Li Lin spent the remaining day re-entering Gaboga's cockpit, instructing it to teleport back to Piltover.
During this time, he noticed several small fishing boats heading out to sea, the locals of Bel'zhun Harbor curious about what was happening here.
However, through remote captures and the AI's analysis, Li Lin discovered that these were not fishermen but Noxian soldiers disguised as such, here to gather intelligence.
The Isle of Gedss is not far from Bel'zhun; from the port, one can glimpse the silhouette of the small island on the horizon, where the sounds of Gaboga and Malphite's battle could be heard.
Normally, the faithful fishermen of Shurima would not dare to sail during such times of divine wrath.
Seeing Gaboga, still almost two hundred meters from Piltover, along with numerous floating Piltover airships, these Noxian scouts did not dare to linger.
Once they reported what they saw, Noxus would likely dispatch a large number of war masons to infiltrate Piltover for intelligence.
Li Lin had anticipated this, but he paid it little mind.
After all, once a strategic weapon like Gaboga was built, its presence could not be concealed, let alone its capabilities.
It would be better to demonstrate Gaboga's power to the outside world, especially to Noxus, to deter them from any rash actions.
This was one of the main reasons Li Lin chose the Isle of Gedss as a testing ground.
As for the issue of the warbands, Piltover now had thousands of mechanized workers, all interconnected in a unified network for database comparisons and upgrades at any time.
Warcrafts were highly purposeful; it would not be difficult to apprehend outsiders acting abnormally.
When Gaboga vanished in a burst of arcane light, the councilors and other families returned to Piltover through Heimerdinger's Hextech gates.
At dusk, Li Lin, Caitlyn, and Kai'Sa arrived in Nashramae, warmly welcomed by the harbormaster, Saga.
Six months ago, the library outside the western outskirts of Nashramae witnessed a great battle between Renekton and Nasus, almost destroying this sacred place that has survived until now.
Fortunately, the emperor's seal has been retrieved and shown to Saga personally by the Emperor's emissary, gaining her loyalty.
Now Nashramae has returned to the territory of the Shuriman Empire.
Li Lin had thought carefully about coming to Nashramae.
Firstly, Kai'Sa had not seen her father for a year, with only a few letters exchanged during that time, and she missed him very much, wanting to come back here to take a look.
Unfortunately, Kassadin would not stay in one place in his search for the Void Prophet Malzahar, and there was nothing Li Lin could do about Zidelo's Incognium Runeterra, except to comfort Kai'Sa, who appeared strong but somewhat lost and worried.
In addition, he wanted to see how Sivir was doing with her Project Genesis · Chronicles of Creation battle armor.
It was unexpected that Sivir, along with her rebuilt mercenary group, had already returned to the City of the Sun, starting military training.
According to Saga, they were constantly hunted by fanatical Xerath followers, who were unwilling to give up eliminating the influence of the God-Emperor's bloodline.
In desperation, Sivir had to seek refuge from her ancestors.
Moreover, this was Caitlyn's first time leaving Piltover; previously, Cassandra had not allowed her to go anywhere else.
The opportunity was rare, and Li Lin wanted to take advantage of it to explore outside with her.
Everyone celebrated wildly in Nashramae for a night, experiencing the exotic charm of a foreign land.
Early the next morning, Li Lin woke up Viktor, who was still drunk, and Jayce, who had not yet woken up, and called on the craftsmen of the Kiramman family, boarding an airship and teleporting back to Piltover.
After the battle with Malphite, the councilors witnessed for the first time the terrifying existence that could easily destroy Piltover, and an emergency council meeting was convened early in the morning, issuing new urgent policies.
A single Gaboga was insufficient to defend the safety of Piltover; current research to enhance Piltover's combat capabilities required increased investment and sponsorship, prioritizing the construction of various new Hextech weapons production factories.
Even the Piltover Enforcer Academy in Piltover was to be expanded, effectively expanding military capabilities.
In particular, Li Lin proposed that the artificial satellites used for reconnaissance purposes in the future, led by several major council families and jointly funded by other families, should increase investment and accelerate the construction of satellite bases, artificial satellites, and launch rockets.
