Chapter Thirty-Seven: Could My Luck Really Be This Bad?

Three days later, the Zeppelin that Chu Tian was on left Caesar’s airspace and entered the Dustmire Marsh. The interior of the airship had already been refitted; what was once a warehouse for transporting logistics supplies had been transformed into a luxurious and spacious hall. The hall, which could accommodate dozens of warhorses, now seemed rather empty, making even the imposing AK47 appear quite small in comparison.

At this moment, AK47 was clutching jars of the finest Foster, fawning obsequiously as she knelt behind Little White, attending to her drinking needs with a demeanor not unlike that of a dutiful child serving her parents.

Chu Tian’s treatment of his magical companions was indeed generous. AK47’s daily food allowance exceeded a hundred gold coins, and within days she had grown noticeably plumper and her appearance more radiant. But AK47 soon discovered a startling truth: in the household of Marquis Vladino, the highest status did not belong to Chu Tian, nor to Barbossa, but to Little White! She was amazed to find that all the servants’ wages were managed by Little White, and that Little White’s daily expenses even surpassed those of her master. From that moment on, AK47 resigned herself to being Little White’s follower.

“Hehe, Boss, try this wine!” Seeing that Little White had already finished an entire jar of Foster, AK47 hastily leaned over and poured another kind of wine for her. “The boss brought this especially for you!” The striking contrast between the two magical beasts’ mismatched sizes mirrored the disparity in their status.

Little White lazily took a sip, but immediately wrinkled her brow and knocked the bowl over with a dissatisfied cry. After all this time, her attendant still hadn’t figured out her preferences—what sort of follower was this?

Seeing that the boss didn’t care for that wine, AK47 quickly replaced it with more Foster. “Boss doesn’t like this one? Let’s stick with Foster then!” With that, she poured a brimming bowl.

This time, Little White was content. She dipped her tiny head into the bowl, so large it dwarfed her entire body, and after a few hearty gulps, the bowl was empty. With a soft hiccup, her pink little face flushed. Clearly pleased with AK47’s progress, Little White tapped her collar, from which several gold coins fell out, and carelessly pushed them toward AK47.

“Hehe! Thank you, Boss!” With her tip received, AK47 became all the more diligent, providing an endless stream of fine wine.

Meanwhile, Chu Tian was standing by the window, enjoying the scenery and chatting idly with Barbossa.

“No wonder His Majesty had me take this route—there’s simply no way anyone can launch a land attack here!” Chu Tian gestured to the swamp below the airship as he spoke to Barbossa.

“That’s right, Boss!” Barbossa had changed the way he addressed Chu Tian, for Chu Tian preferred to be called “Boss”—it gave him a sense of familiarity from Earth. “The Dustmire Marsh stretches for hundreds of miles in every direction, riddled with traps that swallow the unwary. Even high-ranking adventurers would struggle to escape if they set foot here!”

“Oh? Then how did you manage to survive until rescue the last time you were injured?” Chu Tian was curious. With his powers intact, Barbossa would have had no trouble traversing the marsh, but how had he escaped being swallowed by the mire after his magic was sealed?

“Boss, do you remember when I told you about the battle between the Golden Dragon King and the Hellbone Dragon?” Barbossa prompted.

“Of course I remember. Oh... I see!” Chu Tian recalled that Barbossa had mentioned the Golden Dragon King had unleashed a forbidden fire spell—World’s End—before being sealed. Under the spell’s devastating power, vast swathes of marshland were scorched into parched yellow earth. Barbossa had collapsed on that barren land and was saved.

“When will we pass over that area?” Chu Tian was eager to witness firsthand the might of a forbidden spell that could dry out an entire marsh—it must be quite a sight!

“I’ve already asked Carter. He says we’re about to fly over it.” As Barbossa spoke, he suddenly pointed out the window. “Boss, look—we’re here!”

Following Barbossa’s gesture, Chu Tian looked out to see, amid the endless dark marsh, a starkly incongruous expanse of yellow earth stretching for miles—a patch of desiccated ground strikingly visible in the humid landscape.

“Barbossa, go tell Carter to land here. I want to take a closer look!”

“Boss, I really wouldn’t recommend it. We chose this route precisely to avoid a land assault,” Barbossa objected, reining in Chu Tian’s fanciful impulse. Such a vast, flat expanse of ground was a natural battlefield—who knew what ambushes might lurk there?

“It’s fine—very few people know about our route this time…”

But before Chu Tian could finish, a piercing, tragic cry rang out, and Carter burst into the room. “Marquis, sir! Alarm! Our forward scout griffin has come under attack!”

Chu Tian already understood what was happening: the sky outside had darkened, and along the yellow-black horizon, layer upon layer of red clouds had risen. Looking closely, he saw they were formed by no fewer than a thousand Firetail Birds.

The Firetail Birds were as large as eagles of Earth, but far more formidable. Though only first-rank magical beasts, and their sole skill was their flaming tails, what made them terrifying was their sheer number! Over a thousand of them massed together, forming a dense red cloud that blotted out the sun.

“Sir, it appears to be a wild flock of Firetail Birds out hunting,” Carter said, glancing at the birds’ chaotic formation and reassuring Chu Tian.

“Wild ones? Very well, Carter—go command the battle griffins, and have two idle magi provide support!” Since they were just wild Firetail Birds, Chu Tian wasn’t concerned. A thousand was a large number, but he had over a hundred griffins; a fourth-rank griffin could easily take on ten first-rank Firetail Birds, so victory was assured.

Carter received his orders and immediately pulled out a magical communication stone to direct the battle—an expensive device, but standard issue on the Zeppelin.

“Airship, face the Firetail Bird flock head-on! Magic cannons at the ready—open fire!” Carter barked into the stone.

No sooner had he spoken than the airship shuddered slightly, and the magic cannon at the bow roared to life. With a thunderous blast, a column of light tore into the enemy, and in a flash, a gaping hole appeared in the red cloud.

“All left-bay griffins, launch immediately! Right-bay griffins, prepare for combat!” Seeing the magic cannon had disrupted the enemy, Carter released the main air force to engage.

The hatches on the left side of the hold swung open. One by one, man-sized griffins soared out, lining up in formation before the Firetail Birds.

“Attack!” Carter shouted, and the signal officer above the hold relayed his command to the griffins.

The griffins fell into formation, slicing forward like a black blade. At first contact, the red cloud was cleaved in two, then the blade split, encircling and crushing the enemy from above and below.

“Magnificent!” Chu Tian marveled as he watched the Firetail Birds, wreathed in flames, plummet from the sky. Even the great aerial battles of World War II on Earth could scarcely compare. Still, the method of relaying orders was terribly outdated—still relying on signal officers’ gestures. It reminded Chu Tian of the three-dimensional warfare of a certain country on Earth, where every soldier was equipped with communication gear and orders reached every corner of the battlefield. One day, when he had the means, he would build such a magical beast legion himself!

As Chu Tian was still lost in this daydream, the tide of battle suddenly shifted. The once-dominant griffins’ ranks fell into disarray as countless red shapes broke through their lines, streaming toward the airship!