Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 292: Shocking Impact
Li Xian sat in the car, but his spiritual sense nearly captured everything within a radius of a hundred meters. This was the ability of the Nascent Soul stage. The laughter and voices of passersby, the swaying of trees and grass around, the chirping of birds and insects. But now and then, a subtle aura would flash by—those were the experts.
“There are so many experts.”
With the annexation of Luliang County and the continued expansion of Anyang’s influence, fortune began to gather, and Li Xian broke through to the Nascent Soul stage in one go. Even Xia Qingqing broke through to the late-stage peak of the Golden Core, and with just one opportunity or a moment of insight, she could enter the Nascent Soul stage as well.
The rarely off-duty Xie An and Zhao Fei were peering curiously from the car. The two little ones were almost considered Li Xian’s disciples, especially Xie An, who had endured much hardship from a young age. He was calm for his age and had been deeply interested in the development of science.
The convoy slowly moved forward, and before long, traffic jams had become one of the unique features of Anyang.
When the convoy arrived at the suburbs of Anyang, they saw a brand-new, uniquely designed set of buildings to the east. This was the “Embassy District.”
After passing through the Embassy District, the convoy turned onto a wide six-lane road, and then they sped along, reaching the seaside of Anyang in no time. From a distance, they could see a steel jungle by the sea, with all kinds of coastal port machinery, all masterpieces of shipyards.
Upon exiting the highway, they saw that many people were already waiting at the entrance of the shipyard. People were still very curious about one of Anyang’s most mysterious plants—the shipyard. Today, they finally had the chance to visit openly, so there were quite a few people—crowded, stretching endlessly.
Li Xian’s convoy drove directly into the factory and straight into the dry dock. In the giant dry dock, a massive ironclad ship lay still, ready to sail the seas.
Nearby, the shipyard director, Wan Sheng, introduced, “The ship is 175 meters long, 16.8 meters wide, and has a draft of 6 meters. The standard displacement is 9,800 tons, with a maximum displacement of 10,800 tons. The engine design is based on the concept of an aircraft jet engine. We have designed a low-speed marine engine with a total power of 180,000 horsepower, allowing the ship’s maximum speed to exceed 60 kilometers per hour. At 40 kilometers per hour, the endurance can reach 8,000 kilometers.
The main guns at the bow and stern have a caliber of 356 millimeters, designed in a twin-barrel configuration with a 55-caliber length. That means there are four 356-millimeter main guns in total. The design range can reach 12 kilometers.
The secondary guns are 150 millimeters, twin-barrel, with a total of 10 sets.
The machine guns are 30 millimeters, with a total of 20 sets.
A new communication system, the ‘Ling Tong Bao Jian,’ combining the techniques of “Far Vision” and “Far Sound Transmission,” has been successfully tested. It’s a low-level magical artifact with a communication range of 100 kilometers.
There is also a reserved area on the deck where airplanes can land.
The standard crew is 260 people, and they must at least be at the Foundation Establishment stage.”
The 175-meter-long ironclad was so massive it was hard to see the end of it. Anyang’s technology had advanced rapidly, and this was certainly aided by cultivation. Using formation techniques, many processes were simplified; with the help of cultivators working in the factory, things could be made even simpler.
Of course, all of this relied on “energy.”
Li Xian looked at the ironclad that belonged to him, and for a moment, he felt deeply moved. Life was indeed a strange and wonderful thing. Beside him, Chang Lin kept drooling. This guy had quietly pulled Wan Sheng aside and asked, “Old Wan, let’s make a few more of these, they’re so exciting to look at.”
Wan Sheng shoved Chang Lin aside, “Get lost! This ironclad alone consumed more than 5,000 tons of steel. The director of the smelting factory, Song Gang, has been hounding me for days. The director of the locomotive factory, Xie Wenjie, has been blocking my door, cursing for three whole days. You still want more? Dream on!”
Li Xian smiled and listened to the surrounding jokes and curses. He looked around and noticed that on a nearby beach, a temporary viewing stand had already been set up. That was the designated area for spectators.
Li Xian nodded, and Wan Sheng immediately instructed someone to guide the spectators to the viewing area. In no time, the stands were packed, and many had to use spells to fly above the sea—too afraid to enter the factory. Anyang’s laws were very strict, and there was no leniency for those who broke the law after a prior warning.
The spectators gasped as they saw the massive ironclad, especially the representatives and merchants from Qi, Cai, and Chen kingdoms. Only after seeing the ironclad for themselves did they understand why the Jin Kingdom had surrendered under Anyang’s attack. Just looking at it made their scalps tingle!
