Chapter 411: The Heart
"Why, Grandmaster Baldor? Do you have any problem that I am not aware of?" Aengus asked, narrowing his eyes at the giant behind him.
Baldor flinched momentarily before regaining his composure.
"Ah, no, no, Your Highness. You may do as you wish. But don't you think it's an overstatement to claim you can build a Heaven-Class Battleship by yourself?"
Aengus didn't seem offended. Instead, he smiled and turned to Hog.
"Oh? Was that an overestimation of myself, Elder Hog?"
Hog shook his head firmly.
"No, My Emperor. I believe you to be both wise and brilliant."
Then, his gaze shifted to Baldor, his voice turning strict.
"Grandmaster, why don't you follow the Emperor's wishes? Whether he succeeds or fails is for him to decide."
Hog's expression hardened.
"And if you are worried about any losses—please don't be. Everything here belongs to His Majesty, after all. Even your very own little life."
Baldor's giant frame shook, trembling with fear.
Without hesitation, he knelt, the impact of his massive body creating a loud thud that echoed through the underground harbor.
"I—I... Please forgive me, Your Majesty!" he stammered. "This will not happen again. We will assist you in every way possible!"
The other craftsmen nearby were stunned.
The haughty and domineering Grandmaster, who never bowed to anyone, was now kneeling before two humans.
It was unheard of.
Since many of them had remained within the underground city for a long time, the lower-ranked workers and craftsmen were not fully aware of the outside events.
They knew a new Emperor had risen, but they had never seen his face.
Suddenly, a few among them whispered to those nearby, revealing the identities of the two individuals standing before them.
One was Protector Hog, a legendary figure.
And the other one…Was the newly ascended Emperor himself.
After hearing this, the craftsmen exchanged speechless glances, then instinctively bowed, even though the Emperor was not looking at them.
Grandmaster Baldor quickly regained his strict demeanor and announced loudly,
"Listen, men! This is Emperor Zytherion himself, gracing us with his presence! He has come with a grand goal—to build another Heaven-Class Battleship for our army. You must all assist in any way you can!"
The underground harbor erupted with murmurs of shock and excitement.
"What?! A Heaven-Class Battleship? Is the Grandmaster trying again?"
"Damn, it's been ages since the last attempt…Will we succeed this time?"
"But what will His Majesty do here if that's the case?"
"Maybe he's just here to spectate?" one craftsman guessed.
Their questions were answered soon enough when Aengus and his hundreds of clones immediately got to work.
With Manas' guidance, Aengus was not only equipped with the necessary knowledge but also received precise assistance. His Divine Eyes enhanced his perception, allowing him to work with a level of efficiency and intelligence that far surpassed even the most skilled craftsmen.
The craftsmen stood in stunned silence. Seeing hundreds of powerful clones moving in perfect synchronization was already astonishing, but what left them truly speechless was the realization that their Emperor possessed genuine expertise in battleship construction.
It was one thing to command an army or rule an empire—it was another entirely to have firsthand mastery over something as complex as Starship building.
Any lingering doubts they might have harbored—that Aengus was merely improvising or wasting time—were shattered the moment he began constructing the core of the Heaven-Class Battleship: the Heart.
Intricate formations of glowing runes and energy circuits took shape as he wove together advanced materials, each piece aligning with precision.
The Heart was the power source, the very essence of the ship, a fusion of Laws and technology that would determine its strength, resilience, and speed.
With every movement, Aengus worked as if he had built a thousand of these before, his hands steady, his mind sharp as he built the Mountain Sized heart.
The craftsmen exchanged uneasy glances. They had always believed themselves to be the best at their craft, yet now they stood as mere spectators before a ruler whose skill defied expectations.
Seeing the near completion of the Heart, Grandmaster Baldor couldn't contain his excitement. His heart pounded as he observed every intricate detail of the process.
In that moment, he realized he had been completely wrong. The Emperor wasn't just powerful—he was a true genius all along.
The challenges Baldor had faced in the past while attempting to construct the Heart—problems that had seemed insurmountable—were now being solved before his very eyes, little by little, as if the answers had always been there, just beyond his grasp.
Compelled by curiosity and admiration, he stepped closer, though not close enough to disturb the Emperor's work.
Time passed—Minutes, hours
The air buzzed with raw energy as the final structure of the Heart neared completion.
Aengus, unfazed by the overwhelming power radiating from it, continued shaping the divine construct with his own hands.
""Buzz, Buzzzz, BUZZZZZZ!"
With the final rune for energy flow inscribed, the Heart was completed. It hummed with power, sending out shockwaves of energy—even though it hadn't been activated yet.
"Success!"
Aengus put down the rune-maker like an experienced Runemaster, gazing at his creation with satisfaction. The Heart was finally ready—powerful enough to lift a Small World by itself. Though, thousands of Law Stones would be needed to fuel it each minute.
Despite the overwhelming aura it radiated, Aengus stood firm—like an immovable mountain.
The others with weak constitutions stumbled backward, kneeling on the ground as if the pressure was too much to handle for them. Hog and Baldor were the two exceptional figures other than him.
"Fabulous! Marvelous! Excellent!"
Baldor exclaimed, his big eyes shining with awe and admiration. He couldn't hide his fascination—the Emperor had accomplished something he himself had failed to do for ages.
Then, without hesitation, Baldor fell to one knee.
"Please, let me be your apprentice, My Emperor! I will be eternally grateful!"
Aengus gazed at him calmly, his expression unreadable.
"Sure… I will teach you. But I cannot be your master."
Baldor looked disappointed for a brief moment, but then nodded resolutely. Your next journey awaits at My Virtual Library Empire
"As you wish, My Emperor. I accept."
Hog, meanwhile, was grinning as visions of the future filled his mind.
"This is excellent news, My Emperor! With your guidance, our Empire might finally become the Holy Home of battleship creation!"
His aged eyes shone with hope and ambition as he continued excitedly:
"We could earn vast resources, develop our Empire into a powerhouse, rivaling even the Mechanical Empire and Celestial Empire in the future!"
Aengus smiled wryly at Hog's enthusiasm.
"Maybe…"