Chapter 50: 49. Tactical Flaws

49. Tactical Flaws

On the deck of the magic-guided airship, the Earth Serpent Anastasia coiled around Li Ang.

Perhaps due to the nourishment of the Star Soul Greenhouse, its combat intelligence had grown to Tier 2 in just a single day; according to Zoe, it had no trouble understanding Li Ang’s words and would cooperate with him with all its might.

The moment the Earth Serpent appeared, it drew the gaze of everyone—whether they were other travelers and sky knights blocked at the shipping lane entrance, or the Imperial soldiers opposite them. Although the high-altitude winds were strong, Li Ang still heard plenty of the commotion and discussion.

Judging by its appearance alone, its diamond-gold scales, emerald crown, and red-and-blue gemstone star-eyes all proclaimed its extraordinary nature.

A high-tier summoned beast could be even harder to deal with than an energy source; the Holy Serpent earned Li Ang plenty of envy.

"Wow, you kid, you really weren't just messing around when you started your group; you managed to get such a powerful summoned beast in just a few days."

Lancelot jumped over from the deck of the Order Group’s airship, also stunned by the Earth Serpent’s magnificence. He looked it up and down incessantly, his hand gripping Li Ang’s shoulder with increasing force.

"Do you have any connections? Look at this, we can only use this."

The young man patted a metal sphere at his waist; it looked somewhat like a scent sachet, but it was actually a "Demon-Sealing Cage" used for carrying magical beasts. Any tamed magical beast below Tier 7 could be sealed inside and summoned at any time, which is how the common term "summoned beast" came to be.

Inside this was the standard-issue summoned beast for the elites of the Order Sky Cavalry Group; if they couldn't find a good one themselves, they usually just used these.

But this wasn't bad either; many people without backgrounds joined the Order Sky Cavalry Group just for the full set of gear issued by the organization, otherwise, it would be very difficult to obtain on their own.

However, Lancelot then pointed at the spliced spirit core sphere floating around Li Ang’s hand and laughed, his envy for Li Ang momentarily vanishing.

"What the hell is this thing! Isn't this a bit too creative? Hahaha, it’s clearly just a pile of low-tier spirit cores, yet you made it look like a Great Mage’s magic tool. Only a spellcaster like you could play around like this, right? But with that armor you’re wearing, aren't you afraid of being blown to bits by this pile of stuff?"

The water-flow phalanx iron armor on Li Ang’s body had parts that dropped back to Tier 1 after Zoe left.

However, if Lancelot knew that Tier 1 and Tier 2 equipment also possessed phalanx skills, he would likely be even more astonished.

"The Holy Capital Bank is investigating my personal vault, so I can't take my things out."

Lancelot curled his lip: "You really have it rough. I'll help you check later to see who in the Holy Capital Bank has improper relations with Rams."

The airship unceremoniously approached the bow of the Imperial ship blocking the lane. Li Ang reduced speed, but the bows of the two ships still collided.

The two performed a magic resonance to identify as companions and jumped onto the opposite deck.

Ordinary Imperial soldiers drew their weapons due to the collision, but knowing Lancelot was a powerhouse, they dared not make a move, keeping their main focus on the leader.

The leading man wore his hair slicked back with pomade, and his high-tier equipment was uniformly dyed cyan to match. The leader-class griffin beside him had lustrous fur, white neck feathers like ivory, and black beast fur that surpassed tortoiseshell. Just looking at his appearance, one would feel their own momentum diminish in the face of his style.

But this did not affect Li Ang and Lancelot, who were accustomed to all sorts of scenes.

"Lord Finat—" a soldier among the Imperial troops shouted to the leading sky knight.

"All of you stand down, leave this to me."

Wendes Finat knew that since the Order Sky Cavalry Group people had rammed their ship over—and were even piloting a captured Imperial ship—they were definitely here to cause trouble.

However, when he clearly saw the face of the person who had come with the Order Group member, he froze in place.

The expression on his face shifted several times, finally condensing into a form of undisguised aggression.

"Oh, I was wondering who it was. A stray dog that got kicked out! You were wearing such trash I didn't even recognize you. What is it..."

Before him, the Earth Serpent gradually raised its head, looking down from above. Whether it was because it was too miraculous or its aura was too oppressive, Wendes’s train of thought stalled for a moment, and he couldn't even continue his mocking words.

