Above The Sky
Chapter 344 - 344 317 Rebound Gang 13

344: Chapter 317: Rebound Gang (1/3) 344: Chapter 317: Rebound Gang (1/3) The Fiery Realm beyond the Sand Sea, revered for blood and the land of passionate and hospitable kings, where friendships are warm and feuds are clear-cut—such is the impression of the People of the Fiery Flame Land held by the Terra People.

Fiery Flame Land was one of the oldest nations and human settlements on Terra, founded by the Far-Flame Ancestors who built underground settlements around water sources beneath the firm soil of the desert and established the first kingdom, long before the precursor to The Empire, the Setar City-State, had begun its wars of conquest over other human city-states on the Quinor Plains.

To this day, the People of the Fiery Flame Land were no longer residents hiding from the scorching heat beneath the wilderness.

They even developed an extremely powerful navy, though their cities still retained many strong underground structures.

Moreover, their main ethnic groups, the Iron Folk and the Crimson People, ensured that even though the tradition of fighting over water sources and tillable land with weapons at close range had long vanished, the spirit persisted to this day, breeding a tradition of championing close combat and skirmishes.

Even this tradition was reflected at sea.

After the cannonade, it wasn’t long before the silhouettes of two high-speed battleships loomed through the curtain of rain, and those who spotted these battleships instantly fell into a panic, for they flew flags akin to those of privateers, pirate banners with sinister blades and skulls flapping loudly in the wind.

Clearly, the People of the Fiery Flame Land had completely discarded any pretense of decency.

However, the discord between the two nations had never really been about decency, so this should be considered decisive.

“They plan to capture us!”

Somebody cried out, making an accurate judgment indeed—for the two high-speed battleships hurried forth, evidently abandoning any intent to sink them, opting instead to use their speed and size advantage to force a stop and capture them.

This situation caused most of the sailors to display faces of dismay; they felt no hope of resisting the professional navy.

Such a defeatist attitude persisted until one of the high-speed warships suddenly came to a halt with a sonorous ‘clang’ and started to list in the waves.

——What could be more morale-boosting than seeing your ferocious enemies charging to cut you down, only to suddenly trip and faceplant into the mud?

——Perhaps only the sight of those same enemies, charging ferociously forward, only to be nearly sunken by a passing Big Shark, could surpass it.

“Prepare for battle!”

Taking advantage of Shasha’s success in stopping a warship, Ian commanded loudly, and now, even the sailors who had not intended to resist picked up their weapons.

‘Screw these bastards of the Fiery Flame Land!’ ‘They’ve blockaded the sea for days, I’m gonna scatter them!’—With high spirits, these crude country slogans burst forth.

Just as the People of the Fiery Flame Land looked down on the Imperial People, the Imperial People looked down on them, especially since the other side had blockaded the sea during the prime fishing season, leaving everyone without money or food.

This was truly a grudge as deep as the killing of one’s parents.

But the battle ended quicker than anyone had imagined.

Before the boarding action began, the Fiery Flame Land’s high-speed warships released vast swaths of greyish-red mist.

In this mist were swarms of ‘Sunspiders,’ a type of marine arthropod that had a symbiotic relationship with toxic sea anemones.

They could float through the rain curtain mid-air and attack their targets en masse.

The People of the Fiery Flame Land’s military was accustomed to harassing the enemy before initiating a boarding attack.

The Sunspiders, which could create chaos and release toxins, were perfect biological weapons.

These small, fist-sized arthropods, vividly colored, clustered together like a roseate cloud, rolling towards the sailboat like a wave rising mid-air.

At that moment, the sailors who had just mustered the courage to fight nearly surrendered once again—they nearly suffocated at the sight of those toxic creatures flailing about in the air, their fingers whitening as they gripped their firearms and fishing spears.

In an instant, the wave of spiders surged down, and several sailors, terrified, collapsed on the spot, nearly wetting themselves.

