Novel Full Chapter 218 Adding Trouble?
The secret of Mana Runes, unless locked in a box and untouched, once used, even with extreme caution, can still be discovered by those who are intent on doing so. Lexington was one such individual, a shrewd man who accurately guessed that Rocky possessed technology from a lost era!
The only consolation was that he did not know the lost technology Rocky possessed was the extremely important Mana Rune, capable of changing the world. Plus, his excessive greed meant he was afraid of others in his family learning of this, which is what allowed Rocky to narrowly escape a life-and-death crisis. Otherwise, had Lexington personally intervened, Rocky and Thunderhawk City would have been destroyed by now.
Even so, Lexington still made ample preparations. He reached out to Wild Horse City and even the Sky Alliance, using his influence to interfere as much as possible with Rocky’s integration into the Alliance. More importantly, he had sent out his son, ready to stage a play where the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
And at this time, Rocky was completely unaware of it…
Rocky was now making his full effort to rush to Eternal City.
They say people have a Sixth Sense, a feeling that often transcends the other five senses and can preemptively sense certain things. Rocky now had such a premonition, feeling as though he had been cursed by the goddess of bad luck, surrounded by crises now and in the future. This sensation chilled him to the bone, making him restless and uneasy.
In such a state, he repeatedly pushed Thunderhawk City to accelerate, unwilling to settle even when they had reached the speed limit of Sky City. Had Orton not forcefully intervened, landing several hard punches on his head, Rocky’s reckless actions might have caused irreversible and severe damage to Thunderhawk City’s Super Crystal.
However, his excessive actions due to nervousness were clearly correct, for soon after, he received a communication from Berg, telling him that Wild Horse City was in pursuit!
On hearing this news, Rocky breathed a sigh of relief because by the time he received this message, Eternal City was already within reach!
That’s right, he had already arrived at Eternal City!
By leaving two full days ahead of Wild Horse City and maintaining Thunderhawk City’s maximum speed during the journey, they greatly shortened the travel time to Eternal City. Even though Karlo immediately gave chase after failing to find them, he was still too late.
Upon entering the airspace of Eternal City, Rocky’s anxious heart finally eased a bit. However, he did not rush to God City but instead gathered everyone in the city. After all, they might stay in Eternal City for several months, and some matters had to be properly arranged.
“Aileen, once we get to Eternal City, immediately get the details of the refuge from city officials, and calculate how long we can hold out here.”
“Understood.”
“Lord Jack, the second series of training classes is about to end. Arrange for the workers to start their jobs in the factories quickly. If we take refuge in Eternal City for a long time, the expenditures will undoubtedly surge, so the leather factory needs to start operating as soon as possible to alleviate some of the burden on the city.”
“Alright.”
“Monte, Lin Feng, and Felly, work hard to train the troops. Whether we join the Sky Alliance or not, a battle with Wild Horse City is inevitable, so be prepared. Also, pass the word to award the Guards who perform best in training with the fourth-generation Void Magic Armor; exemplary crew members in the Fleet will have a chance to be promoted to Captain of an Escort Ship.”
“Also, Felly, please tell Old Jack that if their crews are willing to stay in Thunderhawk City, they can continue to enjoy the same treatment as the Thunderhawk City crew.”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
Upon receiving Rocky’s series of orders, everyone immediately nodded, then dispersed to carry out their tasks.
After everyone had left, Rocky leaned back in the City Lord’s seat and let out a sigh, suddenly finding the position of City Lord uncomfortable no matter how he sat.
“We’re going to make it through this.”
As Rocky struggled to get comfortable in his seat, finding that no position seemed to ease the discomfort, Liliya patted him on the shoulder beside him, calming his restlessness.
“Let’s hope so…”
Grasping Liliya’s hand on his shoulder, Rocky suddenly realized it wasn’t that the seat was uncomfortable, but rather there was a problem with his own mindset.
And at that moment, the doors to the City Lord’s Hall were suddenly pushed open, and Orton walked in.
Orton’s abrupt entrance made Liliya hastily withdraw her small hand from Rocky’s shoulder, and Rocky also quickly stood up. Their expressions were like those of young lovers caught by parents for the first time.
Unfortunately, Orton didn’t pay any attention to what the two were doing before, or perhaps he chose to ignore it. In any case, he sauntered up to Rocky soon after.
“Kid, I need research funding.”
Read the latest on empire
Speaking directly, Orton said this as he approached Rocky.
“Oh… sure.”
Hearing this, Rocky was first taken aback, but then he nodded his head quickly.
Although Thunderhawk City was facing many crises and taking refuge in Eternal City required a large amount of money, Rocky had just completed two transactions in Lingyu City, and their combined earnings had already exceeded one million. So, it was feasible for him to take out tens of thousands of gold coins to fund Orton’s research.
So, after nodding his head, he asked, “Teacher, how much do you need?”
“One million gold coins, and the four sets of Void Magic Armor you captured.”
After Orton said these words, Rocky almost spat out a mouthful of blood! One million for research and four sets of fourth-generation Void Magic Armor?
It wasn’t just about money; it was as if he was asking for Rocky’s life!
From the two transactions he conducted in Lingyu City, Rocky had earned a total of one million and eighty thousand gold coins. Rounding up, let’s say he made one hundred and ten thousand gold coins. But as substantial as this amount was, it simply wasn’t enough to cover all expenses.
Rocky had to seek shelter in Eternal City to avoid retaliation from Wild Horse City. According to Berg, aside from the first month which Thunderhawk City could dock for free, protection fees must be paid to Eternal City each month thereafter for continued refuge.
Starting from the month they began paying, the first month’s protection fee was fifty thousand gold coins, then it doubled to one hundred thousand for the second month and doubled again to two hundred thousand for the third month. Each subsequent month, the fees would double.
In other words, the cost of taking refuge in Eternal City was potentially limitless, and Rocky’s million gold coins wouldn’t last long!
And that was just the money needed to pay fees. Aside from that, Rocky had to provide for over three thousand people living in the city, which also required hundreds of thousands of gold coins.
Furthermore, as he had mentioned earlier, whether or not he could successfully join the Sky Alliance, there was bound to be a big battle with Wild Horse City. Aside from the soldiers’ training, just the repairs on the fleet would take up a considerable sum.
Since wiping out the Wild Horse Air Pirate Group, Rocky had been traveling non-stop. The warships captured from the Air Pirate Group had no time for repairs and had been seized only after engaging in battle with Karina’s fleet—each ship bore some damage, especially the three Escort Ships. Therefore, these warships needed fixing before they could fight again, and it would cost at least two hundred thousand gold coins to do so!
After calculating everything, Rocky would have practically nothing left of his million-plus gold coins. That he could scrape together tens of thousands for Orton’s research under such severe financial strain was already quite the feat, but he had never imagined that Orton would have the gall to demand a million in research funds!
He was just making things worse!
But before Rocky had a chance to refuse, Orton spoke first.
When Orton had finished explaining his thoughts, both Rocky and the nearby Liliya were stunned. Their faces, initially filled with surprise, slowly turned grave.
After a while, Rocky clenched his teeth and nodded, telling Orton, “Teacher, I’ll give you a million!”