novelraw Chapter 486 - 485 - Raptors
Chapter 486 - 485 - Raptors
Dark wings flew over the blue waters of the oceans. They were easily a kilometer across and 100 meters thick at the center mass. There were dark glass sections looking out but did not let anything in.
A team of 20 Fiends were rotating keeping the Raptor in the air. The farther from the continent they were, the larger the team they needed. The artifacts were created in batches for mortal realms where flight was heavily restricted.
Sky Realms above tier 5 could usually break it but it was rare to send so many valuable powerhouses to a simple mortal realm. They had better uses in the Heaven Realm for the war.
Thus the Raptors were crewed by only Tier 2 to 3 Sky Realm Fiends that were inefficient to keep the advanced artifact flying. Still, the Raptors were effective intimidation for the populace and to get around quickly.
Teleportation arrays for such a mortal realm were unnecessary on a single continent when they turned it into a simple farm.
The only arrays needed were to return home.
"How much farther is the new Overseer going to make us look for this non-existent mountain?" One of the slim male Fiends complained but was ignored. It was hardly the first time and most of them agreed.
It was already well known there was nothing but one land mass in the whole spirit forsaken mortal realm.
No one understood the obsession with what was likely a legend or simply a mistake made by the original invasion. It would not be the first time such a mistake was made since mortal realms varied greatly one to the other.
Raptors were already a massive resource drain but they were needed for effective invasions once a bridgehead was created.
Once established, they became an effective method to move troops quickly that few normal powers could stop. They were grade 6 artifacts after all.
"She is efficient though. The quality in our resources improved a lot." A glance to the side showed several chained demons, aether children, and humans. They had dull looks but their bodies were in excellent shape.
The men and women had barely any covering but there was no response to such a scene at all save the sound of their breaths. A few corpses were stacked neatly at the back but they would be disposed of shortly when they turned around.
"Enough! The patrol is almost over and we will head back to our current base. Keep an eye out!" The Fiend in charge was temptation on 2 legs even to her own kind but her ice cold tone left no room for her admirers to take in her appearance.
Her skin was light gray with coal dark eyes and white hair. Her chainmail clinked but was a sturdy peak grade 5 artifact. It alone revealed how highly valued she was but the men and women under her just focused on their tasks.
Two of their number were currently fueling the Raptor as it silently stalked the oceans but all they saw were blue sky and clouds. A storm was far out but that was nothing new either.
"Lady Zihao, where will our next base be set up?" The only other Fiend wearing similar armor spoke up. He was scarred on one side of his face but even then, the unearthly good looks even made that look good.
The one eye was blind on that side but it hardly seemed to slow him down over the centuries. Eyes were only one way to see the world for cultivators
"Part of our mission was to see if there were any more sand bars or sunken atolls to use as a foundation next. I noticed a few but they are quite small." Zihao was quick to make it seem like they had not wasted their patrol but few of them cared.
It was going on a solid year since the strange expansion of their activities began. Some had complained but then been crucified for all to see. No one complained after that.
All the Fiends knew that after the invasion, the forces deployed were either too weak to be of use or simply had been relegated to be farmers for the greater army's resource gathering.
The constant warfare took a toll that needed a lot of resources to recover and the Heaven Realm was not enough for their needs.
The only reason they could risk their current tactics at times was due to the various mortal realms funneling living beings up to the Heaven realm for further enhancement or consumption.
Most of them saw it as demeaning work but could not defy the Star and Moon Tier experts that ordered them to go. They would be killed for disobeying.
Conversely, so long as the right amount of resources were sent up, no one cared what went on in a mortal realm. A non-stop brothel could be used as an altar and the higher ups would only care about the efficiency.
Thus, the new Overseer could do as they saw fit. Since their resources had improved in the last few years, no one would complain on either end of the deal about it too much.
Just as Zihao was about to order them to turn the Raptor, a shadow flickered above them. It was almost too quick to see but Fiends were easily able to pick out details most would miss.
She was about to order a scan when the whole Raptor tilted from an impact!
"An Art of water and air just slammed into the right wing, moderate damage but stable!" The one currently monitoring the readouts of the Raptor yelled. Zihao only grew angry.
"Deploy defenses and electrify the skin!" Her orders were obeyed. Whatever hit them was not below so it flew as well! Also, it would be weak to lightning if it was a flying beast of water.