Lancelot turned to look at Li Ang beside him, saw that he was unperturbed, and then turned back.

He understood what kind of acquaintance Li Ang had with the other party.

"Keep your mouth clean," Lancelot said with a serious expression: "Righteous passersby have reported to me that you are a member of the currently top-ranked sky cavalry group, 'Soul Apex'. As a sky knight, helping local forces that violate guild laws, do you have any explanation?"

Wendes laughed disdainfully, ignoring Lancelot and instead looking at Li Ang: "What do you mean by this? Racking your brains to take revenge on us? Have you thought about the consequences of offending the number one heavenly group?"

Wendes Finat—this person was indeed a member of Soul Apex.

Even the equipment combination he wore, as well as the ultimate techniques he performed by coordinating his own profession with energy sources, summoned beasts, and equipment, were only mastered under Li Ang’s planning.

This Wendes was a classic example of someone who "bought" their way into the group. It was unknown exactly how much money he "lent" to the group leader Rams, but in any case, all the good equipment Soul Apex obtained during that period was prioritized for him.

However, it was later discovered that those good pieces of equipment conflicted with each other on him. To make him exert normal combat power, Li Ang had re-planned him, but this person never showed any gratitude.

Because of the scarcity of high-tier equipment, aside from what one obtained personally, normal heavenly groups would never allow an individual to permanently hold equipment harvested by the entire group.

Wendes only wanted to keep holding onto equipment that was flashy but didn't fit his style at all just to show off, but after Li Ang planned for him, even though he became stronger, he still had plenty of complaints.

He himself might not know it, but although his family background was wealthy, there were others in the group who were wealthier. When others offered more "team development funds," Rams intended to take away some of the components on him.

Li Ang planned for him because he didn't want to see the operation fail.

Even though his entire hardware setup was already the best match for his combat style, his combat power increase was a mere 7%. Not to mention in a heavenly group, even in a mid-tier sky cavalry group, this was average. Li Ang didn't have a system panel before; he thought it would be low, but he didn't expect it to be that low.

"I'm so scared, the first group," Li Ang said: "You guys better hurry, though. Rams is being monitored by the guild at all times and only dares to trip me up through the bank. If you don't hurry, you might drop out of the top four before I even thaw my assets."

"Heh, anyone can talk big."

"Let me guess," Li Ang said: "I’ve been gone for seven days. According to Rams’s habits, you’ve already conducted at least one operation, and the results weren't very good, right?"

Wendes’s expression stiffened.

Li Ang continued: "Before I left, the target Rams selected was the Gutia civilization ruins northwest of the Magic Disaster Domain. The stone statues guarding the entrance were embedded with large energy gems, so the vanguard chose energy-reflection type equipment, right?"

Wendes didn't speak, but given his attitude, not retorting meant he was right.

"After tanking the energy attacks, those stone statues could transform and charge. Although I wrote down this point of caution and you prepared in advance, the formation was still broken. You were all knocked flying one by one with a single punch and retreated in a sorry state, am I right?"

Wendes gritted his teeth: "You, how did you..."

"Soul Apex has enough vanguards, but it has always lacked a purely strength-based vanguard. Without such a person, when facing powerful physical attacks, once the defense threshold is breached, the entire defensive line collapses. I used to fill this vacancy, so no one took my suggestions seriously."

"Although you have many other flaws, I think this is definitely the one that caused problems first."

Wendes was silent again.

Li Ang said calmly: "Looks like I guessed right. Don't worry, more problems are yet to come."

"You motherfucker!"

Wendes gripped the long shaft of the heavy halberd in his hand tightly, the magic power around his body causing the blade of the weapon to be wrapped in a whirlwind.

He didn't attack immediately, and Li Ang added: "According to Rams’s character, when a battle fails, he looks for problems everywhere. You either came out to avoid the limelight or were sent to execute tasks he set up to divert attention, such as networking with various local forces to expand the group’s influence and status. That’s why you’re here, right?"

"What a pity, this is a foolish move. You’ll be reporting to the prison of the Order Hall soon."

"You bastard, once I nail you to the ground, let's see if that mouth of yours can still talk!"

Wendes jumped onto the griffin saddle, furious beyond measure.