Chapter 11: Unwavering Faith

Soon, the imperial officers aboard the warships also saw Qian Ye standing on the dragon beast’s skull, and cries of surprise rose one after another.

“What is that?”

“Qian Ye! It’s Qian Ye!”

“Is this giant beast under his control? How is that possible?!”

Lu Saobei suddenly felt a chill run through his entire body, and he could barely muster any fighting spirit. In his ears, a voice kept echoing, “How is this possible?!”

By now, many people had realized that the earth dragon under Qian Ye’s feet was merely a skeleton, but this did little to lessen their fear. Such a massive void beast carcass was a priceless treasure; the empire had only acquired a few throughout its history.

The enormous Valhalla pressed down on the imperial fleet with an unstoppable momentum. In the final moment, Qian Ye suddenly turned his gaze, giving Lu Saobei a deep, mocking, and regretful look.

Lu Saobei couldn’t decipher the meaning in Qian Ye’s eyes, nor did he have time to. As the massive shadow enveloped everything, he suddenly remembered the distress signal he had sent to the imperial military. Based on his description and his assessment of Qian Ye’s strength, even if the military took Qian Ye seriously, the hunting team they dispatched would not include a divine general. He could easily imagine that in front of Qian Ye, who possessed Valhalla, the hunting team was doomed to be utterly annihilated.

Regret suddenly filled Lu Saobei’s heart, and then his consciousness was swallowed by darkness.

High in the sky, three fiery balls ignited successively, and the wreckage burned as it fell into the void. Standing atop Valhalla, Qian Ye gazed down, watching the warship remnants plunge into endless darkness, and he sighed inwardly.

In the face of eternal night, the empire wasn’t using its strength against the dark races but instead deployed three cutting-edge warships and a capable officer like Lu Saobei to deal with him. Was there such deep enmity between the military and him?

Qian Ye shook his head, dismissing the uncomfortable feeling. He already knew that dealing with such a vast bureaucracy, merely enduring was not the solution. Only by striking them hard, making them fearful, and making them hesitate before taking action, was the best way to resolve troubles.

But Qian Ye was also unclear about the empire’s intentions. In this matter, they were surprisingly persistent, even to the point of disregarding costs.

Qian Ye raised his hand, which was slender and elegant, with skin that faintly glowed with a soft, smooth luster. The pale hue of his skin added a touch of morbidity. Even by the standards of ancient bloodline families, this was a nearly perfect hand. Bloodline clans always held the prejudice that physical perfection implied noble blood. In this sense, Qian Ye indeed upheld the dignity of the ancient bloodline.

However, beneath the beautiful exterior, Qian Ye was acutely aware of the power hidden in his hand. When it combined with Dongyue or Twinflower, it possessed devastating power. But at present, its strength was far from enough. When it could slay marshals and dukes, Qian Ye’s words would finally carry weight, and those high and mighty figures would listen to what he had to say.

Qian Ye closed his fingers into a tight fist, and a crimson lightning bolt suddenly burst from the knuckle.

Valhalla spun in the air, changing direction, and in a short while, it flew in front of the cargo airship. Cries of alarm echoed on the airship, and several Gaohu warriors stood on the deck, pointing their origin guns at Valhalla, too terrified to fire. Despair filled their eyes; even a child knew their weapons were no match for this mountain-like enemy.

“Stop! Lower your weapons!”

Qingyue walked onto the deck and shouted to stop her subordinates from doing anything foolish, then said, “Besides the essential crew, have everyone come up to the deck.”

The Gaohu warriors rushed onto the deck and stared in shock at the immense earth dragon skeleton before them. Only when it was right in front of them could they truly feel the impact. The dragon’s skull alone was over a hundred meters tall, not to mention the towering spines on its back.

Once all the Gaohu people were on the deck, Qingyue knelt on one knee before Qian Ye and said, “Qingyue greets the master.”

The Gaohu warriors were in an uproar, but Qingyue had already briefed them beforehand about facing a new master. Furthermore, the Gaohu warriors on the ship were her trusted confidants, absolutely loyal, chosen as the first batch to relocate to the Northern Land.

Qian Ye nodded to Qingyue. With a thought, the earth dragon’s huge mouth slowly opened, and amidst the shocked looks, it swallowed the entire cargo ship.

After Qingyue directed the cargo ship to land, Qian Ye returned to the cabin of Valhalla. The Gaohu warriors, looking around in amazement, were stunned by the magical scene before them. They never imagined there could be a floating ship so large that it could accommodate a whole battleship, let alone a mere old cargo ship.

“What are you standing there for? Unload the cargo and start assembling the power sails!” Qingyue ordered loudly.

