Above The Sky
Chapter 340 - 340 313 Turbulent Southern Sea 33 Update on 102 Asking for Monthly Pass~

340: Chapter 313: Turbulent Southern Sea (3/3, Update on 102, Asking for Monthly Pass~) 340: Chapter 313: Turbulent Southern Sea (3/3, Update on 102, Asking for Monthly Pass~) A while ago.

On the third day after the Labyrinth opened, the torrential rain had not yet ceased.

In the Southern Sea, a blanket of heavy rain poured from the sky, and hurricanes continuously churned the tides non-stop.

Between heaven and earth, amidst the vast ocean, there was only one sound left—a cacophony torn and shattered by the fierce winds.

The sea and sky were pitch black; only pale lightning cut through the dim rain curtain, occasionally illuminating this oppressive world.

The stark lightning pierced through the rain, scattering a sky full of silvery white sparkles.

In Fiery Flame Land, the fleets from Whale Song Cliff and Canaan Moore’s Three Kingdoms already lingered in the nearby international waters.

Metallic high-speed battleships approached from time to time, only to veer away before actually crossing the boundary— not to mention the sea battle suits lurking in the ocean, whose silent steel behemoths current positions and what startling anomalies they may have discovered at the bottom of the sea, no one could be certain.

Three days was not enough for the fleets of the various countries to truly arrive, but they would inevitably come, gathering like a bloodthirsty pride of lions.

A Great Labyrinth might not be enough to cause a full-scale war, but if there were some exceedingly rare materials or high-level magical beasts within, then regional conflicts and intense small-scale battles for the Labyrinth would be inevitable.

Rainwater splashed onto the blue Aether Armament armor plates, creating sprays that could not blur the visibility screens, only to slide powerlessly off of this perfect crystallization of human technology.

Viscount Grant piloted his own vehicle, standing resolutely at the boundary between international waters and The Empire’s territorial sea, with the swirling rain and fog around the Aether Armament forming a vast domain.

The energy-scavenging range of the Ether Furnace Core was, in fact, their domain range, also the ‘maximum natural Spirit Energy that could be obtained at the same time’—the larger the domain, the better the quality of the Aether Armament, and the higher the power output at the same time.

Although the Furnace Core of Conquest Ripple had been damaged, it was not too severe.

It was mainly missing armament modules, thus reducing its lethality.

But with Viscount Grant exerting his full effort to pilot it, he was confident in his strength to fend off a nation’s rapid response fleet and even destroy them along with all their accompanying sea battle suits.

This was not empty bravado, nor mere confidence, but something that should be done as a matter of course…

The sea battle Aether Armaments located in the sea and those with high-level Water Series Bloodline Inheritance simply possessed such strength.

But that was only a single nation.

What he faced was the fleets of three nations.

Amidst the stormy rain at sea, one could vaguely see giant metal ships.

They quietly positioned themselves on one end of the waves, and even the massive waves capable of flipping fishing boats would shatter upon striking their formation, turning into a misty spray over the sea.

These silver fleets were located in three directions, surrounding the entire zone where the relics were.

Even though he possessed the Key, even though he was theoretically the master of this place as well as the Labyrinth, Viscount Grant had no chance to enter the relics at the first opportunity to obtain the precious Pre-Aeon Legacy stored within.

To say he was angry would be an understatement of Viscount Grant’s current mood.

Now, this brown-haired nobleman felt as if he was drinking the blood of the crew of those ships when he drank water, or like he was gnawing on their flesh when he ate meat, his fierce gaze perfectly expressing the meaning of ‘hatred deep in the bones’ and the desire ‘to eat their flesh and sleep on their skins’.

The Southern Ridge Fleet of the Nineteenth Legion was currently undergoing maintenance at Harrison Port.

With the fleet’s strength combined with Viscount Grant’s, fending off those ‘Ironclad Sharks’ that smelled blood was not difficult.

But the problem was, if time were to drag on too long, those other nation’s suits surveying the vicinity of the relic, if they really captured the now missing Yisen Gard and Master Gossay, then the situation could become really serious.

Not to mention anything else, capturing Ian was something he could not accept—he was the only possible future Alchemist or even Alchemy Master at Harrison Port!

It was because he believed in Ian, believed in the capabilities of Master Gossay and Yisen Gard to uncover the secrets of the relics and achieve certain results, that he was worried about the possibility of these three people being captured by other nations.

In the instructions of the Former Emperor, the Southern Sea Relic Cluster was second only to the ‘Great Labyrinth of the Dark Mountain Range’ within The Empire, definitely containing secret treasures that could make a family rise to prominence.

