A few days later, another airship from the Empire, the Glory Forward, arrived at the Floating City, and Li Wei was reunited with Katie after a long time apart.
"Whoa! So this is the Floating City? Amazing!"
Katie was the same as ever as she disembarked, exclaiming at everything around her like a tourist visiting somewhere new.
"It only looks impressive. Living here is another matter."
"Huh? Really?"
"Really."
Li Wei shrugged as he answered Katie. Indeed, he had initially thought the Floating City was pretty damn impressive himself. But after spending some time here, he had discovered that the place was like a five-star hotel: all show and no substance.
First and foremost, transporting supplies here was difficult. According to the Holy Maiden, back in the days of the Empire, there had been enormous flying magical beasts capable of carrying heavy loads. Those creatures had delivered supplies to the Floating City, which had never been self-sufficient.
Even giving it the benefit of the doubt, the Floating City could, at most, meet its most basic needs for food and water. Mining ore, excavating and smelting it, manufacturing weapons, refurbishing and maintaining the city, and stationing additional troops all depended on outside support.
Without that support, the whole thing was nothing but an empty shell. Just as the Holy Maiden had said, it was useless for anything except dropping it straight onto something.
Like a five-star hotel, no matter how magnificent it looked, once its water, electricity, and supplies were cut off, it was just a tall concrete building.
Even the Holy Maiden had been staying in a guest room aboard the Eye of the Sky lately. After all, this Floating City... was essentially an empty framework. It did not even have anywhere to sleep.
Fortunately, as a floating city, it