The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

The so-called "Well of Eternity" project aims to restart nuclear energy research.

After all, relying solely on magic is definitely unreliable if you want to explore the stars and the sea. Magic is convenient, but all the magic we have now is a legacy of the Golden Age. Nobody knows if magic stones will undergo any mutations in the future, or if magic will become less and less.

Nuclear energy is not a perpetual energy source, and magic stones are a product of the combination of wave and nuclear energy. If the empire wants to develop, it must mine magic stones extensively. However, magic stones are obviously limited, and obelisks can only provide a semi-perpetual cycle. Moreover, they require human maintenance, and the energy will eventually run out.

In this context, restarting nuclear energy research is essential, not only for the stable development of humanity, but also as the first step for humanity to reach the stars.

Even with the availability of various incredible materials and magical aids, recreating the fusion device of the Golden Age would still be extremely difficult.

Linde spends time every day immersing himself in coolant to communicate with 550C, ensuring the smooth progress of the initial phase of the Well of Eternity project.

This time, there's no way to pull off a miracle with sheer force. Moreover, the Well of Eternity is an incredibly long-term project, and even though Lind is still young, there's no guarantee he'll see any results in his lifetime.

However, what one generation cannot accomplish, is passed on to the next generation, and if the next generation cannot complete it, it is passed on to the generation after that. Currently, education is being vigorously developed in various places. As long as the education system arranged by Linde and 550C can be maintained, sooner or later, the Well of Eternity will be completed.

Of course, this is on the premise that, as 550C thought, humanity doesn't cause any major chaos during the lull in their dormancy and destroy itself. However, Linde still chose to believe in humanity.

A new fleet of ships returning from Sauron has docked. This time, in addition to gold and silver from the Sauron continent, they also brought a large amount of magic stones, which made the eyes of many adventurers working at the port light up.

Magic can be said to be the lifeblood of the new empire, while magic stones are the skeleton that supports the empire. Even though there are obelisks now, which can achieve a semi-perpetual motion of magic, the price of magic stones remains high. A single magic stone can even directly help a family escape poverty.

According to the returning crew, the efficiency of mining magic stones on the continent of Soron is low, so a large number of people are needed to help. Moreover, magic stones may exist in other parts of the continent of Soron as well.

Whether joining the Empire's official mining operations or venturing further afield to become independent gold miners, both could be opportunities to make a fortune, which has many adventurers eager to try.

Of course, if such an opportunity were to arise, the original gold prospectors of the Soren continent would be the first to receive it. Currently, many gold prospectors are providing Sean with scattered magic stones in exchange for rewards and better equipment and weapons.

The main purpose was to get more people to the Solon continent to help increase the population of Sean's territory. It's not that you can't make money on the Solon continent, it's just not as easy as the crew members said.

However, Linde was more concerned about the report that Sidney brought back. The Black Sail Engine had confirmed Sidney's theory. Although the Sea of ​​Impermanence was chaotic and disordered, it was still possible to use magic to perform some operations compared to the sky, where magic was thin and disordered.

If the Empire had the capability, it could have established base stations step by step using ships and islands, completely connecting the Empire with the continent of Solon.

It must be said that Sidney's proposal is very ambitious, but Sidney also said that it is not suitable to do so now. After all, with the current technology, the communication distance on the Sea of ​​Impermanence is much shorter than that on the mainland. If the two continents were to be connected, the cost would be a terrifying figure.

Therefore, Sidney recommended waiting until the technology was mature before commencing construction.

"Any news about Sean?"

Lena, who was already heavily pregnant, moved closer to Lind, and the two sat together in one seat. Although her due date was approaching, Lena was not nervous at all, and instead became even more clingy.

"Yes, Sean's campaign over there is going very well. He has already captured an important magic stone mine, and the next fleet can bring him more production equipment."

Lind pulled out the report Sean had written and continued, "Also, a queen from Castile proposed to Sean. This mine was a gift from that queen, but Sean didn't accept immediately."

Lena picked up Elto's file, frowned, and said, "This queen has ulterior motives."

Although she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong with Erto, Lena just felt that he was acting strangely, or rather, that he had ulterior motives.

Lena is still somewhat naive, just like before, but that's only due to her limited perspective and experience. On some key issues, Lena often demonstrates extraordinary intuition.

"That's right. She wanted to rely on the Empire's weapons and technology to help her consolidate her territory, and then use the Empire's power to her advantage. That magic stone mine didn't originally belong to her alone, but in name, it became a gift from her to Sean, which is equivalent to getting something for nothing."

Lena tilted her head, seemingly not quite understanding Lind's explanation, and simply asked, "Sean won't agree, will he?"

"Of course not. Rather, Alto didn't expect Sean to agree in the first place. If he had agreed, she would have been in a dilemma."

However, seeing Lena's worried expression as her brother was being deceived by a bad woman, Lin De added, "But I will still remind him. Don't worry, if anything happens, Sean will contact us through the goddess."

Of all the intelligence brought back this time, besides the situation of Sean and Sidney, what Linde cared about most was the report written by the eldest son of the Laurent family.

The nations on the continent of Soren are more divided than Lind had imagined. It seems that the intelligence provided by the Grey Robes wasn't entirely accurate. However, from the perspective of high-level professionals like the Grey Robes and the nobles, everyone still appeared to be united in a seemingly unbreakable alliance against the Avars.

However, the people below lacked a sense of nationhood. Once the Avars lost their threat, the lower classes, who had not established a unified nation or national consciousness, fell into confusion, especially when the Castilian nobles and royal family were actively splitting apart.

Lind may have overthought things from the start. Perhaps Rosalind wasn't even needed as a backer. If Sean had gone directly there from the beginning, the result would have been the same. But in any case, as long as Rosalind was there, she could provide Sean and the Empire with a lot of legitimacy.

Whether it's to break through the fog and reach other regions in the future, or to truly explore the stars and the sea, the power of the Soren continent is essential, and this continent must be under the control of the empire.