Chapter 262: Journey Across the Plateau

When the airship rose more than three hundred meters off the ground, the sail‑wings on both sides of the hull glowed with a faint magical light, the rear propeller emitted a louder roar, and the whole airship suddenly accelerated, pushing aside the air as it raced forward.

A layer of transparent protective shield rose above the wide deck, blocking the fierce airflow outside.

Lei En stood on the deck, feeling almost no vibration.

This medium‑sized magical airship was rented by him from the Mechanical Guild via Arkarand, about eighty meters long, combining cargo capacity and speed; the daily rent was two hundred Gold Shields, which included the crew— a third‑rank mechanic captain and four mechanical artisans— while fuel costs were extra.

Before departure, Lei En had already planned the route.

The airship set out from Mo Du, heading upstream along the Na Qu Mo He, passing six Empire provinces or Title: Duke domains, stopping at Huoha Wen Duchy to refuel and replenish water and food, then continued westward out of the Empire's territory, officially entering the Sain Plateau.

The Sain Plateau is vast, equivalent to half an Empire, and unlike the interior of the Empire it is not so safe.

Therefore, very few airships dare to venture into it.

The homeland of the Ma Ku La Ge people lies in the southwest of the Sain Plateau, at the border with the Shi Jie Shan Mai; on foot it would take at least two to three weeks.

Lei En did not want to waste that much time, and he had other plans on the Sain Plateau that required a large amount of supplies, so renting an airship to carry people and cargo was the most convenient and swift method.

For this, he had to sign a high‑price agreement with the Mechanical Guild.

After the airship left the Empire, the daily rent rose to three hundred Gold Shields; if it crashed on the Sain Plateau, Lei En must compensate the Mechanical Guild for all losses.

In just a few dozen minutes, the airship flew from the sea side through the Gra Morgan Territory and arrived over the center of Mo Du.

Below the airship, Stone‑Bai Village could be seen.

The village that once housed tens of thousands of civilians had been evacuated; skyscrapers rose from the south bank of the Yero River, and thousands of workers bustled like ants constructing them.

The high‑end apartment buildings that Xia Lanwei mentioned were already taking shape.

Lei En looked down on this massive construction site, which was not much different from the scene in his past life; Xia Lanwei had also begun vigorous promotion, and in the past two months had attracted much attention, becoming a topic among nobles and the middle class, even prompting some onlookers to come, probe for information, and seek investment.

Of course, Lei En refused them all.

However, he gave Xia Lanwei a suggestion: in the most conspicuous spot of the Six Deep Corner Commercial District, choose a large storefront, remodel it into a luxurious marketing center, and have a few earth‑element masters craft exquisite sand tables to display the apartments and future upscale community to visiting guests.

Then he brought out the commercial model from his past life and launched pre‑sales of the houses.

He also took deposits, hyped the real‑estate investment concept, offered bank loan discounts, and so on; with multiple schemes together, he immediately bewildered many people, who signed purchase contracts on the spot.

In less than half a month, even though the upscale apartments were not yet fully built, several hundred units were sold.

Not only did he recoup the tens of thousands of Gold Shields invested early, easing the project's financial pressure, but also made a huge profit!

These tactics made Xia Lanwei admire Lei En to the point of prostration.

Thinking of her gave Lei En a slight headache.

Xia Lanwei now treats him as a business prodigy, visiting the Azure Water High Fortress three or four times a day to ask Lei En for commercial knowledge, and, intentionally or not, she flirts boldly with words, almost offering herself.

Lei En knew he had little in his belly, so he dared not say much.

Moreover, his interest in this mother‑dragon was low; he could only try to avoid her and stay away from being alone with her.

Not only Xia Lanwei, but also Ai Mi Li Si lingered around him like a tiger eye, almost brazenly seducing him, using all sorts of tactics in turn, even slipping into his bedroom at midnight in sexy pajamas, posing as if ready for any pick‑up.

Several times Lei En almost lost control, but luckily he calmed down at the last moment.

The castle's temptations were too many, so he often hid in Fu Kong Cheng, finished learning with his teacher, then read in the Weizelan Grand Library.

Yet, in the library, he could meet Ao Xi Li Ya every day.

She remained as cold‑elegant and aloof as always, but Lei En's spiritual eye discovered that each time Ao Xi Li Ya interacted with him, her emotions were no longer as calm as before; unconsciously she changed, and beneath the chilly exterior lay a burning heart.

Although Ao Xi Li Ya hid it well, saying nothing and showing no sign.

This actually made her even more tempting to Lei En!

Whenever the two sat together, discussing knowledge, asking her about spell techniques, or chatting about odd stories, seeing the bright glint in her eyes made Lei En's imagination run wild, and the atmosphere became very ambiguous.

Faced with a secretly enamored peerless beauty, which man could remain unmoved?

Lei En thought that being able to endure for half a year was already remarkable!

"My peach‑blossom luck is overflowing!"

"Hey, I'm really outstanding; otherwise how could I be so popular…" Lei En thought half‑proud, half‑troubled; this departure from Mo Du actually gave him a sigh of relief, finally no longer subjected daily to seductive temptations.

Being able to look but not eat was a huge torment.

"I'm too difficult…" Lei En had considered just giving in, after all he wasn't married; it's normal for a man to have several lovers. The Empire's customs are like that, nobles are even more libertine; a respectable count‑lord without a lover makes people think something's wrong with him.

