The Exalt Cultivation Fantasy

Act 3: Empire's Stand - Chapter 472: Gol-4's Dream, Garantulem

Act 3: Empire's Stand - Chapter 472: Gol-4's Dream, Garantulem

"To come here with so much wealth is a blessing. The sap you have is incredibly rare." Reni Hessen stood from her throne and headed down the steps to Oscar. Astonishingly, not a single sound came from her armor. She picked up a grade-three ore, tracing her fingers along its craggily surface, and dropped it back into the pile, smiling and baring her teeth across her scarred cheeks. "But this isn't enough to sway me."

"Really?" Oscar smiled back. This woman's greed sure was blatant.

"With this amount, I can consider letting you stay and lead as a captain. As for your identity, we cannot contact the other side, so that must be put aside. I'll give you a new identity during your time here." Reni put out her greater space pocket and stored away everything Oscar laid out.

"Then what about this?" Oscar took out another space pocket and created another mound of treasures and materials. Their starstruck faces filled his heart with a mischievous giddiness, a petty form of pleasurable revenge for being shafted since his time here. Before Reni could speak, Oscar retrieved two more space pockets and added more to the pile. "Drakken Port is severely lacking in resources. Armaments are running low, the supplies for elixirs are low, and you can't even go out to hunt Exalt Beasts for an extended period. All of this should help you out."

The three Marshal Exalts were speechless, unable to tear their eyes away from his pile of treasures. Hugh broke out in raspy laughter, choking and coughing between each breath, and slumped over in his throne. Reni lost her smile and glanced over the treasures, snapping back to Oscar after a few moments.

"An impressive showing, but if you want to be eligible to be on the same footing as us and make decisions on the fleet, we will need–" She couldn't finish her sentence because Oscar dumped another two space pockets worth of treasure. He wiped a mental sweat from his mind, thanking his past self's decision to split his belongings in his spare space pockets.

"You were saying?" Oscar said, surrounded by some of the treasures he brought out of Shattirma and the wares he received from Helen and Hector for his contribution to Convecia City. The damned Marshal Exalts should be swayed by his wealth now.

"This is an astonishing amount of wealth…." Elias went silent, thinking about something. He smiled and asked the other two, "Should we hear him out? There's no harm in hearing his ideas. If it's trash, we can still confiscate these resources and put him under surveillance."

Reni stomped her feet back to her throne and bellowed in laughter. "What a cheeky Greater Knight Exalt! Fine. We'll entertain this 'Oscar' for now. I'm interested in hearing what he's paying so much to say."

Hugh recovered from his laughter, sighed, and rubbed his wrinkled temples. His hands were as wrinkled as his face, covered with liver spots. "Then speak."

Oscar felt a huge burden lift from his shoulders, finally leaping across the hurdle. It was costly, but he was now able to speak his plan. Hindered no more, Oscar rose, his back straight and tall, and held out his hand, raising three fingers.

"Drakken Port has three problems. First, the isolation from the rest of the Empire and surrounded by enemies. Thankfully, due to the city's ironclad defenses, it could hold on for a while until now. Second, the fleet cannot move as easily and certainly won't be able to defend against the enemy from all angles, not with its weaker barriers and inferior numbers. Third, the lives of the citizens and Exalts are at stake if you recklessly move out, regarding enemy attacks and the dwindling resources." Oscar lowered the last finger into a fist and waited for their response.

"That is the gist of it. Our situation is quite precarious as it is. We want to leave this city as anyone else. Defense is a huge concern. After a while, we decided to wait it out and keep some of their Marshal Exalts entangled with us to lessen the pressure on the other fronts." Reni pounded her fist on the throne, laying her frustration on the innocent chair.

"Airships are useful for transport and to serve as a temporary base. When used in sieges, we fire from the weapons mounted on it while Exalts protect it. That is the basics. They are not sending their airships in fear of taking losses from a fleet on its last legs, but you don't have enough Exalts to man and protect the fleet." Oscar said.

"Then what are you suggesting?" Elias asked. "You wanted to do something with the ships."

"Ships…are basically golems if one thinks about it." Oscar smiled and tossed around his hammer, catching the handle each time. His confidence grew not from his own abilities but from another's. "I learned from the greatest golem crafter in all known history or at least an echo of him. Let me work on your ships and turn them into something magnificent."

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"What will modifying them do?" Hugh scrunched his brow, deepening the wrinkles along his aged face. "No matter how good the fleet, it's futile if we don't have enough people to protect and man them. And what of the citizens?"

Oscar bent down and unfurled a large piece of paper. He started to draw on it the blueprints of the grand design and showed it to the Marshal Exalts. They all widened their eyes, stunned by the structure depicted on the paper. He remembered having the same reaction when he first saw this insane piece of work. Doubt clouded the Marshal Exalts, and Oscar pressed on, stomping his foot to get their attention. "It's not a gamble. It will solve all of our issues and allow us to enter the war for the sake of our Empire. With your permission and the aid of the others, I can start my work."

