Legend has it that the wind god will choose a child from the valley and grant him the ability to control air currents and hear the whispers of the wind.
Such children are called Wind Rider.
Wind Rider born with certain extraordinary qualities, such as a more acute sense of wind direction and airflow changes, allowing them to steer ancient gunboats more smoothly than anyone else.
The previous Wind Rider was Nausicaä's father, Jihl, and the current Wind Rider is Nausicaä.
Of course, this is just a legend.
In reality, Mito, Gol, and several other experienced veterans from the Valley of the Wind are all skilled at piloting gunboats.
Aside from Nausicaä, a special case, almost no Wind Rider recorded in history have explicitly demonstrated power in the "extraordinary" category. "Princess! This is too dangerous!" Trudeau tried to pull Nausicaä back; he had never felt so anxious before.
"Your Highness, that warship's firepower is terrifying. Even if you are far more powerful than us, you still—" Por joined in the dissuasion.
Outside, the muffled explosions, like rolling thunder, continued incessantly, each loud bang causing the ground to tremble and the entire outer wall of the Mining Town to shake under the bombardment.
"Only I can save those people." Nausicaä's tone suddenly became very serious.
The sounds of chaotic cries and running could be faintly heard from outside the wall; those people were exposed to the deadly threat of artillery fire.
She turned around, a bright smile spreading across her face.
"Moreover, the Divine Tree will protect me."
Looking into the girl's untroubled eyes, Trudeau could no longer find the words to dissuade her.
He knew that once Her Highness set her mind on something, she would definitely do it, even if it cost her her life.
Nausicaä waved goodbye, and her figure vanished from the spot in an instant.
Without the constraints of the robe, she truly revealed her astonishing physical abilities.
She didn't even need to compete with the refugees for a way; her light body combined with terrifying strength allowed her to leap onto the mining support nearly five meters off the ground in a single bound.
She touched the metal frame with her toes and rose higher again. In just a few leaps, she reached the edge of the square-cut opening in the outer wall using this almost vertical climbing method.
A strong wind howled at the gap, but Nausicaä steadied herself and looked out.
This outer wall faces south, and from here you can clearly see the nearly 100-meter-long Dorok Guardian Warship slowly approaching from about a kilometer away.
It is only about 200 meters above the ground, yet it exudes a powerful sense of awe.
(Although the manufacturing technology is similar, the designs of the warships of each Dorok are slightly different.)
Nausicaä guessed that the enemy wanted to suppress fire at the gap directly above the Mining Town, an angle that could destroy any enemy who hadn't taken cover underground.
" Nausicaä, how well have you mastered the Power of the Crucible that I taught you?" Mu En's voice rang out directly in her mind.
To enhance Nausicaä's combat abilities, and also to test the effects of the newly unlocked Incantations on the Blessed, Mu En recently taught her the " Power of the Aspects of the Crucible ".
The appearance of the Dorok warship was unexpected, but the " Aspects of the Crucible: Wings," which has the ability to fly, can come in handy.
"Yes! I've mastered it, and it suits me perfectly!" Nausicaä thought to herself, a hint of excitement in her voice.
Compared to ranged Rings of Light, she definitely prefers and excels at using her power in close combat.
"That's good. This warship shouldn't pose too much of a threat to you, but you should still be careful."
With him monitoring the battle situation, he can mobilize forces to protect Nausicaä at any time.
But Mu En was truly concerned about was the Master Kabo, whom he couldn't perceive; that was the real threat.
As they spoke, a flash appeared on the warship's front, and another barrage of cannon fire came!
Without hesitation, Nausicaä flipped backward, nimbly retreating behind the thick Ceramic Steel exterior.
She was currently standing on the edge of a mining platform that jutted inwards.
The shells exploded in the distance, even making a sound like a resounding bell on the Ceramic Steel mine.
Fortunately, these were shells fired from the main gun. Although each shell was more powerful, the area covered was much smaller, and the explosion point was farther away.
Aside from the shockwave carrying heat that made her clothes flutter, it didn't cause any other problems.
Before the smoke and dust had completely dissipated, she climbed over the edge of the thick gap, which was nearly two meters wide, and stood on the outermost side of the platform.
This is only the middle section of the outer wall of the Mining Town, much shorter than the highest peak, but still more than fifty meters in vertical height.
Looking down from this height, the scene is heartbreaking.
The scene below remained chaotic. Some people desperately rushed towards the gap in the Mining Town, while others were terrified and blindly fled into the depths of the desert, hoping that the shells would not fall on their heads.
Nausicaä took a deep breath, raised her hand, and pulled down the goggles attached to her flight suit helmet to protect her eyes.
Then, take a step forward and leap!
Buzz!
The moment the feeling of weightlessness enveloped my entire body, a pair of magnificent wings with a wingspan of over three meters, made of pure golden energy, unfolded from behind!
The lifelike feather patterns not only instantly stopped Nausicaä's fall but also gently lifted her up, like an angel descending to earth.
Below, some people who were fleeing or looking up at the warships happened to witness this astonishing scene.
A little boy being dragged along by his mother suddenly stopped, pointed to the sky, and exclaimed with his mouth wide open, "Mommy! Look!"
Heavens, angels!
"Don't talk nonsense, hold on to me—" his mother scolded anxiously, looking up in the direction her child was pointing, but the rest of her words caught in her throat, "What—what is that?"
"God! It's God showing His power!"
"Save us! Please save us!"
Nausicaä had no time to listen to those voices; only by shooting down that warship could she save these people.
A strong wind rushed towards her, but became unusually gentle as it approached her body, the airflow naturally flowing backward over her golden wings, providing them with more lift.
She adjusted the angle of her wings and then glided past like a real giant bird.
In Nausicaä's perception, the wind was still familiar and comforting, but at this moment, what merged with the wind was no longer just her body and will, but also the pair of wings on her back made of the Power of the Crucible.
The three seemed to form a unified whole, and her control over the airflow became even more effortless than when piloting a flying wing.
Perhaps the ancient legends of the Wind Rider are not entirely unfounded.
The Feather of the Wings of the Crucible glided very fast, and in less than half a minute, Nausicaä landed in the already chaotic temporary camp area.
Several cannonballs landed in the camp, and many panicked merchants were fleeing with their Horseclaw.
As soon as she folded her golden wings, two accompanying Blessed, Valley People, rushed out wielding white flying wings.
"Your Highness! The Divine Tree has sent word that they have requested your flight wings be delivered!"
"Yes, thank you for your hard work!"
Nausicaä nodded and quickly checked the condition of the flight wing. "It's not safe here. You should take refuge in the desert immediately. The Mining Town is actually more dangerous."
"Yes, Your Highness! Please be careful!"
Without exchanging a word, the two turned and ran towards the caravan that had already gone to take refuge.
That's right, Nausicaä didn't choose to fly directly to the warship using the Wings of the Crucible. The wings were too slow, making her an easy target when facing anti-aircraft fire.
Only when she boards this flying wing can she reach her full combat form as Wind Rider.
Nausicaä stepped onto the footrests of the flight wing and gripped the control stick with both hands.
"Let's go." She floored the accelerator.
call--!
The airflow from the spur nozzle directly below lifted the wing off the ground, and then the blue flames of the tail thruster surged, causing the wing to transform into a white streak and soar into the sky.
The blue-clad girl, riding on white wings, charged towards the Giant like a fearless knight!
blessing