For years, Ailes Grant had been working towards this potentiality.

Due to relations with the Former Emperor, the Grant Family had been forgotten by the Imperial Nobility circle.

He did not care about such prejudices and discrimination, but the Viscount was determined to make his own name and the surname inherited from his father resound once again throughout the borderlands and the entire Empire!

The Grant Family would not remain unknown forever!

From being suppressed by the Natives within the city, to gradually counterattacking and eroding the Redwood People’s sphere of influence, to comprehensively crushing the Redwood People’s core forces, which were the Second Level Totem Spirits—Viscount Grant had spent twenty to thirty years.

If one were to include the time when his father was seriously injured, when the city was on the verge of collapse, and every day worrying if the port was about to fall, this period might even be longer.

Although each of the Four Keys was obtained by chance, if Viscount Grant hadn’t been prepared in advance, he would never have seized this opportunity.

And now, someone was telling him that the relic he had been preparing for so many years, striving so hard for over the years, was not only inaccessible to him—he was even at risk of having the results stolen by people from other countries.

Not to mention the fact that a close friend of many years had suddenly stabbed him in the back, attacking him, and the purpose was merely for something as trivial as killing his own nephew.

“Even if I have to blow up the Conquest Ripple right here, I’ll blast all these robbers into the sea,” he declared.

This wasn’t just a threat; it was a firm decision.

Viscount Grant took a deep breath, his voice heavy and determined, “Pude, if I blow up the Conquest Ripple and only keep the Aether Furnace Core, how long will it take for you to build a new one from scratch?”

The other end of the communicator was silent for a while, then came an old man’s swearing, “Bullshit, what kind of nonsense is that!”

“Are you stupid?

With my level of ability, how could that be possible?

Back then, old Harrison left behind a framework, and it took me over a decade just to patch it up.

Not to mention whether you have another decade, I sure don’t have another ten years to hand-craft Aether Armament for you piece by piece.”

“But isn’t there Ian?

I’ve heard you say that he learns exceedingly fast, and he’s even almost surpassing you—he must have some time, right?”

“Save the people first…

I’m just an old man, that’s fine, but you expect young people to work for you for free?”

The communicator clicked off with a ‘tch’ sound, but the Viscount wasn’t annoyed.

After all, it was Lamar, Yamm, and Pude who helped him maintain the situation at Harrison Port while he was in a standoff with the fleets of the Three Kingdoms.

Not to mention, just dealing with the old soldiers of the Nineteenth Legion fleet was challenging enough.

“Thinking about it now, perhaps Bishop White Mist going there was quite a blessing…

If His Excellency the Bishop can bring everyone back safe and sound, to Harrison Port, then things will be much easier to handle,” he reasoned.

With that thought, Viscount Grant couldn’t help but tighten his grip on the control lever of the Aether Armament, “Tch, the Huai Guang Church is always so annoying, yet one can’t help but be thankful to them.”

—Speaking of which, how much longer must this standoff continue?

Viscount Grant didn’t really care to think hard about this question; after all, it wasn’t him who was having trouble with supplies.

But just then, his brow raised slightly, and he looked up towards the distant direction of Odell Reef.

At the same moment.

On the flagship of the Second Legion belonging to the Fiery Flame Land, stationed at the Stormy Ocean Fleet, a middle-aged general was discussing reports of unusual activities surrounding the relics with an onboard Spirit Energy User.

Their voices were low, drowned out by the sound of the torrential rain hitting the command bridge, ensuring their conversation’s secrecy.

Suddenly, however, both men lifted their heads, looking toward the southern waters.

An endless curtain of rain still covered the sea and sky.

A streak of lightning split the heavens, illuminating the surrounding sea of clouds.

Following it was a violent fluctuation in the Spirit Energy Field…

the restless sensation of heat, despite being at sea, that constantly caused unease as if it would burn everything, had disappeared.

In its place was a tranquil naturalness.

—Something significant must have happened inside the Labyrinth!

Whether it was Fiery Flame Land or Canaan Moore, Whale Song Cliff or The Empire, everyone capable of sensing the change in the Spirit Energy Field was aware of the drastic changes within the underwater Great Labyrinth.

“Prepare the ship’s cannons,” the Fiery Flame Land naval vice-admiral commanded in a hushed voice.

“Whatever those Imperial folks have discovered, destroy it all!”

“Even if it leads to a small-scale skirmish, we absolutely cannot let these Imperial folks gain anything!”