Constructing-Style Wizard

Chapter 377: 136. Human-shaped “machine”

The water current is swift, with numerous tributaries. Along the river, there are many Alchemy Farms that produce grains, fruits, tea leaves, and vegetables.

At the estuary where the river meets the eastern ocean, the riverbed extends in a trumpet-like shape to the sea surface, forming a typical coastal plain, which is known as Delta Plains.

The terrain is flat, with an appropriate slope, and stable geology, providing an excellent anchorage space.

Moreover, as the mouth of the river is wide and deep without ice, and it is backed by Union City, the area has been developed into the largest port in Fission Wilderness.

This port connects with coastal cities like Reefstone City, Seashell City, Baldur’s Gate, and Dagger Beach along the west coast of the Kashel Continent and other important cities within the Golden Federation.

Who is the big boss behind this port?

The answer is the Golden Commerce Guild.

Union City is divided into 20 sectors. Sectors 1 to 6 are controlled by the Re-forged Association. Sectors 8 to 11 are managed by the subsidiaries of the Life Essence Society. Sectors 12 to 17 are governed by one or two medium-sized factions. Sectors 18 to 20 are mixed.

The Golden Commerce Guild occupies Sector 7, sandwiched between the Re-forged Association and the Life Essence Society. The number of sectors controlled by the Golden Commerce Guild is small, but it does not mean they are weak.

The port at the northeastern entrance of Union City is called Union Port and is completely controlled by the Golden Commerce Guild.

This is just one of the ports controlled by the Golden Commerce Guild.

It is through these ports, as well as their armed alchemy ships on the sea, that the Golden Commerce Guild can stand on equal ground with large alchemist factions such as the Re-forged Association and the Life Essence Society.

It is precisely because the Golden Commerce Guild fully controls the ports that the shipping information of the Blackwater Winery Sales Company, including the cargo ship’s number, schedule, shipowner, and employer identity, can appear on the intelligence brought by Cindy to Noland Lee.

Noland, relying on this detailed intelligence, accurately figured out the shipping situation of the Sales Company. The next cargo ship returning from the Tatis Empire will arrive in 5 days.

This date is a full 4 days later than the time indicated on the schedule.

There are no big storms on the nearshore route from the Tatis Empire to Union Port. The reason for the delayed arrival of the cargo ship cannot be due to weather or ocean currents. It must have something to do with the departure time of the cargo ship.

A delay of 4 days means the cargo ship stayed in the Tatis Empire for an extra 4 days.

This phenomenon of “late arrival” doubled Noland’s attention to this cargo ship.

Noland calculated with the sea chart received from Cindy.

At this moment, the cargo ship should be in the sea area about 500 kilometers southeast of Union City. That is the so-called “Public Sea Area,” which means a public area not belonging to any country.

The cargo ship is powered by sails and coal-fired steam engines.

Wind power is the primary force, and the propulsion provided by the coal-fired steam engine is auxiliary. This design choice is related to the weight of the coal itself. It was a matter for the Re-forged Alchemist who built this cargo ship, which Noland did not care about.

Noland’s focus was on the cargo ship’s speed.

If this ship were in Noland’s original world, it could travel at approximately 15 kilometers per hour in nearshore waters. Note ①

But in this world, speeding on the sea surface away from land is a dangerous thing.

That’s because the star pollutants that fall into the sea are far greater than those that fall on land.

At some point, a peculiar feature called “Lost Sea Fog” appeared on the ocean.

After entering a certain sea area, if the sailing speed exceeds a threshold, the region’s Lost Sea Fog will be triggered.

The boundless dense gray fog suddenly surrounds ships, trapping them in place. Even if the ship’s power output is at its maximum, it is useless. This mysterious, grey Lost Sea Fog carries enigmatic mana, forcibly reducing the speed of the ship to zero and holding it stationary at sea for at least 1 hour.

If a small boat is launched to try to break through the fog forcefully, it will be lost forever. People on the small boat will never return after entering the fog.

This bizarre sea fog greatly suppresses the speed of population movement throughout the world.

Lost Sea Fog exists in every sea area.

Each sea area’s fog has different triggering conditions.

The speed parameters in the triggering conditions change every ten days or half a month.

In the same sea area, the maximum speed that triggers the fog on the previous day is 30 kilometers/hour. Once this speed is exceeded, the fog appears immediately.

But on the next day, the trigger condition may increase to 50 kilometers/hour. Ships with maximum speeds below this speed can sail smoothly. Alternatively, the trigger condition may drop to 5 kilometers/hour, trapping most ships at sea.

This unpredictable marine feature has a long history, and its exact origin is unknown.

It has given birth to a unique profession:

Navigator.

This profession is responsible for monitoring sea area speed limits and guiding ships safely through various sea areas to reach their destinations.

All cargo ships of the Golden Federation have Navigators, who are Alchemists.

The cargo ship returning from the Tatis Empire to Union Port is no exception. Its Navigator is dispatched by the Re-forged Association.

Noland plans to use the Lost Sea Fog and secretly destroy the Blackwater Winery Sales Company’s cargo ship.