On the vast, boundless ocean.

A massive military airship, like a giant silver whale, was breaking through the clouds, steadily sailing eastward.

Two days had passed since their departure from the Imperial Capital.

The monotonous journey had caused the Dragon Tooth Special Forces members on deck, responsible for vigilance, to become somewhat lax.

A young soldier with a buzz cut leaned on the railing, gazing at the endless blue below, and couldn't help but sigh.

“Honestly, this sea view is truly beautiful.”

“I used to stay in the training camp every day; I almost forgot what the outside world looked like.”

A burly, dark-skinned man next to him heard this, glanced at him, and spoke in a steady voice.

“Stay alert, Li Hao.”

“This sea area is not peaceful; the 異獸 in the sea are far more dangerous than those on land.”

“If we're not careful, our airship could be dragged into the sea to feed the fish.”

The young soldier named Li Hao heard this and pouted dismissively.

“What's there to be afraid of, Brother Wang?”

“Our airship has Principal Lin Zhu and Captain Gandalf on board.”

“With two SS-Class Professionals overseeing, what kind of 異獸 would dare to cause trouble?”

As he spoke, he lowered his voice, somewhat curious.

“It's strange, though. These two big shots have been in their rooms ever since they got on the airship; they haven't even shown their faces.”

“Do all SS-Class Professionals have a bit of social anxiety?”

The burly man, referred to as Brother Wang, heard this, his expression changed slightly, and he quickly reached out to cover Li Hao's mouth.

“I advise you, kid, to be careful what you say!”

He leaned closer to Li Hao's ear, lowering his voice even further.

“Although I don't know Captain Gandalf's personality.”

“But Principal Lin is notoriously petty.”

“Back in the academy, some clueless guy talked about her behind her back, and guess what happened?”

Li Hao's eyes widened, looking at him curiously.

A trace of lingering fear appeared on Brother Wang's face.

“The next day, that guy was hung at the academy gate by a vine that fell from the sky, and whipped for three days and three nights!”

“It's said that the screams could be heard from miles away.”

“If she heard what you just said, you probably wouldn't have an easy time on this journey.”

Li Hao shivered with fright, quickly clamped his mouth shut, and shook his head like a rattle-drum.

Just then.

“Hiss—!”

A series of sharp, piercing hisses, accompanied by the violent flapping of wings breaking through the air, came from behind the nearby clouds.

Brother Wang's expression instantly turned solemn; he sharply turned his head, looking in the direction of the sound.

“Something's happening!”

Almost at the moment his words fell.

A huge dark shadow suddenly burst out from the thick clouds, like a moving dark cloud, rapidly pressing down towards the airship's location!

It was a massive beast horde composed of hundreds of gigantic, pterodactyl-like flying 異獸!

Their crimson eyes burned with bloodthirsty madness, and they opened their massive mouths filled with sharp teeth, letting out deafening roars!

“Enemy attack!”

“It's Level 35 Deep Sea Ghost Bats!”

All the soldiers on deck instantly entered combat mode.

Alarm bells blared throughout the entire airship.

Buzz—!

A light blue energy shield, like an inverted giant bowl, instantly enveloped the entire airship.

Almost as soon as the shield formed, those fearless Deep Sea Ghost Bats slammed into it fiercely!

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

A series of dull thuds echoed on the shield.

Each impact stirred up ripples of intense energy on the shield.

The airship's hull also swayed slightly.

“There are too many!”

Brother Wang frowned; it was his first time seeing such a massive horde of flying 異獸.

“Ranged professions, prepare!”

“Prioritize attacking the largest elite monsters!”

On deck, more than a dozen ranged professionals quickly took their positions.

Archers drew their longbows, and elemental mages' palms began to gather violent energy.

Just as they were about to launch their attack.

A clear voice calmly sounded from within the closed cabin door behind them.

“Forbidden Spell: Thousand Mile Ice Seal!”

As the words fell.

An invisible, irresistible absolute zero, like a burst flood, spread out in all directions, centered on the airship!

Crack! Crack!

The entire world seemed to be muted at this moment.

The air condensed, and the clouds froze.

