Chapter 825: Robbery
After the cargo trucks arrived at the transport airship, the drivers and workers proceeded to unload the crates from their vehicles. Bluemoon and a handful of Highbeard warriors began inspecting the goods. The boxes would only be allowed onto the airship after confirming that they were kinetic sail parts of the required specifications.
These sails were fairly big—it would take dozens of one-square-meter boxes to fit a single disassembled sail, and a single cargo truck could only carry two such sails. Bluemoon’s insistence on inspecting every box was making the process fairly slow. Even with all the Highbeard tribesmen helping her, it would take several hours to complete the check.
The merchants stood patiently to the side. It was common practice in the neutral lands to inspect goods on site—there was no such thing as trust or reputation here. Robberies between the two parties weren’t exactly uncommon, either.
But the Southern Blue City Lord had a steep share in this deal, so those small arms dealers didn’t dare play any tricks. Even so, Ji Rui had dispatched four entire truckloads of elite soldiers with the convoy.
With Qianye on the receiving end, whoever tried to rob his goods was as good as dead. The disbanded Stormwind Fury was proof of this. Besides, Qianye’s ruthlessness was quite well known now—his relentless revenge would never stop until the last enemy had been eradicated.
Hence, the transaction went forward without any accidents despite its value going well beyond a hundred thousand.
It was just that a certain person in the crowd was watching the transaction in silence. He then snuck out of the small town toward a distant hill, where he activated an origin array. A strong light flickered in the heart of this array, but it could only be seen from above.
High up in the air, three imperial airships were parked near the void, ready to kill at a moment’s notice.
Lu Saobei stood near the window, gazing expressionlessly at the distant continent. There was a weak beam of light flickering constantly on the land. This was a signaling system that made use of different frequencies to transmit information.
Lu Saobei watched quietly until the flickering stopped. He then looked back and said, “In about three hours, the transaction will end and the cargo ship will take off. It's currently unclear whether Qianye is on the ship or not. At the very least, he hasn’t appeared at the transaction site.”
“Then, should we follow that cargo ship or sink it?”
Lu Saobei snorted and glared unhappily at his subordinate. “How much can that run-down ship be worth? Qianye is the real heart of this operation! A promotion is certain as long as we can take his head. We won’t need to suffer in this accursed place anymore. Issue my order, instruct the other two airships to follow the flagship, we’ll trail that cargo ship. No one is to fire or reveal themselves without my instructions.”
At this moment, the long inspection process had just ended outside of the small town. The workers and warriors began moving the crates onto the airship. Meanwhile, Bluemoon ordered her men to move a large crate from the ship and placed it in front of Liu Yuanxi.
Opening the container, the steward’s breathing became coarse and rapid as the neat rows of black crystals came into view.
He quickly shut the lid on the box and gestured for his men to carry it onto the car. He bowed with a face full of smiles. “The transaction is complete now, I wish young miss a peaceful journey.”
Bluemoon expressed her thanks and boarded the cargo ship.
The old engine emitted a crude rumble as it spat out a mixture of white steam and black smoke. The cargo ship trembled with increasing ferocity until it finally took off, swaying. The creaking sounds from god knew where made the spectators wonder whether the ship could keep itself together.
But the old cargo ship was—just like any other ship in the neutral lands—highly durable despite the outdated design and function. It slowly took to the air and staggered about, but simply refused to fall and crash. After reaching an elevation of several hundred meters, it turned clumsily like a just-awakened beast and flew toward the Eastern Sea.
The slow airship left a lingering trail of steam and smoke, making it extremely easy to follow.
Lu Saobei and the others were relieved to find that they could almost trace the cargo ship with their naked eyes. If they were to lose such an airship, they should commit suicide by ramming their heads against the wall. The only bad thing about this was that the airship was simply too slow, and trailing it was a trial of patience.
On the deck of the cargo ship, a Highbeard warrior was gazing out with a pair of large binoculars, observing the surroundings in great detail. His expression shifted abruptly as he glimpsed an unnatural reflection. He turned toward the flash and began adjusting the different visual modes of the scope in a thorough search.
His scope was large, crudely built, and had strips of cloth attached to it, serving both for protection and decoration. It might not compare to the powerful functionality of high-grade imperial binoculars but was, nonetheless, one of the best in the neutral lands. Imperial scopes wouldn’t last a month of use here before breaking down.
Following several adjustments and meticulous angle selection, three faint shadows appeared in the scope’s visual field. Only the silhouettes were visible, but it was enough for this Highbeard warrior to make a judgment.
