The practical test flights lasting nearly a week marked a crucial step for the Air Knight Academy, bringing it from nothing to something. The training of prospective students finally entered the right track, but its impact extended far beyond the academy itself.

In fact, some people noticed the "giant kite" circling over the southern district that day. Although Tilly occasionally flew the Unicorn over the Lord's Castle, she mostly chose to conduct tests in uninhabited areas. Coupled with the public's natural awe of the castle district, most people had only heard of the existence of airplanes without ever seeing one in person.

Switching to the Air Knight Academy eliminated these concerns. Enthusiasts flocked to the southern district, lining the roads, waiting for the moment the plane rushed out of the academy walls. Initially, this was limited to residents near Shallow滩 Port and the factory district, but as the news spread rapidly, by the third day, the academy was surrounded by a group of onlookers. Whenever a plane appeared in their sight, the crowd erupted in enthusiastic cheers and exclamations, as if they themselves were soaring into the blue sky.

Honey, seizing the opportunity, published a large-scale report in "Graycastle Weekly" titled "Miracle Reappears," with a clear close-up photo of the biplane, instantly pushing the sales of "Graycastle Weekly" to a new peak.

A buying spree even swept through Neverwinter City. Perhaps realizing the commercial opportunities it contained, after the weekly was sold out, many out-of-town merchants began offering high prices to buy newspapers from the public. Those with insufficient funds hired people to make excerpts, even hand-drawing the plane photos, leading to a temporary shortage of paper in the market.

Amidst this grand wave, the name of the Air Knight finally spread throughout Neverwinter City.

Roland also received a summary report from Tilly a week later.

Out of one hundred and ninety-seven prospective students, a total of one hundred and fifty passed the review. This meant that forty-seven crash accidents caused by operational errors occurred during the entire assessment period. Considering that there were only four test planes in the first batch, each plane crashed an average of more than eleven times.

This might seem unbelievable, but Roland knew that these planes had simple structures and were lightweight, and as long as the engine wasn't damaged, they could be repaired quickly. Moreover, most crashes occurred during the landing phase, either the speed was too slow, and the whole plane smacked onto the runway, or the speed was too fast, breaking the landing gear and stopping only after the fuselage rubbed against the ground. Such damage was common in the biplane era, and after being dragged back and patched up, it would be a good plane again.

Of course, patched-up planes were never as good as when they first came off the factory line. Tilly also mentioned that the condition of the two planes that could still fly had deteriorated significantly, making it difficult to meet the training requirements. To ensure teaching quality, the academy urgently needed a new batch of biplanes. In addition, due to the improvement of training content and the expansion of subsequent personnel, four planes could no longer meet the requirements. Considering both training efficiency and actual needs, at least twelve to fifteen planes should be provided.

This was also the number of a flight squadron in later generations.

Roland found that no matter how he looked at the report, the message between the lines was, "I, the Air Force, need money."

After putting down the report, he shook his head with a wry smile. He could only say that Tilly indeed had a talent in this regard, seeing through the essence of the air force at the very beginning. In fact, to build a qualified flight unit, both a large population for screening and enough planes to crash were indispensable.

Now, all industries in Neverwinter City urgently needed manpower, and a full squadron of planes could obviously not be realized in the short term, so Anna could only slowly put them together.

In addition to Tilly, the General Staff Department also submitted an observation report, written by Edith. Kant.

The report was very short, but the content was quite interesting.

The Pearl of the North believed that, if used properly, the Air Knights had the potential to change the future war situation, and even become a decisive force in determining victory or defeat. She hoped to draw a group of people from the General Staff Department to form a research team and station them inside the academy to understand the performance of this new weapon, so that it could be used in subsequent planning. At the same time, she also conceived some tactics that only Air Knights could do, and wanted to have a separate detailed discussion with Roland, her eagerness was evident on paper.

Edith was probably the ordinary person among the senior leaders of Neverwinter City who paid the most attention to airplanes. Being able to associate it with war applications the moment she saw it had mass production capabilities, regardless of how feasible the plan was, her keenness alone was truly admirable.

