Zhao Chen answered, "Some of the interstellar missiles the T6 Holy-Blood Hell-Angel-class Heavy Interstellar Strategic Missile Ship carries use certain special properties, artificial black holes and the like. But on explosive power alone, at the same size, these interstellar missiles in front of you far outdo the ones the T6 Holy-Blood Hell-Angel-class Heavy Interstellar Strategic Missile Ship carries. As for their exact power, that can only be seen in real battle."
The corners of the Flame Elf Queen's mouth turned up slightly, and she looked at Zhao Chen teasingly. "You'd actually show us a strategic place this important inside the ship? Mind you, a magazine like this is vital to an interstellar warship, and in battle it'll be a main target for the enemy's attacks too. Showing it to us just like this, aren't you worried that……"
The Bluewater Elf Queen beside her felt her heart lurch again: did the two of them always talk so directly and so dangerously?
Zhao Chen shrugged and said, as light and easy as ever, "The problem you mention does exist on lower-grade interstellar warships. But on high-grade interstellar warships, in fact, it no longer matters. Once a high-grade interstellar warship's star shield and hull armor have both been broken, that interstellar warship's destruction is only a matter of time; it changes little. And this quasi-T7 Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought has a very strong star-shield force field of its own, and very strong hull armor. Besides, mind you, around these magazines we've added a further layer of defensive armor. You could say the defensive strength here even rivals this interstellar warship's bridge."
Hearing Zhao Chen's open, generous words, the Flame Elf Queen nodded as if she understood.
The Bluewater Elf Queen beside her was surprised; this Owl Dragon Emperor truly did not treat them as outsiders.
Past this section storing interstellar missiles came a still larger section.
In this section could be seen jewels, one after another, glowing a blue-green light, hanging in the section's storehouse.
"These are those interstellar drone swarms of yours?" The Flame Elf Queen recognized these bronze-jewel-like things at a glance.
Zhao Chen nodded.
"Don't tell me these are quasi-T7-grade too?" the Flame Elf Queen asked again. "Then how do they compare with the interstellar drone swarms on that T6 Demon Emperor carrier starship of yours?"
"Evenly matched." This time Zhao Chen gave her a simple, plain word.
The Flame Elf Queen looked as though she understood.
"A thousand squadrons, three thousand each: that's three hundred quasi-T7-grade interstellar drones. With quasi-T7-grade fighting power, leaving aside ammunition load and endurance, each one's fighting power very nearly rivals a T6-grade interstellar destroyer's. Three million interstellar drones with the firepower of T6-grade interstellar destroyers: on a battlefield, that's quite terrifying. Interstellar air supremacy and the like, you could have it in hand with ease. It isn't a carrier starship, but so long as this interstellar warship is on the battlefield, it's as good as a carrier starship squadron of thirty T6-grade carrier starships."[1]
Zhao Chen stood there quietly listening to the Flame Elf Queen's analysis.
Next, going further on, came the largest section in this interstellar warship.
For what was stored here was interstellar warship after interstellar warship.
At first there was only dim light.
The section held a structure like a honeycomb, and in each of those pitch-black cells something seemed to be hidden, giving a feeling of mystery.
As the Bluewater Elf Queen looked through the floor-to-ceiling window, in that moment every light here came on.
Interstellar interceptor after interstellar interceptor hovered in those places, ranged in dense rows,
giving a shock like facing a great army.
"Three thousand quasi-T7-grade unmanned medium interstellar interceptors." The Flame Elf Queen, on the contrary, showed no great shock, but analyzed calmly: "Counting the interstellar missiles before, and the interstellar drones: this quasi-T7 Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought, on the overall combat strength fitted to this single interstellar warship alone, could match the fighting power of one of our Holy Elf Empire's standard interstellar legion fleets of a hundred thousand ships."
Hearing this judgment, the Bluewater Elf Queen looked at the Flame Elf Queen in great surprise.
One interstellar warship, a match for one of their legion fleets of a hundred thousand ships?
Wasn't that rather too much?
The Bluewater Elf Queen did not deny this quasi-T7 Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought was very strong, but what it was being compared with was their Holy Elf Empire's legion fleets.
One against a hundred thousand: that was rather too terrifying.
