A few hours later;
In the capital city of Lunaris, at midnight when people were supposed to sleep, thousands were gathered at the Palace Grounds as the King was about to make an important announcement.
Everything went as the princess wanted it to be. After informing the ministers, Shen Qiu made an announcement of the King's return to the public, handing over the crown in front of everyone.
Just like with the ministers, the people went into disbelief for a while. Shen Niu then took the charge and explained to everyone the story cooked up by the Princess.
According to his version, a decade ago, during the time of the rebellion by the former Supreme General Xuan Yi, the King was poisoned by a servant who was actually a spy of the leader of the rebellion.
As a result, he was sent away through a secret tunnel so that he can be healed in a safe place. Although he escaped death, the King, unfortunately, was gone into a deep unconscious state (coma) for nearly 10 years and finally woke up because of Lu Zhen. And in this time, to protect the throne from possible internal and external enemies, Shen Qiu had taken the King's place with the help of Queen Tan Ning.
Originally, the princess had a slightly different story in her mind, in which Shen Niu personally appointed his brother as a temporary king.
But, after the meeting, she changed it so that for the public, it will appear like Shen Qiu was entirely responsible for the decisions that were made during the past decade.
This new story was largely welcomed by the public and ministers who were dissatisfied with Shen Qiu's rule. Zhu Jianhong, the prime minister of the kingdom was happier than ever as he saw the real king on the throne. It means that he doesn't have to bear the attitude of Shen Qiu any longer.
As for Mark, he successfully completed his quest and was also promised by the King a handsome reward in private for not only saving him and bringing his consciousness back but also for saving him once again from Xi Lim.
In fact, neither Shen Qiu nor Shen Niu had expected that the Queen will bring a legendary realm expert with her. If Mark wouldn't be there to take action, both of them would probably be imprisoned now.
For that, the King was grateful to him and asked him to name anything as a reward. Mark didn't make haste in replying to that and told him that he will give his answer, the next morning before he returns home. The King agreed to it.
Anyway, the announcement was over and the people returned to their homes in joy. Mark and Allen also returned to their respective guest rooms.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtMark then locked his room and sat on the bed while opening the quest list.
"Okay, now is the time to choose the reward, Submarine or a Destroyer?"
Mark still hadn't cleared his doubt. Now that he completed the quest, he asked the system about the rewards.
The system gave him a quick reply.
*Ding! The host has a choice. For both the rewards, you can pick either a single ether-powered warship or a normal warship that can be mass-produced by the system and sold to the customers.
"Now, this complicates the things…" Mark realized that it is different from what he expected. If it is something decided by the system, he can make use of it at his convenience but since he was given a choice, Mark knew that he cannot make a wrong step.
"Both have advantages and disadvantages. If I had to choose an ether-powered warship, a Submarine would be a better choice as there will be super powerful beasts living at the depths of the ocean. But, a large part of the ocean is unexplored. It will be a risky adventure. And mass-produced normal submarines will stand no chance.
On the other hand, Destroyers will be good in huge numbers. Most of the powerful marine beasts won't come to the surface either way. And I can even rule the ocean surface if I make my moves right.
The only problem is that I'm not sure if the King would give me the reward that I'm hoping to receive.
He gave his word for sure but the hearts of humans are unpredicted. No, the Western Moon needed my support. If I don't stand with them, then, they won't have a chance against the Church of Doom. As for the Empires, each emperor will only think of the best interests of his people. Who dares to send soldiers to the death for the sake of Shen Niu?
An intelligent woman like Shen Ling would also realize it by now. Hmm, Okay. For the sake of defending the territory, I have to make this choice."
Mark proceeded to click on Destroyer.
*Ding! Choose a type: Destroyer V (ether) / Kidd-class Destroyer (mass-produced)
"Kidd-class?" Mark felt like he had heard of it but was not sure where. If there was one thing he was sure of, it is that this is probably the first vehicle that doesn't belong to the Eurasian Federation, which was formed after world war 3 and where he worked in his past life.
Either way, he made the decision. So, he clicked on the mass-produced destroyer.
*Ding! Kidd-class Destroyer has been unlocked. Please check out the Gallery for details.
*Ding! You unlocked 127mm ammunition.
*Ding! You unlocked RIM-66 Standard missile.
*Ding! You unlocked the Harpoon missile (anti-ship)
*Ding! You unlocked Mk 46 torpedo.
Closing down the window, Mark excitedly opened the Gallery and searched for the brightly lit items, and clicked on the ship-looking image.
Below the image of a destroyer, the details appeared.
Name: Kidd-class Destroyer
Type: Guided missile destroyer
Grade: N/A
Displacement (full): 9,782,954 kg (~9783 tons)
Length: 172 meters (563ft)
Beam: 17 meters (55ft)
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmDraught: 9.6 meters (31.5ft)
Max. Speed: 61 km/hr
Range: 6000 km – 11000 (Depends on the type of fuel and speed of the ship)
Fuel Capacity: 32000 liters
Armament:
I) 2x 5-inch (127mm) 54 caliber Mk 45 dual-purpose guns (20 round capacity)
II) 2x Mk 26 launchers for RIM-66 missiles
III) 2x 20mm CIWS (close in weapons system) Mk 15 cannons
IV) 2x Mk 141quadruple Harpoon missile canisters
V) 2x Mk 32 triple 12.75 in (324mm) torpedo tubes
Aviation facility: Flight deck and hangar for helicopters.
Description: This mighty warship is capable of destroying enemies under the 7-circle realm with its firepower.
Price: 35000 gold coins
Create?
"35 thousand gold coins? That's even 7 times the Phz 2000 howitzer, which delivers the same results but then again, this has a greater range. Hmm, maybe, I can install a couple of howitzers on the ship deck and use them to my advantage. This world doesn't have the same weapons that I can access, anyway."
Mark wanted to create one but at the last second, he controlled his urge upon remembering that he doesn't need this warship at the moment. Not to mention, there will be unnecessary heavy debt.
After deciding to create it when it was necessary, he closed down the gallery and everything before going to sleep. Of course, he didn't forget to contact Alina to know the situation over in the city.
Seeing that everything is fine, Mark wondered about Lin Xue's mission for a while and then, slept soundly.