Zeppelin Airship / Lungmen ...

A proud smile appeared on Zeppelin's face as he went over and pulled something.

After a faint sound, the lights came on one by one. As the creation before them slowly revealed its enormous form, Theresica's eyes widened. He asked in disbelief,

"Th-this... was made by our Sarkaz?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Zeppelin nodded with a smile. "It doesn't need to travel on land. I believe the bandits in the desert won't be able to fly into the sky either."

Chapter 67: Zeppelin Airship

Theresica had truly never expected the Sarkaz to build an airship!

He happily examined the enormous machine before him while Zeppelin introduced it from the side.

"Lord Theresis wanted a means of transportation that could ignore mountains and terrain. I was specifically responsible for this research. The only way to fulfill Lord Theresis's requirements was to keep moving through the air. However, our technical capabilities were limited, and we were never able to complete it. It was only recently, with the machinery Your Majesty brought back and some technology from the Meyer Shipyard you established, that I was finally able to finish it."

"Does it have a name?"

"Not yet."

"Then call it an airship."

Theresica simply borrowed the name from Earth. "You completed it, so it'll be the Zeppelin. How does that sound?"

"...It's my honor, Your Majesty."

Zeppelin did his best to control his expression, but a trace of excitement still slipped into his voice. Who wouldn't be happy to have something named after them?

"Can I go inside and take a look?"

"Of course, Your Majesty. Please follow me."

Following Zeppelin, Theresica entered the airship's cabin. It was very simple, containing only a cockpit. From there, one could control the air propellers responsible for movement and direction, the venting device used to change altitude, and the compass indicating direction. The remaining space could all be used to carry cargo.

The Zeppelin's layout was basically the same as the airships on Earth, but it had one notable difference.

Theresica pointed at the place where the gasbag should have been and asked, "What is that used for?"

"Your Majesty, that is an air cylinder."

Zeppelin looked toward the spot Theresica had indicated. Above the airship's cabin was a bloated object several times larger than the cabin itself.

He explained, "The reason an airship can remain in the sky is that we fill that air cylinder with a gas lighter than ordinary air. The gas rises, but is restrained by the air cylinder, causing it to float together with the cylinder."

After hearing Zeppelin's explanation, Theresica nodded. The basic principle was evidently the same as on Earth, but another question immediately arose.

"Then why make the air cylinder out of metal? It's far too heavy. Wouldn't it be better to use a light material such as cloth to make a gasbag?"

"Your Majesty, that would indeed have its advantages. However, cloth cannot withstand attacks from ground-based Arts users. Furthermore, when a Calamity strikes, even a small Originium Calamity would cause the airship to crash."

Zeppelin explained the matter in detail. This choice had been dictated entirely by Terra's environment. Yet after hearing him out, Theresica said nothing and simply stood there, deep in thought.

After a long while, he finally spoke. "A Calamity... If we bring along a Calamity Messenger, we can avoid it, right? As for attacks from ground-based Arts users... Once the airship takes off, can they still hit its top? We only need to protect its lower half. In that case, we can use a gasbag!"

Zeppelin froze. It was entirely feasible! With this arrangement, the airship could carry much heavier loads!

"Thank you for the inspiration today, Your Majesty. However, according to your idea, the airship would have to avoid every Calamity. In that case, it would have no value whatsoever as a military product."

Zeppelin spoke somewhat dejectedly, but Theresica laughed.

"No military value is great! That means we'll be safer!"

He immediately ordered, "Prepare to produce gasbag-type airships at once. I need this kind."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Hearing this, Zeppelin immediately accepted the order.

Airships had never appeared on Terra before. After deciding to use them to transport construction materials for the mobile city, Theresica began personally writing documents modeled on Earth's construction plans. He also requested that Ursus and Yan send people to participate in meetings explaining the project.

Vitt, the chairman of the Ursus Empire, arrived first. His first question was, "Your Majesty, where is the vehicle you mentioned that can ignore mountains and terrain and travel in a straight line through the desert?"

Vitt was extremely impatient, so Theresica had no choice but to take him to see it first. As it happened, the first gasbag airship had just finished production and assembly and was undergoing test flights.

When they reached the test site near the coast, Vitt fixed his eyes on the airship. His head remained tilted upward, unwilling to lower itself even for a moment.

"Your Majesty, can this be bought?"

"Uh..." Theresica looked troubled. "Mr. Vitt, this is intended to transport materials. If you buy it, I'm afraid it'll delay the start of construction."

"That doesn't matter. Delaying it a little won't cause any problems. Besides, this thing should transport resources very quickly, right? I'll pay with Ursus equipment. We'll trade artillery for it."

"All right."

Theresica agreed reluctantly, though everything he had just said was nonsense.

