Above The Sky
Chapter 1003 - 1003 103 Is Terra Going to Perish

1003: Chapter 103: Is Terra Going to Perish?

(7400, quite a long chapter, huh!) 1003: Chapter 103: Is Terra Going to Perish?

(7400, quite a long chapter, huh!) The elf pirate Andor from Canaan Moore felt like he was simultaneously possessed by the gods of fortune and despair.

A year ago, he was hired by a high-profile client from The Empire to attack a specific target.

This was a common task for any pirate; after all, how much money could one really make from raiding merchant ships?

It was nothing but a way to build a name.

The real patrons were those big shots operating in the shadows who needed “black gloves.”

What’s more, this particular client was exceptionally meticulous.

He even arranged for a full set of armor as insurance—compared to those clueless clients who couldn’t even provide full intelligence on the targets, this one was practically considerate to the point of perfection.

Andor considered this a stroke of luck.

Clients this thoughtful were a rare breed.

But who would’ve thought that they still managed to crash and burn—both their opponent’s combat prowess and their sheer luck were extraordinary.

Especially that White Folk boy…

a prodigy seen maybe once in a century, or even a millennium!

It was the first time Andor had seen someone pilot armor for the first time and effortlessly use it to defeat a Second-Level Magical Beast.

From start to finish, the movements were seamless, as if the whole thing had been rehearsed.

The entire battle lasted less than ten minutes.

Even considering the fact that the beast was fighting in the ocean—a setting unsuitable for fully displaying its skills—such a record was nothing short of ace-tier.

Facing such a genius, Andor accepted his loss wholeheartedly.

He had even resigned himself, stretched his legs out, and prepared to meet his end.

After all, he was a pirate—what pirate doesn’t have their fall from grace?

In the Yongji Ocean, only the luckiest pirates manage to survive a little longer; skill was never the deciding factor.

Take the former Pirate King, “Black Tempest,” for example—didn’t he disappear after running into a passing Fourth-Level Sea Dragon?

If even a Third-Level powerhouse could end up like that, it’s clear that luck is far more vital than strength.

At that moment, despair consumed him.

Yet against all odds, Andor was spared after saving the White Folk boy’s Ironclad Shark companion.

He was even lucky enough to witness their final battle against the Worm Nest and, as one of the eventual victors, managed to cling to life!

That was undeniably fortunate.

But what followed marked the beginning of a new string of misfortunes.

After being taken by Master Gossay from the port to the Imperial Capital, Andor was confined to a prison for special offenders.

During his time in prison, he endured numerous rounds of interrogation—by The Empire’s officials, the Ellen Family, unknown entities (whom Andor suspected belonged to another great noble family), and even Master Gossay himself.

Yet Andor never once fully divulged the truth.

He gritted his teeth and stuck steadfastly to the claim that “he endured hardship with Ian Yisen Jigarde and others, ultimately escaping from the Great Labyrinth.”

As for Patrick?

Him?

Who?

Never heard of him.

I’ve no clue who my employer was!

Other questions?

Are you kidding me?

We Canaan Moore pirates can’t possibly know any Imperial Nobility—we can’t even recite the names of our own Elven Councillors!

His attitude, it seemed, left everyone quite satisfied.

Evidently, no one actually wanted the truth.

To this, Andor privately sneered—what a joke.

Did they really think he was stupid?

If he told the truth, even if The Empire didn’t execute him, the Ellen Family definitely wouldn’t let him live!

And as Andor predicted, when Master Gossay visited the prison and found that he was still alive, he said dryly, “Not bad, not dumb.” Then he had him released from prison.

Shortly after, Andor was sent to his current location.

He was assigned to Empire Misty Veil Port, to the Maze Breeding Center, as a D-class staffer tasked with caring for the “Deep Sea Crystal Dragon Egg” that Master Gossay’s team had brought out from the Labyrinth.

What is a D-class staffer?

In simple terms, they’re expendables.

The Maze Breeding Center was one of the most successful implementations of The Empire’s “Maze Transformation Project” initiated decades ago.

Originally, this oceanic labyrinth was home to a large number of marine Magical Beasts.

After being conquered and developed by The Empire, it became the nation’s largest Magical Beast breeding ground due to its natural Spirit Energy Field and innate ability to accumulate Origin Quality.

In this center, Magical Beasts ranged from First Energy Level to Fourth Energy Level.

Each type of beast required unique breeding and control methods, and each brought different forms of profit to The Empire.

Their conception, birth, growth, and eventual harvesting were all tightly regulated by The Empire, forming a vast ecological cycle.

But precisely because they were Magical Beasts, not every control method was effective every time.

The beasts could evolve, adapt, or mutate in other ways, rendering existing methods obsolete—this inevitably led to severe casualties.

As such, the lowest-level workers were typically death-row inmates, those stripped of their rights, or others who had been deprived of their names and identity.

Their job was to assist professional staff in breeding Magical Beasts—or become food for them.

No one considered these people human; at most, they were viewed as useful tools.

Andor became one of them.

This was, unequivocally, the most despairing scenario… If life as a pirate in the Yongji Ocean was a gamble for survival every day, then life here was merely a countdown to death.

The only glimmer of hope lay in achieving some kind of merit within the breeding center.

If Andor could earn recognition in the Maze Breeding Center, he would be granted his freedom—a promise made to him by Master Gossay.

At the same time, it was also The Empire’s final gesture of mercy and a means of control for all D-class workers.

Andor still remembered how, when he first arrived at the breeding center, he held onto the hopeful thought, “Maybe these dragon eggs are about to hatch any moment now?”

But who could have imagined, day after day, month after month passing by, the dragon eggs remained utterly motionless.