Extraordinary Voyage-Chapter 771 - 664: Opening to Traffic and the Scissors Gap Between Industry and Agriculture

Toot——!

Clang clang clang...

Amidst the long whistle of the steam locomotive, an unstoppable Steel Giant Beast crushed the white steam, racing along the dragon-like track, running faster than galloping horses even when hauling 20 heavy carriages.

As a mechanical creation with full endurance points, it doesn't even know what "rest" means.

Sitting in the last carriage of the steam locomotive, Aiven looked at the scenery flashing rapidly outside the glass window, and a strong sense of achievement surged in his heart.

Beside him, Olivia, wearing a lady's dress and holding his arm, had twinkling stars in her eyes as well. The impact of the blueprints and the real object was indeed incomparable.

Moreover, this was an industrial miracle built by a group of mortals without the aid of any Extraordinary Power!

Traveling back and forth between the capital of Georgia, Brunswick, and Far Sail Port used to take a whole day and a half by ship, but taking the steam locomotive now only required a mere six hours.

This was already a terrifying speed beyond its time that only the Legendary Battleship: Crown of Miracles with a sailing speed of 32 knots could achieve. Yet, the steam locomotive and railway could replicate that on a large scale without the limitations of Extraordinary Materials, fully realizing the essential features of industrialization.

Time is money; efficiency is life!

The value contained within is obvious at a glance.

The entire 368-kilometer Georgia Corridor was originally expected to take a year to construct, but with the influx of Ilyan refugees, the engineering team adopted a segmented construction plan and completely finished in just over half a year.

The official start of construction was in early spring, and the completion and opening happened just as winter arrived.

Previously.

During the spring and autumn sailing seasons, a large number of Ilyan immigrants were intercepted by Aiven and largely stayed at Saint Aiven Port.

Thanks to widespread promotions by the local residents of Buffalo, along with the outstanding achievements of last year's efforts to rescue them from Ilya's mainland turmoil, the name of Saint Aiven was seen as a savior among the mainland citizens and immigrants of Ilya.

For refugees who just arrived at the New Continent with nothing, a job provided by Aiven to support themselves and their families was undoubtedly very attractive. Thousands of railway workers recruited by the "Coastal Railway Company" joined the major infrastructure project of the "Georgia Corridor."

They would also become the backbone force of a thriving railway industry.

Of course, sufficient funding support was indispensable, and thanks were due to the generous donations from several Churches.

Although the negotiations with other Churches weren't as smooth as with the "Black Iron Cross Church," in a blatant seller's market, unwilling to fall behind, they ultimately couldn't hold any ground.

Especially after the "Black Iron Cross Church" gained the upper hand, the "Frost Breath" Church, the "Starry Night Order," and the "Dawn Church," who had no idea about Aiven's extermination of their "Silver Knight," quickly contributed enormous sums after little hesitation.

The Seven Gods Church were truly the wealthiest entities in the Material World, ultimately granting Aiven a 15-year interest-free loan equivalent to 500,000 Golden Lions each, plus a "copying fee" of 100,000 Golden Lions.

Considering the 15-year term of the interest-free loan, it's almost like free money. Even calculating at a mere 15% return on investment rate, the money could double in less than seven years without even accounting for compound interest.

With compound interest, maintaining a 15% annual growth rate, this money could increase eightfold in fifteen years!

Just with the copier business made with a few Churches over the [Ancient Scrolls], Aiven already regained 30% of the deficit, and from a long-term view, it's far more than just 30%.

Of course, if it weren't for leveraging his identity as a "Saint" to impress and awe, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly. The backing of an Upper-Rank Wizard plus his mother-in-law was not enough to make the Seven Gods Church fall in line. Tier 4 Crown level or Truth Embodiment would be more like it.

As for whether the Church personnel would be ambushed by Wizards and various alternative Extraordinary persons, filled with resentment against them upon reaching the Broken Star Islands, that's not something Aiven needed to worry about.

When the Church's remittance came through, the [Libra Balance Holy Sword] nearly leaped up more gleefully than Aiven itself, only to be viciously suppressed to the box's bottom after being indignantly scolded to "get lost" by the hopping Aiven.

If Aiven didn't encounter a life-and-death crisis again, it seemed unlikely it would ever see the light of day.

However, Aiven wasn't worried at all about its work attitude. When he once again activated the [Bankruptcy Technique], no matter how aloof the Divine Artifact Holy Sword was, it would have to transform into a most obedient sycophant.

Additionally.

The [Libra Balance Holy Sword] would eventually be taken out and used.

After contemplating for a few days, especially after Macaulay mentioned that purchasing a large number of rockets was to address follow-up actions by the "Oathbreakers," Aiven ultimately decided to use the [Celestial Messenger] that came with his Saint identity to inform Saint Angel Bellenus.

After understanding the significance represented by grasping this Divine Artifact in his hand, Aiven had already figured out why the "Oathbreakers" would contend for it in a manner involving such heavy casualties that could be considered tragic.

He also realized that the belonging of the [Libra Balance Holy Sword] would determine the strategic planning efforts made by the "Black Iron Cross Church" in response to [Capital]'s expansion. Erroneous intelligence guidance could lead to severe misjudgments in strategic decisions, resulting in entirely unnecessary significant losses.