Free Web NovelChapter 225: Blinding Light
With a huge jolt, the Sunchaser shot out, the Wind Burst Array accelerating it from a near standstill to almost 80% of its normal maximum velocity in just 3 seconds. The force was so great that despite bracing themselves, many people were still sent tumbling.
Lucas and Eris, as the two lightest aboard, were also almost sent flying. Thankfully, Christina managed to grab both of them while desperately wrapping her legs around a nearby pillar, ensuring they weren’t hurled overboard.
As the Sunchaser surged forward, and everyone aboard was struggling just to hold on, the glowing ball of Spirit Qi shot past them, missing the stern of the ship by less than 20 metres.
While it might seem like the turtle had missed its mark by a wide margin, if the Wind Burst Array hadn’t been used just now, the Sunchaser would have suffered a direct hit.
Even though the Sunchaser wasn’t struck, it still swerved noticeably, affected by the wind pressure the Spirit Qi attack had produced.
Having narrowly escaped death, many aboard the ship cheered as they held on for dear life.
One of the few people who wasn’t celebrating, however, was Lucas, who knew very well that they weren’t safe yet.
Even though the Sunchaser had now reached its maximum velocity, around 150 kph by Lucas’ estimate, the turtle’s long-range attack had crossed just over 4 kilometres in roughly 12 seconds, meaning it easily exceeding 1,000 kph and had only barely missed them.
Clearly, the beast possessed both incredible strength and aim.
Ignoring his own aching head and body, Lucas shouted out as loudly as possible, "Stay low and head to the river!"
Captain Gage, who thanks to her Peak Sea Establishment Realm strength had managed to remain on her feet through the rapid acceleration, offered no objections as she had the same idea herself.
As one of its primary pilots, Lana Gage knew the Sunchaser’s strengths and weaknesses by heart. She also understood the best way to evade anti-air attacks coming from the ground.
Pushing the Propulsion Array to its limits, Captain Gage kept the Sunchaser at a mere 50 metres above the ground while randomly swerving it left and right, hoping to evade incoming long-range attacks.
It was a good strategy in theory, and against a more evenly matched opponent it would probably have had a high chance of success, but a Seventh Order Beast was no ordinary foe.
Although the ship was swaying violently, and the wind was rushing past the deck at great speed, Lucas, with Christina’s help, managed to prop himself up against the gunwale to observe how the giant turtle was reacting.
As soon as he lifted his head above the railing, however, Lucas saw 5 glowing balls of Spirit Qi rapidly closing in on the ship.
Each one of these attacks was significantly smaller than the previous one, but Lucas could tell they still had incredible power behind them, around as much as a Low-Rank Spirit Adept’s all-out attack.
What’s more, these smaller bolts of Spirit Qi flew almost twice as fast as their larger counterpart, reaching supersonic speeds.
"Incoming low! Climb!" Lucas hastily shouted.
It was taking all of Captain Gage’s focus to ensure the Sunchaser didn’t crash into the trees ahead of them, leaving her no time to monitor the turtle’s attacks. Instead, she was counting on others for that, and Lucas didn’t disappoint her. freewebnovёl.ƈom
Cranking up the Levitation Array’s power, Lana forced the ship up sharply; unfortunately, while the Sunchaser was fairly fast, it wasn’t the most agile of crafts.
4 of the 5 bolts passed safely under the ship, but the last shot grazed the hull and exploded, causing the rear of the Sunchaser to jerk upward and spin out.
Captain Gage frantically tried to regain control, but to her horror, she found the starboard section of the Propulsion Array wasn’t responding properly. It had undoubtedly been damaged by the enemy’s attack, causing its output to drop more than 50%.
If she wanted to stop the Sunchaser from going into a full tailspin, she had to cut the port side Propulsion Array’s output to match, but doing so would drastically decrease their speed.
The beast had managed to hit them while they were flying erratically at nearly full velocity, so it was obvious what would happen if they now slowed down and flew in a straight line.
The alternative was to simply crash then and there, though, so Captain Gage decisively reduced the flow of World Qi to the port side Propulsion Array and began wrestling with the steering wheel to right the ship.
The only sliver of good news was that the Levitation Array seemed undamaged, so there was no risk of the ship falling out of the sky just yet.
Before Lana could even pray that the enemy would not fire its Spirit Qi blast attack again, Lucas shouted, "Hard starboard!"
Trusting in Lucas’ judgement, Captain Gage throttled up the port Propulsion Array again, sending the Sunchaser into a kind of awkward drift, narrowly dodging all of the Spirit Qi bolts, a feat more the result of luck than skill.
The moment the volley of enemy fire passed them, Lana turned the ship back to port and steered towards the Belton, planning to drop down further and skim across the surface of the river to evade the sight of the Seventh Order Beast.
