Chapter 101: Aurelia’s New Strength—and a Ghost Carrier

[Technology Crystal | Epic]

[Contains a vast store of knowledge. When used for Domain research, permanently increases Research Speed by 30%.]

[Limit: One Crystal of this type per Domain.]

For a Lord developing machines or other advanced technology, this would be a valuable prize. Crystals like it were rare, usually appearing after the death of a technology-based Lord.

Cassian turned it in his hand and checked its compatibility with his Heroes.

One entry caught his eye.

[Aurelia Dawnwing]

[Compatible Personal Growth Route: Dawnwing Body]

[Technology Crystal may be absorbed as a growth catalyst.]

"Dawnwing Body?"

Aurelia looked at the Crystal.

"Yes. The knowledge inside it can help me develop it."

Cassian tossed it to her.

"Then use it."

She caught the Crystal and studied it for a moment, then looked back at him.

"Thank you, Lord."

Light flowed from the Crystal into her palm. As she absorbed it, a faint glow spread across her skin, like stars appearing beneath the surface. Her outline shimmered until it was difficult to tell exactly where her wings ended and the surrounding light began.

Cassian watched without interrupting.

A minute later, the glow drew back into her body.

Aurelia opened her eyes. She flexed the fingers of her sword hand, surprise giving way to open pleasure.

"It worked. My Dawnwing Body has advanced."

Cassian opened her growth record.

[Dawnwing Body | Growth Complete]

[Permanent Attribute Gains]

[Physique +200]

[Aether +200]

[Spirit +200]

[Load +200]

[Combat Rating +200 stars]

Two hundred in every attribute.

From one Crystal.

Cassian looked at her again. That permanent gain had gone to the Hero who had just cut Grutu’s Guardian apart.

Aurelia was now firmly his strongest individual fighter.

He thought of the work that went into his own Warbody training and gave a small laugh.

"That was a good drop."

"Very good," Aurelia said.

She closed her hand around the sword hilt, still enjoying the difference.

——

Cassian returned to the notice that had appeared after Grutu’s death.

[Unowned Wild Domain Detected]

[Occupy / Destroy]

"Occupy."

A Lord could occupy as many Wild Domains as he could take and hold. That did not give him another population allowance or a full new set of Domain facilities. Occupation granted defensive construction rights, and the new site still needed a garrison.

Most Lords wanted either the position or a valuable special building already standing there.

Cassian wanted the position.

The Goblins had left him a substantial defensive system. Blade engines, fighting bunkers, and scatter towers still covered the approaches. With dozens of those emplacements in place, he would not need to leave too much of his own fighting strength behind.

More importantly, the southern side of the Domain opened onto a natural harbor.

A Steam Dockyard already stood beside the water.

[Steam Dockyard | Rare | Level 8]

Cassian glanced from it to the deep river beyond.

It was in the right place. Its Quality was another matter.

"Destroy it."

[Level-8 Steam Dockyard Destroyed]

[Rare Metal ×1,000]

[Rare Timber ×500]

[Rare Stone ×500]

[Steam Dockyard Blueprint ×1]

"A Blueprint too?"

He smiled and collected it.

Destroying a building could leave a Blueprint, though the chance varied. With Riftward’s Fortune now at fourteen, the Vein’s resonance had risen again, bringing his forces’ standard loot-drop bonus to twenty-eight percent.

Perhaps that had helped here as well.

Either way, he was keeping the Blueprint.

Cassian took out another one—the Legendary Abyssal Dockyard Blueprint dropped by the Ghost Leviathan.

It had sat in storage while he searched for somewhere to build it. Now he had a deep-water harbor and the ground beside it under his control.

During the two days of preparation, he had gathered and bought the Dockyard’s required materials. He placed them into the construction order.

"Build."

The Blueprint dissolved into light above the cleared site.

Cassian paid for immediate completion. A vast Dockyard took shape along the water, its structure stretching for more than a hundred meters.

