Sky-cracking Rider

Shadow Guard Lize Jina hurriedly supported Princess Lin Ziyu, who nearly fell, and rolled her eyes at Butler Mars, who had inadvertently jinxed the situation, muttering, "Mars, you and your dire predictions!"

Gasps of shock echoed both inside and outside the cabin.

Boom!

It was impossible to tell whether it was thunder or the sound of an explosion, as the Light Wing Ship shuddered violently.

Everyone in the cabin was jolted a foot off the ground, only to come crashing back down.

Princess Lin Ziyu landed on the soft sofa below her and was relatively unharmed, but others were not so lucky, with only a few managing to maintain their footing.

Then, a blood-curdling creaking sound emanated from deep within the Light Wing Ship.

Several bolts of lightning illuminated the sky simultaneously, their thick arcs snaking capriciously through the clouds, briefly lighting up the sky and the ocean.

The external surveillance cameras attached to the ship's hull caught a glimpse of a scene that made Chen Fei involuntarily gasp.

Thousands of meters below, in the churning, raging sea, countless sea creatures were frantically breaking the water's surface, splashing wildly as they swarmed towards the Light Wing Fleet above, in a scene akin to hell itself.

The fleet, already distressed by the sudden turbulence and the storm, was oblivious to this.

"This is bad!"

Chen Fei moved towards the storm-flung balcony, turning back to address Xiao Jiu on the Princess's shoulder just as he was about to speak.

"Is there an emergency?"

Butler Mars's heart skipped a beat; this wasn't the first time he had seen Chen Fei taking matters so seriously—something major must be about to happen.

Could it be the previously mentioned attack?!

Despite being mentally prepared, they were still caught off guard when it actually happened.

"Butler Mars, please check if there are any emergency vehicles for evacuation. We might need to abandon ship if necessary."

Chen Fei beckoned to the Pure Light Sparrow Xiao Jiu and continued, "Xiao Jiu, give me a Dragon Slayer Missile!"

Clang!~

A sizable box hit the ground with a dull thud.

Everyone's face changed—what kind of situation had arisen that necessitated the use of a "Dragon Slayer Missile"?

Chen Fei himself had not expected to use one of the two "Dragon Slayer Missiles" he had requested so soon. He deftly opened the box and connected the separated warhead to the propulsion body, then yanked open the control panel of the KDK-1 Suction Type Hypersonic Intelligent Missile and thrust the Universal Data Transceiver from his wrist into the data port.

"Adam, unlock and activate, 20-second countdown."

Adam: Recognizing the KDK-1 Suction Type Hypersonic Intelligent Missile, importing the key, entering the security code, first layer unlocked, second layer unlocked, third layer unlocked, fourth layer unlocked, activation initiated, setting detonation mode, starting countdown, 20, 19, 18…

Amidst the jumping numbers of Adam's countdown, Chen Fei lifted the entire missile from the box and carried it step by step to the balcony before heaving it over with force.

Go!~

15, 14, 13, 12…

The KDK-1 Suction Type Hypersonic Intelligent Missile, falling freely, picked up speed, heading towards the swarm of sea monsters below, so numerous it was terrifying.

"What's happening?"

Butler Mars, like everyone else while trying to contact the Captain, was stunned as he watched Chen Fei, half-drenched from the torrential rain, walk back in from the balcony.

"So many, so many monsters!"

Chen Fei spread his hands wide, and just as his words fell, the ship's interior was filled with the piercing sound of an urgent alarm.

It seemed the Feather Tribe Legion's Light Wing Fleet had finally noticed the anomaly in the ocean below.

A dazzling burst of deep blue light erupted, annihilating hundreds of flying sea creatures within its sweep.

Although the blue light was not blinding, it lit up the entire Light Wing Fleet.

Several large fish-like creatures were swimming rapidly around the fleet, their speed astonishing. With each flick of their tails, they moved kilometers in just a few breaths. Their spines and dorsal fins were bristling, clearly not benign beings.

The collision from before was perhaps their doing.

"Ferocious Thorn King Fish, fierce Wind Series Magical Beasts, adult males grow up to 18 meters in length, weighing approximately 3.5 tons with gold streaks in their tails as identification characteristics; adult females grow up to 15 meters, weighing roughly 2.8 tons. They usually inhabit waters deeper than 50 meters below the sea surface and prey on aquatic life..."

The artificial intelligence AI "Adam" listed this information for Chen Fei on the encyclopedia page.

The stormy environment serves as the mating grounds for the Ferocious Thorn King Fish, where other species are not welcome and risk facing aggressive attacks.

However, not every storm brings the presence of the Ferocious Thorn King Fish. But this time, the Feather Tribe's Fourth Legion of the Light Wing Fleet was unlucky enough to encounter a dozen male Ferocious Thorn King Fish in heat, chasing after two females.

With the ratio of males to females already disproportionate, the unclaimed males ferociously targeted the unexpected visitors comprised of several fully-armed Light Wing Ships. If it weren't for the numerous sea creatures recklessly rushing upwards, the Ferocious Thorn King Fish would probably have already initiated an attack.

