Chapter 547
Chapter 547: Chapter 547
"What’s occupying your mind?"
Keith, who was lost in his thoughts, heard Venessa’s question, and when he glanced around the table, everyone was curiously looking at him.
"You came late as well," Kiara added, and she had been holding back this question for a while now.
He had been gone for hours and only returned in the evening to inform them that Zilya and Zyrios would be coming over for dinner and to discuss their plans for Reha.
However, they were sure that it was not the matters concerning the Nemeron Princess that occupied his mind, and his meeting with Zyron was unlikely to last that long.
Besides, for something to have him so lost into it meant that it was something very important or interesting.
"Is everything okay, Keith?" Ayesha asked in concern, and he smiled at her.
"Everything is fine, love."
She held back the blush at his playfulness, feeling very relieved, and nodded her head, accepting his words.
"So, it’s something very interesting then?" Kiara excitedly concluded, and he could not help his chuckle.
"Yes, I received a very interesting news from Zyron Nemerus."
"What?"
"The key that Jaun Solaris lost has supposedly surfaced in the Frozen Wasteland." He said, and they all weirdly looked at him.
"False news?" Venessa raised her brow. "Or is the Key real?"
Her second question confused the girls, but when they saw Keith nod his head, they were surprised.
"The Key is real."
"There’s a second Key?!" Alana exclaimed.
"Is that even possible?" Ayesha frowned.
"Yes, it is possible." He nodded. "There’s never a single Key to the Prison Realm. Every Key allows you to enter the Prison Realm ahead of everyone else and teleports you directly to your desired destination. Or the planned destination of the force that sent out that Key from the Prison Realm." He meaningfully said the last sentence, making them all frown.
"Thea..."
"She’s safe. The Key that has merged with her has not been manipulated by anyone."
"Are you sure?" Alana asked in concern, and she was glad Qingyue was not here right now.
"Yes." He promised her. "However, this might not be the case with the Key that has surfaced in the Frozen Wasteland."
"Who has it?"
"Two small Ancient Tribes that live in the Frozen Forest found it, and being enemies, they decided to not let either of them claim it. Both sent out messages to their allied forces, and the news leaked from there. Now, all the Major Forces in Westesia are heading over to claim it. There’s a possibility that people outside of Westesia would come as well."
"There’s a ploy." Kiara was certain.
"There is. Every smart person can sense it. However, the Key is real, and its allure is irresistible." He smiled.
"We don’t need the key." Alana frowned, feeling a little restless.
"We don’t, but I plan on going there for fun."
And just as she had feared, he had his mind made up.
Was her worry unfounded? No.
He himself said that all the Major Forces of Westesia were headed there. This meant that there were going to be Martial Kings, Martial Emperors, and maybe even Martial Overlords vying for the Key to the Prison Realm.
She knew that Keith was not yet strong enough to come out unscathed from a battle against such powerhouses, but she also knew that he was not someone who would risk his life. Chances of him engaging in an unfavourable battle were low, but what truly kept her from throwing a fit was knowing that he would be able to escape if things took a turn for worse.
Even then, she did not want to see him hurt.
"I am coming with you." Kiara immediately said, and Alana instinctively yelled out to put a stop to her plans.
"No!"
Her reaction made her sister laugh, but the latter pouted when Keith shook his head, refusing to take her with him.
"It is not an organised event. The chances of battles breaking out are very high. You are too weak to get involved in such matters."
"You don’t have to be so blunt about it." She complained but did not ask again to take her with him.
"All of you will stay inside Aerzar. I plan to go there by myself." He made it clear.
"When?" Kashish asked.
"Four days from now."
"And how will you make it to the Frozen Wasteland?" Kiara curiously opened the map. "The closest Transportation Portal to the Frozen Forest is in the Empire of Ciria. And it is a journey of several weeks."
"I bought an airship." Keith grinned at her when her eyes comically widened at his revelation.
"Show me!" She excitedly said, and he fulfilled her request by teleporting them inside a Grassland in Aerzar.
