Chapter 597: Chapter 393 Solos Locust Civilization Chapter 597: Chapter 393 Solos Locust Civilization “How much can you lend me?” Muria asked.

“Hmm, while maintaining the normal operation of my forces, I should be able to lend you about thirty million!”

“Elemental Crystals?” Muria was a bit stumped.

“What else?” Gladys looked at him somewhat surprised.

“I thought it would be gold coins.” Muria smacked his lips, what else could he say, he had simply never seen such wealth. The wealthiest he’d ever been, he had not held more than one million elemental crystals. Now that Gladys was saying she could lend him thirty million, it really shocked him.

“How could it be? The Ten Great Empires have long abandoned circulation of metals such as gold and silver that hold little value, instead opting for elemental crystal money, which has more practical application and greater value.”

Gladys patiently explained, she, having witnessed Muria’s combat power, wouldn’t belittle or mock him because of this. Her ancestors had taken action because of Muria; this kind of special attention made Gladys exceptionally pleased. So far, among all the successors to the throne, only she knew of Muria’s existence.

“Thirty million,” Muria steadied his emotions, then focused on the real reason he wanted to borrow money, “I wanted to ask, could this amount purchase enough void battleships to form a fleet?”

Muria only knew one thing. To just build one floating city, even one million elemental crystal coins wouldn’t create even a splash. Because the void battleships differentiated in specifications and functions, cost of production shouldn’t be as high as a floating city. Besides, he knew very little about these things.

“If you budget carefully, you should be able to assemble a super-small void fleet of no more than twenty ships,” Gladys said somewhat uncertainly. “A void fleet must be equipped with reconnaissance ships, destroyers, light cruisers, and heavy cruisers at minimum, and also a light battle cruiser as the command flagship. Besides, there are transport ships, medical ships, and supply ships, which perform single functions. By my calculation…”

“The money you are lending me is just not enough.” Muria concluded. Forming a fully functional fleet would require thirty million, which would just be a drop in the ocean. These are the kinds of things that only empires can assemble; duchies can only dream of them. Fortifying their defences for centuries, tightening their belts, they could perhaps buy a neutered void fleet from the empires.

“You need to borrow more money, Prince Muria.”

“Who else can I borrow from?” Muria asked somewhat helplessly. Thirty million wasn’t enough, “And also, how much more do I need?”

“For that, you should ask professionals. As for borrowing money, you could ask the Deep Blue Commerce Association. Andrew can give you a very big surprise.” Gladys made another excellent suggestion.

“I guess it will have to be a Few billion!” Muria rubbed his brow, “When the time comes, what will I use to pay?”

“Prince Muria, if you can win in this duel, you will gain the rule of a world. You won’t need to worry about these debts. You can even make a big profit, just wait for the empire’s merchants to bring you money.”

“I see, help me contact Andrew then.” Muria took a deep breath, then pointed to the Insect Lord rolling at his feet already turned into a lump of charcoal but still exuding life, “Also find someone to look after it, I am very eager to see what it will become after going through this metamorphosis.”

…

“Prince Muria, I understand the situation now. You and the princess of the Orlando Empire are having a royal duel, but you now lack of a void fleet to transport your legions to the target world, right?” The fat businessman sat across from Muria in his human form, with Gladys sitting by Muria’s side.

“Right, can you help me estimate, normally, what kind of fleet do I need to take all of my legion with me and how much would it cost?” Muria’s face was somewhat stern.

“Your legion, does it refer to those giants, and dragons?” Andrew asked, and as for information on Xena Pus, he didn’t know much. He’d been very smart. He hadn’t deliberately inquired the information of Xena Pus. He’d only seen what Muria let him see.

“There are roughly a hundred thousand giants and at least five times as many fierce mutated animals, and for dragons, the numbers won’t exceed one hundred.” Muria had roughly estimated. He ignored the humans on Xena Pus. He didn’t think these humans could offer him much help. They just needed to handle the logistics well; leave the battlefield to the giants and the dragons.

“In that case, your fleet will all need to be custom-built. Although our empire is a mixed living state, the types of the ships are all built according to the standard of human form. Although we leave space for large beasts to move, they still need to be modified.”

“How much does it cost?” Muria always focused on the main issue.

