Only a few hours had passed since the Four Pillars left the Sovereign Palace...
Yet the greatest industrial undertaking humanity had witnessed in thousands of years had already begun.
There were no celebrations.
No grand announcements.
No time for idle conversation.
The knowledge Fafnir had transferred into their minds was clear enough.
And so was the order.
Begin production.
In one of Zeta’s largest industrial regions, a number of master craftsmen, engineers, formation practitioners, and energy specialists had gathered.
They had only one objective.
To build the first flying warship.
They had no physical blueprints to spread across a table.
But that was unnecessary.
The knowledge Fafnir had transferred to the Four Pillars was not merely a collection of fleeting pieces of information.
It was a complete body of knowledge engraved within their memories.
Dimensions.
Structural designs.
Energy systems.
Manufacturing methods.
Required materials.
Propulsion systems.
Weapon placements.
Control systems.
And even the minute details that no one in Zeta had ever known existed.
Valor stood before a group of master craftsmen.
Then he said,
"I will transmit the information you require."
He placed his hand on the head of one of the senior engineers.
The knowledge flowed into him.
Then into another.
And then a third.
Within a short period of time...
Dozens of minds were working on the same design.
The scene was strange.
No one was creating anything from scratch.
Instead, they were drawing upon knowledge already stored within their memories and attempting to turn it into reality.
One engineer stared at the first prototype.
"This structure..."
He ran his hand across its surface.
"We have never used anything remotely similar."
Another craftsman replied,
"Even the method of distributing energy is completely different from everything we know."
A third spoke.
"But it makes sense."
Then he added,
"If we can reproduce it exactly as it is..."
He did not finish.
He did not need to.
Everyone understood.
The work began.
First...
A vast area was selected for the construction of an enormous shipyard.
The site was close to energy sources and raw materials, while remaining far enough from the major cities.
The council did not want civilians to see what was happening before the facilities were ready.
Thousands of workers and craftsmen began leveling the land.
Then the foundations were laid.
And after that...
Massive structures began rising from the ground.
Storage facilities.
Workshops.
Smelting plants.
Material-processing facilities.
Energy towers.
And enormous buildings dedicated to assembling the ships.
The scale of the project was immense.
Some workers could hardly comprehend that these facilities would be used to construct ships capable of flying.
The concept of flying warships existed in some ancient legends.
But they had never been a real part of humanity’s military power.
Now...
That dream was beginning to take shape in metal.
The first problem appeared quickly.
The materials.
Some of the ship’s components required extremely rare metals and alloys.
Some of them were not available in sufficient quantities in the nearby regions.
The officials gathered.
Long lists of required materials were compiled.
Then the search began.
Mining teams were dispatched to various regions.
Abandoned mines were reopened.
Existing mines were expanded.
Other teams began searching for entirely new sources of materials.
Mining was no longer focused solely on the needs of the cities.
It had become part of the military project.
Humanity needed resources.
And the fleet would require enormous quantities of them.
At the same time...
The workshops began producing the first components of the ship.
Massive pieces of metal.
Multi-layered armor plates.
Internal frameworks.
Corridors.
Troop quarters.
Energy storage chambers.
And weapon mounts.
The structure slowly began to take shape.
Yet every component was subjected to meticulous inspection.
A minor flaw in a single part could result in the collapse of the entire vessel.
"Check this section again," one of the engineers said.
"It has already been inspected three times," his assistant replied.
"Inspect it a fourth time."
No one was willing to take a risk.
This was the first ship.
The first experiment.
And the first step into an entirely new industry.
After weeks of continuous work...
The shape of the ship finally began to emerge.
Its hull was enormous.
It stretched across a vast portion of the shipyard.
Its design was unlike anything humanity had ever known.
It resembled neither a traditional seafaring vessel nor an aircraft, nor any other means of transportation found on Zeta.
It was a warship designed for the skies.
An armored hull.
Energy towers.
Specialized engines.
Multiple weapon platforms.
And vast spaces capable of accommodating soldiers and equipment.
One of the craftsmen stood before it.
Then whispered,
"We actually built it..."
But the work was not finished.
The ship was more than just a hull.
It had to function.
The energy core was installed.
This was one of the most complex components of the entire vessel.
It had been designed to convert energy into propulsion while simultaneously supplying power to the ship’s various systems.
A number of formation practitioners gathered around it.
They began constructing the required formations.
Precise lines.
Symbols.
Interlocking circles.
And energy nodes.
Every component was connected to the others.
A single mistake could cause the entire system to fail.
After days of work...
The energy core was complete.
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
The supervisor spoke.
"Begin."
One of the practitioners poured energy into the core.
At first...
Nothing happened.
Then the core began to glow.
A faint light appeared.
Then its intensity increased.
Energy spread throughout the hull.
The ship trembled slightly.
Everyone looked at one another.
The system had worked.
But the most difficult test remained.
Flight.
The workers and equipment were moved away from the ship.
The area surrounding the shipyard was evacuated.
Several senior officials stood at a safe distance.
Among them were Thorin, Valor, Morgana, and Eleanor.
They had come to witness the result with their own eyes.
Thorin stood before the colossal vessel.
Then he said,
"It is difficult to believe that this began as nothing more than information stored in memory."
Morgana did not answer.
Her eyes remained fixed on the ship.
As for Eleanor...
She was studying the streams of energy flowing across its hull.
"If the flight system succeeds..."
Her voice trailed off.
Then she added,
"This will completely change the way wars are fought."
Valor said nothing.
He was thinking the same thing.
The test crew boarded the ship.
The gates were sealed.
The systems came online.
"Energy core stable."
"Formations stable."
"Control systems operational."
"Propulsion ready."
Then came the command.
"Begin."
Energy began gathering.
The ground trembled.
