Chapter 117: Convergence

The prepared Transport Aircrafts began operating, quickly heading toward the direction where the black pillar had appeared. Meanwhile, Zheng Yichen left an additional Alchemical Avatar in Kaja to monitor information there. Sure enough, by the next day, information about the Witch’s location began to be announced.

Of course, the black pillar from last night, though invisible to most, could still be seen by powerful individuals. So even before the news was officially announced, some people had already begun moving in advance.

“Master, what are you looking at?” In a team heading toward the Witch Hunt location, a young boy asked an old man who was staring at the sky, slightly puzzled.

When he looked up, he only saw clouds.

If it was just clouds, what was so interesting about them?

“There is something else above us.” The old man said with a slight frown. With the clouds blocking the view, the thing flying in the sky was indeed hard to spot, but that didn’t mean the clouds completely hid it. Just moments ago, the object flew through a gap with no clouds and briefly revealed its trace.

It looked like a flying ship, but its structure was completely different. Because of the weight and size of such flying ships, the use of levitation-type Magic would release significant Mana Fluctuations. Even at high altitudes, these fluctuations could still be detected.

In principle, it was similar to how passenger planes in the sea were always accurately captured by radars from various countries. Even if they flew high enough to be invisible to the naked eye, they still left traces.

In short, many people in this world could act as human-shaped radars. So, flying ships were mostly used for conventional transport, and even that came at a high cost. As for military use, it wasn’t impossible, but a large flying ship could transport at most about a hundred people, which was already impressive. And a ship carrying a hundred people consumed enormous energy.

Moreover, during transport, they had to be prepared to be discovered early and shot down. Just imagine the spectacular scene of a hundred people falling from the sky like dumplings—this world didn’t have parachutes.

However, what puzzled the old man was that the Mana Fluctuations from the flying ship-like object in the sky were very faint. This faintness became harder to detect as the distance from the ground increased. If he hadn’t caught a glimpse of the “flying ship” earlier, he would have completely overlooked it.

“Hmm, this old man isn’t bad.” Zheng Yichen, flying in the sky, watched the team below through the clouds. The old man’s attention to the sky naturally didn’t escape his notice. Since the Transport Aircraft was driven by Mana, Mana Fluctuations were unavoidable, and exposure was normal. However, due to its mechanism, the Mana Fluctuations emitted by the Transport Aircraft were only a fraction—one-tenth—of those from an Otherworld flying ship.

As for himself, Zheng Yichen thought, “I fly purely through physical means. I’m not like those lazy dragons I’ve never met in this world who rely on Magic for something as basic as flying!”

Hmph!

Zheng Yichen told himself he wasn’t jealous of the natural flying Talent that normal Dragon Clan possessed…

“Increase speed!”

Zheng Yichen gave the order to the Alchemical Puppet piloting the Transport Aircraft. After all, these Transport Aircrafts were disposable, so Zheng Yichen didn’t need to worry about maintenance. For now, he pushed them as hard as possible. As for the Alchemical Puppets, Zheng Yichen doubted he could bring them back afterward. When he deployed them, he had adjusted their Mana Sources.

These things were like power reactors; if they overloaded to a certain degree and triggered the Magic Rune Array engraved on them, they would explode violently… A self-destruct System was essential, right?

Since they had been discovered, Zheng Yichen didn’t plan on taking a detour. Instead, he would use the clouds to avoid them. Hiding afterward would be difficult, though. Powerful individuals in this world, not just Mages but even skilled Warriors, had vision comparable to people using telescopes. Even if the Transport Aircraft flew higher, unless it exceeded a certain limit, it would inevitably be seen.

As for flying out of the Atmosphere, Zheng Yichen noted that the rules of this world were strange: the higher you flew, the greater the pressure. At a certain altitude, the sky was filled with a layer of powerful turbulence that rivaled High-Level Magic in strength—no, it was even stronger. Zheng Yichen didn’t know how thick that turbulence layer was, but he knew that entering it meant facing attacks equivalent to High-Level Magic every second.

Unless one’s body was strong enough to withstand that turbulence, trying to pass through it was just wishful thinking. Furthermore, he couldn’t guarantee that the turbulence wouldn’t grow stronger the deeper one went. In short, flying higher in this world didn’t necessarily mean a worse fall, but it certainly meant a worse death.

“Whoa, seriously?!” Using a large telescope, Zheng Yichen cast Eagle Eye from his Magical Grimoire on himself. The distant environment appeared as if it were right before his eyes, allowing him to see every detail of the setup there. It wasn’t surprising that the Sanctuary Church had learned the Witch’s location in advance.

But their preparations were just too… over the top. They had literally brought an entire army! How much importance did they place on the Witch?!

Zheng Yichen’s face darkened. Looking at the five Transport Aircrafts around him, with at most two hundred Alchemical Puppets, even if each could take on ten opponents… it still wouldn’t be enough to fill the gap.

One taking on fifty might make up for the difference in combat power, but that was just agonizing. Even if the opponents were as defenseless as cabbages, cutting them down would still be exhausting, but the people on the other side weren’t idiots.

“Oh, if only I had a Nuclear Bomb!” Zheng Yichen widened his eyes, gnashing his teeth on a toothpick. He had also researched bombs, but two months was too short, and he had too many tasks. There hadn’t been much progress in such a short time. As for a Nuclear Bomb? Maybe in a few decades, he could create an Otherworld version. For now, just making a missile would be an achievement. Controlling the Alchemical Avatar in the Transport Aircraft, Zheng Yichen began checking the combat supplies inside.

Three Transport Aircrafts carried Alchemical Puppets, and the rest were supplies. The cargo in these five Transport Aircrafts had exhausted all the resources in his Workshop!

Even so, Zheng Yichen felt that what he brought wasn’t nearly enough. Ignoring the combat power of the Sanctuary Church, just their sheer numbers could deplete all the resources he brought.

Unless… these Alchemical Puppets could achieve godlike sniping, taking down one person per bullet, there was no way to compete with the army the Sanctuary Church had brought. No chance!

Continuing to observe ahead, Zheng Yichen frowned slightly. Suddenly, cracks appeared in his vision, looking like shattering glass. The cracks rapidly expanded, and a sense of danger washed over him!