The island's underground magic center, the potion laboratory.

“I’m going to build a battleship, but I’m not going to build it out of wood.”

Rosen, the current head of the island's magic department, said this to this potion master who has a cute baby face but a mature figure and a stern temperament.

Wei Ge crossed one hand over her chest and supported her chin with the other. After thinking for a while, she asked, "Are you planning to use steel, Lord?"

Rosen was not surprised by this answer, because ironclad ships had already appeared in this world, and the feasibility of pure steel warships had begun to be demonstrated.

Wei Ge is a man of extraordinary knowledge, being the most knowledgeable wizard under him, so naturally he should know about this.

Rosen nodded: "Yes."

Wei Ge immediately began to list the difficulties of steel shipbuilding.

"First, steel is naturally much stronger than wood, but once the quantity is increased, iron is no cheaper than wood."

"Not only are the materials expensive, but the subsequent smelting and processing costs are also ridiculously expensive. Currently, there is no corresponding smelting technology, even if we use transformation spells. Because the scale is too large."

"Secondly, there is not enough power to propel the steel warship forward quickly. Because it is entirely predictable that a steel ship of the same size will be very heavy."

"Finally, seawater rust is also a headache."

These are very real problems.

Rosen nodded in approval.

"That's why I asked you to research the Iron Potion from the beginning, with the idea of ​​using magical steel to replace real steel."

This sentence made Minister Wei Ge's face become slightly more stern.

She blinked her dark blue eyes with long eyelashes and looked at Rosen coldly, which was her normal behavior when discussing magic.

"Lord, your idea is not new. Many wizards have similar ideas, and some have even received strong support from the king and nobles. But none of them has succeeded so far because it goes against the current common sense of magic!"

"I think you should know that the effect of the Iron Potion will never exceed three hours. Even if you use an expensive permanence spell on it, the constant erosion of the sea water and the beating of the waves will quickly exhaust the power of the permanence spell."

"At present, using the extraordinary improved advanced stabilization technique, and simply soaking in seawater, the effect is no more than two months at most, not to mention the harsh operating environment of the battleship."

"Also, what if the opponent dispels the effects of the potion?"

This is a very scary problem.

M'Bahat's giant steel lizards have just been dispersed.

Rosen clapped his hands lightly, and said in admiration: "Ms. Wei Ge, I have great respect for your extraordinary knowledge. You are worthy of being the magic manager that I rely on the most."

But he changed the subject.

"Regarding the spell of constancy, Kao's master of constancy, Walkerlan, proposed the concept of a 'spell fence'."

"He said that the essence of the spell's effect is to push a ball up the hill, and the role of all the permanence spells is to set up a fence around the ball to prevent it from rolling down the hill."

“He went on to say that the stronger the fence and the higher it was, the safer the ball would be.”

This is common sense. Most mages who have officially graduated have heard of it, and Wei Ge has heard of it too.

She fluttered her eyelashes and calmly reminded, "A single fence can only be as strong and as high as it can be, my lord."

Rosen nodded: "Indeed."

"But I was thinking, can we add fences to fences, and then add fences to fences of fences, or even keep adding fences to form a multi-level constant?"

Wei Ge immediately said: "This idea is a bit new, but many mages who have studied the art of permanence have had similar ideas."

"I admit that the effect of multi-level constant is extraordinary, but as the number of levels increases, the improvement of the constant effect becomes smaller. At most level 6, it does not have any mana economy. After all, constant spells are expensive."

Then, Rosen took out his real stuff.

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a smug smile.

"My chief magician, that's because they haven't developed the 'Lightning Constancy Technique', nor have they developed the 'Conjugate Constancy' technique."

Wei Ge was startled, and the coldness on her face instantly disappeared.

"I understand the former a little, but what does the latter mean?"

Rosen liked to see Wei Ge’s surprised look, because such opportunities were rare.

He explained: "I came up with a way to have one fence maintain another fence, and at the same time, the fence being maintained is also maintaining the fence that maintains it."

"The two fences lock and maintain each other, forming a kind of infinite constancy."

Wei Ge was completely overwhelmed. As soon as she heard the explanation, she knew that the Baron in front of her had probably come up with something extraordinary.

She swallowed and asked, "Lord, what are the specific effects?"

Rosen was also quite proud of this achievement.

The reason why I am bringing this up to Wei Ge now is because the conditions are ripe and the follow-up plans require Wei Ge’s strong cooperation.

