Chapter 299

Chapter 299: The Crippled Magic Griffin

By this stage, Midi had truly become a Drawn Bow at its limit.

Only his noble upbringing and skill in psychological warfare allowed him to maintain a calm front, single-handedly pressuring both the Saint and the colossal Magic Griffin warship below.

The truth was, he’d burned through countless Radiance of Light crystals during the fight.

This meant Midi had been hovering near total magic depletion since evading the first psychic sniping attack, never fully recovering.

There was no alternative.

Telepathic targeting and the looming threat of psychic explosions demanded constant vigilance. To dodge the Saint’s high-powered magic and the warship’s swiveling turrets, Midi had to stay in perpetual motion.

Without the Dragon’s Blood White Crystal’s enhancements, he’d have been obliterated by the combined assault long ago.

Even an Awakened One of Extraordinary Awakening had physical limits.

Facing the Stormy Region’s strongest foes, Midi had brushed against those limits repeatedly.

The Wind King Warship’s activation came just in time.

Emil had somehow restored power to this ten-thousand-year-old ancient warship within five and a half hours.

But the Blue Truth Sect soon realized the Wind King’s weapons remained offline. After momentary shock, they redoubled their assault.

Midi could no longer intervene. Prolonged magic depletion was unsustainable—he needed reserves for emergencies while aiding Reinhardt’s extraction.

As Midi withdrew to the periphery, the Saint purged the demon god arrays from the Magic Griffin. Unleashed, the warship’s full arsenal deployed—observation ports tracking targets, gunports tripling firepower.

Under this intensified barrage, even the Wind King Warship took hits. Flames sprouted across its hull as black smoke coiled skyward.

The Magic Griffin’s firepower surpassed entire Sea of Clouds fleets combined. The Wind King’s dormant defenses offered only bare armor against the onslaught.

No armor, however ancient or heavenly, could endure such punishment indefinitely.

Yet instead of fleeing, the Wind King pivoted sharply. Its white swan-like bow aimed squarely at the Magic Griffin.

A cavernous gunport yawned beneath the prow—no ordinary cannon, but a Gigantic Vortex thirsting for magic. The very warship’s energy streamed toward it.

“Main cannon!” Midi’s pulse quickened.

He’d expected superior armaments on this ancient warship, but never dreamed Emil had restored this monstrosity alongside the power systems.

Victory crystallized in that moment.

“Full retreat!” The Saint barked, already propelling himself backward with mind-related abilities.

Chaos gripped the Magic Griffin’s crew. At this distance, evasion was impossible—their only hope lay in destroying the Wind King before its cannon fired.

But without main artillery of their own—the Blue Truth Sect’s techniques couldn’t harness such magic power—the task proved hopeless.

Bishop Marlan and the captain reeled. How had absolute dominance inverted to mortal peril?

Amid the confusion, a lifeboat slipped from the Magic Griffin’s flank, skirting the battlefield’s blind spots.

As the tiny craft cleared the confrontation zone, luminous rings ignited across the Wind King’s main cannon. Ambient magic condensed into glowing motes, funneling hungrily into the weapon’s maw.

The compressed magic was so intense that shells fired from the Magic Griffin warship veered off course as if hitting invisible resistance, completely missing the main cannon.

After mere seconds of charging, the cannon unleashed a massive beam of razor-sharp light.

The beam sliced through air, tore across half the sky, and pierced straight through one wing of the Magic Griffin warship.

The Wind King Cannon had spoken.

The damaged wing began crumbling away like loose building blocks, slowly separating from the hull. Metal fragments, screaming crewmembers, and billowing black smoke mixed with explosions to create hellish scenery.

Losing a wing destroyed the warship’s balance. The remaining wing couldn’t maintain flight or combat – the vessel could only spin helplessly.

The Wind King Cannon dimmed after its single shot. This brief cooldown period gave the Blue Truth Sect crucial breathing room.

A chain of precise explosions suddenly rocked the Magic Griffin’s remaining wing, detaching it with surgical precision.

The now-wingless warship suddenly tilted upright, resembling a spear thrust toward the heavens.

"They’re escaping," Midi muttered, brow furrowing. His longsword flashed, sending a wave of dense sword energy toward the vessel.

Dozens of fireballs intercepted the attack mid-air before it could strike.

The retreating Saint reappeared, hurling a Mind-Related Illusion Formation at Midi while using Star Shift to teleport back aboard the Magic Griffin.

The wingless warship’s engines flared brilliantly.

Propelled by flames like a crossbow bolt, the vessel shot skyward at blinding speed, leaving only a towering smoke column.

Though Emil had activated the Wind King Cannon, the lack of targeting systems prevented a killing blow. Without cooling mechanisms, it couldn’t fire again quickly enough.

The Magic Griffin escaped by sacrificing both wings.

Though enemies survived and the Saint remained free, Midi relaxed seeing their desperate, wingless retreat.

Relief swept through the crew. Only Wiseman of the Hand of Nightmare seemed disappointed the ancient warship clash ended too abruptly for his taste – though only an immortal Necromancer would crave prolonged destruction.

Cheers erupted across the bridge.

"Welcome back, Midi."

Avril and Emil greeted him simultaneously as he landed. The "White Snake" and "Shadow Snake" sisters – alike in essence yet distinct in beauty – momentarily captivated him.

"I’m back," he smiled after a pause.

Reinhardt received equal celebration. While Midi dueled the Saint, the fourth prince had relayed critical intel to Wiseman and sabotaged the enemy warship, buying precious time.

If Midi was the battle’s hero, Reinhardt proved the decisive supporting actor. The People of the Heavens’ respect, Avril’s nod of approval, and Emil’s gratitude finally made the prince feel he belonged in the Sea of Clouds. Even Wiseman’s usual smirk looked warmer through this lens.

"Where next?" Reinhardt asked eagerly, itching to test their new warship’s capabilities.

"Ask her," Midi answered, nodding toward the horizon.

Dozens of Vanguard ships approached. Victoria waved vigorously from the lead vessel, her sweet smile glowing with genuine eighteen-year-old enthusiasm.