The Systemic Lands

Chapter 624: Day 5,146 – Aerial Interception

The bracelets are holding up, Jacob said while checking over his. He had been checking them regularly. None of us could sleep. We were all on the bridge as the Crystal Vortex continued to fly towards our destination. It was just after dawn as we continued to drift through the sky.

The engines were disabled, so we only had a limited way to adjust our course and speed with our ballistic trajectory. Thats good. Otherwise, we would be dead, Clarissa replied with some bleak humor.

Up ahead, look, Doctor Katz pointed. It was the block terrain. It had expanded by a large amount, pushing towards the edge of the zone the sphere occupied now, and not just a small area in the center. We had a lot of height, but the tracking on the golems were incredibly good.

I will start summoning, Michelle said and began to do so. Monsters moved out along the outside of the hull to shield the airship. She had her eyes closed and was clearly focused on managing her summons.

We will be over the block terrain in five minutes, Captain Francis called out.

I will go make my own preparations, Jacob replied. He got up and left the bridge.

Should we adjust? Captain Francis asked me.

No. Keep the same heading. The sphere didnt appear to have moved before, I doubt it will have moved now. But its not like I can pinpoint it, I said while looking out the front window. I saw the white golems below.

Imbue skills now? Doctor Katz asked me, and I shook my head. It wasnt time for him to use his support skills. I could sense that he was nervous, but we would stick with the plan. That was why we had a plan in the first place.

Not until the last moment, I calmly replied. While I might not be a great leader, I knew that if I panicked everyone else would panic as well. But we should make our way up above the bridge. And begin charging, right? I asked.

ETA to target is fourteen minutes, another four until we reach the edge of the block terrain, Captain Francis updated us.

Start charging the super weapon once we reach the edge of the terrain, Doctor Katz said. It would take ten minutes to reach full power. He got up and I did as well. We made our way to the deck above us. The wind was rushing by, but it wasnt that intense. While we were moving, we were going fairly slow, since we had no way to adjust our speed. I stood right above and behind the Avatar who was still insensate at the prow of the airship, looking past her at the block terrain below.

The view in front of the airship began to clear up as the obfuscation effect fell away. The colored blocks were spread out everywhere. Like a scab on the surface of the Systemic Lands. I could see a large structure in the distance, around ten miles or sixteen kilometers away. That would be where the sphere was hiding.

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That it? Doctor Katz asked and pointed.

Yes, I replied.

Alright, I will start the charging process now, a hand? he asked me. I went over to the other cannon, since there were two. Twist and slowly clockwise half a rotation and then push in each of the metal cannisters on the outside. Dont force them, they should just slide in. This one first, they are mirrored, so other side, you got it. Alright, on one. Three, two, one, and slide. Now the next one here. Three, two, one, he said.

I felt it when we moved into the area with no energy pushing down on me. Doctor Katz only hesitated for a moment as he continued to give instructions to arm the super weapon without slowing down.

The airship shook and I saw flashes of light below us. Next one, Doctor Katz said and I focused on what I was doing. Sixten cylinders were twisted and pushed in on each cannon at one end. The airship shook again.

And done, Doctor Katz said. I went to the edge of the airship and saw that we were taking fire from below. Michelle was able to keep the fire from disintegrating the airship using summons. I let out a sigh of relief that she was able to summon in the this no energy area.

I made my way to the front of the airship. Monsters with reflective properties were moving at the front of the airship and under it, blocking the barrage of withering white beams. We were holding and on track. A few beams got through and pierced the airship, but it still kept going on its ballistic trajectory. There was a lot of leeway built into our plan, specifically how high the airship was. Even if we began to go down, there would be time to adjust the front of the airship to aim at the target.

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I noticed that the tethers were visible to my sight. That was interesting, since normally Michelle would shift them away like the System did.

Since things were done here, it was time to check on the other part of this plan. With me, I told the good doctor and he followed me as I went to check up on Jacob. There was nothing happening.

Problem? I asked.

I cant punch through to the lower layer. I was just about to, since I started the process outside the block terrain, and then we hit it. Nothing. I ran the experiment twice, he said.

