After climbing the stairs, Draven and the group reached inside. The ship's interior was dark and lit with dim
crimson red lights. At the moment, they stood in the cargo bay of the ship. Currently, the cargo bay contained no
cargo except a few junk crates.
"I like it," Margoth liked the dark, gloomy atmosphere.
"As you can see, we are in the ship's cargo bay. It's not a very interesting place, is it? So let's go to where the magic happens, literally," Barnabas laughed and led the group to the cockpit.
"When do we strike him down?" Margoth asked Draven while following Barnabas.
"After we know everything about this ship," Draven said in his mind.
The reporters remained silent until Barnabas led them into a dark door that was engraved with countless runes and symbols. Draven could feel a gentle warmth of heat coming from the door. Finally, Barnabas turned around to look at the reporters.
"Now this door is fused with magical arrays. To open this door, you have to be Layne. But of course, it will change after we enter the production stage as it would be the buyer's choice. For now, you have to be a Layne, and yours truly happened to be one," Barnabas laughed, but instead of placing his hand on the door, he looked at the golden-haired girl standing in the front.
"Miss, why don't you try to open the door? It will demonstrate the ship's guard against intruders. Rest assured, I have disabled the countermeasures,"
The girl however seemed reluctant as the man with a goatee raised his hand.
"Can I try it?"
"Be my guest," Barnabas's grin shrunk, but he kept the smile on his face.
The man stepped toward the door and grabbed the knob to open the door. However, as soon as the man twisted the door knob, the ship trembled slightly.
BEEP!
BEEP!
BEEP!
BEEP!
The crimson red lights began to flicker as they heard continuous beep sounds. Then, the ceiling above the man opened, revealing three crossbows aimed straight at his head. The reporters were startled, but the ship surprised them more when two mechanical hands emerged from the ground and grabbed the man's legs tight.
"In real situations, the arrows fused with lightning would be fired at him. Although the arrows wouldn't kill the intruder, it would hurt like hell,"
Barnabas grinned while the man squirmed to escape the hold of the two mechanical arms.
"Do you see these hands? They can be made to apply enough force to crush a man's feet to dust. So if an intruder tried to enter the ship unauthorized, you have to call the healers before calling the guards,"
The reporters awkwardly giggled as Barnabas finally tapped the cub in his hand to release the man.
"Now are you ladies and gentle man ready to enter the heart of the sword?" asked Barnabas excitedly.
With a wide grin on his face, Barnabas twisted the knob and this time, there was no trembling or alarm. Instead, the door radiated an emerald green light before slowly opening. Draven was expecting a small room with a cockpit and several contraptions. However, the hall in front of them surprised him. Yes, it was a hall, not a room.
The spacious room contained a round marble table in the middle. They had to climb several steps down to reach the table. The cockpit to drive the ship was actually built at the end of the hall in front of the window. In addition to the table and the cockpit, the hall had several armor stands, weapon stands, and wooden boards.
"Surprised?" Barnabas asked as everyone nodded.
"This isn't just a cockpit. We like to call it the war room. The glass you are seeing is reinforced. So it's not as fragile as the windows in our home," Barnabas walked towards the cockpit,
The cockpit section of the hall contained a comfy chair cushioned to make the seating as comfortable as possible.
"Lord Barnabas, I only see one chair. Isn't it supposed to be two? One for flying the ship and one to operate the weapons," Another young man raised his hand and questioned Barnabas.
"Let me demonstrate to you," Barnabas sat on the chair with a smile and pulled down the red lever. As soon as he did that, the ship slightly trembled as the ground beneath the cockpit opened. The cubicle cockpit extended in all directions, making space for the second chair emerging from the ground.
When the ship stopped trembling, and the cockpit stopped expanding, there was not one but two chairs in front of them.
"This one is for flying, and this is for operating the weapons,"
"How does it work Lord Barnabas?" the man with the goatee questioned Barnabas.
"Simple, let me show you," Barnabas stood and sat on the other chair. As soon as he plunged into the chair, a mirror emerged from the cockpit before him. In that mirror, Draven could see the surroundings and a cross air. The cross air slightly moved when Barnabas grabbed the dark stick before him.
"This is our new invention. You don't need to have deadly accuracy to fire the cannons. Instead, you can just move the stick, aim at your targets, press this button, and boom!"
"If this guy is telling the truth, we just hit the jackpot," Margoth sounded like he was licking his lips. To be honest, Draven also felt eager to steal the warship. However, he couldn't help wondering what if the supervillains get their hands on the ship.
Of course, they couldn't get the one Draven was in but if Layne family mass-produced the ship, any supervillain with enough money could arm their enemies with state-of-the-art warships. The last thing Etheria needed was a bunch of criminals flying warships and shooting everything in their sight. After seeing the new aiming system, anyone with eyes could turn into a deadly shooter.
"Lord Barnabas, what about the mass production? Is this the only ship in working condition?" Draven asked raising his hand.
"At the moment, this is the only model we have built. The mass production will only begin after we take the sword to a test run,"
"Lord Barnabas, if the cockpit contains any security mechanisms against the intruders?" the goldan-haired girl raised her question before even Barnabas could finish giving an answer to Draven.
"Bitch!" Margoth growled.
"Thought you'd never ask. Why don't you sit next to me and try your luck?" this time, the girl didn't hesitate but quickly sat on the chair next to Barnabas.
"You already witnessed what would happen to someone who isn't bounded to the ship try to get access to something they shouldn't. Now you can see, she is not a Layne, unless you are. Are you a Layne miss?" Barnabas chuckled as the girl shook her head quickly.
"No,"
"It's good then. Now if you try to touch anything," Barnabas signaled her to try touching something as the girl slowly grabbed the lever in the cockpit.
HRRRMMMM!
The moment her hand touched the lever, the crimson red lights began to flicker again. Just like before, the annoying beeping sound resonated throughout the hall.
"What happening?" the girl stuttered, trying to move her body. However, no matter how hard she squirmed, she couldn't stand up. Only when they all looked closer did they notice a faint light coiling around her.
In a few blinks of an eye, the door they entered through shut closed as well as the windows.
"This is what we call lockdown. After the lockdown, there is no getting in or out. If the lockdown was initiated in mid-air, the sword would fly towards the nearest kingdom or to UFH mansions,"
"How do you disengage the lockdown Lord Barnabas?" asked Draven.
"With this," Barnabas showed the cube in his hand.
"Of course, it's a temporary measure. When we release the sword into the market, it will contain several foolproof security mechanisms. But for now, you just have to press this button and the lockdown will be disengaged. Don't put this on the papers. We don't want bad people to get this kind of information, do we?"
"Of course Lord Barnabas," Draven snickered.
"One last question, Lord Barnabas. Actually two questions. First, is the sword in a flying condition?"
"Yes. We have placed enough etherian crystals in the engine room to fly the ship around Veland for a week,"
"Lord-"
"Can you fly the ship, Lord Barnabas?" Draven interjected another news reporter's question,
The way Draven interrupted the other put a frown on Barnabas's face. Mainly because the one who got interrupted by Draven was a pretty girl.
"I happen to be one of the few who has the training to fly the sword,"
Draven finally removed the robes he was wearing and revealed the dark armor he wore beneath.
"Why don't we take the sword for a spin huh?"
The reporters were surprised, but before they could react, Draven dashed at Barnabas.
Sling!
Draven flicked his wrist as he placed the sword against Barnabas's throat.
"I am commandeering the ship, Lord Barnabas"