Lord: Stripped of My Inheritance from the Start

Chapter 426 - 399: Moonlight Valley’s Ship

Although Sophia’s ship still had sails, the power for a vessel with a steel hull didn’t rely on sails alone. At the bottom of the iron ship was something resembling a propeller.

After Sophia’s explanation, Ronin learned that the principle was just as he had hypothesized: it used Magic Energy for propulsion.

She stated frankly that this type of power consumed too much Magic Energy. Unless it was an emergency, they relied on the sails for propulsion most of the time. Occasionally, they would also manually input Magic Power or Fighting Qi to drive it, saving on Magic Crystal Stone consumption.

Sophia was quite generous with this technology. She said that as long as Ronin could provide enough iron ore for Simon to repair their ship, Simon would build a Magic Energy-powered vessel for Ronin free of charge.

This was an offer Ronin couldn’t refuse. He immediately wrote a letter to Sailin, the Civil Servant of Giant Stone City, instructing him to increase the mining output of the Chishan Town Iron Mine, aiming to double or even quadruple the annual production—the more, the better.

Furthermore, Ronin could tell that even on the Crescent Continent, where Fighting Qi and Magic were relatively advanced, they still knew nothing about steam engines.

During this time, his ability to smelt steel using the Earth Core Fire in conjunction with his Spiritual Power had also improved.

Therefore, when Simon began building his ship, Ronin planned to ask him to leave space in the vessel’s structure for installing a steam engine.

By then, his ship could be driven by two power sources—steam and Magic Energy—completely freeing it from the constraints of sails.

Although Ronin, having reached the Sage Level, could single-handedly destroy a nation lacking top-tier combatants...

...destruction could be accomplished by one person, but ruling required a sufficient number of people.

He couldn’t possibly handle every little rebellion that popped up across such a vast territory himself.

At any time, forming a Knight Order and building up one’s own military strength was essential.

Naval power was, of course, equally important.

Besides, his enemies weren’t just on the Orland Continent; there were threats from the Crescent Continent as well.

Since the Demon God had set its sights here, if the Crescent Continent fell, this one would naturally not be spared.

Having already developed ambitions of conquest, Ronin would naturally not stand idly by.

「Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was June 10th.」

Vessels of all sizes were moored at Horn Bay Port, flying a wide variety of banners.

The Denis One, flying the Golden Mountain Range banner of the Wushan Clan, slowly docked at the port.

Clad in a black robe, Lurans stood on the deck, gazing out at the bustling, prosperous port with a look of wistful nostalgia.

"Horn Bay wasn’t this big or this lively back in the day."

Lurans said with a smile, "To think it would develop into this after thirty years."

"Indeed, My Lord. Trade across both shores of the Screaming Sea has been very frequent these past few years."

Vitorino, who was personally leading the escort this time, added, "You have to look out for my Dennis Port!"

Lurans chuckled. "You can discuss that sort of thing with Ronin. For the rest of my life, I want to enjoy the good times."

Vitorino scratched his head in embarrassment. ’He had originally wanted Lurans to approach the Fleming Clan and have a talk before the navy on Rapids Island grew to a significant size. But now, it seemed the Marquis didn’t want to get involved. Some matters had been handed over to Wiggin, but for many major issues, he had told them to consult with Ronin. The Marquis was still around, but the one in charge had become the Count of Wubei Territory. This move by the grandfather-grandson duo had probably set a historical precedent.’

Ronin, meanwhile, was observing the sizes of the various great clans’ ships moored in the port, assessing their strength.

He had originally planned to fly directly to Golden Feather City on Carlos with Lurans, Sophia, and the others, but Lurans wanted to see the scenery along the way, so they had flown to Sharp Horn City and then taken a ship from there.

"Huh, is that ship flying the moonlight banner from Moonlight Valley?"

Ronin pointed to a ship on one side of the port and asked in surprise, "I don’t think Moonlight Valley has a port, do they? And I believe he has Griffins, too."

Lurans and Vitorino both looked over.

"That is indeed Moonlight Valley’s banner."

