Chapter 7

When his bluff was called in person, the bald uncle was so embarrassed that he couldn't even force a professional smile. He awkwardly rubbed his big bald head and said with a bitter laugh:

"Oh, I didn't realize you were an expert! Of course, we do have it. As for the price..."

Raising a hand to stop the shipyard owner from continuing his monologue, Vena Dubov confidently patted her chest and said:

"You're not thinking of selling old goods at a higher price than new ships, are you?"

Hearing this, the half-elf beauty left the bald uncle speechless. He had no choice but to admit defeat, shaking his head and sighing:

"Ah! Since you put it that way, there's nothing I can do. Please follow me. We have a Level 6 battleship from the Yaling. Let's go inspect it first!"

In the old world's online forums, especially in military circles, the naval line-of-battle tactics and the army's line-up shooting tactics were essential topics for enthusiasts studying modern military history. Those who didn't understand these basics were destined to be ridiculed as newbies and summer vacationers. Luo Zhengdao didn't know how Level 6 battleships were classified in the new world, but the mere mention of a battleship made his heart race with excitement. This wasn't a luxury yacht used by rich second-generation kids to show off their status and pick up girls. Owning a real battleship, not a cheap handmade model or a game screenshot, was truly awesome!

After enduring the ravages of wind and sun, the ship's body had faded, revealing the natural color of the wood, like a pitiful skeleton picked clean by vultures. As the saying goes, "Meeting is worse than hearing." When Luo Zhengdao saw the dusty, dilapidated Yaling battleship in the shipyard, he felt like a deflated ball, utterly dispirited. His expectations were far from the reality.

Knowing he was an outsider, Luo Zhengdao still felt he had the right to express his indignation as a consumer. He immediately turned to the shipyard owner and indignantly complained:

"What is this junk? The weapons are gone, the masts are removed, and it's just a hull. What's going on here?"

Knowing that Luo Zhengdao, the financier of this deal, was likely ignorant of the specific technical details and performance parameters of the battleship, the bald uncle, a middle-aged man, carefully observed Vena Dubov's reaction. Seeing no signs of displeasure, he smiled and explained:

"Please rest assured, sir and madam. Our shipyard provides comprehensive ship renovation services. There will be no problems."

To prove he wasn't just talking, the shipyard owner ran back to the design room to fetch the design drawings and pre-prepared renovation plans for the Yaling battleship. He then explained to Luo Zhengdao and Vena:

"Please look. Here are the design drawings and renovation plans for this battleship. The materials needed for the renovation are already prepared. I guarantee, with the shipyard's century-old reputation, that if the funds are sufficient, we can renovate it to be as good as new within half a month, and the price is very reasonable!"

Flipping through the thick stack of drawings, Luo Zhengdao, holding a diagram of the ship's internal structure, skeptically said:

"Uh, the firepower of this battleship seems a bit lacking, doesn't it?"

When it came to other details, Luo Zhengdao wasn't confident enough to comment. He wasn't an expert in the naval tactics of the old world's age of sail, let alone the ships of the new world. However, he could still see the obvious issue with the number of gun ports and immediately voiced his complaint.

The science and technology of the old world, unlike magic and miracles, were characterized by their repeatability and the lack of stringent requirements for the user's qualifications. Magic and supernatural powers, though incredibly powerful, had a very selective threshold for users. The same spell could produce vastly different results depending on the user, a common phenomenon in the supernatural realm. In essence, it boiled down to one's affinity, which could be summarized as, "If you say you can, you can; if you say you can't, you can't." Science and technology, on the other hand, produced consistent results regardless of the user's intelligence, as long as the conditions were met.

In the design of a ship, many factors had to be considered, and a rigid, brain-dead approach was a recipe for disaster. Ship design was a high-tech endeavor, not something an amateur could casually alter. The old world had numerous examples of such disastrous outcomes. The most famous case was the Swedish Kingdom during the age of sail. To build a super battleship that would surpass all contemporary competitors, the ambitious king forced the ship designer to repeatedly modify the original design, increasing the number of cannons and the length of the ship. The result was the "Vasa," a super battleship that, due to constant non-technical interference, lost its basic navigational capabilities upon completion. Despite its impressive paper specifications and appearance, the Vasa capsized and sank in the Baltic Sea after encountering a light breeze just outside the port. This demonstrated that while leadership could change many things, it couldn't alter the laws of nature. As the old saying goes, you can spit at the sky, but it will fall back on you.

