Space Travel

169. Space Travel

Outside the gates of H.A.R.M. Cascadia, the Admiral personally saw them off.

A sleek luxury vehicle, its metallic finish gleaming like moonlight on shadow, stood parked along the curb.

Mrs. Prince turned to Theodore Montgomery with a gracious smile. "Admiral, rest assured, I will do my best to shoulder Cascadia's burdens."

Hearing this, the Admiral smiled back. "Your support is greatly appreciated."

As the roof silently retracted, Mrs. Prince stepped inside with a gentle sway, the bioluminescent light casting a soft halo around her.

Aisha Patani hesitated for a moment, before she effortlessly vaulted into the car.

Theodore turned around, a cold glint in his eyes.

Mrs. Prince never acted without clear benefit to herself. Did she truly think that he, a seasoned Admiral, was so naive? He would not let anyone simply snatch away the successor he had so carefully nurtured.

A slight smile played across Theodore's lips as he recalled the rumors from the capital.

Although the vampire plague in Cascadia was urgent, Mrs. Prince might not be as composed as she appeared. It was now a matter of seeing who could maintain their position longer.

He gathered his thoughts and glanced behind the car. The handsome young man in dark armor stood out like a titan among man, radiating an extraordinary presence.

It was such a young man who had reduced a disciple of Fox Wonderland to a mere one sentence statement in the report.

Not only were there no casualties, but judging by the expressions of the two lieutenant generals, they hadn't even had a chance to offer assistance.

Theodore Montgomery's eyes narrowed slightly. A sense of wonder came over him, and his earlier dissatisfaction began to fade.

After Aisha Patani's emergence, it was remarkable that a small region like Cascadia could produce yet another talent of such caliber.

Had it not been for the looming vampire plague, these two could have ensured a millennium of peace and prosperity for Cascadia once they reached their full potential.

Alas, time was not on their side...

However, taking the blame for eliminating a Fox Wonderland disciple was a small price to pay for protecting such talent.

Of course... if this could draw the capital's attention to him early on, that would be even better.

"I must ask General Kane to escort Mrs. Prince back to the capital." Theodore stepped forward, speaking just loud enough for those in the luxury car to hear.

"Understood, sir," the young man replied.

Theodore waved goodbye to the ladies and walked back into H.A.R.M. headquarters.

… …

Despite accepting the Admiral's order with conviction, I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. After all, besides Mrs. Prince, the car held a master so powerful that even the Ascendant Vampire King had fled her in terror.

Did they truly need my protection?

Mrs. Prince studied the young man with curiosity. She had never seen such a young H.A.R.M. general. She wondered which path he had taken towards the Fourth Realm.

Although Ward of Nature and Seeker of Redeemer both belonged to the Fourth Realm, they were regarded very differently by others.

The reason was simple.

No matter how strong a Seeker of Redeemer was, they were bound to their post. They could only guard the specific area where they received the people's faith. This limitation made them less valuable as potential allies.

Ward of Nature were different.

A powerhouse who could maintain their full strength anywhere could solve most problems.

Just like in her case, a vague promise of summoning a Ward of Nature was enough to make the Admiral of Cascadia set aside his pride and show such eagerness.

"General Kane," Mrs. Prince withdrew her gaze and asked delicately, "will you still have the ability to protect us once we leave Cascadia?"

"He does not follow the Path of Redemption." Aisha Patani closed her eyes and feigned sleep, her voice nonchalant.

Mrs. Prince's charming face brightened at these simple words. "There's an empty seat at shotgun, Young General Kane—why don't you join us?"

I glanced at the person beside me. Arnold Stark had been sent to the capital alongside me by Granny Chloe to report Vampire Hunters' merits.

Plus, I was heading to the capital to claim my reward, not to serve as an escort.

If they ran into a vampire so powerful that even Aisha Patani couldn't handle, I would definitely show them exactly what a perfected Whispering Gale technique could do.

"Thank you for the offer, Madame. Protocol requires me to ride with my colleague." I politely declined.

A military Jeep was parked right behind the luxury car. Arnold Stark took the driver's seat, and I settled in beside him.

Arnold glanced from Aisha to me, the excitement in his eyes growing even more intense.

With Aisha and Kane leading the way, the younger generation of Cascadia need not worry about replacing the old guard.

"General Kane," he started the engine. "Have you given any thought to what artefact you'd like to receive from the capital?"

I pondered for a moment, then looked at the black blade at my waist: "Preferably a handy weapon."

The ceremonial sword taken from the ape vampire, while sturdy and sharp, had no special features and was becoming increasingly inadequate.

Arnold made a mental note, then said with a hint of envy: "Cascadia is just a medium-sized State in New Terra. Even our Cloud Citadel's weapon-forging abilities are merely adequate. Almost all weapons from the capital are made by Aegis Defense Systems in the Southwest State. They're the wealthiest State in New Terra and the most famous for crafting treasured weapons."

I nodded thoughtfully, finally grasping some understanding of New Terra.

I recalled the jade sword stored in my silver bell, wondering about its quality as a magical weapon.

… …

The luxury car led the way, while Arnold struggled to keep pace. To my surprise, instead of heading to the city gate, the car turned into a tunnel marked "Prince & Young Airport."

"I thought air travel was not feasible." I asked Arnold. As far as I know, airplanes were easy target of Vampire Kings and some flying Vampire Lords.

"Not air travel—space travel," Arnold replied. "Don't forget that's Mrs. Prince in that car." He nodded toward the luxury car ahead of us.

"Most people travel by land. That's how Rose returned from the capital. The journey takes her 15 days, though Wave Realm martial artists need 30 days. For a Solar Nomad caravan, the trip stretches to 3 months—assuming they survive the vampire ambushes along the way."

I understood the reason immediately. The weaker the traveler, the more vulnerable they were to vampire attacks. This meant they had to be more cautious, take longer routes, and travel at a slower pace.

"But if you're willing to pay 100,000 dollars per trip, Prince & Young Technologies can send you to the capital in less than an hour by suborbital flights," Arnold explained, taking advantage of the quiet moment to help me understand the history of transportation.

Before the Apocalypse, suborbital travel had become accessible to most people. The Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems (EMALS) could propel a commercial airliner above the atmosphere using just half year's worth of energy of a normal household. After that, the aircraft simply needed to maneuver in a frictionless environment and glide back down for a safe landing.

When vampires overran the world, they marveled at the enormous EMALS infrastructure, which often stretched 15 to 20 miles long. Though they caused minimal damage, they couldn't operate the systems either. Eventually, the elements of nature took their toll.

During the Long Peace, a team of engineers led by Lock and Young restored many EMALS tracks, though they could only repair portions of their original lengths for the majority of them. This laid the foundation for Lock & Young Technologies, which went on to operate these massive facilities they called airports.

Through marriage and strategic maneuvering, the Prince family acquired the Lock family's controlling shares. They later rebranded the company as Prince & Young.

The tunnel seemed endless, and kept going down. After nearly ten minutes of driving, we arrived at a building with large windows that revealed check-in counters and waiting passengers inside.

Despite growing up in a remote county, I recognized this building as an airport terminal. Back at the orphanage, one of the boys had owned a picture book about old world aviation. And I was quite interested in the book.

"The airport is underground?" I was a bit taken aback.

"Where else would they find enough land to build twenty-mile-long tracks?" Arnold chuckled. "Before the Apocalypse, land was the most precious resource."

I wasn't sure whether tracks were just another term for runways, but I didn't ask. Then I realized something else strange. "Why were all the passengers Wave Realm martial artists?"

Arnold gave me a knowing smile. "You'll understand once we take flight. You're in for quite a surprise."