Chapter 21: Rise – Section 10

It was undeniable that the requirements for Black Hair were extremely stringent.
For a super-advanced warship like Li Feng, could its internal structure and various parameters even be described as “massive”? Although there were many people in the Black Prison, all of them being madmen, fully understanding this warship still required three words…
Impossible!!
But madmen naturally have their own methods. In fact, it only took them three weeks to produce an accurate blueprint of the warship, which ended up on Black Hair’s desk.
“A small warship?” Looking at the blueprint in his hands, Black Hair pondered deeply, with a bitter smile in his heart.
These guys truly are terrifying…
He had originally thought Li Feng’s system was so complex that it would be very difficult for them to handle. But to his surprise, they didn’t even try! They simply analyzed Li Feng’s main features and attempted to achieve those standards using the techniques of the magic civilization!
Of course, Li Feng was a mechanical warship, and some of its standards were simply unattainable with magic civilization technology. But these guys twisted the concept—removing components that couldn’t meet the standards and pursuing alternative development paths. The result was a blueprint for a warship that was clearly unconventional.
A non-standard warship with superhuman firepower, extremely high speed, and a moderate defense system!!
Its superhuman firepower came from the new “Hellfire” multi-layer pulse magic cannon—a weapon that hadn’t existed before. It utilized the principle of hybrid weapons, compressing the energy from magic crystals through high-frequency oscillation before releasing it in an instant to propel ammunition, turning it into a high-temperature, high-pressure, high-impact metal jet. Its destructive power against warship armor was astonishing—capable of penetrating over a meter of homogeneous alloy armor in just one-third of a second.
However, since this weapon required breaking ammunition into jets, aside from its incredible penetration power, its other parameters were quite poor. It had a limited range of ammunition, significant loss of kinetic energy after penetrating armor, and insufficient sustained power. Yet, all these flaws were overshadowed by its last parameter.
“120 rounds per minute!?” Seeing that number, Black Hair was stunned.
120 rounds per minute—considered trash for firearms, but for a ship cannon… Damn! Is this a machine gun?! And most importantly, this weapon was compact and consumed little energy!
What did this mean? It meant that even the worst-class Sardine-class warships, often used by the Blood Wolf Pirates, could be equipped with nearly a hundred such weapon systems!!

There was no need for explanation at all. Upon thinking of this, Kurokami immediately agreed to the production of this weapon system and even rewarded the Black Prison Organization handsomely. Only then did he turn his attention to the next parameter—speed!
He remembered the description at the beginning: this warship boasted extremely high speed. So Kurokami wasn’t worried at all. Yet when he saw it with his own eyes, he still couldn’t help but feel a chill.
Thirty-six engine nozzles, multi-channel synchronous propulsion, a high-pressure chamber integrated energy system—these terms flashed before his eyes one after another, until finally, he saw a single figure: 210,341,123 meters per second!?
Near the speed of light?
Swallowing hard, Kurokami suddenly felt his mouth dry.
Although he understood that this was just a theoretical value and the actual speed would be much lower, seeing it in person still imposed a sense of pressure—a heavy, oppressive pressure.
Undoubtedly, this figure had reached the limit of current warship technology. In fact, no aircraft had ever been able to reach such speeds, not even his own Ryūfū.
After all, in the material world, the speed of light was an insurmountable barrier that could never be surpassed. Theoretically, any object that reached the speed of light would immediately enter anti-space. Contradictory, right? But that was the truth. So, reaching near-light speed was already a miracle in itself.
If this new warship could truly reach such speeds, even if only for a short time, it could be said without exaggeration that it was the fastest in the universe! As long as it was in normal space, no matter what, nothing could surpass it!
“This…” Closing his eyes, he slowly regulated his breathing. Then Kurokami pointed at the data.
“Is it possible?”
“Absolutely possible!!” The old man sitting across from him nodded firmly, his face showing excitement.
“This is the result of our research during our time in Black Prison. Lord Kurokami, actually, reaching such speeds isn’t difficult. The real challenge lies in maintaining the stability of the warship. At such speeds, even the slightest deviation could cause an unimaginable disaster for the warship itself. And none of the materials currently used in warship construction can meet the requirements!”
“Then what’s the material of this warship?” Kurokami asked urgently, puzzled.
“It’s not metal—it’s stone!!” The old man also seemed nervous. He wiped the sweat from his face with a handkerchief before continuing.

