Earth's Greatest Magus

Chapter 3093: Beyond the Storm

The metal ark pushed through another full day of the storm before trouble finally caught up with them.

They came in low against the wind, dozens of eel-like shapes weaving through the chaos as though the storm itself had given them form. Gale Wyrms—serpentine creatures with long, translucent wings as thin as membranes—fed on the static and friction generated by the violent weather. Alone, one posed little threat, but in sufficient numbers, they could swarm a vessel and tear its hull apart plate by plate.

Their bodies flashed in and out of sight between the curtains of sand, sometimes disappearing completely before suddenly reappearing beside the ark. Their strange wings barely seemed to move, yet the storm carried them forward at frightening speed.

”You can stay at ease,” Durnok, the old veteran dwarf, called out. Having fought these creatures before, he remained remarkably calm. ”We can deal with these.”

Emery didn’t share his confidence.

His Divine Sense swept across the approaching swarm, carefully examining the creatures as they moved through the storm.

”We can’t let any of them escape,” he said.

Bragnir frowned and glanced toward him. ”What do you mean?”

It made sense that they wouldn’t understand. These dwarves had spent the better part of two decades sealed away underground, hidden from the war against the Scourge.

”I suspect some—maybe all—of these creatures are already infected,” Emery said, his expression growing serious. ”We need to clear them fast and make sure none of them slip away and reveal our location.”

The mood on the deck shifted instantly.

The dwarves immediately understood the danger.

”Kill Them All!!”

Dwarven crossbow artifacts, purpose-built for aerial threats, swung upward and began firing in disciplined volleys. Bolts of condensed energy shot into the storm one after another, striking the approaching wyrms and blasting them apart before they could reach the ark.

Earth-based spells proved far less useful in the chaotic sky. Most of the dwarves’ techniques were built around solid, defensive forces, making them powerful when fighting on the ground but awkward against dozens of fast-moving targets weaving through the storm.

The two elven holy knights took over the offensive instead.

Lightning crackled between their palms, illuminating their faces through the swirling darkness before they launched the condensed energy outward. Brilliant orbs of lightning tore through the storm and exploded among the wyrms, each blast crushing or vaporizing anything unfortunate enough to be caught within its range.

More creatures continued to emerge from the storm.

Dozens became scores, and scores quickly became more than a hundred.

The Gale Wyrms twisted around one another, using the violent currents to accelerate their movements as they attempted to approach the ark from different directions. Some slammed directly into the defensive barrier, their bodies bursting against the golden light, while others tried to circle around the vessel and disappear back into the storm.

Emery stayed out of the melee entirely.

Instead, he let his Divine Sense stretch farther and farther into the storm, covering the surrounding darkness like an invisible net. Every movement within its range was captured by his perception, allowing him to distinguish between the wyrms attacking the ark and those attempting to retreat.

Whenever one broke from the pack and tried to slip past the ark’s defenses, Emery reacted immediately.

His eyes glows as he shot a pulse of soul energy through the storm.

Boom!

The fleeing wyrm was crushed in mid-flight before it could escape, its body tumbling lifelessly into the swirling sand below.

Another tried to retreat from the opposite side.

The same thing happened.

One after another, Emery eliminated every creature that attempted to flee.

The battle continued for nearly two hour before the number of Gale Wyrms finally began to dwindle. The dwarves maintained their volleys, while the two elven knights continued cutting through the remaining creatures with arcs of lightning.

Eventually, the storm around them grew quiet once more.

More than three hundred Gale Wyrms had attacked the Floating Tortoise, not a single one remained.

Did we get them all?” Soltz asked.

”We did,” Emery said with certainty. Then, after a brief pause, he added more quietly, ”Let’s hope none of them managed to warn anything yet”

The thought lingered over the deck.

The next day, the ship flew with extra caution, and luckily, the worst did not happen. Emery kept his Divine Sense spread across the surrounding area while the dwarves remained alert, constantly watching the sky and the distant horizon. Yet, despite their caution, nothing appeared.

By the third day, they still had not encountered any further trouble. However, the sandstorm ended much sooner than expected.

At first, everyone simply stared as the howling wind gradually weakened and the endless clouds of sand began to disperse. There were no more terrifying winds or enormous tornadoes surrounding them, and for the first time in days, the Floating Tortoise could fly beneath a clear sky.

But with the storm gone, the protection it had provided disappeared as well.

They were nowhere near out of the western desert yet. Several thousand more miles of barren land still stretched ahead of them.

The dwarves grew anxious once again. After spending days hidden within the terrifying storm, the sudden openness of the sky made them feel strangely exposed. Without the sand and violent winds concealing their movements, there was little to prevent anything watching the desert from spotting the massive metal ark.

Bragnir, for his part, seemed unbothered.

”Doesn’t matter,” he said calmly, looking toward the distant horizon. ”Western desert or the grassland beyond it—the danger is the same either way.”

The dwarf lord was right. Although the Western Golden Desert had been confirmed to be filled with Scourge, the Crimson Steppe beyond it would be no safer. Their cover was finally gone, and the real battle was about to begin.

Bragnir turned toward Emery.

”You should rest now. We’ll call you when any danger appears.”

Emery had been controlling the Star Plaque and guiding the ark for three days without a proper break. His mind had remained constantly connected to the artifact, monitoring the surroundings while maintaining enough power to keep the Floating Tortoise protected and concealed. Even with his formidable mental strength, the continuous strain was beginning to weigh on him.

Bragnir’s suggestion made sense.

”All right.”

Emery stepped into one of the ark’s cabins and sat down in a lotus position. He closed his eyes and began circulating his energy through his body, allowing the accumulated strain in both his mind and body to slowly fade.

Fortunately, nothing happened.

For nearly half a day, the Floating Tortoise continued its journey without encountering any danger, giving Emery valuable time to recover. His breathing gradually became deeper and more rhythmic as his energy circulated through his meridians, easing the fatigue that had accumulated during the long journey.

When Emery finally opened his eyes, he could already sense a significant change in the environment.

The endless golden sands of the Western Golden Desert were beginning to disappear behind them.

Ahead stretched a vast expanse of green.

They had finally entered the Crimson Steppes.

The region was an enormous stretch of rolling grassland lying between the Western Golden Desert and the Southern Isles. Unlike the barren desert they had just crossed, the Crimson Steppes were filled with life. Endless waves of tall grass stretched toward the horizon, bending beneath the constant wind and creating the appearance of a green ocean beneath the open sky.

Yet beneath the beautiful landscape lay a long and bloody history.

The region had earned its ominous name from the countless battles fought across its plains. Generations of warriors had spilled blood upon the grasslands, and even after one war ended, another would eventually begin.

As Emery emerged onto the deck, he couldn’t help but glance toward the east.

Their current route had taken them farther south than he had originally intended. The journey had already forced him to abandon his previous plan of entering the Central Plains and eventually reaching the capital.

For now, his plans to visit Skyroot Mountain and investigate the Heaven and Earth Stele would have to wait.

Before making another major move, he needed to understand the situation in Tartarus.

The Floating Tortoise continued across the Crimson Steppes.

They had spent the entire journey expecting trouble to come while they were still inside the Western Golden Desert.

Instead, trouble arrived almost the moment they entered the grasslands.