Chapter 765: The Sky's Desolation
Chapter 765: The Sky's Desolation
In the dark wilderness, Chen Chuan rode his horse at full speed, a strand of radiant aura streaming from the satchel containing the relic, trailing behind him. It formed a scattered stream of light, connecting all the way to the sky above, where it painted a majestic display of colors.
This sight could be considered a wonder, but at this moment, it served as the best guide for his current location. Along his journey, he had faced constant harassment and attacks, but due to his rapid movement, he only suffered sporadic assaults, even experiencing a period of unhindered travel.
This was to be expected on the vast, boundless plains. The forces of the Former Imperial Court were limited, making it impossible to cover every area. They could only set up strongholds at key locations.
This was also because the path Chen Chuan was taking was the main route connecting to the rear, and the Former Imperial Court's forces were generally positioned along it. So, as he traveled, he would inevitably encounter them.
After running without any disturbances for an hour, the sound of propellers suddenly filled the air ahead. Two airships appeared on either side, and the rotating machine guns on top began to spin. They fired incendiary rounds towards the ground, attempting to block Chen Chuan's path.
The incendiary rounds exploded in the night, setting the ground ablaze. Sparks flew outwards, igniting the surrounding grass and trees, creating a continuous wall of fire ahead.
Chen Chuan took a glance, and his heart energy dispersed, while he urged his horse forward. He navigated through the flames, narrowly avoiding the burning obstacles. With his exceptional psychic power, he deftly sidestepped every flying spark.
Surprisingly, the horse beneath him became extremely excited in this situation, letting out a loud whinny, its mane flicking sweat away, and its hooves pounding the ground with increasing urgency.
However, at that moment, whether due to abandonment or some other reason, the two pursuing airships suddenly stopped their machine guns and ascended, turning away and flying off into the distance.
This was because the crew had just received a report from reconnaissance. They learned that a large number of airships and troops were gathering at the Daxun encampment, indicating a potential large-scale offensive after dawn.
Especially with insider information, it was confirmed that a portion of the forces guarding Central City had entered the Convergence Zone. Therefore, all airships scattered in the wilderness had to be recalled to ensure they wouldn't be at a disadvantage in the upcoming confrontation.
Chen Chuan glanced upwards, his mind turning, and he roughly guessed the situation. As he rushed towards the base, the Defense Department would have received the news as well, and they must have already taken action, putting pressure on the Former Imperial Court's forces at the front.
This aligned with his purpose. As he broke through and charged towards the base, the chances of intercepting and seizing the relic were diminishing.
The Former Imperial Court's Conquering General, tasked with retrieving the relic, was most likely already on his way to Chen Chuan's location.
As he pondered, the terrain ahead sloped downward. Across the high ground, the clatter of catapults echoed, and dozens of fireballs were launched towards him.
The burning clay balls exploded on impact, scattering napalm across the ground, igniting the surrounding area and rapidly spreading outwards.
Chen Chuan had smelled the fuel earlier, so he didn't charge straight ahead. Instead, he turned his horse, circumventing the fiery inferno and veering to the side.
However, he was aware that this was exactly what his opponents wanted him to do. There were undoubtedly more ambushes ahead, but he didn't follow their plan. Instead, he charged through the cleared paths, plunging into the unknown territory.
The Former Imperial Court's forces had indeed made targeted preparations in the front, but Chen Chuan's sudden change in route caught them off guard.
It was understandable that Chen Chuan had never deviated from the main route, despite facing numerous encounters and blockades.
This could be explained by the fact that the unknown territory was filled with dangerous creatures and harsh conditions. For ordinary people, traversing it was a death sentence, and they were more likely to get trapped themselves. Who would have thought that Chen Chuan would do this, rendering all their meticulous arrangements useless.
Fortunately, the radiant aura served as a guide, allowing them to track Chen Chuan's movements. And this wasn't entirely a bad thing; moving in the unknown territory would be slower than in the open, giving them time to gather their forces.
Chen Chuan did face some challenges at this time, but not due to the creatures. He could easily drive them away with his psychic power. The main issue was the rugged terrain, covered in various plants, which hindered his rapid progress compared to the open plains.
However, the dragon-nosed horse, a mount of the elite cavalry, proved its worth. Even in this environment, it could leap and gallop, maintaining a decent speed.
