End of the Magic Era

Lin Yun thought for a moment, and decided that it was time. There was only a chance of negotiation if he impressed those two old men first. It seemed that the strategy had worked out well.

"I'm hoping to invite you to a big project. My goal is to create a magic battleship!"

"A magic battleship? What kind of magic battleship?"

"A battleship that's exclusively powered by mana. It will boast a sturdy structure and a new weapon system. With the energy shield around it, it can travel in space and fight in the void. It will be as powerful as a Heaven Rank expert. The magic battleships won't be airships or the iron warships so far…

"The airships in Noscent are only used as carriers. Even the most powerful iron warship will be swallowed by any void beast it encounters as a candy in the boundless void.

"Even the weakest of the magic battleships that I'll create, under the control of several Great Mages, will unleash the power of a few Archmages. The most powerful of them can kill a void beast under the control of a few Archmages!"

As he talked, Lin Yun released a few law runes, which assembled into a holograph above the crystal table, and displayed an arc-shaped warship that looked like a bull's horn. A lot of information, including the weapon system and the general layout, was marked, but there weren't a lot of details.

This magic battleship would be a famous model in the future. Its energy level was on level 6 of the Heaven Rank, but it could unleash the power of 100 level-6 Heaven Rank mages, and could kill any ordinary void beast on its level.

Lin Yun gave Fantexi and Pinocchio a rough introduction of the magic battleship. Their expressions changed in shock. Although Lin Yun's introduction was rough, he mentioned a lot of data and requirements for the materials…

Seeing the shock on Pinocchio and Fantexi's face, Lin Yun was slightly relieved. It was absolutely impossible to create such a magic battleship in this age due to the limitation of materials, which would be easy to get 10,000 years later, but couldn't possibly be gathered on this day.

Only 20 percent of the materials required were available, or had replacements. The rest were all materials that would be found or created later.

Lin Yun simply remembered the design of this magic battleship well, which was enough to awe Pinocchio and Fantexi. After all, they couldn't find any problem or flaw in the design. Considering the trend of technology development, there was nothing wrong with the design at all. The parameters could be confirmed too. It seemed to be the trend of the future…

Pinocchio and Fantexi jointly calculated for confirmation. Soon, they confirmed that the warship was undoubtedly a powerful weapon that could easily kill a level-46 void beast. The energy shield of the warship alone was already formidable. The shield, which was established in the same way as the fusion shield, cost a horrifying amount of energy, but provided such protection that even level-7 Heaven Rank experts could not break in…

Pinocchio and Fantexi were both fascinated. They gathered together, and couldn't see anything except the data. Lin Yun put on a smile, and then left after leaving a note.

He had created a wonderful illusion for those two old jerks, and they would surely take the bait. He didn't need to say anything. They would definitely come to him. It wouldn't even be possible to keep them away from the project. As for their pay? They didn't need any pay. He'd be kindhearted enough to involve them in this project…

Leaving Pinocchio and Fantexi's lab, Lin Yun released a notice for hire in the Starry Sky College in the name of the Gilded Rose. Many alchemy stores came to the Starry Sky College to hire talents every year. The Gilded Rose had hired people several times. It provided great benefits and research opportunities, which made it a great option whether the students wanted to make money or seek improvement in alchemy.

However, there were much more restrictions on Gilded Rose's hire notice this time. The applicants had to be familiar with mana, materials, and large alchemy machines. Also, they were expected to be Master Alchemists. The Great Alchemists could only work as assistants.

After returning to the Gilded Rose, Lin Yun considered what else he needed to build a magic battleship. He could take care of the materials' issue. The materials from the Raging Flame Plane, Noscent, and the abyss should be enough to meet the demand of a beginner-level magic battleship. The steel, which was the most in demand, could be obtained from the puppet plane. The puppet tombs there were full of such materials. They could be refined and reused.

More importantly, the tombs in the puppet plane weren't dangerous at all. Nothing would happen as long as he didn't stay there or visit it too often. The materials to be transported in one batch would be enough for the usage of a dozen magic battleships.

As for the materials for the critical parts, Lin Yun could create a lot of them. For example, the Black Pattern Silver was the best choice for the central components.

