846: Chapter 76: Ghost Ship 846: Chapter 76: Ghost Ship In the battlefield, speed is of the essence.
After agreeing, Hudson didn’t delay and took Caryo on the road, flying directly to Hensen Port.
Watching the naval fleet gathered by the Dalton Family, Hudson almost drooled with envy.
Two first-class battleships (over 3000 tons), five second-class battleships (over 2000 tons), thirteen third-class battleships (over 1000 tons), and in addition, over thirty various auxiliary warships.
From the lineup alone, one could tell that the Dalton Family had suffered considerable losses in the previous naval battles.
It seemed that they had summoned all available ships from nearby, clearly showing no intention of leaving a way out for the pirates.
Hudson had no sympathy for the pirates.
Those who could engage in this ruthless business were full of sins, and executing all of them wouldn’t involve any injustice.
“Caryo, let your people set off!”
Hudson said without changing his expression.
No matter how much he envied, he could not show it.
If others perceived him as a bumpkin, that would damage his image.
Despite the fleet’s considerable scale, the navy’s status within the Dalton Family, or rather in most countries on the Continent of Aslante, was not high.
The foundation was all on the continent, and no matter how strong the naval fleet was, it couldn’t move on land.
Most nobles did not prioritize the development of the navy.
The Daltons could compile such a lineup mainly because of the need for maritime trade.
For Hudson, assembling such a fleet was not a difficult task.
As long as he was willing to invest money, it would take just two or three years to build the ships; the trouble was the lack of officers and sailors capable of operating them.
The sailors obtained from the Royal Family could only ensure the ships were operable; their overall quality was not high.
This meant that for a long time to come, the naval fleet of the Mountain Domain would be for show.
With sturdy ships and powerful cannons, bullying small bands of pirates seemed feasible.
Facing a formal military force, however, would be a tragedy.
The pale-faced Caryo nodded at Hudson and in a daze, instructed the middle-aged man, “Uncle Byron, order the fleet to sail!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he started throwing up on the ship.
Clearly, riding a giant dragon wasn’t so easy.
Viscount Caryo, holding his ticket, sought thrills throughout the journey.
With this unforgettable trip, it was likely he wouldn’t want a second time.
The treatment of a Dragon Knight wasn’t something just anyone could enjoy unless the price was right.
With no time to discuss the price, they had just hit the road; naturally, the treatment wasn’t great.
Originally, Hudson wanted to negotiate for Caryo, but considering that talking about money could hurt feelings, he simply let him choose whether to ride a gryphon or a giant dragon.
The young Viscount Caryo unfortunately chose the latter.
He had fodder for bragging to his friends now, but the cost was high.
A minor detour had no impact on the journey.
After experiencing the charm of the ocean on the boat deck, Hudson decisively went to the cabin.
He had intended to command the fleet to dominate the seas, but the strong waves were too much, and he had no choice but to cancel the plan.
Perhaps to make up for lost time, the Magic Formation was already at full power, though he hadn’t the leisure to calculate the exact speed.
Having just experienced it, Hudson knew that his own battleship still on the stocks was already behind in overall performance.
With the era progressing and technology evolving, Hudson suddenly understood why the Clergy had been so willing to trade technology back then.
It was clear they were taking advantage of the impoverished Mountain Domain.
By the time he had completed his initial capital accumulation, the once advanced technology had become outdated.
In fact, after all these years, Hudson still hadn’t been able to fully utilize the technology he had acquired.
Specifically, all the shipbuilding technology data lay dormant in the storage, untouched.
Even after acquiring the Berkshine Shipyard, he still couldn’t digest it.
In the era of feudal lords, population movement was minimal, and the Mountain Domain had no one who could understand the highly dialectical and specialized terminology of the data.
If it hadn’t been for acquiring the Berkshire Shipyard, in a pinch, Hudson might have considered abducting people from the Clergy’s shipyards.
Now there was no need.
At the moment, the Mountain Domain needed time just to digest the Berkshire Shipyard, there was no rush to decipher the shipbuilding data.
The gap in shipbuilding concepts on the Continent of Aslante was significant.
With magic as a special factor, it was difficult to reach a consensus on technology.
After all, this place does not deal in science.
The quality of shipbuilding concepts mattered little in the initial stages; the subsequent magic formations, Magic Crystal Cannons, and other fittings were the decisive factors.
All sorts of seemingly irrational, unscientific arrangements, when paired with supernatural factors, made everything logical.
If he couldn’t figure it out, just drop it; Hudson wasn’t a naval engineer, and it wasn’t worth obsessing over.
“Savage Beard, what are you playing at?
Why have we been navigating through the fog for such a long time without finding Poison Dragon Island?” the old man in the sacrificial robe scolded sharply.
Even though the Continent of Aslante has no concept of coastlines, it is generally accepted that whichever area is closest to a sea area, it falls under that power’s influence.
The Sea Area of Poison Dragon Island, with the Kingdom of Elf being the closest country, is naturally regarded as the territory of the Alpha People.