Pillars of Ita

After making a plan, the Seven Seas Storm continued to sail south.

Fang He was not idle either. After delegating the command to Catherine, he took Lark and his crew to carry out emergency repairs on the Xs-1.

Of the two Xs-1s salvaged, one suffered less damage, with the video crystal damaged. In addition, the left arm transmission part had a slight deformation, and several subsystems had varying degrees of damage due to overload.

However, these problems are not big problems, and there are spare parts to replace the parts that cannot be repaired.

As for the other one, the problem was bigger. Fang He found that it was hit by a ray spear at the core. The outer shell deck was twisted into a knot in a hideous way, and the part below the waist disappeared directly. The main power reactor and arcane core were both lost.

Without the blueprints, it was almost impossible to redesign a power system, and there were no spare cores among the replaceable parts. Fang He had originally planned to repair both machines together, but now it seemed he had no choice but to give up.

"If we have enough time, we can try to reverse it, but it's obviously not something that can be done in a short time."

Traci was looking at the machine at the other end of the video and spoke.

"I'll leave this matter to you for now." Fang Yu said.

As an expert in imperial technology, he was willing to spend a huge amount of money to transmit the information back through the communication between the two worlds, just to hear Cui Xisi say this.

"I'll try my best," Tracis shook her head in the picture, "but I can only complete the preliminary work. As for the Seven Seas Traveler..."

"I understand. That's enough."

Fang He knew what the current situation was on the Seven Seas Traveler.

Next, he took Lark, Pasha, and a military craftsman to disassemble the Xs-1 into parts. Although it could not be repaired, the remaining usable systems could still be put to good use.

At least it can be used as a spare parts reserve.

Three Lancers were lost in the previous battle, and only one of them could be repaired, but with the confiscated Xs-1, they still made a profit.

And it’s not a small profit, but a huge profit.

"Trishis, help me, I'll try to access it."

"Understood. The Empire's constructs usually leave a layer of encrypted information on the outer layer. You can bypass them by shutting down the energy source connected to the crystal."

Fang He nodded, pulled down his goggles, used physical means to remove the energy storage core connected to the crystal, redefined the magic circle on it, and then turned on the power again.

Then he pressed the main core of Xs-1 with the magic glove. The glass lens and the main crystal lit up at the same time. The next moment, he saw the vision of Xs-1.

He raised his arm, turned on the Xs-1's main thrust engine, and let it slowly rise into the air. He then tested its ten steering engines. The whole process was extremely smooth.

In the past, he didn't think there was anything wrong with the Lancers, but after this experience, he immediately realized that the former were bulky and almost not a product of the same era.

Is this the level of the Imperial Workshop?

"The wind element detector is online..."

"The ray spear system is online."

"Wind pressure bomb, shock crystal shield, subspace ring..."

"Secondary arcane core, all fine."

The power system composed of ten XSV-β steering engines and four "star propulsion engines" is so powerful that this machine is simply born for air combat.

In the past, the Oshu people were not keen on air combat constructs. Large war weapons like the Wind Knight were what they pursued. However, Fang He had a vague feeling that the technology of the Xs-1 was very new.

They are most likely systems that were born out of new ideas as countries evolved their air combat theories after the Battle of Kelan'ao.

This is not Fang He's self-boasting. Ever since he became famous, various countries have begun to study new air combat theories. Now, not only the Empire, but also Kingfisher Workshop, White Tree Society and Pillar of Stars have their own sets of results.

Moreover, the test numbers and production dates on the four XSV-β steering engines can also prove this. X is the unified number of the Empire's steering engine, S should represent the star device, and V refers to the vector propulsion function.

All of this demonstrates the opponent's specialized air combat performance. The production date of this batch of engines was half a year ago, the third batch, and their first batch can be traced back to a year ago.

Fang He let the construct fall down and lifted up his goggles. He felt secretly delighted that this vanguard was much more powerful than he had imagined.

The empire's craftsmen have not even utilized one tenth of their potential.

This time I made a lot of money!

