Chapter 1028: The Magic Tech Advancement
Only one city remained... the place where the Immortal Tower of the Vampire Queen Lisa stood.
However, Kent and the other Chaos Immortals didn’t rush there immediately.
They had already crushed the rest of the kingdom, and now was the time to secure what they had taken.
Consolidating their forces was more important than charging headlong into the last stronghold.
Stabilizing the captured cities was easy.
The leadership in each place had already been eliminated, and the remaining Arcanists—those who weren’t crippled by battle or bound by the Chaos Arts—were given two choices: submit or vanish.
It was an easy choice...
After all, the Chaos Immortals didn’t mindlessly kill any people. They just targeted the rulers and the Arcanists who were defending the city.
Because of that, most of them chose to submit. However, some relatives of those who were killed in the battle couldn’t just accept that result.
These people resisted as much as they could, but their remains served as public reminders that defiance had no place under Chaos Immortal rule.
Soon, resources were gathered quickly. Elemental Stones, Arcane Crystals, Alchemy Labs, Rune Forges... all were seized. The Chaos Immortals didn’t waste these.
They understood that the wealth of the land wasn’t in gold, but in the power it could produce. Their aim was obvious—to turn the Luminara Kingdom into a foothold for their return to true strength.
***
It was during the sweep of the captured cities that the Chaos Immortals first came across the Airships.
"Hoo~ This is really amazing, no matter how many times I see them..." Kent muttered while looking at the large vessel they had just confiscated.
"Indeed... If we had these things in the Shattered Expanse, it would’ve been a lot more convenient to move around." Thassa said as he admired the vessel.
The others agreed with this, and right now, they all wanted to try boarding it.
The first sighting caused a stir among them. A massive steel-and-crystal vessel was docked above Goldendawn’s harbor, its long hull filled with runic etchings and some air or maybe mana vents that pushed out a constant and controlled energy...
"We’ll take a break for now... Even if we’re not that tired, we’ve used too many Chaos Immortal Spells. This realm may not be too stable right now." Kent said as he certainly noticed that their constant use of Chaos Immortal Spells was causing an instability within the realm.
Although it was not a huge concern yet, he felt that they also needed a break...
Soon, Kent stood on the viewing platform of the city’s tower as the airship hovered above them... It was now slowly descending onto the docking station.
"Incredible..." one of the younger Chaos Immortals muttered.
"So... this is their idea of transport?" another asked, eyes fixed on the floating behemoth.
These Chaos Immortals had invaded those cities with no Airships, so this was their first time seeing it.
It was unlike anything they had seen in the Shattered Expanse. There, the skies were torn and unstable, filled with storms and rifts that devoured anything foolish enough to fly too high.
The closest they had were crude floating fortresses... It wasn’t even theirs and they were only visitors at that time... It was controlled by raw Chaos Energy and the stubborn will of their builders.
But this? This was elegant.
It could be perfectly controlled with a seamless blend of magic and machinery.
It was an amazing creation...
After getting permission, those curious Immortals boarded it immediately.
The first thing that they noticed was that these airships had arcane-conducting alloys and various runes on their walls to ensure that even if a battle occurred inside, it wouldn’t be destroyed so easily...
Of course, their main concern about this vessel was the method used to make this huge vessel fly in the air...
They were all surprised that the engine was a lot smaller than they had expected.
Eryn, who had seen countless magical contraptions during his years of experience, ran his fingers across the control console.
"This world’s magic technology... has advanced far beyond what I expected. These people may lack in raw power... but their craftsmanship is leagues ahead of the Shattered Expanse."
Thassa, on the other hand, was already questioning the engineers they had captured.
"How fast can it fly?"
"How much weight can it carry?"
"How long can it stay airborne before needing resupply?"
The engineers, terrified but obedient, answered quickly. The airship could cross the entire kingdom in less than a day. It could remain in the air for weeks at a time without landing. Its cannons could launch concentrated mana projectiles that rivaled siege spells.
That last detail made the Immortals pause.
"You mean to tell me..." Arin raised an eyebrow, "...that even without a single Arcanist crew, this ship can destroy a fortress?"
"Y-yes... the mana cannons are powered by their own internal core arrays... Even ordinary people can control them." the engineer stammered.
A slow smile crept across Kent’s face.
"This world... may be weak in personal strength, but their inventions are dangerous in the right hands."
Within the next two days, the Chaos Immortals had claimed and mastered five airships.
Some were sleek warships, others were bulky cargo haulers, but all were incredible vessels compared to anything they had in the Shattered Expanse.
They experimented immediately.
The warships’ cannons vaporized a mountain after a series of bombardment...
The cargo vessels could transport thousands of soldiers—or in their case, Chaos Beasts—across vast distances without fatigue.
Chaos Beasts were Summoned Creatures of the Chaos Immortals, and up until now, they didn’t have any use for them.
However, with the upcoming battle against the Vampire Queen, they believed that the Chaos Beasts were necessary...
"With these, we can control the skies," Eryn said while standing at the helm of one of the ships as it sailed through the clouds.
"This is so cool... We can just surround the last city from above," Thassa added.
"The defenders, even if they were vampires, will be crushed before they can even open their gates."