Four days later.
After passing by seven public cities along the way, the airship finally docked at Guat Port in the Wendu region.
If he continued westward, he would have to pass through an uninhabited primeval forest. A small airship like the one he was on now would not be able to handle such a difficult task. If he wanted to smoothly reach the area ruled by the Silver Alliance, he would have to change to a more sturdy aerial fortress — the floating battleship.
That was why when Grimm, Alice, and Kaby alighted from the Airship, they were shocked by a terrifying ship not far away.
It was a huge, jet-black battleship, more than ten times the size of an ordinary airship. Three tall masts were distributed in the front, middle, and back of the ship. Although there were sails on the masts, Grimm could feel that they were not driven by wind.
Grimm had good eyesight. Even from half a mile away, he could clearly see many strange runes and magic lines engraved on the masts. Moreover, under the sunlight, the mast reflected a cold metallic luster, giving off a feeling of unbreakable sturdiness at first glance.
There were countless portholes on the shuttle-shaped hull, but they were all covered by thick metal plates, making it impossible to see what was inside. But according to Grimm's experience in his previous life, a sturdy ship would never be able to do without cannons. That might be the firing point of this floating battleship.
The only thing he did not know was what kind of war equipment was hidden inside.
There was a two-storey building on the hull, but it did not look like it was used for living. Instead, it looked like a platform for wizards to cast spells and battle spells.
The jet-black floating battleship was quietly parked on the high ground. From afar, it looked like a terrifying steel beast, giving off a cold and powerful feeling.
This was probably the floating battleship the Silver Alliance had prepared to pass through dangerous sea routes!
When Grimm moved his gaze away from the floating battleship, he realised that the place where the airship landed was not a city, but an airport specially used for transporting goods and personnel.
Along the edge of the forest, there were rows of large wooden houses. Countless humans and strange looking alien labourers were moving goods in and out. Obviously, that was the warehouse of the airport. Far away from the forest, there were rows of stone houses. In the open space in front of the stone houses, there were many people who looked like Magi looking at them and pointing at them. They seemed to be discussing something.
In the center of the airport, there was a tall, pointed stone tower, shining with mysterious spell symbols. Hidden detection waves were slowly sweeping across the air, and the furthest point of these waves was the forest tens of miles away.
Watchtower!
The space inside the tower was too small, and it was impossible to accommodate too many Magi. It was also impossible to store large scale war Magi weapons, so it was mainly used for surveillance.
Five miles behind him, he could see the undulating black sea of trees.
This was already the edge of the human settlements in the central part of the continent, and there were no signs of human settlement activity in the surrounding forest, so it was even more impossible for there to be any large-scale settlements. However, there were still sporadic groups of hunters and adventurers operating around the edge of the forest. Occasionally, some wizards looking for materials would appear in this area.
Just as Grim was slowly browsing through the spaceport, a low and hoarse voice sounded beside him.
"Welcome, Lord Grim!"
Grim turned around and immediately saw the wrinkled face of Magus Angus.
"It's nice to see you again." Grim smiled and nodded in greeting.
"You've just arrived, sir. Please find a place to rest first. The tickets to Sky City have been arranged, and we can leave in three days. "Compared to before, Magus Angus was much more polite.
"Isn't there a floating battleship there? Why are we waiting for so long? "Grim asked curiously.
"The floating battleship is ready, but we don't have enough Magi!" Angus explained in a simple manner, "The sea route to Sky City has changed for thousands of years. Although we've basically figured out the distribution of magical creatures along the way, there are still dangers. To be on the safe side, the floating battleship will stop at this spaceport for a few days every time. We'll only leave when we have enough Magi. "
"Enough Magi?" This was the first time Grim had heard of such a thing, "Roughly how many?"
"Under normal circumstances, 60 Magi will be enough. If we meet some high-grade Magi along the way, it won't be a problem no matter how small the number is. "
Grim couldn't help but click his tongue after hearing this.
60 Magi?
Even if all the Magi in the Salubo Family were added together, they wouldn't be able to reach this number. Moreover, the floating battleship needed so many Magi to pass through once. From what he knew, this kind of floating battleship needed to pass through every half a month.
