286 Ship Building II (2/2)

A shed with walls was put up along the Turtle River of Agoria. The river was located near the Agoria castle and ran through the kingdom to the outerlands. Normally the river would run with a terrifying force and speed as the locals avoided putting their legs into the river unless they wished fast traveling to death. However, now the terrifying river seemed unmoving as the cold slowly froze the water.

In order to facilitate the launching of the ships, Lia chose the shipbuilding site as close as possible to the river bank.

”Lady Lia, come inside, you'll catch cold if you stand outside”

Lia turned her head to see a black armored girl asking her to come inside the temporary shed they made to build ships before building an actual shipyard.

”Yes”

She nodded as she followed the girl inside and brushed away the snow on her head. Sheds could keep out the wind and snow. At the same time, two pots of charcoal were put in the room to avoid the impact that low-temperature had on the hardening effect of the Celenium.

When Ken came carrying a bag of white powder, she first thought that it was flour.

But he mixed the white powder with seawater and heated the mixture in high heat. That was when she saw the Celenium, a white goo like substance that would become extremely strong, durable, and light when cooled off.

With the help of Stodemar and the dwarves, Lia created the cast of the hull. The arched bow would reduce the forward resistance, and the square stern would increase the loading area to accommodate cannons and sailors. In the center, they set up two masts. The masts were inserted into the bottom of the ship and connected to the metal beams passing through the centerline of the ship. At the stern, they set up a stake reserved for the rudder. The lower decks had enough space to put thirty to forty beds for the sailors and had a separate room for the captain which interior was designed by Amber.

Once the cast and Celenium were ready, Lia ordered the workers to start the pouring operation.

They poured the bubbling hot white goo into a cast. The middle of the cast was hollow, and the walls were delicately curved, forming the cabin walls. At first sight, it looked like a strange floating house.

Everyone involved in the construction, including Lia, had never thought that this strange thing made out of a new type of substance would become a ship. Lia stared at the casting process without batting an eye and prayed for the success of her project.

If this was regular shipbuilding, she wouldn't have felt the pressure as that would have been like a walk in the park for her but this was the first time she built an ancient ship out of the book of ark. She had zero experience and never worked with Celenium or the casting method ever before.

”Lady Lia, please be calm”

The girl who asked her to come inside came to her side and consoled her while she was biting her nails in tension.

”You think it will float?”

Lia asked while still looking at the casting process.

”It is a strange-looking ship and I've never heard of a ship that wasn't built using wood but I've seen many miracles happen in Everlight, Lady Lia, this will be another one”

Considering the girl was wearing the helmet to cover her face, Lia couldn't see her expression, yet she could tell the girl was speaking sincerely.

”Lady Lia, how long will it take the white goo to cool down?”

After staring at the casting process for a few more hours, the girl asked.

”Four days”

**********************

Four days after they placed the ship in the casting room, the day to launch the vessel finally arrived. She wished Knight was here to see this, but he was busy planning the security for the coronation ceremony. She was grateful for Lady Reghys who came here to melt the frozen river so they could test sail the boat.

All the workers were left stunned when Lia ordered them to put the boat made of a strange substance that had taken them a lot of work into the water, making everyone wonder whether they had misheard him. Even the dwarves looked bewildered under their helmets.

However, that was indeed Lia's order.

She had people temporarily dismantle the shed and had them dug a slope below the boat, leading into the river. This part had to be handled with great caution because even though the cooled off Celenium was strong, she didn't want to take any chances as even a small hole could sink the entire boat.

The ship was placed on top of metal bars and ropes would control the speed at which it slid. When everything was prepared, the workers let the wrist-thick rope slowly slide through their hands, making sure that it would always point in a straight line. While the workers were shouting their slogan in sync, the vessel slowly slid over the logs, creating an intense sound of friction.