The glass around them darkened to show the defenses were raised. It made the Raptor heavier but much harder to damage. Sparks danced and they prepared for the next attack.
Once more a shadow flickered before they were actually spun around! There was no roar of pain while they tried to get the Raptor to stop. What was going on? A beast of water should have been stunned!
"There are 2 of them! Dive and reverse!" She gave out orders as the feeling of being pulled to the front increased. Wails of pain came from their resources but none of them cared to secure them. They could feed even if the limbs were broken.
The dark Raptor dove as the bird of prey it was designed to emulate. If there were ground forces, it would look as if death was diving from above but the artifact groans as both its wings were now damaged.
Still, it held and then all of them were nearly slammed into the deck as the Raptor shot upward. The swoop maneuver was able to bring the massive artifact up and around to view their enemy in the air!
Instead of a vision of their targets, a massive stream of lava was coming right at them!
It blotted out the sky but Zihao did not order any evasive move. The Raptor sliced through the attack with ease since its defenses were up. The heat of the cabin did increase but the artifact itself hardly budged.
"They are Sky Realms! Needle burst!" Zihao had confirmed the strength of her enemy so now she cleared the skies!
A glow from an array lit up and the exterior hull suddenly had spikes protruding as slender but lethal metal blades flew in all directions from the Raptor. It was normally directed downward to wipe out fortifications but it worked just as well in the current instance.
Cultivators tended to think in terms of Qi Arts, conjurings, or other Qi based attacks. Solid objects of higher grade materials normally did not exist in enough quantity to be worth defending against.
Zihao finally saw her enemy as they were forced to dodge the attack. There were 3 of them!
"Wyverns! Do not kill them all, we need answers!" Zihao was actually smiling right then and it made all of them shiver. She was excited to be in battle! It was not cruelty that made her happy, but dominance.
She was never more terrifying than when she was winning.
She had razed whole villages to the ground simply to be the winner and it still had Fiends inside them at the time!
"The azure colored one is water based! Launch charge nets at it while keeping the other 2 away!" The vice leader yelled out and the crew moved to obey. One of the smaller resources had dislocated their shoulder and was in the way so it was consumed instantly to get it out of the way.
The casual move was terrifying as it did not slow them down at all in their jobs. The 2 fueling the Raptor were replaced as they were nearly depleted.
A humming filled the air before a net launched with more spikes. The 3 wyverns were dodging when the net seemed to be drawn to the azure colored one.
Right before it was going to hit, a massive shift suddenly happened to the net as if a great hand had yanked it away!
Zihao looked at the crimson and gold wyvern but it was just barely dodging the spikes still flying at it. What had affected that net?
She was about to order a new attack when the Raptor shook from some kind of impact once more. It was different though. It was precisely above their heads!
"My Lady, there is a reaction!" One of the Fiends was looking at an embedded artifact in the wall. It told her the shocking revelation they had found their prey!
"Kill the wyverns now! Hone in on the artifact!" Nether lightning built on the hull before being unleashed at the 3 wyverns. It was an effective but extremely draining attack. If there was somewhere to hide or defend it was not what she would use, but open sky was free reign.
The repulsive lightning made the world bend around it yet all were shocked when instead of hitting the wyverns it seemed to disappear! What was going on?!
A glint of metal finally caught her eye on each neck of the wyverns but it did not explain what happened, only the how. Artifacts. The damn beasts had artifacts!
The Raptor shook again but that time the Qi seemed to drain from it! The ones supplying the Qi collapsed as the artifact began to fall out of the sky!
"Fill in now!" Zihao screamed but gravity had taken over as one of the wyverns put them in a hard spin! Even Sky Realms could not overcome such force!
They were in danger but not lethally so. All of life was a resource to them so long as they had conversion arrays to use, it would just be a matter of time to get back to shore!
Zihao was plotting her course when a new change occurred.
The Raptor was stopped in mid air suddenly as a violet glow covered it. All the Qi in the artifact died instantly and the Fiends felt extremely weak! What was that?!
Just before darkness closed in, Zihao finally saw their real enemy. It was a floating metal seed nearly as large as the Raptor but seemingly easily floating high in the sky. She wanted to crush a messenger jade stone but nothing worked.
She had lost.