At that moment, the Light Wing Fleet fully demonstrated the power of a large combat weapon platform. Aerial bombs were dropped, railguns fired in succession, and even the surrounding Ferocious Thorn King Fish became targets of missile strikes.

Fireballs exploded continuously in the sky, and the light of magic spells flickered uncertainly as Magical Beasts with magical abilities launched their attacks.

Nevertheless, the Light Wing Fleet, positioned high in the sky, held an advantage, with very few attacks missing their mark. Conversely, magic attacks from below mostly dispersed mid-trajectory. Only a few made it weakly to the ships' Magic Shields surrounding the Light Wings, barely causing a tremor.

The previous "Dragon Slayer Missile" took advantage of the convenience of magic to eliminate nearly half of the leading Magical Beasts. Most of the remaining were just ordinary fierce aquatic creatures acting on instinct, which upon sustaining concentrated fire from the Light Wing Fleet, suffered heavy casualties almost immediately.

"The escape pods are ready, but the Captain does not recommend evacuating the ship right now, as it's even more dangerous outside."

Mars, the housekeeper who just finished a phone call, relayed the "Black Cloud" Captain's words.

Though the Light Wing Fleet's attacks were immensely powerful, capable of killing at least three or four fierce sea creatures with every hit, they slaughtered hundreds in just a short span of time.

Yet the swarming sea creatures seemed endless, leaving one to wonder how such a terrifying existence could have been hidden beneath the calm seas of the past.

Crack, a loud bursting noise erupted.

A wing of the "Black Cloud" Light Wing Ship couldn't withstand the impact of a Ferocious Thorn King Fish's sacrificial ram and shattered.

The Strange Fish that broke the wing also didn't fare well, as a shell from a railgun exploded a large hole in its body, leaving it to descend slowly, grievously wounded.

The "Black Cloud" suffered little impact from the loss of one wing—its absorption of Elemental Energy was only reduced. Relying on the remaining Light Wings and the main Crystalline Blocks on board, the ship could still endure for a considerable time—since the design of the Light Wing Ships had already accounted for the possibility of damage to the wings.

But misfortune seemed to come in pairs. Before the other Light Wing Ships could position the flagship "Black Cloud" in the center for protection, incited by the fall of their comrade, the other Ferocious Thorn King Fish furiously charged the "Black Cloud" with no regard for themselves. Even the females joined the assault.

Despite firing with all they had, the "Black Cloud," being the flagship of the Light Wing Fleet, still inevitably sustained successive impacts, with more wings breaking off.

At the same time, the ammunition carried on board was rapidly depleting, yet the sea creatures drawing ever closer seemed impossible to completely eradicate. Even when powerful bombs were used, they had little effect.

No sooner was an area cleared than it filled again, with the sea creatures seemingly mad, desperately throwing themselves at the Light Wing Fleet.

The situation grew increasingly dire, prompting the "Black Cloud" Captain and the Feather Tribe Legion Commander to make a joint decision. To protect Princess Lin Ziyu and her entourage, they ordered an evacuation from the ship, leaving the Fourth Legion to continue entanglement with the sea creatures.

The large number of kills might attract even more terrifying sea creatures. With ammunition and Magic Power heavily depleted, the Fourth Legion would likely struggle more and more.

Emergency escape pods are, in a sense, miniature Light Wing Ships, with only two pairs of wings on each side and capable of carrying 100 people.

Whether it's the "Black Cloud" or other Light Wing Ships, the emergency escape pods generally have three times the capacity of the ship's crew members. Moreover, most of the crew from the Fourth Legion's Light Wing Ships are members of the Feathered Tribe with individual flying abilities, rendering them less reliant on escape pods. Therefore, no particular worry arises about casualties due to falling.

Princess Lin Ziyu made a quick decision, boarding one of the emergency escape pods with her attendants and newly recruited Feather Tribe Guards.

The pod shuddered, swiftly separating from the severely damaged "Black Cloud" Light Wing Ship.

However, the next second, instead of continuing to ascend, the escape pod dropped as if it had lost power, causing alarm among the people inside.

The housekeeper Mars instantly sensed something was wrong and urgently shouted at the Feather Tribe Guard piloting the escape pod, "What's happening?"

"The escape pod has lost control, we can't pull up!"

The Feather Tribe Guard at the helm tried desperately to regain control of the pod.

"Everyone, hold on tight!"

Chen Fei stretched out his hand and placed it on the deck, immediately causing a silvery sheen to spread and cover the entire escape pod.

The exterior of the escape pod changed as well, with a pair of horizontal wings protruding from the front and two propellers added to the rear.

"Wind Magic Shield (12)" ×1 + "Thunder Magic Shield (12)" ×1 + "Gravity (1)" Magic Array ×4 + "Fluid Vortex (2)" Magic Array ×8 + "Wind Cone (2)" Magic Array ×1 + "Illumination Technique (1)" Magic Array ×2 + "Light Distortion (1)" ×1 + "Mind Brand (1)" Magic Array ×1 = 50/99 engraving units.

The downward plummeting of the "escape pod" was immediately arrested.

The contraption conceived by the artificial intelligence AI "Adam" finally came in handy.