Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1373: Is it not hidden at all?

Before Ling arrives, I need to stabilize the situation and not scare these two away.

They were hard-won clues, crucial to whether our group could make contact with the Holy War Army, and even gain their trust to ultimately find out information about Paradise Country Assyria.

Faced with the immense power of the Witch Society and the Axis armies, going it alone is unwise. Moreover, the countries of the Eastern Continent may not necessarily become allies. Only the Assyrians, who are also believers in the goddess, might be worth trying to win over.

This was not only Ling's opinion, but also a consensus reached by everyone on Sky Island. Medien secretly made up his mind, but his expression remained unchanged. He smiled and spoke as if he were truly welcoming two guests who had come from afar: "You must have had a long journey. Would you like to rest for a bit?"

Arnor was still stunned by what he had just said, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty: "You knew we were coming all along?"

How should we answer this? We can't exactly say it's Sister Ovira's "stirring up trouble" plan, can we? The Holy War Army has been fighting alone for years, never experiencing goodwill from any power other than Assyria in Paradise Country. Therefore, they are wary and suspicious of all forces outside of Assyria. Making rash contact, especially to pry into their biggest secrets, would likely fail to gain their trust and might even backfire. In that case, why not just wait for them to come to us? People usually don't doubt themselves. If we can make them feel that their decision to contact us was "voluntary," perhaps their resistance won't be so strong?

The situation might even reverse, and then it won't be them thinking about how to gain the other party's trust, but rather the other party thinking about how to gain their trust.

Under what circumstances would the Jihad Army take the initiative to contact us, or even be so eager to do so?
As everyone knows, apart from intelligence about the Imperial Army, there is only faith in the Goddess.

So, on Ovira's advice, after entering the Atoliga province, the Cloud Whale Sky Island didn't rush to the areas where the Holy War Army was most active to make contact. Instead, they slowed their pace, performing "miracles" along the way, helping, guiding, and even providing relief to the people, while spreading the teachings of the Goddess. Over time, rumors about the "Church on the Whale's Back" and the "Cult of the Holy Goddess" began to circulate. All the group needed to do next was wait for the news to spread and for those interested to come to them.

Of course, those who were drawn by the rumors were not only the Holy War Army, but also the Imperial Army. Ling and Ovira had already come up with a plan to deal with this.

I just didn't expect the two to appear at the same time.

These were words that could not possibly be said to Arnor. Medien pondered for a moment, imagining how her brother would answer this question if he were standing here. She smiled slightly, neither confirming nor denying: "It wasn't something I had anticipated, it was just a matter of letting things take their course."

If Alice had heard this answer, she would have muttered something like "Riddler, get out!" But Arnor showed a knowing expression and then asked, "In that case, you must already know our identities."

"Since you are neither lost souls seeking help nor hostile imperial citizens, I suppose you two must be members of the Holy War Army?"

Medion pretended to be confused, and said in a serious tone, "I sensed a familiar aura from the two of you. Perhaps, He has been watching you all along?"

She gave the two of them a meaningful look. Arnor and Edwin were taken aback at first, but then they both looked up at the statue of the goddess on the altar. However, bathed in the sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows, the goddess's eyes were kind and deep, as if they contained many mysteries that mortals could not understand. This made the two of them feel awe and quickly avert their gaze.

Initially, Arnor had harbored doubts about this so-called "Cult of the Holy Goddess," but after entering the church and witnessing the compassion and majesty of the goddess's icon, his doubts lessened considerably; now, listening to Medien's words, they lessened even further. In his character, this was tantamount to acceptance, but the other party's credibility didn't depend on his personal judgment, but rather on the opinions of Cheryl, the leader of the Holy War Army, and the Assyrians; therefore, he remained extremely cautious.

"If that's the case, it would be our honor."

He deliberately avoided mentioning the goddess's name, paused briefly, and then continued, "But this is not the time to discuss such matters, miss. As far as I know, the Second Company of the Black Blade Legion's Spellbreaker phalanx has already laid an ambush outside the canyon and could launch an attack at any moment. The situation is critical. Forgive my frankness, but you should first consider how to escape the Imperial Army's encirclement. Of course, if you are willing to trust us—"

You can also leave with us.

