Chapter 49: 48. The Promise to Become Stronger

48. The Promise to Become Stronger

Blocking a shipping lane is a serious illegal act.

Shipping lanes are very important. When Li Ang first arrived in Newbis, he did not understand why shipping lanes existed when the sky should be unobstructed. What was the standard for dividing airspace?

It was not until he first took an airship across airspace that he understood that because this world is filled with magic, there are many situations that defy common sense.

Between airspaces, there are strong vertical turbulent currents that are powerful enough to capsize all airships, sweeping them and their passengers down to the Scarlet Earth.

These currents are called "Airspace Wind Walls." Visually, they look like solid, translucent high walls connecting the azure dome of the sky to the blood-colored earth.

If the Island-Heart World is the ultimate manifestation of the Earth Elemental Spirits' influence on the material world, then the Airspace Wind Walls are the greatest masterpiece of the Wind Elemental Spirits.

A so-called shipping lane is a void in the middle of a wind wall where currents flow horizontally across two airspaces, allowing airships to pass by riding the wind. Many routes are also determined by aerial currents formed under the influence of Wind Elemental Spirits, much like ocean currents on Earth.

Now, with frequent traffic between central airspaces, blocking a shipping lane will involve many issues and cause huge economic losses.

Having decided to capture the enemy leader with Lancelot, the two had to make pre-battle preparations first.

Lancelot called over the ordinary Order Sky Knights who were following him on patrol, letting the four of them take over the ship of soldiers Li Ang had brought, and told them to be ready to take them all to the Order Hall after capturing the blocking force.

Li Ang then returned to Zoe and Eden.

While chatting with Lancelot, Zoe did not run off; she listened quietly the whole time, and Li Ang met her faint, lingering gaze several times.

She could not participate in what they were talking about at all, and she kept tapping her feet rhythmically, much like a kitten that cannot find a target for the moment and is slapping the ground with its tail.

Besides listening to everything Li Ang said, the rest of her attention was given to the small airship Lancelot had brought over.

Its exterior was simply a cockpit with glass in the front, fitted with an internal combustion thruster, suspension airbags, wings, and a tail rudder. Of course, its power came not only from the fuel engine but also from an engraved wind magic array; the higher the grade of the airship, the better the array's effect, and Lancelot's ship was decent.

"Do you want to try flying it?"

Li Ang's question made Zoe's eyes light up immediately. After receiving permission, she couldn't wait to enter the cabin, and she pressed the mechanism to open the hatch at the first opportunity; it was clear she had been observing it for a long time to find the answer.

The small craft had two seats, which was the standard configuration; larger ones could hold up to five, but since one was already flying a small craft, one generally wouldn't go buy a large one.

Guiding Zoe to the pilot's seat, Li Ang pointed out what each part was for.

Just as a child going to an amusement park doesn't need to think much to understand how to drive bumper cars or go-karts, the interesting act of piloting is as simple as instinct for someone who likes it.

"Actually, a small airship is simpler to fly than a car because its balance is already calibrated. You only need to understand altitude and direction control to soar freely. This is the cruise control lock; align the forward direction, and after pulling it down, you can let it move forward at a constant speed while you take charge of watching the scenery in the sky."

"This is the sky map. If you don't understand it, you can ask Ms. Eden for advice."

The beast-eared beauty nodded from the side: "Over the years, I have learned a thing or two about the techniques of piloting an airship."

Li Ang noticed that as he spoke, the young girl's attention was no longer on the piloting matters, but was fixed on his face.

She realized something through her keen intuition.

"The upcoming battle is very dangerous, and I cannot participate at all, right?"

"Yes."

Li Ang's answer was firm.

Previously, when facing the ordinary Imperial Army, Zoe could handle it completely as long as there was no sign of that eerie black lightning.

But the one they were about to face—although Li Ang knew his weaknesses and understood that most of this person's strength came from hardware combinations—the gap in their realms was like a chasm. Even though Zoe now had an Extraordinary-tier material shield thanks to the Earth Star Soul, it would still be very dangerous if she were caught in the crossfire.

"The decks of nearby ships might become a battlefield in a moment, so I need you to fly this small craft far away."

There were many eyes and ears around; if Eden revealed her giant wolf form, many things would be hard to explain, so Li Ang borrowed this small craft from Lancelot.

