Building a Viking Empire with Modern Industry-Chapter 184: Dominion

For the last three days and nights, Ragnar had been locked away in his private study within the Governor’s Mansion.

So much so that the only thing he had consumed was heavily caffeinated black coffee.

Considering he could not easily get his hands on modern energy drinks, he was left with the Titan Blend to stimulate his mind and keep him from defaulting on his sleep debt.

Yet, now after all his hard work, the R&D phase had finally paid off.

Sitting before him on his drafting table was a comprehensive schematic for an Ironclad Steam Frigate.

It was a massive beast of industry, designed not just to rule the waves, but to monopolize them.

It featured a sleek, reinforced hull and could house a total of 12 heavy Steam Cannons on pivot mounts.

The ship itself was basically a scaled-down, steam-powered adaptation of the CSS Virginia from his previous life, optimized for the turbulent waters of the North Sea.

Due to a lack of advanced composite materials, Ragnar had to improvise and rely on high-tensile steel plating bolted over a thick oak frame.

As for the propulsion, it abandoned sails entirely in favor of a massive, coal-fired Triple-Expansion Steam Engine driving twin screw propellers.

The reason for this was simple: wind was a volatile asset; steam was a guaranteed return on investment.

It would ensure the vessel could outmaneuver any Viking longship or Frankish galley, regardless of the weather.

How Ragnar knew of these designs? Well, that could be explained by his brief stint as a corporate acquisitions consultant for a maritime shipping conglomerate in his previous life.

He was auditing a failing shipyard that specialized in historical reproductions.

Ragnar did not have many friends in his previous life, but he had plenty of networking contacts.

The shipyard’s chief engineer, a man named Davis, was desperately trying to save his company from liquidation.

During a week-long audit, Ragnar was invited down to the drydocks by Davis to inspect the assets.

His stay was supposed to be strictly financial, but during this time he spent it almost exclusively in the archives, studying the evolution of naval architecture from the age of sail to the age of steam.

What started out as a hostile audit quickly turned into a week of extensive technical study.

Davis, realizing his company was doomed, spent the week drinking heavily at the local bars, leaving Ragnar to his own devices.

Not desiring to waste billable hours, Ragnar opted to stay in the archives and memorize the schematics of the most efficient naval vessels ever designed.

Apparently, that grueling audit became a blessing in disguise because it provided him with the knowledge of how to build steamships from scratch. Ragnar planned to draft two classes of ships for his future Iron Navy, the first of which was the monumental Ironclad Frigate that he referred to as the Gyda-Class.

The reason for him naming it this was simply good corporate branding.

He decided to name his flagship class after his CFO and partner.

The reason for making the heavy dreadnought named after Gyda instead of Elfrida ultimately came down to their respective management styles.

Even if Elfrida was currently managing the textile mills efficiently, he knew she was a lightweight in negotiations.

When compared to Gyda’s ruthless, impenetrable defense in a boardroom, the answer was obvious as to which ship should bear which name.

The Gyda-Class would be unyielding, heavily armored, and devastatingly effective.

...

Eventually, Ragnar heard a sharp knock on the heavy oak door after admiring his blueprints, and he quickly answered with a raspy, over-caffeinated voice.

"Enter."

With that said, Gyda walked into the room, and noticed that Ragnar’s usual pristine corporate appearance looked heavily depreciated.

He had deep bags under his eyes, his cravat was undone, and his monocle was smudged.

Though she knew he was working on a critical asset and was currently undergoing a bout of manic productivity, she could not let the CEO work himself into an early grave.

The beautiful CFO quickly approached the drafting table where Ragnar was seated, gazing passionately at the schematics with a terrifyingly wide smile on his face.

Thus she quickly asked about the designs as she leaned over to audit the paperwork.

"What is this? The Gyda-Class Ironclad? Oh, Ragnar! You are branding a warship after me?"

Gyda was so pleased she quickly grabbed ahold of Ragnar and pulled him into a tight embrace, resting his exhausted head against her shoulder.

The comforting scent of parchment and expensive perfume made Ragnar’s adrenaline crash, yet he still had to sign off on the final stress calculations.

