Chapter 411 Farewell Party

It was already night, but the city hall in Fulan Port was still brightly lit. Tonight, the Lord of Alda, Count Paul Graman, was hosting a banquet for his guests.

The hall was crowded with people, and the crisp sound of wine glasses colliding could be heard from time to time.

Attending the banquet were the lords of various territories in the Northwest Bay, prestigious gentry, and major merchants and factory owners whose social status has risen sharply in recent years.

This banquet was of great significance, because tomorrow, three expedition teams would set off from Fulan Port, heading to the north, west and south respectively, so this was a farewell banquet.

The fleet heading north would go north along the west coast of the continent and reach the area outside the human world, because after the Rocky Mountains that stretched across the north of the Kingdom of Aldo, there was a vast grassland, which was the territory of the orcs. The trade exchanges between Aldo and the orc civilization are almost all through the Nerodan Corridor on the northeast side of the kingdom. Few people go to the coastline north of the Northwest Bay. It is said that the ancient Bella Empire once sent a fleet to expedition the orcs by sea, but it is only a legend. Even if it is true, there is no detailed information left.

The fleet heading south will turn east after arriving at the Horn Bay to replenish supplies and explore the distant east along the coastline of the south of the continent. Even after Paul vigorously advocated maritime trade, the trade tentacles of the merchants in the Northwest Bay only touched the Horn Bay area, and then the merchants in the Horn Bay sold the goods to the east as second-hand dealers. However, the recent unstable situation in the Horn Bay has made everyone feel nervous. Once the war breaks out, the role of the Horn Bay as a transit station will be greatly reduced, so plans must be made in advance.

The fleet heading west is even more amazing. They will try to cross the ocean to see if they can reach the other end of the continent. That's right, just want to verify whether the earth under your feet is round.

The theory of a spherical earth has already appeared in this world, and it was guessed by people through observation: for example, the tip of the mast of a ship coming from afar appears first, and the further north you go, the higher the horizon of the North Star.

But most people just listen to it for fun, and have big doubts about its authenticity.

We live on a ball? Just thinking about it makes me feel that something is wrong.

People who believe in the theory of a spherical earth imagine a situation: this sphere is so big that a small part of it looks flat, but only the top small part is inhabited by living beings. Once the living beings cross the ocean and reach a place with a large enough slope, they will slide down and eventually fall vertically into the void.

"Come on, everyone, let me introduce the three heroic captains who are about to sail."

Paul introduced the three captains, Stanford, commander of the Northern Exploration Team, Glenn, commander of the Western Exploration Team, and Nigel, commander of the Southern-Eastern Exploration Team, to the guests in turn. They are all people selected by the public with rich sailing experience, and they lead teams to travel between the Northwest Bay and the Corner Bay all year round.

"Here's a toast to you, warriors. You are our eyes, looking into the unknown world for us."

Myron Garnard took the lead in toasting the three captains, and the others followed suit and gathered around.

After drinking a glass, Earl Winifred Heller, Lord of Portree, stroked his gray beard and said mysteriously: "Captain Stanford, there is a so-called 'Gate of Hell' in the far north of the continent, and the evil demons are sealed behind the gate. If you are unfortunate enough to encounter it, you must be careful and don't break the seal."

"This... Lord Heller, I will be extremely careful." Captain Stanford suddenly became nervous.

Earl Martz Kent, Earl of Larnaca, said: "You old thing, you told these strange stories at the send-off banquet. No one believed this kind of legend when we were young. Look how scared the young people are."

Heller glared at him: "Really, I just want to liven up the atmosphere."

Everyone laughed, and Captain Stanford blushed slightly. It turned out that Earl Heller was teasing him.

Viscount Eugene Helson from Emden asked with some concern: "Lord Graman, are you really confident that the fleet of the three captains will keep running like this?"

"Why?"

"That..." Viscount Helson said with some stammering: "What if the earth is round? No matter which direction they are running, they will fall... What if they fall? Captain Glenn can't reach the other side of the continent at all."

Here it comes again. Paul is speechless. He has been talking about this concern of people around him more than once during this period of time.

"Okay, let me explain my speculation. Everyone, look over here!"

Paul spoke loudly to divert the attention of the people in the hall to himself.

He picked up an apple on the table next to him and threw it gently into the air. The apple quickly fell to the ground with a snap.

Paul asked: "Did you see it?"

"Ah? What?" Everyone muttered.

"The apple fell to the ground."

"Isn't that nonsense?"

Except for people like Myron who had already heard Paul's "conjecture", everyone else was secretly complaining. If Paul wasn't the leader of a territory, he would have been cursing.

Paul talked freely: "Why did the apple fall to the ground instead of "falling" into the sky? Haven't you ever thought about it? I suspect that the earth has a force that "pulls" the objects on it. Even if the earth is a sphere, even if we are on the other side of the sphere, we will not fall into the void."

Duke Ferdinand was very confused: "How could it be like what you said? Isn't it because up is up and down is down, and objects falling down is common sense in the world? This is the law set by our Heavenly Father, the Lord of Light, when he created the world."

"Oh!" Paul slapped his head and rolled his eyes, "Okay, let Captain Glenn bring us all the answers."

Duke Ferdinand muttered softly: "Even if the earth is round, there is a force holding us back, that is the power of the Heavenly Father."

Captain Glenn swore excitedly: "Lord Graman, please rest assured, I will definitely find out whether the earth is round and verify your speculation."

Members of the Western Exploration Team all have a tragic awareness - the heroic awareness of accidentally falling down after reaching the end of the world.

No mistakes in one song, one post, one content, one book, one forum, one 6, one 9!

Paul patted his shoulder: "Whether you can reach the other side or not, as long as you use up half of the supplies, you must return immediately. I don't want any of you to die of hunger or thirst at sea. For the vast ocean, we can explore slowly, and there is no need to rush."

"Yes, Lord Graman." Captain Glenn was very moved by Paul's words.

"Captain Glenn! My apprentice is in your hands." Glenn's hand was suddenly held tightly by someone.

The visitor was Benjamin, an old shipwright at the Fulan Port Shipyard. As the person in charge of the construction of the exploration team's special ship, Benjamin was also among the invited guests.

Benjamin and his apprentice, Vito, were the first group of talents recruited by Alda from the Horn Bay. However, Vito's dream was not to spend his whole life in the shipyard, but to yearn for an adventurous life. Therefore, after hearing about the lord's formation of an exploration team, he actively signed up and finally had the honor of becoming a member of the Western Exploration Team, responsible for the repair of the ship.

The old shipwright's eyes were filled with tears. He had always treated Vito as his own child. Although the child had always been clamoring for adventure when he was young, which boy didn't have some outrageous wishes when he was young? He didn't expect that he would really fly when he grew up.

Benjamin held Grant's hand and gave him detailed instructions.

"Master, that's enough."

Vito's face flushed behind Grant, so embarrassed, as if he hadn't grown up yet.

Paul came to a young man dressed in naval uniform, "Alan, are you all ready?"

A former officer candidate, now a lieutenant in the navy, Alan immediately straightened up and saluted him, "Yes, lord, my comrades and I are ready."

Each exploration team's ship was followed by three to four military personnel, most of whom had surveying or reconnaissance skills. In addition to recording the sea conditions and landforms along the way and assessing the military strength of the countries or forces they passed through, they also had an important responsibility to manage the firearms on the ship.

In order to enhance the ability to deal with dangers such as pirates, Paul prepared a small number of firearms for each exploration team - grenades, matchlocks, etc., but they could only be used as a last resort, and the decision was in the hands of the military representative on board.