Kingdom Building Game: Starting Out With A Million Upgrade Points! - Chapter 164

Chapter 164: • A Gamble on the Heavens Part Two

He snapped his fingers, turning to Varian with a knowing smirk.

“That, Your Majesty, is the power of innovation. Mass production. The moment one is perfected, it becomes a matter of how many hands you’re willing to throw at the problem.”

Varian remained silent for a long moment, expression unreadable. He studied Edric carefully—not just the man’s words, but his demeanor. The mad glint in his eyes, the absolute certainty in his tone.

He believes every word he says.

And that was what made this so dangerous.

Finally, the emperor exhaled. “I see.”

Edric continuously nodded his head. “Soooo… does that mean I get what I want?”

Varian’s gaze darkened slightly. “It means you’ve just given me something to consider.”

For the first time since they met, Edric’s grin flickered. Just a little.

Edric let out an exaggerated groan, throwing his head back as if he had just been personally wronged by the gods themselves.

“Ah, come on, Your Majesty! Don’t be such a killjoy!” He slumped forward dramatically, hands flopping to his sides. “Here I am, offering you the future on a silver platter, and you’re just considering it?”

He shook his head in mock disappointment. “Honestly, what’s the point of being an all-powerful emperor if you can’t even let yourself get excited about world domination?”

Veydris inhaled sharply, his face tightening. He shot a quick glance at Varian, expecting the emperor’s patience to finally snap. No one spoke to him like that. No one dared to.

And yet…

Varian remained utterly composed. He simply watched Edric with that same cold, unreadable gaze.

Then, to Veydris’s quiet horror, the emperor’s lips curled—just slightly.

“Excited?” Varian repeated, voice low. “You mistake my caution for hesitation.”

Edric perked up.

“I do not make decisions based on excitement,” Varian continued. “I make them based on certainty.” His gaze flicked toward the airship before returning to the inventor. “So, before I hand you the empire’s full support, you will prove to me that this machine of yours is more than an expensive spectacle.”

Edric’s grin stretched wide again, his eyes practically glowing with excitement. He clasped his hands together, leaning forward just slightly.

“Oh-ho… Do I take this to mean you’re asking for a test run, Your Majesty?”

Varian didn’t answer immediately. He simply stared, his silence carrying far more weight than words ever could.

Edric, unbothered as ever, let out a low chuckle. “Well, well, well… Now this is getting interesting.” He spun on his heel, gesturing toward the massive airship with a dramatic sweep of his arm.

“I was going to do one anyway—for science, of course!—but now that it’s officially sanctioned by the emperor himself?” He clapped his hands together. “Oh, that just makes it so much more fun.”

Veydris pinched the bridge of his nose, already feeling the headache forming. This man was an absolute lunatic.

Varian, however, merely nodded. “Good. Then ready it for launch.”

Edric’s grin turned downright manic. “Oh, Your Majesty, I was born ready.”

….

….

The sky stretched endlessly before them, a vast ocean of blue interrupted only by the distant horizon where the sun began its slow descent.

Below, the empire sprawled like a miniature model—cities reduced to clusters of stone, rivers winding like silver threads, and vast plains rolling toward the mountains.

Varian stood at the edge of the command deck, hands clasped behind his back. The hum of the airship vibrated beneath his boots, steady and powerful.

The sheer impossibility of it all—the fact that they were hovering above the world itself—would have been enough to make lesser men weak in the knees.

But Varian was no lesser man.

His gaze remained calm as he observed the land, his mind already calculating exactly what kind of strategic advantage such height would bring. Fortresses, walls, supply lines—all meaningless if he could command the skies.

He exhaled slowly before turning toward the one man who could explain the machine’s true potential.

“What sort of material is being used as fuel?”

Edric, who had been leaning far too casually against the control panel, perked up. His goggles—now smeared with even more grease than before—were shoved onto his forehead, his wild hair sticking out in every direction.

“Ah, finally! The emperor asks the important questions!” He clapped his hands together and spun around, marching toward the center console like a performer preparing for the grand reveal of a lifetime.

“Well, Your Majesty, allow me to enlighten you.” He threw his arms out dramatically. “This beauty runs on a combination of etherium-infused steam and a bit of good old-fashioned mana resonance.”

Varian raised an eyebrow. “Explain.”

Edric grinned. “Ah, yes, explanations! I do love those.” He tapped a finger against his temple. “You see, etherium—a rare mineral found in deep cavernous deposits—is capable of storing and amplifying magical energy. Normally, it’s too unstable for widespread use, but when refined into etherium cores, it creates a controlled power source.”

He turned, knocking his knuckles against one of the glowing blue runes on the hull. “These runes? They siphon ambient mana from the atmosphere and channel it into the etherium cores, which then power the steam turbines.”

He grinned wider. “Essentially, Your Majesty, the longer this ship stays in the air, the more efficiently it runs. The etherium feeds off mana, and as long as we have a mage onboard to regulate flow, we’ll never have to stop for coal, oil, or whatever primitive empires still use.”

Varian considered this. “A self-sustaining power source.”

“Precisely!” Edric clapped his hands. “Well, mostly. There’s still a slight issue of overload, but that’s only if we push the engines too hard and—” He paused, looking at Varian’s unreadable expression. “Right. Not the best thing to bring up while we’re, you know, already flying.”

Veydris groaned from the corner. “Gods help us.”

Varian remained silent for a long moment, his gaze sweeping across the control deck, then back to the open sky before them.

He exhaled slowly, rolling the information over in his mind, piecing it together alongside the countless strategies and possibilities this technology presented.

Finally, a small, rare smile spred across his lips.

“I must admit… I am very, very impressed.”

Edric’s grin stretched wider, if that was even possible. “Ah, now that is music to my ears, Your Majesty.” He gestured to the ship’s hull. “I did say this would change everything.”

Varian nodded. “And it will.”

He turned to Veydris, whose expression still carried traces of cautious skepticism. “Order the pilot to descend. Land in the Royal Plaza.”

Veydris blinked. “The Royal Plaza, Your Majesty? That’s—”

“A declaration.” Varian’s voice left no room for argument. “I want the people to see it. To understand that their empire is no longer bound by the limits of the earth.”

Veydris bowed his head. “It will be done.” He turned sharply on his heel, moving to relay the order to the crew.

Meanwhile, Edric rubbed his hands together with barely contained excitement. “Oh, now you’re speaking my language, Emperor.” He practically bounced in place. “A grand landing, a show of power—I love it. You’ve got the mind of an inventor yourself.”

Varian shot him a glance. “I prefer the mind of a ruler.”

Edric chuckled. “Same thing, really. Just different toys.”

The airship slowly began its descent, the engines humming with steady precision. As the city came into clearer view, people below started to take notice. At first, just a few heads turned skyward. Then, as the massive shadow loomed over the Royal Plaza, an entire crowd began gathering.

The ship’s sheer size, its gleaming brass hull and glowing runes, sent murmurs of awe and fear rippling through the streets.

As they neared the landing zone, Varian turned back to Edric.

“This project,” he said, “will receive everything it needs. Manpower. Funding. Resources. I want it expanded tenfold. No—twentyfold.”

Edric blinked before letting out a slow, impressed whistle. “Well, well, well. That’s a whole lot of faith you’re putting in me, Emperor.”

Varian’s gaze was as sharp as a blade. “Not faith. Expectation.”

Edric grinned wildly. “Oh-ho. Now that’s even better.”