Returning to You Province by sea was fastest for Zhang Tie. The ocean was Zhang Tie's highway, and traveling through the sea meant there was no fear of being discovered.
Zhang Tie's speed in the sea had now reached around 670 meters per second. Though this was still somewhat slower than the speed of sound in water—not even half of it—compared to the speed of any other creature in the ocean, it was practically like riding a rocket.
The distance from Yingzhou to You Province by sea was not much different from the distance through the air, roughly 120,000 kilometers.
Zhang Tie had taken two months to cover this distance by airship, yet swimming through the sea, he took less than three days.
On the night of May 18, Zhang Tie arrived in You Province.
Emerging from the sea outside Tigerhold Harbor, Zhang Tie raised his head and looked at the shimmering harbor in the distance. He knew that You Province could not possibly be peaceful at this time. After thinking for a moment, he dived back into the water and returned to Castle of Black Iron. Meanwhile, that little black beetle was summoned out of Castle of Black Iron by Zhang Tie once more.
In the seawater, the magical little beetle showed no fear at all. Although it could not fly as fast as it did through the air over land, the little fellow could swim as well. With a beat of its wings, it stubbornly broke through the water's surface, shook the droplets from its body, and flew toward Tigerhold Harbor.
During all these years in Castle of Black Iron, the black beetle had lived on the cliffs of the Chaos Abyss, remaining in closest contact with the Pool of Chaos. Every day, it ate all kinds of