Who are you calling a stable boy?!

Would you like something to eat for lunch?

"No need, no need! I think this tea is fine! That's enough, that's enough!"

As Zheng Jing spoke, he took two quick steps, picked up a cup of hot tea from the table, and sat cross-legged on the gold and red cashmere carpet.

"Mr. Zheng Jing, what's wrong...?"

Henrietta was somewhat flustered.

She specially had a large chair moved from the conference room to her private room, just for Zheng Jing.

"It's alright, he's used to sitting like this."

As she said this, Xueqing waved to Anrietta, walked over, and plopped down next to Zheng Jing.

At the same time, Zheng Jing leaned over, opened a small box on the tray on the table, first used tongs to pick out a small, snow-white cube from it and put it in his hand, then pinched it between two fingers and licked it.

Once he confirmed it was sugar, he dropped one piece into his cup, then used tongs to take two more pieces from the silver box and dropped them into the warm tea.

"Here."

Zheng Jing handed the black tea with three sugar cubes to Xue Qing.

"Get a piece of cake, that one will do."

Xueqing took the tea and gestured with her chin toward the desserts on the tray.

"Give."

Zheng Jing, with his long arms, scooped up the plate of cake and placed it on Xue Qing's lap.

"...Your Excellency Xueqing, you and Mr. Zheng Jing have known each other for a long time, haven't you?"

Seeing that these two were treating her like family, Henrietta couldn't help but ask the question anyway.

"Oh, right."

Xueqing nodded.

"He and I were childhood sweethearts."

Upon hearing this, Henrietta and Louise exchanged a glance.

They could tell that Zheng Jing and Xue Qing were old acquaintances, but they never expected that they were childhood friends, just like them.

"Louise was able to summon me, so I figured maybe I could summon him too, and I gave it a try."

Xueqing simply blurted out the explanation she had prepared long ago.

"Don't worry, his strength is no less than mine."

"This is really..."

Henrietta clenched her hands.

She had witnessed Xue Qing's strength firsthand.

Henrietta knew very well that Xueqing had held back in that royal duel against the captain of the Imperial Guard, who possessed rectangular-level strength.

The reason why Nengping was able to get ahead was because Xueqing was willing to consider the feelings of many people.

And Anrietta believes that Zheng Jing, who can be praised by Xue Qing in this way, is no ordinary person!

For both the Kingdom of Tristine and for herself, receiving such strong support is a fortunate thing.

"Thank you so much, Lady Xueqing and Mr. Zheng Jing!"

Henrietta lowered her head and bowed to the two of them.

"Princess!"

Louise suddenly stood up.

Ultimately, Xueqing is her familiar, and it's no wonder Louise panicked when Princess Henrietta performed such a grand ceremony for Xueqing.

"Louise, I also need to express my gratitude to you."

Henrietta looked intently at Louise.

"Having you by my side at times like this makes me feel incredibly safe."

"Princess......"

"Oh, Lao Qing."

Leaning close to Xueqing's ear, Zheng Jing whispered, "I'm getting more and more curious about what you've been doing here all this time."

"I'll tell you later, you're always in such a hurry..."

Rolling her eyes at Zheng Jing with annoyance, Xue Qing put down her teacup.

"Time is of the essence and the mission is heavy. Let's talk about the current situation and the battle plan after dawn."

"That's right!"

Henrietta and Louise sat down.

"Then, I'll begin."

Xueqing coughed lightly.

The current situation is that the large airships of the former Albion Kingdom Army, now the Reinquista Kingdom Army, have been anchored near the village of Tabru in the western territory of Tristine.

Based on past understanding of Albion's military strength, this airship likely carries at least twenty-four fire dragon knights.

Tristine's only aerial combat unit, the Griffin Squad, consists of only four members.

The disparity in numbers is too great, which means that the other side will definitely gain air superiority.

Leaving aside how to deal with the swift fire dragon knights, just to take down that airship, the magic knights would have to be able to charge directly beneath it in order to have any chance of unleashing a powerful magic attack through group chanting.

Frankly speaking, it seems that the Tristine Kingdom's army would be at a disadvantage the moment the two sides clashed.