However, Fang He kept a stern face and did not show his excitement - after all, Pasha was watching from the side, and he had to maintain his dignity as the leader.

But Elisa leaned aside with her arms folded, and ruthlessly exposed him: "If you want to laugh, you can laugh——"

"After all, holding it in is not good for your health."

"Me?" Fang He shook his head hurriedly, "No, I'm just checking whether it can go into battle again."

"You've gone around the circle four times," he said. But his trick could fool others, but not Miss Nightingale. "This is the fifth circle."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Press down your lips first," Alyssa shook her head unhappily, "Your Excellency the Captain now looks like a mouse that has entered a warehouse and is running around in circles with joy."

"Alisa, you are exaggerating," Fang He scratched his head, "At least give me some face."

The military craftsman was also a young man. He couldn't help laughing out loud at this moment. The lark couldn't help but turn his head back.

Only Pasha kept blinking blankly. After all, Fang He was still quite great in his heart.

If the captain had not brought him out of the desert, he would probably have died there by now, let alone this day.

This little episode at this moment did not affect the progress of the work. Fang He handed the subsequent tasks to Lark and others. The Xs-1 still needed debugging, and the other Lancer also needed repair.

He planned to let them practice. This was a rare opportunity. It was not easy to see such advanced constructs in the Empire.

He walked aside and thought about expanding the alchemy workshop on the Seven Seas Traveler.

Cui Xisi said that the Seven Seas Traveler did not have the conditions, partly because the new ship was in the dock and the Fairy Heart had been removed from the old ship.

But on the other hand, the alchemy workshop on the old Seven Seas Traveler did not meet that standard.

The old alchemy workshop was essentially a manual workshop, with only a few machine tools at most. The higher the level of magical technology, the less likely it was to be born in a manual workshop.

The old standards were no longer sufficient in the face of new-age technology, and he had originally planned to build a workshop that met Level IV standards on the new Seven Seas Traveler.

The levels of alchemy workshops range from I to VIII, where the larger the number, the more advanced it is. As for the Imperial Workshop and Kingfisher Workshop, their core workshops are mostly over-standard - and it is not easy to build a workshop that can restore technology like Xs-1.

It requires at least a matching crystal workshop and several subsystems.

But it was a bit difficult to talk to Tianlan about this matter. Miss Poet was already on the verge of going berserk, and he was really afraid that she would quit. However, he still came up with a brilliant idea:

The new Seven Seas Traveler will definitely need a gun deck. Whether it should be one or two decks is still under discussion, and he is fully qualified to make the final decision.

If they choose two layers, then the group will definitely not have enough funds to purchase weapons - based on Shang Wangyou's recommendation, they have decided to purchase two versions of the 'Siren' Abyss-03 type magic artillery, 18 pounds and 12 pounds.

This is a live ammunition artillery. The poundage refers to the weight of the projectile fired by the artillery, but the propellant is definitely not the old-fashioned gunpowder, and Attalia does not have this thing.

Instead, a set of complex alchemical arrays were pre-installed on the artillery, using the output of the ship's magic engine as energy, so the gun deck had to be connected to the magic pipeline network.

Similarly, the firing angle of this type of artillery is also limited. At the same time, most naval ships increase the density of firepower to compensate for the difference in firing angle. Therefore, ten, twenty, or even more artillery pieces may be installed on the left and right sides of a gun deck.

The new Seven Seas Traveler plans to install 18-pound guns on the main deck as the main firepower and 12-pound guns as the secondary firepower. The price of a heavy Abyss-03 gun is million Riels, and the light one is one-third of this price. If calculated based on guns on one gun deck, including the secondary firepower, it may cost tens of millions of Riels.

They simply couldn't afford two fire decks.

However, Fang He also said that they could reserve a gun deck first, which would save much money than rebuilding it when the time comes.

That gun deck can be used as a temporary warehouse and as a backup alchemy workshop, but this is only the apparent purpose. Anyway, when they make money later, he will have the final say on what to transform it into, right?

When Fang Yu thought of his pride, he almost couldn't help laughing out loud.