"You wanted to meet us here for this work that anyone can say a mere child dreamed up? Greatest golem crafter, my foot!" Reni hunched forward like a predator, ready to tear Oscar apart from her throne.

A surge of anger welled up from the depths of Oscar's soul. His face tensed, and his eyes sharpened, spilling out his anger. His chilling and hateful voice came out, unrecognizable even to his ears. "Don't you dare insult him….he's an Exalt far beyond what you could ever achieve in your lifetime. If it displeases you, strike me down and continue your fading existence here."

Reni and Oscar continued to clash their gazes against each other. Finally, Reni slammed her hands on her knees and scoffed. "You are truly serious about this. I am growing weary of this fight. Time after time, they don't bother coming in full force, only delaying and stalling."

"Are you sure about these designs?" Hugh groaned.

"I said it before. Never doubt the greatest in the world." Oscar said confidently.

"Haha. Eventually, we would have run out of people. This may be our last hurrah. Seeing you not falter before Reni makes me believe more in your identity. But that's still unconfirmed. Go on, then. Do your work and show us the brilliance of the one you call the greatest." Elias smiled warmly.

Securing the support of the three Marshal Exalts, Oscar moved swiftly into action and rallied the remaining fabricators and alchemists in the port. He wore a new helmet, armguards, gauntlets, greaves, and leg guards that fit him perfectly. His current appearance garnered the respect and praise of many around him for his actions during the battle.

Oscar instructed the fabricators to make use of the new resources to make the adjustments on the ships and the alchemists to create new artificial cores to power and control his new structure. He entered one of the airships, hammer in hand, and toiled away, never faltering or resting, swapping with Demon at night to continue the job.

At times the enemy would invade like clockwork, and he came forth to lead the armies to victory, suffering little losses each time. He no longer held back, using Erden in his battle to sweep through the unsuspecting foes, never able to handle the ferocity of his blows. Surrounded by the dead bodies of both allies and enemies, he realized he had to hurry up and finish, or else there would truly be no one left in Drakken Port.

After every invasion, he retreated to the ships to keep working and transformed them into the parts for the grand design. Soon, the fabricators and alchemists joined him, rotating twenty-four-hour shifts to keep up with his insane work schedule. He hadn't slept for a whole month, working tirelessly with Demon.

At long last, it was complete. Oscar beheld the fruit of his efforts and smiled, remembering a memory from long years past.

…….

"And that is my grand design. The quintessence of an airship, of fleet warfare. How about it?!" Gol-4 laughed, clacking his mouth up and down, and spun his head up and down.

"That's insane. Are you sure your memory isn't addled at the moment?" Oscar couldn't believe his ears and cleaned them out just to be sure. "That can't work. Have you ever tested it out?"

"Ummmm. No. Hahaha. Lad, I came up with this near the end of my years. I never had a chance to build it myself." Gol-4 grumbled and rested his head on the boulder.

"How the hell did you ever lose your war against the Forest Heart Clan? I'm sure this ridiculous design wasn't the last of your crazed endeavors." Oscar asked, washing his face on the river.

"It takes a lot to beat a Primaere faction that had been around for thousands of years. Their resources run deep, and Silvia was one heck of a powerful Primaere." The golem head accidentally tripped and rolled down to the river, caught by Oscar. Gol-4 chuckled and said, "In any case, you are the one who will build this for me one day. I always wanted to see it in use."

…….

Gol-4's delighted voice echoed in Oscar's ears. 'It's the principle of how a single stick is weak but sturdy in a bundle.'

"We're ready! Raise the ships!" A shout called out to everyone.

Oscar stood and watched the procession.

'People make formations and movements with fleets, but none of them ever had the imagination nor the wit to come close to my ideal. Many battles have been fought with airships, and great victories arose from their usage. Too lacking!' Gol-4 shouted.

From a wave of his hand, the airships all rose from the waters and extended out bridges that locked into holes in other airships, surging with faint Ein that coursed between them. They connected, forming a sphere of airships, a strange structure resembling a formation with the ships as nodes and the bridges between them as the link.

'It's similar to the formation in a beast's core. Nodes and links spread over the surface of its spherical form. Ah! I really wanted to see it in action! You must create it for me, lad!' Gol-4 pleas lowered until Oscar heard the shouts and cheers of the people at the rising of the great sphere.

"It took a long while, my old friend and mentor. It's a pity you aren't here to see it. What did you call it again?" Oscar rubbed his chin and smiled, recalling the golem's hearty laughter while saying the name.

'Garantulem' "Garantulem."