Chapter 586 - 582 – CROSS-CONTINENTAL FLIGHT AND ARRIVAL AT THE BORDER CITY

At thirty thousand feet above the ground, the air was normally extremely thin and freezing, capable of crushing the lungs and freezing the blood flow of ordinary humans within seconds. Yet thanks to the transparent pale-blue protective magic formation layer installed by Sylvia at the front of the two gigantic dragons’ bodies, the atmosphere on their backs felt as comfortable as being inside a palace living room in spring.

Sol, the 50-meter Golden Dragon radiating a sacred golden glow, flew gliding extremely stably in front. Behind it, shadowing like a dense storm cloud, flew Noir, the 70-meter Black Dragon enveloped in purple death miasma. Every time their gigantic wingbeats split the air, the surrounding clouds were immediately swept clean, creating an empty aerial path stretching toward the south.

With that magical hypersonic speed, the 10,000-kilometer distance stretching from the Holy Capital of Tianhua to the Southern Star Province was not an exhausting multi-day journey. Thanks to the wingbeats of these disaster-level dragons, the cross-continental flight was estimated to be completed in less than eight hours alone!

On Sol’s back, Zhaoyue who sat cross-legged atop the warm golden dragon-scale layer slowly began to open her eyes. The fear and nausea that had previously choked her throat gradually evaporated. She drew a deep breath, feeling that the air filtered by Sylvia’s magic felt extremely fresh and calming.

Zhaoyue dared to crawl closer to the edge of Sol’s back, then looked downward through the transparent protective layer.

The view below made the First Princess’s breath catch from awe. From this height, the extraordinarily vast mainland of the Tianhua Kingdom looked like a living gigantic map. She could see the range of the Mountains of the Clouds of Death with their volcanic peaks piercing the clouds and radiating flashes of magnetic anomalies. She could see winding rivers splitting the grasslands, as well as dense forests that were danger zones where mutated monsters hid.

"Extraordinary..." Zhaoyue murmured, her eyes sparkling brightly. "Until now, I had only ever seen the borders of my kingdom from paper maps in Father’s reading room. Seeing it directly from the sky like this... it feels as if my once extremely narrow world has suddenly become so vast."

The ten elite female knights sitting around Zhaoyue gradually also released their panicked embraces on the protruding dragon scales. They glanced at one another, then laughed softly at their own fear. Even though beneath them was a disaster-level dragon, the comfort and stability of this flight far surpassed even a journey using the palace’s best Magical Jet.

Meanwhile, on Noir’s back which was enveloped in death mist, the atmosphere had initially been far more oppressive. The ten female knights assigned to ride the gigantic black dragon were still curled up with eyes tightly shut. The absolute death aura that leaked faintly from Noir’s body made their instincts as humans scream in horror.

Sylvia, who stood casually and gracefully atop Noir’s head, glanced backward and rolled her eyes. Her blackish-silver Night Silk gown fluttered elegantly, completely unaffected by the air pressure.

"Stop praying with pale faces like that, all of you," Sylvia called out in a casual tone, breaking the silence on Noir’s back. "Noir will not eat you. Besides, by my standards, you do not even possess enough mana energy to serve as an appetizer."

Hearing the sharp mockery from Sylvia, the faces of the ten female knights instantly flushed red from embarrassment. They slowly opened their eyes and forced themselves to sit upright. When they realized that Sylvia’s protective magic truly protected them perfectly, their fear gradually subsided.

Sylvia turned, gazing straight toward the southern horizon line. A thin smile full of charm rose to her porcelain lips. Only about four hours had they shot through the air, and the geographical terrain beneath them had already changed drastically.

Wuuussh!

Suddenly, from the direction of the thick cloud ocean below them, a sharp, ear-splitting screech was heard.

"Master," Noir’s heavy voice echoed through telepathy in Sylvia’s mind. "Below there is a flock of Rank 6 Iron-Winged Thunder Eagles. Their leader is a Peak Rank 7 Alpha. They seem disturbed by the waves of our aura."

