Chapter 1050: Western Continent Inner Route (1)

RUMBLE…

Lightning flashed within the pure white clouds hanging over the parched grassland.

The colossal form of the War-Mage Tower, crushing the clouds as it appeared, traversed the sky with a heavy roar.

Floating by using the white clouds as a foothold, the upper deck of the War-Mage Tower was fully exposed beneath the firmament.

On the starboard deck, a makeshift training ground, Lennok and a young man stood facing each other.

“……”

“Hoo!!”

Lennok, revealing no emotions, and the young man with a fierce expression, letting out a sigh with a tense look.

Each, with sharply rotating lightning gathered in their hands, slowly raised them towards the other.

Lennok, raising one hand, and the young man, extending both hands overlapped, their mana rotated simultaneously.

CRACK!

The moment the lightning in their hands clashed, the young man’s lightning was mercilessly twisted and crushed.

A unilateral pulverization, like styrofoam being pressed and shattered by solid metal.

At that inexpressibly unpleasant sensation, the young man’s eyebrows subtly twitched.

“……!!”

But the young man didn’t lose his composure, immediately conjuring new lightning and facing Lennok once more.

Slowly clashing and wearing down the lightning in the air, he gradually increased the frequency and speed.

The speed quickened.

WHOOSH…!!

Each time the lightning in the two wizards’ hands violently rotated, the trails clawing through the air became brilliant blue flashes.

Soon, accelerating beyond the visible, they added fierce headwinds in every direction.

BOOM!!

“Ugh…!!”

The sheer intensity of light was strong enough that even the wizards watching Lennok and the young man’s confrontation had to momentarily avert their gaze.

Yet Lennok, without even looking at the lightning savagely swung towards him, simply raised his hand.

“Your focus is only on overwhelming your opponent.”

CRACK!!

Lennok, crushing the young man’s lightning with his bare hand, immediately swung the lightning he held.

The moment a flash of electricity was felt, the young man’s body was already embedded far away at the back of the training ground.

THUDD!!

A dull roar echoed belatedly. The young man, bracing himself with both hands on the ground, coughed with difficulty.

“Ugh…!!!”

“Sir Razaart!!”

Seeing the young man, Razaart, unable to hold it in and vomiting, the other wizards cried out his name in alarm, but…

Lennok ignored him, crouched down in front of Razaart, and pulled out a cigarette.

Lennok, a cigarette unlit between his lips, spoke.

“Your output isn’t bad, but you can’t control the balance between offense and defense at all.”

“……”

“If you get caught up in your own flow, it becomes impossible to predict where and how you’ll be struck.”

CRACKLE!

Lennok, touching the tip of his cigarette to burning lightning to light it, stood up.

“Still, I commend your spirit for challenging me right after getting out of bed. Next.”

“I’ll go next!”

“Daburi, wait your turn! It’s my turn this time.”

“Oh, come on, Sir Razaart cut in line, so shouldn’t we go by rank?”

As soon as Lennok’s words fell, the wizards began vying to decide their turn.

There were more than a few rushing as if such an opportunity would never come again.

It was the morning of the third day since the Thorben War-Mage Tower departed from the satellite city of La Haven.

After boarding the inner route directly to the Western Continent, the flight altitude stabilized, and activity on the deck was permitted.

During his free time, as Lennok was looking around the War-Mage Tower, the tower’s mages approached him, talking about their achievements in lightning magic.

The Q&A session, which began with a simple magic demonstration, had somehow escalated into a spellcraft duel among the wizards.

He could have stopped it before it escalated, but Lennok, having received so much from the Tower Lord, indulged them for a while.

At first, it was mostly low-ranking wizards, but eventually even Saint Wizards like Razaart, who had been defeated by Lennok, were subtly joining in.

“The chance to have one’s magic corrected by a Grand Master comparable to the Tower Lord will never come again.”

“Couldn’t you just think of it as killing me and directly blast magic into my body?”

“You impudent scoundrel, trying to get something for nothing? You should at least show some sincerity to pique Van’s interest.”

The wizards’ struggles, using the internal hierarchy, achievements, rank, and position of the Magic Tower, were all to somehow get hit by Lennok just once.

Among them were numerous wizards still bandaged from previous battles.

