Chapter 28: Journey to the East part 3
Flying Fortress
It has been several months since Sera Hawke left the Floating Island with a massive haul of its exotic and rare treasures and yet she could not help but always look above her shoulders always on guard of an unseen enemy waiting to pounce at her.
Despite the numerous checks and zigzagging the Flying Fortress still went on to the East according to the ancient map on one of the books in Narud’s library.
“it’s been so long I wonder how accurate this map still is”
Sera is extremely worried but it was without merit several hundred years of disparity of information on the ‘wall’ which is a product of a natural phenomena that separates the Continents is not to be underestimated as it could easily rip even a peak Spirit Severing level expert to shreds if not careful.
According to the records the so called ‘wall’ is a collection of enormous whirlpools that constantly sucks anything and everything into the abyss. It says in the book some say that the cause of this whirlpool is a rip in space of reality, a heavenly treasure that nobody knows how to turn off, or even a creature of the depths causing havoc to the surface not because of intent but as a byproduct of breathing or something along those lines.
Regardless of the actual fact the problem is that there is a very this passage way in between the whirlpools. According to the map this should be a somewhat safe route.
The information is actually since the author of the book never intended to cross the so called passage way due to unforeseen dangers. After all travels across continents would have been a lot more common if this passage ways are easily traversed.
In just a matter of 2 years of uninterrupted and straight line travel towards the borders of the Continental Isle and the Eastern Continent Sera hawke finally arrived to witness the grand majesty of the whirlpools that threatens even the peak existence of this world.
Even the smallest whirlpool spans several kilometers already had she not saw it from high altitude thanks to the Flying Fortress any ship passing blindly in these waters would definitely be dragged in the whirlpools.
But even then the force pulling towards the whirlpools could still be felt even in high altitudes.
Sera thought “without passing in between the large gaps of the whirlpools it would be practically impossible to pass through them. Even the local flying creatures are only skirting through the edges of the whirlpools”
There are many whirlpools as far as the eyes can see creating a near impassable blockade.
“there has to be a way there somewhere”
After some deliberation Sera sent the mechanized jet fighters to scout ahead and test the waters on just how powerful the pull of these whirlpools.
It took an entire day to make a complete record of the scouts while maintaining a safe and healthy distance of 5 kilometers. None of the mechanized jet fighters survived the scouting process as they all got sucked right in the whirlpools despite climbing up to the highest available altitude the Flying Fortress could achieve.
The grim results sent a chill down Sera Hawke’s spine since the sucking process was instantaneous the mechanized jet fighters that became casualties only turned into a blur for a split microsecond before vanishing without a single clue.
And with the event happening just on top of the whirlpool it was not hard to guess that it would be the whirlpools who were the culprit for the disappearance.
“Damn! Even if the whirlpools wasn’t the real cause it would still be best to not approach to close to those things!” Sera concluded
Scout after scout all mechanized jet fighters sent were devoured the whirlpools. It was not until there were only a handful left that Sera finally fount the exact spot according to the map.
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With only 20 mechanized jet fighters left to scout for dangers ahead Sera Hawke was feeling apprehensive as the Flying Fortress drew closer to the gap in between the whirlpools that would be her passage way to the Eastern Continent.
As Sera Hawke urged the Flying Fortress forwards the passage way the air became more turbulent as if sensing prey and trying to suck it in the whirlpool. The mechanized jet fighter employed all of its strength to stabilize itself while the Flying Fortress followed slowly barely affected by the turbulence.
It took several hours of nerve wracking and careful driving of the Flying Fortress to make it across the whirlpool but to Sera’s dismay it was only the beginning.
“You have got to be kidding me!!” she screamed
As she saw an expansive view of whirlpools as far as the eyes could see dotted by small islands and extremely violent ocean waves.
Although not in immediate danger she knew full well that a single misstep and it would be all over for her and her servants.
It was not like she was expecting a leisurely travel but the amount of whirlpools that she have to perfectly maneuver each and every time made her very nervous as if the first whirlpool was not nerve wracking enough she could also see several whirlpools moving about opening and closing some pathways as if inviting its prey to its jaws.
She scouted the nearest island but as she has already expected aside from some local fauna it has nothing of worth.
“most probably most of the islands does not have anything, its best to keep going on a straight line and leave this damnable place as soon as possible”
Sera sent one of the mechanized jet fighters to scout ahead of one of the gaps that could be passage way but before making past the halfway mark the whirlpool moved and devoured the mechanized jet fighter.
Her face turned sour and said “this pace cannot go on like this!” she grimaced
It was now evident that not only a handful of whirlpools are capable of moving. And Sera does not have enough mechanized jet fighters, though she could disassemble some of her golems to replace them this strategy might still not last till the end.