Originally expected to launch the first artificial satellite by the end of this year, with the assistance of major families, it was brought forward by several months.
If all went well, the reconnaissance satellite · Heaven's Eye was expected to launch at the end of this month.
And the communication satellite named "Morning Star" by Li Lin was also expected to launch later this year.
With artificial satellites, Piltover would lead the entire Runeterra in communication and information, leading in any field.
In addition to these, after testing Gaboga's performance, Heimerdinger also discovered minor issues in certain aspects, mainly the efficiency of rocket missile slot launches and resistance to energy attacks, which needed further improvement.
Upon returning to Piltover, Li Lin swiftly traveled to the Piltover University, where Heimerdinger, having spent the night researching mechs and just returned from council duties this morning, awaited.
The workshop was mostly empty, with only the mechanized workers maintaining Gaboga, the first-phase construction plan having exhausted everyone's energy. The performance tests had been remarkably successful, prompting everyone to return for some much-needed rest.
Heimerdinger, deep in calculations at his makeshift office, glanced up as Li Lin entered, greeting him, "Ah, you're here."
"Professor, you mentioned a problem with Gaboga over the phone?" Li Lin cut to the chase.
"A problem? Oh no, that's not important. I called you here for something else," Heimerdinger said, his white beard twitching, waving off the concern and getting up from his seat.
Raising an eyebrow, Li Lin followed Heimerdinger to a computer console along the room's side. He pressed a few keys, and the screen displayed the image of a deep crimson dragon.
"What's this?"
"The Elemental Dragon. Millennia ago, they dominated Valoran, apex predators in the food chain. With humanity's rise, conflicts with these dragons escalated."
"They hunted human livestock, razed villages with firestorms and thunder, considering humans their prey. Despite their physical prowess, humans eventually produced a group of heroes."
"They hunted down dragons threatening human survival, crafting armor from scales, weapons from claws and fangs, and drove most Elemental Dragons from Valoran."
"Today, Elemental Dragons are nearly extinct on Valoran, surviving only as sporadic bloodlines or lesser species, insignificant."
Heimerdinger's fingers danced across the keyboard, projecting dozens of dragon images in various forms. "Later generations dubbed them Dragon Slayers."
Amused at the parallel universe jibe, Li Lin had seen most of these images in the University library's records and knew it had no relation to "Dragon Slayers" beyond a name.
"I'm familiar with dragons, from the records I've read," Li Lin responded. "But they've been absent from Valoran for centuries. How does this concern us?"
Aware that Shyvana, the Dragonborn, was about to rampage through Demacia's outpost, the timing couldn't be more fitting. But now wasn't the time to reveal that.
Incredulous, Li Lin realized Heimerdinger had prior contact with the newly hatched Shyvana, the Dragonborn.
"Recently, the city-state of Whitestone, trading partner with Piltover in the southeastern part of Demacia, sent word of a Flame Dragon sighting near the Argent Mountains' Gate of Mourning."
"That's where the mage fled to with the dragon egg from Shurima years ago," Li Lin interjected, shocked at Heimerdinger's insight.
"That's the biggest regret of my life," he sighed heavily. "The egg I found cracked open, revealing an infant girl, dragon features apparent."
"Dragons can sense their kin through blood. I feared the consequences if that egg brought disaster to Piltover, so I sent him away."
Li Lin was stunned. He hadn't expected Heimerdinger's involvement with Shyvana, hatched just recently.
"And now," Heimerdinger continued, "a dragon's appearance means suffering and disaster for people. My fault. I focused only on Piltover, not the rest of Valoran... I must take responsibility."
Heimerdinger stared at Li Lin, his azure eyes shimmering strangely. "So, I ask you to pilot Gaboga and slay that dragon."
Before Li Lin could respond, Heimerdinger added hastily, "Oh, and by the way, apart from the garrison, almost no one resides near the outpost."
"If possible, extend the battle with the dragon, use kinetic and low-power energy weapons more, to aid in gathering combat data for Gaboga."
(End of Chapter)
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