Earth's Greatest Magus

Chapter 3092: Danger

Although the desert storm created enough disturbance to make the flying metal ark difficult for the Scourge to detect, the Floating Tortoise still had to maintain an altitude of at least three hundred meters above the sands to ensure complete concealment.

However, that altitude had now become a serious disadvantage.

The higher they were, the more exposed they became to the violent winds surrounding the enormous tornado.

"We need to lower our altitude!" one of the dwarf masters shouted over the howling wind.

Lord Bragnir immediately shook his head.

"No... We can’t."

He turned toward Emery, his expression grim.

"The Ironstar Pillars won’t hold if we keep taking this kind of pressure."

Emery’s expression tightened as he looked toward the approaching vortex. He could already see the formation lines across the pillars flickering dangerously, while the enormous tornado continued to churn through the desert ahead of them.

There was no time to hesitate.

Emery immediately reached for the Star Plaque.

A second later, the relic in his hand became scorching hot as he channeled a massive amount of energy into it. Brilliant golden light spread across the ark’s defensive barrier, reinforcing its outer layer just as another violent gust slammed into the vessel.

The Floating Tortoise shook violently.

Outside, the storm had become almost impossible to see through. Sand and shattered rocks were being hurled through the air at terrifying speeds, striking the barrier like countless blades while the wind screamed around the vessel.

For several moments, the Floating Tortoise seemed almost insignificant against the enormous tornado.

Emery could feel the vibration traveling through the deck beneath his feet as he continued feeding energy into the Star Plaque, while the dwarven formation masters maintained the Ironstar Pillars.

The eight pillars trembled more violently with every passing second, their formation lines flickering as they struggled to keep the barrier stable.

Then, slowly, the ark began to pull away from the tornado’s center.

The pressure gradually weakened as the enormous vortex passed behind them, and after several long moments, the worst of its force finally moved beyond the ark.

The Floating Tortoise continued forward, battered but intact, while the storm once again settled into its relentless rhythm of howling wind and swirling sand.

Then a collective breath of relief passed through the crew.

"We made it..."

The words came from one of the dwarves, but there was little celebration in his voice.

Nearly half of the Grand Magus cultivators aboard the ark were still visibly shaken. After all, the dwarves were a ground-dwelling race, and flying through a storm of this scale was one of their greatest fears. Even as powerful cultivators, many of them were far more accustomed to fighting with solid ground beneath their feet than being trapped hundreds of meters above the desert while a monstrous tornado threatened to tear their vessel apart.

Bragnir stared back at the enormous tornado slowly disappearing into the storm, his expression unusually grim.

Soltz, eager to lighten the mood, flashed a confident grin. "Now that we’ve passed one, we won’t run into another for the rest of the trip."

Just minutes later, what was supposedly impossible happened.

A low rumble suddenly rolled through the darkness ahead, so deep that it could be felt through the ark’s hull. Emery’s expression changed as his Divine Sense detected another enormous disturbance forming somewhere beyond the curtain of sand.

His gaze slowly hardened.

A second tornado was taking shape.

And this one was even larger than the first.

The enormous vortex emerged from the storm like a moving mountain, its massive funnel stretching from the desert floor into the dark clouds above. Its outer winds were already whipping across the surrounding desert, dragging enormous quantities of sand into the air and creating a vast wall of swirling golden dust that rapidly spread across their path.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Soltz’s grin slowly disappeared.

This time, it wasn’t only Emery glaring at him. Every dwarf on the deck turned toward the old man. They all wore the same unmistakable expression of pointed judgment.

Soltz raised both hands defensively.

"...It’s really not my fault. How could it be?"

The second tornado gave them no time to argue.

As it approached, the entire ark began to shake violently. The defensive barrier flickered beneath the increasing pressure, while the eight Ironstar Pillars released a deafening metallic hum as their formations were pushed toward their limits. Golden formation lines raced across the pillars, flashing erratically as the enormous force of the approaching vortex began to overwhelm the defensive array.

"Hold the barrier!"

Bragnir’s voice thundered across the deck.

Emery immediately poured more energy into the Star Plaque.

The impact was terrifying.

