Above The Sky
Chapter 230 - 230 218 Bet you didn't expect this I brought backup too!

230: Chapter 218: Bet you didn’t expect this, I brought backup too!

(3/4) 230: Chapter 218: Bet you didn’t expect this, I brought backup too!

(3/4) Now is not the time to be shocked.

After muttering to himself in astonishment for a moment, Viscount Grant shook his head and refocused his mind.

After all, with the absence of the Great Shaman and the Crocodragon, there were still two Gargantuan Eels and the lurking Patrick…

His good friend had been merely repelled by him, but as the Boleyn Workshop’s southern steward, he could take various potions and return to his peak at any time.

The battles to come were the real challenge.

With that thought, the viscount lifted his head and looked toward the distant thunderclouds, his expression one of worry, “And that Crystal Dragon…”

“If that monster reaches the Second Energy Level, it would not be easy to eradicate…”

If the information provided by Ian was true, and the Ellen Family had come here to capture the Deep Sea Crystal Dragon, then once the dragon reached the Second Energy Level, the mission could basically be declared a failure—capturing a Second Energy Level dragon kind of Magical Beast would at least require a Third Energy Level powerhouse.

The problem was that a Third Energy Level ‘Heart Light Stage’ powerhouse, in a place that was not a major power like the Setar Empire, could become the ruler of a small country!

Not to mention, if a place like South Ridge had a Third Energy Level Ritual Master or Great Magical Beast, a few legions couldn’t hope to exterminate it, and it would usually end with offering peace.

For example, the King of the Mist Sea Descendants in Mist Port, after being pacified, had his territory divided into an autonomous region, with hereditary governorship, starting at the rank of Marquis.

“Such eminent figures, should they really come here…

Let’s forget about merit; there wouldn’t even be a role for me.”

Shaking his head, the viscount decided to put these thoughts aside for the moment, as the future would be dealt with in the future.

However, just as he was about to stimulate his power and manipulate the mist to replace the now utterly exhausted Master Gossay in lifting everyone into mid-air,

suddenly, a series of bright, dazzling electric arcs lit up in the distance.

Accompanied by a voltage so strong that everyone present felt their hair stand on end and their entire bodies crackle with electricity!

In mid-air, Ian’s eyes widened as he exhaled, “Thunderhunter Jellyfish!”

“And there are so many of them!?”

At this moment, on the sea in the northeast direction from everyone’s perspective, dots of light appeared, hanging between the now gloomy sky and the sea surface, seeming like a living starry sky—over a thousand Thunderhunter Jellyfish formed a magnificent tapestry of stars, sparkling in the dark world.

Spiraling then receding electric arcs connected this group of Thunderhunter Jellyfish, turning the originally scattered cluster into an even larger whole, this thunderous ‘starry sky’ drifted with crackling explosions towards the center of the Thunder Sea.

Not just that—

Apart from their astonishment, Viscount Grant also noticed that the ‘Key’ placed on his chest over his heart became suddenly hot at this moment.

Humming, humming…

As thunder flashed and the wind howled, Viscount Grant in the cockpit reached out to take out the light blue ‘Key’.

It was glowing.

The ‘Key’ was a light blue metal card with a matte texture, sturdy and cool to the touch.

This card came from a great storm fourteen years ago, a surviving member of the Guard Squad claimed to have found it in an ancient, evil sacrificial altar within a sea cave nest of the Natives.

He said that the underwater cave was so vast that it was incredible, ancient as if it had never been visited by humans…

But deep within the cavern, there were luxurious altars and murals beyond the Natives’ imagination of the Southern Sea, depicting blasphemous and terrifying rituals, bloody ceremonies of casting people into fiery lava pits.

And at the end of all the murals, in the center of all the altars, a human statue wearing strange garments held this mysterious card that faintly emitted light.

At that time, the card was emitting a faint light like the dim moon in the night sky…

but it was nothing compared to now.

If the light back then was like a dim moon in the night, the light now was like the dazzling sun in the day.

Meanwhile.

