Chapter 35
Five days passed in the blink of an eye.
A solemn weight hung over New Hope, with the city lacking its usual bustling atmosphere. Earlier in the week, Markus led a million troops to the Blockade, leading to a sharp decrease in the city’s population.
Currently, Keith followed Mariane and Serilla through the streets of New Hope, their destination being the military base inside the mountain behind the city.
The identities of all three were very special.
Mariane was the descendant of a Guardian and wife to the High Commander, Serilla was a special ops agent with many accomplishments, and Keith was the grandson of Yara, the hidden leader of the Innate Nation, as well as the son of the High Commander.
As such, even though the military decided not to seek help from any adventurer teams for the mission of guarding the Blockade, Keith and Mariane could still tag along.
Upon entering the military compound, Serilla used her identity to get them through several restricted areas. After passing through one underground hallway after another, the view opened up as they walked into an enormous hanger.
“Wow,” Keith’s eyes widened in awe at what he saw.
Lights hung from the ceiling, shining down on 2,000 docked Silverswift Skyships. These were the newest models and far surpassed anything the Innate Nation had built in the past. Each one was the size of a mansion, made from metal, and possessed a variety of weapons. Arrays practically covered them from head to toe, making them glow as if they were a treasure.
By the time Keith’s party arrived, the two million troops heading to the Blockade had almost finished boarding the Skyships.
At that moment, a middle-aged elven woman from Umbra approached. She wore numerous medals on her uniform and would be the attendant of Keith’s group during the journey. Saluting respectfully, she said, “I’m Litra. This way, please.”
Keith followed at the back as they made their way through the hangar and onto one of the Skyships. For this operation, 1,000 troops would ride each Skyship, and considering their size, it was a little crowded. Most of the soldiers were on the lower decks, with the lucky ones able to stand on the top deck.
The Silver Skyship they boarded was meant for non-combat personnel, meaning artisans, doctors, cooks, etc. Litra led them to an unoccupied corner on the deck and explained, “We’re setting off in 29 minutes, and the journey will take 40 hours. We’ll stop to sleep overnight. Any questions?”
Keith promptly asked, “How fast do these Skyships go?”
“Their speed should surpass most divine grade mounts,” Litra answered.
“Dang,” Keith clicked his tongue in wonder.
Mariane had a worried expression. “What news from the Blockade?”
Litra glanced around before responding in a lowered voice, “Tensions are high. The Elemental Nation’s people are unscrupulous and provoke us repeatedly.”
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“Have any fights broken out?” Mariane’s face hardened.
“There have been several duels, most of which we’ve lost,” Litra sighed, continuing, “Our levels and equipment are too far behind the Elemental Nation.”
“Not for long,” Serilla remarked cooly.
“Yes,” Litra agreed.
There was a moment of silence before Keith asked another question, “What are the standards of the Elemental Nation’s arrays? How much do they rely on them to defend the Blockade?”
Litra thought briefly. “Not much. The Elemental Nation developed in a different direction than us. They specialize in the comprehension of their innate gift. For them, if they have the same element, fusing their power is easy.”
A dwarf standing nearby chimed in, “Bah, when they see our fleet of Silverswift Skyships in action, they’ll regret not focusing on the arts.”
“Well said,” Keith grinned and gave a thumbs up.
The dwarf smiled widely, “I’m a blacksmith. Lad, what do you specialize in?”
“I’m studying arrays,” Keith answered, and pointing at his feet, asked, “Did you design this ship?”
“A helped a bit,” the dwarf caressed his beard with a proud expression.
For the next thirty minutes, both Keith and the dwarf discussed their line of work, with the dwarf doing most of the talking.
Eventually, the hangar door opened, and the 2,000 Silverswift Skyships lifted off, flying in formation into the skies. Keith turned to look at the magnificent sight, branding it into his memory.
The following hours were boring for Serilla and Mariane, but not for Keith. He spent the time making acquaintances with the craftspeople on the ship. All of them were the best of their trade and weren’t hesitant about boasting about their recent creations. It was an eye-opener for Keith, who mostly kept to himself.
When night fell, they cleared out all the monsters in a local mountain range and landed, setting up thousands of tents in the surroundings. Everyone slept till morning before soaring into the skies once again.
Around noon, Litra attracted Mariane, Serilla, and Keith’s attention. Pointing into the distance, she said, “There, do you see it? That’s the Grandsky Plains – a barren land the size of five zones directly in the center of the Grandsky Realm. Historically, it’s been the location where the Elemental, Sin, and Conceptual dimensions waged war.”
“What about now?” Keith asked, looking ahead, barely able to see an endless field of withered grass.
Litra took out a map of the Grandsky Realm, gesturing to the southeastern corner, colored red. “From here, Tyranus rounds up all the newly spawned monsters and sends them across the Grandsky Plains, attacking the borders of the Elemental Nation. In a few minutes, you should be able to see the Blockade, a massive wall spanning five zones. That’s where the Elemental Nation holds back Tyranus’ monster horde.”
Shortly after Litra’s explanation, Keith saw it.
A wall unlike any other.
Constructed purely from a metal alloy, it snaked along the northwestern edge of the Grandsky Plains, towering over a hundred feet high and fifty feet thick for miles on end. Most striking to Keith was the dried blood coating the ground in front of the entire Blockade. It was like a deity had painted the fields red with the strokes of their brush.
At the moment the Blockade appeared, the Silverswift fleet dropped in speed, not wanting to reveal their full capabilities in front of the Elemental Nation.
Currently, there was no monster in sight, and since the System regenerated any disfigured terrain, there were no signs of destruction.
The Blockade was the only thing damaged.
As the fleet neared, Keith saw thousands of laborers flying along the wall, repairing what they could. Based on what he could tell, there wasn’t much structural damage. What he didn’t know was that the Elemental Nation had been repairing the Blockade non-stop since yesterday’s monster wave ended.
Litra glanced at her watch, informing Keith’s group, “The next monster wave should be arriving within three hours.”
In minutes, the Silverswift fleet arrived behind the westernmost section of the Blockade.
It was there that Markus’s million-strong army was stationed.
Although they had left three days ago, they had spent their time at the Blockade observing the situation and learning what they could before they replaced a portion of the Elemental Nation’s forces.
Behind the Blockade, Keith saw the initial makings of a military base, mostly barracks, armories, and warehouses. The fleet landed on an open field, with the two million troops disembarking soon after.