[Abyssal Dockyard]

[Level: 0]

[Quality: Legendary]

[Type: Dockyard]

[Area: 12,000 square meters]

[Available Ships: Ghost Carrier | Legendary; Ghost Destroyer | Epic; Ghost Frigate | Epic]

[Current Ships: 0]

Cassian went straight to the strongest option.

"Build one Ghost Carrier."

The captured Goblin stores held enough suitable shipbuilding material to fill the order. Ten million Aether’s worth of it disappeared into the Dockyard, which began to rumble with activity.

Grutu had even supplied the materials for Cassian’s first ship.

——

By evening, a beam of light swept from the Dockyard onto the river.

When it faded, a black ship lay on the rushing water. Two hundred meters from bow to stern and sixty meters wide, it dwarfed the vessels Cassian had seen patrolling earlier.

He opened its record at once.

[Ghost Carrier]

[Quality: Legendary]

[Level: 0]

[Main Gun: Power 1,500 ×1]

[Secondary Guns: Power 600 ×24]

[Ghost Fighters: 48]

[Armor: 1,200]

[Maximum Speed: 80 knots]

[Energy: 10,000/10,000]

[Ship Trait 1: A resident Ship Spirit commands the vessel. No operating crew required.]

[Ship Trait 2: May deploy a shield with a maximum Power of 2,000.]

[Ship Trait 3: May submerge into deep water. Continuous Energy cost.]

[Ship Trait 4: May conceal the hull. Continuous Energy cost.]

"Twelve hundred armor. A two-thousand-Power shield."

Cassian looked up at the ship again.

"And that’s Level 0."

The name suited it. The Carrier could vanish from sight or disappear beneath the water, making it difficult to know where it would emerge next. Ghost did not simply describe the kind of energy in its guns.

He was very pleased with his new ship.

Keeping it fighting would be another expense. Its power came with a considerable Energy demand, and besides natural recovery, it needed high-grade Aether to recharge.

An ordinary Lord would struggle to keep a vessel like this supplied.

"Let’s go aboard."

Cassian had just stepped onto the deck when a shimmering projection appeared before him.

"Captain Mina of the Ghost Carrier greets you, Lord."

A woman in a shirt and short jacket stood with her hands at her sides. Leather boots covered her lower legs, and a decorative rapier hung at her narrow waist. Add an eye patch, and she would have looked ready to raid the nearest merchant ship.

"Mina?" Cassian said. "A female captain?"

"I am the Ship Spirit. I can take whatever appearance you prefer."

Her gaze passed over the women beside him, and she smiled.

"After a brief observation, I thought this appearance and name would suit you. If you prefer a large, heavily muscled man, I can change both."

"No need."

Cassian answered immediately.

"This is good."

"As you wish, Lord."

Mina bowed and began the tour.

The farther Cassian walked, the more he liked what he saw. There were dining rooms and bedrooms as well as the ship’s weapons and operating spaces. He had expected a powerful warship. He had also acquired a moving castle on the water.

Half an hour later, he turned to Harriet.

"Take your squad with the Carrier and explore downstream."

A river this large had to lead into a substantial body of water. It might even reach the sea. A flying force would be particularly useful out there.

"If you reach a Level-60 monster area, stop and return," he added.

Beyond that, the route would be too dangerous for the Dawnwings’ present strength.

"Yes, Lord."

Harriet and Mina answered together.

Cassian could leave the scouting to them. Once they had cleared a safe stretch of water, he could come back with company and enjoy the trip.

"Rank VII unlocks the Tailor’s Workshop," he murmured. "I should look for a few bikini Blueprints when the time comes."

He watched the great black Carrier head downstream, then returned to Riftward through the Goblin Domain’s transport circle.

For now, its job was to open the map. He had not raised its Level or ordered a second Carrier. A ship could not exceed its Dockyard’s Level, and upgrading the Dockyard would be expensive.

He would soon have reason to reconsider.