Chapter 87

When Segalot, Orville, and Archibald arrived, Cyrus was at the shipyard in Visas watching Samuel build a large ship for a voyage to explore the New Continent.

This ship was built with the finest materials and the most comprehensive design... It was larger and more beautiful than any other ship in Cyrus's fleet.

When the large curtain covering the ship's hull was pulled down, everyone present gasped in amazement. Even Cyrus widened her eyes and exclaimed, "Samuel truly deserves his reputation as the youngest shipbuilding genius; he is incredibly capable!"

Samuel paced back and forth excitedly.

He walked from the bow to the stern, and then from the stern to the middle of the ship, giving a detailed account of the entire large vessel.

Then, as if unable to contain his restlessness, he said to Cyrus, "My lord, the next step is to conduct one more thorough inspection. Once there are no problems, we can set sail for trial voyage."

Cyrus nodded. "How long will it take to complete all the checks?"

Samuel stroked his chin and looked up, estimating. "Such a large ship... it will take at least four or five days to repair, even with all our personnel working together all day."

Cyrus smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work. I will give each of you a bonus after the maintenance is completed."

Just then, amidst the cheers of the entire factory, Walker walked over and told Cyrus that a guest had arrived.

All three of them came at once; it was a bit exciting.

When Cyrus returned to Par Mountain and saw them outside the castle, she almost didn't want to go down.

Finally, he took a deep breath and stepped down from the carriage, revealing a somewhat stiff but polite smile, "I thought that after the Anas Empire split, you would all be busy for a long time..."

"But how long has it been, and we've already met again."

Segalot responded with a smile.

Orville paused for a moment and then said, "It's been more than two months since you left the Empire, a long time..."

Archibald stood a little behind and remained silent.

Behind him was a long procession of horse-drawn carriages.

Vincent and Judas were organizing the servants to move the boxes from the carriage into the castle—gifts from Archibald to Cyrus.

The box was filled with all sorts of things—from inexpensive yet novel items to expensive and exquisite collectibles that deserved to be handled with care.

After inviting them into the castle, Cyrus walked to Archibald's side and whispered, "You don't have to do this..."

Archibald: "I have to do something to earn your forgiveness."

"You're one of my few friends, Little Zuoyi, don't distance yourself from me."

Cyrus looked at him. "We're still friends."

"Then please don't call me 'Mr. Leader,' just call me Archie."

Cyrus remained silent for a moment.

After Archibald's deep, lake-green eyes began to sparkle, he suddenly smiled and said, "We've gotten a little too intimate. I can't bring myself to call you that now. How about you give me a few more days?"

Archibald's slightly hunched and stiff shoulders slowly relaxed upon hearing this. "Thank you."

Segalot glanced back almost imperceptibly, his gilded eyes narrowing.

Orville, after looking around, finally spotted Coalball peeking out from around a corner; its large, black, and fuzzy head was quite conspicuous.

Snowball and Egg Yolk were about to emerge from behind it when Coalball yelled and stopped them in their tracks.

The Egg Yolk tilted its head, its long tail swishing behind it.

It watched as the big head of the Coalball came closer, trying to bite the Snowball's ear and pull it back, but the Snowball dodged and slapped it with its thick paw.

Coalball sullenly let out a howl and came over to bite Egg Yolk's ear and pull it back. Egg Yolk obediently backed away.

Cyrus thought they were playing some kind of game, so she waved her hand and asked, "Where's Black Sugar?"

They had now approached the three furry creatures.

The Coalball howled at the windowsill behind the corner.

Behind layers of deep red curtains, a small black head peeked out.

Black Sugar yawned lazily, then took a few steps outside and leaned against the wide windowsill in the warm sunlight, making her golden eyes even more beautiful.

Cyrus couldn't help but steal a glance at Segalot.

Segalot looked at Black Sugar: "It's grown quite a bit."

"Yes."

I wonder if it still recognizes me...

As she spoke, Segalot extended the back of her hand toward the Black Sugar, then remained silent.

After a while, Black Sugar slowly got up and jumped off the windowsill, its paw pads silently approaching on the soft blanket...

Black Sugar brought its nose close to Segalot's hand and sniffed it. Then, their two equally golden eyes met— Segalot's expression remained unchanged, and he kept his arm raised, finally receiving a gentle rub from Black Sugar.

Orville: "..."

Segalot chuckled and withdrew his hand. "Looks like it recognized me."

Cyrus: "Black Sugar is very smart."

In the following days.

Segalot seemed to be intrigued by the Black Sugar and spent a considerable amount of time exchanging experiences about raising Black Sugar by Cyrus.

As a result, Archibald and Orville didn't look too good; of course, their bad mood stemmed from two different things.

Five days later, the ships built by Samuel and his men were finally inspected and set sail from the Cogit Sea Port for trial voyages.

The naming rights for this large ship were given to Samuel by Cyrus.

Samuel named it the Windrider.

The sea is full of unpredictable winds and waves; a slight mishap can damage a ship or even cause it to capsize and sink to the bottom of the sea. Samuel hoped that the ship could ride the wind and waves and successfully lead them to a new continent.

The Windrider was a large ship with a deep red hull engraved with the Desinia family crest.

