Chương 199: The Concept of Magical Flashes

Airship No. 1 sailed through the gentle tides of magic, bearing down toward Dinas, the royal capital of the Sazos Kingdom, with intent to deliver total destruction. To carry the absolute maximum capacity of manpower and weapons, the interior of the airship had undergone extensive modifications. Superfluous decorations had been stripped away, luxurious quarters dismantled, and soft king-sized beds alongside other indulgence amenities replaced with multi-layered hammocks.

Under a pragmatic and utility-focused overhaul design, the entire airship transformed from a flying luxury hotel into a cold, lethal weapon, granting it the capacity to carry over 850 personnel. Among them, 800 were paratroopers. At least 100 of these paratroopers were Tier-5 soldiers, while the rest were split evenly between Tier-4 and Tier-3 soldiers.

Because their target was the royal capital of the Sazos Kingdom, and there was no telling what kind of formidable enemies they might encounter, Li Qinwu had funneled all the skeleton soldiers spawned by the Netherworld Tree into these paratroopers over the past few months. This had elevated them into the highest-quality battalion-level unit in the entire Alliance. Another 30 personnel were Goblin Incinerators, led by Gobu-Kong to operate the airship itself. The remaining 20 formed the autocannon crews.

That's right—autocannons! An aerial unit as massive as an airship would be a complete waste if it only performed transport and paradrop missions. Such a vast platform could easily support offensive weaponry. Li Qinwu had mounted artillery onto the airship, turning it into a literal gunship in the sky. Of course, for a gunship flying through the clouds, mounting large-caliber artillery was out of the question; firing a heavy shell might shatter the airship's structure mid-air, leading to instant catastrophe.

Instead, Li Qinwu installed small-caliber 40mm cavalry cannons onto the airship. These cannons were light and produced minimal recoil, well within the structural tolerance of the airship. Li Qinwu had ten gun ports cut into the bottom of the airship hull—five on the left and five on the right—equipping a total of ten small-caliber cavalry cannons. He designed specialized gun mounts that allowed these cannons to strike targets directly below at a vertical 90-degree angle.

Each of the ten cannons came equipped with 20 sub-chambers, allowing for a rapid-fire sequence of 20 rounds. Firing from high altitude down upon ground targets provided a significant range boost, making the explosive destructive power of this system something not to be understated. Li Qinwu was eagerly anticipating the moment when the airship hovered over the enemy, raining down dense fire onto their ground formations to see just how devastatingly it would shatter their ranks.

Inside the airship at this moment, the paratroopers were engaged in intense physical exercise—doing squats and push-ups on the spot, or sprinting at top speed down the corridors while carrying heavy ammo crates. They were paratroopers, the most elite and doctrinally advanced force in the Alliance. They needed to train constantly to maintain their peak physical conditioning.

Even in the relatively cramped quarters of an airship, they refused to slack off for a single moment, seizing every opportunity to undergo physical conditioning. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Inside the airship control cabin, Li Qinwu watched Gobu-Kong issue order after order, steering the airship smoothly forward. Gazing out through the massive viewing window at the Monster Forest below, Li Qinwu found it impossible to discern his exact position.

Curious, he wondered how the airship navigated. After all, there was no GPS in this world. When he posed the question, Gobu-Kong offered an explanation.

"Boss, there are many ways to determine our position.

"One method relies on the permanent magic tide distribution maps captured from the airship. These permanent magic tides exist every second of the day, completely unaffected by weather or climate.

"The magic tide stream we're riding right now is one of those permanent tides; it will carry us directly over the royal capital.

"Apart from that, we can also determine our heading using celestial navigation and brass compasses. But of course, the most common and effective method is through 'magical flashes'."

"What does 'magical flash' mean?" This was the first time Li Qinwu had ever heard the term. Because magic existed in this world, countless pseudo-scientific concepts had emerged around it. Li Qinwu often felt like an illiterate in this world, lacking a thorough understanding of its inner workings. Every time he heard a new term, he made a point to get to the bottom of it.

"Boss, a magical flash is a phenomenon generated when intelligent beings cast spells. According to the concepts taught to us by Professor Sharp, when we cast a spell and manifest magical power into a physical phenomenon, this materialization process generates a flash.

"This flash cannot be observed by the naked eye, but a magic tide observatory device can detect it very clearly. Depending on the form and quantity of the spell cast, different flashing patterns are produced, and these flash patterns can be documented and cataloged." Etching these magical concepts into his memory, Li Qinwu pressed further: "Then how does the airship use magical flashes to determine its location?" Gobu-Kong pulled out a notebook and handed it to Li Qinwu.

Inside was a long string of numbers and place names.

"Boss, these are the notes left behind by Captain Sharp. They record the flash frequency data of every magic tower.

"The Magic Guild has established magic towers all across the human world. While these magic towers monitor magic tides, they also function as active magitech devices. As they operate, they produce a continuous flash.

"The Magic Guild intentionally sets each magic tower to flash at a distinct frequency. That way, the equipment on board the airship can detect the different magical flash frequencies and identify exactly which magic tower is flashing.

"As long as the equipment on the airship can simultaneously observe the flashes of two or more magic towers, it can achieve precise triangulation." Li Qinwu listened in utter amazement. He hadn't expected this otherworldly realm to possess such an advanced positioning technique—it was a true eye-opener. The Magic Guild was certainly no simple entity.

Their magic towers scattered across the world served not only to monitor magic tides, but also as positioning beacons; the Magic Guild was essentially building something akin to a global GPS system. Suddenly, a thought struck Li Qinwu, making his eyes light up.

"Hold on, Gobu-Kong... Are you saying that the airship can pinpoint the exact location of a magic tower?" Gobu-Kong nodded.

"Yes, Boss. The airship is equipped with a device dedicated to detecting magic tower flashes, with a scan radius of roughly 300 kilometers.

"As long as a magic tower is operating within that range, it will be pinpointed. Right now, we've locked onto three magic towers, giving us a crystal-clear understanding of our location." Li Qinwu licked his lips as a wicked idea began to sprout in his mind. A magic tide observatory device was an extraordinarily precious piece of equipment. Right now, the Alliance was in a state of war with the Magic Guild.

Since they could pinpoint the location of magic towers, why not pull off a raid and hijack a magic tide observatory device to bring back home?

"Gobu-Kong, do you have a map? Mark out the positions of all those magic towers for me!"

"We do, Boss. There's a map in the airship marking the locations of every magic tower belonging to the Magic Guild." Gobu-Kong led Li Qinwu into a small room adjacent to the command cabin, packed with numerous maps and surveying tools. Hanging on the wall was a large 2m × 2m map outlining the territories of the Four Human Nations, dotted with numerous points representing the magic towers. Li Qinwu reached out, tapping his finger on the Monster Forest, and then on their target for this strike: Dinas.

Connecting the two locations into a straight line, he spotted a magic tower sitting directly along the path. Li Qinwu stared at the dot representing the magic tower for a moment, and a sly smile spread across his face.

"You're mine now."