“No issues?” I asked Captain Francis.

“We are staying quite low in terms of layers and managing the zone monsters. Thankfully we are going through mostly cleared areas. A lot slower, but a lot safer,” he replied since we weren’t pulling down flying monsters on us.

“That is fine,” I replied looking out at the road in front of the airship. We were flying a short distance above it along with the rest of the airships. Our speed wasn’t that fast either. It was the poor and safe way of traveling, but with such a large fleet it was the best way. Also, we needed a lot more crystals if we were going to push things.

We also had enough soldiers with skills, that we could cover the flanks from monsters in the zones. “No problems with the rest of the fleet?” I asked.

“We are keeping a steady pace. The real challenge is when we have to cross level 4 and level 5 zones. Perhaps have Michelle use decoys to clear our path while keeping low and we will probably need your support.”

“Isn’t the plan to clear the four higher level zones we pass through for the crystals?” I asked.

“It is, but this fleet isn’t small. Getting such a big perimeter will not be easy. We will need help in case anything breaks through. Our cannons aren’t the best for perimeter duty. Also, for the zones we will have to ascend and the layers will be too thin as well,” Captain Francis explained.

“So flying monsters regardless,” I replied.

“Yes. The heigh of this airship is a lot. We will be scraping the jungle trees and the sandstorm. Even sending in advance summons to clear a zone, well you know how those zones are,” he said and I nodded. They were a pain the rear.

“I will be on guard duty. Annoying we will have to clear zones to advance,” I replied.

“Well, it is only once. After that we should have enough crystals to fly high. There are also the passengers to think about. We won’t be able to engage in high-speed maneuvers with how packed we will be. Clearing the zones will be crucial to advance without issue. The main concern is the timing. I will arrange for us to hit the zones pre-dawn of day 5,062,” I nodded at this.

“Four zones, three level four, since we are looping to the South,” I said.

“Yes. We don’t know the full monster types or the terrain, but it should be manageable. The return trip, I am thinking cutting directly East,” he replied.

“There would be three void zones in the rift. A large gap,” I said.

“We have wanted to test this airship in more turbulent conditions and the Rift would be a good option before we try the outer edges of the Systemic Lands,” he explained. I considered that carefully. It was a good point and Captain Francis was in charge of airship operations for a reason. He knew everything about them like the back of his hand. If he thought it was a good test, then it was probably a good test.

He wouldn’t be needlessly risking his life if he didn’t think there was any value. “We could run into a high-level zone there, like an island,” I finally nodded. “Alright, we can take the direct way back. There are some zones there, so it should be void, zone, void, around level 5 or 6 at worst.”

“As you wish. That leaves, clearing four zones in a single day, unless you want to camp at night?” Captain Francis asked me. Originally we had only planned to spend one day clearing out monsters, but spending two and going slower and safer seemed more ideal.

Losing any airships would not be good. They would be the primary defense of New Kochi. Having the administration off the ground in the air, would prevent a lot of sabotage and trouble, until the city was firmly under control.

“Let’s see how far we get. Either we push through as it gets closer to night or call it a day and stop. We can coordinate for something like that. Even if we are a day or two late getting back to The Abyss for the second pickup, it isn’t a big deal,” I replied. I could see why he wanted to ask me. It would impact Clarissa’s plans slightly and the arrangements for New Kochi, but a day or two of delay was something I was willing to hand wave myself.

The main thing we needed to be sure about was safety and not losing any airships. This was the first major military operation of my Empire after the defeat of the Divine Empress. Any failure would reflect quite badly on my government. The one part that was on me, was the journey across from East to West. One mistake would be devastating, and people would talk about it.

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This wasn’t like the former Crystal Vortex that was all alone and people completely loyal to me who knew to keep their mouths shut. The three soldiers who survived were part of my personnel guard which game with certain expectations. We would be packed with passengers who would talk about what happened and people would see the loss of an airship which would make it much more impactful.

While my popularity was incredibly high, it would still take an unnecessary hit that I wanted to avoid. Also, there was the cost of this entire expedition. A vast portion of my Empire’s wealth was being funneled into moving all these airships and paying all these people. These people had stats as well, they were investments into the future of my Empire.

