Chapter 1029: Time Manipulator’s Surprise
The design of the Airship fascinated them.
After all, as long as there weren’t any issues with the engine, it could be operated by just a single person, the pilot.
In the Shattered Expanse, anything of this scale required constant supervision and raw magical control from multiple Immortals just to stay in the air.
Here, a single Arcanist could pilot it with minimal effort. The runic automation, the crystal-based navigation arrays, even the defensive formation circles were beyond anything they had seen.
It was such a sophisticated product.
"It’s ironic," Kent mused during a meeting aboard one of the captured ships.
"The people of this world built these to avoid war. A peaceful kingdom... and yet, their peace birthed tools that will help us wage war more efficiently than ever."
None of them argued. The advantage was clear.
***
By the end of the fourth day, the cities were fully under Chaos Immortal control.
Supply lines were established. The Airships were moved into position...
Right now, five vessels, armed and ready, would soon encircle the last city, the one where Lisa and her Vampire Knights waited.
The defenders wouldn’t just face the overwhelming might of Chaos Immortals...
They would face the technological marvels of their own world, turned against them.
And this time, there would be no escape.
Still, none of them knew about Lisa’s preparations.
This city was not like the others. Within Lisa’s tower, forces were already mobilizing.
The Time Manipulators were already preparing contingencies.
Soon, Lisa stood at the highest balcony while her hand rested on the hilt of her blade. Behind her, three figures, Liora, Cyper, and Elysia, were all preparing a ritual to give the Chaos Immortals a surprise that they would never forget...
"They’re coming," Cyper muttered.
Liora nodded. "Let them come."
Lisa glanced at the distant black sky, then at the portrait of Vale, etched and framed beside the door leading to her quarters.
"We just have to tell them that we’re not pushovers..." she whispered. "He will return soon."
***
The first to appear were the shadows in the clouds.
Then, five massive shapes drifted into view...
Without a doubt, they were the Airships previously controlled by the kingdom...
However, the airships now moved in perfect formation and under the control of the invaders.
Soon, they started spreading across the horizon until the entire city was under their presence.
The hum of their engines was low at first... then it became a deep rumble that resonated through the streets as they got closer...
Then, people looked up as some froze in fear, while others ran for shelter.
For now, however, Lisa didn’t move.
Her eyes were fixed on them as if she were memorizing the order in which they would fall.
Without warning, beams of concentrated light tore through the sky.
The airships started their bombardment!
The first barrage hit the upper floors of her Immortal Tower.
It was blocked by the Immortal Tower’s barrier, but it seemed that the Immortals infused Chaos Energy into each cannonball as explosions erupted one after another...
Even with the barrier, the impact caused the tower to shake.
Furthermore, the shockwaves had also rippled across the city, shaking buildings and knocking people off their feet.
However, it didn’t end there...
Without any warning, a second wave followed instantly. The Chaos Immortals weren’t testing her defenses—they were trying to destroy them outright!
More of the tower’s defensive formations activated...
Suddenly, a draconic force from a violet barrier and the tower’s defensive barrier overlapped to shield against the worst of the assault.
But even with the enchantments, cracks began to form.
Inside the tower’s highest chamber, the Time Manipulators stood at the center of a glowing ritual circle.
"Keep going... We have enough to buy you time." Lisa said as she waited for the ritual to be completed.
Liora, Elysia, and Cyper’s eyes glowed silver...
"Done!" Cyper reported.
The moment the last rune in the ritual lit up, the air around them burst with freezing energy.
"Then... Let’s give them a surprise!" Lisa commanded.
Soon, a wave of distortion pulsed outward, invisible to the untrained eye... but to the Chaos Immortals, it was like the world suddenly shuddered.
From the airships, the gunners felt their movements lag for half a heartbeat. Even the energy flow had completely changed...
As a matter of fact, the engines faltered for a fraction of a second as well!
In that space of disrupted time, Lisa moved.
She leapt from the balcony and spread out her Vampiric Aura.
This surprised the Chaos Immortals. Not just because of how Lisa fought back, but also because of her beauty!
One moment she was in the tower, the next she was standing atop the hull of the lead airship with her blade already cutting through the nearest mana cannon like it was paper.
Her involvement was something that could no longer be denied!
Many of them, who had never been with a woman for a very long time, couldn’t help but appreciate her beauty!
"Boss Kent! Allow me to subdue her!" Gyn suddenly volunteered as she saw Lisa’s charisma.
He may have other intentions, but he would never admit it...
Boom!
As Lisa moved, an explosion immediately followed. Shards of enchanted steel scattered into the wind!
"Haa! What a fierce woman! I like that!"
"Indeed... So that’s the Vampire Queen."
"Let’s not kill her, Boss! She might be a good bait as well. She might help us capture Immortal Vale." Gyn suggested.
"That’s not a bad idea..." Kent replied.
In the meantime, Chaos Immortals on deck turned in surprise as they took out their weapons... Lisa was indeed a lot faster than they thought!
But before they could strike and capture Lisa, the world around them bent.
It wasn’t just Lisa’s speed!
This time, it was the Time Manipulators’ doing.
To the Chaos Immortals, Lisa’s movements became a series of afterimages...
On the ground below, the people on the streets roared as the city’s own Arcanists fired up their prepared defenses.
Just like that, even the Elemental Arts practitioners unleashed storms of lightning and waves of fire into the sky.
They want to destroy all the airships!