Rebecca's chirpy and cheerful voice was still ringing beside her. Maggie just smiled and looked down to check the various functions of the joysticks, the slightly crude instruments, and the rune discs.
These days, she had memorized these joysticks and instruments. She was so familiar with them that even with her eyes closed, she could accurately find any button and lever in front of the pilot's seat.
Tyre, who had been fighting the sleeping demon for a long time, also came over. The siren saw that they were finally ready to take off and seemed to be a little refreshed. She looked up and looked at Maggie sitting in the cockpit, the tip of her tail poking the ground next to her. "Don't forget to take pictures when you get up there. Of course, if it crashes, you should protect yourself first."
Before it could finish, several technicians rushed forward and dragged the mute siren to the side.
Maggie looked at all of this with a smile.
She felt that the rune modules and mechanical devices below her were trembling slightly. She could feel that this huge and complex machine was waking up little by little.
Steel, crystal, magic-conducting material, leather, wood, cloth … These lifeless materials were combined into a complex shell in the hands of humans. The dragon, who could not take off, sat in this complex shell, ready to fly into the blue sky.
The shell was supposed to give people a sense of security, but this' shell 'had only shown danger in the experiments so far, just like the state of most new technologies in the experimental stage: it was unstable, full of defects, and full of problems that even the technicians could not predict. It was not safe at all.
When it was still a small-scale prototype, the anti-gravity ring of this' flying machine 'had gone out of control more than once. Those verification anti-gravity rings had damaged the walls and roof of the laboratory, and also burned the rune substrate on the test bench. As the project progressed, the small-scale verification model became a large-scale test machine. The whole project was moved to the' special laboratory 'in the suburbs and tested on this open field.
The technicians around had stepped back. Maggie closed the cockpit lid and then pressed down on the main joystick in front of the cockpit. The preheated and charged power spine began to release magic power to the anti-gravity ring, and a more intense tremor came from below.
After the relocation of the test site, the project was no longer a threat to unrelated personnel. However, the risk faced by those who participated in the test was still very high, especially the test pilots.
The verified anti-gravity device and the "dragon wings" device that they had discovered were both very unstable, and the combination of the two was even more so. For humans without wings, it was a great but risky move to hand themselves over to a testing machine and challenge the blue sky with these simple devices.
Of course, the test personnel could choose mages who had mastered the flying spell. That way, they would have a chance to return to the ground safely with their own strength when the machine crashed. However, as a test machine, the problems that this flying machine would face were far more than just a simple crash. Explosions in the air, loss of control of the maneuver, and runaway magic power would put the mages who mastered the flying spell in danger.
Maggie believed that Rebecca and her technical team would be fearless in the face of such challenges, but she still volunteered to be the test pilot.
As a Giant Dragon, her body was very strong, and she had a high resistance to all kinds of magic damage. Even if the flying machine exploded, she would have a chance to survive. As for falling from the air, although she could not fly on the ground with her own strength, she could at least glide and land in the form of a dragon during the fall. There was no doubt that she was the most suitable test pilot for Cecil.
In the past several test flights, she had "crashed" three times. One time, she was seriously injured. If the test pilot was not a humanoid Giant Dragon like her, but an ordinary human, this project would have taken at least three lives by now.
Maggie took a deep breath and calmed down a little. Then she held the main joystick in the center of the console and pulled it up slightly.
Below the inverted cone-shaped anti-gravity flying machine, countless runes on the surface of the metallic anti-gravity ring suddenly lit up. A low humming sound came from the ring and the inside of the flying machine as some gravel and gravel around the machine gradually floated into the air. The flying machine, temporarily named "Dragon Calvary," left the ground little by little and began to rise slowly in a stable manner.
"The anti-gravity ring output is stable, the power spine is stable, the dragon wing device is stable, and everything is normal with the magical wings." Maggie glanced at the console and reported the situation familiarly. Then she continued to pull up the joystick. "I'm going to start accelerating."
The flying machine began to rise gradually. The half-moon-shaped magical wings on both sides slowly unfolded under the action of the mechanical device and stretched to both sides into a flat surface. At the same time, the "dragon wings" on both sides of the cockpit unfolded at the same time. The light blue dragon wing runes lit up one after another, flashing faintly.
This time, it would succeed. It was steadier than any other time.
Maggie glanced at the "dragon wing" device on both sides of the cockpit from the corner of her eye. In a trance, she felt that the metal wings made of imitating the wings of the Giant Dragon seemed to be an extension of her body. She held the joystick tightly and seemed to be able to feel the heartbeat of the machine. She felt the air flowing outside, the wings were unfolding in the wind, and she felt that … the sky was calling her.
She took off, flying higher and higher.
The ground reference objects on both sides of the cockpit were sinking, and the observation window under the front of the cockpit had been opened. She saw that the huge signs on the test field were moving away from her, so she gently pushed the joystick, and everything in her sight began to recede.
Maggie laughed happily.
Rebecca looked up and saw that the wings on both sides of the "Dragon Knight" emitted some shimmering particles, and then the heavy machine sped up in the sky like a light bird.
