136: Starlight

"Lord Territory Lord!" Great Master Henry's voice came from below.

Linn looked down; Great Master Henry was standing on a floating platform waving at him. This alchemy master's aura was becoming increasingly profound, his cultivation reaching High Earth Rank. His path was clearly complementary to alchemy.

Those eyes were brighter than ever, filled with the excited glow of a lifelong pursuit about to be realized.

Destiny landed at the Dragon berth specifically reserved beside the platform. The Star Sea Territory had several berths, mainly because she didn't like transforming into human form. Linn jumped off the Dragon's back and walked quickly toward Great Master Henry.

Busy engineers and Arcanists nearby stopped their work and bowed to the Territory Lord. Linn noticed that in the crowd were not only alchemists from the Star Sea Territory but also over twenty Sea God Clan Arcanists! The scale patterns on their foreheads shimmered under the magic lights, and the crystal balls in their hands resonated weakly with the arrays on the warship's surface.

"Master, thank you for your hard work," Linn said sincerely, grasping Great Master Henry's calloused hands.

"It's worth it, everything is worth it!" Great Master Henry's voice trembled with excitement. "Please follow me; let's board the ship and talk in detail."

The two boarded the retractable gangway connecting to the warship. The moment he stepped inside, Linn felt an extremely stable sensation of levitation beneath his feet, without any swaying, as if standing on solid ground, though he could see through the porthole that the hull was indeed floating several meters off the ground.

The internal corridors were spacious and bright, with walls made of light silver alloy plates and lighting crystals embedded every few meters. Great Master Henry introduced as they walked: "The entire warship uses a modular design, divided into the command level, power level, weapon level, living level, and storage level. The current standing crew is three hundred people, with a maximum capacity of one thousand two hundred for short-term stays. The power System uses a triple redundancy design: the main core is powered by the magic crystal ore 'Heart of Molten Fire,' and there are two backup cores—one is a parallel array of thirty-six Advanced spatial magic crystals, and the other is a Storm Focus Array that draws wind elements directly from the atmosphere."

They climbed the spiral stairs to the bridge command room. It was a wide semi-circular space with a curved magic observation window in front and over twenty consoles arranged below, each with an operator debugging equipment. In the center of the command room was a 3D holographic sand table, currently projecting a three-dimensional structural diagram of the warship itself.

"What about the weapon System?" Linn was most concerned about this.

A gleam of pride flashed in Great Master Henry's eyes. He walked to a side console and pressed several rune keys. The view outside the observation window suddenly changed! The view of the cave walls was instantly switched to a real-time image of the warship's broadside.

On both sides of the hull, twenty turrets were arranged in tiers. These turret bases were over three meters in diameter, with barrels five meters long, entirely black and covered in amplification arrays. The barrels were not solid metal but translucent crystal tubes condensed from high-density Demonic Energy, with visible veins of energy flowing inside.

"This is an 'Annihilation-class' magic crystal main cannon; the cost of a single one is equivalent to a standard mage tower," Great Master Henry said solemnly. "Each shot requires five percent of the warship's total energy. Its power... according to calculations, is enough to penetrate the walls of the main city of the Marquisate of the Golden Peacock head-on. The range can reach fifty kilometers, with accuracy guaranteed by the 'Eagle Eye' Arcanist array at the bow."

He switched the screen to show the bottom of the warship: "In addition, we are equipped with eighty-eight secondary guns, divided into anti-air and anti-ground models. And..." He paused, pointing to several special markers on the holographic sand table, "four 'Storm Generators' located at the stern, which can create an elemental turbulence zone covering a radius of one li, interfering with enemy spellcasting and flying units."

Linn stared at those weapon Systems and slowly exhaled: "Has it been tested?"

"Thirty-seven simulated shots were conducted within a sealed barrier, and the data was perfect," Great Master Henry pulled out a recording crystal. "But live-fire testing needs to be done in open airspace; there isn't enough space here, and it might trigger an avalanche."

Linn nodded, his gaze sweeping over every detail in the command room: "Speed? Endurance? Defense?"

