Chapter 429: Cecil’s “Warship”

Lady Ropeni of House Grant had very few people she trusted—and the steward before them seemed to be one of them.

“I am honored to serve my lady,” the steward of Grant Castle said, bowing deeply before Gawain. His manners were impeccable—respectful yet composed.

“Then serve your lady once more,” Gawain nodded slightly. “You’re to make a trip to Rock Fortress…”

The steward kept his head bowed. “What is it you wish me to do?”

“Deliver a message. Tell them that Cecil’s forces have taken the Grant lands…” Gawain began, then shifted gears mid-sentence. “By the way, how’s your acting?”

The steward raised his head calmly. “Eleven years ago, when those bandits stormed the castle, I was there. I hid the young mistress, who was burned, in a pile of firewood, then lay on top of her, pretending to be dead—right under the bandits’ noses, for a whole day and night.”

He paused, then smiled confidently. “My acting is very good.”

…

Northern bank of the Whitewater River, Cecil’s territory.

Two large riverboats were moored at a newly built dockyard. Scaffolding covered their hulls, and craftsmen bustled about, showing the ships were undergoing intense modifications. On a platform nearby, Tyr in her sea serpent form propped herself half in the air with her long tail, curiously inspecting every detail of the vessels.

She could tell these weren’t new builds, but conversions of existing ships. Their original design resembled the large cargo boats she often saw on the Whitewater River. From a sea witch’s perspective, those so-called “cargo ships” were hardly impressive. What caught her interest were the new structures added during the refit.

She saw craftsmen reinforcing key parts of the hull with metal plating and alloy frames, large holes cut into the decks to install metal supports and mysterious piping systems. The sails had been mostly removed, replaced by many wing-like metal frames spread out on the deck, all covered with human magical runes.

It was a strange kind of modification, and Tyr was fascinated.

Byron, the knight, was also inspecting the ships. His face was full of pride as he pointed to one of them and boasted to Tyr, “These two ships were captured during the Whitewater River bombardment. Almost all the others were damaged, but these two were intact.”

Tyr noticed the pride in Byron’s expression and asked with curiosity, “Is that impressive?”

“These were built in Peibo, the best shipbuilding region in the Southlands!” Byron waved his arm. “The biggest ships in the South come from there! Don’t you think these two look great?”

“Ha… I guess,” Tyr replied, flicking her tail half-heartedly, still more interested in the wing-like structures. “I’m more curious how Gawain plans to modify them…”

“I’ll take you aboard and explain,” Byron said eagerly, remembering his lord’s instructions. He knew this sea witch would be the “power source” to bring these ‘strange ships’ north, so he was keen to impress. “Come, I’ll show you.”

Once aboard, Tyr realized the modifications were even more extensive than she’d imagined. Large sections of the deck were covered with thin metal plates etched with magical runes, connected to the wing-like frames. Below deck, pipes, alloy skeletons, and magical devices were visible. Though the ships still looked like traditional river cargo boats on the outside, inside they had become some kind of arcane construct. This level of work clearly hadn’t been done overnight.

“Did you start these modifications right after towing the ships in?” she asked.

“To be honest… yes,” Byron admitted. “After the Whitewater bombardment, the lord ordered the two best-preserved ships to be converted into magic-powered vessels. Initially, the plan was to mount magic crystal railguns on them—we reinforced the decks and added extra frames inside. See over there? Some small secondary cannons are already installed. But now we’re swapping the main guns for the ‘Prism Device.’ It’s even bigger and heavier than the largest crystal railgun, so we had to reduce the main guns from two to one, and remove half the secondary cannons to keep the ship from sinking…”

Byron led Tyr down below deck, pointing out the modified sections. “Luckily, the magic network interfaces are universal. The power for the crystal railguns can be used for the Prism Device too. See these magic network units? They’re not just on the deck and this deckhouse, but even the hull bottom is lined with them. The whole ship is like a small factory with its own magic power grid, able to generate energy independently…”

Tyr followed behind, eyes wide as she took in the advanced arcane tech stuffed inside this otherwise “backwater wooden ship.” Finally, she couldn’t help but ask, “Why not just build a new ship? It’s so awkward cramming all this into such an outdated hull.”

