A solemn gravity settled on Yang Zicang’s face. In that instant, everyone inside and outside the carriage felt a faint, ominous ripple wash over them—the very same prickling sensation that had raised goosebumps on their skin when they encountered the roadside bandits just days ago.

They had already realized that this chilling presence was undeniably the “Hero’s ” mysterious power.

“Brother Buchen, ” Lianna called out.

Turning around in the rain, Yang Zicang said sternly, “Don’t come out. ” He then turned and shouted louder, “He Yishu, get to this carriage and protect them. We might be in very serious danger. “

With that, Yang Zicang reached into his inner pocket and felt for the gem Hua Mi had given him, hoping its magic patterns hadn’t been soaked by the rain.

“Brother, here you go! ” Yang Zicang saw Lianna handing him a tightly stretched, wide, long, hard leather black-brimmed naval officer’s cap from the carriage. Just one look at such a cap made it clear the maker had poured a great deal of design effort into it.

He nodded, took it from the young girl’s hands, and put it on, adjusting the angle with his fingers to set it straight. The rain that had been stinging his eyes was instantly blocked by the brim.

He Yishu’s figure swiftly leaped from the rear carriage to the front. At the same time, a crystal formed from solidified rain had already condensed in his hand, which he was pulling into the shape of a small mirror.

By the roadside, a Fogfolk man was spotted swiftly dashing out from the rear carriage. Meanwhile, the guest before them, who insisted on leaving, swayed weakly like an illusion of frailty. With a flick of his hand, like a magician performing a trick, another deep-brimmed gentleman’s hat appeared. The hotel waiter immediately realized these two before him were Fogfolk.

It was said that Fogfolk possessed mystical abilities, their temperaments peculiar and strange. They generally refrained from attacking the natives of this continent, yet it was also rumored they dealt with their own kind with merciless cruelty.

And when they began to wield their powers in combat, they often confronted the same mysterious, wondrous, and extreme danger as the elves and mages of legend!

Startled, the innkeeper scrambled and dashed toward an alley by the roadside.

“It’s dangerous for him to leave at a time like this, isn’t it? “

On top of the carriage, He Yishu had already finished crafting a second condensate, resembling a frosted soft mirror, and pulled it open.

“I’ve scouted. No danger lies in that direction. But if someone can ignore my scanning, it means the enemy far surpasses our strength. “

He Yishu’s expression grew heavy with seriousness. “What a pity the Bloodline Statue isn’t here. If Xue Qi had followed us on this trip, we could have collectively used her ‘Radiance’ to purchase ‘Moonlight,’ undoubtedly boosting her strength to the level where she could handle such crises. “

｛The distributor store “February. Di’an ” gave me a favorable review.｝

Handing the deep-brimmed hat, containing the business card and an enchanted silk scarf, to Lianna inside the carriage, Yang Zicang silently extended the range of the Silent Night ability.

Originally capable of exchanging information over a range of three to five kilometers, theNight of Murmurswas now restricted to less than two kilometers.

His mental power touched an invisible, blurred transparent force field.

Rainwater and large droplets gathering atop the hat brim dripped from both sides. Yang Zicang slowly opened his eyes, which had turned icy cold.

This barrier felt very similar to the one used by Soldier No.4 in Qijun City.

He had already investigated: strictly speaking, Qijun City did not belong to the Grand Duchy. That city was the private territory of a noble lord from the north, in a country that was effectively erased from existence during the war. As a result, the baron of Qijun City, having lost the protection of his country, began paying taxes to the Grand Duchy, seeking nominal military protection and support.

This was how a large detachment of imperial troops could appear around the city as if in an uninhabited land.

This was also how Soldier No.4 could indiscriminately massacre the city, nearly wiping out all the core members of the Weiting Travel Merchant Association and those they had invited to the inn.

“Does that ‘soft mirror’ in your hand carry anyone else’s aura? “

Yang Zicang knew that He Yishu’s ability required infecting the target with the enemy’s aura to lock onto them.

Squatting on the roof of the vehicle, He Yishu shook his head. “No. But I still think this rain is man-made. If it really is targeting us, then our opponent’s strength—or their influence—is formidable. “

Some coincidences are just too outrageous—they might just be coincidence; otherwise, the word wouldn’t exist.

But at other times…

Especially in an era where one can leverage the flashes to alter the Track of Fate.

He Yishu stared unblinkingly at the sky, rainwater sliding down the crystalline surface drawn thin before his eyes.

There had been some overcast clouds nearby in the afternoon, just not enough to bring rain. But now, it was a torrential downpour.

