"Isn't that the truth?" The moment Odin finished speaking, the young man froze, then immediately shot back in a rage.
"Hahahaha…" The instant his words faded, a bunch of God's Guards soldiers around them burst into laughter.
"How unbelievably stupid. Why would the heavens help us for no reason? Those two lightning pillars were clearly Lord Mieko's divine arts…" Odin let out a cold laugh, his eyes full of contempt and ridicule. After sweeping the young man with a scornful glance, he snapped his arm down and issued the order: "Take every last one of them. Anyone who dares resist—execute them on the spot!"
"Yes, sir!" the soldiers answered in unison.
…
Time flew. More than a month later.
On the Central High Ground of Upper Yard, inside a spacious, lavishly decorated hall.
"Lord Mieko, the design plan for the ark 'Noah' has been finalized. This is a model the craftsmen rushed out overnight—please take a look. If there's anything you're not satisfied with, we'll revise it immediately!" A middle-aged man stood in the center of the hall, respectfully holding up an exquisite, ornate ship model with both hands as he spoke to Mieko, who sat in the main seat. This man was one of the craftsmen Mieko had brought over from Birka, entrusted with a heavy responsibility as the person in charge of the ark "Noah" construction project.
The reason this ark was named "Noah" was because Mieko wanted it to be distinct from the jaw-droppingly massive ark "Maxim." Since it was a redesign, the style would naturally be very different—hence the new name.
"By my estimate, it's about time we reached this step. Let me see." Mieko nodded slightly, stood up, took the ship model from the middle-aged man, and examined it closely.
This ship model, only a few dozen centimeters long, was designed to be extremely delicate and luxurious. The hull was entirely golden, with an outer wheel on each side. In addition to the lower deck cabin, there were two more levels above it—big and small, more than a dozen rooms in total. And above the second level, there was also a comparatively spacious balcony corridor.
A bright red carpet covered the deck. On it was a wide lawn with several fruit trees planted there. At the bow stood a golden eagle statue, as if it were about to spread its wings and take flight. On the rear deck, there were additional leisure facilities as well.
Mieko studied the model carefully, then nodded in satisfaction. After that, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly into a faint smile as he said, "Just judging by the exterior, I quite like it. Tell me the details about this 'Noah.'"
"Right away!" Seeing that Mieko somewhat approved of Noah's appearance, the middle-aged man instantly let out a sigh of relief. He hurried forward a few steps, took the model back from Mieko, and began pointing at the hull as he introduced it. "This 'Noah' is no simple thing. It's fifty meters long and nearly twenty-five meters wide. We specifically designed outer wheels on both sides, powered by electricity as the energy source, so it can travel quickly across the sea. By our preliminary estimate, its speed will be at least five times that of the three-masted sailing ship we rode to Angel Island."
"Not only that, it's also equipped with the flight system you requested. Once it's airborne, its speed will be more than double what it can do on the sea. However… because the hull is simply too large and heavy, the electricity consumption while flying is almost ten times what it uses when traveling on the sea with the outer wheels."
At this point, the middle-aged man visibly hesitated. He cautiously glanced at Mieko and, seeing no displeasure on his face, continued. "Also, with our current technical level, the amount of electricity 'Noah' can store is limited. If you use your ability to fully charge Noah, and we add the large Wind Dial installed at the rear as an auxiliary propulsion system, then without replenishing power, it can probably maintain top speed on the sea nonstop for a full day and night… but in the sky, it can only fly for a little over two hours."
"That flight time is way too short." Mieko frowned. A little over two hours of flight time was nowhere near satisfying. Sure, he could recharge it at any moment, but it still felt far from ideal.
Hearing that Mieko wasn't satisfied with Noah's flight time, the middle-aged man looked troubled and quickly explained, "Lord Mieko, this is because the hull size you requested is simply enormous, and our own capabilities are limited. The amount of electricity our storage equipment can hold is already the absolute limit of what we can achieve. When designing, we have to consider many issues—like the convenience of continuous charging, and whether the hull is prone to damage, and so on."
"Of course, if you want to extend flight time further while keeping the ark's performance, the only option is to shrink the hull's overall size a bit more."
"Forget it. If it's two hours, then it's two hours. Continue with the other parts." In Mieko's view, shrinking the hull just to increase flight time was completely unnecessary.
"The main structure, engine, and other key components will all be cast using the alloy refining method you mentioned. Preliminary estimates suggest that once the entire 'Noah' is completed, gold will account for about ten percent of the ship's body. To prevent leakage, areas like the deck and rooms will all use double-layer wooden boards for insulation, with additional thickening…"
"The whole ship is divided into three levels. The lowest level is the equipment compartment and warehouse, used to load various devices and store supplies. The second level has a hall, dining room, kitchen, a large fish tank, control room, charging room, and ten bedrooms. The third level is designed according to your requirements, equipped with eight spacious bedrooms and a balcony…"
"Finally, all the facilities on the deck were added and designed according to your requirements!" After supplementing his explanation, the middle-aged man—his mouth now dry from talking—finally stopped.
Mieko toyed with the Noah model in his hand while asking, "If you start construction now, with sufficient manpower and materials, how long will it take you to finish building 'Noah'?"
For this question, the middle-aged man clearly had already estimated it together with the other craftsmen, so he answered without hesitation, "Preliminary estimate: at least four years. Because it isn't an ordinary wooden sailing ship—the workload is simply too huge…"
"Four years? Then I'll give you four years. I've already sent people to collect the gold on Upper Yard. It can be delivered over at any time. Any craftsmen, resources, or other needs you have—you can go to Odin. He'll arrange everything properly!"
Four years didn't exceed Mieko's expectations. He also knew this was already the limit of what these craftsmen could accomplish.
(End of Chapter)
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