There were enough materials, but it required a group of alchemists to turn them into a magic battleship. Lin Yun only knew the basic procedure. There were too many concerns in the making of a magic battleship. Every detail had to be coordinated in order to maximize its power. That was not something that an individual could take care of. Even Fantexi could only build a 100-meter-long magic battleship on his own in his prime.

The construction of magic battleships was already planned. After all, this was already the beginning of Noscent's grand colonization. The resources required for the construction of the Shelter Towers couldn't be found in Noscent at all. Most of them had to be excavated from other planes. To get the resources in advance and occupy more planes, magic battleships were the best option.

It was already proven in history. This was only the beginning of Noscent's colonization. In its heyday, when the magic battleships were deployed to conquer planes, a fleet of magic battleships, led by a few Heaven Rank experts who weren't very strong, could conquer a plane very quickly.

The planes such as the Raging Flame Plane would be conquered within a month 10,000 years later. Not so much time would've been wasted. Even the worst outcome would be that they coexisted with the locals in peace.

A fleet of magic battleships was necessary. The entrance to the newly discovered resource plane had to be guarded. Very few void beasts were there, but they had to defend against other human beings. After all, in history, this plane would be discovered at the beginning of the age of colonization.

On the next day, Pinocchio and Fantexi came to the Gilded Rose together. Both of them had bloodshot eyes, and seemed very exhausted. However, they were so excited that they grabbed Lin Yun by his arm the moment they saw him.

"Mafa Merlin, give it to me. Where is the detailed data? The parameters of the materials? The specific data of the mana reaction furnace? What's its fuel? Mana crystals? But their productivity is extremely low, right?"

"What are the detailed parameters of the weapon system? Tightly bound pulse of mana? But it's only powerful within a radius of 1,000 kilometers. It'll be useless beyond 1,000 kilometers…"

Narrowing his eyes, Lin Yun looked at Pinocchio and Fantexi, who seemed to be going crazy, and waved his hands.

"Guys, can you let me go first?"

Pinocchio and Fantexi smiled awkwardly. They loosened their hands and stepped aside. However, they were still standing vigilantly, as if they feared that Lin Yun would disappear.

"Guys, that was just an idea. The team that's going to study magic battleships will be led by you two. I have several designs for the weapon system…

"But first things first, have you decided to work in the Gilded Rose?"

Lin Yun's suspense made Pinocchio and Fantexi eager and anxious.

"Cut the crap! Just spit it out!"

"Exactly! Stop wasting time, and spit it out!"

Lin Yun took out two contracts for them.

"Guys, sign the contract first. After all, what I showed you yesterday was the classified information of the Gilded Rose…"

The contract was half a meter long, with plenty of terms and clauses. However, neither Pinocchio nor Fantexi bothered to read it. They simply left their magic signatures on the contract.

On the contract they didn't read, besides the clause that they weren't allowed to divulge the Gilded Rose's secrets without permission, there was also one that stated the effective duration of the contract, which was 10,000 years…

Also, they didn't notice that the other party who signed the contract was not the Gilded Rose, but Lin Yun himself. It meant that they had to work for the Gilded Rose for 10,000 years as long as Lin Yun was alive.

As a matter of fact, those two men would only live 8,000 years in real history.

Watching the contracts burn into ash, Lin Yun couldn't help but put on a smile.

It was truly easy to deal with crazy researchers. Their research was their payment. He only needed to provide several ideas to keep them busy for at least a millennium. They didn't care about benefits or anything else other than their research…

With them leading the magic battleship projection, he wouldn't need to care about the details. He only needed to give them general ideas for them to work on. After they created a magic battleship, a lot of plans could be put into practice.

After hiring Fantexi and Pinocchio, Lin Yun continued hiring in their name. While they weren't popular among the leadership of the Starry Sky College, they were top Artisans anyway, and were very strong as individuals. It was easy to hire the Master Alchemists in their name and with the appeal of the Gilded Rose.

Lin Yun signed contracts with all the newly hired alchemists, and then took them to the Raging Flame Plane.

The Raging Flame Plane had already become completely steady. It had changed significantly since the eruption and the trouble that the 73rd God caused. Many resources that were deeply buried were moved to the surface. The mana became more exuberant and active too. There were much more resources than in the past.

Every party had benefited a lot from the change. Even the Raging Flame Beastmen were very happy about the current situation. Having been at war for decades, they lost half of their population, and were a lot weaker than before. They knew that they would be annihilated if the war continued. Now that they had reached a truce, their life was better than before. There was nothing unacceptable.