So, he began to explain in detail the effects of his original constant technique.

"My constant spell can increase the constant strength of certain elemental strengthening spells by nearly two orders of magnitude. Moreover, it can be recharged at any time to replenish the loss of strength of the 'fence'."

Rosen threw out a series of very professional and shocking words, which made the young female minister of magic dizzy.

She repeated with difficulty: "Elemental strengthening potions can improve the quality of steel by at least two orders of magnitude. Steel potions are elemental strengthening potions. How much can they improve?"

Rosen pointed with his fingers: "In complex seawater environments, the best current method is to use the Constant Technique, which can maintain the Steel effect for 60 days. If I use the Quadruple Conjugation... Well, the concept of the so-called 'Quadruple' is very complicated, and I can't explain it clearly at once. Anyway, it is to cooperate with the advanced magic skills based on conjugation."

“Eventually, it could be increased to 20 years.”

"If we add a lightning house and a specially trained lightning charging mage, we can replenish the power consumed by the constant spell at any time, and it won't be a problem to maintain it for 100 years!"

Wei Ge gasped when she heard this, feeling it was extremely outrageous.

After a moment of silence, she used Transfiguration to pick up a piece of solid clay from the ground, and then used the most common Solidification Spell on it, making it extremely hard.

"Lord, show us your anti-dispel effect."

Rosen gladly complied.

He pinched a fist-sized ball of clay between his hands and cast a spell.

There was a faint blue electric light around his hands. After a few minutes, he placed the clay block on the table.

"I just used the intermediate strength sixteen-fold conjugation. You can dispel it at will. If you can dispel it, I will give up the idea of ​​using the steel potion to build a ship."

"Humph~ I know twelve kinds of dispelling techniques!"

Wei Ge was aroused by her competitive spirit.

She picked up her staff and cast various types of dispels on the clay on the table.

Not only did she test the type, but also the quantity. She tested twenty-six dispel spells in a row, almost exhausting her high-level magic power.

The solid block of clay on the table is still as solid as before, but the surface luster is slightly dull. But after grinding off this surface layer, the inside will be as bright as new again.

Wei Ge was completely convinced.

She let out a long breath: "I finally understand the Lord's original intention when he asked me to improve the Iron Potion."

She looked at Rosen, her dark blue eyes showing sincere admiration.

"As long as the improved steel potion can strengthen enough types of materials, we can choose the cheapest material from various types of materials to build a ship, right?"

"Pah~"

Rosen snapped his fingers. "That's right. But we need to build more than just ships. We also need to build houses, roads, and bridges."

Wei Ge's heartbeat quickened slightly as she listened, because she saw a very grand picture in Rosen's words.

"But is this kind of stabilization technique expensive?"

"Lightning constant, the lightning power comes from the lightning house, and the control power comes from the mage. Taking the most common double conjugation constant as an example, the consumption ratio of mana and lightning power is 1:260."

"The cost is less than one percent of the universal permanence technique!"

This already has the foundation for vigorous promotion. It can be used to build ships, houses, bridges, and roads! Therefore, the Iron Potion combined with the Lightning Constant contains the power to change the world.

For a moment, she felt dizzy.

It took me a while to recover.

She also brought out her recent research results.

"I have recently developed 10 improved steel potions, and they are all pretty effective."

"But the potential for improving the power of steel is huge. It's a completely new branch of magic. I feel like there's still a long, long way to go."

Wei Ge obviously developed a great interest in the power of steel.

Rosen immediately assured: "My chief steward, you have opened up your research, and I will do my best to support you."

"But right now, we need a building potion and a shipbuilding potion. Which two do you think are suitable?"

Wei Ge picked out two types.

"This can temper yellow clay, has low potency cost, and is suitable for large-scale construction."

"This can temper black clay. The cost of the potion is slightly higher, but the tempering effect is good and the strength is high. If used for shipbuilding, it should be no problem for ships under 500 tons."

Rosen was very happy: "500 tons is more than enough."

"I need these two potions to be produced in large quantities. Of course, I will also provide the greatest support."

Wei Ge was completely convinced and she cooperated very well.

"I'll send two apprentices to help you build a potion factory. These two potions are very simple, and they have mastered them completely. As long as there are enough raw materials and enough manpower, the output can be increased very quickly."

"Very good, let's do it!"

