Chapter Thirty-Eight: Battle in the Sky

The battle raged on, yet with victory firmly in hand, everyone appeared quite at ease. Chu Tian and Barbossa watched the fierce struggle between griffins and fire-tail birds outside the window with great interest, while AK47 continued to flatter Little White. Only Carter, both tense and composed, kept a close eye on the situation and calmly directed the fight.

Though the fire-tail birds were numerous, their strength paled before the tier-four griffins. Often, several or even a dozen would besiege a single griffin, leaving nothing but a few scorched marks on their foe, only to be torn apart themselves moments later. The luckier ones escaped with broken bones, plummeting to their deaths from the sky.

After more than ten minutes of fighting, over half of the fire-tail birds had been lost, while only a handful of griffins had fallen. Seeing the outcome was clear, Carter, thinking of Chu Tian’s safety and wishing to end things swiftly, ordered all the griffins from the right flank released, forming a solid defensive line between the airship and the battlefield.

Just as everyone thought the show was about to end, the tide of battle shifted. The remaining fire-tail birds suddenly abandoned their individual opponents, regrouped, and formed a sharp wedge, charging straight for the airship.

“My lord, something’s not right!” Carter quickly explained to Chu Tian upon seeing this change. “Fire-tail birds are dim-witted—there’s no way they could form such a precise formation on their own. There must be a master commanding them!”

“If there’s a master commanding them, that means the enemy may have reinforcements,” Chu Tian mused. Fire-tail birds existed in the air forces of all the continent’s nations, but as tier-one magical beasts, they could not understand human language and were difficult to tame, usually serving as cannon fodder in war.

Wild fire-tail birds often attacked humans, especially in desolate areas. At first, Chu Tian and his companions had assumed they’d encountered wild ones and paid them little heed. But now, even after losing half their numbers, the birds continued to attack. This could only mean they were being directed by someone—and one so skilled that they could marshal the birds into such perfect ranks.

If the commander was a true expert, he wouldn’t waste so many magical beasts on a mere game. Clearly, this was an intentional act of war, and there were surely more forces to come.

Having grasped this, Chu Tian immediately ordered, “Have all griffins tighten the defensive line! Alert the two master mages to stand ready to support, and AK47, you go help as well!”

But Chu Tian’s command came too late. There were still many fire-tail birds left, and in their reckless assault, dozens broke through and reached the airship. Yet that was not the worst of it. To everyone’s shock, those birds flew directly above the airship and, in unison, exploded themselves!

This suicide attack unleashed devastating force. The explosions above the airship created violent air currents, and the Zeppelin reeled under the onslaught. Despite the mage responsible for fueling it giving his all, the vessel began to lose altitude.

“They’re trying to force the airship to the ground!” Barbossa shouted. “Get the griffins to protect the airspace above!” Carter had reached the same conclusion and hurriedly ordered some griffins aloft to intercept these living bombs.

With most of the griffins ascending, the airship stopped descending, but the forces intercepting the other fire-tail birds were now sorely depleted. In that brief window, a dozen or so shadowy black figures shot out from the crimson clouds. The outnumbered griffins were instantly overwhelmed, and these shadows reached the airship’s sides, attacking the iron cables suspending the gondola.

“Tier-six gargoyles? It’s the beastfolk air force!” Carter cried out, then cursed himself. “I’m such a fool! I fell for their trick!”

Chu Tian’s opponent was not merely a skilled individual. First, they had disguised the fire-tail birds as wild, lulling Chu Tian and Carter into complacency and prompting them to deploy all their griffins for a swift victory. Once the griffins were fully committed, the fire-tail birds dropped their ruse and began suicide attacks, trying to bring down the airship.

To stop the airship’s fall, Chu Tian and Carter naturally diverted some griffins to intercept the bombs. And at that moment, the true trump card—tier-six gargoyles—appeared. The enemy’s real plan was to down the airship, not with fire-tail birds, but with gargoyles.

Tier-six magical beasts were not to be underestimated. Though the dozen or so eagle-sized gargoyles weren’t large, their strength was terrifying. Under their relentless assault, even the magically reinforced iron cables snapped in an instant. More and more gargoyles emerged from the ranks of fire-tail birds.

“AK47, attack immediately!” Sensing the urgency, Chu Tian called for his magical pet, scooped up Little White, and with Barbossa, scrambled onto AK47’s broad back.

Several strands of spider silk shot out, punching a hole in the sealed gondola. The howling wind that rushed in almost knocked Carter off his feet. “Carter, get up here!” Chu Tian shouted, hauling Carter onto AK47 as well.

“Thank you, my lord!” Carter said gratefully before immediately resuming his command over the communication stone.

A constant barrage of spider silk sprayed from the hole, and the situation quickly improved. AK47 fired off strands with precision, the silver threads making the gargoyles shriek in pain. At the same time, magical light flashed at the rear of the gondola—the two master mages had joined the fray.

With two seventh-level mages and a tier-seven magical beast attacking together, the gargoyles’ assault slowed. But as their numbers grew, the second cable snapped as well, and the gondola began to tilt downward.

“Damn it! You little bats won’t get away with this!” AK47 cursed as the gargoyles flew toward the third cable. Failing the boss’s very first assignment would be unforgivable!

AK47 took a deep breath and opened her mouth wide, firing an enormous web. Three gargoyles were trapped beneath it, and with a powerful swing, she flung them out of sight like hurling a chain ball.

“Well done! Ha!” Chu Tian laughed with delight at AK47’s display. “From now on, your daily allowance goes up by ten gold coins!” He always rewarded capable subordinates well.

At the promise of a raise, AK47’s eyes lit up, and she worked all the harder, spewing silk with renewed vigor. In less than a minute, over ten gargoyles had vanished. But by then, the third, fourth, and fifth cables had all been severed...

Gargoyles, true to their tier-six status, far outmatched the fire-tail birds in wit and cunning. This was clear from the cables they targeted—each one was the thickest and bore the heaviest weight. With those gone, the remaining cables could no longer support the gondola.

After a few tremors, the gondola separated from the balloon, and Chu Tian and his companions plummeted rapidly within. “Hold on to me!” AK47 shouted, then leapt into the air, shooting a strand of silk to stick to the ascending balloon.

Crash—the gondola struck the ground with a thunderous roar. Chu Tian, clutching Little White in one arm and clinging to AK47 with the other, survived the fall. Barbossa and Carter, each gripping one of AK47’s legs, were spared as well.

Praise be to the Goddess of Life! Dangling in midair, just a few meters from the ground, Chu Tian shuddered at the thought. This opponent was truly ruthless—an entire airship’s worth of people, and not a single life was to be spared.

The airship was destroyed. Those responsible for its defense and service were crushed to pieces, though a few quick-witted ones, like the three master mages, immediately cast wind magic on themselves and jumped clear.

The gargoyles, having completed their task, did not withdraw but instead attacked the griffins. Tier-six against tier-four was a hopeless mismatch, and the griffins were soon wiped out.

But Chu Tian had no time to worry about the griffins now. No sooner had AK47 landed safely than Chu Tian realized to his dismay: they were surrounded!