Chapter 872 — The Ocean
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 4
This was a "Storm Church ritual implement" reconstructed by analyzing ancient relics and technical records. Seven hundred years ago, the storm priests had used such instruments to warn of changes in the sea's environment and to find safe routes. Since the Typhon Empire was where the Storm Church had once had its headquarters, and the Dyson family had long been close to the Storm Church, a great many related technical documents were preserved in Port Mobius. After a certain cost in manpower and resources, the Empire's scholars had succeeded in reconstructing the thing—yet on this voyage its performance had been far from satisfactory.
"The environment in the laboratory is ultimately not the same as reality. The real ocean is far more complex than we imagined, and this ritual implement... clearly needs to be paired with storm divine arts to truly function," a scholar aboard the ship could not help sighing softly. "A mage's power cannot directly control a divine-art device... and in this age, where are we to find a storm priest of sound mind?"
Owen Dyson did not answer. He only watched the scene outside the ship projected by the magical illusion, and said in a low voice: "Just to break through the first storm zone near the coastal waters, the Courage was driven to this state—facts have proven that forcing our way through storms by relying on shields and an anti-magic shell is not feasible; at least at this stage, we do not have that capability. The only safe method... is still to find a safe route through the storm."
"But safe routes shift at any moment, and the farther out we go, the more complex the disordered turbulence becomes, the harder the safe routes are to control," said the scholar aboard. "At present we have no effective means of observation or prediction."
"Then we keep working in that direction," Owen Dyson said in a deep voice. "The warning astrolabe may not have done what it should, but at least it did activate once we entered the storm zone—which shows that the Storm Church's techniques of that era are not entirely beyond the grasp of outsiders. The Cecilians could turn druidic alchemy into industrial technology; there is no reason the Typhonians cannot do something similar."
Hearing this admonition, the scholar's expression turned serious. "...You are quite right."
Owen Dyson let out a soft breath, then turned to the mage monitoring the ship's condition. "How is the magic-energy engine?"
"The flooding and elemental corrosion in the engine room have been dealt with; the repair crew is assessing the situation," the rune-encircled mage floating in midair answered at once. "...The core appears undamaged; it is only that the transmission was jammed during the earlier tossing. If we can dock in safe waters, we have a chance to repair them."
"Repair the engines as far as possible," Owen Dyson said. "This ship needs engine power—the sailors must save their strength for the dangers on the sea."
"If only we could get our hands on the Cecilians' engine technology..." the first mate beside him could not help sighing. "They say they've already built engines that run stably aboard large vessels, and they know how to make machines withstand harsh elemental environments..."
"They build river ships, not sea ships," Owen Dyson said, shaking his head. "Of course, their engine technology is indeed more advanced than ours—after all, magic-driven machinery first developed from their work... but they will hardly be so kind as to hand the truly good things to the Typhonians."
Just then, the mage in charge of observing conditions outside suddenly cried out: "Captain! Land ahead!"
"Give me the sea chart!" Owen Dyson said at once to the first mate beside him.