Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 377 The Three-Tier Shipbuilding Method, Re-establishment of the Pacification Commissioner's Office

These red medicine infected bodies, still in their primitive stage, did not cause Wang Cheng and his team much trouble.

After all, the dosage of the immortal elixir was clearly insufficient, far less effective than the Five Organs Returning to Truth Pill, and it couldn't even produce a mid-grade third-level Corpse Guardian.

Even if these experimental subjects die and rise again, they are nothing more than a group of moving corpses.

It only takes a little effort to kill them again.

"The root of the mutation is the elixir of immortality, not some kind of self-replicating, constantly spreading virus. At least we don't have to worry about it spreading from one person to ten, from ten to a hundred, and eventually being besieged by zombies."

Well, I can only say that it doesn't have the ability to infect at the moment.

If we let that alchemist Leon, who has risen to a higher sequence, continue his research, who knows what dangerous things this mad scientist might end up creating?

Moreover, no one can guarantee that he did not transmit his research findings back to his home country.

Once the information about the red liquid and various red liquid-infected organisms is leaked, Pandora's box will be opened, and Southeast Asia will enter a period of great turmoil.

But there's some good news for me.

Wang Cheng's main body has already led the main force to the top of Manila's city walls.

He touched the [White Bone Buddha Shrine] and [Blood Pagoda] that had been returned to him, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face:

"The bones and flesh that have been strengthened by the red medicine are of much better quality than those of ordinary people."

I suspect that if the main materials for the White Bone Tower Ship and the Blood River Floating Pagoda Ship were made from the 'human resources' of those immortal scum or martial arts immortals, the final product would definitely far exceed expectations.

And this brand-new construction method for the legendary warship was also a pleasant surprise.

After putting away the two core components of the Heavenly Crafted Treasure Ship, he took out a manuscript from an alchemical box disguised as a jewelry box that the Governor's wife always carried with her.

This document detailing the construction of the legendary warship was also written in a special coded language, making it difficult for ordinary people to decipher.

But it wasn't a big problem for Wang Cheng.

The original manuscript, written by the high-ranking alchemist Leon, itself carries the insights and emotions of a heroic spirit, which are richer in information than the words themselves.

He only needs to activate the "Listening to Thunder" and "Rare Goods for Sale" abilities, which allow him to hear the voices of all things, and spend a little more time to decipher them.

In the short time it held the technology in his hand, Wang Cheng read the introduction to the technology.

Although he had labeled Leon a "madman," he had to admit that he was a "genius."

"To explore a different path beyond the Heavenly Treasure Ship and the Legendary Warship, and propose a third route—building a living Legendary Warship? That's interesting."

Currently, the two mainstream technologies on the high seas, the Treasure Ship and the Legendary Warship, both focus on "turning death into life," breaking the boundary between life and death to create miracles.

Only then can a bunch of dead things be given the birth of ship spirits, gaining combat power far exceeding that of ordinary living ghosts and gods.

However, there are also differences between the two technical approaches.

The [Heavenly Treasure Ship] mainly relies on the long-standing secret techniques of heavenly craftsmanship, using various functional modules such as Universal Soil, Thunder and Fire Pivot, Lu Ban Pillar, Five Metals and Jade Shrine, and refining techniques to form a complete treasure ship system.

It's as if they're "dirtying" the ship's hull, treating it as sacred; that's how the Mirage Cloud Dragon Ship and Wang Xiaoqi came to be.

It is the most difficult to build, the materials are hard to collect, and the cost is high, belonging to the "technology-driven type".

The Legendary Warships mainly rely on the Church's level 0 relics that inherently possess the characteristic of being alive.

Compared to the Heavenly Treasure Ship, it is much simpler, focusing on the unique capabilities of the legendary warship. It does not have as many functional modules. Its main structure is the [Tree of Life], which integrates the two into one, and is used to replace the Universal Land.

The extraordinary vitality of a level 0 artifact is the same as that of a legendary warship; it can be used directly upon acquisition.

The construction difficulty is secondary, but the requirement for the activity of level zero artifacts is relatively high. Almost only church treasures born from fanatical faith can meet the requirements. The ship hull can be more flexible.

This falls under the category of "grafting".

The Alchemist Leon proposed a third approach.