It is quite a harrowing thought for Sera Hawke while being surrounded by moving jaws of what could only be seen as instant death.
“i suppose it wound not be much of a barrier for the Continents if it was so easy to traverse”
By this time she opted for slow and steady by observing each and every gaps made by the whirlpools 24 hours a day recording them and deducing which gap is safe and which whirlpools is moving.
“This process would most likely take years” she though a little depressed while looking at dim and depressing view outside.
Despite her chosen tactic taking years to bear fruit it was safe and after a while Sera suddenly realized that she is now a Core Formation level expert and could easily live up to 400 years. With the resources she has she could easily boost her lifespan not to mention if she choose to put her self on a hibernation stasis in which could suspend her lifespan while the Flying Fortress observe and calculate the path for her.
Despite having easier options Sera never really like to put such matters to computers hand since even with their superior processing power could easily glitch out at a bad timing or simply make an error as nature itself is ever changing even more so this world of magic where a single phenomena could destroy Earth where she originally came from .
Sera Hawke could only grit her teeth as she pushed forward trusting her ability. One by one she managed to pass through the dreaded whirlpools going left and right and after passing by 10 whirlpools only to face a dead end forcing her to retrace her steps back and make a detour to another path leading to a more dubious location than the last.
It was an insane amount of trial and error in which Sera has to keep pushing forward towards the correct direction while making even a single mistake could be the end of it all.
By now Sera lost several thousand of mechanized jet fighters made from the disassembled Knight Golems. Their scouting capability in this treacherous waters is invaluable specially now that they are too deep in the whirlpool ridden ocean only time will tell when this dangerous journey will end.
In almost a daily basis she would lose a mechanized jet fighter to scout ahead of gaps that seemingly looked like a safe passage only for them to disappear in the whirlpool.
This process took Sera Hawke 2 years before she managed to leave the borders of the Continent
“GRRRAAAAAAHH!!!!” after 2 long stressful years of complete uncertainty Sera Hawke unleashed a liberating cry as she and her subordinates finally saw the clear and calm view of the ocean from the Eastern Continent.
“MOTHERFUCKER! Fuck your mother! I would never trust any fucking map EVER again!!!” she raged
Sera was quite upset that she had to spend all that time thinking whether they could even leave the terrible place.
“how could I be such a fool to follow an incomplete map! Now that I think about it it only said to be the passage way towards the Eastern Continent and nothing else! Who knew it was that dangerous”
Indeed it was quite perilous as even the invading fleet by the Cultivators from the Eastern Continent had to traverse such perilous waters while under constant assault from the combined strength of the Western Beast Kin and the Dwarves from the Continental Isle.
Right now Sera just fell flat on her bed as she never really got any rest as she continuously used all of her time in deducing the right way. She decided to take it easy for a while as she take a long vacation after such an event.
Floating Island
Meanwhile back at the floating island where Sera discovered the huge flock of Wyverns along with numerous high quality plants and rare high quality minerals along with several exotic magical beasts.
Inside an underground cave a portal activated revealing a shadowy figure of a man.
“it has been so long, I wonder if this place is ready for harvesting?”
The man then leisurely walked towards the surface preparing himself for the bountiful harvest ahead of him.
“AAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!!!!” the man shouted
As he saw the calamity in front of him.
“my iron wood trees!!” all uprooted by Sera Hawke
“my elemental fruits!!” all plucked by Sera Hawke
“my heavenly and spiritual ores” the highest quality mined By Sera Hawke
“my spiritual herbs” all harvested by Sera Hawke
“oh no! My spiritual beasts!!!” killed and processed by Sera Hawke
The supposedly bountiful harvest the man was expecting clearly did come to pass seeing the current situation.
Sera Hawke took most if not everything of high value in the floating island.
The man could only cry loudly and lament at his terrible luck. Seeing that crying cannot bring back what it lost he could only turn back and report it to the patriarch
“i don’t care who you are or whatever you’re background is but I will let you know that nobody crosses the Crescent Moon Sect without paying a heavy price!!!”
The man said in a venomous and vengeful tone. As being a harvester of this place might sound and look lowly but in fact it was actually a privilege since the Crescent Moon Sect allows its disciples to keep what they could carry back without using Spatial pouches.
Being a harvester is a position of constant unrest since it was not uncommon for harvesters to suffer a sudden accident before entering the floating island. The man has literally fought tooth and nail to get this position by shedding sweat and blood.
He has been dreaming about this moment for weeks ever since the harvester that was supposed to go before him suddenly broke his legs in a freak accident while he was sleeping in his room.
And now all that effort is gone.
“i have to leave now and report immediately!!!!”
The man wasted no more time and ran back towards the portal and disappeared.