From beginning to end, the airship had been designed by Zeppelin and a group of old Sarkaz craftsmen, who had personally filed every component from scratch. Under their direction, production was actually very quick.

Moreover, the true core of the airship was its filling gas, a high-purity gaseous Originium product. Zeppelin had guaranteed that, at present, only the Sarkaz could produce it on Terra.

With that safeguard in place, Theresica had finally dared to agree. It was a civilian product, after all, and he was more than happy for people to buy it! The Sarkaz could make a huge profit from after-sales service. Still, this was the first novel object to appear on Terra, so he would have felt uncomfortable if he didn't make as much money from it as possible.

Kazdel received a batch of Ursus mortars and shells. Meanwhile, Vitt proposed to Yan that they slightly extend the preparation period, while also handing the Sarkaz airship over to the Ursus Academy of Sciences for research to see whether it had any value.

Ursus's technicians carried out many experiments on it, including destructive impact tests. In the end, they reached a discouraging conclusion.

This thing was slow, conspicuous, and fragile. It couldn't approach the enemy and could only serve as a transport vehicle in the rear. Even in that role, however, it demanded excellent weather conditions. Ursus endured heavy snow for much of the year, making flight unsuitable. At least the model provided by the Sarkaz couldn't fly in such conditions.

Yan initially showed no reaction to the airship. But after learning that Ursus had specifically delayed construction for it, they became interested as well.

A man who claimed to be a Yan Ministry of Rites envoy stood before Theresica and presented him with an invitation bearing a distinctive cultural style.

Theresica studied it for a long while, only to regretfully discover that it contained none of the familiar writing from Earth. The man seemed to notice his expression and proactively bowed with clasped hands. "Esteemed King of Kazdel, Yan and the Sarkaz each possess their own cultures, but we have not communicated in a long time. There may be some shortcomings in our etiquette, so I hope Your Majesty will be tolerant."

"It's all right. Such things aren't important."

Theresica smiled. "The fact that you came in person to explain it already demonstrates the sincerity of your attitude."

"Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty."

The envoy bowed again, then spoke frankly. "Mr. Wei and his wife, Madam Wen Yue, will visit Kazdel in three days."

Chapter 68: Lungmen

At first, Theresica thought this Mr. Wei was some official from Yan. Still, out of respect and courtesy, he went to greet him personally. But when he saw the man in person, he was utterly dumbfounded.

Holy shit! That's a dragon!

In the days after the Ministry of Rites envoy arrived, Theresica asked him many questions about Yan. Fearing unnecessary diplomatic friction, the official told him everything he could.

In Yan, dragons were transcendent beings above the nobility. They were the imperial family of Great Yan! Since the nation's founding, only the "True Dragon" could become the leader of this enormous country. This belief was engraved in the heart of every Yan citizen.

In a sense, the imperial relatives of a great nation could probably be considered equal in status to the leaders of small nations.

"Mr. Wei's willingness to come to Kazdel is truly exciting."

"We'll have to trouble Kazdel to put considerable effort into guaranteeing the city's construction."

"That goes without saying. We should naturally act with due diligence. Why don't we go look at the airship first?"

Theresica suggested it, and Mr. Wei nodded.

"Very well. I've been wanting to see what could ignore mountains and terrain and travel unhindered."

"Please follow me."

Theresica led him toward the personal land vehicle purchased from Siracusa. It allowed passengers to avoid contact with the people around them, and Vitt used it every time he visited. However, Mr. Wei said,

"I'd like to see what Kazdel is like. I haven't had a proper stroll in a long time. Is that all right? Don't clear the roads."

"That's possible, but Mr. Wei, there are many infected people in Kazdel. And unless they're severely ill and in the late stages, their movements aren't restricted."

Theresica grew nervous when he heard that Mr. Wei wanted to stroll through Kazdel. If a member of Yan's imperial family contracted Oripathy in Kazdel, the consequences would be disastrous.

"Hahaha, it's all right."

Amid the solemn expressions around him, Mr. Wei laughed. "I understand Oripathy as well, and I know how it spreads. Besides, one of the reasons I came here was to see the unique living environment of the infected."

Since he had said that, Theresica could only agree. As he led the way, he asked, "Why are you so interested in the infected, Mr. Wei?"

"There are quite a few infected people in Yan as well, and everyone shuns them."

"That's only natural. Even in Kazdel, people are afraid of the infected."

"Yes, that's true. But mild and moderate infection poses no danger at all."

Mr. Wei's gaze settled to one side. From there, they could see the playground of Kazdel Elementary School, where uninfected children played together with mildly infected children.

"The newly constructed mobile city will be called Lungmen."

He continued, "I believe the infected should have a place in the city as well. The administration should provide them with suitable living and working conditions. Otherwise, it would be a tremendous waste of resources."

