Chapter 160: Turning Gear

The Pangolins were exceptional gunners with good training, but unfortunately, they couldn't drop all the Helix Wings. Seven of the Helix Wings that had attacked Vasen Lak Orazen and the Pangolins were shot down, and eight of the fourteen Platy pilots were found dead. The other pilots either lost consciousness or fought until the end, but Vasen believed it would be best to capture them alive if possible. Fortunately, that wasn't too difficult.

After Vasen and the Pangolins managed to capture six Platy pilots as prisoners, Vasen said, “These are terrible knives.”

Vasen bent the chipped dagger, and it stayed slightly curved.

“Our country didn’t even use weapons like this a hundred years ago.”

After saying so, Vasen looked at the Platy dressed in the most elegant clothes. Golt Tebari, the baron of the Fabirang Union, had been discovered with a broken arm.

After successfully escaping the completely wrecked aircraft, Golt had waited in hiding to strike Vasen from behind. Though defeated, Golt was still a soldier who valued the pride, honor, and duty that came with their rank.

‘Is that Lizardman the commander? If I can kill him, then this defeat will still hold some value.’

Golt’s surprise attack was quite successful. Vasen couldn't help but let down his guard after the Platys’ humiliating defeat. So he never anticipated such a sharp and silent attack. However, Golt's iron dagger merely grazed the chestplate Vasen was wearing.

‘Even without the armor, this level of sharpness wouldn't have caused any significant injuries...'

Golt then muttered as if making excuses, "O…our union hasn't been able to build a proper smithy since arriving at this new continent... Otherwise, you would be dead!"

“Well, that’s good.”

Vasen nodded and took the dagger.

‘Union? I’ve never heard of it. But if they haven’t even been able to build a smithy, it makes sense that their technology level would be so poor. Can they even defeat the Rakshasas?’

Vasen thought that interrogating the prisoners would be the easier way to get answers, and so he took them to Siol. They first treated the wounded captives, and Golt and the other Platys seemed surprised by this.

“Why do you treat slaves so well?”

“Well…”

“No, you don’t need to answer. I get it. You’re going to offer us as living sacrifices!”

Golt pointed at the temple with their uninjured arm.

“We've heard stories of you savages offering sacrifices to your guardians."

Vasen was going to explain that he and the Pangolins were not savages, and that he had come from Black Scale, a nation across the sea, where prisoners needed to be kept healthy to have any value. But then he thought all of that would be useless and said something else.

"You mentioned a union?"

“Yes, the Fabirang Union.”

“Right. What does the Fabirang Union do with wounded captives?”

Golt confidently replied, "If we spare them, they'll consume unnecessary resources. We show mercy by ending their lives."

"Hmm."

Vasen didn't label Golt as savage. Instead, he tried to imagine the environment Golt came from.

‘Did they come from a barren land? I guess they could be suffering from a shortage of food resources.’

Vasen then said, “Where did you guys come from?”

“We came from across the mountains.”

“Did your ancestors also live on this continent?”

“No, the Fabirang Union came from across the sea.”

“Is that so?”

Vasen had somewhat expected this.

‘Far away, the western continent beyond the western continent… No, perhaps I should call it the eastern continent.’

It was now common sense that the world was round, as there was scientific evidence to support it.

‘But there has been no other direct evidence like this. If we cross the eastern sea, the eastern continent must be there.’

Considering the vast distance between them, Vasen understood that the Platys must have experienced completely different technological developments.

"Why did you and your people come to the new continent?"

"Um...well…right. For exploration."

"Exploration, just like us."

Vasen knew Golt was lying, while Golt believed that they had told a convincing lie.

‘Their technology is dangerous. If they think of us as easy pickings and attack us, the Fabirang Union might not be able to endure without the help of God. Oh, but of course...considering how powerful these weapons are, they might be particularly strong and dangerous ones that aren’t usually given to regular soldiers.’

Golt’s speculation wouldn’t be far off if only the fourth continent was taken into consideration. However, Golt was unaware that Black Scale’s expedition team, which resembled an army and was armed with matchlocks, was on their way.

Vasen asked, “Do all the others on that continent use technology like yours?”

“Huh? No, they don’t.”

“Then are you saying your technology is the most advanced?”

Suddenly nervous, Golt hit their chest and even huffed.

“Of course. Our rubber powered technology is the unique technology of the Fabirang Union, which has been persecuted for a long time.”

“Persecuted?”

“Yes. The three species of our Fabirang Union faced attacks from other species in different parts of the continent. However, with the castle built with our excellent construction skills, we defended ourselves from their attacks and gained independence.”

Vasen interpreted what Golt said.

‘That means they weren’t able to interact with other countries and were isolated.’

It seemed to Vasen that the Fabirang Union, after building a castle and defending themselves, had decided that it wasn’t worth being on the offensive anymore and simply cut off all diplomatic and economic interactions with others.

Golt continued to say, “And about ten or so years before the continental war escalated, we discovered we could create a powerful material called rubber from the sap of Doodooba trees. That was all thanks to the Folded Wing Golden Bird though…’

“Keep going.”

