Under the sliver of morning light, the Black Ship finally revealed its rugged silhouette, towering before the northern snow mountains.
At this moment, everyone who witnessed this scene remained silent.
Especially those who followed Zhao Ya.
Before coming here, they had heard about a gigantic Black Ship appearing on the snowfield of the Northern Realm, originating from the incredibly mysterious Wuyang Sea.
But in their view, no matter how large a ship could be, it couldn’t be that enormous, right?
It could at most be a bit larger than ordinary ships.
However, upon truly beholding this Black Ship, all those opinions seemed utterly naive and ridiculous.
Because the Black Ship nearly occupied half of the northern sky, its bow even stood level with the snowy mountains.
Despite being far away, the overwhelming sense of oppression engulfed many people, rendering them breathless.
Some couldn’t help but tremble, faces filled with fear.
This wasn’t about courage; it was merely a natural reaction when witnessing an object beyond human imagination.
Zhao Ya’s eyes flickered with light.
Amongst these people present, he was likely the most psychologically prepared.
After all, through correspondence with Kong Xiangdong, he had already roughly discerned the outline of this Black Ship.
Now, his only thought was how such a gigantic ship was constructed, and what power source it used?
To think that the scale of this Black Ship was even many times larger than those aircraft carriers he had seen in his past life, it was practically a moving island.
With such a massive form, without immense power to support it, it would simply be a living coffin at sea.
"Quite shocking, isn’t it?" Huang Liang walked to Zhao Ya’s side at this moment, speaking softly.
Zhao Ya nodded.
"To be honest, when I first saw this Black Ship, I was even more shocked than you, because having worked with mechanics all my life, I know how formidable the technology needed to build such a colossal structure must be." Huang Liang murmured, a hint of admiration reflecting in his eyes.
"What do you think propels it?" Zhao Ya couldn’t help but ask.
"I don’t know, but it’s certainly not sails or other conventional power..."
Just as Huang Liang finished speaking, a buzzing sound like a swarm of bees suddenly resounded in the sky.
Zhao Ya quickly turned around, looking towards the source of the sound.
Huang Liang smiled wryly and said, "Don’t be nervous, this sound had appeared before, but when the camp was engulfed in darkness, the sound ceased too."
"I didn’t expect it to return just as dawn broke!"
Zhao Ya remained tense.
For this buzzing sound was remarkably similar to the electrical hum of a large machine starting up.
Sure enough.
Along with this sound, the Black Ship at the horizon underwent another transformation.
Dozens of objects that appeared like balloons suddenly floated up from the deck.
But unlike normal balloons, these were immensely large and seemingly able to control their direction.
Soon, these iron-grey balloons swayed towards the camp.
Upon seeing this scene, many in the camp were utterly confused.
Because aside from Zhao Ya and a few from the Mechanical Sect, not many knew what these things were.
Although they knew these came from the mysterious Black Ship and were probably not benign objects.
Their slow-moving speed lulled many into a false sense of security.
Some even scorned, thinking that this supposedly mighty Black Ship was nothing impressive after all.
Otherwise, why would the things it released move so lazily?
But Zhao Ya suddenly felt a surge of intense unease.
This unease peaked when he saw the black barrels extending from beneath the balloons.
"Scatter and find solid cover!" Zhao Ya shouted, then leapt away.
Most reacted timely upon hearing Zhao Ya’s shout.
But some either didn’t grasp the situation or thought Zhao Ya was overreacting.
Yet the next moment, they paid the price for their thoughts.
Suddenly, glaring white light erupted from the barrels beneath several balloons, and the entire camp was engulfed in flames.
Explosions melded into one continuous roar.
A few unfortunate souls caught in the range of fire were immediately pulverized without even uttering a sound.
The ground shook violently, and the relentless shockwave swept all the tents in the camp away.
Fortunately, thanks to Zhao Ya’s timely warning, most had already taken cover, thereby escaping unscathed.
