"That battle was so fierce that the sky darkened and the stars dimmed. Lord Elaril's arrow, imbued with the power of the moon and stars, pierced Grom's proud thorny back armor, severely wounding it."
In the end, Grom was defeated and fled with severe injuries into the 'Rotting Swamp', the deepest part of the Emerald Forest, a forbidden land that even the bravest elven scouts dared not easily set foot in.
Since then, the elves and Grom have maintained an ancient pact, using the Rotten Swamp as a boundary, agreeing not to invade each other's territory, a pact that has lasted for thousands of years.
Lyra Ryan's tone carried a hint of relief, "Although it is ferocious, it is also extremely vengeful and cautious. That serious injury made it much more restrained."
Only occasionally, the oppressive aura it exudes when it awakens from its slumber, or the deep roars echoing from the depths of the swamp, still remind us that this ancient neighbor still exists, and... remains terrifyingly powerful. May it forever slumber in the depths of the swamp.
Linde listened with great interest, but his mind was in turmoil.
Grom the Earth's Revenge! So that giant tortoise that he nearly annihilated from a distance using the power of the magic network nodes actually had such an illustrious background!
The ancient elven hero used all his strength to repel and severely injure it, while he... almost killed it with a "casual" strike while testing his strength?
An indescribable sense of absurdity and a hint of...secret smugness welled up in my heart.
It felt like casually swatting a buzzing bug, only to discover afterward that the bug was actually a legendary, ancient, and exotic species.
He maintained a focused listening posture and a hint of surprise, nodding as he said:
"I see. What a thrilling legend. Grom the Earth's Revenge... a legendary monster with dragon blood, who fought against elven heroes and survived to this day, is truly awe-inspiring."
Hopefully, that ancient pact can be maintained forever; letting it slumber in its swamp would be good for both of us.
His tone was sincere, as if he genuinely prayed for peace between the elf and the giant tortoise.
(Inner monologue: Tsk, looks like my "Water Fury - Thousand Blade Annihilation" was incredibly effective. The ancient elven heroes fought tooth and nail to barely repel it, and I almost destroyed it from a distance... If these elves knew that the giant tortoise they considered an ancient nightmare was "casually" brought to the brink of death by a human lord they had just visited, wouldn't their faith collapse? Hmm, this secret... is better left unsaid.)
Keep a low profile.
The dinner concluded in a relaxed atmosphere. Lind arranged a well-lit and comfortable room for Lyra Ryan within the castle grounds, close to the garden.
The elf "Wanderer," who voluntarily stayed behind, will officially begin her journey of observation and witnessing in Blackrock Territory.
After seeing Lyla Ryan off, Lind stood alone by the window of his study, gazing in the direction of the Endless Sea, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips.
The giant tortoise's secret was just a minor episode; what mattered more to him was the steel star that had just completed its precise positioning above the raging sea.
With Linde's command, the steel behemoth that had been dormant for who knows how long was activated.
The navigation core has been repaired and the coordinates have been locked.
The cold, synthesized electronic voice echoed deep within Lind's consciousness, and a vast stream of information outlined a clear flight path.
The Steel Sky, the ultimate creation of the Zedu civilization, is currently suspended above the raging seas in the northwest of the continent of Tiel. It is at a relatively high latitude and not far from the long and cold western coastline of the Sass Empire.
This is a delicate and dangerous position, like dancing on the nose of a sleeping dragon.
"Target: G7 at Heiyanbo Port. Route planning confirmed."
Linde's will acted like a supreme command, driving the central core of the steel sky.
"Avoid major shipping routes and the core areas of the Sass and Orc forces. Preferred route: head south and detour to the desolate southern coastline of the Tyr continent to land."
The flight path map unfolded clearly in my mind:
The giant ship will rise from its current altitude, using the clouds and its still imperfect stealth field as cover, and sail south at high speed along a trajectory almost parallel to the mainland coastline.
This route will inevitably cut into the Roaring Pass, a vital sea route controlled by the Orks that connects their homeland with their western raiding front.
Ultimately, the Steel Sky will land at the southernmost tip of the continent of Til, in the "Skullcrushing Horn" region, a place ravaged by endless storms and strewn with rocks that resemble the fangs of a giant beast protruding into the ocean.
The place is shrouded in thick fog year-round, with towering waves and numerous reefs. It is a nightmare for sailors, a natural graveyard, and also the best landing point that Linde chose for his steel behemoth, a place to temporarily avoid all prying eyes.
Buzz—!
A deeper, more powerful roar echoed from the depths of the steel sky. The remaining attitude engines, nozzles 7-9, glowed with a ghostly blue light, their output power forcibly increased by Linde to the very edge of the safety threshold.
The massive ship slowly adjusted its posture with a low groan, its bow pointing south.
Below, the endless, dark blue sea seemed to sense the will of the giant ship, and was pushed aside by an invisible force, forming a huge depression.
The giant ship began to accelerate, like a mountain breaking free from invisible shackles, slowly and irresistibly detaching itself from the last constraints of its seabed base, its enormous shadow completely enveloping the sea surface.
The biting polar wind, carrying the salty, fishy scent of freedom, lashed violently against the towering bulwark.
Linde's mental perception was like an invisible tentacle, firmly locking onto every corner of the steel sky.
"Altitude maintained. Engine monitoring is the highest priority. Maintain silent navigation mode. External detection array, limited power scan, focusing on the forward route and the sea below."
Linde issued a series of instructions to the central core.
Like a silent ghost, the giant ship sped southward beneath the low-hanging, leaden clouds.
The raging ocean below was quickly left behind, and all that remained in sight was the boundless deep blue and the rolling sea of clouds.
Lonely, yet magnificent.
…………
The voyage lasted for several days.
The massive steel dome moved through the clouds like a moving metal island.
Linde spent most of his time synchronizing with the central core via a mental link, monitoring the giant ship's status.
The damaged outer armor endured immense wind pressure during high-speed flight, emitting a teeth-grinding groan; the energy core's output constantly hovered around the critical point, and alarms for multiple meltdown overload points continued like background noise; the attitude engine's roar also carried a hint of instability, as if it might break down at any moment.
Linde remained on edge.
This giant ship is like a seriously injured person pulled back from the brink of death; every acceleration and every turn aggravates all its old wounds.
"Warning. Passive signal reception enhancement of the detection array. Below, at a distance of 80 leagues (approximately 400 kilometers), bearing southeast-southeast."
Multiple large wooden structures were detected moving signals, energy signature analysis... Orc rune drive.
Judgment: Orc fleet.
Quantity: Seven.
Heading: Northwest, expected to intersect with our route.
Estimated meeting time: 3 standard hours later.
The cold, electronic voice rang like an alarm bell in Lind's mind!
An Orcish fleet! And it's a fleet of warships! Seven of them!
Linde's "field of vision" instantly switched to the data stream transmitted back by the detection array.
On the relatively calm sea below, seven distinct points of light are cutting through the waves at a considerable pace.
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