At the bow of the ship, Samuel commissioned the creation of a statue of the Sea God Leander —a handsome sea god holding a trident with a resolute gaze, as if protecting the ship and ensuring the Windrider's smooth and safe voyage at sea.

To ensure the speed of the Windrider, the number of sails was also increased significantly.

Ropes descended straight down from the very top of the mast, while the banner of Thorn Rose fluttered atop the central mast.

Upon hearing about the Windrider's sea trial, the three of them, Segalot, couldn't help but show great interest.

Cyrus then invited the three of them to visit the harbor as well.

This harbor is newly built.

Ordinary civilians and slaves are currently prohibited from approaching Visas, including some unrelated nobles, and cannot enter or leave freely without an approved warrant.

Samuel then observed the weather conditions. "No clouds, light breeze, clear skies—perfect weather for going out to sea!"

"My lord, I will have some heavy items moved onto the ship, and a corresponding number of people will also board..."

"Today is the first sea trial. After it is successful, we will choose different weather conditions for the next sea trial, such as windy days, rainy days, and days with rough seas."

Samuel decided not to set sail without making sufficient preparations, otherwise, with frequent accidents and no timely countermeasures, it would be another failure for him.

But what if this fails...

He could no longer hope to pray to the Creator God for protection—was there any chance he could have a second experience of being rescued without serious injury?

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Cyrus nodded. "Your idea is correct, Samuel. We should indeed be more cautious about going to sea."

"Now, we can begin the first step."

Upon hearing this, Samuel's face flushed slightly with excitement.

The first step is to remove the obstructions from the Windrider, allowing it to glide down the Windrider onto the sea.

A typical boat enters the water sideways, and if it manages to float back to the surface thanks to its own stability, it's considered a successful entry.

However, the Windrider was a massive ship, so before construction even began, the method of launching the vessel had to be considered, including buoyancy and hull structure, among other things...

After careful consideration, Samuel decided to launch the ship first, and thus, the large ship faced the vast and magnificent sea, awaiting the day it would set sail.

The shipyard workers quickly removed the crossbeams, and with Samuel's adjustments, the final barrier was slowly and efficiently pulled away.

With a clang.

The sound of the ship rubbing against the rails filled the air, and then, under the expectant gaze of everyone, it slowly glided towards the sea.

Finally, the moment the bow touched the sea, huge splashes of water erupted, and seawater surged and poured onto the dry ground. People standing nearby were soaked, their shoes and trouser legs already wet, yet they still watched the Windrider's condition with eager anticipation and extreme tension.

Samuel clenched his fists involuntarily.

His eyes widened, and when Sea God Leander standing at the bow of the Windrider, appeared in the bright sunlight, bathed in seawater and moving freely, he finally couldn't help but shout out loud.

He excitedly ran to the front, bathing in the glistening water droplets still splashing around the hull.

"The first step was a success!"

Everyone was very excited.

Cyrus gestured to Samuel they could begin the second step as soon as possible—loading the heavy loads and organizing the crew to board the ship...

He also plans to personally go out to sea for a test voyage.

After all, the planned sailing route is not far, and within a safe range, the Windrider will follow other ships nearby to observe and prevent delays in case of accidents.

Samuel agreed with Cyrus's decision; the Lord should personally experience the Windrider's maiden voyage—it would be absolutely fantastic!

The three of them, Segalot, then expressed their desire to go up and take a look.

Cyrus did not refuse.

With everything ready, Windrider at our backs.

The large ship sailed smoothly and gradually moved away from the port, clearly proceeding without any problems.

Samuel was overjoyed.

Cyrus had assumed that this sea trial would end peacefully, and that she would wait for the weather to change before embarking on a second sea trial.

However, his idea still seemed somewhat reasonable.

Just as everyone was relaxing and looking at the vast, beautiful sea, a group of people dressed in workers' clothes suddenly rushed out, brandishing weapons.

Cyrus was leaning alone on the ship's railing, gazing into the distance. No sooner had Segalot walked away than someone swiftly seized him with a dagger. The others on the ship were caught off guard by this sudden turn of events and unable to intervene.

This group of people were clearly well-trained.

They were much more prepared, after all, the most recent batch of boatmen had been conscripted to work at the factory a month ago—this group had been lying in wait until now, looking for a perfect opportunity to expose themselves and launch an attack.

Cyrus was subdued by her opponent after only two rounds of resistance.

But on his left pinky finger was a very inconspicuous ring—one of the gifts he brought back from his many trips over the three years before 098. If he clenched his fist slightly, a sharp needle could protrude from the top of the ring.

Cyrus was then mercilessly stabbed in the wrist of the man who was holding him hostage from behind.

The needle of the pinky ring was coated with a large amount of medicine.

This drug is not poison, but even a tiny bit can cause excruciating pain, almost like dying, which will gradually subside and disappear after half a day.

Therefore, the man immediately cried out in pain, and the hand holding Cyrus was immediately released.

But Cyrus underestimated the man's ferocity; the dagger in his hand stabbed horizontally—

Cyrus was startled; there was the ship's railing behind him, and he could no longer retreat.

Just then, there was a movement on the system interface: 098, who had gone on a trip, had returned.

With a "whoosh".

Cyrus jumped into the water without hesitation, narrowly avoiding a dagger that almost slashed his neck.

On the seabed, a huge black shadow is silently rising...