Chapter 1860: Chapter 621: Lord Selak’s Resignation – Our Journey Is to the Stars and the Sea!

Although the old pirate, the Duke of Blood Fear, was determined to be an enigma, his assistance was indeed substantial.

Captain Paula of the Halflings made a decision at midnight that day; she was going to seize this rare opportunity of wealth.

Therefore, at midnight, Captain Paula took a few trusted crew members to see the Crimson Regent, forcing Milian to get out of bed, change clothes, and hold a reception ceremony at the administrative courtyard.

This was indeed a major event.

If Paula could bring more airships transformed into war weapons to Transylvania, it would mean that under Murphy’s command, besides the vampires as individual flying troops, there would be a truly usable air force.

Although some ambitious manufacturers among the players had begun to secretly connect and prepare to make wooden airplanes, Murphy obviously didn’t have the time to wait for them to walk the path of aviation again.

According to some calculations by mysterious “big shots” on the forum, even with technical support from the real world, with the current skills and resources available to the players, it was not easy to replicate a World War I level airplane in Transylvania.

Especially when Vomit Mud Sauce had a complete set of blueprints but couldn’t figure out an internal combustion engine after two months.

Vomit Mud Sauce might seem unreliable, but he was a professional engineer, with certification! Even he couldn’t manage it; hoping the players’ brainstorming would cobble together an airplane was clearly unrealistic.

The industrial foundation of Transylvania was too weak, and the arsenal was running smoothly only because Governor Murphy had “looted” various industrial instruments from here and there; expecting such a small amount of machinery to complete industrialization was truly a fantasy.

In this situation, being able to rely on external relationships to bring in an airship fleet would be great.

Even if they couldn’t use Charldo Harbor’s connections to arm the airships, just bringing them back, even using the dumbest pre-World War I air combat method of “reaching out of the cockpit to throw grenades” would be a significant upgrade in strike capability.

However, both Murphy and Milian knew that this couldn’t be rushed.

Captain Paula also had to build relationships step by step and carefully cover up her secret dealings with the Transia People, otherwise, if the Steam Lord Council imposed sanctions, she, as a small airship owner, couldn’t handle such a matter.

But Murphy now had some preliminary connections.

Therefore, while Paula’s crew members were eating to their fill at the official reception restaurant in Crimson Castle personally managed by Chef Xiao Wan and then loudly taking carriages to Treasure Bay to enjoy the good life, Murphy also returned to the lower ruins of the Blood Vulture Corridor.

He found Old Flywheel and spoke directly:

“Can your old pal that runs the Halfling Black Market get an airship? Can you modify a Calculating Pearl for airship use?”

“Huh?”

The question left Old Flywheel, who was fretting over complex engineering problems without sleep, stunned, but this gloomy guy’s mind worked fast, and he immediately reacted, saying:

“So, you plan to use the Calculating Pearl I cracked to replace the instrument core on the airship, thus bypassing the oversight of those idiots the Steam Lords and turning the Halfling Airship into your war weapon? It won’t work, Murphy!

It’s not that it can’t be done on a technical level; the technical issues are easy to solve.

I admit your method is good, but don’t forget that the best intelligence agency on the continent is in the hands of the Steam Lords; your airship weapon only needs to be used once to make the Lord Council issue a ban.

The Halflings being able to live peacefully on this chaotic continent for a thousand years isn’t just because of our good luck. Although the Steam Lords appear harmless on the continent, they are not really foolish.

With a vast information network from the Thieves Guild, they can get all sorts of information at once to make judgments.

This is a hurdle you can’t bypass.

So, my advice to you is to hold your horses. If this strategy can only be used once, first ensure that you have enough airship fleets under your command… My old pal can help gather those resold second-hand airships, and let your partners incorporate them under your command in the name of acquisition.

But the number can’t be too many; from what I know about those idiots, getting more than ten small old ships is enough to draw their attention.”

“Great idea!”

Murphy nodded, but then he asked with a puzzled look:

“You seem to have a strong opinion of the Steam Lords. Why are you always so enthusiastic about things that go against their rules?”

“Because they’re a bunch of idiots!”

Old Flywheel snapped irritably:

“My mentor, before he died, had already advised them that protecting Charldo Harbor in the real world like they do, making the Halflings always unaware of the chaos and danger on the continent would someday lead to trouble.

Halflings can’t isolate themselves from the continent!

We are part of this world, and we must participate instead of burying our heads in the sand pretending nothing happened!

The Steam Lords think they’re protecting people, but they’re not!

Well, well, I have no special feelings for those idiots living in Charldo Harbor thinking the world is peaceful either.

I just find it unfair for my mentor!

My mentor was one of the founders of steam engineering; his whole life was dedicated to engineering and Charldo Harbor, but those fools ignored his warning and continued with that idiotic isolationism.