Above The Sky
Chapter 343 - 343 316 Jumping and Helping Combat is Part of Culture 33

343: Chapter 316: Jumping and Helping Combat is Part of Culture (3/3) 343: Chapter 316: Jumping and Helping Combat is Part of Culture (3/3) The inheritance treasures are by no means a secret; in fact, the rulers of the Fiery Flame Land are all too happy to let their subjects and adversaries know the extent of their power.

Be it swords and weapons or armored clothing and accessories…

Each inheritance is unique to its treasure, but all serve to complement and reinterpret their respective inheritances.

Only those of the royal bloodlines who possess inheritance treasures can be considered in their complete form, with strength far surpassing that of ordinary inheritances, exceptionally stable, free from deformities, and bereft of the worry of powerful descendants experiencing a break in lineage; at the very least, they are of the Fourth Energy Level.

If one possesses only the bloodline and not the treasure, the inheritance of the kings is still not considered weak.

However, many abilities are nearly impossible to utilize perfectly without the aid of a treasure, suffering from various flaws and deficiencies, along with terrifying side effects.

Count Orbalia hails from a lineage of ordinary humans and is one of the many grandchildren of the current Abassalom, the King of the Desolate Sea, even directly descending from a very direct bloodline.

The ‘Mistsea Emperor Ki’ bloodline he possesses is genuine, capable of reaching the Fifth Energy Level.

In The Empire or the Azure Sky Royal Court, this ‘blood’ alone would suffice to make him a member of the Imperial Bloodline or the Firmament Lineage.

Even without abilities, he is worth nurturing.

But in Fiery Flame Land, since his strength is not adequate and his own bloodline lacks the special mutations and improvements worthy of being adopted by the ‘noble blood,’ he is not qualified to inherit a treasure, so he can only serve as a commodore in a mobile fleet, not even permitted to use his father’s surname.

This time, however, Orbalia sensed an opportunity for ‘great credit’ from the changes in the South Sea Labyrinth.

A transformation in the Spirit Energy Field sufficient to shake the entire maritime region, even affecting the massive labyrinths beyond the seas?

Such a labyrinth would undoubtedly contain abundant resources, as well as relics and technology from an ancient civilization—enough, perhaps, to give this ‘abandoned’ person, who is subtly being edged out of the centre of power, a chance to re-enter the sights of his father and grandfather!

Especially since The Alliance is currently stretched thin on the southeastern front against The Empire; if he can exert pressure on South Ridge here, even if he doesn’t succeed in the end, it would still count as a meritorious deed, earning him some impression points.

But he never expected their plans to encounter trouble from the very first step.

The prior artillery attack failed to sink the enemy ship, which was forgivable, but how did they lose track of the target under the watch of the Armor Suit?

[Commander, the enemy has a Spirit Energy User skilled in observation, who directly located my position!]

A somber report came from within the lurking Armor Suit, revealing a hint of puzzlement: [Afterward, I was stopped by the ‘White Mist’ from the Huai Guang Church stationed at Harrison Port, and warned not to continue the pursuit!]

“White Mist?

What’s he doing there?”

The commodore was filled with confusion; he had not been informed of this development: “What are the intelligence forces doing?

Such a significant event as The Empire and the Huai Guang Church cooperating to explore the labyrinth has occurred, and they haven’t sent back any information?”

This wasn’t his fault.

In fact, Viscount Grant, being a local, was also unaware.

At this point, the commodore’s expression grew troubled.

With the Huai Guang Church interfering, matters just got more complicated.

Though they do not involve themselves in the disputes between nations, the Church would definitely intervene if someone bombed a ‘theoretically civilian ship’ in international waters.

Moreover, by doing so, they have completely lost their ‘pretext.’

You see, despite the menacing standoff between the Three Kingdoms’ fleets and Viscount Grant along with the South Sea Fleet…

In reality, they were all here to ‘offer disaster relief.’

Because the preliminary opening of the labyrinth caused celestial anomalies that affected a vast number of civilians, disrupting lives and even causing deaths and suffering.

Therefore, the nearby fleets of various nations, with the spirit of humanitarianism, came to attempt rescue!

And if, while rescuing, they happened to venture into the labyrinth and subsequently engaged in gunfire with others…

wasn’t that perfectly normal?

After all, it was possible for ordinary people affected by the labyrinth’s natural disasters to enter the labyrinth, and for creatures from within the labyrinth to reach the outside world.