The 175-meter length was like a mountain made of steel! In front of such an ironclad, a person seemed no different from an ant. The small figures of people bustling around the guns only highlighted the enormity and fierceness of the cannons. The visual impact of the massive ship and its guns was unparalleled.
Chang Lin stood in front of the ironclad and shouted, “From today on, the term ‘ironclad’ will become a thing of the past. This ship is a cruiser, responsible for patrolling the coastal security of Anyang and protecting the sea trade convoys along the way.”
The water level in the dry dock finally reached the sea level. The ship lock slowly opened, and the sailors used magic to gently push the ship out of the dry dock. The enormous ship floated like a massive landmass. As the entirely steel-made “warship” floated on the sea, the spectators were all gasping in awe.
After exiting the dry dock, the warship slowly sailed past the spectators, its massive steel body and the faint hum of the engines creating immense pressure on everyone. Even a few Nascent Soul experts couldn’t help but show a look of astonishment.
This was truly a “steel body”! At the bow of the ship, a mid-stage Nascent Soul expert stood. Upon seeing this expert, many recognized him immediately, “It’s actually Guo Sihai!”
The waves were severely disturbed, but the warship remained exceptionally stable; instead, it was the waves stirred up by the warship that continuously crashed onto the shore, lifting layers of mud and sand.
The power of industry has several extreme manifestations, but the most shocking and eye-catching is undoubtedly the steel warship. And that latest twin-barrel 356mm giant cannon—anyone with some knowledge of artillery, upon seeing such a cannon, will immediately think of the word “destruction.”
For many cultivators without magical treasures, a 150mm cannon could already tear through the body of someone in the Foundation Establishment stage and harm experts in the Golden Core stage; a direct hit from a 240mm cannon would leave even Golden Core experts no chance to escape. A 305mm cannon, and even experts in the Nascent Soul stage would not dare face it head-on. As for the 356mm cannon… there’s no need to say more.
The waves surged as the warship slowly moved away, leaving behind the rolling sea waves, demonstrating the size of the warship.
As for Li Xian, seeing the various reactions from the crowd, he immediately smiled. This was exactly the effect he wanted. Otherwise, why would Li Xian have made the launching ceremony of this warship public? Li Xian wanted everyone to know: Our victory over the Jin Kingdom was no accident. Not only have we not been dragged down by war, we’ve become even stronger.
With the continuous receipt of Jin Kingdom’s generous compensation, Anyang’s development has been accelerating rapidly.
It wasn’t until the warship had drifted far away that people gradually came to their senses. Some were excited—these were the people of Anyang—while most were shocked.
“How much steel is needed for this? What kind of industrial base does it take? When fighting against such a warship, what role do traditional military deployments have?”
Many of the high-ranking generals, who had come to observe in secret, began to reflect. The massive warship ruthlessly crushed the confidence of these generals.
At present, most regular soldiers in many countries and local powers, who were at the 4th to 6th levels of Qi Refining, still used standard cold weapons.
Many elite soldiers, at the 7th level and above of Qi Refining, still mainly used cold weapons, with only a few low-level magical tools.
The offensive capability of these low-level magical tools was similar to that of ordinary firearms, but since using magical tools consumes true essence, their ability to sustain combat is far inferior to that of Anyang.
Moreover, the steel used by a single warship of Anyang is enough to arm 20,000 to 40,000 regular soldiers!
The audience either whispered among themselves, lowered their heads to think, or had their eyes flickering.
“I want to join Anyang and become a merchant there!” A merchant spoke with firm determination, voicing an alternative opinion. “This warship is actually escorting merchant ships.”
This broke the silence, and immediately someone spoke up: “This time, the Anyang government said that as long as we can purchase a commercial iron-hull ship, and swear not to harm Anyang’s interests, we can obtain Anyang’s household registration.”
Another merchant spoke: “The starting price for the iron-hull ship is 200,000 taels of gold, but I estimate that the final price won’t even stay under 300,000 taels of gold.”
“Indeed, just the military escort for merchant ships is worth 100,000 taels of gold. With Anyang’s legal system and commercial environment, I estimate it will go for over 350,000 taels of gold.”
“Why don’t we chip in together? Doesn’t Anyang now have a ‘partnership shares’ business model?”
“Scram, you poor fool! Who do you think you’re friends with?”
“I’ll fight you!”
“Go ahead, hit me. Fighting will land us in jail for a day. By then, the auction for the iron-hull ship will be over.”
“I’ll remember this!”