South of the imperial capital, it borders the desert wasteland.
The scorching wind swept through the sparse vegetation in the wasteland, causing the already withered grass leaves to curl up. Under the sunlight, the distant river was like a ribbon emitting silver light. It flowed into the distance, passing through several A small town, and then disappeared into the end of the field of vision.
At the end of the field of vision is the endless desert, which is the silent sandy land that separates the central area of the empire from the southern fortress area. Due to the obstruction of the mountains, the humid air from the south cannot reach the small plain, coupled with the changes in the underground water veins, What was once a fertile plain thousands of years ago has turned into a silent wasteland today.
Above the wasteland, a huge steel structure moved steadily across the sky, casting a long and narrow shadow on the earth.
On the deck of the Gale, Joshua stood at the front of the ship, staring silently into the distance. The oncoming strong wind blew the warrior's clothes and hair back, and this wind also blew the huge wind. The flags on both sides of the ship made it buzz.
On the flag, the emblem of the five-star ringed sun and the sword-holding hand was so conspicuous that it attracted everyone's attention.
"A floating battleship, it's a shame that His Majesty the Emperor can say it."
Joshua sighed softly, feeling the hot wind flowing beside him, and recalling the scene not long ago, Joshua couldn't help laughing: "Israel Diamond, this kind of courage is indeed the spirit of an emperor."
Of course, everyone knows that it is impossible for someone to send a cutting-edge floating battleship to others for no reason - the warrior is not a fool, he naturally knows the emperor's intention.
According to Master Nostradamus, the Holy Mountain of the Far Sea asked the empire for help just to use the power of order in him to break through certain areas blocked by evil forces. However, it was good that the empire did not agree. Since If he agreed, then it would be absolutely impossible for him to go alone.
But sending an army across half of the world to fight the dragon beasts in the far south on the other side of the continent is the worst choice from both a practical and morale perspective. Even the most elite troops among the five legions may not be able to do so. It could help with this, so Israel came up with a good idea.
Send out the floating battleship 'Gale' which is still in the experimental stage.
For the great mages of the Eastern Plains, aerial magic towers, floating islands, and even floating cities are nothing new. After all, things like magic furnace cores were originally born in their laboratories, but floating battleships , but it is not that simple. What it requires is not pure buoyancy, but stable and lasting power.
To make a behemoth float in the air, any archmage can easily do it after preparation, but to make a behemoth fly in the air is another completely different problem. Compared with being unable to move, or moving very quickly, The mana furnace cores of slow floating islands and floating battleships must be miniaturized and stabilized, and in order to be mass-produced and popularized in the future, their production materials must be as cheap as possible.
Before the Gale, the Empire had designed many aerial battleships and also manufactured many small airships. However, due to insufficient power systems, most of them were sealed. To this day, through long-term experiments and calculations, , the mages just finished debugging the Gale.
By dispatching this experimental floating battleship to assist the Church of the Seven Gods, even the harshest people on the mainland cannot say that the empire is indifferent to this matter, and with the power of this battleship, it will definitely be able to help the church resist the mad dragon. At the same time, it can also collect actual combat data and show its technical strength in front of other countries, achieving multiple goals with one stone.
As for why he gave this battleship to him so simply - Joshua believed that Israel probably thought that this battleship would definitely crash in the battle with the mad dragon, but as long as the data could be collected, he would be eager to continue improving. The empire is not at a loss in terms of technology. Anyway, according to the agreement between the major forces, the wreckage of the battleship will definitely be sent back to the empire, and with the character of a warrior, he will definitely not want these things.
"But leave him alone."
Standing on the deck of the Gale, feeling the strong wind caused by the rapid flight of the floating battleship, Joshua looked down at the clouds below him. He laughed loudly, too lazy to think about those meaningless things.
But after all, this giant steel ship belongs to him now! The warrior group in the previous life also had its own floating fortress, but it was built jointly by all the group members. Now, the Gale belongs entirely to him!
What a luxury it is for one person to own a floating battleship!
[Floating battleship·Gale]
[Super large composite magic structure, extraordinary quality]
[Average hardness of outer armor: 72, possessing abilities: levitating, magic energy propulsion, magic energy shield, physical damage reduction, higher element immunity, ignoring corrosion, magic energy surge, gale charge (self-destruction)]
[Affiliated spells and plug-in structures: five large magic energy focusing cannons, forty conventional alchemical artillery pieces, nine sides of the acceleration circle, twelve sides of the floating circle, positioning and traction teleportation, furnace core dissolution (self-destruction)]
[Explanation: This is a large floating battleship jointly developed by the Imperial Royal Mage Association and Guantian White Tower. It has a total length of 167 meters and has good maneuverability. Compared with other floating battleships that are still under experimentation, The cost of building the battleship Gale is relatively low, but its combat capabilities are even better, and its power is far beyond that. The only flaw is that due to the structure of the dual magic energy furnace cores, the energy cycle has certain defects and cannot be used for too long. Fully loaded operation mode, otherwise it is very likely that abilities such as 'Gale Charge' or 'Heart Melting' will be automatically activated.]