Tianlan was walking towards him, and seeing him grinning like a chicken, she couldn't help but shudder subconsciously, "Brother Ed...what are you laughing at again?" "Ah, nothing."

Fang He shook his head repeatedly. This matter couldn't be leaked in advance. He planned to discuss the details with Hilvid first. The ship officer would never object to him.

Tianlan felt something was wrong and looked at him suspiciously, "You're not planning on buying any new equipment, are you?"

"That's not true."

"Really?"

"Really? I will lie to you again." Fang He always felt that he would be exposed if he continued, so he quickly found an excuse to get the poet lady away.

Although Tianlan was a little suspicious, he couldn't figure out what was going on for a while, so he had to take his little notebook and leave.

Around seven in the evening, the sky had completely darkened. In fact, the precursor of the storm had already formed at five o'clock. The humid air was filled with the smell of rust, and lead-gray clouds had risen in the southwest sky.

At this time, the entire sea of ​​clouds was like a piece of floating ink. The outside was in chaos and one could not see one's hand in front of one's face. There was only the sound of heavy rain.

Thunder occasionally roared across the sky, making a loud noise. The conference room of the Seven Seas Storm was far less warm and comfortable than that of the Traveler. Several cabinet doors creaked constantly as the ship swayed.

The glowing magic crystal on the table also shook, and the light formed an arc on the wall, swaying from side to side. Fang He used a red and blue pencil to draw a line on the nautical chart, constantly speculating on the pirates' location.

During this time, Eliza came twice, Alice and Olivia came once each, and Ian brought him dinner. The boat was shaking violently and no fire was turned on, so the food only consisted of cold sailor biscuits, a glass of wine mixed with juice, and a portion of bacon.

The square plover lost its appetite after taking one bite. Sailor biscuits were not actually the worst food on the sea or sky, although maggots would grow on them under certain conditions and the taste was dry, like chewing sawdust - I heard that in some cases, sawdust would actually be added to them.

However, compared to the conditions on the Seven Seas Traveler, the conditions on the Seven Seas Storm can be considered poor. Because the Seven Seas Traveler has the Fairy Heart, it can ensure that there is fire on the ship and a hot meal is provided even in the worst weather.

Fang He realized that he was a little too spoiled on the Seven Seas Traveler, but everyone was actually the same. This made him miss his life on the Seven Seas Traveler.

Of course, the conditions on the Seven Seas Traveler are far inferior to those of the Empire's capital ships that are like palaces.

The concentration of wind elements in the storm was astonishing. I don’t know if it was because of the large fault, but it was even higher than the one off the coast of Hanrui.

He felt a tingling sensation in his temples and found himself a little ether-intoxicated, something he hadn't experienced since leaving the Sea of ​​Clouds.

After Fang He drank the glass of wine and took some essence, he couldn't help but miss the black goat milk that Hilde had prepared for him. That thing was much more effective.

But the ship's attendant lady was not there either.

When the hour hand on the pocket watch had moved one-third of the way, Fang He was planning to take a short break, but then news came from outside:

The pirate ship was spotted ahead.

He quickly put on his raincoat and went out. It was completely dark outside the cabin, with only the light of the swaying wind lantern. Heavy rain was pouring down from the sky to the ground, forming layers of water on the deck.

The one who brought the news was Daryl. A shift had already changed at the lookout and it was now her turn to be on duty.

"where?"

Fang He pushed open the door and the biting cold sea breeze blew in his face, mixed with rain and hit his face.

But before Miss Catman could speak, a flash of purple lightning pierced through the clouds, lighting up the sea of ​​clouds, allowing Fang He to clearly see the rising and falling shadow of a boat three or four miles away.

It was the same Brittingen sailboat that had escaped earlier.

He didn't expect that the two ships were so close to each other, but this was not surprising. In such bad weather, it was possible that the two ships collided.

However, it seems that his prediction was correct, and the other party did choose this route.

"Ed!"

The female pirate leader was coming down from the poop. She pulled up her red hair and tied it up with a headscarf in the wind and rain, saying to him:

"I'll go to the lookout, and you take command."

