As the ship passed the invisible star ocean boundary, Jacob suddenly felt the entire atmosphere change and powerful pressure descend. But what he saw on the other side made his eyes widen with shock in disbelief and trepidation as if he were watching a dream.
"How is this possible?!"
On the other side of the star ocean boundary was no ocean; instead, it was a vast pitch-black space filled with countless stars as if the ship had directly entered the starry space itself!
But the strangest part was the ship was easily moving forward, and he could still breathe in this place, just the gravity had increased by over 20 folds. Furthermore, the magic energy in this place was extremely dense, over ten times more than the epic plains!
One had to know that the Star Ocean's magic energy density was half of the epic plains for some reason, but this space was filled with magic energy.
'Is this the true 'Star Ocean'?' Jacob shuddered, seeing the strange phenomena in front of him, and he also thought about what Immortika told him about the Zodiac Plains being an entire universe.
Soon, he calmed down, but he still was looking at the vast, endless space filled with stars while the compass in his hand shimmered brightly.
"Cursed Immortality!" He couldn't help but summon cursed immortality at this moment as he was very confused.
"What is this space?" He asked emotionally.
"Hahahaha… what can it be but the Star Ocean?" Immortika replied with relish.
He had guessed as much, "Can you explain more clearly? How can an ocean be connected with space, and what about those stars in the distance? Are they planets?"
"Hehehe… this is the true wonder of Zodiac Plains. Your common sense is useless here. The more you try to understand it, the more confused you get, so just let it go and enjoy the view. As for those stars, if you dare, why don't you try to go towards them?"
Jacob rolled his eyes perplexedly, "Don't try to egg me. Just directly say it is dangerous to go there. Still, at least tell me, if this is the space, what is above the atmosphere of the sky outside?"
"Heh, you'll know eventually. What's the hurry? You should be focused on crossing over and praying that no Zodiac Beast took a fancy on you or, hahahaha…" Immortika begins to laugh maniacally.
Jacob's expression finally changed, "Zodiac Beast, now what the hell are they?"
"They are space wonders of the Zodiac Plains with no mind of their own, and they only have the intent to devour. So, they are called the Zodiac Beast or Void Calamities that exist between the Star Ocean Boundaries; not even a legend can escape if they stumbled upon one. But you didn't need to be overly worried about encountering a Zodiac Beast. You either have to be overly foolish or extremely unlucky. Consider this information as a gift for you to enter the higher plains, hahaha!"
Jacob wasn't the least happy after learning about the Zodiac Beasts; instead, he was fearful now and wary of this wondrous space.
He quickly commanded to increase the speed to the fullest while tightly clenching the compass. He no longer dares to have any stray thoughts of exploring this place!
---
At this moment, within a large flying ship, another group of Zodiac Night Guardians were respectfully looking at a 17-
meter-tall burly giant with stony skin. His muscles were bulging in his robes, and his expression was gloomy.
"We lost contact with Patrol Ship No.8." He gloomily revealed, startling everyone in the room.
"What? How is it possible?" A scarred face, kobold exclaimed.
"I'm also curious about it. This is the edge of the star boundary between the epic plains and the unique plains star ocean. No.
6,7, and 8 were sent on the other side while we remained on this side.
"But now, the sign from No.8 has vanished, and the guardians seemed to be still alive, or we would've gotten their death transmission. The headquarters order us to keep an eye out for any unauthorized travelers, and they even dispatch Unique Rank Guardians like us.
"However, we didn't take it seriously since we thought about what could go wrong in this kind of place and why there was a need to dispatch a unique rank like us. But now, it seemed the higher-ups weren't kidding around.
"Since I'm in charge of this mission, it's my responsibility to take care of my men. This is our first and last blunder. From now on, I want everyone to take it seriously. Our enemy is cunning and most likely unique rank.
"Release my orders; every from no.2 to no.10 will now pair up, and if they spot any anomaly, report it to me post hastily. Sent No.9 and No.10 to No.9's last known location for investigation. I want to report as soon as possible.
"Also release the Night Guardian Net, there is no longer any need to hold back. It is not easy to mess with our federation!" He solemnly ordered with killing intent swirling in his eyes.
"Yes!"
Everyone solemnly yelled before they quickly took their leave to pass the giant's order.
Once everyone left, the giant's eyes shimmered in a peculiar glint before a projection appeared in front of him. A pause image of seven horn ogres was when they were facing the two guardians in front of him.
"The horn ogres? Could it be this ship belonged to the top priority target of every power's list that has vanished for years now, Captain Free Sword? If it's him, and I manage to capture him, I might be able to be promoted to Purple Rank Guardian.
"But why is everyone looking for him so desperately? Even those old men were agitated at that time but didn't reveal anything. Just what did he take from the trial? Is it worth exchanging for a promotion, or should I just take it for myself?
"First, I need to confirm if it's him or not, and once I capture him, I'll decide for myself whether it's worth it or not. But for now, I can't let anyone else find out about it, or those old men might take action themselves…" A wily grin appeared on the giant's face as he looked at the horn ogres in the projection as if they were mere prey!