Chapter 125: The Storm Approaches

The sound in the room abruptly ceased. A young maiden, her clothes in disarray, was pinned to the desk, looking extremely disheveled and at a great disadvantage, about to be taken advantage of. Song Zining, on the other hand, was like an arrow on the string, ready to pierce through with a single shot, thus devouring this maiden.

At this moment, both were frozen, turning their heads to look at Qian Ye who had just entered, faces filled with astonishment.

“Zining, I have to say, you are really… ah!? It’s you?” Qian Ye recognized the maiden’s face and was immediately stunned. She was originally one of Song Zining’s maids, known for her intelligence and efficiency, often serving as an assistant. He never expected her to come to the Neutral Zone. She had been with Song Zining for several years, and these scenes were not uncommon.

Song Zining, having seen much of the world, quickly recovered from his embarrassment, laughing and patting the maiden under him, “You go out first, I have something to discuss with Qian Ye.”

The maiden also calmed down, gave Qian Ye a glance, giggled, and left as if she were a breeze.

Qian Ye, however, remained unsettled for a long time, saying, “This… I thought…”

Song Zining smiled, “You thought, Young Master here was bullying the weak, forcing himself on a maiden?”

“That, what you were saying just now, it sounded, it felt a bit…,” Qian Ye stammered.

Song Zining burst into laughter, “Don’t you find those words rather classic? They’re so full of feeling! This is called romance, you silly!”

Qian Ye was speechless, finding it hard to agree with this young master’s peculiar tastes.

Song Zining stared at Qian Ye, “You’re not the kind of person who despises evil. What’s wrong this time?”

Qian Ye, feeling awkward, said, “What kind of woman can’t you get? Why resort to such means? If it doesn’t work, just switch to another, right? It’s they who suffer. Forcing it would be unseemly. Besides, we are in our own territory. If this gets out, it won’t sound good. So, I thought, well, I should come and advise you.”

Song Zining laughed so hard he couldn’t stand straight, tapping Qian Ye’s shoulder with his fan, “You’re truly adorable, not recognizing such classic lines! Isn’t that how it always goes in those cheap dramas?”

Qian Ye, stone-faced, said, “I don’t watch plays.”

“Alright, alright, let’s not talk about this. How did the mission go? Did you receive the goods? Any surprises?”

“There was a surprise. I encountered a fleet of Demonkin, led by someone named Lin Jiaer. We fought a battle.”

“Lin Jiaer!” Song Zining leaped up in shock, exclaiming, “Which Lin Jiaer? Don’t tell me it was that Demonkin Duke?”

Qian Ye, recalling seriously, said, “Based on her strength, she hasn’t reached Duke yet, only Vice-Duke.”

Song Zining glared at Qian Ye, “Only Vice-Duke? A Vice-Duke is still a Duke! Your Lord Qian Ye, a Vice-Duke is stronger than a newly ascended Imperial God General! Moreover, this was a fleet battle, not a one-on-one. If her flagship was there, do you think you could have returned alive?”

“Yes, her flagship was there too.”

Song Zining, about to sit down, jumped up again, “Her flagship was there?! It’s over, then. The cargo ships and escort ships are probably lost. What to do? Ah, forget it, that’s not important. Are you injured? Is it serious? What medicine do you need? I’ll find a way to get it. There’s nothing here, I’ll have to return to the Empire, and it’ll take some time.”

“I’m not injured.” Under Song Zining’s gaze, Qian Ye felt a bit guilty, adding, “Just a minor injury, nothing serious. It’ll heal soon. You know I recover quickly.”

Song Zining didn’t believe him, pulling Qian Ye up and feeling all over, using his origin power to probe, completely unashamed. In his concern, he forgot about Qian Ye’s blood aura, which, stimulated by the origin power, fiercely retaliated. Flames erupted around Qian Ye, engulfing Song Zining.

With a cry of pain, Song Zining retreated hastily. Qian Ye also quickly suppressed his blood aura, checking to see if Song Zining was hurt.

Fortunately, though the Song Clan’s influence had waned, their cultivation methods were still among the best in the Empire. Song Zining’s Three Thousand Floating Leaves Technique was no exception. His seemingly light and powerless origin power allowed him to escape unscathed under the intense burn of Qian Ye’s blood fire, which was truly remarkable.

However, saying he escaped unscathed might be a stretch. As he touched his face, he found a small patch of soot on his palm, and his hair and eyebrows were slightly singed.

