The only praiseworthy thing about this steamship was its firepower.
On the deck of this steamship, there were four 150-pound cannons installed at the front and back. On the cannon deck below, there were a total of 20 100-pound heavy cannons installed on the left and right sides. Such heavy cannons, whether in terms of power or range, were completely superior to the magic heavy cannons on the magic energy merchant ships, which were still between 48-pound and 64-pound.
However, this was of no use, because all the cannons on this steamship were not magic cannons!
The 150-pound cannons were enough to penetrate 250 millimeters of inferior iron armor, but without the assistance of anti-magic, there was no way to penetrate the magic wood ribs of the large magic energy ship at sea, which were half a meter thick and as hard as steel after being enchanted with magic!
According to Qiankun Pagoda's calculations, this steamship was no match for the magic energy merchant ships, which had the advantage in speed, armor strength, and, to a certain extent, firepower!
This conclusion undoubtedly disappointed Feng Chou, but Qiankun Pagoda felt that it was normal. In the center of the Milky Way, technology was ten times more advanced than that of Earth, and the Cultivation civilization still occupied a core position.
Qiankun Pagoda also quickly gave an answer to the question of why this ship with a perfect steam engine was still equipped with masts and sails.
This was a merchant ship, so it needed to leave enough space for its cargo. Naturally, the amount of black stone it carried could not be too large. For a steamship that needed to burn black stone as its energy source, this also meant that its cruising ability was insufficient.
According to Qiankun Pagoda's calculations, if this ship only used steam power, its endurance would not exceed three thousand kilometers. This was because the energy density of black stone in this world was much higher than that of coal on Earth. If it used coal on Earth, the steamship's endurance might not even reach a thousand kilometers.
Even three thousand kilometers was still a drop in the ocean compared to the thousands of kilometers between the Northern and Southern Continents.
For a steamship with insufficient endurance, sails that did not require energy were naturally the first choice for long-distance navigation. The steam engine could only be regarded as a backup power. It would only be used when there was a headwind, a storm, or a battle.
If other people heard Qiankun Pagoda's analysis, they would probably find it strange. Since steam power was far inferior to magic power, why didn't the goblins develop magic power, but instead, developed steam power?
However, Feng Chou did not find it strange, because he clearly knew the answer to this question.
The answer to this question involved the greatest pain of the goblin race.
Goblins were weaker than humans in terms of physique and strength, about seventy to eighty percent of humans.
However, in terms of intelligence, goblins were much stronger than humans. Their average intelligence could even reach 12 points, which was much higher than humans' average intelligence of 10 points.
But for some reason, although goblins had high intelligence, their mental strength was very weak.
Generally speaking, a human's intelligence and mental strength were directly proportional. In other words, a human with ten points of intelligence would have a mental strength of about ten points. There were exceptions, but they were rare. Hence, during the mage's test, especially the preliminary test, most of the mages would only measure the strength of mental strength to replace the screening of intelligence.
According to a book in the Arcane Tower called "Research on the Main Intelligent Races of the Shalun Continent", the mental strength of goblins was fundamentally weaker than that of humans. If a normal human with ten points of intelligence had ten points of mental strength, then a goblin with ten points of intelligence would only have five points of mental strength.
Other than having a weak foundation, the efficiency of meditation and mental strength training of goblins was far inferior to that of humans. It was less than seventy percent as effective as a human mage.
Not only that, the ceiling of meditation for goblins was much lower than that of humans.
This caused the mental strength of goblin mages to be severely lacking. A goblin mage with twenty points of intelligence who had studied the principles of intermediate spells would find it difficult to release a level-two spell. This was unimaginable for human mages, but it was common for goblins.
These congenital limitations caused goblin mages to be severely lacking in actual combat ability, and high-level mages were extremely rare.
Faced with such a situation, the pitiful goblin mages developed "Goblin Engineering", a skill tree that was very strange in the eyes of alchemists.
If alchemy was said to be based on spells, then "Goblin Engineering" would be based on technology and supported by spells.
This choice was actually a choice made by goblins out of helplessness.
During the Arcane Empire, some open-minded arcanists had introduced some of the concepts of goblin engineering from the goblins and improved human alchemy. Many of the technologies in the alchemy factories today had benefited from these introductions.
The core component of a magical ship was a magical energy ring, and the most basic requirement to create a magical energy ring was to have a high-level mage who had mastered the "Spell of Permanence". However, goblin high-level mages were extremely rare, so they naturally did not have the ability to mass produce magical ships.
Building steam-powered ships was a choice that the goblins had no choice but to do.
After getting his answer, Feng Chou left the majestic iron ship in disappointment.
The next morning after returning from the harbor company, Feng Chou received an invitation from a revolver manufacturer. He was invited to attend a private salon at the club that night.
Holding the invitation letter, Feng Chou's face revealed a playful smile. What was supposed to come had finally come.
Perhaps others did not know the background of this gun merchant named Miller, but Feng Chou knew that Earl Patrick was the biggest shareholder behind Miller's gun factory.
That afternoon, he arrived at the Alchemy Club early.
The Alchemy Club of the New Port District was located near the city center of the new district. It was a five-story palace-style building with a typical Barlow Gothic style. It was called the most beautiful building in the New Port District, and was also one of the landmarks of the New Port District.
In this building, there was the best cafe, the best restaurant, the best concert hall, and even a small theater. In addition, the entire building could provide more than ten spacious gathering halls and dozens of comfortable lounges for the club members to hold salons and rest.
The members could drink delicious coffee from the southern continent in the gathering hall, chat with like-minded people, rest in the lounges, or hold private meetings.
Feng Chou arrived at the club early at four o 'clock in the afternoon.
A few of Miller's second-class servants were already waiting there. After seeing Feng Chou, one of them immediately greeted him and led Feng Chou to the fifth floor of the club building.
Feng Chou had never been to the fifth floor before. This was where the club's senior members held their salons.
When Feng Chou was led into one of the halls by the servant, his eyes lit up.