Game World: I Can Share Talents

Golden leaves drifted down, fields of golden wheat swayed in the wind, and monumental stone pillars stood atop the hills. Countless Holy Halls and cathedrals crowned the city's towering peaks.

Everything seemed to be dusted with a fine layer of gold, at once noble, graceful, and radiantly brilliant.

An incomparably magnificent megastructure. When its silhouette first appeared on the horizon, it was indistinguishable from the clouds. As one drew closer, skyscrapers hundreds of meters tall came into view.

Gray-gold Rune patterns were inscribed on the surfaces of the skyscrapers. The structure, so colossal it was suffocating, was filled with a majestic, magnificent beauty. Every inch radiated the glow of a Barrier. Anyone who approached without the Floating City's approval would be horrifically weakened.

The fleet flew past the outer citadel, guarded by over a thousand orbital cannons, and arrived at the floating bridges interwoven high above the city.

These brilliant floating bridges, seemingly forged from pure Gold, linked the Floating City's numerous high-rises. A clear distinction existed between the bridges and the city below, and traffic flowed across them in an endless stream.

Strolling along a floating bridge, one only had to glance down to see the familiar, almost uniform, cityscape.

Great golden domes, ornate reliefs, magnificent archways, and colonnaded buildings constructed from white Holy Stone. Open-air halls and plazas were set against sparse vegetation, lending them an elegant and refined air. Though the architectural style and color palette were a uniform, luxurious white and gold, every structure—from the ordinary residences to the massive, wonder-like Great Holy Hall high above—was crafted with unimaginable intricacy.

Everything was grand, magnificent, beautiful, and clean. The residents of the Floating City were a perfect match for their home.

On the wide, smooth avenues, the citizens of the Floating City were dressed in fine clothes and carried themselves with dignified grace. Not a single resident looked destitute or disheveled. The concepts of poverty and old age did not exist among the Celestial Vault People. Everyone was strong and beautiful, wealthy and harmonious.

At the moment, however, the Celestial Vault People struggled to maintain their elegant composure. Under wartime status, many conventional entertainment and leisure facilities were closed. The entire city's military-industrial complex had been activated, and all manner of fighter craft and Floating Battleship components streamed endlessly from the spaceports.

The layout of Qinghui Territory was modeled after the Floating Cities—perfectly, extremely industrialized Ideal Cities. Each sector could unleash terrifying levels of productivity, and any main Floating City could be completely self-sufficient. One look was enough to fill Westheid with awe and envy.

As for the other country bumpkins from the surface world, seeing the Celestial Vault Kingdom for the first time left them utterly dumbfounded.

The most ancient! The most powerful! The most glorious! The Celestial Vault Kingdom had revealed but the tip of the iceberg.

A Celestial Vault Elder led Westheid to the landing area and said,

"Please rest and recuperate in the city. We will re-equip your fleet and conduct the necessary training."

"On the path to the Crimson Throne, it is not only the Great Chaos Enemy that lies in wait. Those filthy flying pests will also bar our way. We must contact the other Clans to make thorough preparations before we can mobilize our forces together."

"We must rally our forces at once!"

Westheid nodded. After parting ways with the Celestial Vault Elder, he returned to his fleet as the awestruck "country folk" from the surface world began to enter the Floating City.

"West, what did you discuss with the Celestial Vault People?"

Reiya couldn't help but ask when she saw the slight frown on Westheid's face as he returned.

"It was nothing much. We just finalized our next objective."

Westheid relayed the contents of his conversation to Reiya and the others, then shrugged.

"Even I don't know much about things up here in the sky. We'll have to rely on the locals to guide us."

Mivana tilted her head. "It sounds dangerous."

"There are risks, but it's nothing to worry about. After all, at my current level of power, there may be enemies I can't defeat, but I'm more than capable of protecting myself."

This was the source of his confidence, why he had so readily agreed. It stemmed from absolute faith in his own power.

'A Demigod! How the hell am I supposed to lose as a Demigod?!'

"If you say so..."