Vitorino frowned and said, "I’ve heard recently that Jesus reached a cooperation agreement with Viscount Lucio of Wave Castle. Moonlight Valley leased Langtao Port, so this ship might have sailed from there."

Lurans chuckled. That was news to him.

"That fellow Jesus has never been satisfied with just being a Count. He’s bent on expanding his territory and raising his title. I wonder what he paid to convince Milk to lend his port to such an ambitious man."

Ronin added, "It’s also strange that during the Ossen Count’s rebellion in Black Python City, Moonlight Valley managed to keep its composure and didn’t cause any trouble near Shore City."

"He must have been intimidated by the Knight Orders at Wushan Castle."

Vitorino said matter-of-factly, "If Jesus wanted to seize Shore City from under the noses of two Knight Orders, he’d have to deploy his elite knights. That’s not something he could cover up by blaming some Thief Gang or Brotherhood."

Ronin nodded slowly. He was inclined to agree with that assessment.

Standing not far away, Sophia quietly listened to the three men’s conversation.

’This continent doesn’t have the trouble of a Demon God, but whether it’s within the Kingdom itself or between Oduin and Tricia, the air is thick with the stench of war. It will be very difficult to unite the people of this continent and get them to focus on exterminating the Demon God. In recent days, Ronin had told her something to the effect of "to face external threats, one must first secure internal stability," and she was increasingly seeing the wisdom in it. If that was truly the case, then it raised the question of which side her five-person team should take. Should they side with Ronin, who had great potential, or with the larger, more established Oduin Royal Family? But choosing the latter would inevitably put them in opposition to Ronin one day. She could sense that what this young man wanted was definitely not as simple as just fighting for the Oduin Royal Family. Moreover, the Marquis of Wushan Territory was a Silver Moon Knight, and under him were a Meteor Knight and a friend at the Grand Mage Level. The top-tier fighting strength of Wushan Territory was formidable.’

She said in a low voice, "Harmon, now that we’re in Golden Feather City, I want you to thoroughly investigate the strength and intelligence of the major noble houses, and also understand their relationships with one another."

She wanted to know just how unstable the situation here had become.

WHOOOOM!

With a deep blast from a horn, the Denis One smoothly docked at the port.

Lurans’s brow twitched. He looked at the welcoming party lined up at the port, a smile spreading across his face.

"Ronin, come, disembark with me."

At the head of the welcoming party was none other than Blanche.

"It seems your relationship with His Majesty is quite good, Grandfather. He actually sent Blanche to welcome you."

Ronin remarked with a laugh, "I certainly didn’t get this kind of treatment the last time I was here."

"Hahaha, when Bruno was young, he often came to my command tent for meals. I even gave him some guidance, but unfortunately, his talent was quite ordinary."

The two of them chatted as they disembarked from the ship.

Blanche’s gaze shifted from Lurans to Ronin.

’Frankly, when she heard about the civil war breaking out in Wushan Territory a while ago, she had subconsciously assumed that neither Ronin nor Lurans would be able to come. She had been so worried that she couldn’t sleep for a long time. Thankfully, the civil war had ended so quickly. Now, seeing her beloved arrive as scheduled, her anxious heart finally settled.’

"Esteemed Marquis, please allow me to welcome you on behalf of my father, His Majesty the King."

She first gave a very official welcome before switching to a more relaxed tone. "It’s wonderful that you’ve recovered!"

Lurans nodded in satisfaction. ’Putting aside Blanche’s unsavory history and the related rumors, he was quite pleased with his prospective granddaughter-in-law. Besides, if anything were to happen in the future, their Wushan Castle would be considered part of the Royal Family, giving them a legitimate pretext for any action they chose to take.’

"It’s been a long time, Blanche. For His Majesty to send you personally, he truly honors this old man!"

Blanche smiled faintly. "Not only have you recovered, but you’ve also broken through to the Silver Moon Level. This is joyous news for the entire Oduin Kingdom. My father awaits you at the Golden Feather Palace and hopes to meet with you soon."

"I am also looking forward to meeting with him."

As he spoke, Lurans made an inviting gesture.

Blanche nodded, then smiled and winked at Ronin before leading the procession away from the docks.