Chapter 72

"Wow, teacher, at such a crucial moment, you two are still flirting? That's so inappropriate!" Anna drifted past us, her tone still strange...

Wait, just passing by?

Only then did I notice that our dragon boat was wobbling and twisting in the air, no longer as stable as before, rising and falling erratically like a snake, seemingly about to plummet at any moment. The biting wind tore at everyone, and even the Magic Power circulation within us automatically activated a protective layer. Many people around us were screaming loudly, desperately grabbing onto something to avoid being thrown off, and some had already been thrown out. Numerous figures surrounded the dragon boat, and there was a huge hole in its hull—

That was the power bay, the place where magic circles were inscribed and dragon dung was burned. Many people who fell out of the cave had their faces covered in dragon dung.

Have we encountered a plane crash?

This is really bad luck. I frowned. According to survey data, the probability of an air crash is much lower than that of a train collision, so it is rare for air transport to equip hundreds of passengers with parachutes or jetpacks. The cost would be too high... But thinking about it, I've already experienced the extremely low probability event of being kidnapped by a black mage who fell from the sky while I was on a school field trip. This... is not a big deal.

Mel and I had already unconsciously used the Levitation, while Moli and Anna, although struggling to float, were still relatively stable. We swam around like snakes in the sky along with the wildly spinning dragon boat.

Wrong...

That's not right!

This is public transportation! It's packed with passengers, mostly ordinary people!

I suddenly shuddered and Teleportation to the top of the dragon boat. My first sight was of strange objects circling the boat—

My Mental Link with Mel was established in less than a second. He saw the machines I was looking at through my line of sight and said, "Magic fighters? Be careful of Xipei. Those things have powerful magic cannons; no wonder they could sink a sturdy dragon ship."

Oh, it wasn't a plane crash, but an enemy attack. That puts me at ease; I have a lot of experience handling these kinds of situations.

A fighter jet had clearly spotted me, and I was also examining this thing I was seeing for the first time. It looked very strange, with a transparent cockpit in the middle, but a rotating ring outside the cockpit. The whole body was very small, and I could sense a threat from that ring, which must be the machine's power source and weapons.

"Xipei, the main users of magic-guided fighter jets are emerging technological nations. Our Federation, for example, has flying mech warriors in Magitech Corps, and a few military mages also know Flight Spell, enough to form an air defense force. The Holy Dragon even has dragon riders, so the opportunity to come into contact with these machines is very rare. Magic-guided fighter jets come in various forms; you can think of them as flying mechs, but the difference is that fighter jets have stronger firepower. Pilots don't need to know martial arts or magic; ordinary people with hand-eye coordination can operate them."

Mel quickly explained to me, and I nodded. I tentatively launched a Mental Piercing attack, which could have turned an ordinary person into an idiot. When it touched the cockpit glass, I could clearly feel that my attack was weakened. The pilot inside even just closed his eyes for a moment before quickly retaliating with a magic cannon.

The magic cannon crashed into Absolute Protection, which was Mel's Absolute Protection. It enveloped the entire crashing dragon ship in Absolute Protection. I noticed the people who were still floating and hurriedly used the invisible Mage Hand to pull them back. Otherwise, the enemy fighters would not have been able to avoid them. With their protective shields on, the fighters crashed into the people, and I could only watch helplessly as the people's blood splattered everywhere and they quickly turned into wreckage.

So, the reason why dark mages are no longer feared is because, in addition to Black Magic, Magitech now also produces horrific visual effects that turn people into pieces?

Very good.

I don't want to waste time thinking about the enemy's motives. Whatever their purpose in attacking the dragon ship, I don't intend to let them complete their mission unscathed.

Come to think of it, I've never fought a magic fighter before; it must be really interesting.

I spread my arms wide, and entering a state of concentration was second nature to me. When the silver light shone in my eyes, I felt the world become slower and clearer. The various elements were categorized and orderly formed arrays. However, I didn't need them much right now. I made two gestures to assist, and then in an instant, the azure sky disappeared above my head. The rapidly gathering black clouds, like the gaping maw of a monster, swallowed the bright blue sky whole.

Hmm... the visual effects must be a bit scary, even though it's not Black Magic.

I flipped my wrist and made two more movements. The clouds began to spin wildly, turning into a pillar of clouds that stretched from the sky to the ground. I made a point of noticing that there were no cities on the ground; we were in the suburbs, so I didn't need to hold back. I created a tornado by rotating my fingers, and the tornado that reached the sky carried lightning from the heavens. This way, I could save some energy and directly throw two Lightning Strike Spell, activating the lightning nurtured by nature.

I didn't rush to end my focused state, as this would make it easier for me to see the battlefield clearly. With the Mage Eye active while focused, I could see for miles if there were no obstructions.

"Xipei, it looks very dark. Mage, I wonder if you could cast a solidification spell and set one up on top of our mage tower sometime?"

When Mel asked that, I looked around... Indeed, the dark tower, the low-hanging black clouds, and the circling ravens—this was the standard dwelling of a black mage, just like the bards described. It certainly had a great atmosphere, and living there must be wonderful.

So I replied, "Okay, let's go back and try it. Let's put this plan after we add the teleportation array inside the tower."

"Of course, no problem!" Mel replied.

The fighter jets carefully dodged between my tornadoes and lightning pillars, but that wasn't natural weather; it was an anomaly manipulated by a mage. Would I let them escape so easily? I'm not a fighter jet sparring partner!

Lightning crackled into a grid, sparks instantly engulfing the fighter jets. Each of the magical fighters glowed with an eggshell-like protective shield, which made me squint—except for forbidden spells, all other spells follow the same principle: the larger the area of effect, the weaker the power per point.

Even if I were a great mage, I could not break this rule.

Therefore, I might need to use a second forbidden spell to crack these eggshells one by one and kill the ones inside...

Forehead...

The fighter jet closest to me suddenly stopped, its shell wobbling and cracking right in front of me. The fighter jet inside was immediately electrified, but the current shouldn't be enough to kill it...

I fell silent again, because the driver inside was instantly electrocuted and charred, safely and painlessly.

I heard Moli, standing next to Mel, say to me with a look of adoration, "Teacher, you should have some self-awareness as a legendary archmage! That was your area-of-effect attack, not Reynold's or Doug's. Of course it would penetrate the shield and kill the pilot!"

Okay, I'll remember that. I'll use less force next time.

The first pilot died instantly. The fighter jets that were a little further away from me in the electric grid quickly turned around and began to flee frantically, their engines belching black smoke. I watched them run away, wondering whether I should give chase. But I'm not a sheriff, and it doesn't seem necessary to exterminate them. If they don't continue to cause trouble, then I won't chase them. Let the Holy Dragon Empire catch the bad guys themselves.

So I began to guide the clouds to restore the original weather.

"Your Excellency, High Priest—"

Suddenly I heard a shout, "Don't stop the spell! Those enemies are after the dragon crystal on the dragon ship. They've already got it; we can't let them escape!"

As the voice was speaking, the dragon boat, which had been swaying and tilting precariously, suddenly lost all power and began to plunge headlong into the ground.

Chapter 72

This seemed to startle the person who had spoken; he let out a gasp, but his exclamation paled in comparison to the screams emanating from my feet, and through Mel's senses, I discovered that Anna and Moli were also screaming loudly.

"What are you two yelling about!" Mel scolded unhappily, while simultaneously maintaining Absolute Protection to ensure no one would be thrown out.