She still remembered that during the last test, the flying machine crashed at this step. The dragon wing structure caused a fatal tremor when changing the propulsion mode, the body of the machine was torn, the power spine was unbalanced, and it plummeted from a height of hundreds of meters. Maggie narrowly turned into a dragon in mid-air and glided to the ground. The wreckage of the flying machine fell on the open space at the edge of the test field and smashed a magic monitoring tower.
It also smashed Tyre, who was sleeping under the tower in the sun, to death.
The scene at that time was really shocking, especially when many of the technicians at the scene did not know that the sirens could be resurrected. It really caused a lot of trouble.
"It's flying …" Rebecca looked up, some random thoughts spinning in her mind, and whispered softly.
"And it doesn't look like it's going to fall …" Tyre also looked up, the tip of his tail poking the ground from time to time. "It really scared me last time. When I was sleeping, I heard a loud bang, and when I opened my eyes again, I was soaking in the Whitewater River …"
Rebecca was speechless.
Maggie's heart was jumping with joy, but her hands were steadier than ever.
She held the joystick tightly. The fluctuations of the airflow, the attitude adjustment of the flying machine, and the subtle tactile feedback from the dragon wings, these incredible feelings were transmitted through the metal and the joystick to her hands, gradually giving her a sense of embracing the sky.
Although there was a layer of steel and other materials in the middle of this sense of reality, she was more satisfied than ever.
She saw the farmland passing by far below her, and the small model-like steeples and houses retreating in her field of vision. She no longer doubted what Rebecca had promised.
Dragons, after all, yearned for the sky.
But dragons in the Duchy of Holy Dragon were not allowed to fly since they were born — even a few of them with "slight deformities" who had relatively healthy wings were forbidden to approach the sky.
Because genetic defects were a big sin, this sin had to be repaid by the exiles for generations. Deformed wings were not worthy of embracing the sky, it was a blasphemy to the sky.
But how could creatures born with wings resist the urge to fly?
Almost every year, there would be young dragons who could not resist challenging the taboo. Even if deformed wings could not take off, they were willing to glide for a short period of time. Every year, there would be traitors who secretly jumped off Dragon Leap Cliff. Except for a few lucky ones, the other dragons would be caught by the patrolling cavalry of Dragonblood Archduke, some would fall and be seriously injured due to lack of experience, and some …
Some would choose to flap their wings with all their strength, glide all the way from Dragon Leap Cliff to the border, and fly into the human world.
Maggie smiled happily, pulled the joystick hard, and flew toward the sky.
If there was a chance to go back, she must persuade her friends to try this.
It was much more interesting than gliding!
Maggie now could not help but look forward to the other "embracing the sky" that Rebecca had promised.
What would the Wings of Steel look like?
…
After returning to Cecil City, Gwen immediately summoned Veronica and Ophelia, who happened to be visiting the arsenal in the city.
The bright sun shone into the spacious study, and Veronica, holding a platinum scepter, walked into the room with a tranquil expression. The sun shone on her pale golden hair, and the light rippled slightly, making it difficult to distinguish whether the halo was the holy light that lingered around her.
In front of Gwen, the ancient rebel bowed her head slightly and said, "Your Majesty, you summoned me?"
Gwen nodded, but the first thing he noticed when he looked up was the platinum scepter in Veronica's hand.
Before talking about business, he could not help but think of another thing that Bertilla mentioned when talking to her:
The bridge between man and God, the phenomenon of "chains" caused by believing in the same goal.
The platinum scepter was also known as the "bridge between man and God."
Gwen had known this name, but it was not until he talked to Bertilla that he realized that this "bridge" had another possible meaning.
"… That scepter, is it really a bridge between man and God?" he asked in a low voice.
Veronica lowered her eyelids slightly and said, "Yes, of course."
"… It shouldn't be easy to control this' chain ', right?"
Veronica looked up in surprise. She looked into Gwen's deep eyes, and there seemed to be a smile on her face. "It seems that you have a deeper understanding of the gods."
"In the eastern part of the Plains of the Sacred Spirit, where the lair of the Finalists is located, the battle between the power of the false gods and the power of mortals gave birth to a huge plant. The body of the plant was a senior hierarch of the Finalists, and also my old acquaintance, Bertilla," Gwen said slowly. "From her, I learned some knowledge about the rebels and the gods."
"… The rewards are often unexpected."
"Indeed." Gwen nodded. "Do you have any impression of the names Firna White Frost and Rayna White Frost?"
Veronica's calm expression froze for a moment.
Then, she said slowly, "It's been a long time … Did you also hear it from Bertilla?"
"Since you know about it, then it seems that this information is correct. In the past few hundred years, the two elves, Firna Whitesnow and Rayna Whitesnow, were important members of the Everything-End-All Association. If I'm not wrong, they should be the ones we have discussed … "
"The 'ghosts' of the Disobedience Plan …" Veronica said softly. "Yes, the White Frost Twins are the Disobedience. I know them, but I did not expect that they had been hiding in the Finalists for so many years, and were actually active in human society."
"Tell me about them." Gwen nodded. "If my information is correct, then the sisters are probably still alive. After escaping the destruction of Gondor, they escaped the destruction of the Finalists. They are likely to continue their activities, and may become a threat."
"… First of all, I want to emphasize something." Veronica sorted out her thoughts and said softly, "Strictly speaking, the White Frost Twins were 'sisters', but now … they should be considered as individuals."
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