He brought along Ayesha, Kashish, and Alana as well, and all four of them eagerly watched him as he took out a large cube from his Storage Ring, which was littered with Runes.
It was nearly 15 feet tall, and when Keith pressed his hand on it, the Runes lit up in colourful lights, casting flickering shadows across the lush grass under the dimming sky.
The top of the cube opened like a blooming flower, and then its walls slowly fell to the sides.
Inside, a small chained Airship was floating.
It had been shaped in the form of a Hawk, a design clearly meant for speed, just as much for the beauty of it, and when Keith freed it from the chains, it shot up into the air, enlarging in size, soon turning nearly three hundred feet long. Its wings, which were folded right now, were likely more than twice the size of its body, and overall, it just looked like a beautiful metallic bird, its surface gleaming with a subtle sheen under the fading light.
As the "Bird" hovered above them, they felt like the gravity had increased twice as much, but they knew it was the mechanism that helped it hover in the air by utilising the Gravitational Principle. In simple terms, the principle allowed it to act like the same pole of a magnet against the earth, which resulted in a force that repelled it from the ground, allowing it to hover in the air, a faint hum vibrating through the surrounding atmosphere.
"Which Beast Core are you going to use?" Kiara asked as she stared at the beautiful silver-blue airship.
"A Lightning Hawk, Seven-Star Martial Beast."
"Perfect." Ayesha subconsciously said as her lips curved into a bright smile. "How much did you spend on it?"
"A few Million Stones."
"A few?" They laughed, knowing well that it was an expensive ship, given how beautiful and well-crafted it was.
"Well, a couple of dozen to be exact."
"Nice!" Kiara giggled. "Can we take a ride?"
"Unfortunately, no. I only have two Beast Cores. I need them for my journey, so I can not activate them right now."
"Mean. But it’s okay. We will fly it when you return." She grinned at him, and he shrugged at her words.
"Fine."
"Wait, there is no Showroom in the Crystal City. Where did you buy it from?" Alana, who suddenly remembered something important, curiously asked.
"City of Azensday. I visited the Vulcan Capital and then directly went to the City of Sin. Our little Dwarven friend helped me get this ship from the Tower of Loki. There were several airships listed for sale, and this was the most beautiful one." He smiled.
"Beena? Did you bring our order?" Kiara asked, and Keith nodded to her before handing her a storage ring.
"Everything is in here, and since I gave her a very high commission for helping me secure the ownership of this airship, she did not ask for anything for your stuff."
"How generous of her." They all laughed and then rushed up into the air to take a tour inside the airship.
It was not the largest of aircraft, but it was spacious enough for about twenty to thirty people, where they had their own rooms to rest, some of which could he shared. There was also an open deck at the back of the "Hawk", which was covered by a Firmament, which would act as a barrier once activated, enforced with Runes, making it capable of shielding a hit from a Martial Emperor.
Kiara was itching to fly the thing when she arrived inside the cockpit, and unlike the aircraft on Gaia, this one was built with the Magical Tech, making it very simple to fly. At least, for the talented Aurors like them who had no issues with Mana.
All one had to do was to lie in the pilot’s chair and mentally connect to the aircraft. Once done, the pilot would then close their eyes. They would see the world through the eyes of the aircraft, which would give them a hawk-like vision, allowing them to see very far and very clearly.
There was an entire manual on how to spiritually connect to the Aircraft, and the girls only spent several minutes to understand it.
And Keith knew that if he allowed it, any of them could effortlessly fly this airship.
This, however, would not have been possible for an Ashaya, who would have required a lot of practice and study. This study would have lasted anywhere from several months to a year or two, depending on their talent and Mana reserves.
Most importantly, piloting an aircraft of this size, especially when keeping all the defences active, was very taxing on the mind.
An ordinary Martial Warrior would barely last half an hour flying this thing, and a Martial Knight would last probably twice or thrice as long.
This was because Ordinary Aurors did not possess high Mana reserves, and neither were they mentally as strong against things that could make them lose sense of reality.