“So we used rubber to create tools necessary for war and stored those weapons in a warehouse over time. That way, when the time was right, we could show our strength.”

“I see,” Vasen said. “So did you guys unify the continent?”

Golt rebuked, "You're talking nonsense. No matter how powerful a nation is, how could they unify all the countries on the continent?"

Vasen didn't say anything. Golt didn't see the corners of Vasen’s mouth go slightly up.

"Eventually, a small country provoked us. Following the Triumvirate's orders, we decided to attack them, and we did. At first, it seemed successful."

"But?"

"Their counterattack began. They didn't have those…loud-sounding sticks you guys possess, but they had sturdy steel. Moreover, their numbers were much larger than ours."

“Didn’t you say they were a small country?”

“The neighboring countries helped them…”

“Why?”

"We're not entirely sure, but…something about…violating diplomatic courtesy..."

Vasen nodded.

When going to war, it was custom to give prior notice. A sudden, unannounced attack could seem somewhat unfair. To avoid that being considered unfair, one should either win the war through that surprise attack or overpower all the other countries claiming that the move was unfair.

‘So, this country called the Fabirang Union must have been abandoned…no, isolated…for long enough to ignore basic diplomatic customs.’

Then Vasen asked, “That’s why you fled to this new continent?”

“...Yes.”

"...Didn't you say earlier that you came to explore?"

"Oh, uh, no. Yes, it's for exploration. That’s a slip of the tongue. We came to this new continent to overcome that defeat because here—there are many slaves who can wind rubber cords."

Vasen held back his laughter and said, “Hm, so it can be dangerous to attack your expedition team, can’t it?”

“Huh? Yes. It would be better not to do that. If such a thing were to happen, we would send an enormous army from…our mainland.”

“Then we should be careful.”

Vasen got up from his seat and said, “Rest for now, Commander Golt. A little later…”

Golt squinted at him.

“Are you going to interrogate us?”

“...?”

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

“That’ll only be a waste of your energy because I won’t say anything.”

After saying that, Golt firmly shut their beak and glared at Vasen.

Vasen was going to tell Golt to look forward to a good dinner later on for cooperating with the interrogation.

‘It’s too late to say that now. It’ll only upset this little buddy.’

Vasen glanced at Golt and nodded.

“Golt, I hope your will stays firm.”

After Vasen left the interrogation room, Golt continued to sit there glaring.

***

The information that Vasen obtained from Golt through several conversations, along with the rubber-powered engine and captured Helix Wing, were rapidly transported to Black Scale’s Orazen palace through regular communication lines and express ships.

After Kyle Lak Orazen examined the relatively well-preserved Helix Wing and rubber-powered engine, he said, “This is fun. What do you think, Rumf?”

“I agree with you, Your Majesty. It is indeed an interesting object.”

The two men weren’t looking at the rubber powered engine, but rather at the Helix Wing.

"I'm not sure about this rubber powered engine. They do hold value in terms of storing power, but..."

"If the test result is accurate, it takes too much time to wind up this material called rubber. And it's unstable…”

"That’s true. What caught my interest are these gears. Despite being made of wood, they are incredibly intricate… I've never seen gears like these before. Have you seen something similar elsewhere?"

Rumf, a Dwarf and the Technology Minister, nodded.

“It's not exactly the same, but I've seen something similar. In my hometown, there was a custom of gifting children toys that would move when they twisted a handle. Usually, they were made by the artisans of the village."

"Interesting. I saw something like this in an ancient ruin."

“An ancient ruin?”

“More specifically, Automation.”

"Ah, I see."

Just then, the door to the technological chamber opened, and a white Lizardman entered.

"I figured you'd be here, Your Majesty."

"Deyanin, come and take a look as well."

"No, Your Majesty. The second expedition force... No, the second expedition team has reached the southern continent."

"Just now?"

"Yes, just now."

Kyle slightly smiled.

"It seems our plan was successful."

"Yes, indeed."

"Then follow the original plan and get the second expedition team to follow the first expedition team and deliver the orders to Vasen.”

"Understood."

Kyle went over the situation in his head. Vasen's information had some interesting aspects to it. One of them was that the military force of those called the Fabirang Union might not be so strong.

‘Although they discovered this thing called a rubber engine, by cutting off interaction with the other countries, they lost their opportunity to improve the technology or integrate it with other technologies.’

And there was something else that would benefit them. Now that the new continent had been discovered, the other countries on the eastern continent would be arriving at the southern continent too—even though it wouldn’t be at as large a scale as the Fabirang’s Union’s migration when they had no choice but to abandon their homeland.

‘The competition intensifying may not be a good sign, but…’

Kyle then figured out the structure of the Helix Wing as if he had assembled it itself and took the gear out of it.

‘They couldn't even create gunpowder weapons. Have they just started to understand this rubber powered engine now? This fight is most advantageous for Black Scale.’

Kyle then said to Rumf, “Wouldn’t we be able to make something like this too?”