But each time the thought arose, he would recall Viola's beautiful face, and in the end he could only fend for himself, well‑fed and clothed.

Amidst his thoughts, heavy footsteps sounded behind him.

"Boss."

Xika Liusi stepped onto the deck, looked at the white clouds outside the airship, and said cheerfully, "After all these years, this is the first time returning to the tribe so easily, hehe, all thanks to the boss's shine."

"If my plan goes smoothly, your return home will be easier," Lei En said with a smile.

Xika Liusi nodded with anticipation.

The Sain Plateau is home to many barbarian tribes, whose bloodlines, cultures and beliefs differ greatly; merely having names and surnames, over twenty distinct barbarian categories have been recorded in history, with many more unnamed tribes.

To fight over territory, religious conflicts, or other reasons, wars often break out among barbarian tribes; the Sain Plateau has never been a peaceful land—bloodshed, battles and death play out here daily.

The Ma Ku La Ge individuals are very strong, naturally possessing great strength, brave and combative, ranking among the top three of all barbarians.

But their population is too small to hold the best lands, so they can only live at the foot of Ma Ku La Ge Mountain.

This is the highest mountain range on the Sain Plateau, also the source of the Empire's longest river, the Na Qu Mo He, but the environment is harsh, hard to survive, and strong enemies lurk; surrounding it are hostile barbarian tribes, several small highland troll clans, ogre settlements, and countless fierce beast monsters.

After losing the protection of the 'Loyalty God' Ji Li Man, the overall strength of the Ma Ku La Ge people repeatedly declined; in the past several hundred years they have struggled, even facing extinction threats several times.

For the tribe's survival, Xika Liusi and others were forced to leave the Sain Plateau.

They earned Gold Shields in the Empire in exchange for supplies, including weapons, equipment and the plateau's rarest healing elixirs, and brought them back to support the tribe's battles.

In the past, the Ma Ku La Ge people would return to the tribe once each year.

Usually only seven or eight people needed to bring goods back, but this year was different; Lei En resolved to expand the Extreme Warrior's scale, so he brought all the Ma Ku La Ge people from Mo Du, spending tens of thousands of Gold Shields to purchase massive supplies, all of which were moved into the airship's cargo hold.

At the main city of Huoha Wen Duchy, Zhu Bie Le Mountain, they would continue purchasing.

Because it is closer to the Sain Plateau, more Ma Ku La Ge people earn money at Zhu Bie Le Mountain, over twenty individuals; Lei En plans to recruit them all under his command.

Besides this, Lei En has two other purposes for going to the Sain Plateau.

One is to seek a demon soul containing the Lightning Affinity Element.

He has been a seventh‑level Wizard for half a year.

These months he has been searching for demon souls, and also using his position as Weizelan Chairman to spread rumors that he is willing to buy them at a high price.

At the same time, Lei En is not idle.

He occasionally disguises himself as the demon hunter "Van Helsing", hunts monsters in his own domain, absorbs their souls to recharge, and channels the resulting soul power into several Arcane Elements; the Thunderclap Technique and Flash, both practical spells, have been raised to the fourth ring.

But there is still no news of Lightning Affinity.

Since becoming a Transcendent last year, this is the longest time Lei En has been stuck at a level, and he no longer has the patience to wait.

Earlier, he bought information from the minotaur Hab for five hundred Gold Shields: the second highest peak of the Shi Jie Shan Mai, north of Karl Peak, shows signs of Storm Giants.

Lei En decides to try his luck and see whether he can hunt a Storm Giant.

The second matter is that he plans to build a secret base on the Sain Plateau, to be used in the future for training the Augustus family's army.

After integrating the Key of Doors, Lei En's study of Arcane rune knowledge advanced by leaps, especially regarding spatiotemporal teleportation; he grasped it instantly, as if a born Arcane Master!

Even Anxiwodasi is astonished by Lei En's talent.

He obtained Ruin Anseram's gem brooch, which contains nothing of monetary value but is filled with Ruin's pre‑death Arcane research notes and books, numbering several thousand volumes, about half of which concern teleportation technology, including how to use astral crystal pillars to construct ultra‑long‑range teleportation arrays!

Lei En immersed himself in them and, in only a few months, mastered the basics, becoming an expert in teleportation technology.

It can be said that he received Ruin's knowledge inheritance.

Ruin immersed himself in Arcane and teleportation technology for centuries; his achievements were so great that his name can be recorded in Empire history.

Lei En is still far behind Ruin now and would need many more years of study to possibly catch up.

Nevertheless, building a teleportation array is sufficient.

With an astral crystal pillar in hand, once he builds the teleportation array, he can travel at will between his castle and the secret base on the plateau.

The teleportation array inside the castle has already been completed, and the materials for another array are now in the airship's cargo hold.

When the base location is chosen and the array is set up, the link can be opened immediately.

As for what kind of army to create, Lei En has not yet decided; he only knows it will differ from the Extreme Corps, will be larger, mainly composed of human Transcendents, and will eventually number at least a thousand, forming a small Transcendent Legion.

Lei En reviews his itinerary once more, confirming nothing was omitted.

The airship entered high‑speed flight and soon left Mo Du, and the Weizelan floating city disappeared from view; he turned to return to his cabin to rest, a flash of light flickered in his eyes, his hand darted like lightning, and he snatched a white silhouette from the void before him.

"Yisu," Lei En said with a smile, "when did you come up?"

(End of chapter)