It's really unimaginable.
The young girl opened her mouth wide, her mind blank, and only after a while did she react, stammering to remind everyone in the team channel: "They, they're coming down!"
"Stay calm," Fang Hong said, "everyone follow me closely."
"Mr. Bakins." He added.
"I'm here."
As for Miss Atira, there was no need for a reminder. Fang Hong gently patted the right shoulder of the White Feather Giant Owl, and the latter immediately understood, slightly tilting its body and veering to the right.
The Griffon Knights in mid-air obviously noticed their change of direction and also altered their course to dive down towards them.
But after Fang Hong turned a corner, his left hand moved, scattering something shiny in the air. These items flew out from his hand, immediately spreading apart to form a huge phalanx mid-air, heading towards the Griffon Knights.
The seasoned Griffon Knights, experienced as they were, realized upon seeing Fang Hong's move that these were Constructs, thus guessing that they might be facing a quite tricky opponent—a Combat Artisan.
They halted abruptly in mid-air, attempting to scatter and evade the incoming phalanx, but it was a bit too late; griffins couldn't match the nimbleness of the Clockwork Fairy.
Even though the Griffon Knights tried their best to turn back, the phalanx still chased them from behind. Fang Hong set the detonation time for each Fire Giant at three seconds, and as soon as three seconds passed, a white light flashed across the sky, resembling a new sun.
Long before the sharp whistle echoed above Orlenze, quite a few tourists, adventurers, and citizens had already stopped to watch from the streets below. Initially, people didn't realize what was happening, as Fang Hong and his team's target was too small; they only saw griffins and Ironfeather Pterosaurs ascending.
It wasn't until the blinding white light struck everyone's eyes that they realized what had transpired.
"Holy shit!"
"Pirates have entered the port!?"
The loudest shouts in the crowd always came from the Invokers.
But Fang Hong didn't use full force. When releasing the Fire Giants, he spaced them widely apart. The explosion's shockwave wasn't enough to cover the Griffon Knights, only enough to hinder their movements to some extent.
However, the distance between the Fire Giants had its advantages. After the explosion, the resulting smoke covered a large airspace, blocking the Griffon Knights on the other side.
They would need time to regroup and fly over from there. Meanwhile, two Port Authority airships crossed over, facing this direction from a distance. A flash of fire flickered from the ship's side, and a cannonball whizzed over Fang Hong's head.
This was a warning shot.
"They're about to open fire," the Papalarian's voice screamed in the team channel.
"Parker, relax." The Big Catfolk, having transformed into a Big Cat, was tied behind the Papalarian's saddle, the wind causing its tail to sway backward, yet the Lion Paladin's gaze remained calm.
"How can I relax like this!" Parker's hair stood up, though it was the wind making it stand.
Fang Hong also glanced back and responded, "Ignore them."
At this point, Miss Ship's Officer's voice reminded everyone, "Ade, the Dragon Knights are catching up."
The Ironfeather Pterosaurs are far less agile than the White Feather Giant Owl, but through brute force, they surpass griffins in straight-line speed and climbing ability. Previously, they were still several miles away from Fang Hong and his team, but in the blink of an eye, they were right on their tail.
Moreover, the twelve magic towers from Orlenze's north to south had also lit up. Several beams of fire and ice rays brushed past them, the Elementalists of the Stars and Moon Council were calibrating their aim.
The next round of spells might just pass through them.
Then the Port Authority airships began their second round of shooting. Perhaps because they were directly above Orlenze City, they had to cautiously adjust their shooting angles, resulting in a relatively long interval between shots.
The second round of three cannonballs flew towards Fang Hong and the others at a wedge angle. Since this time it was no longer a warning, the ships used shrapnel shells, combined with the Explosive Crystals and their delayed fuses, the cannonballs exploded about fifty meters away from them.
Luo Yu, with quick reflexes, chanted a spell to erect a large ice crystal shield, but the coverage was limited. Shrapnel hit the White Feather Giant Owl below Tianlan.
The latter almost cried out, "My big hoot is bleeding!"
"How is it, serious?" Fang Hong asked.
"I don't know, but it looks so pitiful."
"Is its flying posture affected?"
Tianlan checked, but the well-trained White Feather Giant Owl, although briefly scared, quickly recovered. She shook her head with tear-filled eyes, saying, "It doesn't seem like it..."
Fang Hong breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed to just be a scratch. But this time it was a scratch, next time might be different.
He looked up, a shadow was crossing into their vision.
It was the floating cargo hold of the Floating Island Whale, each segment over fifty meters long, divided into two levels, connected by iron chains, suspended under airship balloons two to three times their size.
This floating cargo hold had a total of twenty segments, arranged in two rows. Due to the gaps between each two segments, they extended two to three kilometers in length across the sky, looking from afar like a mechanical floating island.
Fang Hong observed this scene, took a deep breath, steeled his resolve, and gently stroked the White Feather Giant Owl's feathers, "Fly up, big bird." The latter, almost as if it shared his thoughts, instantly understood, flapping its wings powerfully, ascending into the spaces between the floating cargo holds.