Before he could finish speaking, Medion interrupted him calmly: "It's alright, we already knew."

She knew all along? That makes sense. If she could foresee our arrival, why couldn't she have anticipated the Imperial army's ambush? It seems my warning was unnecessary. But she said "we"—could there be others in this church? Besides, even if she knew, how did she plan to escape the Imperial army's encirclement? Shattered Wind Canyon is treacherous, with only one wide entrance; the rest are narrow passes. A single team guarding a high point, along with two dragon-hunting ballistae, could block all escape routes. Unless one can fly like a bird, escape would be nearly impossible…

and many more! ?
Arnor suddenly realized a crucial point that he had overlooked.

"The Church on the Back of a Whale"—a church situated on the back of an incredible sky whale, capable of moving and drifting freely at an altitude of 10,000 meters. Now, the church has been seen, but where is the sky whale?

“Arnor…” Edwin suddenly called his name from behind. Strangely, the usually composed bard’s voice was trembling at this moment.

However, Arnor soon realized that it wasn't Edwin's voice that was trembling, but the ground itself.

The church floor was trembling, the pillars and candlesticks were trembling, the pews and the altar were trembling... Arnor's expression changed drastically, he turned and rushed into the church, only to find that the entire canyon was trembling.

Sand and gravel cascaded down like a waterfall, dust billowed everywhere like smoke, and an enormous, invisible object burst forth from the earth, like a giant whale leaping out of the sea.

The canyon walls slowly sank, while the earth beneath their feet—the church, the hills, the forests, the rivers—rose with an unstoppable force. The sky drew ever closer, and the brain, losing its balance, felt dizzy like a fish starving to death, even developing a sense of panic. It was as if the heavens and earth were two giant hands slowly closing in, and they were ants within those hands, about to be crushed into dust and scattered into the wind.

A continuous, deep rumble came from beneath their feet, like the beating of a heart deep within the earth. Trees swayed violently, and the stream splashed against the current, turning into countless shimmering droplets suspended in the air, refracting a mesmerizing light in the sunlight. Below, the Imperial army's defensive line at the canyon entrance was already in chaos. Disturbed by this change in the weather, warhorses panicked and the beasts that already inhabited the canyon clashed, raising clouds of dust. The dumbfounded Imperial soldiers instinctively steered their dragon-hunting ballistae, firing huge arrows upwards, but they failed to reach the bottom of the whale before plummeting to the ground.

Terror, panic, screams, shouts... but no one cared about them anymore, because the people in the heavens could no longer hear the voices of those on the ground.

Edwin steadied himself against the trembling doorframe, his bronze face etched with disbelief and shock. The piper from the Aksai tribe was hearing the wind from high above for the first time. It lacked the resilience of the winds of the wasteland, yet possessed a greater untamed spirit—something unimaginable to him. Even the rock flute at his waist whistled softly, as if its echoes were being played by an invisible current. "It seems, as the rumors say," Arnor forced himself to remain calm, his voice rising in response to the surrounding roar, "The church isn't built in the canyon, but…on the back of something."

Legend has it that it was a whale, but Yanor is currently on its back and cannot see its full appearance, so he dares not make any conclusions.

wrong!

He suddenly turned pale with fright and shouted sharply down, "Kalia! Selena! Gordan!"

The sound was drowned out by the powerful updrafts and hum, and there was no response. Arnor's heart sank. Medion noticed his unease and reassured him, "Don't worry, your companion will be alright, because..."

Because I'm not the only one on this island.

Arnor managed to calm himself down and was about to say something to Medien when he suddenly heard footsteps coming from the woods. He thought it was his companion who had heard the call and was coming to find him, so he quickly turned around and saw that... it was indeed his companion, but the way they came back was a bit unusual.