But then, the barrels beneath these balloons began to move, realigning with the target before emitting a humming sound once more.
This time, without needing a reminder, people recognized the deadliness and frantically dodged.
Yet the balloons were indifferent, the moving barrels perfectly coordinated, quickly forming a crossfire and covering the entire camp.
Yin Jiaxiong watched the eerie balloons in the sky with a sullen expression.
"This won’t do, if we keep dodging like this, we’ll be buried for sure. We must find a way out."
He Nandou running alongside him, chuckled bitterly, "What way could there be? These things are at heights beyond human reach."
Yin Jiaxiong didn’t retort, turning and running out of the camp.
He Nandou gritted his teeth and followed suit.
As he ran, he muttered.
"Damn it, I expected this trip to be perilous before coming, but didn’t foresee it being this treacherous, getting bombarded by cannons straight out of the gate."
"If not for glimpsing a shard of hope, I’d never have come!"
In fact, even before setting out, He Nandou had repeatedly consulted the Celestial One Chessboard for guidance, but each time the result was the same.
The journey was fraught with high risk, but not going meant certain death.
Conversely, following Zhao Ya held a sliver of survival.
That’s why He Nandou was so resolute in supporting Zhao Ya.
Yet despite knowing the danger, he hadn’t imagined it would be this extreme.
Among the Sect Leaders of the Beyond the World’s Thirteen Sects, He Nandou wielded the oddest strength.
If it came to a direct fight, he’d probably stand no chance against anyone, but thanks to the Celestial One True Power and its mysterious foresight ability, he could easily anticipate the enemy’s tactics, so no one dared challenge him.
But at this moment, faced with these balloons in the sky, He Nandou was at a loss.
Though his foresight was potent, he couldn’t guarantee accuracy every time.
And if a mistake occurred even once, his old bones would get blown to smithereens.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several more cannon blasts reverberated, leaving the camp in shambles.
But fortunately, people had finally gained their footing, and from behind an ice wall, Jing Rou’s enraged voice emerged.
"Damn it, you little scoundrels, Grandpa’s going to take your lives today!"
With that, a blinding flash emerged from behind the ice wall, followed by a balloon in the sky bursting into fragments.
Jing Rou laughed heartily upon witnessing this, "Damn it, I’ve handled gunpowder my whole life, and you think you can contend with me... what the hell!"
Before Jing Rou could finish his boast, at least three balloons targeted the position behind the ice wall with their barrels.
Terrified, Jing Rou darted out, just as explosions erupted behind him, propelling him far away.
Just then, a sharp flash suddenly cut through the sky, and a balloon was sliced open, quickly plummeting.
The people on the ground were invigorated by this sight, then saw Zhao Ya flash in the air, dashing towards another target.
With another strike, the balloon and its attached cannon were both cut in half.
But simultaneously, the other balloons reacted, swiftly targeting Zhao Ya with their cannons.
"Watch out!" someone shouted in alarm.
Yet Zhao Ya remained unperturbed; at the very instant the cannon fired, he shot out, raising his hand for another strike.
The Hand Crossbow, along with the firearms in his hand, engaged simultaneously, bringing down another balloon.
In a blink, Zhao Ya had downed three balloons, alleviating the pressure on the camp.
Yet Zhao Ya didn’t relax one bit.
Because only a few balloons were actually threatening the camp, the majority were drifting away.
One could only imagine the casualties when these balloons drifted beyond the Northern Realm and into the prosperous regions Beyond the World.
Thus, Zhao Ya wasted no time, taking a deep breath, he touched the tip of his toe on a descending balloon, borrowing a bit of force to soar skyward once more.
With Zhao Ya’s current strength, he could manage a brief stay in the air. But this relied on enormous True Power and supreme Body Technique, and exceeding the time limit would inevitably lead to a fall.
At this moment, another figure suddenly soared into the sky.
"Temple Master Zhao, let me assist you!"