Based on this, the number of Magi traveling between Sky City and Sky City every year was simply unimaginable!
Seeing Grim's surprised expression, Magus Angus smiled in understanding.
"Don't be surprised. Wait until you reach Sky City. You'll be even more shocked. The number of Magi there will be more than you can imagine. Come, I've already arranged a place for you to rest. Wait here patiently for three days. After three days, a new flying ship will arrive here. By then, we'll have gathered the 60 Magi we need! "
So that's how it is!
After understanding the whole story, Grim was relieved. He brought Alice and Kaby to the row of stone houses under Magus Angus' guidance.
The residences here were also very simple. Apart from a wooden bed, there was only a simple set of tables and chairs. There were no other decorations. Of course, if you didn't like this place, you only needed to walk 20 miles to the east. There was a small human city with all kinds of entertainment facilities.
However, Grim was not in the mood to have fun. Once he had settled down, he pulled Wizard Angus into a secret room and began to discuss.
After all, he still didn't know the specifics of this trip to Sky City. He still had no idea what he should do or how he should do it. This was too passive for someone like Grim, who liked to plan things out before making a move!
If it was just to help Wizard Angus's Byron Family win a small competition, he wouldn't be so worried. However, he wanted Kaby to stay in Sky City. The more he knew about the situation there, the higher his chances of success would be.
Through Wizard Angus' endless explanation, Grim finally understood the basic structure and rules of Sky City. He also had a basic understanding of the so-called competition.
According to Wizard Angus' description, Sky City was a floating wizard city in the sky. The whole city was distributed in a circular fashion. It could be roughly divided into the inner ring, the middle ring, and the outer ring.
The inner ring was the area that only the elite members of the Silver Alliance were allowed to enter. The main control core of Sky City was located there. There were also the famous Prophet's Tower, Whirlpool Tower, and Obelisk, as well as the Storm Stronghold.
The only way to enter there was to join the Silver Alliance and become an honorable member of the council. Otherwise, it would be impossible to even take a step inside!
As for the middle ring, it was the main activity area for normal members of the Silver Alliance and arcane wizards. Only wizards recognized by the Silver Alliance could stay there and study.
As for the trade of Sky City, it was concentrated in the outer ring. Non-Alliance members were also allowed to stay there and open shops. However, the qualification to open a shop would be tested once every ten years. The way of the test was a fair and reasonable arcane competition.
Esoteric competitions could be divided into many types. There were competitions between potioneers, alchemists, and puppeteers … As long as it was within the scope of Esoteric Sorcerers, similar competitions could be found in the Sky Castle.
Apart from the shops that were opened by Sky City, the number of shops that could be sold to the public was limited. Therefore, rare goods could only be hoarded by the highest bidder! Any wizard family or organization that wanted to obtain a shop in Sky City had to win the arcane competition in order to have the right to stay here.
Every existing shop had to accept challenges from outsiders during the year of the competition. Both sides would invite arcane wizards and compete fairly. The winner would stay, and the loser would have to leave Sky City!
The Byron family's shop in the outer ring had a long history of more than seventy years. It was also the main way for their family to obtain a steady stream of resources from elite wizards. They could not afford to lose it so easily.
This year, the Byron family's shop was challenged by a powerful family called the Gretto family. As the challenged family, the Byron family had the right to choose the arcane competition. Their choice this year was undoubtedly the puppeteer competition.
This was actually a trick that the higher-ups of the Silver Alliance deliberately played to increase the status of arcane wizards!
Using this method, any wizard family or organization that wanted to enter Sky City could only work hard to nurture a powerful arcane wizard. If they really could not nurture one, they could simply choose to hire an arcane wizard from Sky City.
In this way, the status of the Arcane Sorcerers also rose along with the tide. Many talented but cash-strapped Arcane Sorcerers could also use this opportunity to obtain sufficient resources to continue their own research.
However, this also made it hard for the sorcerer families who wanted to but lacked the ability to do so.
After all, in order to cultivate a qualified Arcane Sorcerer, regardless of whether it was an Alchemist who could create magic items or sorcery equipment, or an Alchemist or a Puppet Master, the expenses were not something a small family could afford.
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