The ferocity and madness on the faces of the hundreds of Deep Sea Ghost Bats, who were frantically attacking the shield, were forever frozen.

A layer of crystal-clear ice crystals, emitting colorful aurora, completely covered them at a visible speed.

The next second.

Those lifelike ice sculptures, like birds that had lost their wings, fell from high altitude with a clatter, like dumplings, towards the blue sea below.

Splashing up huge waves.

In just a single breath.

The beast horde, which had been so menacing and overshadowed the sky, vanished without a trace.

Only a few Deep Sea Ghost Bats, which were further away and had luckily escaped, let out an extremely terrified wail, turning tail and fleeing in a panic, disappearing into the sky in the blink of an eye.

On the deck, a deathly silence fell.

Everyone remained in their attack-ready postures, frozen in place, dumbfounded.

“Holy crap...”

Li Hao's mouth hung open, his eyes wide like brass bells, and his longbow clattered to the ground.

He looked at the empty sky, then at the countless ice floes on the sea below, feeling like his brain wasn't quite processing it.

It's... over?

“Creak—”

The cabin door behind him slowly opened.

A tall figure, with steady steps, walked out.

It was Gandalf.

He had changed into a brand new star moon magic robe, holding the eternal sanction staff entwined with an ice Dragon, his expression calm.

It was as if the world-destroying Forbidden Spell he had just cast was merely a small fireball he casually threw.

Everyone on deck suddenly snapped back to reality.

They looked at the calm and composed figure, their eyes filled with indescribable shock and fervor.

Is this their captain?

Is this the true power of an SS-Class Forbidden Spell Mage?

It's... so strong!

Brother Wang was the first to react; he straightened his back sharply, brought his feet together, and saluted Gandalf with an impeccably standard military salute.

“Greetings, Captain!”

The dozen or so soldiers behind him also followed suit, their movements uniform.

“Greetings, Captain!”

Their voices were no longer merely out of military obedience, as they had been at their first meeting.

Instead, they came from the heart, a profound reverence for a powerful individual!

Zhou Huai, controlling Gandalf, calmly nodded to everyone.

“Mm.”

He looked up at the distant sky and asked,

“How much further to the Castlantis Archipelago?”

A young man with neat short hair, who looked very capable, quickly stepped forward, stood at attention, and reported.

“Reporting, Captain!”

“At the current cruising speed, we will arrive in two hours!”

“Finally arriving, huh...”

A subtle ripple, hard to detect, flickered in Gandalf's eyes.

Two hours passed in a flash.

When the airship once again passed through a thick layer of clouds, the scene ahead suddenly opened up.

A clearly outlined cluster of dark green ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) islands, like countless emeralds scattered on a sapphire chessboard, appeared in everyone's line of sight.

That was the Castlantis Archipelago.

An oceanic wonder composed of nearly two hundred islands of various sizes.

And their destination for this trip was the largest of these islands.

Yuanbo Island.

“Captain, look.”

The short-haired young man walked up to Gandalf, pointing to the largest island below, and introduced it.

“That is Yuanbo Island.”

“It is also the only island in the Castlantis Archipelago with human inhabitants.”

“There are about a hundred thousand residents on the island.”

Zhou Huai, controlling Gandalf, looked down from high altitude.

Yuanbo Island's area was almost equivalent to a small city.

The island was lush with vegetation, vibrant green.

However, most of the buildings were constructed from wood and stone, appearing quite primitive.

Compared to the modern cities of the Great Xia Country with their towering skyscrapers, this place was clearly much more backward.

Soon, Zhou Huai's gaze was drawn to an open area on the eastern side of the island.

A large temporary helipad had been cleared there.

Several airships of various designs were quietly moored there.

Clearly, teams from other countries had already arrived.

One airship, in particular, stood out.

It was entirely crafted from streamlined silver-white metal, its design full of futuristic and aggressive elements, even larger than the Great Xia Country's military airship.

And on its smooth hull, a huge eagle emblem, wings spread as if about to fly, exuded an arrogant and domineering Aura.

This was clearly the Free Federation's airship.