Pillar of Yita

Steep cliffs plunged into the depths of the Cloud Sea on both sides, where the floating clouds washed against the white sands of Short Bay, bringing some lighter objects ashore, piling them up on the gravel.

A Cloud Bay hermit crab, brandishing its glowing large claws, strutted before a group of people, but was curiously picked up by a hand, struggled in vain for a moment, and was then tossed far into the ’sea’ by that small hand.

Tianlan clapped her hands and couldn’t help but giggle.

She looked up.

Far away was the boundary between cloud and sea, where land came to an end—

The Cloud Sea of Eteliria was a special ’substance,’ swirling around the entire world, filled with the power of the Wind Element, floating in the air, yet not merely air.

And so came the layers of the Sky Sea.

It was primarily categorized by the concentration of ’wind;’ the ’Cloud Sea Layer’ was the layer richest in Wind Elemental Power, where the main continents of Eteliria were located.

Above and below were the ’Sparse Wind Belts,’ so named because of the sparse Wind Elemental Force, making the currents flow more gently. Because of the reduced buoyancy, most boat-style Floating Airships couldn’t enter this layer, leaving only the military winged Airships active here.

Past the ’Sparse Wind Belt,’ there lay the Abyssal Sea and the Still Sky, the areas where Airships could not traverse, the gates to the forbidden zones. Even creatures of the Cloud Sea rarely ventured to these layers, with only a few rare species—like the giant jellyfish—living at that level.

And below the Still Sea, lay the legendary Abyssal Sea, the land of ruins of Eteliria, where the fallen continent of Aithelin was said to reside.

But few had ever reached that place, which is why for thousands of years, there have been countless and varied legends about the Abyssal Sea.

As for what lies above the Still Sky—

Different from the Abyssal Sea, there was a name well-known to the Natives and the Invokers of Eteliria— the Second World, the Frontier Continent.

Tianlan narrowed her eyes.

From a distance, she saw a giant ship floating above the clouds at the edge of her vision, twelve massive hard Airbags in a row, a streamlined hull, now hidden now visible within the layers of clouds.

That was the Berio, the cargo ship from Cloud Bay Cargo Company brought by the Elf Princess.

”What a huge ship!”

The French girl couldn’t help but exclaim.

In fact, this ship was not larger than the cargo ships on Earth, and it couldn’t compare in tonnage.

It’s just that Airships are more three-dimensional, with most of the hull not hidden below the waterline. Coupled with numerous sails, fins, and Airbags, it looked much bulkier and had a stronger visual impact.

Gita also nodded, her dark eyes reflecting the ’giant ship’ in surprise.

And Berio had been moored at Short Bay Anchorage for a day and a night.

To replenish the consumed resources, the sailors had set up a camp on the anchorage with the boats, piling up fresh water, wood, and food they gathered nearby on the sand.

For the owner of the cargo ship, keeping to the Covenant was of utmost importance, and idling for two days at the anchorage was undoubtedly a serious matter.

Fang Hong had thought these people would have some complaints, but unexpectedly, the ship’s first mate—who came to receive them and was good at talking and easing the atmosphere—appeared very humble in front of the Elf Princess, not at all like one temporarily employed.

He talked about the last two days’ events without any hint of blame, but instead praised the environment of Short Bay Anchorage, almost as if they were happy to stay there longer, his attitude warm and welcoming.

However, Fang Hong could tell that it was probably out of regard for Princess Briana’s face that the man behaved thus.

He became curious about the relationship between the ship and Princess Miaoxing, but Hilveld was evasive and only smiled mysteriously at him.

Fang Hong realized he was being nosy, but thought such a large ship was unlikely to have come specifically for them; it was unclear exactly what it was meant to transport.

It seemed not to be in much of a rush.

And it’s well-known that in the Sky Sea, most goods need urgent transport, like the famous ’Silver Trout Express’ between Osh and Colin Ishurian, for instance.

If not that, then metal raw materials, or perhaps—weapons.

Some other miscellaneous cargo was piled up on the sand.

The Puppet brought up from the tombs was just dumped on the ground, looking like a set of rusty Armor in the sunlight. After a thorough inspection, the group could not come to any definite conclusion.

The Lion People picked up a piece and lightly scraped the surface corrosion with his claw, revealing the metallic luster underneath, with some strange Magic Patterns faintly visible.

He shook his head, his red mane glittering in the sun: ”This doesn’t look like a Puppet, are you sure you saw it move? It didn’t just fall over and scare you two girls, did it?”

”Not at all, Big Cat,” Tianlan was annoyed: ”It really moved, so many steps!” She gestured: ”I, Gita, and Sister Atira all saw it.”

Atira nodded: ”Alright, Reed, stop teasing them. I did see it, this thing walked out from the corner, it really looked like a Puppet.”

”But it’s not a Puppet.”

Reed firmly shook his head.

The group turned to the older Knight who also shook his head: ”I don’t think so either, the inside of a Construct doesn’t look like this.”