"Mm, Mr. Wei's idea... is quite bold."

Theresica replied. It seemed this man was the administrator responsible for the city jointly built by Ursus and Yan. But for an imperial relative to be thrown into the desert?

Politics is terrifying. Fortunately, I only eat, drink, and have fun.

Wei Yenwu had no idea what Theresica was thinking. He and his wife seemed completely absorbed in the sights of life in Kazdel.

"Food rations covering everyone. How unusual."

"We have no choice. Kazdel's supplies are insufficient."

Theresica smiled wryly. A major power like Yan, which was self-sufficient in every way, could never experience the hardship of lacking resources. At present, keeping Kazdel from starving through food rations depended entirely on the enormous profits from Originium exports. The cost was high, and it left Kazdel with hidden risks.

By then, they had reached the area near the coast. Even without entering the test-flight site, everyone could see the enormous airship floating in the sky.

"There really is such an incredible way to take to the sky?!"

Wei Yenwu's eyes widened. As a member of Yan's imperial family, he could see any rare treasure in the country that he wanted, but he had never encountered anything capable of remaining suspended in the air on its own. Its propellers were used to change direction, not provide lift!

At Theresica's command, the airship's operators demonstrated its landing, loading, and takeoff procedures for Mr. Wei and his wife. They also flew a circuit around the test site before landing again and unloading the cargo.

"Mr. Wei, any materials needed to build the mobile city can be transported by airship as long as they're of a suitable size. It's convenient and fast, and there's no need to worry about desert bandits robbing them. As for personnel, we'll use transport ships to move them all at once with the mobile landmass."

Theresica explained the transportation plan to Wei Yenwu using the documents. After carefully listening to everything, Wei Yenwu nodded in satisfaction.

"This will work. It's an excellent plan."

The desert bandits were a serious nuisance and affected international trade. Yan understood this clearly, but had no good solution. It wasn't that they couldn't defeat the bandits; it was that doing so would require enormous effort, while the results remained uncertain. It would also allow the surrounding nations to benefit for nothing.

In the past, Ursus would call out to Yan, saying, "You go fight them. I'll do some trade with you and make a little money." Or Yan would call out to Ursus, saying, "You go ahead. I'll trade with you and make some money."

Both sides wanted the other to fight. Both sides wanted to... get a free ride.

But this time, Kazdel had appeared. Ursus told Kazdel to handle it, while Yan initially paid no attention, thinking the same thing had been said for years without anything ever happening.

Yet the next day, Yan's border scouts noticed armed personnel from Kazdel operating near the Yan border. After reporting the matter, Yan sent someone to investigate.

Good heavens, the Sarkaz were actually fighting! Cavalry carrying supplies launched frenzied attacks across the desert, hammering the desert bandits relentlessly. They were almost absurdly earnest.

Yan was pleased, but also felt that the Sarkaz were being somewhat foolish. They even wanted to warn them: If you keep this up, you may have a difficult time in the future.

But at that moment, the Sarkaz stopped. Instead, they began buying supplies for and comforting the refugees, while also proposing an entirely new transportation plan.

Yan immediately felt that Kazdel might be worth communicating with. Taking advantage of his authority, Wei Yenwu came in person.

After learning about the airship's various details and signing a transportation agreement, he began discussing something more specific with Theresica.

"Yan has many types of terrain, including plains and hills. The Shangshu Region is covered in towering mountains, making transportation extremely inconvenient. I wonder whether Kazdel's airships can be sold?"

"Of course. We can also provide Yan with long-term equipment maintenance and repairs."

Theresica's eyes lit up. He could hardly have asked for more. This meant another profitable deal. A smile also appeared on Wei Yenwu's face.

"Kazdel currently uses Rubles for foreign transactions, but I'd like to pay in another way: Lungmen Dollars."

"May I ask what those are?"

Theresica was puzzled. Where had currency called Lungmen Dollars come from on Terra?

"This is part of Yan's arrangements for Lungmen."

Wei Yenwu explained, "Yan has designated Lungmen as a special economic zone and will issue a dedicated currency there—the Lungmen Dollar. You can use it to purchase goods from Yan and the Lungmen Special Economic Zone, especially food. I believe it will be more competitive than Siracusa."

Chapter 69: Booming Business

Yan seemed to sit motionless in one corner of Terra, but in reality, it had never stopped thinking. It had merely shifted its expansion into the economic sphere, a somewhat more discreet arena.

This was an entirely new battlefield, and Yan had already begun laying out its strategy. The Lungmen Dollar would be both Yan's blade in future economic warfare and a shield for its own currency. If Kazdel accumulated a large amount of Lungmen Dollars, Yan would only need to run its printing presses overtime for Kazdel's economy to be flooded and ruined.