A deep rumble emerged from within the ship.
Then...
The warship began to rise.
Slowly.
One meter.
Then two.
Then five.
It paused for a moment in midair.
Silence fell.
No one moved.
The ship...
was flying.
"She's in the air..." one of the soldiers whispered in disbelief.
Then it rose higher.
Ten meters.
Twenty.
Fifty.
It stabilized at a greater altitude.
It did not fall.
It did not stall.
It hovered steadily in the sky.
A look rarely seen in humanity’s eyes appeared on the faces of those watching.
Astonishment.
They had succeeded.
But Valor did not allow himself to celebrate for long.
"Test the movement."
The ship began moving.
Forward.
Then backward.
Then it turned.
Its speed gradually increased.
Then it came to a halt.
Its response was precise.
Better than some of the engineers had expected.
Thorin said,
"This isn't merely a means of transportation."
He looked at the ship.
"It's a weapon."
Valor replied,
"More than that."
He continued staring at the vessel.
"It's an entire war platform."
After the flight test succeeded...
The combat systems were tested.
One of the cannons had been mounted at the front of the ship.
The objective was not to use its maximum power.
The first test was simple.
Measure stability.
Aim the weapon.
Then fire at low power.
The supervisor said,
"Target ready."
A barren mountainous region lay at a distance.
"Stand by."
The cannon began gathering energy.
A powerful aura formed around it.
Then...
The beam was fired.
It struck the mountain.
A tremendous explosion erupted.
The earth shook.
Dust billowed into the sky.
And when the dust finally settled...
A large portion of the mountain had been shattered.
Silence followed.
Even the soldiers who had witnessed the test remained speechless for several moments.
Thorin said,
"And that wasn't even its maximum output..."
The supervisor replied,
"Correct."
Thorin looked at the ship.
Then gave a faint smile.
"Then we have a good beginning."
Things did not stop with the first ship.
Once the first prototype had been confirmed successful...
A new phase began.
Production.
The workshops were reorganized.
The manufacturing process was divided into stages.
A hull workshop.
An alloy workshop.
An energy-system workshop.
A formation workshop.
A weapons workshop.
An engine workshop.
And finally, an assembly area.
The objective was no longer to build a single ship.
It was to build dozens.
Then hundreds.
And eventually...
Thousands.
Of course, that would not happen immediately.
Humanity was still learning.
Production was slow in the beginning.
But every new ship was completed faster than the previous one.
Every mistake was recorded.
Every problem was solved.
Every process was refined.
And experience began to accumulate.
One day...
Morgana stood before a hall filled with reports.
One of the officials said,
"The second ship has been completed."
Then he continued,
"The third is in its final stages."
He added,
"Four more shipyards have begun operations."
Morgana looked at the figures.
Then asked,
"How many shipyards will we be able to operate in the coming months?"
The official replied,
"If the current pace of construction continues..."
He paused briefly.
"The number will increase rapidly."
Morgana said,
"Good."
She placed the report aside.
"We don't want to depend on a single factory."
"We want an entire industry."
Elsewhere...
Valor oversaw the establishment of specialized training centers for ship crews.
Owning the ships was not enough.
The military needed soldiers capable of operating them.
Commanders.
Pilots.
Weapons operators.
Energy controllers.
Formation specialists.
And technicians.
New training programs began appearing throughout the army.
Soldiers were no longer trained only to fight on the ground.
They now had to learn how to fight from the skies.
As for Eleanor...
She began overseeing the supply chains.
Ships required energy.
Weapons required ammunition and materials.
Crews required food and equipment.
Building a fleet meant creating a massive supply network spanning across Zeta.
Meanwhile, Morgana took responsibility for organizing the future distribution of the ships among the military units.
Thorin, on the other hand...
Was far more interested in their combat capabilities.
He personally supervised tests of speed.
Maneuverability.
Defensive systems.
And weapons.
He wanted to know only one thing.
How far could these ships actually go in war?
As time passed...
The shipyards continued to expand.
New vessels emerged.
Their designs varied according to their roles.
Heavy warships.
Fast attack vessels.
Reconnaissance ships.
Military transports.
Supply ships.
And others dedicated to command operations.
It was no longer about a single ship.
The fleet was beginning to take shape.
Slowly...
But steadily.
One night, Valor stood before the first warship to emerge from mass production.
It hovered above the shipyard.
Its lights were active.
Its engines were stable.
Its combat towers stood ready.
He stared at it for a long time.
Then asked one of the officers,
"How long has it been since humanity possessed something like this?"
The officer replied,
"We never have."
Valor remained silent.
Then said,
"And that is the part I cannot understand."
He looked toward the ship.
The same question returned to him.
Where had the Sovereign obtained this knowledge?
How had he possessed the details required to manufacture weapons of such complexity?
And how had he been able to present them as though they were nothing more than ordinary knowledge?
But there was no answer.
Elsewhere across Zeta...
New ships continued emerging from the shipyards.
One after another.
With every ship...
The fleet grew stronger.
With every cannon...
Humanity's power increased.
And with every soldier learning how to operate these machines...
The army moved closer to an entirely new form.
Humanity was no longer relying solely on physical strength.
War no longer meant warriors clashing with swords and spears.
A new era had begun.
An era of war fleets.
An era of heavy weaponry.
An era of industrial power.
Deep within the Sovereign Palace...
Fafnir knew that what was happening was only the beginning.
The ships humanity had begun constructing today...
Would one day become part of a vast fleet.
A fleet capable of crossing the skies.
Transporting armies.
Bombarding fortifications.
And waging war on a scale humanity had never witnessed before.
But before that could happen...
They had to build more.
More ships.
More weapons.
And more soldiers capable of using them.
The first warship had been born.
And from it...
The fleet had begun to take shape.