If it were man-made, this could practically disrupt an entire region’s ecosystem—the other party must wield incredible power. This was a capability of strategic significance.

-｛Distributor February. Di’an is currently monitoring my present life experience.｝

-｛Distributor January. Luokamei, with wealth of experience, indicates that I might be gestating a brilliant new prelude.｝

He Yishu’s brow relaxed. He touched his inn key—even in the face of danger, this thing should allow him to return, shouldn’t it?

Inside the carriage. Hearing the conversation between the two Fogfolk, Ebiser turned pale. The man twisted around to look at the calm maiden beside him, his voice tense:

“Child, don’t be afraid.“

“I’m not afraid at all, Father!” Lianna pouted defiantly, hugging her hat, her pink cheeks puffing out. “You all don’t need to be afraid either.“

“Miss, are you really not scared?” asked the coachman from the opposite seat, squeezed in with the luggage, his sitting posture awkward.

“Hmph! With heroes around, for sure nothing will go wrong—da!“

Along with the butler Thorne, the three men sighed lightly and shook their heads. Ebiser thought helplessly—was this the childishness that remained at her age, or the early signs of her starting to side with outsiders?

Gurgle, another carriage came up from behind. Cadan, huddled under the awning of the carriage and shivering with his wet legs tucked in, called out, “Find us some place to get out of the rain first, folks.“

“Right, we still have Mr. Cadan.” He Yishu’s face brightened. “He’s a Fogfolk too. With him joining us, things will be a lot easier.“

Yang Zicang shook his head gently.

“Sometimes the seeds of danger sprout from the very ground you’d never think to look, cracking and splitting the last solid foothold under your feet. We don’t know anything about him. Even for the sake of his daughter, who has no Mod capacity, we shouldn’t drag him into this peril.“

“But we’re short on hands.“

“Don’t forget, every ‘Fogfolk’ who’s made it this far must have their own objective. As for being short-handed, our current task is just to keep Mr. Ebiser’s family safe. This anomaly here will definitely put the defenders of Hydrogen-Sail City on alert.“

……

Bai Yuan stood on the slope by the river. With a straight-line distance of over three kilometers from the town, a span of six kilometers in diameter was already the outer limit of what Yang Zicang could probe at this distance. What’s more, whenever he encountered complex terrain or certain hard-to-identify objects, the range of his investigation would shrink accordingly.

“Yang Zicang, oh Yang Zicang. Though you brought ruin to the faction I served, I truly don’t hold it against you. If I’m to blame anyone, I blame that not every one of us is fated to obtain the Godhead. After all, what can you do when your opponent is a Full Moon Angel?“

Bai Yuan, wearing a rain hat and a conical straw cloak, smiled.

He turned his head to look toward a vague direction in the dusk. Although he could no longer see clearly from there, he knew that a few kilometers northwest of the town, there was a special “mechanical ” device.

About six kilometers northwest of New Sail Town.

A huge mechanical creation, shaped like a tilted iron tower, crouched low to the ground. Its front end was an extremely thin metal wire that extended up into the clouds.

A few people in blue uniforms, but without epaulets, were wearing helmets and operating a machine structurally resembling an ancient siege cannon in the rain. Their tiny, dark silhouettes beside the machine looked like cold mechanical worker ants.

“Report to dispatch center, the second heavy rainfall operation is ready. Proceeding with the wire tower-shift operation. “

— “Dispatch center acknowledged. Repeat, the second heavy rainfall operation is ready. Flying Sail, please prepare to shift positions. “

— “Flying Sail acknowledges the shift order. “

At the back end of the tilted iron tower’s steel machine, a gray-black, dual-colored steel cable spool, wrapped with two coils of thin steel cable, rotated slowly.

The other end of the steel cable disappeared deep into the clouds.

Next to the spool was a small sealed chamber welded to the base, resembling the turret of a tank. It had only one oval observation window made of double-layer glass, secured by anchors, through which the outside light could be seen. Even then, down the middle of the horizontal oval glass stood a steel rebar connecting to the ground’s lightning rod, and inside there was a rear steel plate, ever-ready to be shut tightly.

A man without insignia, wearing a rubber cap and an insulating mask, clutched an iron egg-like wired microphone in his hand. His voice cut through the cabin’s rumbling machinery, solemn and icy cold.

