Vientiane Throne of Civilization

Chapter 2040 Black Sail Battleship (Part Two)

As a giant enchanted vessel made of spiritwood and with numerous enchanted runes engraved on its hull, the Blacksail Vanguard naturally possesses a multitude of special functions.

Zhou Xu had already learned about these functions on paper when he received the design drawings from the Dark Elves.

But some things you have to see to believe.

"His Majesty!"

Zhou Xu's sudden "shrinking the earth to an inch" attack caught everyone off guard. Lin Youshu, the naval commander-in-chief, rushed over and saluted.

"Alright, Major, no need for formalities, let's begin the test."

To provide a direct comparison, they dispatched one of their Great Zhou's newest destroyers to assist in this test.

In terms of positioning, comparing it to a destroyer and a Black Sail Vanguard is quite appropriate.

"The first test is speed and agility!"

Before Zhou Xu arrived, they must have already conducted multiple rounds of testing, since they were there to showcase their results, not to make a fool of themselves.

Therefore, a complete testing process already exists here.

“We set up a buoy at regular intervals at sea. Every time a ship passes a buoy, it has to circle around the buoy before continuing its journey.”

Lin Youshu briefly explained the process to Zhou Xu.

"To save time, the straight-line distance for this test is ten nautical miles round trip. The actual sailing distance is more than ten nautical miles. Both sides' ships will use all available means to complete this competition as quickly as possible."

Zhou Xu nodded, indicating his understanding.

If we're going to conduct a long-distance endurance test, how long will Zhou Xu have to stay here?

He doesn't have that much time to sit here and watch two ships race at sea.

"At the same time, to be fair, both ships are currently docked."

Following Lin Youshu's explanation, Zhou Xu was able to see that the Black Sail Vanguard ship even had its sails folded up.

With a horn blast as a signal, the naval soldiers on both ships simultaneously began their operations.

It's worth mentioning that the soldiers on the Great Zhou destroyers were mostly human naval soldiers, while the naval soldiers on the Black Sail Vanguard were all dark elves.

At this very moment, aboard the Blacksail Vanguard, the Dark Elf soldiers were raising the anchor at top speed while simultaneously pulling down the ropes used to secure the sails.

However, the sails on this ship had barely been lowered when the destroyer next door had already sailed out of the harbor with its horn blaring.

Clearly, destroyers, as a product of technology, have a greater advantage in terms of initial efficiency.

The dark elf soldiers had already confirmed this in previous tests, so they weren't worried at all.

As the sails were lowered, a large number of enchanted runes lit up on the huge black sails.

The next second, a muffled 'bang' was heard, and a strong wind, seemingly from nowhere, instantly billowed the black sails.

Driven by strong winds, the Black Sail Vanguard set sail swiftly. If the acceleration of the Great Zhou destroyers was more of a steady increase, then the Black Sail Vanguard's acceleration was like a 100-meter sprint, bursting into action from the start and 'whoosh' off.

Even Zhou Xu, who had never seen such a scene before, couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

【interesting. 】

Starting like a 100-meter sprinter, the Black Sail Vanguard ship quickly overtook the Great Zhou destroyer, which had started earlier, and in the blink of an eye, it had passed it.

If I remember correctly, the enchanted runes on the black sail incorporated a mantra spell called 'Wind Pressure,' and it was further enhanced and adjusted.

[Upon startup, wind pressure is triggered, billowing the black sails and propelling the ship forward. Then, using the black sails as a medium, a circulating wind effect is continuously generated during navigation, serving as the primary propulsion for the Black Sail Vanguard Ship.]

The enchantment's design is quite ingenious. While consuming mana and triggering wind pressure, it also absorbs and replenishes the gathered wind elemental energy through a circulating wind pattern, greatly reducing mana consumption and ensuring long-term usability.

In the blink of an eye, after the Black Sail Vanguard overtook their Great Zhou's destroyer, the distance between the two ships gradually increased.

The Black Sail Vanguard was the first to face the buoy challenge.

Normally, the speed should have been reduced at this point, but the Black Sail Vanguard's speed didn't decrease much at all. The dark elf soldiers skillfully adjusted the angle of the black sails and controlled the Black Sail Vanguard, making a tail-spinning maneuver, creating a splashing wave, and directly bypassing the buoy at sea.

Zhou Xu couldn't help but exclaim "Whoa!" at the sight.

Since he transmigrated here, he has lived for over a hundred years and has never seen such a wild ship.

Compared to that Black Sail Vanguard ship, which was incredibly fast, their Great Zhou destroyers were far too understated when cornering, and more importantly, they were simply not as fast as the Black Sail Vanguard ship.

From the first bend onward, the distance between the two ships began to widen, and in the end, without any suspense, the Black Sail Vanguard returned to port with a two-nautical-mile lead.

During this process, Zhou Xu had already confirmed the battery life issue with Lin Youshu.

"Your Majesty, it's really hard to say which of these two ships has a better range."

As Lin Youshu spoke, he gathered his thoughts and then reported back to Zhou Xu.

"If both sides are sailing at full speed, the Black Sail Vanguard's mana can only last for a maximum of 800 nautical miles before it runs out, while our destroyers, equipped with standard fuel, can generally ensure a range of over 2,000 nautical miles at maximum speed."

Upon hearing this, the difference is quite significant.

"However, even without magic, the Black Sail Vanguard can still sail as an ordinary sailing warship. In other words, it will not lose its sailing ability in a true sense."

"Of course, it will naturally recover its mana, and when necessary, it can also be accelerated by having a mage directly inject mana into it. From this point of view, its endurance is actually quite strong."

"In addition, all the special functions of the Black Sail Vanguard Ship require mana to be used. In other words, once other functions are used, the mana consumption will increase, and the 800-nautical-mile range cannot be guaranteed."

According to Lin Youshu, there are indeed too many influencing factors, making it difficult to arrive at a precise value.

However, a rough estimate suggests that, assuming a battle has already broken out between the two sides at sea, a voyage of 800 nautical miles would be sufficient to complete a battle if necessary.

From this perspective, it can't be considered a fatal flaw; it's just that the combat style and pace are different.

(End of this chapter)