“You may not be aware of this, Lord Blackhair, but recently, a new type of material has appeared in the trading market on Death Star—more precisely, a substance that lies between metal and stone. We analyzed it and came to a surprising conclusion: this material is perfect for building warships. Its stability, pressure resistance, sealing properties, and toughness are all hundreds of times better than those of current alloys! If we use it to build warships, I guarantee all parameters will be met!”

“How abundant is its supply?” Lord Blackhair asked immediately, his eyes lighting up.

“Unfortunately, that’s exactly the problem. Lord Blackhair, the reserves of this material are very limited. Even though I’ve sent people to acquire it, the stock available is only enough to build five warships. As you know, this doesn’t solve the issue at all,” the old man said, shaking his head dejectedly.

Indeed, the design of such a warship requires years of technological advancement and is the result of the efforts of everyone in the Black Prison. Yet, due to material constraints, it can’t be widely produced—truly a tormenting situation.

“However… Lord Blackhair, please forgive me for breaking your ban. I investigated the origin of these materials,” the old man said, rubbing his hands as sweat appeared on his forehead.

“The results were surprising. We discovered that this ore comes from an alien race within our own 31st Star Region. They live near the core of the region, and there are as many as fifteen planets known to produce this ore. With all due respect, if you’re willing to send a fleet to conquer these aliens, we won’t have to worry about materials anymore.”

“That’s impossible!” Lord Blackhair refused outright without hesitation.

“Trade with the aliens in the 31st Star Region is under the strictest protection—it’s the rule of Death Star. Even I can’t break this rule! Conquering an alien race might be simple, but the consequences would be beyond what either of us can bear.” After a pause, Lord Blackhair pondered for a moment before raising his eyebrows suddenly.

“What race is it?”

“The Slik Beast race,” the old man replied immediately.

Hearing this name, Lord Blackhair felt relieved. He remembered seeing this name among the mountain of residency applications on his desk. That made things much easier.

So, only one final key element remains… the warship’s defense system.

Glancing briefly at the information on the blueprint, Lord Blackhair stopped what he was doing, his brows furrowed deeply.

Well, this is a very unusual system. Compared to current warship defense systems, this one is practically monstrous.

It reduces the protection of solid armor by over 70%, enhances energy-reactive armor, expands the field, and adds three layers of energy shields. This system, named “Force Shield,” actually operates entirely on energy. What surprised Black Hair even more was the additional auxiliary system mentioned at the end.
Active defense and ballistic interception systems!?
“TMD?”
Noticing Black Hair’s expression, the old man across from him felt embarrassed.
In fact, he himself was the one in charge of this system. Without the mechanical expertise of Li Feng, they simply couldn’t create such a formidable defense system. So they had to take a shortcut—this defense system was developed for that very reason. The extensive use of energy shields was intended to reduce weight while maintaining high speed. However, its weaknesses were also quite obvious.
Against energy weapons, this system’s defensive capabilities even surpassed those of Li Feng’s. But against the impact of solid projectiles, its effectiveness dropped significantly. It could be said to be a highly extreme design—in a sense, it was hardly any different from suicide.
Yet, Black Hair loved it!!
“Amazing! This is exactly the warship I want!” With a laugh, Black Hair stood up and shook the blueprint in his hand.
“High speed, heavy firepower, and almost absolute defense against energy weapons. Good, very good. Tell me, what’s the production speed for such warships?”
“If there are seven thousand assembly lines… thirty ships…” The old man was stunned, almost unable to speak.
There was nothing more exciting than having his design recognized. He had thought Black Hair might reject it due to the final defense system, but not expecting this outcome. A burning sensation surged through his chest, as if he had taken a sip of aged liquor!
What he didn’t know was that when Black Hair saw this system, he thought of the Moors… Weren’t the Moors’ warships built around energy weapons?
“Very good!! But it’s not enough. I’ll have Koko provide you with ten thousand assembly lines. I’ll also help solve the material issues. In three months, I want to see 200 warships launched—no matter what the cost!”
“As… as you wish!” The old man was utterly stunned by Black Hair’s ambition and didn’t know what to say.

“Also, you need to keep developing. This time, the goal is a fortress—a movable fortress. I don’t care how much material, funds, or manpower you need. But this fortress must be able to withstand the attacks of the fierce winds. For this, I can promise you that as long as the fortress is perfectly designed, I will designate one of the five new planets we’ve acquired specifically for Black Prison as your new home!!”
“Bang!!” The old man fainted on the spot.