Chapter 66: Showing Off? Let Me Make You Fly!

Although Miss Vilyric had witnessed many advanced, high-tech weapons far beyond this kind of thing, even things like those found on Lingyin Fairy Island, when it came to the scale of a nation, it was a completely different matter.

Moreover, the Ost Empire was clearly not just retracing the old industrial age path of Blue Star, but rather combining the powers of magic and technology together. The exact extent of the effects it could yield was truly hard to say.

At the very least, during the industrial revolution, Blue Star couldn’t produce Golems or such popular human enhancement devices, and there was no way it could create giant steel battleships nearly a kilometer long that could move freely on the sea like the ones next door.

There must be some magic involved in all of this.

Just as the Priestess was internally astonished by the numerous novel military armaments, the true top brass from the empire finally arrived, slowly boarding Noah’s Ark after a dozen six to seven-meter-high Golems had completed their movement.

There were four of them—two men and two women—among whom one was a man in his forties, dressed in a deep blue military uniform and wearing a military hat with a sword hanging at his side. The other was a red-headed mage in a standard magic robe with a wide-brimmed hat, whose astonishing curves couldn’t be hidden even so.

“Who is the captain of this ship?”

The moment he stepped onto the deck, this middle-aged man, whose cold face seemed to suggest that everyone owed him a few hundred gold coins, scanned over the gathered crowd, including Vilyric and the others, with a neutral expression, looking like a bureaucrat enforcing the law.

Behind him stood a young man in military uniform, who bore a striking resemblance to the middle-aged man—one could tell he was most likely his offspring. The young man’s gaze wasn’t focused ahead but kept drifting towards the youngest girl in the group, with green hair and a convenient skirt, their thoughts almost visible on their face.

However, once he finally noticed the gathering of uniquely outstanding women including Vilyric, his eyes immediately lit up, mouth slightly agape, revealing a somewhat foolish expression, until he caught a cold huff from the green-haired girl, prompting him to quickly regain his composure.

The red-haired mage, with her short hair and enviable figure and skin possessing an oddly translucent hue, seemed to notice all this too, but her expression remained frosty, as if she were merely there to go through the motions without caring much about what was happening.

Having quickly perceived the general relationships among the four, Vilyric didn’t avoid their intentions and promptly stepped forward.

“This ship is mine. We are a merchant caravan that has just returned from the high seas and do not carry any weapons. May I ask what the esteemed gentlemen intend with such ferocity?”

“Hmm…”

Noticing the young man behind him, the middle-aged man nonchalantly scrutinized Vilyric a few times, his gaze sweeping over the Priestess and the others, before returning back to her, his pupils flickering with a hint of unusual color.

“That feeling… You’re a Holy Mage? Name, nationality, and ship ownership documents, please. This sea area is already within the jurisdiction of the Ost Empire; the imperial navy has the right to manage any incoming and outgoing vessels unconditionally. Please open the cargo hold and be prepared to cooperate for an inspection.”

Listening to the authoritative tone of the inquiry, the Priestess frowned slightly.

So it’s not going to be as simple as I thought…

Though the approach seemed somewhat aggressive, the reasoning behind it was hardly unreasonable—the size of Noah’s Ark was truly intimidating. Even if it appeared not to carry any weapons and looked like a relatively primitive wooden ship, it was hard to dismiss the soldiers’ doubts.

Moreover, the mention of a Holy Mage suggested that he might have mistaken Vilyric for a priest of the Holy Empire or someone closely related to the temple, which likely was the main reason for his unsavory attitude.

After all… The diplomatic relations between the Ost Empire and the Holy Empire were reportedly deteriorating, and they had begun fierce indirect confrontations by secretly manipulating and supporting smaller nations along the border. The two major alliances that Xi Fu Lin mentioned earlier were precisely led by these two.

A ship potentially connected to the Holy Empire suddenly appearing in imperial waters—of course, they would want to inspect it thoroughly to find any flaws.

Quietly contemplating, the Priestess discreetly glanced at the imperial soldiers and Golems nearby, who were watching them like hawks.

For now, they were standing quietly in place, but if Vilyric dared to say a single “no,” or if this middle-aged man gave a command, they would likely spring into action immediately.

While she didn’t intend to have a confrontation with the Ost Empire officials here, that didn’t mean Vilyric could accept their questioning attitude, nor would she be able to just open the hold to let them inspect. Not only were the Mermaids inside, but many secrets of Noah’s Ark couldn’t be shown carelessly.

“My name is Vilyric. May I inquire as to how the esteemed general is called?”

“Bold! Are you trying to negotiate? A lowborn dares to ask the general’s name? Seize her!”

Before the middle-aged man could say anything, the young man behind him immediately jumped in, as if looking for a reason to escalate things, loudly challenging her with a ridiculously flimsy excuse. Following his order, the nearby Golem quickly raised its metallic hand like a stone slab, attempting to grab at her!

In that instant, several Lingyin Ethnics, including Hong Yan, almost simultaneously displayed fierce expressions, preparing to launch their attacks. However, a smaller figure moved faster than anyone else, appearing before Vilyric, with a youthful yet icy voice, like a giant dragon provoked.

“Are you looking for death… ant?”

“Bang!!!”

The massive figure rose high into the air, crashing down on the deck with a thunderous sound.

The Golem struggled to get up, but that terrifying blow had forcibly pierced through its palm, shattering the shoulder joint right behind it, leaving its entire metal arm dangling precariously. As a magical puppet, it was unable to balance itself and could only flip over like a turtle on its back.

“Who were you calling lowborn just now?”

The instigator of it all—a golden-haired little girl, not even a meter tall—blew on her unscathed little fist, her radiant golden vertical pupils fixated on the youth who had given the attack command, as if she were looking at a dead person.

“I, I, I, I…”

Despite merely being stared at by what appeared to be an utterly harmless little girl, the young man turned pale and trembled uncontrollably. It was only at this moment that the surrounding soldiers finally snapped out of the absurdity of the situation, hurriedly raising their weapons to point at the central group!

The middle-aged man was somewhat startled by the little dragon daughter’s terrifying strength, but his mental fortitude clearly surpassed that of the other man. He hurriedly took half a step back, hiding behind the other Golems and the two women, not daring to give the order to attack. Instead, he coldly barked in a somewhat intimidating manner.

“What are you doing? Do you wish to oppose the imperial navy and the Ost Empire?”

Casting a surprised glance at the tiny figure standing protectively in front of her, one that had only struck a Golem rather than a person, the Priestess pondered for a moment, patted Xiao Guang’s head, and addressed the middle-aged man and the two women, who were equally astounded but not overly frightened, with a calm tone.

“Esteemed General, we are not criminals. Was your previous conduct not a bit too rough?”

   

---