Xueqing's plan was to first have the Magic Knights and Griffin Team draw the enemy's attention, and then she would use the Dragon Feather Robe to carry Zheng Jing in a fierce attack on the Fire Dragon Knights who had moved away from the warship.

After annihilating the Fire Dragon Knights, she and Zheng Jing will use the Dragon Feather Robe to board the airship and carry out a boarding operation.

This means that she and Zheng Jing will then have to face all the enemy forces on the entire airship.

It can be described as a decapitation strike, where the enemy is deep in enemy territory.

"Teacher Cao."

Zheng Jing raised his hand.

"explain."

Xueqing looked at him.

"The Dragon Feather Robe, you don't mean that pile of scrap metal again, do you?"

"There's no need to say that..."

From her and Zheng Jing's perspective, a propeller plane, as a fighter jet, could indeed only be described as scrap metal.

But this piece of junk could outspeed the Fire Dragon Knight.

All I can say is that it's good enough.

"Hey!"

Zheng Jing raised his finger.

"I have an idea!"

"...You tell me first."

"In short, as long as we can take out those fire dragon knights in the air and then storm that airship, that should be fine."

That's what I mean.

"Yo!"

Zheng Jing suddenly jumped up and pointed one finger to the sky.

"Air combat? No need to be afraid!"

He turned his face and grinned at Xueqing and the others.

"Throw away that pile of junk, and just wait and see what I, Old Zheng, can do!"

-

At sunrise, the army of the Kingdom of Tristin, which had set out from the capital, had already arrived in the forest a dozen kilometers away from Tabrucun, led by Henrietta.

“Your Highness, if we go any further and climb that hill, we will be able to see the plain where Tabru Village is located.”

As the princess's second-in-command, the captain of the Magic Knights pointed to a small hill not far away.

"I see."

Henrietta nodded.

She turned around and looked at Zheng Jing and Xue Qing who were following behind her.

"Your Excellency Xueqing..."

"Don't worry, Henrietta."

Clinging to Zheng Jing's back, with her long legs gripping his waist like claws, Xue Qing lifted her head, which had been resting on Zheng Jing's shoulder, and smiled at Henrietta.

"I've said it before, he's playful and mischievous, but when it comes to serious matters, he's never ambiguous."

"That's right! Xiao An, you can really put your mind at ease!"

Zheng Jing, carrying Xue Qing on his back, also chuckled at Henrietta.

"With my brother and I attacking together, how could we possibly defeat an enemy?"

Upon hearing this, Xueqing's face hardened, and she was about to grab Zheng Jing's face to ask why they weren't siblings when a commotion came from the front.

"Your Highness!"

The leader of the Magic Knights shouted and pointed to the sky.

"It's an enemy airship!"

Many of the soldiers present were seeing such a colossal creature soaring through the sky for the first time, and for a moment, many of these well-trained soldiers were stunned into silence.

"Oh?"

Zheng Jing shaded his eyes with his hand and took a look.

It looked as if a thousand-ton Spanish galleon had sprouted wings made of sails. This behemoth flew steadily in the air, with knights on flying dragons, fully armed, escorting it.

It's no wonder that some members of Tristine's team were stunned by such a sight.

but--

"Laoqing, hold me tight."

Zheng Jing's heart sank.

"From now on, I'm sorry, I need to take off!"

Chapter 161: Numbers or Operations, Which Would You Choose?

Before he finished speaking, Zheng Jing, carrying Xue Qing on his back, soared into the sky on golden clouds.

"real......"

Tilting her head back, Henrietta murmured involuntarily, "It really did fly..."

Actually, having witnessed the scene of Jin Yun falling to the ground last night, she should have been mentally prepared for Zheng Jing's ability to fly.

However, on the continent of Halkkini, even a rectangular-level wind mage can hardly fly freely in the air on their own.

This is why familiars, which possess both flight and manned capabilities, are highly sought after by magicians from various countries.

--ah.

Mr. Zheng Jing, isn't he the familiar of Lady Xue Qing?

...So, Mr. Zheng Jing is actually a humanoid familiar who possesses both flight and manned capabilities.

Compared to the soldiers in the Magic Knights who stared in disbelief at Zheng Jing's departure, Henrietta's current musings were a sign of composure.

Xueqing, who was perched on Zheng Jing's back, had no time to pay attention to the reactions of the people below.