If someone died, those were accidental injuries in the process of defeating the labyrinth’s Magical Beasts.

As long as there was no neutral third party to witness it, they could argue over anything— even if they lost the argument in the end, the matter would essentially be resolved, and they could simply find a scapegoat to bow and apologize, at most executing them and then it’s all over, a trivial matter.

But the Huai Guang Church, or rather, the Four Great Orthodox Churches, happen to be the ‘neutral third-party forces’ that could restrain the nations.

With them present, many strategies become unfeasible.

Thus, left with no other options, Commodore Orbalia was at an impasse.

He had no choice but to throw away his pride.

“Go,”

he beckoned a messenger and said, “Have two high-speed ships hoist the privateer fleet’s flag.

Then send three armored suits to tangle with the White Mist and capture the people.”

“If we can’t kill them, then we’ll take them alive.”

Privateering was a common tactic, initially used by Far Shore Island to combat the Seven Cities Alliance at sea; in recent years, it had become widespread throughout the Terra Continent.

In the southern coastal areas, it might still be relatively uncommon, but around the shipping lanes of the northwestern New Continent, it was more common than dogs.

After all, dogs don’t go to sea.

There, the privateering fleets of various nations and real pirates were all mixed up like a pot of stew, not to mention the never-ending emergence of magical beasts and sea creatures from the ocean.

Having learned from advanced experience, naval forces of all nations generally kept some privateer flags in reserve for when they were needed—and they were indeed useful.

After issuing this command, the Rear Admiral settled down to wait for news.

Whether successful or not, he at least had tried his best—at the very least, he hoped to provoke Canaan Moore and Whale Song Cliff into taking similar action, bringing trouble to the side of The Empire.

But sometimes, some things indeed surprise people beyond their expectations.

Some time later, Rear Admiral Orbalia received another report from the frontline fleet.

And this report caused him to furrow his brows tightly.

“What?”

He rose somewhat incredulously, prompting the other soldiers in the command bridge to turn their heads—yet the Rear Admiral continued with an inconceivable tone, “An attack?”

“You were rammed by an Ironclad Shark?”

——Clearly, truly effective tactics never get old, no matter how many times they’re used.

And for each different adversary, they’re always a surprise!

“Just one hit is enough, pull back now!”

Elsewhere at sea, on a fast-moving sailboat, Ian was happily instructing Shasha to retreat, “Another hit and the Sea Battle Armor will encircle us—let’s go, that was sufficient!”

“Woah!”

Though no one else could hear it, Shasha indeed let out an excited shout—it was obviously addicted to the rush of ramming and then fleeing, a thrill it just couldn’t resist!

Still, it was, after all, just an Ironclad Shark, not an Iron Armor Shark, and didn’t have the power to dominate the seas, so it obediently followed Ian’s command, slipping into the deep sea before the Armor Suit encirclement from Fiery Flame Land closed in, vanishing from sight.

On the other side of the sea, if one had the vision of a Sublimator, they would see two high-speed ships plunged into chaos.

By this point, these navy ships flying the privateer flag could hardly believe that they had been attacked by someone else before they had even launched their assault.

But the reality was just that—in that very moment, the Bai Xian Vessel was hit with an unexpected fierce attack from a sea beast beneath the waves.

If the spot where the magical beast had collided wasn’t the ammunition store, the Bai Xian might have sunk from just that one hit.

Nonetheless, it was completely incapacitated.

But the mission had to go on.

The Bai Xian’s partnering high-speed escort warship, the Bai Li, after a brief pause, accelerated and aimed for Ian’s fast-moving sailboat with a sharp angle that effectively blocked off almost all of Senan’s possibilities for evasion.

And without needing a reminder from Ian, the White Mist Bishop also frowned deeply, sensing the Armor Suits approaching in the water.

“It’s alright, Your Grace,”

before the Bishop could speak, Ian said ahead, “You needn’t participate in the upcoming battle; just ensure the safety of the ship.”

The young man was now gazing intently at the approaching naval battleship of Fiery Flame Land, clutching the Galewind Longsword he had taken from the captain, while the Little Fairy curled atop his head seemed to sense the tense atmosphere, gripping Ian’s hair tightly.

Next up was the domain of boarding combat.

Or rather, the fight by leaping onto the enemy’s ship.