Lennok, who had been watching the wizards with his arms crossed, shook his head and turned.

“I plan to stay here for about another 30 minutes. Sort out your turns yourselves.”

As his gaze met Razaart, who was catching his breath on a bench outside the training ground, Razaart’s shoulders twitched.

“……”

Razaart. One of the three Saint Wizards who had initiated a Domain battle against Lennok in the undeveloped desert region.

A War-Mage with a Domain thoroughly specialized for combat, capable of electrifying the atmosphere to make lightning spellcasting almost infallibly accurate.

Lennok, too, had remembered him, considering his abilities and activation principles quite useful.

Razaart, with a pale expression, hesitated then spoke.

“…I lost. Old man Albert was right.”

“……”

“You are a Transcendent, comparable to the main combat force of the War-Mage Tower all by yourself. I couldn’t believe it when I heard you defeated the Tower Lord, but…”

“I didn’t seek you out again to hear such flattery.”

As Lennok reached into his pocket, Razaart’s shoulders twitched.

Lennok, ignoring Razaart’s overly timid reaction, eventually pulled out an old grimoire from within his coat.

He tossed the grimoire beside the bench where Razaart was sitting, who carefully picked it up.

“This is…”

“It’s an artifact called Falling Thunder Confluence Script. It describes methods for lightning condensation and convergence.”

Lennok said.

“Your magic is unusually urgent and fast, so it should help you develop a sense for controlling its speed.”

“It’s kept in the Lightning Scripture Archive, not even allowed for viewing. Where did you get it?”

“The Tower Lord gave it to me.”

Lennok smiled and shook his head.

“I’ve already read all the contents of the grimoire. Since it was given to me by the Tower Lord, let’s just say I’m returning it to you all instead.”

“……”

Razaart, thoughtfully lifting the grimoire, muttered.

“To reduce the outflow of the Tower’s intellectual property, perhaps it would be better if you managed the Tower, not the Tower Lord…”

“Is that what you’re worried about first?”

After returning the grimoire to Razaart and knocking out about twenty more wizards, Lennok walked out of the training ground.

He had been exploring the interior of the War-Mage Tower whenever he had time, but there were still places he hadn’t seen.

Rather than mere curiosity about other magic towers, he still had questions about the fundamental structure of this particular tower.

“So the control room is this way.”

The sterncastle, located at the rear of the War-Mage Tower’s deck.

The core district where the cockpit and control room, which steer and command this colossal aerial fortress, are located.

He turned down a blue corridor, where bright lightning glowed like lanterns, and opened a door.

CLICK!

“Engine output 38%. 11 hours remaining until the power supply critical limit.”

“Entering detour near Western Continent Inner Route at 3000m. 20 seconds until a 35-degree starboard turn, relative to the starboard hull.”

“Reinforcing mana supply to the air resistance barrier deployed at the front of the deck.”

Dozens of operators sat in the control room, packed with radars and monitors, submitting reports.

From the War-Mage Tower’s engine output and remaining fuel, to barriers, security devices, and even confirming terrain features necessary for sustained flight.

As Lennok watched the bustling control room, the woman commanding the operators glanced over.

“Sir Van.”

“Giselle, wasn’t it?”

She was one of the three Saint Wizards who had engaged in a Domain battle with Lennok, and among them, she was a wizard who hadn’t sustained comparatively serious injuries.

Her Domain, a Root Mindscape shaped like a colossal lake, possessed abilities specialized in impact resistance, capable of directly withstanding the immense body of the War-Mage Tower.

“It seems you thoroughly enjoyed knocking out the tower’s wizards.”

Giselle smiled and pointed out the control room window.

It seemed she, too, had been watching the commotion on the makeshift training ground outside the deck.

“Was it enjoyable?”

“Does it look that way?”

RUMBLE!!!

Lennok, who had entered the control room following Giselle’s guidance, looked down at the rapidly passing landscape below and asked.

“When do we arrive near the Western Continent’s Veil?”

Lennok was heading to the Western Continent aboard the Thorben War-Mage Tower for a specific reason.

Approaching The Veil via the Central Front would inevitably require contact with the area where the first Gateway is located.

