Chapter 554: Chapter 408: The Secret: The Dark Clouds of the Sun Empire’s Throne Succession

At this moment, Byron, seeing natural rubber, seemed to hear in his ears the fervent roar of machines, pistons, levers, and gears all coming together.

In the intertwining of flames and steam, the tremendous sound echoed within his skull, composing a solemn hymn:

"More rivets, stronger steam, the mightiest turrets! Myriads of stars, myriads of turrets! More rivets, stronger steam, turrets above all! Myriads of turrets, myriads of glory!"

"Ring the great bell once, push the lever, start the piston and pump; ring the great bell twice, press the button, ignite the engine, flame up the turbine, inject life; Ring the great bell three times, sing in unison, praise the God of All Machines!"

Violet, who was spiritually connected to Byron, likewise felt the uncontainable excitement within him.

And the keyword that echoed along with the hymn time and time again—boil water! 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Currently, including Violet, many of the Tower Sequence Artisans and Naturalists were still debating the path of Whale Oil power development.

Yet Byron had already found the ultimate answer most suitable for No Magic and low magic worlds, within the Whale Oil power revolution, or any form of energy revolution for that matter.

Be it coal, diesel, natural gas, or even nuclear power, just hook it up to an external energy source, and let it all help the Steam Engine boil water.

But why, after numerous energy revolutions, does it still come down to heating water, or more accurately, boiling it?

Byron had once puzzled over this question, but the technology upgrade path of his previous life had already made everything clear.

From coal to nuclear power, the act of "boiling water" may seem overly simple, yet it is a scientifically efficient and widely applicable energy conversion method.

One of the key reasons is thermal efficiency!

According to the second law of thermodynamics, when thermal energy is converted to other forms of energy, there is an upper limit on efficiency—the Carnot efficiency.

The Carnot efficiency indicates that a heat engine’s efficiency depends on the temperature difference between its high and low-temperature heat sources.

And the generation and expansion of steam provide a highly effective way to achieve this energy conversion between high and low temperatures.

Using boiling water to produce steam, which then powers turbines, is not only energy-efficient but also simplifies safety control and maintenance in engineering.

In addition, Steam Engines can be used with various heat sources, making them an excellent bridge between different energy technology iterations!

The key to harnessing high-temperature, high-pressure steam, aside from steel and copper tubing, is rubber.

Natural rubber may not be suitable. However, vulcanized rubber possesses excellent properties such as high elasticity, heat resistance, high tensile strength, and insolubility in organic solvents, making it the perfect companion to Steam Engines.

Since boiling water and vulcanized rubber were the joint choice of Engineers and countless mechanical experts from his past life, Byron readily adopted this approach.

Moreover, as is well known, military products prioritize stability over trendiness.

Whether it’s the peak or trough of the Source Tide, the Mythological Era, the Silver Era, or the Luanyan Epoch.

Boiling water is certainly the most universally applicable and stable method of performing work. It is more in line with the nature of Humans, a mundane species, than the extraordinary path that relies on Source Material.

A skyscraper rises from the ground; as long as this technology tree is ignited, I can blaze through on the path of more, bigger, and stronger all the way.

The most powerful Steam Engines, the largest steel Warships, the most turrets, all represent an unsurpassed Great Power. To create a world belonging to Steam, where there is no fancy witchcraft, there is only, purely, Steam at its pinnacle!

Once atop this technology tree, the knowledge Byron brought from another world would be enough for him to glimpse five hundred years into the future.

In his previous life, Aircraft Carriers and flying machines had ended the era of huge warships and Human sea dominance.

But in this life, the future might unfold differently. This is due to Human fear of those sky dominators known as the [Dragon Court] and Humanity having maxed out its Aerial Embargo ability.

As long as he could advance to the Fourth Order and become the fully realized Mythical Creature, the [Night Demon Prince], he just needed to continue to survive. Then, he would inevitably witness the day when Whale Oil steam-powered Warships would rule the seas.

Pre-dreadnought Ships, Dreadnoughts, super-dreadnoughts, Nelson-class, Bismarck-class, Richelieu-class, Iowa-class... Following the military industrial aesthetic of ’bigger is stronger, and more is beautiful,’ if I don’t build hundreds of these steel behemoths in the future, how can I call myself an arms merchant? And how would I be fit to be called the Pirate King?

This trip to the Sun Empire was indeed most opportune. [Hundred Beasts Paradise], this unknown Continent still shrouded in the fog of war; I wonder how many more precious treasures await my discovery.

Excited heart, trembling hands, Byron picked up the golden bowl holding an indescribable object and suddenly looked up at Prince Atahualpa.

Perhaps it was his gaze, too intense, that led to a misunderstanding; even the majestic [Son of the Sun] suddenly shivered.

Subconsciously, he turned over in the Queen Consort’s arms, hiding his rear. The shock sobered him up considerably on the spot.

GLUG!

He swallowed dryly, his scalp tingling, his mind a whirlwind:

Why look at me when there are so many beauties around? While I do crave Wealth, Authority, land, and Divinity, I, as a Prince, still have my limits.