As Roland was about to summon the Pearl of the North to talk about her views on the Air Knights, the voice of the guard came from outside the office door, "Your Majesty, Minister of Construction Karl. Van伯特 requests an audience."

He put his hand on the phone and withdrew it again, "Let him in."

"Yes."

"Your Majesty," Karl entered the office and saluted respectfully, "Your 'Miracle Building' has been successfully completed."

……

Standing under the podium and looking up at the towering body, Roland indeed felt the charm of the word 'spectacle'.

It took nearly two years, tens of thousands of gold dragons, enough steel to build three Crimson Water Bridges, and concrete that could pile up into a small mountain, to finally complete this building. If it weren't for the assistance of witches like Lotus and Hummingbird, it would have consumed several times more manpower and resources.

Extravagance ruins the country is more than just a joke, but in the same way, the shock it brought to the people of Neverwinter after it was built was absolutely unparalleled. This could be seen from the people who flocked from all directions to watch the completion ceremony.

The so-called gap is clearer only in contrast. Compared to the large two- to three-story residential areas around it, the 56-meter-high, 15-story Miracle Building could almost be called a unique one. Even Roland, who was accustomed to seeing tall buildings, couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion in his heart.

As the new landmark of Neverwinter City, it was not a simple and useless vanity project, but a culmination of various new technologies. For example, for water supply and drainage, Karl adopted the method of setting up multi-stage water tanks on the floors to solve the problem of the large height difference and the inability to pump water.

In addition, four external "elevators" were installed at the four corners of the main building. They were driven by steam engines in the basement and could carry dozens of people back and forth between the top floor and the ground floor at a time. Although it wasn't as intelligent as modern elevators, requiring dedicated personnel to control the operation and unable to stop at every floor, it was still a breathtaking design for this era. In particular, the lift adopted a large number of floor-to-ceiling glass, and the city's beautiful scenery could be seen while riding, making it a complete enjoyment.

"Your Majesty, say a few words," Karl said, placing his hand on his chest after ascending the podium, "Your people are waiting for your appearance."

Roland nodded, walked to the fence and waved to the dense crowd below.

The crowd immediately burst into enthusiastic cheers.

"Good afternoon, people of Neverwinter City."

"Today is the day of the completion of the Miracle Building. It has created countless world's firsts, and history will surely remember this day. But here I want to talk about not how great its significance is, but the question you care about the most, who will live in it? Or rather... for whom was it built?"

"Nobles? No, Graycastle has abolished the power of enfeoffed nobles; the royal family? Of course not, I don't need such a big place to put my bed. The answer is actually very simple, that is the residents of Neverwinter City - that is, all of you."

"It is you who created the Miracle Building, and you can undoubtedly enjoy this miracle!"

"Each room will be clearly marked in the administrative hall, without special privileges or family background, as long as you bring your resident ID card, you can apply to buy it and move into this building that is destined to be recorded in history!"

As soon as the voice fell, the crowd burst into deafening shouts.

"Long live Your Majesty!"

"Long live Neverwinter City!"

After the sound subsided slightly, Roland continued to shout loudly, "Now, I will light the torch on the top of the building. From now on, whenever night falls, it will burn brightly and become the most dazzling star in the sky of Neverwinter!"

Amidst the overwhelming cheers of the crowd, he led the city hall entourage into the "elevator" and ascended to the top of the main building.

A huge stone basin was placed in the center of the roof, filled with pitch-black oil - this viscous heavy oil was specially treated so that it could burn for a long time and would not emit foul odors and smoke, making it the most suitable fuel for a perpetual torch.

"Your Majesty," Nightingale handed over a torch.

Roland nodded, took the torch, and slowly walked towards the stone basin.

Melodious music and those familiar lines seemed to ring in his mind -

"From the germination of the first life underwater... you have experienced a lot..."

He raised the corner of his mouth and lowered the torch.

If this is the flame of the continuation of human civilization, then hopefully it will never be extinguished.