The young girl sat very quietly: "I can tell just by looking that the bad guy leading the other side is very powerful. I really want to help you, but I know I'm not enough yet."

She looked at her palm, where a golden light emerged, quickly creating a mass of earth elements.

"Look, my mastery of spells has improved again. I don't want to just watch; I really want to be of help, so I asked Sister Eden to teach me how to control my power again."

Li Ang smiled at her, and the young girl continued: "I have also been communicating with Xiao An, and both she and I have felt more power."

"But this little bit of effort is not enough, is it?"

The end of the young girl's sentence suddenly became thin and trembling, and her eyes turned red instantly.

Li Ang noticed that a trace of exhaustion was hidden between the young girl's brows.

Chasing and fleeing all the way, she had no chance to sleep. Even at the most energetic age, she hadn't just spent this time; she had also been worried and afraid, so she would be very tired. Yet, she still used the gaps in time to improve her control over earth elemental spells.

"No, you are progressing very quickly. It won't be long before you catch up."

"But I don't want to wait," Zoe wiped her eyes, "yet I have no choice but to wait."

She sobbed a few times, then shook her head, took a deep breath, and met Li Ang's eyes.

"Li Ang, you go fight. Eden and I will go to Frost Sky Island first."

"This—"

"Since I can't join the battlefield, what's the point of me following you? If I want to fight side-by-side with Li Ang sooner, isn't going to Frost Sky Island first the faster way?"

She was right; Li Ang was slightly surprised that she could understand this level of logic, and he was also very gratified.

However, a trace of guilt could not help but rise in his heart, and he could not organize his words fluently for a moment.

"By yourself, even with Eden, you might still encounter many strangers... As for the matter here, actually, you won't have to wait very long..."

The young girl said: "You and your friends want to go capture those bad guys; that's a good thing. Otherwise, they will go on to hurt more people. Besides, they were originally trying to catch me; if I follow you, wouldn't it be even more inconvenient?"

Since even the shipping lane was blocked, the Ignis Airspace must have fallen into a tense atmosphere, and this was related to the Empire that was attempting to capture Zoe, so it was indeed best not to let her get close to that area.

"It's okay, after all, I've long been used to parting."

Zoe showed Li Ang a big smile.

Li Ang took a deep breath.

"I promise I will catch up with you as soon as possible. I will capture him and send him to the Order Hall. If I'm fast, it will only take a day; you'll see me again after you sleep."

Escorting the Imperials to the Order Hall and then offering suggestions to the Order Sky Knight Regiment—that they must not go soft on the Empire—was also related to Zoe's safety. After finishing these things, he would immediately head north to the Glacis Airspace.

"Hee hee, I know you can't bear to part with me either, so you have to promise me one thing."

A little-devil-like smile appeared in Zoe's eyes.

"Okay."

Li Ang nodded without hesitation.

"First, let Xiao An follow you. Sister Eden said that we have achieved resonance. As long as my ability improves further, I can borrow her power no matter how far away I am, so don't worry."

It was Zoe who ended up worrying about him instead, but Li Ang did not refuse. If he had the Earth Serpent, his combat power would increase significantly, and they would be very safe relying on the Frost Sky Giant Wolf while far away from the Imperial reach in the Ignis Airspace.

"Then, you must bring me a gift. That's what it says in Mom's books."

At this point, Li Ang didn't want to complain anymore, so he agreed to that as well.

"Finally, this time, I will become strong very quickly. After you arrive, let's have a fight."

These were not one thing, but both were fine.

Zoe said very seriously: "This time it's not for fun, but to tell you that I have enough strength to go on adventures. From now on, we will definitely not be separated again."

After making the promise, Li Ang accompanied her as she flew the small craft for a while. Holding the rudder and the speed lever, the joy of freely piloting the machine slowly washed away the young girl's depression, and an anticipation of personally flying a small airship at will quietly emerged. Li Ang also bid them farewell at this time.

The small craft turned, moving away from the Ignis Airspace shipping lane and flying toward the north of Newbis. That was the Snow and Wind Airspace, but no matter how cold it was, it probably couldn't cool the young girl's burning heart.

After watching the small craft become a tiny black dot on the horizon, Li Ang pushed the airship's power to the maximum and crashed into the entrance of the shipping lane.