At the bottom of the sea.

Suddenly, three streams of light burst out from the corpse of the Crocodragon.

Gold, green, and white light, trailing long paths, flew towards the surface of the sea.

Everyone saw this spectacle.

As Viscount Grant opened the cockpit of the Aether Armament with euphoria, gripping the ‘Key of Water’ in his hand to meet the three ‘Keys’ that seemed to come to him, visible fluorescent light began to swirl around him.

“Is this…

all the Keys?!”

At this moment, the viscount truly did not know whether to be shocked or overjoyed.

He only felt a realization: “So that’s how it is.

These keys knew of the anomaly from the beginning…

Yes, the anomaly must have occurred due to the changes in the ancient relics!”

“These keys can sense the shifts in the relics from the previous era and change accordingly!”

He did not have the keys during the great storm fourteen years ago, and six years ago, during another great storm, he was attacking the Natives—no wonder the Natives could foresee the arrival of the great storm.

It was all the revelation of the keys!

Now, he did not care if the keys were seen by the people present—no need to mention Ian; it was impossible to hide it from one’s own people, and Master Gossay and Yisen Gard were too far away to see.

The Ellen Family was a noble family from another part of The Empire, so they could potentially be collaborators.

What?

The Ellen Family were Marginal Marquis of The Empire’s northern frontier, confidants of the Emperor, and the current Marchioness was even the Emperor’s younger daughter?

Did they have enough strength to bypass him and explore the ancient ruins on their own?

The family also had a lofty reputation in alchemical biology and magical beast biology, producing several well-known experts in the field?

Yes!

They are indeed formidable!

But no matter how formidable they are, they shouldn’t be extending their reach to the Southern Border to show off their power.

If they truly could, then the one who should be worried would not be Ian or even Viscount Grant, but His Majesty Emperor Aksel.

And just as the viscount was overjoyed at having collected the Four Keys.

Suddenly, thunder boomed— and a twisted cyan-white lightning bolt burst from the rainclouds, heading straight for the brown-haired noble, who was off guard, away from his Aether Armament, and seemingly lost in ecstasy!

Patrick had indeed been lurking nearby the whole time, and now he seized the moment to launch his ambush!

However, something completely unexpected happened.

The Aether Armament, which should have ceased to function because Viscount Grant left the cockpit, suddenly raised its hand.

A thin veil of misty light formed a wall, dissolving and absorbing all the incoming electrical charges and lightning, turning it into large swathes of charged steam.

“As expected.”

Viscount Grant, along with the Aether Armament, turned his head to look in the direction of the incoming lightning.

The man sighed, “You’re here—Patrick.”

With that, he left the Aether Armament, hovering in midair.

The iron giant, which theoretically should have completely ceased operation due to the loss of its pilot, was still operating, floating in midair.

The viscount raised his hand and pointed to that patch of clouds, causing the overcast sky and mist to retreat, dissipating under the power of the whale that controls the mist and the tides—there appeared Patrick, covered in pitch-black flesh and blood armor, in the center of the original shroud of clouds.

Nobody could see his expression, but everyone knew that he must be in a foul mood right now.

“…So what if you’ve found me.”

The dull voice came through, and Patrick said in a deep voice, “Ultimately, you are just one person, and I have two magical beasts to assist me.”

“Is that so.”

The viscount did not deny this, but smiled and said while ice-blue crystals emerged on the surface of his body.

The torrential rain began to revolve around him, even barely forming a massive water spout: “But haven’t you noticed yet?

Or is it that you refuse to acknowledge it?”

“I am not alone.”

As Viscount Grant spoke, the Aether Armament beside him drew out its Crystal Sword from its waist—its movement was so smooth, it was as if it had been piloted countless times before.

“From just now, the pilot has been me.”

At this very moment, an aged voice came from within the Aether Armament, one Ian was all too familiar with: “Don’t underestimate a maintenance man.

I’ve been fixing this thing for decades; I have some idea of how to operate it.”

That was Elder Prude’s voice!