Chapter 47: A Sudden Attack In The Skies
Flying chariots were uncommon in the empire because they cost as much as a top-grade mysterious weapon.
Another reason they were rarely seen was that a top-grade mysterious weapon could enhance a refiner's strength while a flying chariot was only a means of transport.
As such, none of the households in the C County where the Luo family was from would spend that sort of money on a flying chariot.
Only places with wealth, like the Imperial Capital, were flying chariots commonplace.
As the enormous chariot hovered, slowly descending from the air, Zen stood awestruck at the sight. This was the first chariot of this size he ever saw!
Other disciples that were waiting were used to seeing them and stood up when they saw the huge chariot approaching. It was time for them to set out.
The enormous flying chariot docked next to the Bluesky Parking Ground, and a pontoon bridge extended from its side to the edge of the ground. A few people were disembarking from the flying chariot waiting near the pontoon bridge.
The disciples of the Cloud Sect waiting on the ground handed their tokens to the checkers. After tickets were checked, the disciples strode across the bridge and climbed aboard the flying chariot.
Zen followed the crowd. When he walked up to the checkers, he presented his token. The checkers appeared surprised when they read Zen was just at the marrow refining level, but they didn't make any comments. After examining the token, they motioned Zen to board the flying chariot.
After that, Zen crossed the pontoon bridge and boarded the flying chariot.
Inside, the chariot was spacious, with rows of seats along the walls that were fixed to the floor. Zen found a place in a corner and sat down.
Underfoot, a tremor was felt by the passengers as the massive chariot lifted off.
Passengers sitting in window seats could see all of the Cloud Sect as they rose in the air.
Mountains rose up, meeting the skyline and extending endlessly in a continuous line. The Cloud Sect made up a quarter of the Imperial Capital, but adding the mountain range that lay behind the Cloud Sect, made it larger than the whole Imperial Capital!
Just then, Zen saw a black mountain.
At the Cloud Sect, most of the mountains were green with thick foliage, which made the black one stand out from the rest.
'Hell Mountain, ' Zen whispered in his mind.
Sean had described Hell Mountain as being completely black with constant gray smoke rising, and a sulfurous smell, that appeared from a distance.
Somewhere, within that mountain range was Yan, his younger sister.
Zen stared at the mountain out the window for as far as his eye could see, eager to see everything there. Soon, he smiled bitterly. 'Have I gone mad? I may be at the marrow refining level, and, true, my hearing and eyesight have improved, but, how could I possibly think I could see things in that mountain from up here?'
thought Zen, in a sad, mocking manner. 'Besides which, finding Yan in a place that size is an insane dream.'
Zen admitted to himself, and yet, his gaze remained fixated on Hell Mountain until the chariot turned and the mountain disappeared.
The speed that the chariot flew was so fast that it only took six hours to reach the southern part of the Imperial Capital from the Cloud Sect.
Many of the refiners were whispering amongst themselves while others prepared to disembark. It seemed that their destination was just around the corner.
Just as they were preparing to land, something unexpected happened!
“Crash!”
Glass shattering suddenly ripped through the cabin as a glazed window on the right side burst and two green blades came sailing through what remained of the window. The blades were crisscrossing like scissors and sliced smoothly through the neck of the passenger sitting by the window.
Just before the head fell, a monstrous creature poked its face in through what was left of the window. Its large, bulbous compound eyes looked around seconds before it snapped the man's head with its mandible and disappeared again through the window.
Blood spurted up from the man's neck with such force it splattered across the chariot's ceiling.
Passengers sat frozen, dumbfounded at what happened. Within seconds someone screeched, “On your guard! Blade locusts attack!”
Yet, everyone sat still. They were all battle-hardened and levelheaded enough to take on fighting insect aggression. A momentary panic ensued before cooler heads prevailed and everyone moved to the middle of the chariot quickly.
“Was that a blade locust?” asked Zen.
He had seen it clearly. It was emerald green, with compound eyes that took up most of its head, and was the size of an adult man. With wings protruding from its back, the insect had six appendages, and the two uppermost looked like long flat blades and were extremely sharp. This beast was brutal and hideous.
Zen had just gotten out of his seat when the window next to him shattered, and a blade locust came through right at him.
A pair of green blades flew through the open window towards Zen's waist, slicing from either side at breakneck speed.
This being Zen's first encounter with the evil beast, he was nervous. But, instead of flinching, he threw a powerful punch aimed at the beast's abdomen.
However, the exoskeleton covering its abdomen was thick.
Zen thought he could crack the exoskeleton with a single blow, but it was too thick.