Regrettably, the Sunchaser had lost too much speed already, making it an easy target.
.....
Lucas, Eris, and Christina were all tightly holding onto the starboard railings of the Sunchaser, their gazes fixed on the giant turtle which, while gradually getting smaller, was still far too close for comfort.
There was hope, however.
If they could just make it to the river, they had a chance to escape.
Despite remaining fearful, after surviving a few rounds of attacks, many aboard the Skyship began to believe they would survive this calamity, but fate seemed to have other plans.
Everyone believed the Seventh Order Beast only had 2 types of long-range attacks, a single powerful shot, or a spread of multiple weaker shots.
Both of these attacks were fast, but not so fast that they couldn’t be dodged if tracked properly. However, it soon became apparent that the turtle hadn’t shown all its cards yet.
Just as the Sunchaser was about to reach the treeline and cross into the small forest which separated Redwood Town’s fields from the Belton, the giant turtle again began condensing its Spirit Qi.
Seeing this, Lucas fixed his gaze on the enemy, preparing to call out the trajectory of the shot, but after a couple seconds, he realized something was different this time.
Instead of leaving its maw wide open and then expelling the mass of Spirit Qi all at once, the turtle was narrowing its mouth and further condensing its power.
Lucas’ pupils shrank as a bad premonition came over him. He wanted to call out to Captain Gage to evade again, but before he could, the enemy struck. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
This time, the turtle didn’t launch an orb of Spirit Qi, but instead fired a narrow beam that flew significantly faster than any of its previous attacks. Even with nearly 5 kilometres now separating them, Lucas estimated this beam would arrive in just 2 seconds, leaving no chance to evade even if the Sunchaser hadn’t been partially crippled.
What’s more, this beam carried the same power as an attack from his Master, a Complete High-Rank Adept.
No matter how sturdy the Sunchaser might be, Lucas was certain this beam would pierce straight through the hull and out the other side, instantly killing anyone it hit along the way.
Those who died directly from the beam would likely be the lucky ones, though, as the rest of them would have much more painful deaths.
Exploding along with the ship, falling from the sky and smashing into the ground, being hunted down by the Seventh Order Beast and eaten alive, all of them promised to be agonizing ends.
As soon as the beam was fired, it began to spread out, but it didn’t disperse much, nor did it slow down in the slightest.
Instinctually, Lucas turned away from the ominous blue light and grabbed hold of his big sisters, as if trying to shield them from the blast. This wasn’t a conscious act, nor did it seem to have much meaning, but Lucas didn’t bother trying to resist this impulse right now.
If this his final moment, he wanted to spend it protecting those he cared about.
Eris was the big sister Lucas always looked up to and loved since he was young. She was brave, free-spirited, and had always believed in him, no matter the circumstances. Watching her never back down in the face of adversity inspired Lucas and gave him courage.
On the other hand, Lucas had only just met Christina, and they hadn’t gotten off to the best of starts, but that didn’t diminish his admiration for her. She was a genius and a princess, so there was no need for her to put in any kind of real effort. She could just coast through life on her natural talent, but instead she worked hard and never missed a chance to improve herself.
These past few days, Christina had also shown through both her words and deeds that she wasn’t just a spoiled brat; she was kind, caring, and deeply responsible, virtues Lucas truly appreciated.
Thoughts of all the other people he cared for in his life flashed before Lucas’ eyes.
His parents, his aunts and uncles, his friends, partners, and co-workers, his Master...
All sorts of emotions swirled inside the young boy’s heart, but what he felt most was unwillingness!
There were still so many things Lucas wanted to do, so many places he wanted to explore, so many people he wanted to reunite with and protect, yet the world seemed determined to crush all those hopes and dreams.
Lucas knew that praying for a miracle was as pointless as cursing his fate right now, but he still did both, swearing that if he was given just once more chance, he would fight back against the unreasonableness of the Heavens and rise up to seize control of his own destiny!
Gritting his teeth, Lucas was about to close his eyes and resolve himself to his fate, when suddenly, something strange caught his attention; Yuki, who was nestled in Eris’ embrace, was glowing.
This glow seemed inconsequential at first, especially compared to the approaching beam of Spirit Qi, but there was something about Yuki’s light that Lucas couldn’t tear his gaze from.
Perhaps it was because he was facing imminent death, but in his final moments, this last point of curiosity somehow piqued the young boy’s interest and he unconsciously reached out to touch the young fox kit.
Before Lucas’ fingers made contact, however, the glow from Yuki’s body suddenly intensified 1,000 fold, becoming more dazzling than the mid-day sun, blinding everyone aboard the Sunchaser.
