CHAPTER 350: CHAPTER 311: THE SKY BEHEMOTH_1

With Marquis Anderson’s call to Yan Xing, twenty airships flew towards Riftfort.

Accompanying them was a large group of Griffons and Divine Beasts.

The Divine Beasts were a type of advanced combat golem manufactured by Cloud Tower, with lower bodies made of air elements and humanoid upper bodies, capable of flying and casting spells.

On the ground, transport carriages pulled a large number of alchemical weapons from Cloud Tower, advancing towards Riftfort.

The cold wind howled from the north, and the situation in the Wildwind Highlands suddenly grew tense once again.

Everyone watched to see how Yan Xing would respond.

But it seemed the Eternal Domain was functioning normally, unperturbed.

Apart from the stricter inspections along the way, normal traffic faced no obstruction whatsoever.

It seemed the Eternal Domain paid no mind to the military pressure emanating from Storm City.

This did reveal a bit of Lord Yan Xing’s attitude.

Yan Xing’s strategy to handle Marquis Anderson’s aggressive tactics was to seek stability. First and foremost, he absolutely could not be thrown off by Storm City’s pace, letting Marquis Anderson lead him by the nose. If the Eternal Domain entered a state of military preparedness because of the pressure from Riftfort, it would inevitably affect its economy and armament plans. The best strategy was to remain unchanging in the face of myriad changes, for only by maintaining his own composure could he ensure that those around him would also remain calm. After all, the weapons from Cloud Tower were not something that the Wildwind Highlands Legion could use immediately upon receipt. The increasingly cold weather was also unsuitable for offensive operations. What the Eternal Domain needed to do now was to accumulate strength, ramp up production, and complete weapon upgrades and modernization as soon as possible.

Of course... One must have a bottom line, and also let the opponent know one’s own red line. Otherwise, excessive forbearance would only lead Anderson to believe he could easily bully him, and any reckless military ventures on his part would not bode well for the current progress of the Eternal Domain’s development.

The Eternal Domain continued to enforce a lenient internal policy, but the Outpost Fort facing Riftfort received a batch of reinforcements. In addition, an engineering unit composed of peasants was formed to dig trenches, construct bunkers, and build wartime airfields around the Outpost Fort.

By that time, the Griffon units placed in Outpost Fort by Count Theodore had all withdrawn, leaving the entire burden of air defense on the shoulders of the Eternal Domain.

Faced with the formidable aerial power composed of airships, Griffons, and Divine Beasts, Yan Xing deployed ten freshly crafted Gryphon Armors and 100 Griffons at Outpost Fort, along with twenty upgraded twin-barrel anti-aircraft machine guns, establishing a primary air defense force.

As military strength increased, money was spent like water pouring through a breached dam.

The industrial district of the Eternal Domain worked overtime, striving to produce more weapons and ammunition before the outbreak of war.

Of course, the Eternal Domain’s troops also needed to adapt and train with the newly updated weaponry. This was especially true for the transition from cold weapons to firearms, which also involved the application of Magic. These changes meant that, despite appearing orderly, the Eternal Domain’s forces were actually quite harried internally.

This was one of the reasons why Yan Xing was unwilling to have a brush with the Wildwind Highlands Legion at this time.

Therefore, facing Anderson’s shouts, Yan Xing decided to make a trip to Nuta City in order to alleviate the tense atmosphere between both sides on the Riftfort and Outpost Fort front.

Furthermore, the various groups in Nuta City also needed to be appeased, to gain some support for the Eternal Domain and to trip up Marquis Anderson.

It was perfect timing, as Eternal Aviation’s airport in Nuta City had just been completed. The air route from the Eternal Domain to Nuta City was also newly opened.

Yan Xing, along with his delegation and several merchant representatives, boarded a propeller-driven passenger plane, becoming part of the very first group of passengers since the founding of Eternal Aviation.

The Beak Eagle, judged by the standards of the real world, belonged to the category of small regional passenger planes, fitted with four engines on its wings.

Two of these engines were fuel-based, and two were steam implosion engines urgently developed by the truck research institute.

The aircraft’s design was heavily modeled on the B-17 bomber, intended for data collection and building technical reserves for the Eternal Domain’s next generation of large aircraft.

Due to time constraints, this Beak Eagle passenger plane had only completed seven test flights before it was ordered to carry out this important diplomatic mission.

At the airport of the Eternal Domain, the Beak Eagle passenger plane with the serial number 001 glided along the runway and took off, climbing slowly and fairly steadily into the sky.

The entire takeoff proceeded without any unexpected incidents.

Subsequently, two Battle Griffins equipped with Gryphon Armor took off from the Eternal Domain’s military airfield, tasked with escorting the 001 passenger plane.

One of the Gryphon Knights was Donna. She cradled a machine gun and overflew the passenger plane, taking on the role of the advance scout.

A radar system within the Eternal Domain, along with drones positioned along the flight path, provided early warning for the aerial formation.

Yan Xing sat in the cabin, pondering the potential issues he might face on this trip to Nuta City. At present, it seemed Count Theodore remained neutral. Otherwise... Marquis Anderson would have first armed Nuta City with Alchemical Weapons. After all, Nuta City was more suitable than Riftfort for housing a Great Army and launching an attack. However, it could not be ruled out that Count Theodore’s stance might change. His relationship with Anderson was much closer than Yan Xing’s, and their interests more tightly interwoven. It was hard to predict whether he would stand against Yan Xing in the future. An important aim of Yan Xing’s trip to Nuta City was to meet Count Theodore and persuade him not to intervene in his dispute with Anderson. If Nuta City remained neutral, Anderson would only be able to launch an attack against the Eternal Domain from the west, relying on Riftfort. The Eternal Domain’s defensive front would be greatly reduced. And to convince Count Theodore to maintain neutrality, personal friendship alone would not suffice—he also needed to understand that remaining unaffiliated was the only way for Nuta City to remain stable.

Yan Xing looked out the window. The propellers whirred, and the wings sliced through the clouds.