Chapter 161 - 143: Dive
Chapter 161: Chapter 143: Dive
The captain rose from the cockpit as a suit of mecha slowly enveloped his body. Clearly, he was preparing for battle.
The young pilot watched the battle-ready captain, his heart pounding with excitement, wishing he could take his place.
His lips moved, but he stopped himself from speaking.
The captain finally left the Flying Ship’s cockpit. Clad in his mecha, flames erupted from the soles of his feet, and he shot through the defensive barrier.
A familiar Summoning Array appeared. A Wolf Vulture and a Firebird materialized from thin air—both Commander Level Pet Beasts.
Coupled with the Yunyan 97, which had reached the peak of Commander Level, the captain’s strength was not to be underestimated.
After leaving the Flying Ship, he didn’t hesitate, commanding the Wolf Vulture and the Firebird to charge straight at the eerie Storm Eagle.
The captain himself didn’t stay idle either. Clad in his mecha, he began to engage the surrounding Gray Bean Doves and Storm Eagles.
Inside the Flying Ship, Li Qian turned in his seat to watch the scene, his brow furrowed. Just as he was about to say something, the cabin broadcast suddenly crackled to life.
"To all passengers, this is your pilot, Gao Lisheng. I’m sure you’ve seen through the windows by now. The Cloud Swallow is facing an unprecedented crisis."
"Our only choice now is to support the captain and fight off these Gray Bean Doves and Storm Eagles."
"On behalf of the entire flight crew, I’m asking for your help to face this crisis together."
The moment the broadcast began, at either end of the passenger cabin, two flight attendants decisively pressed a virtual button on their watches.
ZZZZT...
As they pressed the buttons, Active Metal flowed up from their feet, covering their bodies. In the blink of an eye, two suits of mecha stood in their place.
Undeniably, the two flight attendants had entered combat mode, ready to support their embattled captain.
A similar buzzing sound drew the passengers’ attention to screens rising from their armrests.
A bright red virtual button was clearly visible on the touchscreen.
The broadcast continued, "Attention all passengers. Press the button on your screen, and Active Metal will form a suit around you."
"These are combat mecha custom-made by the Federation Government for each passenger, and they possess extremely high defensive capabilities."
"Any Beast Masters among you who have a contract with a Flying Pet Beast, please consider your options carefully."
As the broadcast ended, the two flight attendants had already rushed out to join the captain.
Li Qian saw it all clearly, and he was deeply moved. There was no doubt that by rushing out, they were multiplying the danger they faced, but they hadn’t hesitated.
Li Qian glanced around, wanting to see how the other passengers would react.
To his surprise, the pretty woman sitting diagonally in front of him pressed the virtual button on her screen without a moment’s hesitation.
Just as expected, she was suited in an Active Metal mecha and ejected from the cabin.
A Summoning Array materialized, and three Pet Beasts appeared before the woman—all of them were Flying Pet Beasts.
Aside from the pretty woman, everyone else inside the Flying Ship remained hesitant.
Seeing this, Li Qian pressed the virtual button without hesitation as well.
It wasn’t that he was particularly noble, fearless, or unafraid of death. He simply understood a core truth: when the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact.
If the Cloud Swallow fell, no one on board would survive.
In the end, it wasn’t a matter of wanting to sit on the sidelines; he simply couldn’t.
Encased in Active Metal, Li Qian was suited up in his mecha and transported outside. With a thought, fiery serpents blasted from the soles of the mecha’s feet.
The fiery jets from the mecha kept Li Qian hovering in midair, cutting an extraordinary figure.
Li Qian dared not delay. The moment he was clear of the Flying Ship, he used his Beast Taming Contract to summon Qizai.
"ROAR—!"
Qizai emerged from the Beast Taming Space into the outside world and let out an excited dragon roar.
"This is no time to get excited. Take a look around you. The situation is dire," Li Qian warned.
Qizai hovered high in the sky, its Flood Dragon eyes sweeping over the scene, taking everything in.
When it saw the dense swarms of Gray Bean Doves and Storm Eagles, and the eerie Storm Eagle leader, not a trace of fear appeared in its eyes. Instead, there was a look of pleasant surprise.
It had long grown tired of its daily training against Xiaoliu and the other Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragons and Frostfire Salamanders.
It craved a worthy opponent.
The situation before it was exactly to its liking.
"Qizai, time to get to work." Directing Qizai, Li Qian immediately launched his attack.
At his command, Qizai charged into the flock of Gray Bean Doves and Storm Eagles at incredible speed.
Dragon Claw, Dragon Claw...
Any creature it caught was met with a merciless Dragon Claw Skill. The Gray Bean Doves and Storm Eagles that had just taken flight again were no match for it, unable to withstand a single blow.
In a matter of moments, Qizai had knocked a huge number of them from the sky.
Qizai’s attributes were Wind and Water. High up in the sky like this, using its Water Element abilities would be highly inefficient.
As for its Wind Element abilities, their effect would be limited against the Gray Bean Doves and Storm Eagles, which were also Wind Element. That was why Li Qian had ordered Qizai to use the most simple and direct method: the Dragon Claw Skill.
With these new combatants joining the fray, the tide of battle turned instantly. Almost no Gray Bean Doves or Storm Eagles could get close enough to harass the ship.
Seeing this, a smile touched the captain’s lips. He issued a direct command, "Yunyan 97, activate high-speed mode! Get the passengers out of here!"
At his command, the flames jetting from the Yunyan 97’s tail erupted with even greater ferocity.
Its speed nearly doubled in an instant.
The Yunyan 97 entered high-speed mode, and it wasn’t long before it left all the Storm Eagles and Gray Bean Doves far behind.
Inside the Yunyan 97’s cockpit, the young pilot was at a loss. The ship wasn’t responding to his commands at all; it was still following the captain’s orders.
’Nandu City should be just ahead. I need to call the Nandu City Public Security Bureau for support right away.’ He suddenly spotted the city’s marker appearing on the northwestern corner of the electronic map and immediately formed a plan.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he began frantically transmitting a distress signal.
Seeing the Yunyan 97 safely on its way, the captain felt a great sense of relief and began to focus completely on the battle before him.
The captain gave an order, "Let’s head down. It’ll be easier to deal with them on the ground."
With that, he led the way, diving toward the ground.
The eerie Storm Eagle remained in hot pursuit right behind him.
After receiving the captain’s signal, Li Qian, the pretty woman, and the two flight attendants followed him without hesitation, diving down as well...