That would explain the visible tethers, I said, and Jacob let out a sigh. The airship shook again, and a white beam cut through the floor between us and then the ceiling. To the bridge, I said and he nodded. I picked up the crate of annihilation bombs he had here as well.

We went back to the bridge as more beams from the golems continued to get through puncturing portions of the airship. Consolidating defenses on the front, Michelle muttered when we got back. That would protect us and the super weapon above the bridge.

Clarissa was busy with the controls using the lower cannons on the airship to unleash counter fire on the golems. We are losing altitude too quickly, Captain Francis called out.

Struggling, Michelle muttered as she focused on controlling her summons.

Doctor Katz and Jacob, assist me please, I went to one of the outer doors on the bridge and opened it. I set the crate of bombs next to the door. Jacob handed me an annhilation bomb. I activated and threw it down as hard as I could. It hit a golem and bounced away before exploding. I activated another bomb and waited a single second before throwing. A golem was heavily damaged.

That was thanks to Jacob seeing what combination of energy was best used to counter whatever the sphere was doing. So, while a lot of energy was consumed to make the annihilation effect, there were slightly different annihilation effects. They were effective despite being weaker bombs. Jacob was on point with his research in this regard.

As I continued to throw bombs downwards the aerial fire lessened. Lifting the airship, Michelle said. We leveled out. She was using the Infinite Block stationed at key points throughout the airship to provide additional lift once we lost ours.

Back on course. Keep current heading, Captain Francis called out.

Six minutes until it fires, Doctor Katz called out. The airship shook as we took some more hits. Sorry team member, your noble sacrifice will not be forgotten.

Nothing left on the beam cannons, Clarissa called out as well and stepped away from the controls she was using to remotely use the beam cannons. I kept throwing bombs, one after another. My accuracy was quite good. I had to wait longer as the airship continued to descend. Some of the bombs were intercepted mid-air by counter attacks, but half were still getting through.

Adjust angle up by five degrees, Captain Francis called out and Michelle made the change. On target, he said. A beam attack cut up through the airship at an angle through the bridge. I looked at Michelle and she was sweating, and her face was scrunched up. I didnt say anything to her, I could tell she was as focused as possible.

One minute, Doctor Katz called out. That was the call out for the next stage of the plan.

Jacob you take over bomb throwing, I said and stepped away. He stepped right into the doorway I had been and began throwing bombs down below. I held out my left hand and Doctor Katz touched it.

Imbue Life. Imbue Force. Imbue Melt. Imbue Death. Imbue Void. He used his skills one after another. While he didnt need to say the names out loud, he chose to do so, to make sure they were applied to my left hand.

One of the joint moves we had worked out over the years and refined some more recently. It normally wasnt worthwhile. The extra boost to my skills normally wasnt worth it. But now we needed every advantage we could get. I went to the door on the other side of the bridge from Jacob and leaned out.

Radiant Beam. Void Beam. Both attacks impacted on the large structure the sphere was hiding inside. The outer blocks were heavily damaged. I had adjusted the attacks as much as I could to counter the spheres energy. It definitely had an effect, cutting much deeper than previous annihilation combinations. Also, the increase in power helped.

Doctor Katz came over and repeated the process, and I fired again, drilling a bit deeper. I unleashed this combination attack four times before the next call out. Fifteen seconds, Doctor Katz called out. That meant it was time to bail. While there had been talk about staying on the airship, that was only if it wasnt under heavy fire.

Clarissa carefully picked up Michelle, and they all leapt out of the airship onto the Infinite Block, flying downwards rapidly. I counted down in my head. More beam attacks got through as Michelles control wavered and her summons were killed without replacements. I had to step to the side as my danger sense triggered from a beam attack that pierced through the front window.

I leapt off the airship myself with five seconds on the countdown. Air Burst. I flew ahead and to the side of the airship to get out of its line of fire. I noted my teammates had reached the ground and were hunkering down a distance from the structure. I was glad they had descended safely. I wanted to look at the attack, but I couldnt afford to be blinded at this critical moment. I noticed the Avatar was still unharmed. I looked away as both cannons of the super weapon fired.