He possessed neither the secret craftsmanship of the Celestial Ship, which allowed him to build ships from ordinary materials, nor the extraordinary vitality of the Church's Level Zero Relics. Therefore, if he wanted to break through the boundary between life and death, he had to find another way.

—Select those near-legendary warships that already possess extremely high legendary status, and then fuse them with compatible non-church level zero relics or national treasures.

There is a high probability that it will undergo a final transformation and become a living legend!
This was Leon's main research topic in the first half of his life: to make full use of the various powerful relics he had looted from all over the world to expand the legendary warships and even create a legendary fleet.

If he hadn't accidentally discovered the "red potion" that could lead to immortality in Southeast Asia, he would more likely have used this new invention to advance to a higher rank.

"The key to Leon's technical approach is to achieve compatibility between the two treasures. It is not limited to the Church's active Level 0 relics, nor does it require the complex structure of the Celestial Ship."

While its versatility far surpasses these two, it also has drawbacks such as lower landing flexibility, a high reliance on luck, and excessive uncertainty.

It is a technical route that may have a very high upper limit, but also a very low lower limit.

You could call him a "complementary type" who leverages strengths to compensate for weaknesses.

Wang Cheng weighed the advantages and disadvantages of the three shipbuilding routes: upper, middle, and lower.

They discovered that although they mainly pursued the first type of "technology-driven" treasure ship, the third type of "leveraging strengths and compensating for weaknesses" was also a viable option.

After all, he possesses more than one highly legendary warship:
"The flagship of the Global Fleet, the USS Trinidad, is already a national treasure, renowned worldwide, and needs no further explanation."
The first domestically built warship, the Danyang, has great potential and a promising future.

There's also the "Five Peaks Banner," which once belonged to Prince Jing, Wang Zeng, the strongest water official in the East. To this day, no water collector has been able to break his record and be promoted to the second rank.

This ship followed Old Wang from humble beginnings until he ascended to the throne of the King of the East Sea. He accumulated a vast amount of incense and prayer power, almost equivalent to the throne of the King of the East Sea.

According to the joint promotion ceremony performed by Wang Fugui (Bai Shuilang) and Wang Cheng (Chaofenglang), this ship can almost be regarded as a treasure for achieving enlightenment in the water class. Whoever obtains it can get ahead of others.

These three ships all have great potential to pursue a third technological route, transforming their potential into combat power. Moreover, there is no doubt that once this technology spreads, many more legendary warships will spring up like mushrooms after rain on the high seas.

Wang Cheng pondered:

"Even in the East China Sea, I have heard of many famous captains and pirate ships from Western countries."

Captain Van der Deikun and his warship, the Flying Netherland, were famous for their incredible speed on the East Bharata route from the Netherlands to Java.

Many sailors suspected that he was in league with the devil to achieve such incredible speed, and the ship was hailed as the fastest ship at sea.
Captain Edward Teach, the Britannian pirate Blackbeard, and his flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, were infamous in the Caribbean Sea, reportedly laden with treasure plundered from their victims.

And as Elizabeth mentioned to me some time ago, the first letter of marque issued by the Hawkins, Drake brothers, and their ship, the Golden Hind, made them pioneers of the transcontinental triangular trade.
In my opinion, many civilian warships have the potential to become legendary, provided they can find the right relics!

Wang Cheng recounted the famous warships he knew, feeling fortunate to have caught up with this magnificent age of exploration and become a trendsetter of the new era, just like many other maritime heroes.

If we remain complacent and stay in the safe haven of the East China Sea, we might unknowingly fall far behind others.

Wang Cheng immediately handed the manuscript over to the bookworm expert for deciphering. Even if he used up all the technology himself, he could still package it into a financial product and sell it for a good price.

Immediately, he took a dragon flag representing the Great Zhao Dynasty from Yu Zigao, leaped onto the highest point of the remaining city wall, and activated the "Unity of Man and Nature" technique to drive the wooden flagpole into the hard rock.

Amplified by the "armchair strategist" ability, the sound echoed for miles around.
"This official, Wang Fugui, Imperial Envoy and Commander-in-Chief of the Great Zhao Dynasty, hereby announces:"

From this day forward, there will be no more Frankish Manila colonies here, only our Great Zhao's Manila Pacification Commission!

