Chapter 9

For any country, the quantity and quality of divine cores it possesses are among the key parameters for measuring its military strength. Without spaceships, it means they cannot reach the vast outer space, and with the development of modern artillery technology, space has replaced the sea as the main battlefield for navies.

For these mysterious crystals, humans have two widely recognized characteristics regarding their integration with ships.

First, the power of a divine core is not unlimited. The better the divine core, the larger the ship it can integrate, but this ability cannot be stacked; two divine cores cannot simultaneously integrate the same ship.

Second, the integration ability of a divine core has maximum compatibility. Besides strengthening the ship's structure and sealing, and modifying the propulsion system, it can also integrate existing equipment, particularly excelling in weapon systems.

Take the early treasure ships of Zheng He as an example. Their primary long-range weapon was the front-loading red-coated cannon.

Logically, such weapons should be impossible to use in space, but after the divine core integrated the treasure ship, these cannons were also improved. The cannons were housed inside the ship, and a hemispherical compartment appeared at the firing port. After the gunner loaded the ammunition, they only needed to push the front of the cannon into the compartment to fire the cannonball.

In the almost frictionless outer space, even these early cannonballs could travel very far. However, the divine core only improved the firing system and did not significantly upgrade the sighting system, so to improve shooting accuracy, both sides would often bring their ships very close before firing. Some warships even added ramming horns for close combat.

The British, to consolidate their colonial rule in Africa, did not adopt the slow and soothing policies but used weakening and high pressure to force the locals to submit. Although the locals did not dare to openly oppose them, they would not obediently be submissive. For example, when the British tried to recover the divine core, the locals would sabotage them, and concealing information was just the simplest method.

When the Kabara tribe discovered the crashed warship, out of their hatred for the British infidels, they did not report it to the colonial government but kept it secret until now, even using it to trade for guns with Captain Zhao. If the original owner of the warship knew that their divine core was sold to the local natives for the price of thirty second-hand guns, they would surely cry their eyes out.

Captain Zhao's subordinate, with the guns they traded for, returned to the tribe first, while the Kabara tribe's representative, Lato, stayed behind to guide Captain Zhao and his team. This transaction attitude was so good that it could be called "a conscientious buyer," and Captain Zhao was not afraid that the other party would have any malicious intentions.

Not to mention their well-equipped and well-supplied team, Captain Zhao also believed that these black brothers were not stupid to the point of no return. After tasting the benefits he brought, whether they bought guns or not, they would all be eagerly waiting for Captain Zhao to bring the second batch. Killing him would mean the next weapons merchant might not appear for a long time!

Before setting out, Captain Zhao calculated the time. There were exactly three weeks left until the deadline for paying the compensation. It would take about three days to reach and explore the cave, and then about 4-5 days to return to Tanga Port at full speed. The journey back to China on the Hengtong would take nine days. This meant he still had about four days of leeway, which should be enough to handle any emergencies.

The altitude of the cave was not particularly high, not exceeding the former snow line, so they did not need to prepare any cold-weather clothing. Captain Zhao and his team, having sold all their guns and ammunition, traveled light and reached the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro in just one and a half days. They then followed a rugged mountain path, winding their way up to the mountain's waist.

"Wow, it's so hot! Was this place really a snow mountain before?"

"Seventeen years ago, this was indeed a snow mountain. We, who lived at the foot of the mountain, enjoyed the sweet dew bestowed by the sacred mountain and lived a happy life. Until those evil iron ships fell from the sky, and everything was destroyed by them." When Lato spoke of the disaster seventeen years ago, he clenched his teeth in hatred.

The locals had learned from the arrogant British colonizers that the disaster that affected the entire African continent was caused by the war in the sky between their former colonizers, the Germans, and the current colonizers, the British. The British took this as a glory and widely publicized it in the colonies and protectorates, while the African people dared to be angry but dared not speak out.

"One day, the people of Tanzania will unite and drive these white-skinned vampires who trample on our heads out of our land. One day, this will happen..."

"Good spirit! I have high hopes for you (Is this an African youth?)"

Under Lato's guidance, Captain Zhao and his team only took half a day to reach a cave entrance on the mountain's waist. This cave entrance was hidden behind a screen-like hill, so it could not be seen from other positions unless one stood right in front of the cave.

When the British came to recover the divine core, the guide provided by the Kabara tribe led them around the mountain, but they never came to this place. The confused British did not realize they had missed a spot and returned empty-handed, which benefited Captain Zhao years later.

