363 Long Voyage Part 1 (1/2)
Just as dawn broke, Saleen put down what he was doing and went into a deep meditation. When he opened his eyes again, Nailisi was already beside him.
”Master, everything is prepared.”
”Okay, go to the port. Banchajanna?” Saleen called on Banchajanna who had turned into a winged skeleton. He released a cleaning spell for himself and stretched his limbs before walking out of the temple.
Five low-grade mages were waiting outside, Saleen did not see Truman, Nailisi whispered to him softly, ”I have commanded Truman to defend the White Rock Mountain.”
Saleen furrowed his brows as he thought, if an enemy were to attack now the north, west, and south all had some form of city wall or fortresses. On the other hand, the coast towards the Oceanic Ice Block was not defended. Even though the pier was higher than the sea, it could not be used to defend.
Nailisi had made the right choice leaving the magic cannon behind. Once an enemy tried to attack from the ice, a single shot would blast apart the ice. It would prevent any enemy from invading from the sea.
It was better to be prepared. Even though none of the combat fleet from the Holy See could reach there, the ones from the Cloudflow Empire could. The combat vessel from Alchemy City had already been attacked, it was better for him to be careful.
Aini and Irene were waiting on the coast, Aini was dressed in a grey magic robe which did not seem too fanciful. Irene on the other hand was in a gleaming armor, it was filled with hollowed out magic patterns. If there were not a large number of magic arrays drawn in the armor, it would not be able to defend even from a wooden spear.
”Just us?” Irene asked in shock as she saw Saleen bringing with him five low-grade mages.
”And Sika.” Saleen's reply was incredibly simple but it left Irene's speechless. Going to hunt in the Oceanic Ice Block, manpower was as important as a tough ship. There were a large number of low-grade magic beasts and to haul them up with a net it needed at least one-hundred swordsmen to turn the gears together. Saleen's team was too small, it might be able to deal with single magic beasts but could not deal with millions of them. Irene did not know what Saleen was thinking.
After around half an hour, Sika rushed over from the south.
”I'm sorry, I woke up late.” Sika had a look of ungratefulness on her that left Irene incredibly resentful. It was a cold day and the wind was like knives cutting into their faces, leaving their skin raw. She had the nerve to oversleep and made everyone wait for her. After listening to Nailisi's words, Irene knew Saleen treated Sika incredibly well and did not want to offend anyone. She could only hold it in.
”Everyone is here, let's go.” Saleen did not say much as he brought Banchajanna along and walked straight towards the sea.
Thick ice layers covered the entire sea with snow on top of them too. Everywhere Banchajanna passed, the snow immediately disappeared making a path. Saleen looked left to the White Rock Mountains, on the sharp peak hid a black hole.
The magic cannon was already set up. If it shot right there now, he had no idea if Banchajanna would be able to defend against it. The magic cannon was too dangerous and besides a mage that he trusted, he would not let any outsiders near it.
Ten people and a winged skeleton walked towards the vast sea. Saleen did not give any of them a Windspeed spell, instead, he used his legs to measure the width of the ice layer step by step. At the same time, he used his senses to check how deep the ice layer was.
Within two miles of the coast, the ice layer was five to six meters deep. As they got further away from the coast, the ice got thicker. Many places were deeper than ten meters. This was an unusual sight. Sea water was salty and compared to fresh water, it was harder to freeze. It should not be able to form such thick ice.
He was not sure what caused this unusual phenomenon but Saleen was already relieved. With such thick ice, only a mage could slowly push his way through. It would be almost impossible for one to attack from beneath using normal soldiers.
On the crescent-shaped island, there was already a giant stone pillar erected that formed a screen. Saleen brought them to rest at the island and found the entrance that led underground. He then gave everyone a water shield. Under the protection of the water shield, everyone followed the secret tunnel into the ship warehouse under the island.
In the dark sea, the Pan's Turtle alchemical boat floated silently, giving off a weak light. This was the magic light that the winged skeleton had released intentionally, it allowed Saleen and the rest to recognize the coordinates. Saleen waved as he brought everyone underneath the alchemical boat to the teleportation portal.
”Soldier, let us in,” Saleen called for the winged skeleton in his heart.
A magic light flashed past as all of them were transported within the alchemical boat simultaneously. Irene finally understood why Saleen was in need of magic nuclei after seeing this ship. The various signs pointed that Saleen possessed a great number of magic techniques, they could be used to create various types of magic equipment for battle.
This ship was the perfect example. Irene estimated that to let this ship sail atop the Oceanic Ice Block, the number of magic nuclei needed would not be any less than the big ship of hers.
She had no idea that the alchemical boat had a spirit pool. If it was not cruising at a rapid pace, it would not use up too much energy.
Entering the interior of the alchemical boat, even Aini was a little shocked. This ship was much tougher than he had imagined. A Pan's Turtle did not usually have such a huge body and one that could grow to this size would have been incredibly hard to kill. Using such a huge turtle shell to create a complete ship was essentially a miracle.