High up in the sky, a small airship was hurtling forward at an unbelievable speed.
While it hadn't broken the sound barrier, traveling at four to five hundred kilometers per hour far exceeded the velocity of any ordinary airship.
Melina sat perched at the bow, arms spread wide to embrace the roaring wind. Every time she opened her mouth, the gale whipped out a loud, flapping clatter.
Give this child something fun to play with, and she immediately forgot her grand ambition of marrying Catherine.
Catherine, sitting on one side of the vessel, also curiously stretched out a hand to feel the terrifying rush of air.
Having spent years flying through the skies mounted on a giant eagle, she had never witnessed a speed like this. Perhaps her pet could reach such a pace when flying unburdened, but with Catherine on its back, that speed would be cut in half.
Watching the airship fly so fast genuinely astonished her.
"How can this thing fly so fast?" Catherine asked Anbaixiu curiously.
Anbaixiu sat at the very rear of the ship, his gaze fixed intently on several jet engines mounted at the stern.
Airships were actually remarkably easy to build: just weld together a few thick steel plates into the rough shape of a hull, slap on some stabilizer fins, and the rest came down to the jet engines behind it.
For this craft, Anbaixiu had crammed in a full ten jet engines, two of which had already broken down.
By Anbaixiu's estimate, by the time they reached the halfway point of their journey, either all the engines would be ruined or the ship itself would tear apart.
With any other passengers, Anbaixiu certainly wouldn't have dared pull such a stunt. If the vessel blew up, everyone on board would die.
Melina, however, was a legendary Death Knight whose body had been forged from the corpses of three legendary orcs; she was far sturdier than this ship.
As for Catherine, there was no need to worry about her either. If the ship exploded, she could summon her pet in an instant. There was no way she could fall to her death.
Hearing the question, Anbaixiu explained, "Praise the God of Alchemy! This is yet another breakthrough in alchemy. A marvel like this can solve so many transportation problems. I plan to jump-start the airship freight industry. Care to buy some shares? It's guaranteed to make a fortune!"
The moment Catherine heard Anbaixiu bring up money, her guard shot up. This lich was formidable when it came to business, but he was usually the only one turning a profit; she had never seen him achieve a win-win outcome with any partner.
"You're just trying to swindle my money, aren't you? Every country has a teleportation array network. What's the point of airship freight?" Catherine asked.
"It's a matter of cost. Large teleportation arrays are generally controlled by states, and transit fees are exorbitant. Teleporting a hundred tons of cargo just a hundred kilometers away costs as much as five hundred tons of the goods themselves.
"And if you hire a merchant caravan for overland transport, leaving aside the rugged roads and countless dangers, the costs still far exceed the value of the goods. That's why raw materials are usually woven into cloth nearby before being transported. Even then, shipping low-unit-value goods like fabric has always been painfully expensive. In the region of origin, one gold coin can buy half a wagonload of cloth, but once it reaches another realm, the price multiplies at least fivefold.
"Then take grain. Aside from wartime, no one ever uses teleportation arrays to ship grain. But if you rely on manpower to transport it, how much food is consumed along the way? Carrying one jin of grain a hundred li away burns two to three jin of grain just to cover the cost. Waterways are somewhat better since consumption is low, but how many of the Nine Kingdoms have waterways that crisscross the entire nation?
"Teleportation arrays are only suited for shipping small, lightweight, high-value luxury goods like jewels. My airship freight initiative is specifically tailored for affordable, everyday commodities. Once these airships are mass-produced, shipping costs will plummet. They're fast, unaffected by terrain, and remarkably safe—ideal for bulk cargo transport."
Catherine listened to Anbaixiu's extensive pitch. It sounded logical enough, yet when she gave it closer thought, something felt off.
"If it's such a lucrative business, why hasn't the City of Alchemy done it already? Don't they have plenty of airships?"
Anbaixiu glanced at Catherine. This girl really has grown sharper. She isn't so easily duped anymore.
"They do transport cargo as well, but their airships are designed for nobles to travel in—essentially leisurely touring vessels. Safe, but painfully slow.
"Besides, the City of Alchemy has always been a kingdom rich in common commodities. Nearly every one of their cities can grow crops and weave cloth because alchemy can breed superior crops, improve soil fertility, and create simple, efficient looms. In the City of Alchemy, every settlement is self-sufficient; they never ran short of food even during wartime. Other consumer goods are manufactured in small household workshops and alchemical factories, so they more often face surplus production that they cannot sell off.
"When foreign merchants come to collect goods, the city simply hands them over, and the foreign merchants handle the shipping logistics themselves. Domestically, there's no demand for it, and getting operating permits abroad is a bureaucratic nightmare, so they never pursued the industry. In the entire continent, perhaps only I can pull it off. It's a total monopoly."
Catherine pressed, "A monopoly? Why?"