“Dang!”
His attack failed, giving the giant insect an opening to strike back swinging its two blade-like forelimbs.
“Swoosh!”
The sound came from behind Zen as a sword sliced through the air, black-red light shimmering from it as it cleaved the blade locust's head open.
Despite the sword split its head open, the beast wielded its blades in a frenzy driven assault. Thankfully, the man-sized insect was swinging blindly and had lost both its speed and strength, giving Zen a chance to duck to safety.
“Thanks for saving me, man,” Zen said to the disciple in a black robe as he found a safer spot in the corner. The disciple looked young and wore his hair long. The black-red energy on his sword wasn't constructed by using life energy but was made up of genuine life vitality! Given those facts, this young man was at the nature level!
“No worries, it was nothing. Besides, we're both disciples from the Cloud Sect,” offered the young man lightly. “By the way, blade locusts have exceedingly tough abdomens. Their heads are the weak spots. Don't let them get a strike in or surround you unless you are as strong as iron,” he added kindly.
Zen nodded, indicating that he got it. The young man, cold as he seemed, had not only saved him but had given him vital details about the insect's weaknesses. It was very rare to meet such a good person from the Cloud Sect.
Blade locusts began continually hurtling themselves at the flying chariot. The battle was on.
No one expected the beasts to dive onto the flying chariot as they soared on their way to the destination.
Amid the struggle, an alarmed voice shouted, “Blade locusts are tearing through the bottom of the chariot!”
The flying chariot housed its power in the bottom, so if the base was demolished, the chariot would plummet to the ground below!
It was unfortunate that no one present was able to fly like their attackers, leaving them no recourse except to watch as their fate was ripped away piece by piece like the hull of their chariot.
It wasn't long before everyone felt the floor tilt, and sure enough, the huge flying chariot began to fall!
Zen slid along the floor, smacking into a corner before grasping a beam to steady himself.
The current situation, with the insects' sudden attack and cunning maneuver to rip through the bottom of the vehicle, was wholly unexpected. 'What lousy luck!' determined Zen, laughing silently at the irony, with a wry smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He had assumed they'd arrive at their destination and take a break to acclimate before hunting blade locusts.
The good news was that the bottom of the chariot was only half torn which meant they still had some power. So, the chariot merely tilted downward, falling slowly.
Everyone clutched any secure objects around them to keep steady as they waited for the impact of the crash.
“Crr-ssh,”
A deafening, hollow sound of the chariot slamming into the ground reverberated through the passengers. The center keel snapped off, causing the chariot to separate, splintering into many pieces. The land was littered with sections of broken wood that moments ago was a mighty chariot.
The impact didn't hurt Zen, who suffered only momentary confusion. Climbing out of the wreckage, he found himself in a wartorn battle between inner disciples and blade locusts.
Many of the disciples present were at the nature level.
Aside from Zen, most of others were dominant refiners half-step into the nature level.
In the face of the crisis, everyone remained levelheaded, immediately launching counterattacks against the blade locusts. For a time, lights of the life energy and the life vitality flashed, one after another on the battlefield. It was an intense battle.
Only then did Zen understand the full impact of what the insect aggression was.
Whether in an open field, in the jungle or high above in the sky, everywhere he looked was green.
When the insects flew, people couldn't see the blue sky anymore.
As soon as Zen was away from the wreck, he was set on by four blade locusts swooping down on him from three directions.
As he learned from the young man with a ponytail, Zen knew the blade locust's most reliable defense was its abdomen, and the exoskeleton grown on its body was even more robust than manmade armor.
The earlier attack in the chariot was a good lesson for Zen, and he wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
Beset on by blade locusts, Zen took the offense. He fended off oncoming blades, concentrating his strength on his arm, and smashing the head with a single blow. After that, he grabbed the body and threw it behind him, blocking the two blade locusts that were rushing at him from behind.
These beasts outnumbered the refiners, and being surrounded like this was quite intimidating.
So, Zen heeded the earlier advice and tried not to get entrapped by a swarm of blade locusts.
Of the four blade locusts that attacked, he killed one with his fist and blocked two more behind him, which left just one. It would be easier to deal with the left one. Before it could strike with its blades, Zen reached out fast to its abdominal joints. With one firm yank, he ripped the two blades off.
In fact, Zen thought a single blade locust wasn't that difficult to deal with.
Disciples that were half-step into the nature level were able to kill a single blade locust with ease, as well as those at the marrow refining level. Actually, even at the organ refining level, one might be able to defeat a locust, if they put all their strength into their actions.