Sylvia’s dull black eyes glanced downward with complete indifference. Through her True Sight, she could see dozens of black life-fate threads shooting upward at high speed. The gigantic predatory birds flapped their iron wings, releasing streams of blue electricity that flashed repeatedly.

Previously, when Sylvia had ridden a Magical Jet toward the capital, a disaster-level monster flock like this had been a serious threat capable of bringing down an aircraft. Yet now, in front of two gigantic dragons and the Queen of Death, their presence was nothing more than a minor disturbance.

"Sol, Noir," Sylvia commanded in a cold tone through the mental connection. "Show them who the true rulers of the sky are. Clear the path."

Receiving permission from their master, Sol and Noir did not need to launch complicated magical attacks. Sol released a tiny fragment of sacred divine pressure from its golden scales, while Noir released one-hundredth of a wave of death miasma from its body.

Two god-level aura collisions swept downward through the air like an invisible gigantic hammer.

KRAAAAAAK!

Without a single physical contact, the Peak Rank 7 Alpha and the dozens of Rank 6 Thunder Eagles behind it instantly lost consciousness in the air. Their brains and mana circulation were completely paralyzed in a flash by the aura collision. The bodies of the gigantic birds immediately fell freely to the ground like a rain of stones, without even having the chance to release a single cry of resistance.

The female knights on the backs of both dragons swallowed hard with difficulty. Rank 7 monsters that were normally considered city-scale disasters for the human military of Tianhua, in the presence of Sylvia and these two pet dragons, fell like falling leaves merely from the dragons’ free breathing. Their standards of power regarding this world were completely destroyed and rebuilt from zero.

"Their speed is excellent," Sylvia murmured while glancing at her hologram bracelet. "Less than six hours of flight, and we have already entered the perimeter of Southern Star."

The afternoon sun had just begun to shift toward the west when the landscape beneath them changed completely.

The lightning-fast flight of 10,000 kilometers that the guards had previously estimated would take a full day had now pierced the border of the Southern Star Province in only about six hours!

Zhaoyue stood on Sol’s back, gazing at her new territory of power with eyes sparkling full of satisfaction. The view of the Upper District of the Holy Capital filled with floating marble buildings had long been left behind in the north. Before her now stretched an extremely fertile vast land.

The Southern Star Territory possessed such abundant natural wealth. Clear-watered rivers split the emerald grasslands that stretched widely. On several hillside cliffs, thin light glows from the veins of untouched mana crystal mines and magical metals could be seen radiating.

Yet right on the western side of that fertile land stretch, there was a dense boundary of darkness. A gigantic forest with ancient trees of dark leaves spreading like a sea of shadows. That was the Forest of Death, a high-level danger zone that served as a nest for thousands of mutant monsters from Rank 5 to Alpha Rank 7. This forest was the main reason why such fertile land had been left abandoned by the Main Noble Council for decades.

"Look ahead there, Zhaoyue!" Sylvia called from atop Noir’s head, her voice amplified by wind magic. "That is your new administrative center, Falling Star City!"

Zhaoyue directed her gaze to the point Sylvia indicated. In the middle of that fertile land stretch stood a gigantic fortress city surrounded by high walls made of black stone and thick iron plates. The city appeared far larger and more solid than Black Lotus City or Black Steel City. Smoke from factory chimneys billowed into the air, and atop its city walls, thousands of magically armed soldiers appeared ready and alert.

Life in Falling Star City was extremely harsh. Because they had to face the direct threat of monsters from the Forest of Death every day, the local residents, wild hunter groups, and border mage factions in this city were known to be extremely stubborn, independent, and hostile to interference from officials of the Holy Capital.

When the gigantic shadows of Sol (50 meters) and Noir (70 meters) that were flying low suddenly covered the sunlight above Falling Star City, the city’s danger sirens immediately wailed powerfully!

WIIUUU! WIIUUU! WIIUUU!