The officials and generals of the Great Zhao Dynasty, along with the company's private army, cheered and raised their arms in celebration.

"Roar!"

"Wan Sheng! Wan Sheng!"

Everyone knows that Manila is a place with auspicious feng shui.

Manila Bay, outside the city, is a giant natural harbor surrounded by land, which can effectively protect against typhoons and attacks from the sea.

It provided an excellent anchorage and naval base for garrisoned troops and merchant ships, making it perfectly suited as the first springboard for the Great Zhao's conquest of Southeast Asia.

The Pasig River flows through the city, providing convenient inland transportation and freshwater resources, greatly reducing transportation costs, and dividing the city into north and south parts, forming a natural defensive and organizational structure.

Unless facing overwhelming military power like we do today, it won't be so easy to fall.

Moreover, the Central Plains where Manila is located is the most fertile agricultural area on Luzon Island, capable of producing large quantities of food to supply the local residents and fleet, thus avoiding the need to lengthen supply lines.

According to statistics, the total rice production in the Central Plains region exceeds one-third of the total rice production of Luzon Island.

Moreover, Luzon Island is located in the Circum-Mainland Volcanic Belt, and has a wide variety of mineral resources with large reserves, especially gold and copper reserves, which rank third and fourth in the world, respectively.

Add to that the crucial trade "port," and it becomes a veritable treasure trove, raking in money every day.

All of this means that for the fleet members, it means the opportunity to cross the social class and turn their lives around!

Looking at this completely blank, virgin land waiting for them to develop, everyone's breathing gradually became heavy.

By this time, the smoke and dust in Manila had dissipated.

The two living ghosts, Wu Cheng'en and Cassandra, who had just defeated a cardinal in red robes, flew out and landed behind Wang Cheng, standing like door gods on the left and right.

Before the war, no one in the treasure ship fleet knew that, in addition to Vice Envoy Jiang, there was also a living ghost of the third rank in their fleet.

When that second-rank [Radiant Priest] descended, many people were on the verge of despair.

As the situation took many twists and turns and ended in a great victory, everyone not only looked at the two living ghosts and gods with awe, but also marveled at Wang Cheng, the Xuanwei Envoy.

Many people have already recognized that the monkey is none other than Wu Cheng'en, the novelist who recently caused a great stir with his book "Journey to the West: The Tale of the Monkey King".

I never expected that Lord Wang would have such a deep relationship with this newly ascended living ghost, and that he would travel a long way to invite him to help.

The other person, who is of the upper third rank, has already been seen by everyone.

Everyone knew that Cassandra was Lord Wang's teacher's wife, but no one knew that she was so secretive. Naturally, no one realized that she was the "assassin" who had just killed Jiang Jichun.

It should be noted that the Mountain and Sea Society is now only supported by Old Master Diao, a living ghost god, and yet two of them have come here at once.

Many of the more cunning members of the group were secretly plotting:
"After the death of the strongest water collector, Prince Jing, two rising stars emerged in the water service: Prince Jinghai, Wang Cheng, and the Xuanwei Envoy, Wang Fugui."

It should be noted that Luzon Island is three times the size of Kowloon Island and is much more prosperous.

If we can sweep across the entire island with the Manila Pacification Commission as the center, it will be more than enough to not only secure the position of Governor-General of the South Seas, but also to become a king overseas!

The core members of the Wufeng Banner all benefited from the success of the founding of the dynasty. We are also part of Lord Wang's core team. If we were to...

They initially thought that the two envoys were at odds and lacked high-end combat power on land, so even if they conquered territory, they probably wouldn't be able to hold it.

But suddenly, a glimmer of hope appeared.

If they weren't sweating profusely in this tropical city, they would have at least shouted:
"Sir, it's getting cold, please put on another layer of clothing."

Wang Cheng was unaware that a group of people were secretly plotting to ruin him.

He was about to order his soldiers to collect the spoils of war in the city, fulfilling his promise to divide the spoils as he had made before his departure: "A ruler's word is his bond."

Suddenly, a string of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms vibrated above my head, and a majestic voice rang in my ears:

"Rain Water, Rain Water, this is the Beginning of Autumn, please reply upon receipt!"

(End of this chapter)