16
On the vast and boundless ocean.
A huge military airship, like a silver giant whale, was breaking through the clouds and sailing steadily eastward.
Two days had passed since departing from the Imperial Capital.
The boring voyage made the few Dragon Fang Special Forces members responsible for guarding the deck somewhat slack.
A young soldier with a buzz cut leaned on the railing, looking at the endless blue below, and couldn't help uttering an exclamation.
"Whether it has to be said or not, this ocean view is truly gorgeous."
"Having stayed in the training camp every day before, I almost forgot what the outside looks like."
Hearing this, a muscular and dark-skinned man next to him glanced at him with a steady voice.
"Cheer up, Li Hao."
"This sea area is not peaceful. The exotic beasts in the sea are far more dangerous than those on land."
"If you aren't careful for even a second, our airship might be dragged into the sea to feed the fish."
Hearing this, the young soldier named Li Hao curled his lips dismissively.
"What is there to fear, Brother Wang."
"On our airship, after all, are Principal Lin Zhu and that Captain Gandalf."
"With two SS-Rank Professionals holding down the fort, what exotic beasts would dare to come and cause trouble?"
As he spoke, he lowered his voice with some curiosity.
"Come to think of it, it's also strange. Ever since these two big shots got on the airship, they've been staying in their own rooms and haven't even shown their faces."
"Could it be that SS-Rank Professionals all have a bit of social phobia?"
Hearing these words, the muscular man called Brother Wang changed his expression slightly and hurriedly reached out to cover his mouth.
"I advise you kid to watch your words!"
He leaned into Li Hao's ear, lowering his voice even further.
"Although I'm not clear about that Captain Gandalf's personality."
"But that Principal Lin is famously petty."
"Back when we were in the academy, there was a blind fellow who gossiped behind her back a few times. Guess what happened?"
Li Hao widened his eyes and looked at him curiously.
A trace of lingering fear surfaced on Brother Wang's face.
"The next day, that fellow was hung at the academy's main gate by a vine falling from the sky, and whipped for three whole days and nights!"
"It is said that those screams could be heard from miles away."
"If you let her hear what you just said, you probably won't have an easy time for the rest of this journey."
Li Hao gave a start from fright, quickly sealing his mouth tightly and shaking his head like a rattle-drum.
Right at this moment.
"Hiss—"
Waves of sharp and piercing hisses, accompanied by the sound of wings beating violently against the air, came from behind the clouds not far away.
Brother Wang's expression instantly turned solemn. He suddenly turned his head and looked in the direction from which the sound came.
"Something's wrong!"
Almost the moment his voice fell.
A huge black shadow suddenly burst out from the thick clouds, like a moving dark cloud, pressing rapidly toward the position where the airship was located!
That was a massive herd of flying exotic beasts composed of hundreds of huge, pterosaur-like creatures!
In their crimson eyes burned bloodthirsty madness, and they opened their huge mouths filled with sharp teeth, letting out a deafening roar!
"Enemy attack!"
"It's Level 35 【Deep Sea Ghost Bats】!"
All the soldiers on the deck instantly entered combat status.
The alarm sounded through the entire airship.
"Hum—"
A light blue energy barrier, like an inverted giant bowl, instantly enveloped the entire airship.
Almost the instant the barrier formed, those fearless Deep Sea Ghost Bats violently crashed into it!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
A series of dull impact sounds resounded on the barrier.
Every impact would stir up circles of violent energy ripples on the barrier.
The body of the airship also shook slightly along with it.
"There are too many!"
Brother Wang tightly frowned. It was his first time seeing a flying exotic beast group of such a massive scale.
"Ranged classes get ready!"
"Prioritize attacking those largest elite monsters!"
On the deck, more than a dozen ranged Classer quickly took their positions.
The archers drew their longbows, and the element mages' palms also began to gather violent energy.
Just the moment they were about to launch an attack.
A clear voice rang out calmly from inside the tightly closed cabin door behind them.
"【Forbidden Spell: Thousand Mile Ice Seal】!"
The voice fell.
An invisible, irresistible absolute zero degree, like a torrent of broken dykes, centered on the airship, roared and spread in all directions!
"Crack! Crack!"
The entire world seemed to have its mute button pressed at this moment.