He was about to leave the potion room, but when he turned around, he suddenly found that Wei Ge seemed to be hesitant to speak, as if she had something to say to him.

In the end, she still didn't say anything.

Rosen didn't push her because he already knew Wei Ge very well.

When she thinks the time is right, she will tell you.

After leaving the potion room, he went to Alonso's refining room.

Alonso and dozens of apprentices were tinkering with some electrical equipment.

Their expressions were extremely focused, like children who had found the most fun toy in the world.

"Master Alonso, do you think lightning is interesting?"

Alonso nodded without hesitation: "Interesting ~ Very interesting ~ more interesting than all other spells!"

After a pause, he added an exaggerated comment: "I don't think this is a lowly ability at all, this is the ability of creation!"

Rosen chuckled and took out a small electric motor: "Look at this."

He connected the motor to the positive and negative terminals of the Lightning House.

The motor started to hum, and the wooden propeller on the motor head also turned rapidly, immediately blowing out gusts of cool breeze.

Alonso's eyes widened, and he looked at it for a long time before saying, "Oh, this little thing is really cleverly designed!"

He is an extremely studious person with a very strong learning ability. Under Rosen's guidance, he has gained a deep understanding of lightning.

So, he quickly understood the principle of the small motor.

Rosen smiled and said, "I plan to use it to propel the battleship forward so that it can get rid of the restrictions of the sails."

Upon hearing this, Alonso's eyes, which had just returned to normal, immediately became wide open again.

"Oh~ This is a genius idea! No, this is an idea that could change the world!"

Rosen sighed, "I need someone to enlarge its size and power. The bigger the better, because this little thing is far from enough to propel a large ship."

"Leave it to me to study!"

Alonso took the job without hesitation.

Rosen was just waiting for this sentence: "I call it 'Hercules'. This is Hercules's weapon refining book. You should study it carefully. If you have any needs, feel free to come to me."

"Okay, okay~"

Alonso responded perfunctorily, his eyes fixed on the weapon-refining book, unable to move away.

Rosen didn't need him to produce results immediately.

Because he has already used the assembly line to produce a batch of finished motors, which will be enough for a short period of time.

Alonso and his lightning apprentices are talents to be cultivated for the future.

His equipment refinery should probably be renamed the "Electrical Machinery Department" in the future.

Rosen stopped bothering him and went to the weapons research room.

"Three of you, the Lightning Torrent Crossbow is already very powerful. Our warriors carrying these are more than enough to crush any enemy that enters the island."

Rosen was no longer afraid of the landing enemy.

What could cause him great harm now is that his opponents blockaded his sea trade routes.

He said seriously: "The best defense is offense."

"So, I need a lightning torrent crossbow that can be carried on a warship."

"In addition, in the future, we should not only research more powerful lightning crossbows, but also flame crossbows, or faster and more powerful throwing torrent crossbows, or slightly slower but more powerful single-strike impact crossbows."

"In short, use your imagination, and I will do everything I can to support your research."

The three wizards' eyes almost lit up when they heard this.

Gatland thought for a moment and immediately said, "I have always had an idea, which is to build a spherical lightning house. When fighting, throw the lightning house towards the enemy."

At this point, he looked at everyone and said, "The Lightning House contains tremendous power. Once it is broken, it will burn violently, and even water cannot put it out. It is definitely suitable for dealing with wooden warships!"

As soon as Rosen heard it, he gave a thumbs up: "Good idea~~Really a good idea~~It's just a little expensive, haha~"

So, we still need talents, and only with unity can we succeed.

After a pause, he made a specific request: "The lightning torrent crossbow used on the ship needs to have a range as far as possible, a single strike with great power, and the crossbow disc capacity must also be increased. Any problem?"

Gatland said without hesitation: "Just enlarge it a little. No problem, the finished product will be ready in ten days at most."

"Very good, if you have any needs, just let me know."

Then, the materials for building warships, the power to propel the warships, and the ship-borne weapons all began to be prepared.

Its subsequent research will definitely consume huge amounts of resources and require a large number of talents to support it.

It is also impossible to build giant ships and cannons in one go. It must be a process from nothing to something, from small to big, and from big to strong.

A large part of this was an investment in the future, and he needed a batch of combat ships immediately.

It does not require ocean dominance, but only near-shore denial, and the ability to deal with murlocs at the same time.

What to do? Of course there is a way.

In fact, Rosen already had a very mature idea.

(End of this chapter)