Reiya had been a little worried, but her adoration for and trust in her lover won out. She said no more, simply walking to Westheid's side and pressing close against his shoulder, her actions speaking for her.

The Expeditionary Army's refitting in the Floating City proceeded with incredible efficiency. The Celestial Vault People quickly inspected the fleet's condition before beginning to refurbish and modify the Floating Battleships. Each member of the Expeditionary Army was also issued equipment from the Celestial Vault Kingdom.

Aside from the Azure Sky Mechas, which the Earthlings couldn't operate, they brought out all their best gear.

Westheid had wanted to explore the Floating City, but he soon lost interest. The Celestial Vault People were simply too dull. Like purely rational beings, they all bustled about, engrossed in their tasks. The seemingly prosperous and magnificent Floating City was, in reality, little more than a massive army barracks.

Beyond the spectacular scenery, there was nothing else to see.

Fortunately, the wait wasn't too long. Ever since bringing back Westheid, the "Divine Chosen," the Celestial Vault Elders had been frantically dispatching envoys in all directions, trying every means possible to rally allied forces.

And their efforts proved remarkably effective. The Celestial Vault Clans, who had originally been fighting their own separate battles, began to converge on their position after learning of the Silence Clan's progress and plans. Fleet after fleet arrived, gathering at the Floating City's spaceports to form a massive torrent.

Floating hulls, fighter craft, and other constructs packed the skies so densely that they blotted out the heavens.

The Imperial generals gathered on a spaceport platform, pointing and commenting. "What a spectacular sight. The Expeditionary Army's fleet must be just a tiny fraction of this force. The only thing we have to boast about is our number of Legends."

Westheid overheard them as he approached and almost lost his composure. He dearly wanted to tell them that in the Celestial Vault Kingdom, Legends were nothing special.

'An experienced powerhouse piloting an Azure Sky Mecha is already a Legendary-level combatant. During its golden age, the Celestial Vault Kingdom had thousands of Azure Sky Mechas, which meant they had close to a hundred Legendary-level fighters.'

"Duke Qinghui, are we about to depart?"

As Westheid drew near, an imposing figure clad in heavy Knight Armor approached and asked the question.

This was Inseldi, leader of the War Knight Order, which served the Imperial Family directly.

The War Commander spoke with a grave expression:

"Before we departed, His Highness commanded us to follow your orders. You seem to hold great influence among the Celestial Vault People, which is an undeniable blessing. We were concerned about how we would get along with these arrogant Celestial Beings. For the coming battles, Duke Qinghui, you may command us as you see fit. There is, however, one thing you must consider."

"While the Great Chaos Enemy is indeed a common foe to all in the Mortal World, the Dragon Group is also a great blight upon the Empire. The Celestial Vault Kingdom can handle the incursions of Chaos, but when it comes to the threat of the Dragon Race, we must be the vanguard."

'The Empire still hasn't forgiven the Dragon Race! A hatred that hasn't cooled in a thousand years...' Westheid wasn't surprised. In this world, the mortal races could inherit memories and emotions. All of existence was, in essence, shaped by consciousness; it was only through the consolidation of Order that a semblance of normalcy was maintained.

"Of course. It's merely a matter of adjusting our positions on the battlefield. I have the authority for that."

The assembly of the Celestial Vault Kingdom's fleet took less time than expected. The various tasks, originally projected to take months, were completed in just over a month.

Of course, that was one month from the perspective of the Silence Clan. According to the other fleets that had just arrived, they had already been traveling for nearly half a year.

"This was considered a stroke of luck. If the other locations had experienced slower time dilation, the scale of the assembled force would have been drastically smaller."

Furthermore, they received a piece of excellent news from one of the arriving fleets.

Right along the fleet's intended path, the main force of the Dragon Race had clashed with the Chaos Demon Army. Their running battle had engulfed the airspace outside the Celestial Vault Kingdom's capital sphere and had already been raging for some time.

"Excellent! This is perfect! I love to see the dogs tearing each other apart!"