The air condensed, and the clouds froze.
Those hundreds of Deep Sea Ghost Bats frantically attacking the barrier had the ferocity and madness on their faces frozen forever.
A layer of crystal-clear ice crystals emitting colorful auroras completely covered them at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The next second.
Those lifelike ice sculptures, like birds that had lost their wings, dropped down like dumplings from the high altitude, pattering and falling toward the blue ocean below.
Smashing up huge splashes of waves.
In just a single breath.
The beast herd that was just aggressive and blocking the sky disappeared without a trace.
Only a few Deep Sea Ghost Bats that were farther away and luckily escaped a catastrophe let out a mournful cry filled to the extreme with terror, turned their heads and ran blindly, disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
On the deck, it fell into a dead silence.
Everyone maintained their attack-ready posture, stiff in place, dumbfounded.
"Holy shit..."
Li Hao opened his mouth wide, his eyes staring like copper bells, and the longbow in his hand dropped to the ground with a "clatter" sound.
He looked at the empty sky, and then looked at the countless ice blocks floating on the sea below, feeling that his brain was somewhat insufficient.
This... ended just like that?
"Creak—"
The cabin door behind slowly opened.
A slender figure walked out from inside with steady paces.
It was none other than Gandalf.
He had changed into a brand new Star-Moon Robe, holding that 【Eternal Judgment】 coiled with an ice crystal dragon, with a calm expression.
As if the world-destroying forbidden spell just now was just a small fireball he casually threw out.
Everyone on the deck suddenly snapped back to their senses.
They looked at that calm and unhurried figure, their eyes filled with indescribable shock and fanaticism.
Is this their captain?
Is this the true strength of an SS-Rank Forbidden Spell Mage?
Actually... so strong!
Brother Wang was the first to react. He abruptly straightened his waist, brought his legs together, and gave Gandalf an incomparably standard military salute.
"Hello, Captain!"
The dozen or so soldiers behind him also followed suit, their movements neat and uniform.
"Hello, Captain!"
Their voices were no longer just out of a soldier's obedience like when they first met.
But rather an absolute awe of the strong from the bottom of their hearts!
Zhou Huai controlled Gandalf and calmly nodded toward everyone.
"Mhm."
He raised his head, glanced at the distant horizon, and asked.
"How much further is it to the Caslantis Archipelago?"
A young man with neat short hair and a very capable look quickly stepped forward and reported at attention.
"Report to Captain!"
"According to the current sailing speed, we will arrive in two hours!"
"We're finally going to arrive..."
A trace of imperceptible ripple flashed in Gandalf's eyes.
Two hours' time passed in a flash.
When the airship passed through a thick layer of clouds again, the scene ahead suddenly cleared up.
A well-defined dark green island group, like countless emeralds scattered on a blue chessboard, appeared in everyone's line of sight.
That was the Caslantis Archipelago.
An ocean wonder composed of nearly two hundred large and small islands.
And the destination of their trip was the largest island among them.
Yuanbo Island.
"Captain, look."
That short-haired youth walked to Gandalf's side, pointed at the most expansive island below, and introduced.
"That is Yuanbo Island."
"It is also the only island on the Caslantis Archipelago inhabited by humans."
"There are about more than 100,000 residents on the island."
Zhou Huai controlled Gandalf and overlooked from high altitude.
The area of this Yuanbo Island was almost equivalent to a small city.
The vegetation on the island was lush and full of vibrant green.
It's just that most of those buildings were built with wood and stone, looking quite primitive.
Compared with the modern cities lined with high-rise buildings in Great Xia Nation, this place was obviously much more backward.
Soon, Zhou Huai's gaze was attracted by an open area on the east side of the island.
There, a large temporary apron had already been cleared out.
Several airships of various shapes were quietly docked there.
Obviously, the teams from other countries had arrived in advance.
Among them, one airship was particularly eye-catching.
Its entire body was crafted from streamlined silver-white metal, and its shape was full of futuristic sense and aggressiveness, being somewhat larger than Great Xia Nation's military airship.
And on that smooth airship body, a huge eagle emblem with wings spread ready to fly exuded an arrogant and overbearing aura.
This was obviously the airship of the Freedom Federation.