Destined to separate
After several rounds of brainstorming, the vehicle's shape was finally determined to be in the style of mechanical wings.
If a robot beast wanted to carry people, its size naturally had to be large. However, the larger the target, the easier it was to target with concentrated fire while in mid-air. In contrast, a pair of mechanical wings that could be fixed to the back and retained minimal flight capabilities were much more portable.
"Besides, our goal is just to fly over the battlefield and reach the gate of Moon Viewing Tower. The flying ability required isn't that high... I'll set the destination and end point, and then add some directional corrections to the cruise control to deal with emergencies. It shouldn't be a big problem."
Ruixia always talks endlessly when it comes to professional content, and the drawings in her hand and the complex programs on the screen go hand in hand, as if she really wants to teach them.
"However, in order to ensure speed, the wings' ability to withstand blows won't be very strong. Sorens will have to provide each of us with a separate defense, which might be difficult."
Sorens' eyes flickered, somewhat puzzled: "You mean... we should act separately?"
It's not that he was afraid of the hard work. As long as everyone was not too far apart, he could still do things like casting a barrier for everyone individually - but if they were separated, what if they were defeated one by one by the other?
"It's not really a separate operation."
Perhaps anticipating that someone would raise such a question, Ruixia pulled out a screen she had prepared in advance. On it was a three-dimensional spatial map of the Moon Viewing Tower and its surrounding buildings, with three different routes marked with distinctly colored lines.
"There are six of us in total. If we act together, we'll be too conspicuous. What if they want to catch us all in one fell swoop and use some ultimate trick? If someone gets shot down and falls to the battlefield below, we'll be in a very disadvantageous position."
There was no mention of the assumption that he was killed on the spot. It seemed that Ruisha was quite confident in Sorens' defensive magic.
"So I think we should work in pairs, departing from different directions and reunite simultaneously in front of the Moon Viewing Tower—of course, this is the ideal scenario. Anyway, no matter which team arrives first, the priority is to open the seal. The rest of us must fully protect the person who opens the door until it's open and we're all inside."
"'No matter which team'? Wasn't the Moon Staff given to Thorens to use?"
Zhui Nin glanced at the brown-haired boy sitting next to him. There was no ill intention in her, just a simple question.
"Theoretically, it's best for him to use it. After all, he's the only magician here, and he's from a serious academic school. He should have the best compatibility with the staff imbued with moon magic. But no matter how well-planned, execution is rarely smooth sailing. If something unexpected happens, we can't just sit there and wait for death."
After saying that, Ruixia glanced at Ximu beside her. The latter understood and placed a transparent crystal ball on the table.
Everyone looked closely and found that the outline faintly emerging from the ball was the shape of Phises's Moon Staff.
"We've experimented with this before. As long as there's magic power, it can resonate with the staff and transmit the command 'unseal'. However, if it's used at this level, anyone of us would be equally effective... except for me, of course. I'm really not very good at using magic."
At this point, Ruixia scratched her cheek embarrassedly.
Everyone looked at the staff that was stored in the small ball, and obviously understood the purpose of this move.
Compared to such a large staff, this storage form is much more convenient for both passing and throwing... At that time, no matter who has the staff, they just need to quickly throw it to the first person to arrive.
Except for Morina and Sorens, everyone else present was more or less confident in their skills. At such a limited distance, the possibility of failure was very small.
Since everyone has no objection, the next step is to wait for the vehicle to be completed and then conduct some corresponding flight training.
Seeing that Ruixia had nothing to add, everyone naturally prepared to adjourn. But as they stood up, Ruixia stopped Sorens and Weixia individually, not knowing what to say.
"...What's so important that even you won't be allowed to hear it?"
Morina was very curious, but Ximu brought it up very smoothly, leaving her no chance to ambush or eavesdrop.
"What else could it be? Did you really not expect this or are you just pretending?"
Zhui Ni, who was walking beside them, smiled maliciously, but when Moli Na rolled her eyes in dissatisfaction and asked her about it, he looked as if he didn't want to pay attention, put on his hat, and wandered off to another place in a nonchalant manner.
Ximu had no intention of explaining in detail. He simply replaced Sorens' usual position and consciously accompanied Molina to the workshop to check on the scroll production line.
The short-haired girl never mentioned the matter again. She was as busy as ever, chatting about the parchment inventory, lamenting that she couldn't make magic potions, and complaining about how hard it was to polish the mineral materials...