Losing a large portion of them would hurt much worse. In fact, the points lost from the soldiers who had been manning my previous airship, hurt quite a bit. It wasn’t just the stats, but the skills. Skills had a high point value, since they were in large demand across the Empire. They were seen as key components to grinding higher level zones. The new soldiers manning my airship now, weren’t as good. They had the stats, but the skills were lacking.

“That should be it for our flight operations. You want support when you upgrade the city?” Captain Francis asked me. Now that was a massive headache. I needed to upgrade The Abyss to a level 6 city. That meant dealing with the massive monster attack.

“I think we will stick with the original plan. Move everything and everyone to the city center. Michelle and I will sweep the outsides while remaining under the city shield. No need to have the airships hang back. Consider yourselves the last line of defense,” I explained, and Captain Francis nodded at that.

I was honestly looking forward to the city upgrade. It would be a good benchmark of how much I had improved with my meta-point. It was just over 150 days since I had first faced the tentacled horrors that had burst out of the ground with the final upgrade of Purgatory. Most of that time was spent traveling around and doing other things, not grinding up points.

The main issue was the city shield, but I had been assured that The Abyss was ready with a strong enough shield they should be able to survive. Between Michelle and myself, we should be able to make quick work of any monster. While there was hope it might be something different and the options in the level 6 store would be different, I was doubtful.

All the other upgrades had been the same in the past, so there probably wasn’t going to be any change. “You can handle the entire thing?” Captain Francis asked me. I knew he wasn’t doubting my skills, but the sheer number of super tentacles that would pose a problem.

“It is fine, with Michelle providing support and the airships at the center of the city. I am not that worried. You know how long I can stay in combat now. I will just fly around and use annihilation attacks to clear the outer ring of the city,” I replied, and he nodded.

“I have no doubt, Emperor,” he replied. I got up and left the bridge to stretch my legs. The mess hall had several people eating and chatting. It had been decided that while on an airship people didn’t have to come to attention and salute if they were eating or manning a beam cannon or at a duty station. It was too much of a headache.

But passing someone in a hallway, meant they had to give way for me, and salute. I made passed a soldier who I gave a nod to as I made my way up the top deck to stretch my legs. Climbing up the ladder and getting to the top of the airship, I looked at the sky and back at the trailing airships.

Soldiers were on look out here at the top of the airship for any monsters, but thankfully there weren’t any. This entire place felt cramped. Sure, I had my own room and bathroom now, and it was much bigger than the last airship, but the increased number of soldiers made it feel more cramped. I saw faces I didn’t know.

While I hadn’t been overly familiar with the soldiers manning my airship in the past, I had known them. Now it was mostly new faces. This new Crystal Vortex didn’t feel like home, like my old airship. That would change in time, but it was something that set me slightly on edge. I knew I was being silly, but I felt that way.

It could also be that the good doctor was missing. I admitted to myself I was slightly annoyed, but it was his choice, and it was frustrating. I had enjoyed passing the time talking with him about various subjects. While he wasn’t a key person in our combat ability, he was a key social aspect of life aboard my airship. He was my advisor I could run ideas by and just talk about how I felt.

There were only three other people were qualified for such a thing, but it wasn’t the same. Clarissa was nice to talk to, but she stayed in Purgatory. Michelle for all her skill with summoning, looked up to me far too much. She wasn’t in awe, but there was a clear gap. Captain Francis was much more militarily focused if I had to put my finger on it. He wasn’t one I would discuss my feelings with. Plans and operations sure, but personal struggles were something he just wasn’t the right person to handle.

It was lonely being at the top. Perhaps I should find someone else. If it was just that easy as thinking it. Doctor Katz had been around for a long time. He had been part of the original cart team, way back in the day. He had fought against the Divine Empress. He fought and knew the danger of high-level monsters and the other threats of the unknown. Some random person wasn’t qualified to that kind of conversation.

Perhaps I should have wished for a friend instead or wished Naran back. That was completely stupid and irrational, but I felt that I might have made a mistake with my meta-point. But Naran had left when he had died. If he came back, the power imbalance would only be worse and keeping him around would be unfair. There was only one legal slave in my Empire, the Avatar and I planned to keep it that way.

If she wasn’t so conniving, then she would have been useful to work with. Another lost opportunity. But that was life, a series of paths not taken.