The Floating Tortoise was thrown violently sideways as an enormous wall of wind crashed into its barrier. The entire deck tilted sharply, forcing several dwarves to grab onto nearby structures to keep from being swept off their feet. Outside the barrier, sand, rocks, and shattered debris were moving so quickly that they appeared as countless streaks of light, while the deafening roar of the tornado drowned out every other sound.

But an even more terrifying situation was unfolding.

Emery’s Divine Sense suddenly caught another massive disturbance behind them.

The first tornado, which they had only just escaped, was no longer moving away.

Instead, it was being pulled toward the second vortex.

The enormous winds of the two tornadoes began to interact, their chaotic currents twisting together as if two monstrous forces were being drawn toward one another. The Floating Tortoise, caught between them, was suddenly trapped in the narrow space between the two approaching vortices.

"We must break free from this fast!"

At the bow, Bragnir and Durnok planted their feet firmly against the deck.

The two dwarven Three-Cosmos powerhouses simultaneously unleashed their full strength, creating layers of earth and metal energy that spread outward from their bodies and pushed against the incoming storm. Their combined power helped blunt the worst of the wind, but even the two powerful cultivators were forced to strain under the relentless pressure.

Seeing the situation, Soltz finally stopped joking.

With a grim expression, he moved toward the formation and placed his hands against one of the Ironstar Pillars, pouring his own earth-element energy into the defensive array

"All of you, with me!"

Bragnir roared.

More than two dozen Grand Magus dwarves immediately responded. They gathered around the defensive formation and unleashed their energy together, creating a massive combined spell that spread across the ark like a layer of solid earth and metal.

The pressure against the Floating Tortoise eased slightly.

For the moment, they were able to hold.

But they were still trapped.

The two enormous tornadoes continued to twist toward one another, their massive funnels drawing closer with every passing second. The space between them narrowed rapidly, and the violent currents created by their interaction caused the ark to shake so violently that the entire hull groaned.

The reinforced hull groaned under the pressure, and some of the metal plates began to bend slightly despite being forged from Tier 6-grade material. Even the joints between the plates produced sharp metallic cries as the immense force tried to tear the vessel apart.

"Everyone, hold!!" Bragnir shouted.

The combined effort was enough to withstand the force of the two tornadoes, but they were still unable to escape. The enormous vortices continued to draw closer, their swirling winds colliding and creating increasingly violent currents around the Floating Tortoise.

The ark continued struggling against the storm.

The situation was becoming critical.

Emery finally made his move.

With one hand, he continued channeling his energy into the Star Plaque, maintaining the ark’s defensive barrier. At the same time, his other hand reached out as he summoned the power of Khaos.

Dark energy surged around his arm.

The moment he activated it, the surrounding space began to distort. A powerful spatial domain expanded around the Floating Tortoise, forming a miniature battlefield where the laws of space were under Emery’s control.

It wasn’t enough to tear apart the enormous tornadoes.

But it didn’t need to be.

Emery focused on the space directly ahead of the ark.

The distorted domain suddenly twisted.

Space itself seemed to fold inward before snapping forward.

BOOM!

The Floating Tortoise jolted violently as an invisible force propelled it forward. The ark’s massive hull surged through the turbulent currents, using Emery’s spatial manipulation to create a narrow path through the worst of the storm.

The dwarves were thrown against the deck by the sudden acceleration, but none dared complain.

Emery gritted his teeth and continued manipulating the surrounding space, forcing the ark forward inch by inch as the two tornadoes raged around them.

Then, finally, the Floating Tortoise broke through.

The ark burst out from between the violent currents, its battered hull emerging from the storm as the pressure suddenly began to weaken.

For several moments, nobody moved.

The dwarves simply stood where they were, breathing heavily as they stared at the endless storm surrounding them. Some leaned against the Ironstar Pillars for support, while others looked back at the two enormous tornadoes disappearing behind them.

The Floating Tortoise was battered, its metal hull scarred and several formation lines flickering weakly, but it remained intact.

They had escaped.

Soltz slowly straightened himself.

He looked around the deck, then opened his mouth, clearly preparing to say something.

Every single person turned toward him at exactly the same time.

Dozens of eyes stared at him with expressions ranging from exhaustion to outright murderous intent.

Soltz froze.

His mouth slowly closed.

He wisely said nothing.

The journey continuous

x x x