After settling the matters regarding Dawn, Roland returned to his residence, a manor located deep within the camp.
It originally belonged to a wealthy merchant, consisting of several interconnected two-story stone houses, surrounded by a large front and back yard. However, the turmoil in Hermes had caused the original owner to disappear, and Roland was using it as a temporary dwelling.
Entering the main house, Anna was sitting at the table, carefully reading the books he had brought back from the Dream World. Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting her bangs in a beautiful golden hue and outlining her fair face with a halo of light.
"Finished with the meeting?" she asked with a smile, turning her head at the sound.
"Yes, I've told them everything they need to know. Nana Wawa and the others will have to leave early tomorrow morning."
"Soak your feet first," Anna said, getting up to bring a basin of water and placing it on a low stool by the bed. The leather boots used in the highlands of this era were not only hard but also extremely unbreathable, so the first thing he had to do upon returning to the bedroom was to soak his feet to relax, then change into a pair of light, soft-soled cloth shoes. At first, Roland insisted on doing it himself, but eventually, he couldn't resist her persistence.
"How's the water temperature?" Anna submerged the Blackfire into the water.
"A bit hotter… Ah, that's just right." Roland felt his feet enveloped in warmth and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
Not only that, but the Blackfire would also turn into marble-like shapes, squeezing his insteps and soles like a massager, and finally covering his entire feet, drying the remaining moisture.
It was easy to become addicted to such a life.
"What about you?" Anna sat down beside him. "Are you leaving with Nana Wawa tomorrow?"
"No, the other person is Sylvie. Her surveillance ability is irreplaceable for the garrison army." Roland took her hand. "Me returning can certainly stabilize morale, but they have to get used to dealing with trouble on their own without me around. Besides, with the main force of the First Army not in place, the effect I can have alone is very limited. After Maisie transports the two of them, the second batch will be you and me."
Since the hummingbird's ability couldn't affect living things, the number of people Maisie could carry at once was limited to around two, depending on the specific weight of the personnel. Lightning could also carry one person, but the altitude would drop significantly, basically only flying close to the treetops. It was fine for emergencies, but too unsafe for long-distance journeys.
The journey from Hermes to Neverwinter was long. Even if Maisie could continue flying after sunset without having to spend time foraging every day, it would still take nearly three days for a one-way trip. He could only transport them in batches according to the urgency of the witches.
Fortunately, the army would gradually advance south along the inner river, and the interval between each batch of personnel transported would be shortened accordingly.
"It would be great if there was a faster way to transport them," Anna looked up. "Like a machine that can fly in the sky."
"That's not easy, unless—" Roland was about to say that without an internal combustion engine, it was impossible to create a truly usable aircraft, but halfway through his words, an idea suddenly flashed through his mind, causing him to subconsciously change his words. "Wait, perhaps it's not impossible."
"How?" Anna's azure eyes sparkled.
"Using Wendy and Mystery Moon's abilities," Roland pondered. "If it's just for carrying people… the combination of the two might work!"
This was also inspired by Maisie's bombing plan. If mass production or versatility wasn't pursued, the witches' abilities could have the same effect as machines in many ways.
After three years of accumulation, Neverwinter now had lightweight aluminum materials, an Arithmetic Institute capable of performing large calculations, and a hub carrier for verifying results. A non-powered, or rather, weakly powered glider was not an unattainable goal.
Of course, the most important thing was Wendy's Wind Control Art and the electric motor installed on Dawn One.
Simply put, the reason an airplane can fly is because the engine provides backward thrust, allowing the wings to move forward against the wind and use the airflow passing under the wings to create a pressure difference, thereby obtaining lift.
According to Neverwinter's existing technology, the power of an electric motor was far from enough to lift an airplane, but he didn't need to get lift from motion. Wendy's wind was the "pressure difference" that could directly act on the underside of the wings. The electric motor only needed to provide a horizontal component of force, just like Lightning adjusting the direction of air bombs—just applying a small force would allow the plane to take off.
"To obtain efficient hovering ability, its wings should be as long as possible," Roland said, recalling the appearance of gliders from later generations, becoming more and more excited. "But to maximize the lift before takeoff, it must also have a wide wing root that can encompass Wendy's entire wind control range. And…"
A well-designed glider can climb to a higher altitude through thermal currents, greatly increasing the gliding distance, but here, the witch can provide rising air currents at any time, which means that as long as the magic power isn't exhausted, it can fly forever.
In other words, as long as a runway is built at the destination, the aircraft can transport ten or even more people at a time—even the slowest glider has a speed of over two hundred kilometers per hour, almost three times that of Maisie transforming into a dire beast, and can reach any city in Graycastle within a day.
Of course, both prototype manufacturing and operational training are gradual processes. Even if they start now, by the time they can fly in the sky, the witches and the First Army will have already returned to Neverwinter.
However, the idea still made the two of them discuss it enthusiastically for a long time—flying has always been the greatest allure for humans who are born on the ground and die on the ground. Moreover, gliders are different from clumsy hydrogen balloons; the former is a real flight into the sky with the wind.
If Edith could bring Roland surprises in governance, then in technology, the only one who could communicate with him on equal terms was Anna.
"By the way," she carefully put away the discussion results and model sketches, "Did you hear any good news at today's meeting? You haven't been this relaxed since receiving the letter from Neverwinter."
"Sort of," Roland raised the corners of his mouth and briefly explained the private meeting with the Pearl of the North.
When she heard Edith's reason, Anna couldn't help but laugh.
"What's wrong?" he couldn't help but ask, curious.
"I just wanted to say, she has too much confidence in everyone. Learn everything you've taught? Advanced mathematics alone is already difficult, let alone physics and chemistry…" Anna made a face. "I don't think I could understand all those orange books even if I spent a hundred years."
"Pfft," Roland laughed too. "There are many more like that in the Dream World."
"Also, I don't think the future world will be like she said."
"Oh? What do you think it will be like?"
"She believes that if you can't gain prestige through a pincer attack, it's better to plunge Dawn into chaos, but I think there are far more ways to accumulate prestige than just that. When you lead everyone to fight against the devils and eliminate all the terrifying enemies invading the kingdom, that will be prestige that no one can ever match." Anna said seriously, "You eliminated the church, won the Battle of Divine Will, the witches will remember it in their hearts, and the survivors of Taquila will also be proud of you. You bring all kinds of knowledge to the masses, and as long as you open a book, you can always find your name. Whether in history or in the present, you will be known to all. Under such prestige, the lords of other kingdoms will seek refuge and ask to join your rule, and no one will dare to disobey your will—because there have been too many examples to prove the fate of those rebels. After a hundred years, there may only be one kingdom left in this world, and its borders have already expanded to the Fertile Plains, gradually restoring the former glory of the human kingdom…" She paused. "Is my idea wrong?"
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