Chapter 63: The Great Research Funding Battle

Chapter 63: The Great Research Funding Battle

Under Domiya’s guidance, Airael and the others arrived at the Magical Energy Cannon testing site.

As soon as they got here, their eyes were glued to the Magical Energy Cannon.

“Domiya-sensei, this is…”

Overwhelmed with excitement, Airael stuttered in her words.

“That’s right, this is the Magical Energy Cannon you told me about before. It took quite a lot of effort to bring it to life.”

“Domiya-sensei, you’re amazing!”

Airael was absolutely thrilled.

She stepped up and began to touch and explore this colossal piece of equipment.

The thick, long barrel looked simply mesmerizing to Airael.

Domiya smiled as she watched Airael.

Once Airael was done admiring, she curiously asked Domiya, “What’s its power like?”

“Your Majesty, please look over there.”

Following Domiya’s指示, Airael and her companions turned to see a massive pit several dozen meters across, a kilometer away.

“Wow, incredible! With a weapon like this, those new-fangled tools from the Dwarves are nothing!”

Even though the Dwarves had cannons and firearms made of gunpowder, the Elven race now had their own Magical Energy Cannon.

Its power was not any less than that of the Dwarves’ cannons.

“Your Majesty, what did you just say? Dwarven new weapons?”

“Yeah! On this trip, I saw those Dwarven new weapons. They’ve even created something similar to the Magical Energy Cannon called the cannon, and in addition, they also have a weapon that’s much more mobile but weaker in power—a firearm! With these two new weapons, the Dwarves took about a month to conquer half of the human kingdom.”

“Who would’ve thought those little guys were so tough!”

“Domiya-sensei, please don’t underestimate other races, or it might bring some serious trouble!”

Seeing Airael’s serious expression, Domiya chuckled and replied, “Yes! Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I won’t underestimate them.”

“By the way, Domiya-sensei, can you create a more flexible magical firearm?”

“Magical firearm? Do you mean an enchanted spear?”

“No! Look, this is the firearm made by the Dwarves.”

Airael shook her head and pulled out the Dwarven firearm she had in her storage space.

“See, this is the Dwarven firearm.”

“This thing looks like a miniature version of the Magical Energy Cannon.”

Airael nodded, “Exactly! The magical firearm I’m talking about is a firearm powered by magic. It doesn’t need to be as powerful as the Magical Energy Cannon; it just needs to be easy to carry.”

“If we’re not aiming for high power, that’s completely doable! It’ll just take some time to design a reasonable plan.”

“By the way, Domiya-sensei, when designing, you could add a ring at the muzzle of the magical firearm to attach a sharp spearhead or something like that, so this magical firearm could be used as a ‘spear’ in close combat!”

At this, Domiya’s eyes lit up, and she looked at Airael in awe, saying, “Your Majesty, you’re so clever!”

Airael instantly found herself blushing and shy.

“It’s just some inspiration!”

After checking out the Magical Energy Cannon, Airael followed Domiya into her laboratory.

Inside the lab were other unfinished projects.

The Magical Energy Cannon was prioritized for development largely due to its immense power, which is why it was completed first.

Now that the research on the Magical Energy Cannon was at a certain stage, they would shift their focus to those unfinished products.

Domiya showing Airael around certainly wasn’t just to show off.

After all, developing these things required funding.

So, she needed to spark Airael’s interest first, making it easier to get budget approvals from her after taking power.

“Your Majesty, do you remember that flying magic you mentioned before?”

In the lab, Domiya stood next to a statue of a Pegasus.

“Domiya-sensei, did you develop flying magic?”

Domiya shook her head.

“Although I haven’t developed flying magic yet, I’ve connected what you said to magical apparatuses. Just like we can use boats to achieve the purpose of walking on water. Also, I believe this kind of device is much more practical than using flying magic. If we used flying magic, it would require the mage to concentrate a great deal on maintaining the spell during flight, making it nearly impossible to use magic for combat at the same time. But with devices, you wouldn’t have to worry about that!”

Airael’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Domiya.

Wow, not only has the cannon been created, but an “airplane” is also on the horizon!

After just one outing, Airael thought there wouldn’t be much change back home.

Who knew Domiya would surprise her so much?

“Your Majesty, don’t look at me like that. These technologies actually build on some previous foundation we Elves had; it’s just that no one connected them this way. You should still remember our magical battleships, right?”

“I remember!”

Airael nodded.

Although Domiya said that, Airael understood that ships and airplanes were ultimately different entities.

The latter was way more challenging.

Even though the potential was significant, at this moment, Domiya was feeling a bit hesitant: “Your Majesty, you shouldn’t hold too high expectations. The ‘Pegasus plan’ is merely an idea right now; there hasn’t been any practical testing, so the chances of success are quite low.”

As long as it succeeds, it’s fine, but if it fails, it wouldn’t look good for Airael, who just took power.

“Domiya-sensei, I believe you can do it.”

Airael replied, her voice resolute.

Currently, land warfare dominated the battlefield; if the Elven race could gain air superiority, it would secure a huge advantage in the upcoming conflicts.

The power of flight was evidently formidable, much like those mighty beings that soared freely in the sky—the Dragons.

The strength of Dragons partly comes from their ability to fly.

Once I ascend to the heights, no matter how many attacks you launch, or how powerful they are, they’ll all be futile if you can’t reach me.

“Alright, I’ll give it a shot. But before that, I’ll need Your Majesty to allocate more research funding.”

Domiya looked a bit embarrassed.

While she was quite straightforward when asking Linis for money before, Airael was still her student.

Hearing Domiya request funding, Airael momentarily froze.

Then, a wry smile crossed her face.

Well, who doesn’t need money for research?

Only, she wasn’t sure how much she actually had or how much could be allocated to Domiya’s funding.