Ch.378Cradle of Superhumanism. City of Lorentina (1)

The Iron Walker Party’s first target was set as the city of Lorentina.

Not only was it geographically closest, but high-grade technology was needed to repair the damaged Sky Warden.

In Lorentina City, which thrived on such technology, they could completely erase the damage this steel lady had sustained.

Thus, after passing through June and into July, the Sky Warden finally arrived at the coastline of the Cecilia continent, carrying the Sun’s Army and the Iron Walker Party.

“How is the ship’s condition?”

“Ah… as expected, it has worsened. Many parts are frost-damaged, and armor plates that were barely hanging on have fallen off, exposing the internal framework. The core components are still intact, but in this state, we cannot engage in battle.”

“We’ll reach Lorentina City in just three more weeks. Can the ship hold until then?”

“It can certainly hold together. However, I cannot guarantee the ship’s survival if we enter combat.”

“Hmm… so the damage is that severe…”

Viktor couldn’t help but frown during his conversation with the maintenance chief.

He had been confident enough to shut himself in his room and thoroughly enjoy his wife’s company, but once everything was over, he realized the enemy’s firepower had been more formidable than expected.

Their mental fortitude to launch suicide attacks. The audacity to assemble a fleet and rebel against a god. And their discipline to resist until the very end. The enemy’s combat capability had been unexpectedly high.

“Was I too complacent… Further modifications at this point would be problematic…”

“Additional modifications here would be highly inefficient. Unless, of course, cost is no object…”

“Most cities already struggle with 100,000 tons. We can’t make it any heavier or larger. The Sky Warden seems to have reached its limit.”

The framework, having undergone modifications and improvements, was difficult to work with further.

Rather than building a new model, they had cut, attached, and welded a small transport ship to increase its bulk to 100,000 tons. Adding more weight would make it extremely challenging to determine where to begin working on the framework.

Of course, very little was technically impossible, so if they were “determined” enough, they could increase the displacement to 10 million or even 100 million tons. But that would exponentially increase maintenance requirements, essential operating personnel, and make landing impossible except on exceptionally vast plains, making repairs and resupply extremely difficult.

A 100,000-ton aerial battleship was already difficult to comprehend, but considering that typical battleships displaced 50,000-60,000 tons, it was nearly 20 times larger. Unlike battleships that were half-submerged in water and difficult to gauge in size, an airship’s overwhelming dimensions could be fully appreciated wherever it went.

However, when not in battle, this “overwhelming” size often became a disadvantage.

In fact, in some cities, entry was completely impossible, requiring shuttle services for travel.

“Just try to hold out for three more weeks. After that, it’s up to those who hold the purse strings.”

“Understood, my lord.”

*

“Come to think of it, you also have augmentations installed, don’t you?”

“That’s right. Though they’ve become practically meaningless now.”

Even now, an enormous amount of augmentations were functioning in Viktor’s body.

However, since his ascension as a god, if one were to ask whether these augmentations were still serving their purpose, one would have to be skeptical.

The most frequently used one was the wireless communication device linked to the command system, while the rest were all physical enhancement augmentations. But even without those, Viktor was inherently powerful as a god, so the internal augmentations had no noticeable effect.

Well, they were functioning properly, so technically his body was enhanced, but since his basic physical specs had skyrocketed, the body enhancement from augmentations was no longer perceptible.

It was like how dumbbells that felt heavy as a child become light when you grow up. It wasn’t that they were malfunctioning, and just because they couldn’t be felt didn’t mean they were useless.

Moreover, some of the body augmentations were definitely helpful. Even if it was somewhat embarrassing that they reduced the aftereffects of intense sexual relations rather than combat…

“Since Lorentina is famous for augmentations, I think there might be augmentations that could help even a god like you…”

“Forget it. Even if such augmentations exist, I can’t just shove them in myself. And no matter how brave a doctor might be, who would dare operate on a god’s body?”

“Well… that’s true.”

Simon scratched his head and nodded.

To install augmentations, one needed full-body surgery, and it was uncertain if anesthesia would work. If the patient woke up during the procedure, it would be extremely problematic.

A medical accident during surgery on a god… Even accidents involving ordinary people could end a career, but an accident involving a god could literally result in the extermination of three generations of one’s family without seeming excessive.

“By the way, aren’t dwarves interested in augmentations?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, having short legs must be inconvenient. With augmentation procedures, you could grow to human height, and your strength would increase too.”

When Viktor said this, the dwarf brothers waved their hands dismissively.

“We don’t have that kind of desire. We dwarves are all handcrafted artisans. We don’t make factory-produced works. Well… it might be good for making heavier or larger weapons, but since we focus on ‘handcrafting,’ there are limitations to what can be done with the dull senses of machines…”

“Machines can’t match the touch of a craftsman… something like that?”

“You could say that. And even those who aren’t dwarves like us, people who make their living with iron, like blacksmiths, rarely use augmentations.”

“Why is that?”

“Because they might as well just bring in auxiliary machines or tools instead.”

“Hmm.”

Indeed, it made sense.

Among all the blacksmiths Viktor had met so far, none had replaced or enhanced their bodies with machinery. Of course, he hadn’t met that many blacksmiths, but still.

“It’s complicated, this enhancement business.”

“There’s a reason it was debated for 30 years even during the Imperial era. Even with modern technology, procedures like gender reassignment or body replacement are commonplace. In the Imperial era, much more… ‘radical’ technologies were widely used.”

“Hmm.”

Viktor knew from books that the trend in augmentation procedures back then involved attaching mechanical arms to the back, increasing the number of eyes, and similar modifications.

At that time, the human body was viewed as powerless against nature, so the ideal was to maximize mechanization, creating humans in the form of machines.

But at some point, the idea of enhancing and strengthening the natural body rather than replacing it began to gain prominence. Instead of the avant-garde augmentations mentioned earlier, procedures like coating bones with metal, inserting information conductors into eyeballs to create bio-monitors, or increasing muscle density became preferred. This approach valued humans as natural beings, with the ideal being to create machines in human form.

This philosophy still strongly held the hegemony in augmentation procedures. Except for those who needed to operate in extreme environments for extended periods where flesh and bone couldn’t endure, even most adventurers didn’t drastically increase their mechanization ratio.

Not only was it expensive, but as the ratio of mechanization increased, bodily sensations like pain and touch gradually dulled, forcing reliance on machinery rather than skill.

It was similar to how external hormone injections cause the body to stop producing hormones naturally, creating a dependency. While it might be fine for those operating primarily in cities, for adventurers who spent months in mountains and fields in life-or-death struggles with monsters, augmentation procedures carried too much risk.

Like the ones Viktor had received—operating without a separate power source and embedded within the body, requiring no maintenance unless severely damaged. The only drawback was their cost.

“I still can’t shake off the uneasiness. Metal detectors would pick them up… and putting something in your body would increase your weight.”

“That’s why female adventurers generally avoid augmentation procedures. Who would pay for surgery that makes them gain weight?”

“Ha! That’s an interesting point. Some dungeon traps are weight-activated, so that’s another consideration.”

“Pressure plates? Classic traps.”

The Iron Walker Party gathered in the captain’s quarters, engaging in an in-depth discussion about augmentation procedures.

And finally, on July 22, 1204, the Iron Walker Party was able to arrive at Lorentina City.