Potions, food, and magic tools from human beings were influencing the Raging Flame Beastmen in every aspect. Before human beings appeared, some Raging Flame Beastmen starved in every tribe every year. A lot of their babies perished each year too.

Steel City in the Four Seasons Plain was already the biggest city in the Raging Flame Plane. More than half of the deals between the Raging Flame Beastmen and human beings were completed in this city. The resources from the Raging Flame Plane entered the Gilded Rose, and the Gilded Rose sold the daily necessities from the human world.

A high-purity silver ore could be exchanged in Steel City for food that could sustain a whole family of beastmen for an entire year. One kilogram of dried herbs could be exchanged for 10 piglets…

Heavily wounded? Go buy potions in Steel City. Unable to make a breakthrough? Go buy potions in Steel City. Not knowing the value of your ores? Go to Steel City…

In only a couple of years, the Raging Flame Beastmen who lived off hunting were already used to inexhaustible food. The warlocks, who only knew how to increase their power by using beast bones in the past, were starting to order tailor-made staffs in Steel City…

Lin Yun came to the Raging Flame Plane again, and was very satisfied with its development. The strategy he made was proving fruitful.

The other forces had been plundering resources, but Lin Yun chose to establish Steel City at first. Nobody could claim all resources. Even if they could, the excavation would still take time. Also, not all the resources in the Raging Flame Plane would be included. However, when everybody joined their hands, and exchanged what they had, the result would be different.

Steel City became the most powerful force in the Raging Flame Plane, and earned the greatest returns. Also, nobody dared to challenge its position. Whoever did so would be torn into shreds by the Raging Flame Beastmen.

Besides, Lin Yun didn't monopolize the business. He was a partner to many organizations. Whoever jeopardized Steel City's interests would almost become a public enemy to the Raging Flame Plane.

Besides, The Intrepid had been staying in the Raging Flame Plane. The warship that floated in the high sky like a cloud was a lethal weapon with enough energy. It had saved enough energy to unleash the Hand of Destruction several times. The Raging Flame Plane was now at absolute peace.

Lin Yun took Pinocchio and Fantexi, as well as the other newly hired refiners, to The Intrepid.

Boarding The Intrepid, both Pinocchio and Fantexi were thrilled. This warship looked like a huge ancient boat, but it contained horrifying technologies that had been lost a long time earlier. Besides, the vessel was built on the body of an ancient God. It was a creature in a way.

Pinocchio and Fantexi began to study The Intrepid. Lin Yun simply left them alone after dropping a bunch of materials and data. He had given them ideas, and taken care of material problems. They would have themselves to blame if they couldn't make a real magic battleship…

Leaving the research team aside, Lin Yun met the Firerock Dwarves, who had been studying the weapon system smoothly. The Mana Crystal Cannons on The Intrepid had been mostly analyzed, and could be duplicated. However, it was impossible to copy the Hand of Destruction just yet, because it was made of unique materials, and was much more complicated than ordinary Mana Crystal Cannons. They were not the same at all.

The magic battleships to be created were mainly meant to guard the new planes to be conquered. They would fight in the boundless void, and probably didn't have a chance to fight inside a plane. That was the mission of the next-generation magic battleships.

The Mana Crystal Cannons weren't suitable for battles in the boundless void. Their range was too short, and their power wasn't good enough. The attack range of the weapon system had to be ensured first. Magic battleships would have no advantages if their weapons didn't have a shooting range of 10,000 kilometers.

Mana Laser Cannons had been worked on. Lin Yun intended to let the Firerock Dwarves work with the alchemist team on Mana Electromagnetic Cannons too.

There were no obstacles at all in the boundless void, not even air. So, air friction was no longer a problem for the electromagnetic cannons. Only the cannonballs needed research. With the help of magic power, the problem that the electromagnetic cannon and the cannonballs couldn't endure the acceleration could be taken care of.

If the barrel of the cannon was long enough, it could accelerate the cannonball to the speed of light…

However, there were still many other problems. After giving them a general idea and a simple electromagnetic cannon model, Lin Yun simply left the matter aside. His alchemist team would take care of everything, or at least most of it, by working together. After all, the most brilliant alchemists of this age had been gathered here.