Release That Witch

Upon returning to Graycastle from North Slope Mountain, Roland invited City Hall Director Barov and Minister of Construction Karl to his office.

“I need the Administrative Office to start on a new metallurgy material supply plan as quickly as possible, and move the production from the center of North Slope Mountain to other locations—be it Longsong Stronghold or Redwater City, the only guarantee that I need is that the production cannot be inadequate. North Slope Mountain will no longer be mineable soon.”

The expressions of the two men changed. After glancing at each other, Karl lowered his head, while Barov spoke with much difficulty. “Your Majesty… has the situation in the north deteriorated that badly?”

“North?” Roland was startled for a moment before realizing that the two had assumed that a new powerful enemy had appeared at the Fertile Plains that not even the First Army could handle. Hence, to protect the city, they had to give up on North Slope Mountain. Amused and exasperated, Roland shook his head. “The army hasn’t degenerated to the point that we have to lie about our victory so as to appease the people. Furthermore, you are in charge of logistics, you should be able to grasp the general situation from the drop in medical supplies being supplied out. How can you ask such a question?”

Barov hurriedly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. “Hahaha… I thought Your Majesty was provisioning for bad times. In fact, I have been curious from the beginning, thinking which witch was the one who discovered news about the Sky-sea Realm that the Administrative Office hadn’t been informed in a timely fashion.”

“If that is the case, why are you giving up on the mines in North Slope Mountain?” Karl couldn’t help but ask.

“Because that mountain is about to fly soon.” Roland shrugged.

“…”

The two fell silent once again, but wearing weird expressions on their faces this time, as though questioning themselves if they had heard wrongly.

“You heard that right. It will fly soon and become a floating island.” Roland looked at the two with interest, and recounted everything about the ancient witch, Eleanor, as well as their gaining of control over the magic power core. “Remember the metal container that the Administrative Office transported from before? The central carrier for the Deity of Gods was contained inside. But due to the risks involved in transplanting it, we were unable to determine the outcome until the final moment; therefore, I didn’t inform all of you about the details. But now you can know that the project was successful, Neverwinter will soon have a floating island as part of its territory.”

Barov widened his eyes, momentarily at a loss for words. As for Karl, he trembled in excitement. He asked in a trembling voice, “Your Majesty, what you want is not just a giant rock, right?”

“That’s right.” Roland no longer kept them in suspense. “It will be a floating battleship, a stronghold that will never fall. It must be able to provide months, if not a year’s supply for large numbers of soldiers on an assault mission. It is both capable of taking the initiative to attack our enemies, and it naturally possesses defensive capabilities. How long do you think you need to transform North Slope Mountain into something like that?”

With his engineering background, he completely understood Karl’s excitement. Any ambitious architect hoped of having their own work placed in the most inconceivable of places. To be able to personally create the floating city was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“According to the scale of the project benchmarked against typical projects, it would require about four to five years, but I believe that Your Majesty cannot wait that long. Besides, a floating city cannot be considered an ordinary undertaking,” Karl immediately answered. “Considering its unique features, the Ministry of Construction can send a team of engineers to reside in the structure while it moves. If I didn’t misinterpret Your Majesty’s intentions, I believe you definitely wish for the Aerial Knights to be stationed permanently on it as well. So long as there is stop-over point on it for resupply, their attacking and defensive capabilities will far surpass that of cannons.”

It seemed like after building over ten runways, the Minister of Construction had formed a deeper understanding towards the air force. Roland smiled and nodded, “Continue.”

“The requirements for the Aerial Knights includes having a runway, storehouses, fuel oil and ammunition reserves. We already have feasible blueprints for them, and will take at most a week to be completed. Your Majesty—” Karl placed his hand across his chest. “The minimum we will need is a week. In a week, it will satisfy your most fundamental requirements; the rest can be broken into phases, to add on, perfect, and extend.”

“What about the materials for construction?” Barov asked. “Once the North Slope Mountain takes off, it will be difficult to transport them upwards.”

“Leave that to me to ponder.” When it came to professional queries, Karl always planned in advance. “North Slope Mountain’s mountainside has a sizable lake formed naturally from the spring water that comes from the mountain top. The engineering team can enclose it and form a natural water reservoir to supply water for daily use and construction.”

“Secondly, we can excavate the mountain to obtain limestone required for cement. I believe that Lady Eleanor wouldn’t mind having the floating island slightly lighter. Bricks, lumber—all of these—can be obtained on the spot, while materials such as steel should be prepared ahead of time. If Miss Hummingbird is willing to help, I think that we can load up a considerable amount of resources.

“Aside from that, the Third Border City’s Taquila witches can assist as well. As long as we make minor changes to the contiguous caves, they will form the best warehouses. With all of these things, even if we are unable to resupply the floating island in the short term, the project team can continue working for at least a year or two.” He turned to Barov. “Of course, if the furnace area and steel-making plants are preserved, this amount of time will undoubtedly extend.”

Roland could not help but to clap. The proposed plan was the most suitable method considering the time constraints—ensuring that the floating island possessed the basic fighting capabilities in the shortest time, and leaving the other constructions, like residential, functional buildings to the later for improvement.

“Barov, what do you think?”

“It means that aside from the First Army, we will need a large population living on it.” The old director stroked his beard. “I will have to think up a recruitment plan.”

Roland smiled in satisfaction; it appeared that the duo had grasped the crux of the plan.

The floating island meant going for a long and drawn out battle away from the mainland, and the living conditions in the early stages was incomparable to those in Neverwinter. As a result, be it the promotion or remuneration, the Administrative Office had to prepare adequately—only a group of zealous workers brimming with determination would complete the tasks efficiently.

In the past, it was Roland that personally took the lead for the planning. With Barov taking up the position, he obviously had a clear understanding of his governing principles.

“Go ahead as discussed.” Roland finally gave the go ahead.

…

“Welcome back, my lord.”

When Victor entered the office in Miracle Building, Tinkle immediately rushed forward and welcomed him just like back in the hotel.

The Rainbow Stone business was picking up, with many competitors appearing. To safeguard his supply, he had no other choice but to move between Everwinter and the Port of Clearwater. Although the operation was draining, he took pleasure in it. Compared to the uncertain jewelry business, he was far closer to his initial target than before—to become a successful businessman to support the family.

Just as Victor extended a hand out, Tinkle handed a copy of Graycastle Weekly to him.

This tacit understanding made him smile. Although the Port of Clearwater also had the weekly newspapers, there was always a two to three weeks delay. Towards a city like Neverwinter, two or three weeks was enough for great changes.

As expected, the large header on the front page immediately captured his attention.

“Heading for the skies—official announcement of the Heaven Plan.”