Chapter 303: Chapter 299: After Confronting the Navy, Confronting the Army
The navy was rendered speechless, but the army would not give up so easily.
An army general, whom Perfikot had met before, asked her, "Little Brandelis, we army folks don’t really care for airships, but surely you can’t say flying knights are useless?
We don’t ask for much, just one knight order! All the budget will come from our army expenses, without any additional military budget from the Empire, is there really a problem with that?"
After saying this, the army general looked at Perfikot with anticipation, waiting for her answer.
Before coming, the army had held multiple meetings internally to discuss the issue of flying knights.
This naturally involved budget, personnel, and the crucial question of whether forming a flying knight order was necessary as the doomsday winter approached.
One must admit that the army was more pragmatic; they assessed the positioning and use of the flying knights, ultimately determining that they would still play a significant role, even against the backdrop of a doomsday winter.
The only reason Perfikot might refuse this condition would be the military budget issue.
Thus, they decisively cut their own budget, squeezing funds for the flying knights from the army’s expenses, sacrificing other budgets.
However, upon hearing the army general’s words, Perfikot merely sneered and then took out the Flying Stone.
"This is the core component for manufacturing flying knight armor, the Flying Stone, a magical material that can counteract gravity," Perfikot introduced to the crowd.
The existence of the flying stone had actually already been delivered to the desk of the military department, so the high-ranking generals had no particular reaction to it.
"Its production requires the Philosopher’s Stone, an imaginary material that can only be brought into existence based on the Philosopher’s Stone. Besides using the Philosopher’s Stone, there’s no other way to create this material that doesn’t exist in reality. I have named it Imaginary Material, a material not existing in reality created by Imaginary Alchemy." Perfikot solemnly emphasized the imaginary nature of the flying stone, which surprised everyone.
Some quickly caught on, understanding why Perfikot was emphasizing this.
Some took a while to come around, but with others’ prompts, they quickly grasped what it all meant.
Soon, a navy vice admiral asked Perfikot, "Must the Philosopher’s Stone be used to manufacture the flying stone? Does this mean that within the entire Empire, only Count Brandelis can make the flying stone?"
"Yes, you could say that, unless the Empire has other Alchemists capable of creating a Philosopher’s Stone," Perfikot shrugged, displaying a nonchalant attitude, as if saying, "Feel free to make your flying stones if you have the Philosopher’s Stone."
But does the Empire have a second Philosopher’s Stone? The answer is, of course, no.
Aside from the cracked Philosopher’s Stone in Perfikot’s hand, the entire Victor Empire, and even the whole Old World, only this one can be distinctly confirmed to exist.
Other Philosopher’s Stones either exist only in legend or their whereabouts are unknown and unverifiable.
Moreover, the only Alchemist capable of creating a Philosopher’s Stone today is Perfikot.
Originally, other countries in the Old World did have Alchemists capable of challenging the creation of a Philosopher’s Stone, but most of them were concentrated in former strong nations of the Old World like France, whose Alchemists were most likely to succeed.
However, they were wiped off the map by Perfikot along with the capital of France.
Although Perfikot lamented the massive destruction of human technology and culture caused by her actions, sometimes it’s a necessary evil.
Yet this has led to a significant influence: now, it seems Perfikot herself is the only one in the world clearly capable of creating a Philosopher’s Stone.
As for the others, they are either dead or lack ability.
Perhaps some are still quietly researching without seeking fame, but at least within the known scope right now, there’s no one else to challenge this.
Some even believe that Perfikot might not be able to create a second Philosopher’s Stone, as in many people’s eyes, her piece is her parents’ legacy; she does not have the ability to create another Philosopher’s Stone.
Otherwise, as a top-tier Alchemist, there wouldn’t be any need for her to use a broken Philosopher’s Stone. She could create a complete one.
The reason she doesn’t do so is because she also cannot.
From a certain perspective, this inference isn’t entirely wrong because Perfikot did inherit her parents’ legacy, and she indeed has no intention of creating a second Philosopher’s Stone.
But that doesn’t mean Perfikot cannot create a Philosopher’s Stone anymore.
Having inherited all her parents’ alchemical heritage, Perfikot can completely replicate the entire process her parents used to create a Philosopher’s Stone if she wishes, correcting the mistakes they made back then to ensure the Philosopher’s Stone is created smoothly in one go.
Yet for Perfikot, there isn’t much significance in doing so.
Though the Philosopher’s Stone she has is split into two pieces, it can still be used.
And she doesn’t have much further use for it, as having one is sufficient; there’s no need to go through the trouble of creating a second one.
As such, it creates an awkward situation now wherein the flying stone depends entirely on Perfikot herself. If she doesn’t want to make it, no one can force her to.
Evidently, once the generals realized this, they too acknowledged this point.
"So, the flying stone must be personally made by Little Brandelis, huh?" The army general asked Perfikot while gazing at the flying stone she exhibited, his expression quite conflicted.
Perfikot affirmed with a nod and then said, "As a product of Imaginary Alchemy, the flying stone cannot be manufactured without the Philosopher’s Stone, so currently only I can make it.
Even for me, I can only create one or two pieces at a time; its creation is exceedingly difficult.
So wanting a knight order of flying knights is unlikely; if you want that many flying stones, I wouldn’t be doing anything else this year, just making flying stones."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the army wore expressions matching those of the navy, filled with the disappointment of having a new toy taken away.
However, after a glance at them, Perfikot spoke again in a hesitant tone, "Although mass production is impossible, having a few elites should be manageable.
Though the flying stone is hard to make, it does have the advantage of fitting all steam knight armors, regardless of the rank of the knight, even if they were Legendary."