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Chapter 707: Departure
Chapter 707: Departure
"We need to find Laputa before the military does", Liam suggested after Hilda revealed her identity. "That beam of light we saw earlier likely indicated the location of the Sky City. Considering those people in black glasses could track down Hilda, who is now just a shepherdess, it means they know a lot. They might even have a way to control the Sky City."
"You're right. Let's set out now", Baru said, waving his hand, but he soon froze. "But, how do we get there? Hilda remembers where the beam of light pointed, but we don't have a flying ship. And we need to find it before the military does."
"We can solve that problem", Hermione said, leading everyone out of the tents and opening a portal. From the portal, she summoned the small spacecraft they had obtained from the Black Cloak World.
In this world, summoning the Brotherhood of Steel's airship would have been more fitting, but given the urgency, practicality was more important.
"This airship is so strange; I've never seen anything like it before", Baru said, puzzled, as he saw the bus-sized spacecraft appear. "It looks much smaller than the flying ships I've seen in the past."
"Don't worry, no one's ship on this planet can catch up to us. Now, everyone, get on board quickly. We need to leave before the plane that was scouting over the gorge comes back", Liam said, using his wand to quickly pack up the tents. He then entered the spacecraft with the others.
Once inside, the spacecraft's door closed automatically. The soft lights on the ceiling came on, and Baru and Hilda gaped in amazement. The interior of the spacecraft was much larger than it appeared from the outside.
"Is this Magic?" Baru rushed to a display screen and saw that it faithfully showed the outside conditions, just like a huge porthole.
"Of course, it's a combination of technology and Magic", Liam explained proudly. "After we bought this spacecraft, we cast a lot of spells on it, making it much more powerful overall." He then raised his head slightly and shouted, "Now, activate the Stealth Engine and head east."
With a slight vibration, the spacecraft lifted off the grassy hill. A blue light ring emerged from the bow and moved to the stern, sweeping over the entire spacecraft. As the light ring moved, the spacecraft slowly disappeared from sight.
"This spacecraft can fly at 15 Mach in the atmosphere, which is 15 times the speed of sound", Liam explained to Baru and the others. "So we should be able to reach Laputa before the military does."
"You're right", Baru nodded vigorously. "I've heard that the military's fastest warships can only travel 60 kilometers per hour, while our speed is over 300 times faster. If we have the right direction, we should arrive at Laputa in just a few minutes."
"Let's see what the military's plans are", Liam said, giving a command to the spacecraft's AI. "Monitor all military radio communications and list the movements and flight plans of their warships."
Within just a few seconds, a projection appeared in front of them, displaying a large amount of data. The AI then spoke in a mechanical voice, "We have detected 17 radio communications related to warship movements. After filtering out routine patrols and movements, only one is relevant to us."
"That's incredible", Baru said, amazed. "I've heard the military's radios use the latest encryption, but you cracked their codes almost instantly."
"Of course, their technology is far behind ours. Their encryption is useless against us", Liam explained. His statement wasn't an exaggeration; sometimes a technological gap can result in overwhelming superiority. For example, with the help of a quantum computer, the military's encrypted messages, which were encoded using early cipher machines, are no different from plain text.
After explaining everything, Liam asked the spaceship, “Alright, now tell us the information about the shuttle related to us and the ship’s entire flight plan.”
“Ship location: Departing from Base B7 to Grand Canyon Base,” the ship’s artificial intelligence continued in its flat tone. “According to the order, this military’s fastest combat shuttle will depart for Laputa tomorrow morning. The estimated flight time is 24 hours.”
“It looks like we can arrive at Sky City two days ahead of schedule,” Liam turned to the others and said after listening to the AI’s response. “With two days to spare, we should have enough time to hide Sky City from the military’s ambitious group.”
Knowing the military’s plans, Ryan and the others didn’t push for the highest speed and instead controlled the travel time to about half an hour. This way, they could enjoy a simple lunch on the ship.
The main dishes for the simple midday meal were steak, salad, and a juice made from some fruits. Despite the simplicity, the Handymen’s cooking skills ensured everyone was satisfied. After spending about ten minutes finishing their lunch, they left the messy table for the robots to clean and moved to the adjacent small room to chat over tea.
“With such advanced technology and powerful Magic, why have we never heard of your existence?” Hilda mustered the courage to ask after a few minutes of conversation. “People with such power wouldn’t submit to military rule, yet I’ve never heard of any conflict between you and them.”
“That’s because—” Liam and Hermione exchanged a glance and communicated through the Phoenix Mark. They hadn’t expected Hilda to spot the inconsistency in their story so quickly.
But it was understandable. After all, while Magic could empower certain individuals, a spaceship like this represented a complete industrial system, not something a single person could create on their own.
They quickly agreed on how to answer Hilda’s question. Hermione cleared her throat and looked at Hilda, “We come from other worlds beyond this one, so it’s natural that you’ve never heard of us.”
“What?” Hilda and Baru jumped up from their seats in surprise, but Liam gestured for them to calm down. “Don’t worry, we’re just here to travel and seek knowledge that doesn’t exist in our worlds. We have no intention of conquest or war.”
“Are you telling the truth?” Baru asked skeptically, but he quickly realized that Ryan and the others hadn’t done anything evil and stammered, “I mean, we’ve seen many people with enough power who still have greedy desires for Laputa—”
“You’re worried that we might use Sky City for evil purposes once we find Laputa,” Liam said straightforwardly. “I understand why you’d think that, but I need to assure you that we won’t use this city for any evil ends. After all, the ancient weapons on Laputa are not as powerful as what we already possess.”
“Similarly, we rule several countries in other worlds, but we didn’t conquer them. We were chosen as leaders by the local people after eliminating oppressors and evil forces,” Hermione added earnestly. “Power comes with responsibility, and ruling a country is a heavy burden for us. We prefer to pursue endless knowledge rather than rule.”
(End of Chapter)
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