"This cave has only been entered by our shamans. Although the chief asked us to lead you here, please forgive me for not being able to enter with you. After all, we..."

"Afraid of curses, right? I understand. You don't have to come in, but I need you to wait here until we come out. Brother Black and Brother Daman, you two stay here and keep him company."

Leaving two people to guard the cave entrance, Captain Zhao was about to enter the cave, but after taking a few steps, he couldn't move forward. He turned around and found that Qin Heng was holding the back of his collar, with that familiar expression on his face.

"Uncle Qin, why are you holding me back?"

"Master, there might be danger in this cave..."

"Uncle Qin, you've been through 'danger' all the way, and I'm still fine, right?"

"But this is a cave near a volcano! What if it collapses?"

"It's been here for 17 years. There's no way my 80 kilograms could make it collapse, right?"

"But..."

"There's no 'but.' As the saying goes, 'No risk, no reward.' I don't believe there are monsters in this cave!"

With that, Captain Zhao broke free from Qin Heng's grip and, with the excitement of a treasure hunter, led the way into the cave. The others quickly followed.

The cave was formed by the impact of the crashed warship, creating a straight tunnel that sloped downward at about a 30-degree angle. Therefore, there was no worry about getting lost. After advancing about 100 meters, they reached a relatively spacious underground cavern.

"This place is huge!"

The underground cavern was elliptical, with a maximum width of over 2000 meters and a height of about 120 meters. From the small platform where Captain Zhao and his team stood, it was about 50 meters to the bottom, and the climbing rope they brought was long enough to reach the bottom.

Captain Zhao stood on the small platform and looked down, seeing a massive warship about 200 meters long in front of him, with its stern high in the air. Below the stern was a river of flowing lava. If the ship had not plunged into the ground like a javelin, the rear part might have been melted by the lava.

"Master, this is a battlecruiser! And from its appearance, it seems to be the German Derfflinger class."

"You mean, this is the missing German Lützow?"

The Lützow was the largest warship lost by Germany in the Battle of Jutland, and it was the flagship of the German battlecruiser squadron, commanded by Vice Admiral Hipper. The ship had a maximum displacement of 31,200 tons, second only to battleships, and its divine core was of high quality. Thinking of this, Captain Zhao could hardly contain his excitement.

Sliding down the rope to the cave floor, the nearby river of lava greeted them with a wave of heat.

Fortunately, the ventilation here was good, and they only felt the heat but not suffocated. The lava river was easy to cross because it did not span the entire underground cavern but flowed down and back into the ground after about two-thirds of its length. They only needed to take a slight detour to reach the Lützow.

Seventeen years ago, this warship participated in the largest space battle of World War I, the Battle of Jutland. In the final stage of the battle, Admiral Hipper launched a suicidal "death charge" against the British, saving the German High Seas Fleet, but his flagship, the Lützow, was heavily damaged and fell into the atmosphere.

No one expected that this warship would crash on Mount Kilimanjaro and that the ship's body would be so well-preserved.

On-site investigation confirmed that the warship made a last effort to adjust its posture before colliding with the mountain. The ship's divine core concentrated its reinforcement on the bow and bottom, which prevented the Lützow from breaking into pieces upon impact. However, the sailors on board were not so lucky.

After boarding the ship, they found many skeletons in the cabins. They had been killed instantly by the impact, and a few showed signs of struggle, with their skulls' wide-open mouths and hollow eye sockets revealing their despair.

"Where do the Germans usually place the divine core on a ship?"

"Usually at the widest point of the midship, but sometimes slightly further back."

Walking through the rusted cabins, even the lightest of them, Captain Zhao, made strange sounds with each step. When they reached the midship, the ship suddenly tilted backward. Despite its several ten-thousand-ton weight, the ship was in a delicate balance, and even a feather could tip it.

Captain Zhao had no choice but to ask the others to step back and only let the bodyguard captain, Di Rui, and the most obedient Wangcai follow him to the stern, taking each step as lightly as possible, fearing the stern would suddenly fall into the lava lake. They carefully made their way to the rear of the warship and found a special room.

When they reached the room, Captain Zhao saw the slightly open door and his heart sank. He thought the Lützow's divine core had already been taken, but when they entered the room, they found the divine core still embedded on a metal platform in the center, though it was a dull gray. There was also a corpse in a German naval officer's uniform sitting in front of the platform.

Captain Zhao approached and saw two rows of grayish-brown English text, seemingly written in blood. After reading the text, he felt both amused and exasperated.

"Go to hell, British bastards, you can dream of getting my daughter."

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