Chapter 438 — Beams
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 4
Sir Maqi gazed intently in that direction—southwest of the Rock Fortress, in the open reaches of the plain, upon the broad surface of the Whitewater River, an unnatural swell was advancing upstream. Within that wave, which violated the laws of nature, two oddly shaped vessels came speeding onward. Their hulls were clad in plates of metal, and upon their decks were mounted great uncanny devices. Their motive power was plainly that abnormal swell and not their sails—in fact they had no sails at all; where sails ought to have been, one could see only several pairs of symmetrical white structures like "wings." Perhaps they could face the wind, but they were assuredly not what provided the power!
And above those two ships, the banner of House Cecil, bearing the device of sword and plow, streamed in the wind.
The southern knights and the few noblemen on the wall had clearly seen the things on the distant river as well. Their strength was lowly, and perhaps they could not see so clearly as Sir Maqi, but they too could tell that these were no ordinary ships, and so they were pointing and gesturing in curiosity, discussing whence those two vessels came.
The next moment, Sir Maqi's eyes went wide.
The two ships began to slow, and the process of slowing was extraordinarily smooth; and as they slowed, the "wing-like structures" on either side were opening under the action of some mechanism. Those white "sail-panels" faced the noonday sun, and a scattering of radiance rose shimmering upon the wings...
What... was that?
......
On the deck of the first warship, the Aurora, soldiers and arcanomechanical technicians were busy at their work, and words of command and report came ceaselessly from every quarter:
"Arcane array deployed, energy rising smoothly!" "Power spine normal, all tiers of the arcane net connected!" "Deck mechanical platform unlocked, beginning adjustment of the main gun mount's angle." "All technicians, check the rune status of your work areas and report!"
Gao Yang stood upon the platform amidships, watching the "arcane arrays" on either side of the ship deploy smoothly under the action of the mechanical linkages, watching the magical runes on the key equipment about the deck be lit one by one, listening to the commands and reports rising and falling around him. His spirits rose steadily, and he could not suppress a trace of sentiment ill-suited to the present atmosphere—as expected, this aesthetic did not match a medieval battlefield in the slightest...
Then he looked forward, toward the enormous weapon mounted at the forward section of the deck.
Rebecca—heir to House Cecil, authority on arcanomechanical technology, and holder of the highest prestige among the arcanomechanical technicians—stood now beside the "Calibrator" at the fore of the deck, every inch the picture of high spirits. This young viscountess directed the technicians aloud to complete their various inspections even as she personally adjusted the amplifier upon the Calibrator's base, so that this weapon, still in its "verification period," might be brought to its optimal state.
She seemed to sense Gao Yang's gaze, turned her head, and gave him a happy, radiant smile: "Ancestor! It is ready!"
"Then let us begin," Gao Yang said with a smiling nod. "Sir Phillip has been waiting a long time for these two 'Italian guns.'"
Byron, overhearing Gao Yang, could not suppress his curiosity: "'Italian guns'? Is this gun not called the Calibrator...?"
Gao Yang laughed. "Pay no mind to such details—it is a nickname I gave it."
Rebecca, for her part, cared not at all what the "Italian gun" of the Xuanmai Sect's mouth might mean. She had long since grown accustomed to the curious and outlandish words her Ancestor coined, and compared with such words, activating this rainbow-light cannon was what she was more glad to be doing at this moment.