CHAPTER 50: CHAPTER 49: TACTICAL FLAWS

On the deck of the Magical Flying Ship, the Earth Serpent Anastasia coiled around Li Ang.

Perhaps due to the nurturing of the Star Soul Greenhouse, its Combat Wisdom had grown to Tier 2 in just one day. According to Zoe, understanding Li Ang’s words was no longer a problem; it would fully cooperate with him.

As soon as the Earth Serpent appeared, everyone’s attention was drawn, whether they were other passengers and Sky Knights blocked at the entry of the airship route or the opposing Imperial Army. Despite the strong winds in high altitudes, the commotion and discussions were enough for Li Ang to hear clearly.

From appearance alone, its Diamond Golden Scale, Emerald Treasure Crown, and Red and Blue Sapphire Star Eyes all showcased its extraordinary nature.

A High Tier Summoned Beast might be even harder to handle than an Energy Source; the Holy Snake made Li Ang the object of great envy.

"Wow, kid, when you organize a party, it’s not just fooling around, huh? Getting such an incredible Summoned Beast in just a few days."

Lanslow jumped over from the Order Corps Flying Airship’s deck, also shocked by the Earth Serpent’s splendor. He examined it closely, his hand resting on Li Ang’s shoulder, the force growing heavier.

"Got any connections? Look at us, we can only use this."

The young man patted a metal ball at his waist. It looked somewhat like a sachet but was actually used to carry Demons, a "Demon Sealing Cage," in which captured Demons below Tier 7 could be sealed and summoned at any time. This commonly used term for Summoned Beasts originated from this cage.

Inside was the standard Summoned Beast for the Order Sky Knight Corps’ elite. If they couldn’t find better ones themselves, this was what they typically used.

However, this wasn’t bad either. Many people without a background joined the Order Sky Knight Corps just for the complete set of official gear; otherwise, acquiring them on their own would be challenging.

But Lanslow pointed at the floating and orbiting Spirit Core Ball in Li Ang’s hand and laughed loudly, temporarily forgetting his envy.

"What the heck is this! So creative, huh? Haha, it’s plainly a bunch of Low Tier Spirit Cores, but you made it look like a Great Mage’s Magical Artifact. Only a witch like you could pull this off, right? But aren’t you worried about that pile of things blowing you to pieces in that armor of yours?"

Li Ang’s Water Flow Array Iron Armor had parts drop back to Tier 1 after Zoe left.

However, if Lanslow knew that Tier 1 and Tier 2 Equipment also had Array Skills, he would be more astonished.

"The Holy Capital Bank is investigating my personal treasury, so I can’t withdraw anything."

Lanslow grimaced: "You really have it rough. I’ll help you find out who Rams is improperly connected with inside the Holy Capital Bank."

The Flying Ship unhesitatingly approached the prow of the Imperial Army ship blocking the route, and though Li Ang reduced speed, the prows of both ships still collided.

The two executed Magic Resonance identification as allies and jumped onto the opposite deck.

Regular Imperial soldiers drew their weapons due to the collision, but they knew Lanslow was formidable and dared not act rashly, keeping their focus on the leader.

The leading man, sporting slicked-back hair with pomade, wore High Tier Equipment dyed uniformly in green for a coordinated look. Next to him, a Leader Level Griffin with gleaming fur, ivory-like white neck feathers, and tortoiseshell-beating black beast fur, exuded an aura slightly overshadowing others in his presence.

But this didn’t affect Li Ang and Lanslow, who were accustomed to various scenes.

"Lord Feinat—" A soldier in the Imperial Army called to the leading Sky Knight.

"Stand down, leave this to me."

Wendes Feinat knew the people from the Order Sky Knight Corps had rammed their ship over and were even sailing in a captured Imperial vessel, so they were definitely here to cause trouble.

However, when he clearly saw the appearance of the person coming with the Order Corps people, he was stunned in his tracks.

His facial expression fluctuated several times, eventually condensing into an undisguised aggressiveness.

"Oh, I wondered who it was? A kicked-out stray dog! Wearing such garbage I couldn’t even recognize you, what’s with that..."

In front of him, the Earth Serpent gradually raised its head, looking down from above. Whether from its divine-like aura or overwhelming presence, Wendes paused in his thoughts, unable to continue his mockery.

Lanslow turned to look at Li Ang beside him, seeing him calm and composed, then turned away.

He understood the nature of Li Ang’s acquaintance with the other.

"Mind your language," Lanslow said sternly, "There are righteous passersby reporting to me that you are a member of the now top-ranking ’Soul Apex’ Celestial Group, a Sky Knight helping local forces violate Guild laws. Do you have an explanation?"

Wendes scoffed, ignoring Lanslow and turning to Li Ang: "What do you mean, scheming to take revenge on us? Have you considered the consequences of offending the top Celestial Group?"

Wendes Feinat was indeed a member of Soul Apex.

His adequately matched equipment and his ability to wield his Secret Techniques by pairing his profession with Energy Sources, Summoned Beasts, and Equipment were powerful.

This Wendes was a typical example of someone joining with capital; it wasn’t clear exactly how much he "lent" to leader Rams. Still, the good Equipment Soul Apex obtained during that period was prioritized for him.

However, it was later discovered that those good pieces of Equipment conflicted with each other on him. To let him perform adequately, it was Li Ang who reorganized his overall layout, thus giving him his current strength. But he never showed any gratitude.

Due to the scarcity of High Tier Equipment, aside from Equipment obtained personally, no Celestial Group would normally allow an individual to immediately possess the Equipment collected by the entire group.

Wendes only wanted to continue flaunting Equipment that was not at all effective yet flashy. Even though it made him stronger after Li Ang’s intervention, he harbored much resentment.

He might not know it himself, but even though he had substantial resources, others in the group were even wealthier. When others provided more "team development funds," Rams intended to take some parts from him.

Li Ang reorganized his Equipment because he didn’t want to see success fail in battle.

Even with the most compatible hardware for his combat style, his Combat Power Amplification was only a mere 7%, a burden of his Professional Skills. Li Ang, without a system panel before, expected it to be low, but not that low. Yet, even without considering the amplification, as long as he didn’t encounter a top-level strong individual under this sky, he could still hold his ground—that is the effect of having a full set of top-tier hardware.

"I’m so scared, the first group," Li Ang said, "you better hurry, Rams is under constant Guild surveillance, only daring to trip me through the bank. If you’re not fast, you might fall from the top four before I even get unfrozen."

"Huh, anyone can make empty statements."

"Let me guess," Li Ang continued, "I’ve been gone for seven days. According to Rams’ habits, there must have been at least one offensive operation already, and I bet it failed, am I right?"

He pointed at the leader with his finger. "Before I left, the target Rams chose was the ruins of the Demon Disaster Realm’s Northwest Ancient Tiya Civilization. The guardian statues at the entrance were embedded with large Energy Gems. Wasn’t it there that, while facing the strong guard statues, your vanguard was equipped with Energy Reflection equipment, breaking the formation and getting smashed with one hit, missing a retreat, am I right?"

Wendes gritted his teeth without speaking, but his expression was one of astonishment.

Li Ang continued calmly: "I guess I was right. Don’t worry, more problems await."

"You bastard!"

Furious, Wendes leaped onto the back of the Griffin’s saddle.