“The use of high-risk biological weapons is strictly prohibited.”

But at that moment, the calm voice of the White Mist Bishop rose from behind them: “Step back.”

He took a step forward, his eyes lighting up with a blue glow.

The old man raised his right hand, pushing open an invisible door—a force unseen twisted the rain and wind, forming a transparent wall in mid-air, causing the raindrops to scatter into splashes of water upon it.

The Sunspiders still tried to close in, seeking fresh flesh and blood, but the next moment they were thrust away by an immense invisible wall, tumbling back onto the Fiery Flame Land battleships, eliciting screams from the other ships.

The White Mist Bishop was not eager to take lives, but that did not mean he would not deal with those who harbored ill intentions.

Afterwards, he didn’t continue to act; instead, his figure flashed, and he plunged into the water.

Following the coordinates Ian had provided, he went in search of the troublemakers in Armor Suits who were lurking beneath the waves, intent on sinking the ship.

Seizing the opportunity, Ian grasped his longsword tightly, leaped up, and activated his Fairy Wings.

The young man walked on water in mid-air, almost like a streak of white lightning, arriving on the enemy warship nearly in the wake of the retracted swarm of Sunspiders.

——Switching sides?

It’s still uncertain who will switch to whose side!

Although he was prepared for battle, Ian had never intended to engage in close combat aboard his own ship.

Never mind that a group of sailors, no matter how brave, couldn’t possibly match the naval forces in combat strength.

Even if they could, what of it?

If the ship were damaged, and they were unable to force the People of the Fiery Flame Land to sail it, then they were destined to be captured by the main fleet that would arrive later.

In that case, it made more sense to go to the enemy ship and capture a live prisoner or kill a few more people.

“Someone has boarded the ship!”

An incredulous cry came from the warship: “It’s a water attribute Sublimator, Fae blood——”

Before he could finish, Ian charged towards the direction whence the voice came.

With inscriptions activated, the team leader’s Galewind Longsword could create wind pressure serrations akin to a chainsaw when paired with the wielder’s Wind Attribute Origin Quality, easily smashing a Knight’s Armored Clothing.

However, Ian did not have Wind Attribute Origin Quality.

He merely treated it as a sturdy First Energy Level iron sword.

And that was completely sufficient.

The sword light flickered, and amidst the rain curtain, an arched ripple shone.

Ignoring the neurotoxin released by the surrounding Sunspiders, Ian swung his sword, and the mere sword wind split the rainwater to both sides.

No, it wasn’t just pushing it aside.

It was shooting along the path of the sword’s edge!

The naval officers who had released the Sunspiders had no chance against Ian’s strike.

Three in the lead flew backward as if struck by a hammer upon touching the water stream, and the fate of those who blocked the jet of water was even more gruesome — their heads were cleaved off by the edge of Ian’s sword, drawing excited shrieks from the Sunspiders in the sky, which converged toward the scattering flesh and blood to feast.

From the perspective of an outsider, it looked as if Ian wielded his sword, and both the misty rain and the Sunspiders obeyed his command, flowing along where his sword’s edge directed.

Immediately after, Ian continued to charge.

His previous assault had indeed killed some of the unresponsive Fiery Flame Land naval officers, but he had also been surrounded by others.

The navy, already prepared for boarding combat, had drawn their weapons and encircled him.

Behind them, sharpshooters had raised their firearms, aiming and shooting at Ian.

But before they could fire, Ian had already vanished from their sights.

When they found him again, it was too late; Ian was already ‘sliding’ close to the deck, hunched over.

The blind spots in their vision instantly allowed the white-haired young man to cross the defensive line and appear behind the sharpshooters.

With a flash of his sword, three sharpshooters were immediately cleaved into two pieces along with their firearms.

Chunks of flesh, blood, and scalding hot metal tumbled through the rain curtain.

Only two dots of azure light flashed indifferently on the dim deck.