“AirshipFlying Sail, you are currently at the hovering position within the southeast quadrant of Cloud Cluster New Sail 1. The next mission area is the hovering point directly above the core of the main rain-generating cloud, New Sail 3. This tower will initiate its turning maneuver in one minute. Release all moorings and set transfer speed to 50 knots. “

“Control Tower understood. Repeat,Flying Sail, you are ordered to proceed immediately at 50 knots to the core hover point over rain cloud New Sail 3. Ground tower will begin the turn in fifty seconds. “

“Flying Sailacknowledges the shift. Confirm, proceeding to target at 50 knots. Acceleration for the shift has commenced. “

Above the clouds, the oppressive humming suddenly intensified, as if a slumbering leviathan had been awakened.

Massive rotor blades churned the boiling mist below, parting the deep, gloomy storm clouds to reveal a vast presence. A hovering airship emerged, creating a colossal vortex as it tilted and veered into the adjacent right-front area, realigning by a full fifty degrees.

Hanging beneath the airship, several iron wires stretched down, vanishing into the dark clouds below.

“This is the control tower. Fly 4 kilometers along the current cloud ridge heading 120. Be aware of the strong convective clouds forming ahead. After clearing the obstacle, immediately turn to heading 020 and proceed directly to the target anchor point. ” The control tower’s icy voice came through the earphones once again.

Like an awakened steel giant eagle, the airship began to accelerate forward along the cloud layer. Inside the cockpit, the needle of the brass-rimmed speed gauge steadily climbed upward.

Half a minute later, its massive form had already reached a speed close to 80 kilometers per hour, and it was still gradually accelerating towards a cruising speed of 90 kilometers per hour.

“Thrust speed will stabilize at 50 knots… Holding altitude at 2000 meters. Heading 120… Monitoring the strong convective zone ahead, preparing for course correction. “

“Control tower acknowledged. Both parties, please pay attention to changes in the ‘leader line’ tension. Do not let the core begin a pendulum motion. “

Amidst the “clanking ” rotational rumble of the ground machinery, the tilting tower rotated, following the gradually shifting thin steel wire, slowly turning to face another denser mass of dark clouds.

For a weather reconnaissance biplane whistling past from the side, the airship’s speed was slow as a snail, yet it was the maximum cruising speed this aerial leviathan could currently achieve. Because as its massive, dim bulk slowly cleaved through the thin cloud layers at its edge, a huge object suspended from the airship’s belly was gradually dragged out from the clouds it had previously been continuously showering with water curtains, and revealed itself.

It was a massive metallic sphere, dark as solidified volcanic slurry.

With its appearance, the surrounding temperature plummeted sharply. Around the entire town of New Sail, countless birds that had been sheltering from the rain shrieked and spread their wings, taking flight from the treetops.

Many animals in the forest raised their heads, contracting their nostrils as if searching for something, scenting the air, before rising to their feet.

Down in the town below.

He Yishu and the coachman were leading two horses away into the distance, while Yang Zicang, in the empty carriage behind them, had unfurled the square cloth inscribed with magic runes.

He was about to activate it. But the carriage suddenly lurched, and the two horses, as if sensing something ominous, stamped their hooves in agitated confusion.

“Whoa… Whoa there!” The coachman struggled to calm the horses.

Carden, who had chosen not to follow and was sheltering from the rain by a house, saw his horse rear up with a piercing whinny, its front legs flailing in the air.

The tilting machine of the tower finished stabilizing its rotation angle.

“We are about to activate the ‘Thread’. Please take note, all personnel…“

As a gate was pulled down, the metal cable connecting to the high altitudes instantly spread metal filaments from its surface, finer than body hair. A surge of electricity disturbed the rain and cloud vapor, emitting faint, ethereal “arcs ” of lightning that shot up into the sky.

The entire sphere instantly rippled with a surge of majestic cold, tinged with the aura of blood and life, spreading far and wide. The rain, which had just begun to ease, suddenly intensified once more!

Countless dogs began barking from all over the town.

Lone calls of beasts echoed one after another from the surrounding forests and mountains.

People in the town stuck their heads out to look; the sound of flapping wings rippled across the distant skyline. Birds from the surrounding mountains, as if by some pact, flew northward into the high heavens through the darkness.

“Something’s not right, ” butler Thorn muttered, gazing into the distance.

“The beasts seem to have gone haywire again… “

Many people in the town started shouting.

“May the saints bless us; let’s hope there won’t be any legendary demons or disasters. “

“Where did this heavy rain suddenly come from? “

“With the temperature changes, everyone, just stay by the fireplace and candles. “

Yang Zicang, who had failed to enter the “Sub-Aetheric Force Field ” twice, felt a spiritual suffocation.

Through his expanded Silent Night, he sensed people nearby talking about the sudden strange phenomena.

Yang Zicang looked towards the sky; under the distant clouds, countless black dots—migrating birds—gathered into several black streams of shadows across the horizon, flowing away into the distance.