Chapter 27: Unlocking the Destroyer Tree
“Fufu. Quite a lot, isn’t it?”
The Commander smiled broadly as she displayed the resource inventory on the Graph. The stockpile of iron had surged dramatically over the past few days. Just a short while ago, she had been furrowing her brow while staring at the same screen, so this change was certainly welcome.
“We will continue to focus on resource acquisition.”
“Is that so? Please, Ringo.”
In high spirits, she even hummed a little tune while scrolling through the skill tree. Many of the technology development commands that had been grayed out due to resource shortages were now unlocked. What thrilled her the most was the ability to access ship development and construction commands. Though, in reality, she had entrusted the management of those decisions to Ringo, so she wouldn’t be the one pressing the buttons.
“Hmm-hmm-hmm, hmm. …Hmm, Destroyer, Cruiser, Battleship… How are these classifications determined? By role? Size?”
“Yes, Ma’am. They are primarily classified by size, but due to technological updates, vessels that exceed the standard length may retain their classification, so it’s more of a convention than a strict rule.”
“I see… Is there any real meaning to the classification? In this area, it’s a term we only use at The Tree, after all.”
As she gazed at the classifications of combat vessels, she pondered aloud. While it seemed pointless to obsess over classifications, she also felt there was no reason to categorize them unnecessarily. To be honest, she hadn’t been particularly interested in naval vessels. Rather, it was more accurate to say that her interest had begun to grow now that naval vessels were becoming vital. She had always preferred spaceships, to begin with.
“Yes, Ma’am. No, from a strategic perspective, classification is important for grasping the overall picture. Ten Destroyers and ten Cruisers present a vastly different threat level, with the latter being overwhelmingly more formidable. As the technological levels of surrounding factions improve, such classifications will naturally become more relevant.”
“Hmm… So, this classification is for my understanding, then?”
“Yes, Ma’am, generally speaking. In the future, there will also be aspects for external announcements, but for now, we anticipate no such negotiations.”
“I see… Well, if that’s the case, I’d like to have a variety of ship types, so a general classification seems necessary. I don’t intend to stick too closely to historical vessels… in fact, I don’t really know much about them.”
The vessels displayed on the skill tree were likely pulled from Ringo’s library. When it came to actual development and construction, they would need to be redesigned to fit the facilities at The Tree, so she had no intention of adhering strictly to historical accuracy.
After all, they were already operating a mysterious vessel known as the Light Sailing Trader (LST). It was a bit late for that now.
“Well, classifying by length could be problematic. We won’t be constructing large vessels for a while, so would that mean everything would just be classified as Destroyers?”
“Yes, Ma’am. That would be the case.”
“Historically speaking, it seems to be a classification based on relative size. The main class is designated as Battleships, with those slightly inferior categorized as Cruisers, and even smaller vessels as Destroyers? …Destroyers are ships designed to counter Torpedo boats, right? Torpedo boats…”
“Ma’am, a quick note. Destroyers should have at least ocean-going capabilities and a range of approximately 5,000 kilometers. Torpedo boats are coastal vessels.”
“Oh… right.”
She nodded thoughtfully.
“So, we classify ships with ocean-going capabilities by size and role to some extent. That seems reasonable.”
“Let’s classify newly developed vessels as we go along.”
With that, she tapped on a certain tree.
“Destroyers! We should soon be able to construct large transport ships, so next up are combat vessels!”
The Destroyer tree. Its initial vessel was a small craft equipped with three main guns and six anti-aircraft guns. The primary engine was a diesel generator, with a fully motorized drive system. It could optionally carry one anti-ship missile, replacing one of the main guns if equipped.
“Hmm… What about torpedoes?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Due to resource constraints, development has been postponed. Currently, no submarines have been detected.”
After analyzing the expected enemy forces, they deemed torpedoes excessive. The enemy vessels were fragile and could be sunk with just a few shells, and none were equipped with even basic radar. For now, they had decided to postpone the use of torpedoes and missiles, which required precious electronic components that were in short supply. They did have some stockpiled missiles intended for aircraft, which could be repurposed to some extent.
“That said, we have also made progress in recovering rare metals from seawater. Soon, we should be able to ramp up production of electronic components.”
“Right. We’ve secured enough iron for constructing facilities… I really want to get my hands on an iron mine soon.”
Thanks to the iron acquired through this trade, they had finally found a path to constructing the large facilities that had been lacking. With the expansion and upgrading of the rare metal recovery facilities, they anticipated practical operational levels. Currently, they were only able to recover a few grams within a 24-hour period.
Ringo had calculated that their next goal would be to increase the production of vessels.
“We’ve been scanning the coastline of the Northern Continent for about 1,000 kilometers east and west, but we haven’t found any desirable resources yet. We considered obtaining timber from the forests, but from the perspective of cellulose production, transportation costs are too high, so expanding the seaweed beds seems to be the more efficient option.”
“I see… Yes, transportation does incur costs.”
“We are currently expanding our scanning range inland.”
According to the information gathered in the Port Town of Terek, there were reportedly iron mines inland. They had transported a considerable amount of iron from there this time. Although they were told that they couldn’t spare any more iron as it was needed for weaponry, it seemed possible to increase the production of iron ore. There appeared to be some limitations on the refining capacity. It seemed that the supply of Redstone, used as fuel, was insufficient.
Thus, they were now considering acquiring iron ore as well. With the prospect of launching a large transport ship on the next voyage, they would have ample capacity. The trade goods included threads and fabrics made from seaweed cellulose, salt extracted from seawater, and two types of salt: refined salt and sea salt, which had seaweed added during processing. It seemed that the refined salt was too strong due to the lack of impurities, so they had added sea salt to the list of items. Additionally, they planned to include sterilized drinking water packed in cellulose containers. Given the underdeveloped preservation technology, they believed this would sell well. Technically, they could produce reusable storage containers, but they were designed to be destroyed upon use to minimize the civilizational impact. The structure was designed to maximize strength when intact, becoming brittle after destruction to reduce reusability. Cellulose could not be plastically deformed by heating and could only be used as fuel. Incidentally, this trade item was born from her suggestion of “Why not fill it with water?” to address the issue of instability when there was too much empty space on the outbound journey.
They also prepared gold leaf, gold thread, and silverware as craft items.
With such a variety of goods, the next trade should go smoothly.
“When are we setting out next?”
“Yes. We shouldn’t make too many trips back and forth too frequently, so it will be about a month from now. Ultimately, I plan to operate multiple fleets for continuous trading.”
“I see. I’d like to gradually improve the ships’ performance as well.”
“Yes, Ma’am. We’ll keep an eye on that.”
While it was inefficient, the fact that they could now continuously acquire iron was very reassuring. They would likely be able to resume the production of the long-stalled airships. By dismantling the current Light Sailing Trader (LST) and recovering the duralumin used, they should be able to produce several vessels. If they also prepared vessels capable of carrying airships, their operational radius would expand significantly, and their responsiveness would improve.
“Now then, what should I do?”
With excitement, she began checking the skill tree, manufacturing plans, and resource consumption.
All things considered, this was probably the most enjoyable time for her.