Moving under the alias of Adamant Thunder now, there was no need to approach the Gateway near where Cheonbeon had passed and needlessly stir up trouble.

“This War-Mage Tower boasts performance among the top ten on the continent in terms of flight capability and stability.”

Giselle said.

“We’ll leave the inner route and arrive near the Western Front within two days. We’ll drop you two off near the front, and then we’re immediately heading to the Republic Civil War Zone.”

“I should also tell Olivera the schedule. Where is he?”

“He’s being served the tower’s stored delicacies and fine liquor in the VIP room. He seems quite accustomed to such a luxurious lifestyle.”

Giselle shrugged.

“The chefs hired by the Magic Tower are apparently having a very hard time catering to his palate.”

“……”

So, he hadn’t even shown his face, yet he was enjoying far more lavish luxury in the War-Mage Tower than Lennok?

It wasn’t surprising that someone of the Cartel Chairman’s stature would be adept at this kind of VIP treatment or reception,

but Lennok hadn’t come to the War-Mage Tower’s control room merely to inquire about someone’s whereabouts.

Lennok, pulling out an unlit cigarette and putting it in his mouth, glanced around.

“We’re being followed. You know that, right?”

“……”

“There was a hint of it about 10 hours ago. They’re moving along our flight path, roughly 20km away, concealing their traces.”

The eastern direction from which this colossal aerial fortress had cut through the clouds.

Lennok already knew that the surrounding clouds had been crushed to obscure the line of sight and disrupt their trajectory.

Yet, he also knew that the pursuers currently trailing the War-Mage Tower were maintaining their distance with not an inch of error.

Even with Lennok’s Mana Perception, he could only sense their presence; they were performing stealth flight at such an impossibly far distance that it was difficult to identify their exact nature.

They were undoubtedly professionally trained pilots, or superhumans or monsters with comparable flight abilities.

“That distance is probably just enough to barely evade the control room’s radar range.”

“Astounding. You already knew that much?”

Perhaps Lennok, who not only knew about the pursuit but also guessed the reason it was possible, seemed quite baffling to her.

Giselle gave a wry smile and shook her head.

“A report came in a day ago, but we have no intention of responding unless they make a move.”

“Why not?”

“If our opponents are a flight squadron capable of reading our flight path and following us from tens of kilometers away, shaking off the pursuit is virtually impossible.”

Giselle replied nonchalantly.

“Concealing flight traces with spellcraft consumes a lot of mana, so it’s not something we can easily attempt. Even if we did, there’s no certainty we could shake off the pursuit.”

“What about the other high-ranking wizards in the Tower? Are they currently capable of combat?”

“Everyone has recovered to some extent after their engagement with Sir Van, but…”

Giselle trailed off.

“Most of the high-ranking wizards are currently focused on maintaining the engine’s output. It would be difficult for them to come to the front lines unless we stop flying.”

“…A lack of engine output.”

Come to think of it, Lyraiel had also once pointed out the issue of insufficient engine output before their departure.

This colossal War-Mage Tower, which used the power of the Hall of the Thunder God as its動力, had lost some of its output after the incident with Lennok.

Rather than the Hall of the Thunder God’s sanctuary itself losing power, it was likely the backlash from Lennok overloading the sanctuary to enter it.

Regardless, the fact that Lennok’s actions led to the engine output problem remained.

“You don’t need to worry too much, Sir Van.”

Seeing Lennok lost in thought, Giselle subtly changed the subject.

“If the pursuers initiate combat, we can just land the War-Mage Tower and have the high-ranking wizards engage them.”

“……”

“The Thorben Magic Tower may be clumsy when it comes to hospitality, but it’s not an organization so lacking in propriety that it would send a distinguished guest to the battlefield in its stead.”

“It seems this kind of situation has occurred often.”

At Giselle’s somewhat practiced explanation, Lennok’s eyes lit up.

“So, the Western Continent indeed has relatively well-established route rules and flight techniques?”

Due to the magnetic storms raging near the mega-city of Vulcan, the Skyway to Vulcan had only opened very recently.

The Pilenom Autonomous Region located in the Sea of Understanding. Excluding the floating island clusters within it, the Eastern Continent side isn’t an environment where flight technology itself is widely utilized.

