Chapter 866 — Another Starting Point

Good things do not always happen in this world—often, the bad may even outnumber them, but so long as the sun still rises tomorrow, there is no harm in expecting a little more from the future.

Beneath the towering canopy of the Sorin Great Tree, a wind carrying the smell of damp earth began to blow.

Within those tiered, fortress-like layers of foliage, countless branches and leaves rubbed and trembled, producing a rushing sound like the tide. Some of the birds and beasts roosting in the tree and the surrounding thickets were startled and bolted from their hiding places. Margarita trod the hardened path, left the little hut, and walked slowly forward.

She raised her eyes to the front. Within the strange vista formed jointly by the vast canopy and the sprawling land, the sky became a bright, elongated backdrop, and a giant sun was moving slowly along its edge.

The young female knight narrowed her eyes. Some low, oppressive mood was coiling around her heart, and she desperately wished that someone could share this heavy feeling with her at this moment—yet in the end she could only put on a stern face again and return to her usual composed and serious state.

Then several shadows suddenly emerged from the far horizon of that horizontally stretched sky. Backlit against the sunlight, they were like tiny gems adorning the crown of the giant sun, but soon they drew swiftly toward Sorin Castle, and in the radiance of the great sun their outlines grew ever more distinct.

Several watchtowers in the Sorin region began flashing light signals. A messenger from the communications post appeared in Margarita's field of view; the soldier came running toward her at top speed, but before he drew near, Margarita had already guessed the situation—

His Majesty had finally arrived.

The female knight did not let herself sink into gloom. Her knightly training and the discipline of a professional soldier let her adjust her state in an instant, and she soon arrived at a high ground on the edge of the canopy-covered area—the airfield landing platform, a newly built facility in the military zone used for the takeoff and landing of the Empire's flying machines.

Though the construction corps was not a frontline unit, the reconstruction project on the Holy Spirit Plain enjoyed the same priority as frontline engineering. At a time when the Empire's "Dragoons" and all manner of other flying craft were in severe shortage, permission had already been granted to build airfield facilities here, and a small unit of "Dragoons" was stationed here year-round for emergencies. The soldiers here were no strangers to flying machines.

The shadows racing closer at the edge of the sky finally reached the airspace above the Sorin region. What had been blurred, tiny shapes now took on clear outlines in the daylight. Margarita and the soldiers gazed up at the sky, and after they made out the form of one of the shadows, a low gasp and conspicuously heavier breathing suddenly spread through the surroundings.

A black dragon was flying in the lead position of the entire formation! That was no flying machine the soldiers were familiar with!

At first some thought it was an illusion caused by the backlight, that it was merely a new model of flying machine with a larger body—after all, the Dragoons' propulsion wings themselves resembled dragon wings closely—but soon everyone realized it truly was a dragon. She was more massive than any Dragoon, with scales like cast metal and powerful claws and fangs. She wore a suit of steel armor that gleamed with a cold, grim light under the sun, and faint rune-light flowed through the seams of the armor, and all of it proclaimed a powerful, soul-stirring majesty and beauty.

The black dragon flew in the prominent position of the whole formation, escorted by four Dragoons around her—clear proof of this dragon's identity.

That there were "dragons" among the Empire's allies was no secret in itself, but hearing of it and seeing it with one's own eyes were entirely different things. Not every soldier had seen Maggie in person; most of them were seeing that "dragon shadow" streaking across the sky for the very first time. A powerful shock spread among the soldiers—yet strict discipline immediately took effect, and after a few faint clinks of armor, silence returned behind Margarita.

The female knight gazed up at the sky, watching the dragon descend slowly—she had seen Maggie before, had even fought side by side with her, but back then Maggie had not worn a suit of advanced magitech armor!

The black dragon landed on the platform in the sunlight, and the escorting craft adjusted their own landing trajectories. When everything had settled and the air currents around each craft had gradually dispersed, Margarita immediately brought a few of her personal guards to the side of the giant dragon, who was just folding her wings—she saw a figure appear on the dragon's back, an exceptionally tall and powerfully built silhouette standing there against the sunlight, like a dragon-riding hero out of a bard's tale.

A second later the female knight reacted at once and led the soldiers in a salute beside her: "Our respects to you, Your Majesty!"

Gao Yang waved a hand and leapt straight down from the dragon's back: "No need for formalities. Time is short."

As he spoke, he turned and patted Maggie's lowered giant wing, covered in steel machinery: "Thank you for your hard work."

The black dragon dipped her head slightly and said gently and respectfully: "It is my duty, Your Majesty."

The other flying craft now landed smoothly one after another. Once the ramps were lowered, figures emerged from the cockpits one by one—but of them all, Margarita knew only one: Rebecca.

Gao Yang had already come before Margarita. After a brief nod, he asked bluntly: "How are things?"

"Your Majesty..." Margarita felt her breath pause for an instant. After a soft inhale to steady herself, she lowered her eyelids and said in a low voice, "You are one step too late... Minister Norris has already passed away."

The soldiers around them fell silent, yet Gao Yang merely looked calmly at the female knight before him, his tone steady and gentle: "Margarita, don't be so quick to despair—how long ago was it?"

The female knight did not know what he meant by the question, but a soldier's instinct made her answer at once: "An hour ago, Your Majesty."

"Then perhaps we are not too late after all—there is still time to work a miracle," Gao Yang said, then beckoned to those beside him. "Unload all the equipment—technicians follow up; we will assemble it once we arrive."

Under the bewildered gazes of Margarita and the soldiers, the group that had just landed immediately busied themselves. They ran swiftly to the black dragon's side and began using all manner of辅助 tools, hauling and carrying by hand, to unload the large crates from the dragon's back—only then did Margarita notice the crates. They looked like the standard transfer containers used at the base for engineering parts, their gray-white shells stamped with the royal mark. The people handling them were clearly very cautious; swift as their movements were, they kept steady and careful throughout. Without question, what lay within those crates was of extraordinary significance.

"Your Majesty, what are you—" Margarita could not help breaking the silence out of curiosity.

"You will know soon enough," Gao Yang waved a hand. "Now take us to Norris."

Despite her head full of doubts, Gao Yang's manner and those strange crates suddenly gave Margarita some inexplicable "hint." The female knight seemed to guess something; she could not believe her own guess, yet she still straightened her back and answered loudly: "Yes, Your Majesty."