Chapter 185. Equipment
"Animate ships?" The chilling form of 1002 flashed across Charle's mind. He had initially assumed that Elizabeth managed to find a way to get rid of that cursed being. However, Feuerbach's words made it seem like not only had Elizabeth avoided its ensnarement, but she even managed to take advantage of it.
"Have you seen any of those animated ships? How effective are they?" Charles questioned.
"I'm not sure. That female Governor is extremely secretive about this technology. We only managed to acquire snippets of intelligence from the pirates who've battled her. Because of this particular technology, many powers want to force an alliance with Elizarles Shores, but she turned all of them down."
Charles pondered briefly before he gestured to a waiter in the distance. Accepting the paper from the waiter, Charles whipped out his fountain pen and swiftly wrote a message in the subterranean language.
"Send this via telegram. Elizabeth will accept our alliance proposal," Charles said as he handed the paper to Feuerbach.
Apart from the alliance request, he had also inquired with his former lover about the details of initializing a ship. If there weren't major side effects, he was considering initializing the Narwhale. After all, it was also part of the crew.
The Deputy Admiral of Hope Island received the paper with a mischievous grin on his countenance. "I see that the rumors about the two of you are true after all. No wonder she searched everywhere for you when you went missing previously."
"What rumors?" Charles asked.
"They said she's your woman, and her current island is a gift from you. That's why she named it Elizarles Shores."
Charles didn't refute Feuerbach's words and raised his wine glass instead. "It's fine. Ignore those gossip and rumors. Prepare the exploration ships in the Navy fleet. I might need to use them soon."
"Cheers!" Feuerbach said as he clinked his glass against Charles'. "Your wish is my command, Governor."
They both tilted their heads back and down the contents of their glasses. Instantly, Charles' brows were furrowed together, and he set his glass down.
"What's this? I can't taste any alcohol. It tastes so bad," Charles remarked.
Feuerbach let out a hearty laughter, "The taste is secondary. To celebrate your return, they surely brought out the most expensive liquor on the island."
Charles left his glass on the balcony and turned toward the hall. "Honestly, I very much prefer tequila to this."
As the banquet came to an end, word quickly spread that Charles would be heading out to sea again.
Everyone was baffled. Why would Charles still venture into the waters even after becoming a Governor? What was this mysterious Governor that had disappeared for three years thinking?
Shouldn't he be enjoying a life of luxury and leisure after having reached his current post? Even if he was innately diligent, then shouldn't that energy be directed to developing the island and expanding his territory by conquering other habitable islands?
Why would he be thinking of exploring new islands?
Out of the hundreds of Governors in the Subterranean Seascape, Charles was the first to make such a movement.
Charles couldn’t care less about circulating rumors. He was focused on preparing for the upcoming expedition.
A mechanical prosthetic arm bearing the shades of industrial design was presented before Charles. He grasped it with his right hand, and with a determined gaze, he firmly anchored it into the socket of his left shoulder.
The numerous metallic prongs from the prosthetic limb spun rapidly and pierced into Charles' flesh. The chubby man by the side rushed forward and speedily imbued a soul into the connection.
The sound of gears clicking resonated in the room once more. Charles first flexed the fingers of his metallic hand before clenching them into a tight fist.
His left hand was back.
Putting on the clothes that Dipp handed him, Charles took out his relics from the past and re-examined them.
"Where did Bandages go?" Charles asked Dipp as he fiddled with the Tentacle Ring. "I haven't seen him around lately."
"The First Mate is recruiting explorers from the Explorers Association. He said that since we are going to set sail again, he believes it would be more economical to send those people out as cannon fodder to scout the routes first," Dipp answered.
Charles' hand paused before he nodded in agreement. He then arranged his own relics in the most convenient locations for easy access and turned to the chubby man who had fitted his prosthetic.
"Has Governor Elizabeth contacted you about sending anything?" Charles questioned.
The chubby man immediately straightened up. He was clearly aware of the significance of the man before him.
"I've reached out to our branch, but Governor Elizabeth said that they would need some time to prepare the initialization vessel. It will be sent in a few days."
Charles gave a nod before shifting his attention to another table adorned with an assortment of relics. He methodically scanned the diverse collection as he took in their varied sizes, forms, and colors.
All these relics were ones he had ordered his men to assemble at the quickest they could. As the Governor of an island, he had more than enough wealth to procure any relic he wanted.
They each had beneficial effects, but Charles couldn't possibly bring every single one of them with him. Moreover, their overlapping side effects would incapacitate him before he could even take three steps.
After rapidly assessing and comparing the benefits and drawbacks of each relic, Charles eventually settled on a translucent ring that could grant temporary invisibility and a revolver made from bones and flesh.
The ring of invisibility would undoubtedly be incredibly useful when exploring an island. Its only side effect is a simple itching all over the body, which is entirely bearable.
As for the flesh-revolver, it compensated for Charles' lack of long-range attacks. It fired bullets of the same material as teeth. According to its previous owner, the bullets could even deal damage to entities that were usually immune to physical attacks.
Most importantly, the flesh-revolver was near-silent whenever it was fired. In other words, Charles would never have to deal with that hassle of attracting unwanted attention from the echoing bang of a traditional gun.
Regarding the downside, the weapon had to be immersed in calcium-rich water for a minimum of ten hours each day. Failing to meet this requirement would result in the revolver gradually consuming the wielder's bones.
Charles found the drawback manageable.
The revolver’s frame was forged from bones and crafted with flesh, blood and fragmented tissues.
Charles picked the revolver up and started practicing his aim. It had been three years since he last wielded a gun, so his marksmanship had grown rusty.
Minutes, hours, and days ticked by. Charles had expected a considerable delay for the nautical charts. But after only four days, dozens of Divine Light Order disciples carried the statue of the Pope and arrived at his doorstep.
"The charts are ready?" Charles asked as he looked up to meet the gaze of the towering statue.
"Of course, my child," the Pope replied. "Here are the charts. It marks the islands that had once been occupied by the Foundation. I believe that the exit to the surface lies in one of them,"
The Pope gestured to the large chest in Hunn's arms.
"Why are you only providing me the charts? Shouldn't the other documents hold clues regarding the location of the surface's entrance a well?"
"Since He claims that such knowledge poses a great threat, who are we to question His wisdom and gaze upon it? Of course, we reduced them all to ashes," the Pope spoke with fervent conviction.
Charles wasn’t convinced. He was more inclined to believe that the Pope had thoroughly scrutinized the documents' content but was unable to find any useful information from them.
Standing next to Charles, Dipp approached Hunn to receive the chest of nautical charts, but the latter stopped him.
With a slight smile on his countenance, the Pope asked, "Hold on for a moment. Governor Charles, may I know how you plan to carry out your exploration?"
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