Chapter 138: Section 139: Shipbuilding


    Inside the cave, a long wooden table held the rough sketches of a sea vessel.


    Lord Zhenjin, Zi Di, Cang Xu, Zong Ge, and others sat around it, their gazes intensely focused on the sketches.


    The sketches depicted the side view, top view, and perspective view of the ship.


    The author of the sketches—the shipwright—explained, “After taking stock, we have a total of 247 survivors. The Pig Kiss has been disassembled, and taking into account the timber we’ve transported here, as well as an estimate of how much iron our ore can produce, I have devised this vessel.”


    “The new ship is estimated to be 42 meters in length, 16 meters in width, and 8 meters in height, with a displacement of 300 tons.”


    “As you can see, the new ship will have two decks, with the top layer fitted with five cannons.”


    ...


    “There will be three masts, each with a crow’s nest.”


    “This is the fore slash.”


    “The masts and the fore slash will have sails, mainly square sails. According to our sea charts and the shipping route, the wind direction is stable, and square sails are the most practical. However, the rear mast will have a triangular sail. More precisely, a large triangular sail.”


    “We estimate that the main sail will exceed 200 square meters in surface area.”


    “This is the ship’s bow. It’s mainly for the big guy to live in. This is the ship’s stern, which has a room for you, Lord Zhenjin. Behind the ship’s stern is a veranda that offers a wide view, where one can enjoy the beautiful sights on the sea surface.”


    At the end, the shipwright showed a flattering smile to Lord Zhenjin.


    The size of the new ship was to be half that of the Pig Kiss. The Pig Kiss, at 76 meters long, was a large trade ship capable of transporting considerable amounts of goods and personnel over long distances.


    In terms of the voyage, this island was located near the midpoint of a straight line between the Holy Bright Continent and the Wilderness Continent.


    The goal of Lord Zhenjin and the others was not to construct a ship with superior performance but to leave the island as quickly as possible, to complete the next leg of the journey, thereby rushing to the Wilderness Continent.


    “How much are we short on materials?” Lord Zhenjin broke the silence and inquired.


    The shipwright replied, “Mainly ship nails. We need a lot of iron, which is the biggest shortfall.”


    “Are our ore supplies still not sufficient?” Lord Zhenjin felt puzzled. He had been worried about this and had spent many nights transformed into the Monkey-tailed Brown Bear, digging relentlessly for ore. Most of the ore they had was dug up by Lord Zhenjin himself.


    Zi Di responded, “We have to thank those Monkey-tailed Brown Bears; we have an ample supply of ore. However, extracting the iron from the ore currently relies on dissolving it with potions, and we are far from having enough of those potions.”


    “I see,” Lord Zhenjin nodded and scanned the group. “What solutions do you all have for this problem?”


    Zi Di showed a troubled expression, “Currently, I am actively searching for alternative materials around the area, but I can’t guarantee success. After all, this is a rainforest, not a forest. Perhaps we could organize an exploration team to collect these raw materials from forest terrains.”


    Cang Xu shook his head, “It’s too difficult and the risk is too high. Lord Zhenjin needs to guard the valley, and our combat strength is insufficient to support an exploration team. Using potions to process ore is not a conventional method. My suggestion is to construct earthen kilns. Not the small ones I made in the Oasis, but large kilns. We can use charcoal heat to melt the ore and produce a large amount of pig iron.”


    “Is it feasible to build a large kiln here?” Lord Zhenjin pressed.


    He remembered that back in the Oasis, Cang Xu’s attempts to create an earthen kiln had failed.


    But Cang Xu nodded, “It’s possible. The soil here is different from that in the Oasis; in fact, someone has already succeeded. He is a craftsman with far more experience in making kilns than I have.”


    The survivors had a high proportion of artisans. These people were all heading to the Wilderness Continent to work.


    To gain a foothold on the Wilderness Continent and win this war of invasion, the Human Race needed to construct a large number of castles, camps, and other defensive fortifications.


    These constructions represented a significant number of job opportunities, offering wages far beyond the standards of the Holy Bright Continent.


    Lord Zhenjin nodded, “Let’s go with Cang Xu’s suggestion and build the kilns.”


    After making the decision, Lord Zhenjin looked again at the shipwright.


    “There are other shortages,” said the shipwright.


    The remaining shortfalls were: one, the sails. Making sails required a great deal of fabric, and the shipwrights had pinned their hopes on the sails from the Pig Kiss. However, after dismantling it, they only retrieved a few fragments of the sails because the survivors from the first campsite had torn them down and used them as warm clothing when the temperature dropped.


    Another was the adhesive. The ship’s planks used butt joint techniques, which left gaps. Normally, they would be filled with bitumen, hemp rope, glue, etc., and the shortfall in adhesives was significant too.


    The third was the need for crew and sailors. Lord Zhenjin and his companions needed to train some temporary sailors.


    Lastly, provisions.


    There was a large stock of food and water, but it was not enough.


    Constructing a ship required a lot of physical effort, which would lead to an increased consumption of food.


    After the ship was built, sufficient supplies needed to be reserved. During the voyage, it would be difficult to obtain supplies.


    Some might suggest fishing at sea.


    That was very amateurish.


    Fishing operations usually take place in fishing grounds, and efficiency is low in other marine areas.


    Work aboard the ship was laborious; if everyone went to fish, the efficiency would not only be low, but the speed of travel would also slow down, leading to even greater consumption of food over time—a completely uneconomical choice.


    In this respect, the sea and the desert aren’t that different.


    “How long will it take to build this new ship?” Lord Zhenjin asked the most pressing question.


    The shipwright answered, “Normally, ship construction takes about two years. For our new ship, it’s hard to estimate the schedule, but it should take at least half a year at the least.”


