Chapter 219 - New Business (2/2)
Viscount Andrew had been able to maintain his calm and graceful style until the final stop of the journey. Even when he saw the magic crystal lamps that could be seen throughout the territory, the straight and even paths, the “factories” at the border of the city that were emitting strange sounds, or the residents who were still busy working even in winter, he had tried his best to not be overly surprised. These things might have exceeded his expectations, but they didn’t exceed his imagination. He was surprised the fallen Cecil Clan that had to survive by selling their noble status back then was actually able to create such a territory in such a short period of time. However, he was still able to give himself a logical explanation for everything he had seen. He had associated everything with “Gawain Cecil digging up the wealth that he had buried back then and using the money to push the development of this place”. By doing so, everything was understandable.
Until he saw something he couldn’t understand, couldn’t explain, and could never have imagined.
“What… what is that thing?!”
In front of Viscount Andrew, there was a giant machine that was using an astounding power to turn the capstan and haul out several heavy carts of ores that would probably have needed dozens of slave workers to push out from the depths of the mine. That machine was emitting a deep sound that was like the roar from a giant, and the massive disk structure was constantly being turned in an unprecedented manner. Each component was seemingly forged with steel, but these lifeless things were constantly moving emotionlessly, tirelessly, and with inexhaustible power while revealing an indescribable dignity that could only come from steel-made products.
After staring blankly for a few seconds, Viscount Andrew finally saw a sparkling magic radiance at the core of the machine. His ability to speak had finally recovered a little. “Is this… magical equipment? The combination of some magical mechanism and machinery?”
“It can be understood like that.” Gawain smiled and said, “This is the thing that I want to sell you, but it is only one of the things. Continue further inside, and you will see even more machines. In Cecil territory, half of the mine’s heavy labor was completed by these machines.”
Viscount Andrew was even more astonished as he continued to see more. He understood mining and was familiar with their tools. However, he never expected that the “mining equipment” mentioned by Gawain would actually be these… giant creatures of steel. As he looked at these massive machines, he quickly noticed that these seemingly crude machines actually had unbelievable intricacy. The components were all connected seamlessly; the connecting parts were assembled with precision, and there were those rapidly switching magic circles that were unmanned… How were these monsters created?!
“This is… the ancient Gondor Empire’s magic technology?!” Finally, Viscount Andrew believed he had found a logical explanation before he slowly turned his head to ask Gawain.
“This is technology that was designed together by me and the technical specialists in my territory. Of course, if you feel that because I am a surviving member of the ancient Gondor Empire, then the technology I possess could be considered Gondor technology… It is also fine to think of it that way.” Gawain used a vague explanation intentionally to barely get by. After seeing Viscount Andrew’s reaction, he asked, “How about it? Are you interested in this ‘magical mining equipment’?”
“As long as you are willing to sell them!” Viscount Andrew widened his eyes.
“I believe you can also see that the details and difficulty of producing these machines are frightening. It isn’t cheap to produce a machine. Therefore, the selling price is naturally going to be expensive. Depending on the scale and manufacturing difficulty, the cost should be between a few hundred to a few thousand Cecil coins. Furthermore, the manufacturing of these machines obviously requires the participation of Beyonders. The worker cost… Well, you can imagine,” Gawain spoke unhurriedly, but Viscount Andrew’s smile gradually disappeared. Gawain then suddenly changed his tone. “Of course, I will set the price like this when selling to others. But if I am selling it to my neighbor, I will only need the material cost. If you have difficulties, I can even accept ores as payment.”
Viscount Andrew felt extremely moved.
These machines weren’t cheap, and he knew it clearly. However, he also knew that these machines would be equivalent to the energy from numerous people!
A single hauling machine would be equivalent to dozens or a hundred slave workers. Half a day’s work from a single crusher machine would be enough to leave all the slave workers jobless! It would be natural to spend a huge sum of money to purchase these machines, but he would be able to get back the costs of the machines very quickly. Furthermore, after recovering the costs, Tanzan Town or even the entire Leslie territory would welcome the unprecedentedly high revenue!
Furthermore, the magic portions of these machines didn’t seem too complicated. After getting back the costs, he might be able to recruit a group of rune craftsmen and magic circle experts to research how these machines worked…
Right at this moment, Gawain’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “That’s right. Viscount Andrew, I have something else to bring to your notice. You should have realized that these machines are operating by themselves. There isn’t any Mage to provide energy to these machines…”
“Mm… I am indeed curious about this matter.” Viscount Andrew rubbed his chin and said, “I don’t see any Mage controlling the machines, nor do I see anyone supplying energy to them… Could there be large-capacity magic-storage crystals inside?”
“They still require the complementing ‘magic web’ technology. Regarding this technology, I need to have a good discussion with you…”