It wasn't until they finished their work and returned to their base that she suddenly said softly, "...We shouldn't have met them, right?"
yes.
Sorens and Vicia were residents from nearly a century ago... If they hadn't been trapped by the strange ecology of this place, it would have been impossible for them to meet and talk, let alone travel together.
"He's a very nice person. I really don't want to leave him."
The always noisy priestess lowered her head. Although she was still smiling, she could not hide her bitterness.
Instinctively, I should offer some words of comfort, but Ximu had no expertise in this area, so I just nodded slightly to indicate that I was still listening.
To be honest, if one day Ruixia became like this, and moving forward would only leave him behind, she would probably give up her future without saying a word, just to never be separated from him.
But she also vaguely guessed that Morina was not such a needy person.
"However, being able to transcend the shackles of time and space to meet here is already a wonderful fate in itself."
Molina deliberately walked with her head shaking, and it was not known whether she wanted to relax or if she had really let go of all kinds of separations.
Although she was young, she had followed the head priest on his medical visits in the past, so she must be familiar with birth, old age, sickness and death.
"They must be very sad too... Who doesn't want to live a good life?"
The priest who believed in the God of Life lamented the inevitable separation, but Ximu imagined the worst-case scenario.
What if Ruixia brings this up but ultimately fails to convince them?
It would be fine if they simply quit the team. They could always come up with other ways to make up for the lack of manpower and combat power...
But if these two "locals" develop resentment towards the living people like them, pretend to join them, and then bite back at the critical moment, they may really be wiped out in the battle!
At this point, using the Killing Curse to control them might not be effective, so why not just -
The moment the hidden murderous intent quietly arose, Xi Mu was startled and stopped abruptly.
Theoretically, there was nothing wrong with her calculations. At least from the perspective of a "killer whose priority was completing the mission," eliminating all variables as much as possible was the most basic task.
But they... are not two cold weights placed on a scale that can be easily taken away or put on when affecting the balance, as if they have no thoughts at all.
No matter whether they have already died in reality, at least at this moment - they are still living people.
During the days of training together, when they opened those secret doors together and worked together to challenge those powerful monsters, hadn't she been shielded by Vicia's spear and protected by Sorens' barrier?
Is it true that the mutual support in life and death situations is just based on the exchange of interests, without any friendship at all?
The girl who had never had any fear for life and death suddenly felt a little confused.
Friendship?
Can someone like her talk about the word "friendship" with people around her?
Arriving at the door but hesitating to go in, Molina glanced at Ximu suspiciously, without thinking much, she pushed the door open and walked in confidently.
Ximu subconsciously took a deep breath and instinctively began to observe the situation in the house.
——No abnormalities.
As usual, Sorens was writing and drawing among a pile of documents. The complicated spells filled the parchment and were crumbling beside his hands; Vicia was not among them at all, and no one knew where she had gone.
"Are you back?"
Ruixia was also busy at her workbench. Surprisingly, it was Sorens who first looked up and greeted them. He nodded politely to Ximu, smiled at Molina, and waved the quill in his hand.
"I've thought carefully about the idea you mentioned earlier. It might actually work... Come and see if there's anything I can improve on. Once it's truly feasible, we can put it to the test."
"Oh, okay."
The priestess raised her eyebrows, perhaps realizing something from his usual attitude. She sat down opposite Sorens and excitedly pulled the parchments over to take a closer look.
Ximu walked past them curiously and came to Ruixia. When the latter saw her approaching, she did not stop the work in her hands, but pointed to the empty seat next to her, indicating that she could come up and sit.
This height was nothing to Ximu, and he climbed up in no time.
"……How about it?"
Although his tone was steady, he still revealed some anticipation and nervousness.
Knowing what she was asking, Ruixia grinned and nodded. "Don't worry, Sorens accepted it quite quickly. It did take some time to convince Vicia. After all, her memory is not complete, and she didn't spend much time with us. Fortunately, this Knight Commander values loyalty above all else. He killed the enemy for the deceived princess and died gloriously in battle. This is obviously more attractive than her own humiliation and living alone."
The worst-case scenario did not happen, and Ximu finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Before everyone's mechanical wings are completed, we can go and clean up the remaining corners in the academy and treat it as a running-in training. What do you think?" Ruixia suggested.
Now that everyone has agreed on the ultimate goal, we should indeed increase the intensity of our combat coordination.
While Ruixia was concentrating on her work, Ximu also checked the locations in the academy that had not yet been conquered one by one, and began to carefully sort the locations for conquest.
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