"Maximum speed, with no load, can reach three hundred li per hour. When fully loaded, it's about two hundred and twenty li. In terms of endurance, relying solely on the 'Heart of Molten Fire,' it can operate at full power for fifteen consecutive days; if switched to the magic crystal array, it's about three to seven days depending on the quality of the crystals. The defense System has three layers: the outermost is the 'Flowing Wind Shield,' which can deflect physical attacks; the middle is the 'Element Neutralization Field,' specifically targeting magic attacks; the inner layer is the hull's composite armor, mixed with a large amount of Mithril."

Great Master Henry grew more excited as he spoke: "Most importantly, this warship is entirely controlled by an Arcanist core. It only needs thirty qualified operators to manage it, without requiring a Legendary mage to maintain the arrays at all times! We have achieved 'automated levitation' technology that even ancient magic civilizations failed to fully Breakthrough!"

Linn walked to the observation window, his palm pressed against the cold crystallized glass. His gaze pierced through the glass, staring at this steel beast that condensed several years of the Star Sea Territory's hard work and consumed enough resources to build three new cities.

He knew what this meant.

The appearance of the airship would completely change the strategic landscape of the Shattered Star Archipelago and even the entire Storm Sea Region. Air superiority, long-range projection capabilities, strategic mobility... the Star Sea Territory would possess an unprecedented trump card.

"Do other forces know about this project?" Linn asked.

"Absolute secrecy," Great Master Henry said seriously. "All personnel involved in the project have not left the base for three years. All supplies are transported through underground tunnels and short-range teleportation arrays. The outside world only knows that we are building a 'specialized mine' on the Northern Highland Plateau."

Linn was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked: "Does this warship have a name?"

Great Master Henry smiled: "Our internal code name is 'Prototype Ship No. 1,' but the official naming rights, of course, belong to you, Lord Territory Lord."

Linn turned around, his gaze sweeping over every expectant face in the bridge. These engineers and Arcanists had worked hard in the depths of the snowy mountains for three years, day after day, just for this moment.

He looked out the window at the warship's sleek silver-gray hull; the griffon-shaped bow looked as if it were about to burst through the air at any moment.

"Let's call it—" Linn said word by word, "'starlight.' This warship belongs to the Starlight Generation of products."

The bridge was silent for a moment, then erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers. Great Master Henry's eyes were slightly red, and he nodded heavily: "A good name! The starlight of the Star Sea Territory!"

Linn raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, his voice spreading through the bridge via magic amplification: "Pass my order: complete all final checks within three days. At dawn in three days, I will personally pilot the ship for its first combat trial flight."

He looked at Great Master Henry: "Select the trial flight area in the uninhabited waters southeast of the Shattered Star Archipelago. Notify the navy to send an escort fleet to clear the area; no civilian ships are allowed within a hundred li."

"Yes!" Great Master Henry straightened his back.

Linn took one last deep look at this warship that was about to change the era and turned toward the gangway. The moment he stepped out of the ship, he turned and asked: "The possibility of mass production?"

Great Master Henry followed him, musing: "With our current technical accumulation and resources, we can produce two more warships of the same class within a year, but we would need to adjust the design and simplify some functions to reduce costs. If we go all out, it is feasible to assemble a fleet of five to six airships within three years."

Linn nodded and said no more. He mounted Destiny, and amidst the roar of the Dragon's wings taking flight, he took one last look at the 'starlight' suspended in the cave.

The silver-gray hull shimmered with a cold luster under the magic lights, and those flickering runes seemed like the heartbeat of a sleeping giant.

Flying out of the mountain barrier and returning to the biting cold wind of the Northern Highland Plateau, Linn felt a flame burning in his chest. He looked up toward the southeast! That was the continent where the Marquisate of the Golden Peacock was located, the sphere of influence of the Iris Family, and a powerful enemy that the Star Sea Territory would inevitably face in the future.

"starlight..." Linn repeated the name softly, a cold arc forming at the corner of his mouth.

Destiny sensed her master's mood and let out a spirited dragon roar that pierced the clouds. starlight flowed under her wings as she accelerated toward Star Sea City.

The snowy mountains and glaciers below receded quickly, while a storm that would shake the entire Aolai Kingdom was quietly brewing in the silence of the North.

The lord of the Shattered Star Archipelago now held the first ray of light that would tear through the night of the old era.