Fang He nodded. It was not difficult for a sailboat to sail in the sea of ​​clouds, but it required an extremely experienced captain to sail through a storm.

Catherine's handing over the command to him at this time represented absolute trust.

But even though he was a Chosen One, he was also considered an experienced captain.

Without saying a word, he took Daryl to the wheelhouse, where there were about three groups of helmsmen on standby, each responsible for controlling different wing surfaces with the steering wheel.

The airships on the sky and sea are very different from sea ships. They don't actually have rudders in the true sense, but rely on the wingsails at the rear to steer.

This type of wing sail is extremely complex, often with multiple rudders, which can be responsible for the regulation of up and down and left and right steering at the same time. The Seven Seas Traveler has the heart of a fairy, but on an ordinary sailboat it can only be accomplished entirely by manpower.

For this reason, the steering wheels of ordinary sailboats are also different. Each set of them has a double rudder system. The two steering wheels correspond to a set of symmetrical rudder surfaces, and each requires two people to operate.

Therefore, there are at least five helmsmen in the wheelhouse. In addition to the four regular helmsmen, there is also a reserve helmsman, a cartographer, a navigator, and two communications officers, one chief and one deputy.

The larger the ship, the more complete the personnel configuration. The Seven Seas Storm is a ship between the sixth and fifth classes, with a full crew of about 120 to 180 people, but this personnel includes marines and gunners.

In fact, under extreme conditions, 60 to 80 people are enough. The Seven Seas Storm recruited a group of sailors before setting off to the Thousand Pillar Port. Although some of them were taken from the Shining Silver Coin, it was barely enough.

"Captain," as soon as Fang He entered, someone came up to report. Most of the communications operators and helmsmen here were their own people, members of the Second Regiment. Catherine was not at ease handing over such an important and confidential task to others.

Except for navigators and cartographers, ordinary summoners are not qualified for this job because it is highly professional.

However, this navigator is an exception. She was trained by Sylvie herself. She is a taciturn girl and has been in the Second Regiment for about a year and a half.

The communications officer continued, "If we maintain our course, we will catch up with them in about half an hour."

Fang He nodded, "Keep the rudder and maintain the current altitude."

He went to the window, picked up the telescope and looked at the situation above the sea. The occasional lightning illuminated the clouds, allowing him to see clearly the direction of the air flow.

Judging from the map, both ships have now entered the floating reef area, right below a thunderstorm cloud, with the squall line in front of them.

The cold front below the thunderstorm cloud may form severe convective weather, forming a turbulent belt or even a downburst at an altitude of 1500 to 1800 meters.

Normally they should have turned around immediately, but the Brittingen sailboat had obviously discovered them and was heading in that direction regardless.

The hull of the Seven Seas Storm was shaking violently.

Fang He heard someone shouting from below: "Vertical wind speed changes suddenly!"

He immediately picked up the telescope and looked in one direction, just in time to see the clouds lit up by lightning. About three miles away, two air currents in different directions were converging under the clouds.

Fang He immediately turned around and said, "Wind shear, turn left rudder 25 degrees and point the bow towards the wave at twelve o'clock."

The helmsman immediately did as he was told.

The Seven Seas Storm tilted to one side due to the sharp turn, and everyone had to lean their bodies to change their center of gravity, but only Fang He and Daryl remained firmly in place.

When the ship turned, people could see clearly that the intersecting air currents formed scaly cloud waves, and the wind element layer below seemed to be cut into layers.

There is a special term for this phenomenon in sailing, called rogue waves, but above the sea of ​​clouds, people use another way to call it:

"Elemental turbulence—"

The sailors were screaming.

But Fang He only took a look at the Brittingen sailboat that was moving away, and ordered, "Retract the mainsail to one-third, and deploy the pressure relief wing at the bottom of the ship--"

"Relax the mizzen sail and use the sail surface differential to offset the rolling moment."

His order was transmitted to the entire ship through the copper tube, and the members of the second regiment immediately took action. They furled the mainsail and lowered the mizzen sail.

About three minutes later, the Seven Seas Storm shook violently.

...(End of chapter)