Chapter 171: On How to Turn a Devil into a Lunatic
Returning to Pol Island, Owen found that the two ships were in dire need of repair, especially the Flying Fish. Its displacement was already small, and after being bombarded by the Bone-Gnawing Sharks, although the keel was intact, it was riddled with holes like a beehive. On the way back, with every gust of wind filling the sails, the entire deck creaked and groaned, making one suspect that a strong gale would tear the ship apart.
The Flying Fish was never a warship. Although fast, its hull was thin. After all, it was originally designed for exploration, so naturally, it couldn’t withstand punishment like the warship, the Gale. Even after taking numerous hits, the Gale’s hull only showed some dents and was rarely penetrated by cannonballs.
Therefore, although the Flying Fish could be repaired, Owen decided to relegate it to the second line.
“After the Flying Fish is repaired, don’t use it as a warship. Remove the cannons, only keeping the two cannons at the bow,” Owen instructed Old Rui.
“Captain, although the Gale is powerful, it is not as fast as the Flying Fish. If we go out raiding, it will take more time to catch up to our targets,” Old Rui hesitantly said, mustering his courage.
“There will be new ships to supplement,” Owen replied, impatiently leaving the already somewhat established dock.
Since the captain had made his decision, Old Rui didn’t intend to disobey, so he immediately arranged for the crew to begin repairs.
On Pirate Island, they not only recruited pirates but also cooks and many shipwrights.
These shipwrights might not be able to build a ship on their own, but they were experts at repairs. Even a simple wooden bucket could be turned into a work of art in their hands.
Leaving the miscellaneous matters to Old Rui, Owen went to the Tenshu. The area, meticulously planned by Tanaka, already had large tracts of farmland cultivated. Owen praised him and then encouraged Matsushita, who was in charge of capturing the savages, urging them both to work harder.
However, having reached the population limit, many savages could only perform simple tasks under the supervision of the foot soldiers, unable to contribute more. Therefore, Owen used the reward from Queen Island to upgrade the Tenshu.
The second-level Tenshu Keep has a population limit of one thousand and allows the recruitment of Ashigaru and Bannermen.
If Ashigaru are considered militia, then Bannermen are the regular army. Owen recruited one hundred Bannermen in one go.
The biggest difference between Bannermen and Ashigaru is their armor. Bannermen can skillfully use various weapons, including firearms, and can serve as the main fighting force in this world.
With the population increase, and Bannermen being beyond the command of Foot Soldier Generals, Owen redeemed another talented individual, Hoshino.
Hoshino’s background is that of a Samurai from a warrior family. He’s a Samurai General capable of commanding five hundred troops. In the Warring States period of Japan, he would be considered a competent military commander, but compared to the Three Kingdoms period, he’s nothing to write home about.
Although unimpressive by those standards, he’s more than sufficient for the current territory. Coming from a warrior family means Hoshino received a good education, unlike Tanaka and Watanabe, who are self-taught. Therefore, Owen felt at ease entrusting the territory’s management to him.
Within the Tenshu Keep, Owen used Onmyōdō techniques to set up layers of sealing arrays. This system, completely foreign to the Devil, isn’t easy to break, especially with Owen controlling its source and true name. It can only helplessly endure the gaze of that strange alchemical creation.
The Hand Warmer is recording the fluctuation frequency of the Devil’s source. Owen doesn’t understand this aspect; it’s a program automatically initiated by the Hand Warmer after he issued the research and scan command. So, for now, he’s leaving it be.
The source isn’t the Devil’s main body, nor is it a form of energy, but a more peculiar existence. Owen is very curious about it and is also using his own methods to research it. This makes the Devil even more miserable, but it still maintains the appearance of a white-haired, red-eyed little lolita, occasionally frowning slightly and pursing its cherry lips, arms crossed over its chest, presenting a pitiful and lovable appearance.
If Irving was a nerd and a pervert, he would probably be lying down and letting the other person step on him from the face.
It’s a pity he has a woman adept in Transformation Magic and a female secretary whose every hair seems to be in motion. A mere busty loli wants to make him lose his composure? Scoffs . Perhaps if it were the Third Princess Shuliya.
The Devil’s strength isn’t much, but as an employee of Hell, its essence quality is not low. It belongs to the type whose upper quality limit starts at Legendary.
Theoretically, as long as the amount of essence is sufficient, a Devil can directly reach Legendary without any bottlenecks. This made Owen even more interested.
After some experimentation, Owen discovered that Onmyodo and Alchemy research yielded the best results, followed by the abilities of Wizards and Mages.
Now Owen was considering whether to transform this portion of essence into a new Shikigami, or use it as a material to create a special alchemical construct.
Transforming it into a Shikigami could preserve the original to the greatest extent. Setting its true form as the current appearance of the little loli wouldn’t be impossible, and it would be tangible
It is also good to refine it into an alchemical creation, which can sever the connection between the origin and the body to the greatest extent, eliminate the devil’s consciousness, and reduce the risk of capsizing.
Refining it into an alchemical creation isn’t bad either. It can sever the connection between the origin and the main body to the greatest extent, wear down the devil’s consciousness within it, and reduce the risk of capsizing.
The above are the advantages. For example, the former is not simply refining one’s summoned monsters, as well as Ai Mi Er and Bella, into Shikigami. The devil’s dangerousness is extremely high, and even Owen can’t guess how many ways it has to turn the tables.
As for the latter, Owen is not very satisfied because if it’s refined into an alchemical creation, with his technology, it would be difficult to guarantee the devil’s self-awareness, which would be a waste.
The greatest value of this part of the devil’s origin is not the combat power it can exert, but the knowledge and experience the devil has accumulated over the long years. These are what Owen values.
After pondering for a long time, Owen decided that turning the devil into a mental patient would be more in line with his interests.
“A second personality?!”
Owen taking the initiative to talk to the devil for the first time made the devil very happy. It had prepared over a hundred conversation strategies, but it was dumbfounded right from the start.
“Do you know there’s a mental illness called multiple personality disorder?” Owen specifically exchanged for some books on mental illness. Although he couldn’t be called an expert, it was still no problem to take out some professional terms to fool people—no, to fool the devil.
The devil had actually seen mental patients with multiple personality disorder, but they were usually called lunatics.
“You originate from the main body, but you reside in this part of the origin. Now, the ownership of this part of the origin belongs to me. Theoretically, the consciousness relying on this part of the origin also belongs to me.” Owen’s words made the devil think for three cycles before it understood. But you couldn’t say it was wrong, because according to the contract, even if Owen erased this part of the consciousness, there wouldn’t be any problem. However, for the devil, the problem would be huge.
“I think Master, you’re not telling me all this to inform me that you’re going to erase my consciousness, are you?” The devil said with a dry laugh.
“Of course not. Now you are also my property. Unless you lose the value of your existence, you don’t have to worry about this.” Owen said sincerely.
After hearing this, the devil felt even more uneasy, but it still put on a grateful expression on the surface, as this was professional cultivation.