    “That’s too long, can you shorten the timeframe at all?” Hei Juan was also unsatisfied with this timeframe.


    The shipwright sighed, “That’s already the fastest speed we can manage. The main reason being the potions from Lady Zi Di that can accelerate the drying of the wood. Typically, the wood used in shipbuilding needs to dry out to completely eliminate moisture, usually taking over a year to air-dry.”


    “Fortunately, we have many craftsmen.”


    “Not just the two hundred people in this valley, even with our previous personnel, it would take four or five years to build a ship capable of sailing.”


    Lord Zhenjin was very disappointed with this answer. By the time half a year had passed, the seat of the White Sand City Lord might have already been decided.


    The Empire’s officials would not wait for Lord Zhenjin alone. The two Holy Temple Knights contesting the City Lordship wouldn’t wait for Lord Zhenjin either.


    But there was no other way.


    “`


    Unless rescue arrived during this period, Lord Zhenjin would have to accept this timeline if he were to rely on building a new ship for escape.


    The shipbuilding site was set up in a small valley.


    With just a few modifications, the open space in the small valley became an excellent shipbuilding site.


    Constructing a dry dock would be too troublesome.


    Of course, the materials chosen for the dry dock did not need to be as high-quality as those for shipbuilding; the rainforest would never be short of timber.


    Hei Juan, Sanda, and others formed the logging team and patrol squad.


    Timber was continuously brought into the small valley.


    The areas they logged were mainly concentrated along the valley and the beach line. Clearing the woods here would also facilitate the construction of a track in the future, benefiting the new ship’s launch.


    The amount of work to build the track was much less than constructing a dry dock directly on the beach.


    After several days, the valley’s open space was finally sheltered from the raindrops, and the ground remained dry even in heavy rain.


    Shipbuilding required a dry environment.


    The shipwrights and others began to work on that largest tree trunk, which was the best material for constructing the dragon bone. According to the shipwright and Mu Ban, even the major ports of the Holy Bright Continent would hardly find such good materials!


    Under Cang Xu’s comprehensive coordination, all the valley’s survivors got busy, each with their own responsibilities.


    Lan Zao and Bai Ya were in charge of repairing and transforming the valley, forming defensive works and laying traps and alarm devices around the perimeter.


    Fat Tongue assisted Cang Xu, while Zi Di was responsible for developing potions.


    Lord Zhenjin and Zong Ge mainly cleared the surrounding beasts to replenish food reserves.


    Queshan led the women and the wounded to make hemp ropes and fabrics.


    Once the dragon bone was made, the shipwrights and others tirelessly started making masts. Due to the lack of suitable timber, at least six masts had to be constructed and joined in pairs to form the foremast, mainmast, and mizzenmast. Sёar?h the n??el Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At the same time, Fat Tongue led some people to apply potions onto the dragon bone. With the potions, the dragon bone would cure and dry faster.


    Just the amount of potions used on the dragon bone alone almost emptied Zi Di’s inventory.


    Zi Di had no choice but to break down the potion-making steps and distributed them to others for production, to increase the output.


    New hands were needed for this.


    Luckily, with Cang Xu’s extensive experience, he quickly reassigned enough personnel from other areas while minimally slowing down the progress of other projects.


    Thanks to ultrasound scouting, Lord Zhenjin did not miss any herds near the valley.


    Each time he undertook an action, he reaped a great deal.


    Zong Ge no longer competed with Lord Zhenjin in this aspect, his achievements only second to Zhenjin’s.


    When the shipwrights and others started making planks, everything within a radius of 50,000 meters centered on the valley had been cleared.


    But the work of clearing the beasts would continue.


    Because the herds had migratory tendencies, the empty terrain and abundant food sources were huge temptations for the beasts.


    Clearing the herds was no longer as frequent as before, and the danger also decreased sharply.


    The attracted herds were usually weaker in competition, or magic beasts. Powerful magic beasts or herds were the rulers of their own territories and did not need to migrate.


    Gradually, Lord Zhenjin handed over this work to Zong Ge, Hei Juan, and others.


    The spare time he gained was used for private intensive practice of various forms contained in his Heart Core, making significant progress.


    The frequency of torrential rains was becoming lower, and sunny days started to outnumber rainy ones during the week.


    By evening, the weather had cleared up.


    The setting sun’s light shone on Lord Zhenjin and a group of Scale-Horned Black Panthers.


    While Lord Zhenjin was training privately on the edge of the alert line, this group of Scale-Horned Black Panthers entered the range of his ultrasound scouting.


    Seeing the magic energy reserve delivered to his doorstep, Lord Zhenjin gladly accepted it with a smile.


    After a skirmish, the battlefield calmed down.


    “Too easy… As soon as they come into contact with the Scale-Horned Black Panthers, they get electrocuted immediately,” Lord Zhenjin revealed a satisfied smile.


    His long-term persistence and intensive practice had paid off.


    He was now able to release electricity effortlessly!


    “I am different from the silver Flying Squirrels; they get enervated straight away after discharging electricity, but when I release electricity, it intensifies the consumption of magic energy, which hardly affects me,” he muttered to himself.


    “Who’s there?” Lord Zhenjin suddenly detected someone in the distance as he used his ultrasound again.


    Lord Zhenjin’s expression changed instantly.


    He had stopped the ultrasound during his fight, focusing his attention on discharging electricity, and thus did not notice in time.


    What had this person observed?


    When did they come here, and what did they discover?


    The scorpion shell on Lord Zhenjin’s body was easily connected to what Zong Ge had seen before.


    And who was this person?


    Lord Zhenjin sprinted, chasing after the mysterious figure.


    The mysterious person sensed him and turned to run frantically, escaping towards the valley!