"AIRBORNE DISASTER ATTACK! TWO GIGANTIC DRAGON MONSTERS APPROACHING THE CITY!" the tower commander atop the city wall shouted through a magical loudspeaker. "ACTIVATE THE MANA CRYSTAL SHIELDS! DIRECT ALL MAIN CANNONS TOWARD THE SKY!"

Tremendous panic exploded throughout every corner of Falling Star City. Thousands of citizens ran seeking shelter in underground bunkers, while hundreds of border mages shot up onto the fortress with glowing magic staffs. More than a dozen large cannons powered by Rank 6 Monster Cores were aimed straight at the sky. The faces of the border military commanders turned deathly pale upon seeing the two gigantic dragon figures descending and hovering right above their fortress.

"Sylvia!" Zhaoyue called with a slight anxiety upon seeing the muzzles of the mana crystal cannons beginning to charge. "They think we are a monster invasion! Tell Sol and Noir to stop!"

Sylvia laughed brightly, a laugh filled with the elegance and absolute domination of a Queen of Death. "Just leave them. Those little weapons will not be able to scratch a single scale."

Sol and Noir continued balancing their hovering positions exactly one hundred meters above the city wall. Their gigantic wingbeats created strong wind pressure that swept away dust and shook the city’s protective magic formations.

BOOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOM!

Three of the city’s main cannons released dense magical light-wave shots that pierced the air, targeting precisely at Noir’s chest. Yet before those magical shots could approach within ten meters of the Black Dragon’s body, the passive death-miasma aura enveloping Noir immediately completely devoured the energy of those shots! The magical light shattered and evaporated into emptiness without leaving even the slightest scratch.

Seeing their city’s strongest defensive shots being swallowed so easily as if feeding the wind, the entire mayor, border commanders, and elite mages atop the fortress froze in absolute despair.

Exactly at that moment, a woman’s voice that was clear, melodious, yet filled with the absolute majesty of a royal ruler echoed from the sky, cutting through the city’s silence.

"Cease your attacks, people of Falling Star City!"

With the aid of wind magic supporting her body, Zhaoyue stepped forward and stood upright atop the muzzle of Sol the Golden Dragon. Her royal tiara crown radiated an elegant silvery glow, and her blue Cloud Silk robe fluttered in the evening wind. In her right hand, she raised high a golden parchment sealed with a dragon, the Official Royal Decree from Emperor Hua Chen.

"I am Hua Zhaoyue, First Princess of the Tianhua Kingdom!" Zhaoyue proclaimed, her voice amplified by magic until it was clearly heard by hundreds of thousands of souls throughout every corner of the city. "From this day forward, based on the Emperor’s Decree, the entire Southern Star Province and Falling Star City officially become my personal domain! And these two great dragons are my loyal guardians!"

Those words struck the entire city like thunder. The border soldiers atop the walls dropped to their knees with mouths wide open. The local faction leaders who had previously intended to reject the arrival of a new ruler from the capital instantly lost all their courage.

A kingdom’s First Princess had not only come with the Emperor’s Decree, but she had arrived in only a matter of hours using two disaster-level dragons as her mounts!

All intentions of political intrigue, extortion, or rebellion from the local factions vanished without a trace before the muzzle of the 70-meter black dragon that gazed coldly down at them from the sky.

"O-Open the main gate!" the Mayor of Falling Star City shouted in a heavily trembling voice, immediately throwing down his magic staff and kneeling atop the stone wall. "Welcome the arrival of Her Excellency the Territorial Ruler! Open all the city gates right now!"

The gigantic iron gates of Falling Star City swung wide open. Seeing the entire border factions submit without needing to spill a single drop of blood, Zhaoyue smiled in satisfaction. She glanced toward Sylvia who stood atop Noir’s head. Sylvia merely gave a thin smile and a single wink that was extremely full of charm.

It only took six hours of travel and two dragons, Zhaoyue thought joyfully as Sol and Noir began landing gracefully in the city’s main courtyard. Sylvia was right, a display of absolute power is the fastest form of diplomacy in this world.