The Gaohu people immediately got busy, moving the crates off the ship, opening them, inspecting the contents, and beginning assembly. Their movements were practiced, indicating they were all experts. Qian Ye nodded approvingly, very satisfied.

Qingyue stood beside him and said, “They are the elite of our clan, capable not just in combat but each with one or two specialized skills. This time, I selected mostly people skilled in construction, mining, smelting, and machinery.”

“Not bad, these are exactly the kinds of people we need for initial base construction,” Qian Ye nodded.

Qingyue continued, “Now, the Northern Land is top secret. Until you can face a divine general, no one outside should know of its existence. So, most of them will stay in the Northern Land, building our new homeland. Only five absolutely trustworthy individuals will accompany us. Before your strength is sufficient, the people building the homeland cannot leave the Northern Land or communicate with the outside world.”

Qian Ye praised, “Well thought out, very thorough.”

Qingyue handed Qian Ye a list, saying, “This is the second batch of equipment needed. Take a look first.”

Qian Ye scanned the list quickly. The power sails were still included, and the number of various engines had increased. There was also a batch of mining, metallurgy, and heavy trucks. Additionally, Qingyue listed a few powerful origin cannons, intending to enhance Valhalla’s firepower.

Qian Ye glanced at the list, crossed out the origin cannons, and said, “Their range is too short; they aren’t very useful. We can wait on those.”

Qingyue nodded. She had drafted the list based on her previous assumptions, not realizing how Valhalla fought. She hadn’t expected Qian Ye to use the most primitive method—collision!

Valhalla was built from the complete body of an earth dragon, as strong as refined steel, indestructible. Crashing a few small ships, even an imperial battleship, couldn’t withstand its force. Lu Saobei had been too careless, never expecting that his position would be exposed, or that Valhalla had the ability to traverse the void, flying directly over the fleet and smashing the entire formation in one blow.

What Qian Ye preferred were the crossbows produced by the empire or the bloodline clans. These were incredibly powerful, had long ranges, and could add multiple special effects to the bolts, making them ideal for fleet warfare. Many of the empire’s main warships used crossbows as their primary weapon.

Qingyue asked, “When will we go to procure the second batch of supplies?”

“Three days later,” Qian Ye replied.

“Three days? Isn’t that too soon? The installation of these power sails and equipment will take at least ten days.”

Qian Ye smiled slightly and said, “Three days is enough for Ji Rui to understand what happened. So next time, we should get a good price. At the very least, Ji Rui shouldn’t make a profit from it.”

“Yes, master.”

Valhalla didn’t move far, hovering above the Eastern Sea. Qingyue led the clan members to install the equipment inside the ship, while Qian Ye left Valhalla alone, heading for Nanqing City.

After Qian Ye left, the entire Valhalla seemed to fall into Qingyue’s hands. A few clan members exchanged peculiar looks and started whispering among themselves.

A ship like Valhalla, worth more than a small kingdom on land, could elevate the Gaohu to unimaginable heights if seized.

Qingyue’s gaze fell on the massive silver heart. In the coming days, she and her people would build a chamber to isolate and protect the heart. On the heart, the engine hummed softly, continuously running. Qingyue knew that the key to controlling the heart, and thereby Valhalla, lay in that engine.

Whenever she looked at the engine, her heart raced, her breath quickened, and the output of her internal energy became unstable.

The Gaohu people exchanged glances, and a menacing, one-eyed man approached Qingyue, whispering, “War Maiden, should we take this… ship back to the clan?”

Qingyue turned and glared at the man, coldly saying, “I don’t want to hear such talk again.”

The man urged, “War Maiden, this is a golden opportunity! Once missed, it will never come again!”

“Do you all forget the fate of the Gale’s Wrath?”

“But we Gaohu are different from the Gale’s Wrath! We are much stronger!”

“But the master is growing stronger too!” Qingyue’s tone was stern.

The one-eyed man hesitated, though reluctant, he bowed to Qingyue, saying, “As you command.”

These Gaohu people were Qingyue’s most loyal followers. Qingyue suddenly jumped onto a crate, standing tall, and asked loudly, “Why do we Gaohu, once adults, have to leave our homeland, wandering and living as mercenaries, never knowing how long we will live?”

All the Gaohu people stopped their work and looked up at Qingyue. This was their fate, a question that troubled every Gaohu.

“Because we excel in battle, and because our clan has never had a divine general. We are like dogs, fighting for those divine generals, hoping for their leftover scraps. We have never dared to stand against a divine general, and it has always been this way.”

The one-eyed man shouted, “So what? But what does this have to do with now?”

Qingyue’s expression turned icy, “The point is, the master will soon become a divine general, and being a divine general won’t be his end. I am certain of this!”