Earth's Greatest Magus

Chapter 3091: Into the Storm

Word of Versa’s sacrifice spread through the ark within the hour, and with it came a wave of grief that many aboard seemed able to shake. Sadness, anger, and a deep, aching despair settled over the entire vessel.

She had been part of their lives for two decades—protecting them, healing them, and standing as their quiet anchor through the worst of their years in hiding.

Bragnir took it hardest. He blamed himself openly, voice raw with fury he clearly meant to turn inward, furious he’d never noticed her condition in all the years she’d lived beneath his own roof. It was only the two elven holy knights stepping in with a full account of what she’d done — and why — that kept the moment from curdling into something worse. Without their explanation, Emery standing there holding one of the elves’ most sacred relics might easily have looked like something else entirely.

Still, grief was a luxury none of them could afford for long.

The storm was already on them.

Emery had never seen anything like it. Sand and wind churned together in a torrent so violent that it seemed less like weather and more like a living force determined to strip the world down to its foundations.

Golden sand filled the sky, reducing visibility to almost nothing as violent winds slammed against the ark’s defensive barrier.

Anyone below the Grand Magus realm caught outside in such a storm would likely be torn apart within seconds.

That was why every dwarf below that threshold remained sealed safely below deck, completely protected from the storm raging outside.

With the noncombatants and non-magus secured inside the spatial artifact, the ark carried a total of eight hundred dwarven warriors across its three lower decks. Above them, on the open deck, stood the remaining elites—forty two Grand Magus dwarves, eight of whom had reached the Two-Cosmos realm.

Near the prow stood a Three-Cosmos elder, Durnok Deepforge. He remained completely silent and immovable, his massive figure standing against the raging storm like a second figurehead carved from the ark itself.

The two elven holy knights, Thalen and Ilvorn, held position near the stern, neither speaking, both watching the storm with the same unreadable calm they’d worn since Versa’s death.

Emery, now the navigator and protector of the Floating Tortoise whether he had asked for the title or not, spent most of his time on the main deck—the second tier, which was open to the sky and offered the clearest view across the ark and the raging storm beyond it.

His Divine Sense continuously spread outward, pushing against the chaotic interference created by the storm. Even with his perception heavily restricted, he could still extend his senses for dozens of miles in every direction. At the same time, he kept the Star Plaque in his hand, maintaining a steady flow of energy through the artifact and ensuring that the ark’s defensive barrier remained stable.

Despite the violence outside, the dwarves’ craftsmanship was holding up remarkably well.

The ark’s outer hull alone was forged from a material comparable to Tier 6. Eighty meters long and twenty meters tall, every plate and joint had been crafted by true master craftsmen. Emery suspected that even without the defensive barrier, the hull itself could have endured an hour or two of this storm before suffering any serious damage.

On top of that was the dwarves’ own defensive array, anchored by eight high-grade metal rods positioned evenly across the deck.

The Ironstar Pillars.

They had been forged specifically to resonate with the Star Plaque, allowing the two formations to work together and strengthening the ark’s defensive barrier several times over.

A few hours into what had been the smoothest stretch of the journey so far, Bragnir made his way over, his heavy boots thudding against the metal deck.

"Save your strength," he said. "Our own barrier can handle this level of force just fine. Stay alert only if a tornado come our way"

Emery gave a slow nod.

The storm was expected to last three, perhaps four days. If the dwarves’ defensive formation could genuinely withstand the storm on its own, there was no reason for him to continuously pour his energy into the Star Plaque at full strength.

He gradually reduced the flow of energy into the relic, allowing it to settle into a lighter, sustaining hum.

Soltz wandered over a while later, still wearing the faint, self-satisfied grin of a man who had just acquired a high-grade artifact, and spoke with the easy confidence of someone who had apparently appointed himself an expert on desert storms.

"Don’t worry," he said. "There are usually a few tornadoes mixed into these storms, sure, but across a desert this size? The odds of actually crossing paths with one are what, one in a thousand?"

Emery shot him a flat look. "Don’t jinx it."

"Hah! I’m just stating facts."

An hour later, the wind suddenly changed.

It did not gradually become stronger. Instead, the entire storm seemed to shift at once, with the wind speed increasing several times over within a matter of seconds.

The Floating Tortoise lurched violently as powerful gusts slammed into its hull, while the eight Ironstar Pillars along the deck began to shudder under the sudden increase in pressure. The formation lines covering their surfaces flickered rapidly as they struggled to absorb the immense force.

Emery’s expression immediately turned serious as his Divine Sense pushed through the chaotic storm. Far ahead, beyond the endless curtain of swirling sand, he sensed an enormous disturbance moving rapidly across their path.

A massive desert tornado.

Through the darkness, a massive column of swirling sand gradually became visible. Its lower half dragged across the desert floor while its upper portion disappeared into the storm clouds above, creating a towering funnel wide enough to swallow an entire section of the ark. Countless smaller vortices spiraled around its edges, tearing through the desert and throwing enormous chunks of rock and debris into the air.

The ground beneath the tornado seemed to disappear beneath the churning sand, while the surrounding winds screamed with such force that even Emery could feel the pressure through the ark’s defensive barrier.

Most terrifying of all, the enormous tornado was moving directly across their path.

Emery slowly turned toward Soltz.

The old man’s confident expression had already disappeared, replaced by an awkward grimace.

"...Just bad luck."

Emery didn’t bother answering. His Divine Sense expanded to its limit while VIA rapidly calculated the tornado’s movement, analyzing the shifting wind currents and constantly changing trajectory. Within moments, a rough path appeared in Emery’s mind, allowing him to determine the safest route around the approaching vortex.

"Turn thirty degrees east!"

Bragnir immediately relayed the command, and the Floating Tortoise began changing direction.

However, the tornado shifted as well.

Its enormous funnel twisted across the desert, and its outer winds spread outward like gigantic claws reaching toward the ark. Before the vessel could completely clear its path, a tremendous force slammed into the defensive barrier.

BOOM!

The entire ark shook violently.

Several dwarves staggered across the deck as the vessel tilted beneath their feet, while the Ironstar Pillars released a deep metallic hum. Formation lines flashed across the hull in rapid succession as the defensive array struggled to distribute the overwhelming pressure.