"You flatter it. What you're saying is only the theoretical figure. If a quasi-T7 Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought truly fought a hundred thousand Holy Elf Empire legion fleet ships, it couldn't possibly fight to the end. You'd have to consider strategic supplies used up, fighting in relays, the ground the battle is fought on, and so on," Zhao Chen said with a smile and a shake of his head.
But what Zhao Chen did not say was that against a hundred thousand ships of a Holy Elf Empire legion fleet, even if the quasi-T7 Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought could not be sure of beating them,
if the quasi-T7 Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought wanted to leave, then unless the Holy Elf Empire's legion fleets paid a certain price, and readied still more legion fleet warships besides,
they could not stop this overlord of the stars at all!
That was the special role a super interstellar warship played on a battlefield.
The Bluewater Elf Queen was a little comforted by Zhao Chen's words.
But the Flame Elf Queen eyed Zhao Chen and gave a few dry laughs, as if to say: go on, keep up the act.
We're both professionals here, and you're putting on a modest act in front of me.
With that, the tour had basically covered everything there was to see.
"Well? I didn't short-change you for that fine wine you brought, did I? You two can count yourselves the first honored guests to see these things. Even some senior officers in our own Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire haven't had the chance to see them." Zhao Chen looked at the Flame Elf Queen and the Bluewater Elf Queen as he said it, with an air of having done them a very great favor this time.
Mind you remember my kindness.
The Flame Elf Queen sidled up beside Zhao Chen, nudged him in the chest with her elbow, and said with a cheeky grin, "Hey, since we're all friends here, let something slip. What's the yearly output of this interstellar warship class of yours now, and how much does a single one cost to build? I promise I won't let it out!"
…………
Zhao Chen saw off the Flame Elf Queen, looking somewhat aggrieved, and the Bluewater Elf Queen, still fresh and graceful.
As for the cost of a single ship and the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's yearly building numbers now, he naturally could not tell them everything.
Of the intelligence on this quasi-T7 Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought, some had to be let out and some kept secret, to give the feeling of a bride beneath her veil.
Having seen the two of them off,
Zhao Chen sat down again with Charlotte, Lilith and the two chief engineers.
Annie rubbed her little belly, looking thoroughly satisfied, and even burped.
Nana, beside her, frowned at her sister's manners.
"Some things can't be said in front of outsiders, but now it's only us left. So I'll come straight to the point. How many of this quasi-T7 Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought can your production department guarantee over the coming year?" Zhao Chen asked outright.
On this capacity, in fact, all Zhao Chen had ever been given was a vague figure.
Chief Engineer Nana stepped forward and said, "By the latest figures we've gathered, after working it out again and again: so long as there's no trouble with the supply of raw materials later on, we can have three batches of quasi-T7 Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnoughts come off the line and enter service this year, four months apart. That's three building plans in all. Year Four's first building plan is ten ships. Year Four's second building plan is thirty ships. Year Four's third building plan is a hundred ships. So we expect that before the end of this year we can turn out a hundred forty quasi-T7 Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnoughts."
A hundred forty quasi-T7 Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnoughts: as capacity went, it did not look very high.
But mind you, these were quasi-T7-grade interstellar warships!
"A capacity of a hundred forty a year is very good. But by the cost per ship you reported before, 2,000 trillion star coins, these hundred forty come to 200,000 trillion star coins. Can we afford a building cost like that now?" As Zhao Chen said this, he also looked at Secretary-Officer Lilith beside him.[2]
After all, Secretary-Officer Lilith was the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's housekeeper; on matters of finance, she held the wheel.
Secretary-Officer Lilith stepped forward and said, "By the Empire's financial budget for the coming year that we've just drawn up, our yearly income against the spending we've already planned stands at about 1 to 1.11 now. That looks like an overspend of eleven percent, which is no small figure. But in fact we still have no small room for profit here. The interstellar powers we've won over now, for instance: selling them interstellar warships and setting up arms orders can bring us a great deal of money."
Arms orders had always been the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's way of topping up its blood in time.
"Of course, the Empire's yearly income in the former includes the shares several interstellar powers will pay over in future; if they can't develop as we've planned and produce that income, it will leave us no small shortfall. But we've also drawn up a worst-case fallback plan. The Holy Elf Empire is sure to be very interested in our quasi-T7-grade interstellar warships. When the time comes, we might as well sell them one cut-down version. That alone would be enough to make up the pressure on us here."