Captain of the Pirates: My Fleet's Limitless Upgrading-Chapter 37: The Hot Air Balloon Takes Off

"Smells good. Leo, are you sure this isn’t food?" Anna stood by the pot, licking her lips.

"This stuff is useful. If you want to eat, I can cook another pot," Leo kept stirring, and the rice water slowly became thick and sticky.

"Really? Ava, help me," Anna got excited and pulled Ava to start another stove and cook rice.

The scent spread, and the guards standing by the door kept swallowing their saliva. Some even peeked inside, looking around.

"It should be done now," Leo said, looking at the thick liquid on the stick. The texture was perfect. Now he just needed to cool it and glue the cut canvas together.

If everything went smoothly, they could finish assembling it tonight.

The rice scent filled the air, and the group finished dinner and kept working.

The girls didn’t know what Leo was doing, but they didn’t ask much. They followed his instructions and glued the canvas together.

They worked until very late at night, and finally, the hot air balloon was assembled.

Leo looked at Barnett and said, "Barnett, bring the furnace you made."

"Okay."

Barnett and Solomon ran into the room and quickly came back carrying a big iron furnace.

Leo added some charcoal, lit the furnace, and pulled the bellows. A flame shot up instantly.

"Biggy, Secondy, hold up the canvas opening and put it over the fire," he ordered the two.

They did as told. The bellows blew, the flame rose, hot air pushed up, and the canvas started to fill.

"Wow, what kind of magic is this?" Anna was amazed and kept circling the big hot air balloon, trying to find out its secret.

The girls were also shocked.

"Sir, is this thing really going to fly?" Barnett was surprised. He noticed that after the balloon filled with air, it actually started to hover slightly above the ground.

"Of course," Leo nodded. He controlled the fire so the balloon didn’t rise.

This time, it was just a test to check if the balloon was safe. He didn’t want to make too much noise.

Luckily, everything went smoothly. The balloon was glued tightly and didn’t leak.

"Barnett, improve it a bit. Make the basket as light as possible, but don’t make it smaller," Leo pointed out some things to fix.

The most important thing for the balloon to fly was the fuel.

The basket needed to carry a few people and enough charcoal to float all the way to the port and get a big ship.

Barnett took notes and went back to work with Solomon.

The girls still circled the big hot air balloon, full of curiosity.

"Stop looking, go rest," Leo told them. He didn’t want to draw too much attention.

The Palace

Cynthia was reporting to Elyse about Leo’s recent behavior.

"Another request for Flamestones? And also Premium Rice? Are you sure this is for making gunpowder?"

Elyse frowned, still confused about what Premium Rice had to do with gunpowder.

"Leo said so. Princess, should we still give him Flamestones?" Cynthia asked carefully.

Flamestones weren’t that rare, but giving out hundreds at once was still a big expense.

"Hmph." Elyse let out a cold huff and said, "Let him show me the gunpowder first."

She didn’t trust Leo, but he was still under her control. She wasn’t worried about him pulling any tricks.

"Princess," a maid walked in, bowed, and said, "The guards on the mountain reported that Leo used canvas to make a big ball. It looks like it might float."

"A ball?" Elyse frowned, confused. She turned to Cynthia and asked, "Do you know what that thing is for?"

Cynthia thought for a moment and said, "Leo said it’s an old magic. Used to purify gunpowder."

"Purify?" Elyse had never heard that word before.

But something about it still felt off to her.

Elyse turned to the maid and said coldly, "Tell the guards to keep a close eye on them. Whatever they’re doing, it has to be in their sight. And by tomorrow night, I need to see the gunpowder."

She rubbed her temples, looking a little tired.

In the past few days, the Black Dragon Kingdom had been moving a lot. Soldiers were gathering. It made her uneasy. She needed the gunpowder badly.

"Yes." The maid quickly bowed and left.

The room fell quiet again. Then Elyse thought of something else and asked, "Cynthia, how is the Research Department doing?"

"I just visited them this afternoon. They made the Composite Bow. It’s much stronger than regular bows. The most strange part is that it’s easier to pull."

Cynthia thought about the Composite Bow they had copied. All they did was add a few strange wheels, and it worked so well. She was starting to respect Leo’s skill a little.

Maybe the princess was right not to kill him.

"Did they only make the Composite Bow?" Elyse wasn’t satisfied. She could feel that the Flintlock was even stronger.

That thing looked like a smaller version of the Skyfire cannon. And it also needed gunpowder.

Once she had the gunpowder, and the terrifying power of the Skyfire cannon, the small Black Dragon Kingdom would be nothing.