As such, he forced his heavy eyelids open.

He was too tired to voice his thoughts properly; thus, he just nodded his head slowly and released a low groan.

"Mhmm... iron hull... maximum yield..."

Seeing that her partner’s operating system was crashing, Gyda instantly adopted her most authoritative tone before dragging him from his stool.

He had been up far too long and was in no state to continue drafting.

Though Ragnar attempted to cite a pending deadline, he was much too weary to resist and thus found himself quickly being frog-marched out of his study and towards their private quarters where Gyda chastised him.

"Though I am flattered you named such a capital asset after me, I am more furious that you are depreciating your own health! You seriously need to enter sleep mode. You can finalize the blueprints in Q4!"

She knew Ragnar’s workaholism well enough to know he would sneak back to his desk if left alone, and thus she forced him to power down.

As such, Gyda unlaced his boots, removed his heavy leg brace, and pushed him onto the feather mattress.

She sat beside him, running her fingers through his soot-stained hair.

Ragnar fell asleep to the rhythmic ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner.

The last thought on his mind before drifting into unconsciousness was a simple calculation:

Monopoly achieved.

Ragnar slept for a total of eighteen hours, and when he awoke, the gas lamps in the room were lit, and Gyda was sitting at a small desk nearby, reviewing a ledger with a warm smile.

He did not know how long his system had been offline and thus casually asked after yawning heavily and adjusting his jaw.

"How long was the downtime?"

Gyda paused her calculations, tapping her quill against her chin before smiling and responding to him.

"About eighteen hours. Your longest unrecorded absence this fiscal year."

Ragnar was shocked by this figure; it had been a while since he suffered such a severe system crash. But he was more shocked that his inbox hadn’t exploded.

As such, he asked the second question on his mind.

"You managed the floor the whole time?"

Hearing this, Gyda chuckled lightly before setting her ledger down.

"Of course. Unlike a certain Director, I know how to delegate to the Shift Supervisors. But I have been here for the last hour..."

Hearing this, Ragnar smirked, feeling the familiar drive of ambition returning to his veins. Seeing that Ragnar was rebooting, Gyda decided to reveal some important market news to garner his attention.

"By the way... Did you submit a requisition for a Shipwright from the Frisian Coast? He arrived about six hours ago, claiming the ’Iron Father’ offered him a blank check. I told him you were in a closed-door meeting and to wait, but he is threatening to breach contract."

Hearing this, Ragnar’s eyes immediately snapped open, and he began to groan, reaching for his leg brace.

"Ugh! Fine, I will handle the HR complaint."

With that said, he slowly rose from the bed and strapped on his brace, where Gyda handed him a freshly pressed tunic.

Now that the CEO was fully operational for the day, Ragnar walked into his Great Hall where the master shipwright, known as Hendrik the Builder, was waiting rather impatiently for his arrival.

The man was pacing around the room with a scowl on his face, his massive arms crossed over his chest.

When he noticed Ragnar’s arrival, the clank-clank of the leg brace echoing in the hall, he instantly began to shout at him.

"Do you have any idea how much my time is worth?

Who do you think you are to make Hendrik wait in a drafty hallway?"

Hendrik was not only a shipwright, but he was one of the best in Frisia.

However, he was not loyal to any King or Jarl; he simply desired to build the largest vessels and secure the most lucrative contracts to do so.

Ragnar had headhunted the man by claiming he had designed a new paradigm in naval architecture and offered a massive stock option for the man to come work for the Directorate and build his fleet in the North Sea.

Seeing the man so visibly agitated, Ragnar put on his most polished corporate facade and extended a hand to the man.

"My sincerest apologies for the scheduling conflict, Hendrik. I had spent a total of three days and three nights ensuring that the schematics for our new venture were flawless, and as such, when the project concluded, I required immediate downtime.

You must be weary from the voyage. Come join me in the boardroom, and we will discuss your compensation package."

Hearing that he was going to get straight to the financials greatly lessened Hendrik’s wrath, and thus he accepted Ragnar’s invitation.

It would be nice to see if the "Iron Father" actually had the capital to back up his boasts.

Thus the two left the Great Hall and headed towards the boardroom...