He packed his scope away and rushed into the control room. “Honorable Shieldmaiden, there are three warships following us outside. Their capabilities are quite outstanding, we’re not their match in the air. I would suggest performing an emergency landing and then dealing with them when they’re on the ground!”
Bluemoon looked indifferent, almost as though she wasn’t worried. “It’s too late to land now and also unnecessary. We fly according to the planned route, Sire Qianye will arrive to help us.”
The Highbeard warrior looked worried. “But… those three warships are extraordinary, and one of them might be a destroyer. Such airships are quite rare. Even if Sire Qianye arrives on time, he can’t deal with three airships can he?”
“You guys just watch.”
The Highbeard warrior had nothing left to say since Bluemoon had already made up her mind. But all the soldiers inside the command room looked solemn. They had been killing their way through the battlefield from a young age—even those who hadn’t personally experienced airship battles had seen them before. Hence, they were very clear that this ragged cargo ship wouldn’t be able to take a single salvo from the enemies’ main cannons. Besides, the imperial warships liked to use powerful ballista cannons that could blow this airship apart in one hit.
Bluemoon didn’t try to explain. She merely stood in front of the cabin windows, gazing into the boundless void.
The cargo ship moved at a steady pace over the Eastern Sea. High up in the sky behind it, the three imperial ships also arrived above the sea.
The Eastern Sea was a notoriously dangerous place. The beasts in the ocean were powerful, ferocious, and there was no lack of giant beasts that could leap into the air. The imperial ships were flying well out of the creatures’ range; it was the cargo ship below that was at greater risk.
Bluemoon remained expressionless, but she was still wondering how Qianye was planning to deal with the three imperial airships. She had expected trouble this time, but she didn’t expect the empire to dispatch three warships. Such a force was almost half of the forces the empire had hidden in the neutral lands.
The atmosphere in the imperial command center was quite relaxed. Someone joked, “I heard there’s an extremely powerful colossus hidden inside the Eastern Sea and that even flying over it isn’t safe. We won’t be devoured, will we?”
This joke wasn’t funny, but a string of exaggerated laughter rang out in the command center. Following this snail-paced cargo ship was simply too dull, and these bored sailors were desperate to find some form of entertainment.
Lu Saobei broke into a frown but said nothing. He felt there was something wrong with the atmosphere. These guffawing officers were laughing so loudly because they were actually afraid of something.
Lu Saobei knew what his subordinates were afraid of—they feared Qianye.
From the bloody battles under the Iron Curtain, the war on the floating continent, his breaking into a military stronghold, and all the way to destroying Stormwind Fury, Qianye’s accomplishments were simply unbelievable. If one were to ignore his cultivation level and look only at his accomplishments, everyone on the ship added together wasn’t his match.
Lu Saobei chose a showdown in the air because it put them at an advantage and exploited the enemy’s weakness. But true experts possessed the ability to launch a brief assault through the air, and Qianye seemed especially good at this. It would be a calamity if they were to fail the interception and allow him to board the airship.
At the thought of this, Lu Saobei’s heart beat faster and his chest grew tight. The feeling was fairly uncomfortable. What should he do if Qianye were to board the ship?
This question was like a fishbone stuck horizontally in his throat; he couldn’t swallow it no matter how hard he tried.
It was at this time that he felt the scene before him turn somewhat dark, almost as though the sky had turned cloudy.
But the warship was flying along the edge of the void, way higher than where the clouds should be. Besides, the sky above the Eastern Sea was supposed to be clear today.
“Why did the sky turn dark?” someone mumbled after noticing the abnormality.
Shaken, Lu Saobei looked up just in time to see a massive shadow appear right above their fleet.
“Heavens, w-what is that!?” The other officers were shocked to see this shadow, and even their voices were trembling.
An officer with sharp eyes suddenly cried out, “Colossus! That’s a colossus! How can it be one so big? Is that a void colossus?”
At this moment, Lu Saobei was staring into the sky, so shocked that he couldn’t speak.
The shadow grew larger and larger until it loomed over the entire fleet. The once calm skies were filled with fierce tempests and restless fluctuations of void origin power. The three imperial airships were tossed about by the fierce waves, not unlike ships on a stormy sea.
At this moment, everyone saw an Earth Dragon of unbelievable size bearing down on them.
Lu Saobei’s entire body trembled when he noticed Qianye standing atop the head of the void colossus.