“A hundred and twenty-nine million elemental crystals. This is my initial assessment, Prince Muria.” Andrew passed a crystal tablet to Muria, which detailed the models, quantities and prices of various void battleships.

“Banshee-class Reconnaissance Ship, fifty ships, total price fifteen million. Photon Elf Healing Ship, five ships, total price two million. Tiger Shark-class Light Cruiser, ten ships, total price twenty eight million… Hydra-class Battleship, one ship, single price thirty-six million.” Muria read the price, his frown getting deeper, “Aren’t there too many function ships.”

“These are all standard ships needed for a fleet to navigate in the void.”

“Isn’t there a war fortress that combines all these function ships?” Muria inquired, “It appears to be quite troublesome. If there is, it would be enough to buy just one.”

“Prince Mureya, what you’re describing sounds like a floating city! It’s even more expensive to build, and it can’t be completed in a short time.”

“There are no ready-made ones?”

“Once an empire’s floating city is built, it is put into use immediately. It isn’t stored away to rust. There’s no way you could afford one.” Andrew shook his head, dismissing Mureya’s idea of borrowing enough money to buy a floating city.

“Different models of the Void Fleet are essentially a breakdown of various functions from the floating city. When it comes to offense, the Void Fleet has more advantages.”

“Indeed, the original Void Fleet originated from the floating city, but to this day, it has evolved into an entirely different system with its own advantages and disadvantages.”

“What if, I only need transport and supply ships…”

“That would be too risky, Your Highness. The Void isn’t a desolate place, there are various monsters rampaging through. You wish to protect the fleet on your own? That’s unrealistic. Various types of offensive warships are essential.”

“Alright, Andrew, just how much money are you willing to lend me?” Muria asked bluntly. There’s no need for him to insinuate, considering there’s a significant gap between their statuses.

“However much you need is how much I can lend!” Andrew answered generously. His merchant corps trailing just behind the imperial colonial fleet, as the royal family’s cash cow, his accumulated wealth was beyond what Mureya could imagine.

…

“Mureya, this is the goal of our duel this time- the Solos Locust Civilization. Whoever first secures the Scepter of Glory of the civilization’s ruler and the crown embedded with three star cores will be the winner of the duel.”

The Princess with blue hair and eyes, her youthful and graceful figure stood relaxed before Mureya, introducing the target of this duel with a hint of pride in her demeanor.

“It’s an aggressive insect civilization. They developed from a medium-sized world and have the power to peek into the void. Fortuitously, they found seven small worlds around their mother world, and led their armies to colonize through the opened Space Gates.”

“Wait a minute,” the Seventh Princess, Gladys, who was by Mureya’s side, raised doubts, causing the Dragon Princess’s projection to halt, smiling with amusement, “Do you have any questions? Her Royal Highness Gladys.”

“This is too much, choosing a civilization capable of void colonization as a duel target is outrageous. Their mother world is a medium-sized Material World.”

“It’s merely an insect civilization that got a stroke of luck and found seven small worlds around its world. However much colonization they’ve achieved with the aid of powerful beings, they haven’t developed the technology to allow ordinary species to enter the void. It’s just a primitive civilization with somewhat strong personal abilities.”

The dragon princess’s tone was filled with contempt. Such civilizations, her father and elder brother had already destroyed countless of them.

“But there are no royal duels with a civilization capable of Otherworld colonization as its target. You are clearly bullying him.” Gladys was indignant on Mureya’s behalf. Normally, royal duels would choose a small Material World, choosing a medium-sized Material World was rare in history.

“Me, bullying?” Princess Filisia of Dragons looked curiously at Gladys and then burst into laughter. Turning to Mureya, she said, “She said I am bullying you, can I bully a Titan?”

“Mureya doesn’t have the same power as you do now. He hasn’t even attended any courses on void conquest at the War Academy of the Empire.”

“Really?” Princess Filisia spun gracefully, “And how does that concern me? Mureya has already agreed to the duel. By the rules, I get to pick the target of the duel, and Mureya can decide when to start.”

“Or,” Filisia smirked at Mureya, “does this proud Dragon of Titan intend on admitting defeat through Her Royal Highness, the princess? That wouldn’t be so bad.”

“When did you hear me admitting defeat?” Mureya placed a hand on Gladys’s shoulder, making her sit down, “Continue with the introduction to information on the insect civilization.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read