Feng Chou rode on a large magic ship that could be used for both passenger and cargo. Along the way, they passed by five cities that were no smaller than Antalya City. Finally, on the fourth day, they arrived at their destination, Audric City.
Audric City was located at the intersection of the largest river in the Vita Duchy, the Audric River, and the second largest river, the Sol River. It was a large city with a population of over 200,000.
The Audric River and the Sol River both flowed from east to west. Before the two rivers met, they flowed side by side for tens of kilometers.
Audric City was located at the narrow angle before the two rivers met.
The two rivers were the natural moats of Audric City. Upstream of the city, a canal was dug to connect the two rivers, filling the last gap in the moat.
Because it was built on the ground, the shape of Audric City was not regular. Instead, it was like a small boat placed in the east. The sharp bow of the boat was in the west, and the flat stern was in the east.
On the north and south sides of Audric City, there was a large pier on the Sol River and in the Audric City.
Feng Chou disembarked at the pier on the Audric River in the south of the city. He rented a carriage and went straight to the central square of Audric City.
The central square of Audric City was located on the west side of the city's east-west axis. This was because Audric City had been expanded several times.
Because of the restrictions of the two rivers, the city could only expand to the east. In the end, the original center of the city leaned more and more to the west.
This change could be seen from the canals that connected the Audric and Sol rivers to the east of the city. These canals were actually the eastern moats of Audric City.
The central square of Audric City was a circular square with a diameter of a few hundred meters. In the center of the square was a huge statue of a dragon riding mage. Around the statue were neatly trimmed gardens and several magic fountains.
Surrounding the square were the most important buildings in Audric City.
These included the Audric City Hall, the city council hall, the God of Arcane Magic, the God of Knowledge, the God of Nobles and Knights, the Goddess of Commerce, and other gods' temples, as well as the Audric Mage Academy.
Feng Chou had the carriage stop at the southwest side of the square, on a street beside the Mage Academy.
He checked into a high-end hotel on the street.
Two days later, a disappointed Feng Chou came to a small square outside the back gate of the Mage Academy. There were a few airships parked in the square.
The appearance of these airships was very similar to the airships Feng Chou had seen on TV or the Internet before. The only difference was that the ratio between the balloons and the pods hanging below these airships was about 2: 1. On Earth, the balloons were much larger than the pods, and the ratio was even more than 20: 1.
The smaller the ratio of the balloon to the pod, the more stable the airship would be, and the less it would be affected by the weather.
It was not that the people on Earth were unwilling to reduce the ratio of the balloon to the pod, but because the balloon was too small and the pod was too big, the balloon could not provide enough lift, and the airship could not take off.
He didn't know how people in this magical world solved this contradiction.
Feng Chou walked to the side of the airship, and Qiankun Pagoda quickly scanned the entire structure of the airship.
Looking at the result of Qiankun Pagoda's scan, Feng Chou could not help but click his tongue. This airship was simply a large-scale magical equipment.
The shuttle-shaped balloons above the airship were all strengthened by pieces of magic beast leather, and connected together by alchemy. The entire balloon was engraved with alchemy arrays such as "strengthen," "toughen," "heat resistance," and other alchemy arrays. Two spells of permanence provided energy for these magic circuits.
On the surface of the balloon, there was a hard skeleton. The skeleton was made of a light alloy, and its weight was less than one-third of that of steel, but it was extremely strong. This skeleton was also strengthened by spells such as "toughen."
The skeleton and the pod below were connected as one, and the entire airship formed a rigid frame. Even if it landed, it would still be able to maintain its original position.
The pod of the airship looked like a large ship, and the entire pod was made of magic wood. Inside, there were alchemy arrays such as "strengthen," "fire resistance," and other alchemy arrays. The magic arrays provided energy, and the strength of the magic wood, together with the strengthening of magic, made it even stronger than steel of the same quality.
Feng Chou could not estimate the price of such an alchemy airship. No wonder the ticket price was so high.
Feng Chou also found it hard to imagine that such a complicated alchemy product was said to be the invention of the goblins.
In fact, what Feng Chou did not know was that although the original airship was really the invention of the goblins, this product that had undergone countless alchemy modifications was already worlds apart from the original goblin airship.
These airships belonged to the Aldrick Mage Academy. It was said that each airship required a mage above level 8 to be the captain, and seven to eight low-level mages and even more mage apprentices to be the crew.
Under the warm guidance of the courteous flight attendants, Feng Chou boarded the airship.
It was different from the female flight attendants on Earth. The flight attendants on the airship were all young and handsome lads.
This airship was more than fifty meters long and ten meters wide. The airship was divided into four floors. The top three floors were for the passengers, and the bottom floor was the dormitory for the flight attendants and the airship's warehouse.
Of the three floors for the passengers, two were below the deck, and one was above the deck in the forecastle and stern.
The airship's control room was at the front of the forecastle, and the captain and the pilots were all gathered there.
The top deck of the forecastle and stern prohibited the passengers from going up. Above them was the cannon deck, and there were more than ten bronze cannons. These cannons' barrels and mounts were inscribed with magic circuits. Clearly, they were also alchemy products.
These magic cannons required a low-level mage or a mage apprentice to operate, as well as several artillerymen to serve them.
Feng Chou's room was on the first floor below the deck, near the forecastle. It was a first-class cabin with seven to eight square meters of space. In addition to a bed, there was also a desk, a chair, a clothes rack, a washstand, and other simple furnishings. In terms of size, it was far more comfortable than an airplane. Of course, the price was also much higher. It was a full eight hundred crowns. In terms of purchasing power, eight hundred crowns was almost equivalent to eighty thousand RMB on Earth. It was simply not something an ordinary person could afford.
This was also a characteristic of this world's alchemy civilization. In some aspects, it was more advanced than the industrial civilization on Earth, but it was far less popular.
The second floor below the deck was the first-class cabin. The first-class cabin was much more crowded and narrow. A cabin similar to Feng Chou's had to squeeze in four people. Of course, the ticket price was only a quarter of that of the first-class cabin.
The rooms on the forecastle and stern belonged to the first-class cabin, and were twice as expensive as the first-class cabin.
There were not many first-class cabins on the airship, only a dozen or so. The remaining space was for the passengers to consume and entertain.
There was a luxurious restaurant behind the forecastle, and the front half of the stern was an entertainment hall that provided services such as taverns, gambling, and performances.