The Western Continent, relatively free from such restrictions, should therefore be considered more open in terms of utilizing the Skyway.

“Now that I think about it, last time you copied the tower’s automatic flight algorithm, didn’t you?”

Giselle, hearing Lennok’s question, asked as if a thought had just struck her.

“Are you interested in the flight paths or operating methods of a floating Magic Tower?”

“Rather than fixing a tower’s Jurisdiction to the ground, this form would have far more advantages.”

Lennok replied.

“If there’s a good model, there’s no reason not to follow it.”

Lennok also had a great interest in floating a Magic Tower or modifying it into a flying vehicle.

If a Jurisdiction could be made freely mobile rather than fixed in one place, that alone would be immensely significant.

Having seen Conjunction Spell Master Avesta Chapman manipulate his Life Domain like a summoned creature in battle, Lennok understood the immense value of a Domain’s power.

While he didn’t intend to breathe life into his Domain and turn it into a summoned creature as the Spell Master had, the idea of not fixing a Domain to one place was certainly something Lennok could adopt.

Although he had stolen the War-Mage Tower’s automatic flight algorithm through Davi, it would be good if he could also get a user manual to operate it.

Giselle, understanding Lennok’s meaning, nodded.

“I’ll bring you some relevant data used in the tower’s control room. Could you wait a moment?”

“Please do.”

Though they shared unique commonalities—prioritizing self-improvement above all else, and the causality of lightning above everything else—

aside from that, most of the Thorben wizards Lennok had met were quick-witted and good at their jobs.

After Giselle left, Lennok, left alone, sat on the railing and took out his phone.

Finishing the half-smoked cigarette, he scrolled through his messenger app, with the howling wind as a backdrop.

Though his phone had long since left network coverage, unread messages remained, having been unconfirmed due to his busy schedule.

No, rather, there were messages that, if read now, wouldn’t leave a received or read receipt.

Like the message Hylaea had sent a few days ago through Pandemonium’s secret channel.

[Victor. The Clown has confirmed participation in the operation.]

“……”

Lennok’s eyes turned cold as he checked the messenger.

[The assault on the [Gate] located beneath the Royal Capital of Kabahim. We’ll hold a meeting in the Simulated Consciousness Space to set the operation’s date, so please attend if you have time.]

Immediately after acquiring the Forbidden Armament under the alias Victor, Hylaea had requested Victor’s participation, stating his abilities were necessary for the assault on the [Gate].

Kabahim, a nation of knights that adopted a monarchy, not a city-state.

The grave of royals who had imitated Ars Nova’s bloodline and embraced a curse themselves.

The existence of a [Gate] leading to the Outer Sea, publicly known to be hidden beneath its royal capital.

So, the operation he had politely brushed off with a vague answer back then, was now progressing and nearing confirmation?

‘If The Clown is directly commanding the operation, there’s no reason I couldn’t participate…’

The Clown was a madman with an extremely anomalous status even within Pandemonium.

A transcendent illusionist who avoided being consumed by madness by playing tricks on hierarchy.

An individual so capricious that his intentions or goals were impossible to guess, yet his abilities themselves were outstanding enough for even Lennok to acknowledge.

A monster who received special treatment within the organization, having been solely in charge of the Southern Continent within Pandemonium even before the Well of the Codex operation.

His personality couldn’t be trusted, but his abilities made him a trustworthy individual.

As Lennok also had an interest in the [Gate], it wouldn’t be a bad idea to participate if the timing and opportunity were right.

Thinking so, Lennok checked other messages sent by Hylaea.

[And this is unrelated to the current matter, but one of our members returned a while ago.]

A light tone, as if she had just remembered and was passing on the news to Lennok.

However, the content was not as light as Hylaea’s tone suggested.

[He was a member who was here even before you joined, but he’d been in a coma for a long time due to a certain incident. He’s an expert in pharmacology, so you might even know him.]

“……”

[His personality seems to have changed quite a bit since he returned, and he might even participate in this operation. I’ll contact you once the details are set.]

Lennok, staring intently at the messenger that had cut off after the last message, tilted his head.

“Pharmacology expert… coma…?”

Among the Pandemonium members Lennok knew, only one person came to mind with such a backstory.

“…Could it be that the Drug King has awakened?”