Understanding the stakes, the bald uncle, despite his shrewd businessman side, maintained a professional smile and showed no willingness to compromise in response to Luo Zhengdao's complaints.

Realizing Luo Zhengdao had shown his ignorance, the half-elf beauty discreetly pulled him aside, hinting that he should stop talking. She then whispered:

"Our budget only allows for the lowest-grade battleship. If you're not satisfied, we can just not buy it."

Hearing this, Luo Zhengdao, feeling embarrassed, scratched his chestnut hair and said with a troubled expression:

"Ah! Alright, let's buy this ship as you suggest."

Perhaps because Luo Zhengdao had been acting too obediently, his quiet demeanor triggered the half-elf beauty's maternal and sympathetic instincts. During the break while the shipyard owner contacted the cannon workshop to order cannons, Vena Dubov gave the unfortunate "amnesiac" traveler a crash course on the classification of battleships in the new world.

This standard Level 6 battleship, supervised by the Yaling Empire's Royal Navy, might sound unimpressive, but it was equipped with 54 cannons ranging from 8 to 12 pounds, and had a double-decked gun deck. According to the new world's standard tonnage calculation, its capacity was about 6,000 barrels. Luo Zhengdao estimated the ship's tonnage to be between 1,500 and 2,000 tons.

A ship of this tonnage, if it appeared during the Age of Exploration on Earth, would have been a mainline battleship capable of participating in line-of-battle engagements. After Vena Dubov's explanation, Luo Zhengdao understood the implications. In this new world, where magic and supernatural powers were prevalent, a Level 6 battleship was merely an appetizer in fleet battles. In most cases, Yaling Royal Navy commanders would use such ships for reconnaissance and fire support, sending them ahead of the main fleet to locate the enemy. Once the enemy's main force was identified, ships like Level 5 and 6 battleships would follow the main fleet, providing support and finishing off disabled enemies. Only smaller navies favored these cost-effective, lower-level battleships.

Due to their limited tonnage, lower-level battleships had weaker hulls and armor, and their firepower was insufficient to withstand the broadside attacks of higher-level battleships. Rushing into battle would only result in a quick and free kill for the enemy. The dream of a daring charge was just that—a dream.

As the saying goes, "A man plays with the bird that suits him." The goblin pursuit fleet was relentless, and Luo Zhengdao, the newly escaped Earl, was far from wealthy. While he wasn't completely broke, his financial situation was far from ideal. Vena Dubov, though hoping to maintain the Earl's noble dignity, had to work with the limited resources. Temporarily, a Level 6 battleship would suffice. The pirate groups roaming the seven seas couldn't even dream of having a battleship, typically using smaller, faster ships like frigates and corvettes, or even armed merchant ships and schooners, to patrol the main shipping routes and look for opportunities.

The cannons on pirate ships were more for intimidating prey. Close-quarters combat was their specialty. This made sense when you considered that sinking a merchant ship from a distance would destroy the cargo and kill all the passengers, leaving nothing for the pirates to plunder. They wouldn't travel far just to collect some broken wood for firewood.

Listening to Vena Dubov's explanation, Luo Zhengdao curiously asked:

"If a Level 6 ship is this big, how big is a Level 1 ship?"

The half-elf beauty shrugged, indifferent, and said:

"Four or four and a half gun decks, carrying 3,000 or more crew members, equipped with 24 to 48-pound cannons, with a minimum of 200 gun ports, and no upper limit. If it has fewer than 200, it's classified as a Level 2 battleship."

Hearing this, Luo Zhengdao imagined a ship bristling with countless gun ports, his mouth nearly watering as he exclaimed:

"Over 200 cannons? That's a mobile fortress!"

Luo Zhengdao's exclamation only earned a laugh from the half-elf beauty. She playfully flicked a strand of hair from her forehead and said:

"Yes, these top-tier battleships are also called mobile castles. Their construction and maintenance costs are astronomical. Only a nation with the financial power can build them, and even then, you might not be able to afford to maintain them. Only the flagship of a king or a navy admiral would be a Level 1 battleship. To my knowledge, the Yaling Empire, which dominates the seven seas, has only 16 active Level 1 battleships, with over 40 more in storage. Yaling's Level 3 battleships are already formidable, and they don't need such powerful ships to fight pirates. A Level 1 battleship would only be used in a major naval battle, such as if the Greenskins decided to challenge Yaling's sea power, or if the Yaling Empire and the Elven Federation went to war."

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