The Lord Demon King is Unfathomable!

Chapter 982 - 303: It Seems We Must Meet the Mysterious Prince

Hammerdon had been smoking for a long time, then suddenly put down his pipe, staring sharply into his eyes and spoke.

"The technology of the steam engine... could it have been leaked to them by Prince Colin?"

Derek hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said.

"I don't know about that, but judging from the level of engineers sent by the Gutaf United Kingdom, even engineers who graduated from our Royal Navy Academy consider themselves inferior. I think Mr. Roxey Colin couldn't have graduated from the Royal Navy Academy."

This indeed...

It seems that the ancestor of that Prince of the Empire was also an unfortunate fellow washed ashore. Otherwise, after so many years, no news from this Gana Continent would still have flowed out across the Vast Ocean.

According to the chief Spellcaster of the Saint Yil Castle Mage Group, the recent great storm probably destroyed a Barrier over the Vast Ocean, causing the concealment methods of the Gana Continent to fail.

As for why there's a Barrier isolating the entire continent there, and what's being hidden under it... can only be left to the Imperial Adventurers to investigate.

They are the best at this.

Hammerdon's brow slightly relaxed but then furrowed again.

After all, if the technology of the steam engine didn't flow into the Gutaf Kingdom from Prince Colin, it would mean the locals, relying on their wisdom, developed maritime power tools not inferior to — or even superior to — the Empire!

Luckily, they are not interested in navigation.

Otherwise, who knows what kind of terrifying monster this storm would have unleashed...

"How many locals are there? What's the productivity situation? What kind of clothes do they wear? What kind of transportation do they use? Carriages? Or hand-pulled carts?" Hammerdon's mind spun quickly, rapidly questioning Derek.

Derek was a bit caught off guard, as he hadn't stayed there for too long, he could only shake his head and cautiously replied.

"I stayed locally for too short a time and still do not understand the specific situation of the Gutaf Kingdom. But given the Lizardman's reproduction rate, as long as there's no shortage of grain, their footprints could very likely have already spread across the whole Gana Continent... As for technological capability, I think one can refer to the various vassal states of the Empire, like the Laine Kingdom which is adept in steam power technology."

Under the Laine Kingdom, the Campbell Duchy is the largest shipbuilding base on the northeast coast of the Vortex Sea for the Empire, second only to the Holy City's Royal Shipyard in scale, and may even be slightly ahead in technology, after all, that seems to be the birthplace of the steam engine.

Hammerdon continued to inquire.

"And what about Withered Wood Port?"

Derek quickly replied.

"I heard there are one or two thousand people... but I only saw about a hundred."

Hammerdon frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Derek continued.

"I heard the locals say that Ticky withdrew his servants to the shelter in the nearby hills, and those building the port on the beach seem to be people who have recently washed up on the shore."

Withdrew to the mountains?

Hammerdon's gaze flickered slightly.

"It seems they have a good relationship with the local Lizardmen?"

Derek shrugged lightly.

"I think this is quite normal, if they fell out with each other... given their isolated situation, they'd probably already be the dish on the opposite side's table."

That's indeed the truth.

With the physical capability of the Lizardmen on the opposite side to easily jump onto the deck, if there wasn't any technological gap, the entire colony could be wiped out in a moment.

That Roxey Colin may be a Prince of the Empire and not weak, but in the end, he's just one person and can't turn the whole battlefield around.

He isn't a professional Army entrant, but common sense he has—relying on a group of civilians washed ashore to resist an entire Kingdom is impractical.

Moreover, wasn't the Dragon God quite formidable during the First Epoch?

Just don't know why it suddenly disappeared.

Looking at Captain Derek standing in front of the oak table, Hammerdon sank back into thought, lightly tapping his finger on the table.

A closed Kingdom with a large population, possessing steam power technology not inferior to the Empire, the accomplishments in the Transcendent Domain unknown, but presumably not too weak...

Those are the people of Gutaf, after all.

To this day, there are still a great number of Adventurers on the Aus Continent practicing the "qi" technique left behind there.

Thinking of this, Hammerdon's heart suddenly stirred slightly.

If this Gutaf Kingdom really is this powerful.

Perhaps—

They might resolve the supply shortage issue Saint Yil Castle faces, who knows!?

As he thought of this, his thoughts instantly broadened, his gaze quickly shifted to the strategic map spread out on the table, his eyes gradually brightening.

Cooperating with heretics certainly feels unsettling, but from a realistic perspective, it's still better than mixing with the white gloves raised by the Nobles of the Holy City.

At least he and that Prince Colin have no conflicting interests, and the latter doesn't have enough capability to force him to compromise on issues of principle.

Plus, he can use this opportunity to probe the reality of the Gutaf United Kingdom!

Hammerdon swiftly raised his head, looked at Derek and asked.

"How far is it from here to there?"

Derek paused for a slight moment, then immediately responded.

"At a fast speed, it takes a week, at a slow pace, two weeks will be enough!"

Hammerdon's heart overjoyed.

From the Empire's homeland to Saint Yil Castle still takes four to eight weeks!

The time saved on this shipment is even enough for him to conveniently help build a transit supply port at that Withered Wood Port!

If they could resolve part of the supplies from the Gana Continent, they will be able to allocate the saved shipping capacity to the transport of crucial supplies.

Saint Sis doesn't prohibit followers from eating the food of heretics.

Moreover—

He actually doesn't necessarily need to have too much contact with the heretics on the Gana Continent, he can completely use that Roxey Colin as an intermediary, thus his supplies are purchased from the Empire's colony, even if it's that side of the Holy City, they won't have anything to say!

This matter may not necessarily succeed, but as long as there's hope, it's worth a try!

Without taking too long, Hammerdon made a decision, pushed away the oak chair, stood up, and said decisively.

"It seems we need to have a meeting with the mysterious Prince!"