequences might arise if he hadn't inscribed that hint.

A time paradox?

Or something else even more terrifying; in any case, Lei En didn't dare experiment, and ultimately he honestly engraved it, striving for no deviation from what he saw in the divination vision.

"It's just a doodle I wrote, no real meaning, Master," Lei En replied evasively.

Anxiwodasi, being considerate, didn't press further.

Ouluoyin glanced around the space, eager to see the Star Destroyer take off, and asked, "Lei En, your sub‑plane is outside the Prime Material Plane, right? How did you bring the Iola Core inside?"

Entering a sub‑plane also requires teleportation, and the Iola Core clearly can't do that.

Lei En had already thought of a solution, smiling, "The Iola Core can't come in, but we can send the Star Destroyer out."

The two of them and Long were all very puzzled.

Bo Erqi scratched his head, still confused, "How does a Star Destroyer without propulsion go out?"

"Simple—just push it out," Lei En replied with a smile.

(End of chapter)