"Because I have connections in every kingdom. You've met the princess of the Raging Tide Kingdom—she hangs on my every word. On the elven side, I have you. I'm acquainted with the dwarf king, the Underdark is my biggest client, and even Ryan's Supreme Arbiter begged on his knees to serve as my lackey. Tell me, with connections like that, wouldn't setting up an airship freight network across the entire continent be child's play? Only I can pull this off, and a monopoly never loses money."
"Fine, you make a compelling case, but I'm sorry to say I don't have any money to buy shares." Having stepped down as Elven Queen, Catherine had very little coin left at her disposal. She was entirely reliant on handouts with zero income. Forget investing; now that she had left the Silvermoon High Court, even feeding herself was a struggle.
Once Anbaixiu grasped Catherine's financial reality, he asked in disbelief, "You can't be serious... You're freeloading off me again?!"
Last time, this girl had eaten his food and drank his wine, and he hadn't even earned that money back yet. And now a repeat performance?
"Father, I have money! I can pay for Big Sister Catherine!"
Having had her fill of opening her mouth to the howling wind, Melina clambered back into the cabin. Hearing their conversation, she immediately whipped out her little coin pouch.
Anbaixiu took it and looked inside. There weren't many gold coins; instead, it was filled with glittering gems of every color.
The Underdark was rich in mineral veins, boasting an abundance of gold and gemstones. A princess like Melina had never kept copper or silver coins in her purse.
Anbaixiu adopted a stern expression. "Who told you to throw money around like this? This is hard-earned money your mother slaved away for with blood and sweat. How could you give it away to outsiders so casually? I'll hold onto this for you so you don't waste it."
Melina whispered, "But... Mother never looked tired to me."
The Rose of Decay spent most of her days lounging inside her palace, barely ever stepping out the front door, let alone mining ores in person.
"A parent's hardships aren't always visible to you. When you go back, make sure to show her proper filial respect."
Anbaixiu tossed the coin pouch into his private extradimensional space. This child isn't the sharpest. Carrying around this much wealth will only get her scammed. Keeping it safe for her is for her own good.
Having pocketed a tidy little windfall, Anbaixiu turned back to Catherine. "This airship freight venture I want to build is actually meant with your best interests at heart."
"My best interests?"
Catherine grew wary. Why did that line sound so familiar?
Right. That was exactly how he had bamboozled the princess of the Raging Tide Kingdom back then. This lich had probably said "it's for your own good" to hundreds of people.
"Of course it's for your own good. You're set to become the queen of the drow elves, but have you considered how you'll resettle them? Even if their nature truly changes, do you actually expect them to move into the Silvermoon High Court?"
Catherine replied as though it were the most natural thing in the world, "Naturally. If they repent with sincere hearts, they are our kin, and the Silvermoon High Court will embrace every elf."
Anbaixiu shook his head. "Just because you can accept them doesn't mean other elves will. How many ages of blood-soaked feuds lie between the high elves and the drow? Do you honestly expect them to let that go just because you say so? Not every elf possesses a pure, benevolent soul like yours. In fact, continental opinion of high elves has never strayed far from words like obsessively fastidious, pretentious, arrogant, and notoriously spiteful.
"Even if your sheer charisma could force them to accept the drow, are you really willing to put your own people in such a painful position? You can't very well bully the native elves just to accommodate the newcomer drow, can you?"
Catherine had to admit Anbaixiu made a compelling point. She hadn't considered the issue before.
Anbaixiu pressed on, "Airship freight is the perfect enterprise to entrust to the drow. It will pluck them from their old environment and save them from a life of assassinations, raids, and crime. At the same time, this line of work demands absolute integrity. As long as the drow can successfully run the business, it will prove they've truly turned over a new leaf. That way, the elves of the Silvermoon High Court might actually accept the return of their estranged kin.
"Distance makes the heart grow fonder. If you hear from hundreds of kilometers away that your sworn enemy has mended their ways, the conflict won't feel nearly as bitter, whether you accept it right away or not. Once most elves come to terms with the reality, integration will become vastly simpler."
No wonder the gods insisted I couldn't accomplish this monumental feat alone and urged me to seek this lich's aid, Catherine thought. In so short a time, he's already thought things through so thoroughly.
Catherine said hastily, "Brilliantly said! Truly, whenever there's something you set your mind to, you always find a way."
Anbaixiu chuckled merrily. "Of course. I'd cheat anyone before I cheated you. So, representing the elven race, why don't you invest in this airship project?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the airship's hull began to judder violently. Amid a chorus of snapping bolts, the vessel started coming apart in midair.
Before Catherine and Melina could make sense of what was happening, Anbaixiu slapped Fly spells onto both of them, seized them by the arms, and pulled them clear of the disintegrating cabin.
Moments after breaking apart, the airship erupted in a deafening blast, reducing itself to a storm of drifting shrapnel.
Watching the spectacle before her, Catherine couldn't resist asking Anbaixiu, "Are you putting the drow elves in charge of this just to get them killed and lower the difficulty of your task?"
Chapter 293