[Wait a minute, I haven't adjusted the energy system of this thing yet... What? Is this an advantage?]
[by—a designer who wishes to remain anonymous]
"Bang bang bang—"
While Joshua was still enjoying the strong wind on the deck, there were rapid footsteps behind him.
Joshua, who already knew who the visitor was, turned his head and looked behind him, and sure enough, the figure of the silver-haired girl appeared in front of him.
Just after the Gale teleported from the secret laboratory of the empire to the Aden Fortress, Nostradamus also sent Hotaru, Rin and Hei over. Since everyone present had a resolute and resolute temper, so After the old mage discussed things about the Gale with the warriors, Israel and others, he simply sent Joshua and his party onto the floating battleship and set off directly.
As a special type of floating ship, the Gale has the ability to respond to teleportation. Strictly speaking, this floating ship cannot actually teleport. It can only be positioned like a certain summoning object by a large teleportation array that meets the conditions. Towing' in the past, and this pulling ability is also limited by distance.
There are magic circles around the imperial capital that restrict teleportation. Only the three major fortresses are unaffected. However, the three major fortresses cannot communicate to the next teleportation point. Therefore, the Gale can only stay as far away from the imperial capital as possible before responding to the southern fortress of the empire. The teleportation array passed through many kingdoms in the Western Mountains and the far southern border fortress, and then arrived at the Holy Mountain in the Far Sea - this journey was not long due to teleportation, but it was very cumbersome.
The silver-haired girl who seemed to be trotting all the way ran to Joshua's side, and then said in a somewhat unstable tone: "Master, the Gale has left the teleportation area of the Imperial Capital. We are about to start teleporting. Mr. Captain, I would like to ask you to first Return to the ship."
"Okay, I'll go back right away."
Nodding, the warrior noticed that Firefly's expression looked a little bad and she looked a little uncomfortable. He raised his eyebrows and asked with some surprise and concern: "What's wrong, Firefly, you look a little uncomfortable... Is it seasickness?" ?”
"No, I'm not dizzy..." Miss Shenji frowned slightly and hesitated for a moment, but then curled her lips and said with a headache: "But Hei... Hei is seasick."
Speaking of this, Yingying looked a little angry. She held the soldier's clothes and frowned: "At first, Hei was very quiet in the cargo hold and didn't move. My brother thought it liked it here. But I went to talk to Hei. When we were chatting, I realized that it had completely fainted!"
"...Both the earth dragon and the sea dragon are unlikely to have experienced flight. This guy Hei may be the first sea dragon to come to the sky."
Quickly finding out the reason, Joshua silently touched the silver-haired girl's little head. He didn't know whether to laugh or be serious: "This journey is indeed quite painful for Hei, but Ying, why do you look so expressionless?" So ugly? Is it black?"
"That's not true, but it subconsciously licked me while it was in a coma!" Shaking her head first, Firefly denied the soldier's guess, but then she complained dissatisfiedly: "Moreover, it started to emit heat right after it passed out. , it’s no longer possible to get close to the cargo bay.”
"Wait, cargo bay?"
Hearing this word, Joshua suddenly felt a little strange. He turned his head and stared at the silver-haired girl. Yingying was also stared at and panicked: "What... What's wrong, Master..."
"I said...didn't you hack the Shapeshifting Pendant?"
This time it was the warrior's turn to have a headache: "I gave the Shapeshifting Pendant to you and Rin when we boarded the ship. The black body is so big. If you want to move freely, you will have to get smaller... It is still in the cargo hold..."
Joshua shook his head. He didn't know what to say. The silver-haired girl's face quickly turned red. It was obvious that she had indeed forgotten to blacken the Shapeshifting Pendant.
But even so, the warrior couldn't blame Hotaru, because he himself had forgotten the matter and had no position at all.
It's just that I'm suffering from black pain, not to mention seasickness, and I can't move freely. Now I can only stay in the narrow cargo hold.
"Forget it." After sighing, Joshua could only make this decision: "I'll go take a look at it."
(End of chapter)