Above The Sky
Chapter 245 - 245 233 True Aether Furnace 23 thanks to the alliance leader of Odin's One-Eyed Consort!

245: Chapter 233: True Aether Furnace (2/3, thanks to the alliance leader of Odin’s One-Eyed Consort!) 245: Chapter 233: True Aether Furnace (2/3, thanks to the alliance leader of Odin’s One-Eyed Consort!) “A True Aether Furnace!?” The captain gasped sharply upon hearing this, “Apocalypse Armament?!”

Even Ian was slightly taken aback.

The True Aether Furnace and Apocalypse Armament…

he had long heard of their great reputations, but he had never seen them, nor did he know their specifications.

Although he had seen descriptions of them in many historical books and alchemical texts, such as how one single power suppressed an entire war, flattening half a mountain range with strategic-level output…

Ian always felt that these things were still far away from him for now, and he wouldn’t actually see them until at least after he had reached the Fifth Power Level.

“Could it be that, as this monk from the Spiritual Tool Church said, there are such treasures within the Southern Sea Relic Cluster?”

Ian couldn’t help but mutter to himself, his eyes gradually lighting up.

—Perhaps, there was a real possibility!

In Ian’s view, an ordinary Alchemy Furnace was comparable to a normal power station, and if used for thrust, its efficiency was equivalent to a rocket engine, enabling a several-ton steel contraption to fly wildly in the sky at supersonic speeds, or allowing ironclad behemoths to race across the ocean faster than Magical Beasts.

This was the main fuel of the entire Terra Continent—in a world with hardly any oil and coal, the Alchemy Furnace system powered by Elemental Crystals was virtually the only high-quality energy source!

And the Aether Furnace went even further.

Its output shocked Ian, who knew only the data.

If an Alchemy Furnace was a surging wave, gaining torrential energy by burning Elemental Crystals,

then an Ether Furnace Core was an endlessly layering Tidal force!

This cosmos spacecraft-level super high-output engine was, surprisingly, installed in individual soldiers’ warfare tools, enabling the exertion of nearly strategic-level power, allowing for hypersonic maneuverability at the Third Power Level.

If it weren’t for the robust physique and adaptability of Sublimators, ordinary pilots would likely die during acceleration.

But still.

If the Aether Furnace Core was a Tidal force, then the output of a True Aether Furnace was at least the ‘gravitational tidal force’ between stars.

If, as Ian himself speculated, the so-called Aether Furnace Core was merely a Terra Continent’s version of a high-output rocket or spacecraft engine,

then a True Aether Furnace would definitely be an ‘expedition-class’ higher-level warship engine requiring lengthy endurance and sustained high output, similar to Earth’s colonization rockets!

And as the ground-space logistics hub of the former era’s civilization, Redwood Base, with jurisdiction over the space elevator and orbital accelerators, stored such an expeditionary engine in its warehouses…

“Indeed, it’s not surprising!”

While Ian pondered, he heard from the surveillance on the Silver Chip, the captain, after his initial shock, make a resolute determination, “Alright…

So, you carry such important missions…

No wonder The King instructed me to cooperate with your actions when the time comes.”

Taking a deep breath, the captain looked towards his own squad not far away, his gaze sweeping over those determined young lads as he said solemnly, “Hmm, if that’s really the case, then I’ll cooperate with your exploration.”

“But, monk!”

At this moment, the determination in the Crimson People’s captain was unwavering, brooking no negotiation, “If anything goes wrong, if personnel from The Empire intervene, and if they proceed faster than us…

then even if all of us die here, I will completely destroy the target!”

“If we can’t have it, it must be destroyed—We will risk our lives, but we cannot allow the Setar Empire to have one more Apocalypse Armament!”

At this moment, the special attack squad captain’s expression was even more resolute and fanatical than before.

The Spiritual Tool Church indeed persuaded him, but they pushed this soldier’s will toward a peculiar direction.

“Alright then.”

The monk leader furrowed his brows slightly, sensing that the other’s attitude was not what he had hoped to encounter.

As one of the Four Great Orthodox Churches, the Spiritual Tool Church did not adhere strictly to cooperating with one nation—they considered working with the bloodline of Abassalom just as they would with the Sertar Empire.

They were merely in pursuit of the mysterious ‘Ascension’ from the previous era’s civilization.

But at that moment, their relationship with the special forces team from Fiery Flame Land was still that of allies; so, when the other party made concessions, she had to step back as well, “Therefore, for the greater benefit, we must accelerate our pace.”

The Iron Eye female monk bowed slightly, showing a gesture of concession, “It’s obviously a better choice to prevent the opposition from obtaining it—It’s for us to acquire, isn’t it?”

Indeed, that was proper reasoning.

Once the leaders had settled on an action plan and objectives, the whole squad from Fiery Flame Land picked up a great deal of speed.

To avoid being preempted by either Harrison Port or the Imperial People, they even adopted a more aggressive exploration strategy.

Upon encountering anything suspicious, they would swiftly open fire, continuing forward only after ensuring there was no danger.

And surprisingly, this blunt, rapid approach did help them avoid several venomous snakes and parasitized creatures hidden in puddles, crevices, and caves.

And Ian was following right behind them.

At that time, the young man’s brow was deeply furrowed.

“True Aether Furnace…

If there really is such a nearly one-of-a-kind object, it absolutely cannot fall into the hands of these people from Fiery Flame Land!”

Having made up his mind, Ian was full of vigilance, “These Terra People simply do not care about the non-reproducible legacy of Humanity—if there really is a complete True Aether Furnace, it would surely be able to lead the entire Terra civilization’s energy technology to rapidly develop and catch up with the previous era’s precious treasure!”

“That is the hope for Humanity’s future, leading us above the Sky!”

This dream wasn’t just the boy’s alone…

it was also the dream of his teacher and Yinaiga II.

The teacher wished to be buried in the Southern Sea until the very end, yearning to see his success in the future…

to see him change the world, leading all beings to successfully journey to the stars.

“Senseless strife, with the advanced technology of the Tara Confederation, it is clear that if all nations cooperated and universal education was spread, it wouldn’t take many decades before the world would no longer have any resource crises, and everyone could live and work in peace and contentment.

Yet here they are, playing the senseless game of war and playacting at households.”

By then, the young man had made his resolution.

In the critical moment, whether it was attracting local parasites or other Magical Beasts, he was determined to stop this squad from Fiery Flame Land.

—Destroy what can’t be obtained?

You people should drop dead first!

“Even if it must be destroyed, let me record its structure with the Silver Chip before that!”

However, plans can never keep up with changes.

After some time, a scout from the special forces team of Fiery Flame Land returned with a report of a discovery.

And from that, Ian heard the information that mattered deeply to him.

“…

We’ve discovered traces of human activity ahead, battling Magical Beasts…

based on the remaining traces, there seems to be an old person who is severely injured and paralyzed, a young person whose body has not fully matured yet…

as well as many other disorderly footprints…”

“Based on deduction, they seem to be Imperial People from the Southern Ridge accidentally involved in the relic cluster.

Among them, the elderly man and the youth are Sublimators, the rest ordinary people.”

“They are not far ahead, and we should be able to catch up with them shortly.”

Hmm?

Upon hearing this familiar description, Ian couldn’t help but be astonished, “Wait a moment, an immobile elderly Sublimator and a young Sublimator—is it possible they’ve discovered Yisen Gard and Master Gossay?”