Qian Ye, apologetic, said, “I didn’t expect this. Are you okay?”

Song Zining, holding his sooty hand out, angrily said, “Okay? Do you call this okay?”

Qian Ye breathed a sigh of relief, “As long as you’re fine, a little hair is nothing to worry about.”

Song Zining grabbed Qian Ye’s collar, raging, “A little hair?! A minor injury is fine, but burning my hair and eyebrows? How can I show my face?”

“You don’t live off your looks.” Qian Ye shrugged. The Seventh Young Master of the Song Clan, destined to be the future military god of the Empire, living off his looks would be a joke.

“Of course, I don’t live off my looks, but good looks make life easier and more pleasant. Why not? As for you, you could rely on your looks but insist on strength. In the Empire, you missed so many opportunities with beautiful women. Let’s not dwell on the past. Here’s a rare opportunity. Tian Qing, Kuang Lan, aren’t they nice…?”

Qian Ye interrupted, “Wait, I don’t like men.”

Song Zining was taken aback, then glared, “What’s wrong with men?!”

Qian Ye, not understanding why Song Zining was suddenly angry, was at a loss for words.

Song Zining huffed, “Seems like you’re fine, which is good. The goods and ships are gone, we’ll earn them back. Pity those people, though. They’ve been with me for years, the cream of the crop at Nanyuan Heavy Industry.”

“The goods and ships are fine.”

“Fine? You didn’t encounter Lin Jiaer’s fleet?”

“We did, and we fought. I think I destroyed about half of her fleet, and her flagship, too.”

“Hmm? Good, destroyed… Wait, you destroyed her flagship?” Song Zining almost jumped up again.

“Maybe she was careless.”

“Careless? You don’t know her battle record. Careless? Okay, let’s say she was. Tell me, how did the battle go?”

Qian Ye briefly recounted the battle, and after a long silence, Song Zining said, “She really has bad luck.”

But he quickly cheered up, “This main cannon solves a big problem. It’s top-tier even among Duke-class warships, at least we won’t need to replace it for a while. But once this news spreads, she’ll come after us with everything she has.”

Song Zining grabbed a piece of paper, sketching the outline of the Ancestral Temple, scribbling numbers, and after a dizzying calculation, said, “Hmm, the captured Demonkin materials should be enough to add a layer of armor to the Ancestral Temple.”

He then detailed the new design. The Ancestral Temple still largely resembled the remains of the Earthworm, with a significant portion of the abdominal compartments still empty. Due to its enormous size, covering the empty spaces with armor would require a massive amount of material. Only high-grade alloys would suffice, but even for Song Zining, it was too expensive, so the spaces remained empty.

This time, Qian Ye captured a large amount of Demonkin ship debris. Though most of the equipment was damaged, the materials were just what was needed. However, the Ancestral Temple was so large that the materials were still insufficient to cover all the empty spaces. Thus, Song Zining designed a grid-like structure to fill the gaps. While this offered little defense against cannonballs, it provided decent protection against ballistae.

Materials originally intended for the ship’s hull could now be used for various components, including engines. Once refined into higher-grade alloys, they could build several destroyer-class engines, improving the Ancestral Temple’s mobility to match that of a regular cargo ship.

Finally, a giant fuel depot and several special origin power arrays would be added to power the Sunken Land cannon. While it couldn’t truly sink landmasses, blasting a destroyer to pieces was no challenge.

The two still-functional Demonkin cannons were installed on the sides of the Ancestral Temple, along with the newly arrived ballistae, forming the ship’s side firepower. This would prevent the enemy from hiding behind the blind spots and firing indiscriminately.

Looking at the design, Qian Ye frowned. Though he was no expert, he could see that the grid-like outer wall was a temporary measure, destined to be rebuilt and replaced with proper battle armor. This design was costly and labor-intensive, offering only a temporary solution.

“What do you think of the design? I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but the materials were lacking. Your capture of the Demonkin materials is perfect,” Song Zining said enthusiastically.

“Zining, are we going to war?” Qian Ye suddenly asked. Song Zining’s expression changed, and after a moment of silence, he nodded.

Both knew that the war Qian Ye referred to was not a small skirmish between mercenary groups but a full-scale, unrestricted conflict. With Lin Jiaer appearing in the Neutral Zone, the specter of war loomed over the entire area. Song Zining’s design aimed to make the Ancestral Temple battle-ready as soon as possible. There was no time for a complete design.

“For what?” Qian Ye asked again.

“The Great Vortex.”