The meeting room was quiet when Gavin suddenly asked, "Tianluan, just how powerful are the forbidden spells your Star Saints can cast?"
Tianluan tilted her head, her golden hair brushing against his arm where it still rested. She didn't let go, speaking in her familiar, lilting rhythm. "Forbidden spells~~? The power of one cast by an ordinary Star Saint can destroy everything within a radius of about two kilometers around the caster~~"
She paused thoughtfully, as though recalling something old and terrible.
"The most powerful forbidden spell ever recorded was used when ten Star Saints combined their strength, sacrificing their lives to unleash a single, continent-shaking curse. Its impact stretched across ten full kilometers in every direction~~"
Gavin blinked. "Ten Star Saints gave up their lives?"
"Of course~~," Tianluan answered softly, her tone turning sober. "The forbidden spell draws on all the life and soul of its caster. Once released, the spell's destruction radiates outward from the Star Saint's body. There is no escape. When we use it, we die with the enemy."
Gavin leaned back in disbelief. "You're telling me you train for centuries—maybe millennia—only to end your life in a single explosion?"
He rubbed his temple, baffled. "So the forbidden spell isn't like a weapon you can cast and walk away from—it's a one-time firework?"
Tianluan nodded. "That's right~~ glorious~~ but final."
Gavin exhaled, his mind racing.
In his previous world—the Earth he'd left behind—the 'Little Boy' atomic bomb used during World War II had an explosive power of roughly 15,000 tons of TNT, wiping out everything within a two-kilometer radius.
And what she just described—the average forbidden spell of a Star Saint—was roughly equivalent in power.
But that was just one atomic bomb.
Now, in this world, he already had a 20,000-ton TNT bomb, a 50,000-ton model, and the ultimate weapon in his arsenal—a monstrous 50-million-ton TNT-equivalent nuclear warhead.
His breath caught.
"Oh my god…"
If a 15,000-ton bomb equals the power of a Star Saint's forbidden spell, then what about his 50-million-ton one? That was over three thousand times stronger.
A single bomb of that scale could level a mountain range or erase an empire.
And unlike forbidden magic, it didn't need centuries of training or the sacrifice of a human soul. It only required engineering.
For a brief second, he almost laughed at the absurdity.
The great Star Saints who ruled this world didn't know that somewhere, sitting quietly in his underground vault, Gavin Ward had a weapon whose power dwarfed their forbidden magic.
He would never tell them, of course. Some secrets were too dangerous to share.
The nuclear bomb is my last card, he thought. A deterrent—never a toy.
Still, the realization made his chest tighten. The balance of this world was fragile. If demons or Star Saints ever united against him, even the mighty Kingdom of Ross could be shaken.
---
He turned back to Tianluan. "Tell me something—your Council of Star Saints in the Central Magic Empire. There are twelve members, correct?"
Tianluan smiled under her mask. "Twelve in the council, yes~~ but not twelve in total. There are more Star Saints across the continent—hidden ones, hermits who abandoned politics. If the world becomes unstable again, the Empire will summon them."
"Unstable?" Gavin frowned. "You mean war?"
Her tone dropped lower. "The Gate to the Other World has been stirring. Its seals loosened. When that happens, the demons return."
Gavin stiffened. "Demons? You mean real ones?"
Tianluan nodded solemnly. "The kind that end civilizations. The kind we Star Saints were created to stop."
For the first time, the conversation's weight truly settled on Gavin.
If demons were real—if they could break through again—then even his armies and machines might not be enough.
I'll need more power. More structure. More reach.
His mind leapt to strategy. "Then the Navy," he said quietly. "We'll build it faster."
---
A spark of purpose flared in his chest. He stood abruptly, grabbed the newly-built radio transmitter on his desk, and pressed the call lever.
"Summon all chief engineers to my study—immediately."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" came the crackling voice of a soldier from the other end.
Tianluan blinked, intrigued. "What is that~~?" she asked, pointing at the radio.
Gavin smiled faintly. "It's called a radio. A communication device—instant contact, no magic required."
Her eyes widened behind the mask. "No magic~~? Impossible~~"
Yet it was real. She could feel no trace of mana, no enchantment—only mechanical pulses of power. A mortal invention that worked better than any magical communication crystal she'd ever seen.
Half an hour later, the engineers filed into the study, saluting sharply. Many of them wore the insignia of the Ross Military Engineering Corps—part scientist, part soldier.
Gavin didn't waste time. He slammed a large blueprint onto the table.
"Look at this. How long will it take you to build this port exactly as drawn?"
The engineers leaned over the paper—a sprawling naval harbor design, with dry docks, shipyards, fueling depots, warehouses, and coastal defenses. It was massive, clearly intended to birth a real navy, not just fishing boats.
One of the chief engineers adjusted his glasses. "Your Majesty, if we divert all manpower from other construction projects and focus everything on this port, it will take us just over one month."
"One month?" Tianluan's head snapped toward them, astonished.
She had seen magical empires attempt construction on this scale. Even with mana-powered machinery and spell-assisted labor, such a structure would take a year or more. And yet this mortal kingdom could do it in weeks.
Gavin nodded, satisfied. "Good. Halt all non-essential building projects. Roads and railways continue, but everything else pauses. I want every resource focused on this port."
He jabbed a finger at the map.
"Within six weeks, I want to see a completed harbor right here—this fishing village will become the largest military port in the Ross Kingdom."
"Understood, Your Majesty!" The engineers saluted in unison, voices echoing through the hall.
Gavin's eyes glinted.
The port was more than a structure—it was the spine of his new navy. With it, he could defend the coasts, project power across the seas, and control the trade arteries of the continent. The Kingdom of Ross would no longer be landlocked in influence.
---
As the engineers departed, Tianluan lingered, studying the drawings again. "You move quickly~~," she said softly. "Even the Central Magic Empire cannot build like this."
"Magic builds slowly," Gavin replied. "Science builds faster—if you understand it."
She nodded faintly. "You mortals~~ are terrifying."
He smiled at that. "Then it's working."
Tianluan crossed her arms. "Why this rush for a navy~~?"
"Because ships move where armies can't," Gavin said. "And if demons appear again, I need to control not just land, but water and sky. With airships, artillery, and battleships, no force—magical or otherwise—will ever corner us."
Tianluan tilted her head. "You sound~~like a conqueror."
"I'm a survivor," he answered.
---
Outside, the orders spread like wildfire.
Factories redirected production toward steel plating, turbines, naval guns, and fuel storage. Rail lines rerouted to coastal zones. Thousands of workers and soldiers alike were reassigned to the Port Construction Corps.
Day and night, the sound of progress began to roll across the Kingdom of Ross: the hammering of rivets, the crackle of welding torches, and the deep rumble of trains hauling materials toward the sea.
Within a single week, the coastline transformed into a battlefield of creation.
Giant cranes swung across the horizon. Foundations took shape in the sand. Reinforced concrete, steel, and gravel fused into breakwaters and ship bays.
Each night, the lights of a hundred portable generators turned the darkness into an artificial dawn.
And through it all, Gavin Ward's vision took shape: a navy powerful enough to rival gods.
---
Tianluan often stood beside him during inspections, watching mortals labor under electric light. "You lead them with no magic, no divine blessing," she said once. "Yet they move like a spell made flesh."
Gavin's answer was simple. "Faith is fine. But discipline builds faster."
Her laughter was soft. "You will terrify the world~~"
"That's the point," he said.
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