System vs Rebirth

"How is it going, Felicia?" Noel asked while looking at Felicia in the air. Her posture was terrible. While she was indeed flying, it was her upper body that was following the armor. Her lower body was simply hanging.

"As expected, this is not going to work." Felicia stopped supplying Spiritual Energy into the armor and landed on the ground. "I managed to maintain my posture for a bit, but once I lost my balance, I couldn't regain it. As expected, we have to attach the lower body to the armor so that we can fly like a bird."

"If it's like that, doesn't that mean we don't need the boards to fly?" Noel asked.

Felicia fell into deep thought. "That's true. If a person can fly with the help of a rune, then there's no need for the flying board anymore. The flying board can be used to transport materials or something else."

"I see." Noel imagined Anna flying in the sky. On the one hand, the flying board looked exciting, but in terms of functionality, the flying armor would be better. Since every soldier was going to wear that armor in one way or another, he thought it would be better to just give them only the armor. 

If the enemies shot them down, it meant they wouldn't survive.

However, Felicia actually gave another suggestion. "Instead, why don't we exchange their roles? The armor is used for fighting while the board… Hmm, let's not use the board. Why don't we use a small object that can be carried in one's pocket and embedded with Enhance Forward Rune? This way, when they are shot down, they could still use this small item to glide in the air as the last resort to get away."

"A palm-size item, huh?" Noel thought for a moment. "To be honest, it's far easier to embed a rune on a larger surface. So, a palm-sized object is kind of hard to give, even for me."

"Then, I will think about this a bit more. All I can say is that the flying squad is possible. While they need a lot of practice before they get used to this feeling, they will definitely become a terrifying squad. In fact, they might be able to protect the city from the flying demons."

"In that case, I will select a few soldiers. I want you to practice together with them. What do you think?"

"That's a good idea. We can also bombard the demons from the sky." Felicia agreed.

"That's settled then. While I do want you to get a Rune Body, I don't think I can grant you that right now. It's not that I don't trust you, but I don't want to betray my fiancee." Noel smiled wryly. 

He didn't mind seeing other people naked, but he didn't want to do it unless it was necessary. 

"Don't worry, my lord. The situation is not urgent, so I can afford to wait for another month."

"She will be back in half a month if nothing goes wrong." Noel nodded, thankful for her consideration. He suddenly turned around and noticed Dimitri coming to him. 

They were training a bit away from the city so no one knew about this flying squad. But it seemed that something had come up. 

"What's wrong, Dimitri?" Noel asked.

"We have received the word from Mayor Dan. He said the people from the Zaecuria Kingdom had arrived along with the materials." 

"They are faster than I thought." Noel raised his eyebrows.

"What should we do?"

"Tell him to guide them to the location of the port. I will meet them there. While I'm not here, take care of the city."

"Mayor Dan has told them about the port. They've gone there by the time the letter arrives and they await you there."

"In that case, I'll meet them right away."

Noel waved his hand as he summoned his phoenix wings and soared into the sky. It had only been seven days since Benedict visited his city. The return trip alone should take at least three days if they rushed, so it was quite amazing to be able to reach his location in just seven days, especially with the materials. The Zaecuria Kingdom appeared to go all out for this deal.

It took Noel a few hours to fly at full speed to reach the location. 

He noticed numerous carts of materials moving toward the river. There were, apparently, about a hundred people actually going to build the ship. 

As soon as Noel landed on the ground, a muscular old man stepped forth and said, "I presume you are the lord of Lounstein, Earl Noel Ardagan, correct?" 

"It is I. May I know who I am speaking to?" Noel examined this person's strength and affection.

"Although I've retired now, I was a Duke, a General, and a Shipwright before. My name is Roger Briton. It's a pleasure to meet you." The old man introduced himself while holding his cigarette in his hand.

"It appears that the Zaecuria Kingdom is going all out for this project." Noel smirked. 

"I shall pass his majesty's words to you. 'The Zaecuria KIngdom shall sponsor the construction of the first automated ship as well as the port of Lounstein. I hope that Earl Noel Ardagan receives it so that you can survive. I wish you luck.' That's the message."

Noel was quite surprised that the king would even sponsor the port's creation. While it wouldn't become a port city, it was still a port. And they would even cover the cost of materials. 

"Alas, our cooperation will be hard to hide," Duke Briton exclaimed while looking at the materials. 

There were so many carts coming here and many more would come as the project progressed. 

"Indeed. Then again, it's fine at this point, right?" Noel smirked. 

"As you said. If they dare to destroy the ship, it's the same as slapping the Zaecuria Kingdom in the face. We will retaliate to the best of our ability." Duke Briton stopped for a moment as if he wanted to know something. 

"What's wrong?"

"While this is rude to ask, I wish to see the rune that allows you to move the boat upstream." Duke Briton looked at the flow of the river. While there was no raging flow, the speed was still pretty high. Even the Zaecuria Kingdom needed a lot of people to go upstream on this river.

"I don't really mind showing it to you." Noel glanced at the other people before pointing to a more secluded area. 

Duke Briton nodded in understanding and followed Noel after ordering the rest of the people to stay here.

As soon as he couldn't sense any more people, Noel pulled out his blade, cutting a tree. He skillfully stripped all the branches from the log. 

"While this is—" Noel wanted to start, but Duke Briton actually interjected. "Please wait a moment." 

Duke Briton took out a small knife and started cutting the trunk like butter. He took out a chisel and started ripping the inside to create a small room for someone to sit in. It was narrow, but this was a very simple boat.

"The trunk is big enough, so I guess this should imitate the boat a little bit." Duke Briton nodded in approval. He had just shown his expertise to show Noel that he would do a great job. 

After that, Duke Briton waved his hand as the flow started to split, creating still water in the middle. It seemed that Duke Briton had a water type spirit, which was perfect for controlling the river.

"Please." 

Noel nodded, tossed the wood into the still water, and said, "I'm ready."

Duke Briton retracted his ability after Noel's signal. The boat began facing the water, but Noel remained standing as if he were skilled enough to maintain his balance. 

After that, a rune appeared behind the boat and started pushing the boat forward. The speed increased at a stable pace, indicating that the limit of this rune was unknown.

Seeing how it could indeed go upstream even in this flow was enough for Duke Briton to see the success of the boat. "I see. Thank you for demonstrating it to this old man, Earl Ardagan."

"I'm not familiar with the boat. What we want is a grand boat that can hold up to a few hundred people at once as per the agreement. I believe that the weight will also affect the effectiveness of the runes, so I will personally embed the runes to see if I need to draw more runes for the boat to function or use a better rune."

"I understand. I will begin working with my subordinates to create the perfect boat for you. If you have any requests, then please don't hesitate to tell me." 

"How long do you need to complete the boat?"

"We promise to complete the boat before your territory is open to the public." 

"After that, you and the other four shall enter my territory as students of the Rune Academy." 

"There is no shame in learning something even if it's from the younger generation. After all, you are the future." Duke Briton smiled while extending his hand.

"I believe we have a deal." Noel shook his hand firmly. 

The progress of the territory had been smooth. The people he wanted to meet had come to the territory. There were also outside helpers that would come right before the battle according to the agreement.

All that was left was watching the progress until the time limit and waiting for Anna to come back.

…

Two weeks later.

As Noel predicted, Anna was returning to the city at night. But Noel didn't realize at the time that Anna's return would stir trouble he had never faced before.