The werewolf girl, Selena, was hoarsely carried over by several alchemical doll-like fairies, who grabbed her by her clothes, arms, and legs. She wasn't actually very heavy, but the alchemical fairies didn't seem very strong either, so she wobbled and swayed as she flew, making one worry she might crash into a tree at any moment. Selena looked at her captain with a pitiful expression, probably wanting to cry out about her miserable situation, but for some reason, her body was stiff, her limbs numb, and she couldn't move or even speak.

"Selena, what's wrong with you—" Because she didn't seem to be injured, Arnor remained rational.

"Don't worry, she's fine." Following closely behind the alchemical fairies, another figure emerged from the forest. It was a mirror fairy girl with crystal hair and blue eyes. Although she was smiling at everyone, for some reason, she always gave people a chill: "This werewolf lady was just unlucky. She somehow wandered into my alchemy workshop and accidentally touched a little gadget that I hadn't had time to put away. She's just temporarily paralyzed. She'll be fine in a while."

Arnor breathed a sigh of relief, not doubting the mirror fairy girl's words. After all, he knew Selena's character fairly well and knew she was capable of such a thing. Meanwhile, Medien's lips twitched almost imperceptibly. He wondered if it really was an item Rorona had forgotten to put away; he had a feeling it was intentional.

There's also Kalia and Gordan.

Arnor thought to himself: I hope they won't suffer like Serena did.

……

At the island's edge, massive rocks continuously crumbled and fell, the earth trembling and roaring like the howls of wild beasts, stimulating the vitality of life. Even though they had witnessed countless commotions of cloud whales taking flight, the beasts in the forest still fled in panic, and the birds scattered and cried out in despair. For creatures without intelligence, this apocalyptic scene and the oppressive feeling rooted deep in their souls were always unbearable.

Gordan's muscles were taut, thick veins throbbing on his rock-like, gnarled surface. His giant axe was raised above his head, but he couldn't bring it down no matter what he did, because the holy white spear blade was firmly against his neck. Although it looked like intertwined tree branches rather than steel, the constant warnings in his mind made the battle-hardened mercenary unwilling to risk his life to see if it was as sharp as he imagined.

After a moment of silent stalemate, the giant suddenly grinned, ignoring the spear blade that was within reach. He simply placed the weapon aside, the giant axe sinking into the ground with a low thud. Then he sat cross-legged, his hands on his knees, looking as if he had given up resisting: "You win. According to the rules, you are at my mercy."

The girl holding the spear smiled slightly. Her figure was so slender compared to the giant, yet even more impossible to ignore. She also put away her spear and said meaningfully, "It's just a friendly spar. Why talk about victory or defeat?"

……

Kalia traversed the forest without encountering any obstacles. Everything she saw along the way, from the forest scenery to the tracks on the path, was unremarkable. But this did not lower her guard; on the contrary, she became even more vigilant, knowing that greater shadows often lurked beneath calm waters. When the Cloud Whale Sky Island took off, she thought her warning signs had been confirmed. The enemy in the shadows could no longer contain themselves and, almost instinctively, slipped into the shadows, gripping their shortbows, ready for battle.

Hold your breath, concentrate, calm your heartbeat, and minimize your presence...

But nothing happened.

The only certainty is that it—or rather, the island—is taking to the sky.

Is this the legendary giant whale of the sky? Although I had heard its legend before, I never imagined it would be so huge. It could support not just a church, but an entire landmass.

The power that allows it to soar through the sky, whether it's from an extraordinary being, a magician, or a sacred relic, must be incredibly powerful, right?
Hopefully, He will not pose a threat to the cause of the Jihad Army...

Kalia tightened the scarf around her neck, intending to venture deeper into the island to investigate further, but she suddenly froze. Right in front of her, a pair of deep red, jewel-like eyes appeared, thoughtfully examining her as if she were an interesting new toy.

When? I didn't even realize it...

The girl with bat wings on her back, silver hair, and red eyes curled her lip in disdain: "Your stealth skills are terrible."

"It's not hidden at all."

Give me some cats