Elyse looked a little serious and said, "Cynthia, tell the Research Department to make as many Composite Bows as they can. And don’t forget the Thor’s Cannon either."

"Got it." Cynthia nodded and, seeing there was nothing else, bowed and left.

The Next Morning, Leo Received Elyse’s Order

Leo got the order from Elyse early that morning.

She wanted to see the gunpowder by tonight.

"Sir, what do we do now?" Barnett looked worried. He knew for sure that Leo hadn’t made any gunpowder in the past two days.

That Elyse wasn’t someone to be taken lightly. He and Solomon had been forced and nearly broken before.

Leo laughed coldly. "She wants gunpowder? Just make some for her."

He still had three Flamestones left. Crush them with charcoal, and they could still light fire. It wasn’t real gunpowder, but it worked the same way. The power was much weaker, but it would be enough.

By tonight, they could escape in the hot air balloon. They didn’t have to worry about Elyse finding out.

Leo kept working.

Soon, night fell, and he could feel more soldiers around.

Also, Cynthia hadn’t left. She stayed by the door, watching.

The hot air balloon was big. If it rose, she’d notice right away.

"Leo, I found archers outside. Can your thing stop arrows?" Lilia appeared and brought another bad news.

The hot air balloon was made of canvas. It couldn’t stop arrows at all.

"That’s really a problem," Leo frowned.

No matter what, they had to escape tonight.

If Elyse found out the gunpowder was fake, she wouldn’t let him live.

"Lilia, can you take down Cynthia?" He had an idea.

Elyse seemed to care about Cynthia. If they captured the woman, the soldiers wouldn’t dare attack.

Plus, the arrows had a short range. As long as the balloon rose high, they’d be safe.

Lilia said, "That woman is my equal. I can hold her off, but I can’t really capture or kill her."

"Then set a trap. The plan tonight can’t change," Leo didn’t care about whether the way was dirty or not.

He found Biggy and Secondy. Using the materials they had, and with the cover of night, they set a few traps near the door for Cynthia.

It would be best if Cynthia left tonight. Then they wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble.

But Leo was doomed to be disappointed.

Cynthia didn’t leave. She stayed by the door, watching closely.

Late at night.

Leo and the others worked again. Flames rose, and the big hot air balloon slowly filled up.

"It’s ready. Bring Cynthia here," he told Lilia. Then he told Biggy and Secondy to hide.

"Leave it to me," Lilia said confidently and left the courtyard.

"What’s going on? What do you want me to see?" Soon, Cynthia’s voice came from the door. She stepped into the courtyard, watching carefully.

Swoosh!

Suddenly, a rope shot up and wrapped around her feet.

"Die!" Cynthia was angry. She was ready. She easily dodged.

But before she landed, a huge piece of canvas fell from above.

Whirr!

The sword hummed. A cold light flashed. The canvas was cut straight through.

Cynthia had just stepped out when a cold short sword pressed against her neck. A cold voice came from behind: "Don’t move, or I’ll cut your throat."

Cynthia didn’t move.

Biggy and Secondy quickly tied her up, and a cloth was stuffed into her mouth.

At this moment, the huge hot air balloon had already started to rise, and the basket below was shaking slightly.

"Get in!" Leo controlled the fire and urged the others.

The girls were amazed and quickly climbed into the basket.

Biggy and Secondy threw Cynthia up first, then grabbed Barnett and Solomon and tossed them in as well.

"Take the dragon egg and the blueprint of the room," Leo told the two.

"Got it," Biggy ran to Anna’s room to get the dragon egg, while Secondy went to the nearby workshop and set it on fire with a single hand.

Whoosh...

The flames rose, the wind howled, the basket shook, and slowly lifted off the ground.

"Wow, it’s really flying!" Anna shouted excitedly, leaning over the edge of the basket, looking down in awe.

Leo grabbed her and pulled her back. There were still archers outside, and they weren’t safe yet.

The huge hot air balloon slowly went up.

Although it was nighttime, the noise immediately woke up the nearby soldiers.

"Is that Leo’s invention? So cool?"

The soldiers were talking, confused about what the thing was for.

It wasn’t until they saw the basket below that they realized what was going on.

"No, they’re trying to escape! Stop them!" One soldier shouted, running forward.

But by then, the balloon had already lifted off, about five or six meters above the ground. The soldiers couldn’t do anything.

"Archers! Bring the archers here! No matter what, we can’t let them escape!"

The soldiers were panicked and quickly sent for the archers nearby.

"Composite Bow!"

On the balloon, Leo shouted in surprise. He could barely make out the bows in the soldiers’ hands - they were the Composite Bows he had designed.