“Shipbuilding skills aren’t there yet,” Byron shrugged helplessly. “Building ships is a craft, and Peibo’s craftsmen are the best in the Southlands. This is the best they can do. Higher tech? The lord’s researching it, but who knows when results will come. Even if they do, building a new ship from scratch takes time—and the enemies at Rock Fortress won’t wait.”

“Tch…” Tyr clicked her tongue, seeming to want to say more but held back, instead poking a nearby wooden post with her tail tip.

Byron smirked at her reaction and continued, “Let me show you the hull bottom—that’s still unfinished.”

They reached the bottom of the “warship.” Illuminated by magic crystal lamps, Tyr saw a large metal frame clearly meant for some big device, along with some unconnected magic network units.

“What’s this for?” she asked.

“Power,” Byron said. “A problem we haven’t solved yet.”

The word “power” reminded Tyr of Gawain’s request, and she nodded. “Oh—right. Your lord asked me to help with the power issue. He said these ships can’t move on their own yet, so he needs me.”

“Exactly,” Byron took over. “You noticed we took down the sails, right? That was to install extra magic networks and auxiliary rune arrays. We also had to remove the rowers’ stations to fit pumps and pipes, so the ship can’t move by traditional means anymore. Instead, the lord designed a magic engine to drive ‘paddles,’ but as you can see—it’s not finished.”

Byron pointed to the empty space in the hull meant for the engine, looking disappointed. “Mr. Egg has been researching it for a long time, but no finished product yet.”

Tyr frowned deeper and finally poked the wood nearby with her tail tip, trembling slightly. “What kind of modification is this… You’ve turned the ship into a war machine but it can’t even move on its own…”

Byron waved his hand. “It’s supposed to have power! It just hasn’t been installed yet.”

“Shouldn’t that have been designed earlier?” Tyr put her hands on her hips. “Do you even know how to build ships?”

Byron sighed. “That’s why I said our shipbuilding tech is behind. Traditional riverboats can be built by hiring expensive craftsmen, but these new magic-powered ships? Nobody really knows how to build them yet.”

“Tch…” Tyr clicked her tongue again, seeming to want to say more but held back. After poking the wood a bit more, she waved her tail. “Alright, I’ve seen enough. Your magic tech is beyond me. I’m going back to sleep. Just call me when it’s time to set sail.”

With that, the sea witch slipped out of the hull.

Byron glanced at the empty “engine room” and muttered, “Why won’t she engage…”

Not long after, footsteps sounded near the stairs. Looking up, Byron saw Knight Philip entering the hold.

“Miss Tyr has left?” the young knight asked, noticing Byron alone. “Did she tour our warship?”

Byron nodded. “She looked around. She’s interested in the magic tech, but clearly unimpressed with our ship.”

“Oh, then…”

“Don’t mention it. She cuts me off before I can say anything. Her guard is terrifying,” Byron said, frustrated. “She’s no match for you—you’re better at keeping the conversation going.”

“Can you stop changing the subject every time?” Philip frowned, then said, “Miss Tyr is a guest and a foreigner. We can’t force her to help. The lord only asked that she be interested in the magic tech. He’ll make other arrangements later.”

Thinking of Gawain’s hopes for Tyr and his obsession with building new ships, Byron sighed. “Getting someone as lazy as Tyr to help long-term is a tall order… But why is he so fixated on new ships? Are the Peibo craftsmen’s boats really useless?”

“The lord said the land is only humanity’s cradle, and humans must leave the cradle,” Philip said seriously. “I don’t fully understand what he means, but history shows his judgments rarely fail. If he says new ships are useful, then they must be.”

“Alright… I trust the lord’s judgment,” Byron said, looking up at the metal crossbeam added late in the ship’s construction. The lightweight alloy beam was etched with hexagonal magical runes that glowed faintly. This “power spine” was the ship’s main artery, connecting decks and magic network units to supply the Prism Device’s massive energy needs. “Whether the new ships are useful or not, I’m looking forward to seeing what these two can do.”

(End of chapter)