Lord of the Sky City-Chapter 694 - 657 Research Funding

Chapter 694: Chapter 657: Research Funding Chapter 694: Chapter 657: Research Funding “I’ve told you, ordinary materials simply can’t withstand the energy of elemental runes.”

Seeing the arm of the armor deform in the high temperature of the flames, Hammerfire burst into laughter nearby.

Ever since they made a breakthrough with elemental runes, Orton and his team had been conducting research in this area because they were very clear that the future development of mana would definitely be elemental. However, as their research deepened, they gradually discovered the downside of elemental runes.

Not too weak, but too strong.

The energy released by elemental runes was far more powerful than that of plain mana. Technically, it was possible to equip armor with it, but the materials were not suitable. Ordinary armor materials could hardly bear it, and only more advanced or even the most high-end materials could be used.

But such materials were hard to find. Resources in Sky City were already scarce to begin with, and the materials that could be considered high-end or top-tier were even fewer. What was more important, these materials were very expensive. Rocky might not be short on money now, but he definitely couldn’t afford this kind of expense. Left with no choice, Orton had to use ordinary armor for experimentation, and of course, the results were the same every time—the armor was scrapped.

“I did say you should experiment with Steel Essence refined by the Steel Fury Demon; otherwise, any experiment is worthless.”

Sitting on the table, Hammerfire pouted and spoke, his expression showing a hint of frustration.

He had suggested long ago that they should use metal refined from the body of the Steel Fury Demon for experiments. Only metal of that caliber could withstand the energy produced by elemental runes, and only data derived from such experiments would be useful. But Orton and the rest had always objected, for a simple reason—metal refined by the Steel Fury Demon was too precious.

In the market, this kind of metal is called Steel Essence, and its price is as high as several hundred thousand gold coins per gram. Although Rocky had killed a Steel Fury Demon and had extracted quite a bit of Steel Essence from its body, the quantity was only enough to make the White Demon Armor, leaving no surplus Steel Essence for experimentation. Thus, even though Orton was well aware that Hammerfire was right, there was nothing he could do to follow through.

“Is that so?”

After listening to Hammerfire, Rocky then looked towards Orton, who nodded helplessly.

“Teacher, how much money would we need to buy enough materials for the experiments?”

Seeing Orton nod, Rocky immediately inquired.

As mentioned before, researching this kind of thing was essentially burning money, so even though Orton and his team had been extremely frugal, some expenses were still necessary, such as the cost of Steel Essence. Therefore, Rocky was very clear that there was absolutely no scrimping in this area.

“If we cut back a little, we would need about ten million gold coins.”

Looking at Rocky, Orton gave the figure with a sense of resignation.

Ten million gold coins!

That was the estimated cost needed for experimenting with elemental runes, and it was a conservative estimate!

Why did Orton always disagree with Hammerfire’s approach, to directly use the existing Steel Essence for experiments? It was because he knew once such experimentation began, spending money would be like casting it into a bottomless pit. Indeed, he was capable and confident that he could apply Elemental Runes to the new generation of White Demon Armor, but he also knew this would be too great a financial burden for Rocky.

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Now, Rocky’s days were indeed much better than before, with two Sky Cities and Backhill Village yielding several million gold coins each quarter. But Orton was also well aware that half of that sum was being invested in the research institute. Under such circumstances, where could Rocky find ten million gold coins?

Therefore, not only did he refuse to agree with Hammerfire’s method, but he also refrained from asking Rocky for more money. He still hoped to avoid increasing Rocky’s burden as much as possible, after all, it had not been easy for Rocky.

In fact, when Rocky heard the figure, he too was taken aback. He knew research was expensive, but he hadn’t expected it to require so much money—ten million gold coins? The number was simply staggering.

However, after frowning in thought, he eventually nodded to Orton!

“Teacher, leave the money matters to me,” he said, “Just give me the list of what’s needed, and I’ll immediately have the Chamber of Commerce buy everything we need.”

“Haha! I told you so, I said this kid could definitely handle it!”

When Rocky finished speaking, Hammerfire on the table threw up his little fists excitedly and shouted out loud, while Aniye and Pelaya also approached.

“Rocky, are you sure? This is not a small amount,” Pelaya asked worriedly, looking at Rocky. Ten million gold coins were indeed not a trifling figure. It wasn’t just Rocky—some large-scale research projects in other major Sky Cities might not dare to invest that much.

“Don’t worry, leave it to me.”

With a slight smile towards Pelaya, Rocky then turned and left the laboratory. With Orton and the others there, he was sure he didn’t need to worry about the research aspect. What he needed to do now was to find a way to raise the money. As long as he could get enough funds, Rocky was confident that with the accumulation of work done by Orton and his team over the years, it wouldn’t be long before they could create the new generation of White Demon Armor.

So after leaving the research institute, he returned to the City Lord’s Mansion and then summoned Aileen to inquire about the current financial situation.

According to Aileen, the city’s cash reserves amounted to over one and a half million gold coins, which could increase by another two million gold coins in a month. This was because the mineral output from Backhill Village and the earnings of the cities for the quarter would be due then.

Of course, this was only the income produced under Rocky’s jurisdiction and did not include the revenue from the Armor factory’s production. And if the Armor factory completed all orders for Thunderhawk Armor, Rocky could expect to earn several million gold coins more. If he waited a while longer, until the Apple Tree Corporation could mass-produce Rune Battleships, then his revenue would be even higher. For every battleship the Apple Tree Corporation sold, Rocky could extract a twenty percent profit, which was nearly endless.

In other words, if such steady development continued, Rocky’s progress could definitely be described as flourishing. But for Rocky at the moment, this future income was like a distant fire that couldn’t quench an immediate thirst; the Armor factory would need months to complete all orders, and he didn’t have that much time, nor could he wait for the Apple Tree Corporation to share profits with him. He needed ten million gold coins now!

So afterwards, Rocky fell into deep thought for quite some time. He thought of many solutions, and indeed, there were quite a few viable options. With his current capabilities and connections, raising ten million wasn’t particularly difficult—at least he could borrow it, and Rocky believed many people would be willing to lend him the sum. But he didn’t want to do that because he had thought of a better solution.

“Liliya, call Glan for me,” he said, glancing at Liliya. He planned to meet with the envoy from the Sky Alliance who had been left in his care. After all, a considerable amount of time had passed since they last met…!