Chen Chuan had been prepared to dismount and proceed on foot, but the horse's performance impressed him. According to the information and maps provided by Chen Chuan, there was a small path through the unknown territory, but it required a certain level of psychic power to navigate. Hence, it was not only unknown to most but also inaccessible.
At this moment, he made use of these resources, following a path indicated by rivers and hills on the map for over an hour. He even rested for half an hour, taking the opportunity to feed some nutrient paste to his Dragon Nose Horse.
Then, he mounted his horse again and continued along the trail.
Behind him, only a dense flock of scout birds followed, and among them, Chao Ming quietly tailed.
Three hours later, Chen Chuan emerged from this unknown territory, and this time, he didn't linger in the wilderness for long. Instead, he galloped across, and in about twenty minutes, he burst into another unknown area.
Seeing that they couldn't effectively surround and intercept him, the various military units had no choice but to send this message to the rear, which eventually reached a large silver-white airship.
This was the personal airship of the Old Imperial Court's Conquering General, currently sailing towards the direction indicated by the radiant aura.
The Conquering General, Wei Guo Chan, sat in the main cabin of the airship, a white pendant lance leaning against the side of his armored face mask. His mysterious gaze was fixed on the majestic glow in the sky ahead.
At this moment, a military cadet approached, bowed, and reported, "General, we've received a telegram from the rear. The rebel army's Yao Zhiyi is catching up."
Wei Guo Chan didn't speak, merely waving his hand.
The cadet bowed and retreated.
The military officers on both sides had heard this news, but their expressions remained calm. Wei Guo Chan and Yao Zhiyi had clashed many times, and neither could gain the upper hand. Now that they had taken the lead, by the time Yao Zhiyi caught up, they would already have obtained the relic.
There was no way the opponent could take it from the General.
At this moment, the soldiers below saw the large airship passing overhead, first surprised, then filled with excitement and soaring morale.
As the telegram spread the news, all the Old Imperial Court's troops stationed along the way erupted in a wave of "Ten Thousand Victories" cheers.
Yao Zhiyi's personal airship also appeared in the sky, similar in model to the one ahead. Though visible from the air, they were still separated by a distance.
Yao Zhiyi stood on the airship's observation deck, looking down at the dense glow of the troops below and hearing the heaven-shaking shouts. He couldn't help but frown. Wei Guo Chan was the spiritual pillar of the entire Jingbei Dao's Old Imperial Court army, deeply revered by the troops.
In a 619 book, a bar, a look, a mistake, a version!
But this was good.
His fingers rubbed the handle of his great saber, knowing that if this spiritual pillar were to break, it would shatter the entire army's morale.
At this moment, some scout birds flew up from the troops below, seemingly trying to approach. However, as the machine guns on both sides of the airship fired, they were quickly shot down. The balloons were coated with something that caused the birds to drop as soon as they got close.
Two more airships appeared nearby, but neither dared to approach, keeping their distance as if escorting the first.
On the other side, Chen Chuan once again emerged from the dense forest of the unknown territory. Before him lay a familiar wilderness, with no forests for a long stretch ahead.
He had expected some sort of ambush here, but after a while, he encountered no attacks, as if they had given up on intercepting him.
However, he knew this was probably not a sign of their surrender, but rather an indication of something bigger to come.
A while later, suddenly, the bright and transparent sky illuminated the earth, and the originally thick and heavy atmosphere vanished.
Day broke.
He pulled the reins, and his Dragon Nose Horse lifted its front hooves, exhaling a puff of breath before stopping.
The figure of the man and his horse cast a shadow on the vast plain ahead, where the wind from the opposite direction ruffled the red scarf around his neck.
He looked up and saw, in the distance, a silver-white airship approaching, bearing the 'Thundercloud Dragon Pattern' representing the Old Imperial Court. The reflected light from the balloon seemed like a star in the sky, dazzlingly bright.
As he gazed at the airship, he suddenly felt an indescribable pressure enveloping him, as if his breath was momentarily hindered.
He knew this was a psychic warning.
At this moment, he was certain that the fighter from the Old Imperial Court was on that airship.
As he watched, at that moment, faintly, something seemed to pierce through the giant airship.
Then, a boom, and the balloon with the Thundercloud Dragon Pattern was pierced through, front to back, erupting in flames. After a while, the airship, almost a fireball, fell from the sky.
...
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(End of Chapter)
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