After completing all transactions, Rocky suddenly had more than seven hundred thousand Gold Coins in hand, a sum much greater than he had anticipated, finally enabling him to spend money liberally.
However, regarding how exactly to spend this money, Rocky still needed to carefully plan, after all, good steel must be used on the blade edge.
“Once all the trades are completed, take out one hundred thousand Gold Coins to build factories and shops, as well as to purchase leather materials and stock the shops, all from this one hundred thousand Gold Coins. Do you think that’s enough?”
Early one day, Rocky gathered everyone in his room to discuss the next steps of the plan.
Now that all transactions had been settled, and the continuous stream of visitors was gone, Rocky finally had time to arrange how to spend this considerable amount of money. It wasn’t a trivial matter, because while spending money is easy, making each coin count is not, and Rocky had to maximize the benefits of the seven hundred thousand Gold Coins in his hand.
It didn’t matter if they were all spent, but after spending, it was necessary to ensure that the strength of Thunderhawk City was raised a notch.
And since the acquired Gold Coins were much more than anticipated, the plans Rocky had previously considered would have to change slightly. However, the money originally slated for the development of Thunderhawk City remained unchanged.
Aileen and Old Jack had already chosen a location in the city; the house was ready to move in, only requiring some modifications to be usable, so the main expenses would be on factory equipment and raw materials, as well as importing goods for the stores. Rocky felt one hundred thousand Gold Coins was sufficient for these needs.
“One hundred thousand Gold Coins is enough. The Ruby Chamber of Commerce can supply us with the leather materials and goods needed for the stores. As for the factory equipment, I will handle that with Lord Jack tomorrow.” Experience tales at empire
Indeed, Aileen stated that one hundred thousand Gold Coins was enough and assured that she and Old Jack would handle the matter, freeing Rocky from concern.
With that settled, Rocky continued,
“The remaining money, I think, should be spent according to the original plan, on purchasing Void Magic Armors and expanding the fleet of Skyships, as well as upgrading the soldiers’ equipment. Only now, we can increase and improve the quantity and quality.”
When Rocky finished speaking, both Monte and Lin Feng’s eyes lit up, as if Rocky’s men were to be divided into administrative and military roles, Monte and Lin Feng clearly belonged to the military side. So when they heard Rocky planned to enhance the military strength of Thunderhawk City, they were naturally excited.
At this moment, Rocky turned to Aileen, “Aileen, when exactly can the Ruby Chamber of Commerce and Apple Tree Corporation complete the transactions?”
“In the next few days. I’ve already started the handover of goods with the Ruby Chamber of Commerce. If everything goes well, they will make the payment tomorrow, and then we’ll proceed with the handover with the Apple Tree Corporation. In three days at most, all transactions should be completed.”
“Good, once the transactions are completed, I’ll go purchase the Void Magic Armors and Skyships.”
Having arranged everything, everyone finally relaxed a little. Now they had nothing to do but wait for how they would spend the money later.
The three days passed quickly. To be honest, everyone was a bit nervous during this time as it was their first time handling such a big business deal, and they all feared any unexpected events that might cause problems.
But fortunately, such a stroke of bad luck did not occur. All the transactions over these three days had gone smoothly, resulting not only in over seven hundred thousand Gold Coins in hand but also the Escort Ship gifted by the Apple Tree Corporation had been delivered!
Upon learning that the gifted Escort Ship had arrived, Rocky made a special trip to the Skyport to lay eyes on what was truly a warship.
When he got to the Skyport and saw the Escort Ship, he couldn’t help but exclaim in his heart that this was indeed a real warship!
Although among all Floating Battleships, the level of the Escort Ship was relatively lower, only one level higher than a Reconnaissance Ship, it ultimately met the warship standard, far surpassing the Reconnaissance Ship in many aspects.
Take, for example, the Escort Ship given by the Apple Tree Corporation, which was one hundred ten meters long, greater in size even than two Reconnaissance Ships placed side by side.
The entire warship was powered by twenty-five Medium Magic Stones, which provided not only propulsion but also a magic energy defense net, with defensive power enough to withstand attacks from Magic Cannons with a magic energy value of below 500.
Just this characteristic alone ensured the Escort Ship an invincible position against Reconnaissance Ships, at least when facing those from Thunderhawk City.
That’s because Thunderhawk City’s Reconnaissance Ships were all first-generation, equipped with only two Magic Cannons, and the power of their magic energy was merely 300 points. In other words, against an Escort Ship, Thunderhawk City’s Reconnaissance Ships could blast away to no avail, their 300-point Magic Cannons unable to breach the opponent’s Defensive Net.
Because of the warship’s enormous size, it also required more crew members, with a full complement capable of carrying one hundred fifty personnel. Additionally, the warship was armed with no less than fifteen Magic Cannons, including two main cannons powered by Medium Magic Stones alone, reaching a magic energy power of 1300, and thirteen auxiliary cannons with a power of 700.
Not just in defensive power, but also in firepower, this Escort Ship left the Reconnaissance Ships of Thunderhawk City far behind. Compared to Thunderhawk City’s vessels, the firepower of this Escort Ship could only be described as terrifying!
In fact, this was rather a sad affair, as it indirectly showed how weak Thunderhawk City’s military strength was. While fifth-generation warships were already commanding the skies, Thunderhawk City still relied on first-generation Skyships to protect its city.
But now things were different.
Rocky now finally owned a true warship, albeit a third-generation one, but it was still countless times stronger than those outdated Reconnaissance Ships of Thunderhawk City. And third-generation warships weren’t completely obsolete from the historical stage; many average-strength Sky Cities still relied on this generation of warships as their main force.
Therefore, Rocky was one hundred percent satisfied with this Escort Ship.
With the warship delivered and the transaction payment settled, the deal between Rocky and the Apple Tree Corporation was officially concluded. However, to Rocky’s slight surprise, after finalizing the trade, the other party also presented him with an invitation to a ball, asking him to attend a dance hosted by the Chamber of Commerce in three days.
Eternal City, a behemoth in the sky, naturally saw a constant gathering of important figures year-round. With nobles commonplace and City Lords ubiquitous, balls served as the best platform for interaction among nobility and prominent figures, making them a staple in Eternal City, where dances occurred daily throughout the year.
For most people, especially the nobility or small City Lords eager to climb the social ladder, the frequent balls in Eternal City provided excellent opportunities. Being invited to these balls signified wealth or nobility, and making connections there was obviously beneficial for advancement.
However, Rocky, also a small City Lord, felt rather indifferent upon receiving the ball invitation. He thought that the pressing matter at hand was to spend the money he had. Where could he find the time for such dances?