Trash Prince and Ice Queen 10th Re - Life-Chapter 132: Journey to The Border
The following morning, Ard, Eva, Thorena, Hardim, and the others stood on the deck located on the front half of the airship Black Wings. Thindor was already positioned inside the enclosed bridge attached to the zeppelin balloon above and behind them. Once the ropes were cast off, the airship began to drift, and the sound of the propellers at the rear grew increasingly louder. The Black Wings began to rise slowly until it cleared the hangar, moving steadily toward the city gates before passing over the city’s boundary walls.
Before them lay a cave tunnel that was absolutely massive and incredibly vast, with giant crystals lining the cave walls on both sides, making the cavern bright and beautiful. It was a brand-new sight to behold from the air. They looked down over the side of the ship and saw countless horseless carriages powered by steam engines, pulling container-like carts behind them that were carrying either passengers or cargo. Then, they looked up; the ceiling of the cave appeared to be very far above, sparkling like stars in a dark night sky.
"This is truly extraordinary," Mirea muttered as she took in her surroundings.
"Right, it’s like we’re flying through a sky that’s located underground... strange, yet here we are inside it," Ainsley said, looking around while holding the frame of his glasses.
"I’m... not sick. This is comfortable... actually pleasant," Beatrice said.
"Thank goodness, Princess," Rosalind replied.
"This is fun... I really love this," Adeline murmured while looking down.
"Same here. I’ve never experienced or seen anything like this... it’s absolutely amazing," Patricia added.
"I am truly grateful to be able to see all of this while I’m still alive. It’s truly unbelievable and magnificent," Claudia added, looking all around her.
Meanwhile, Irwin and Irina simply sat in silence, staring upward with expressionless faces. Alicia and Milia were also quiet, taking in their surroundings. Geoffrey was busy with Thorena and Hardim, while Ard and Eva looked straight ahead, standing on the deck at the very tip of the ship.
"This is a truly new journey. Three thousand years ago, we never explored the subterranean parts of this world... even though we’d heard the legends," Ard muttered.
"True. We were too focused on killing Malekh back then... don’t forget, our goal now is to secure the Githiess egg located in the underworld of Le Rien Infernal," Eva added.
"Yeah, I know. It’s just that when I lived in Durnhill, I didn’t know a thing about any of this," Ard replied.
"I never even lived in Durnhill. I only came here to launch an attack on the Kingdom of Fredonia, because the Durnhill Kingdom was allied with the Orthus Empire," Eva murmured.
"Yep, I remember, because your arrival ended up killing me," Ard replied, glancing at Eva.
"Sorry. Please don’t bring that up again; I’ve regretted that enough already," Eva shot back.
"Haha... sorry, I was just joking. Don’t worry, I’ve already forgiven you, because I was at fault too," Ard said casually.
"I’m glad to hear that," Eva replied.
Before long, the road below them split into three paths. Their airship continued along the middle route, and many vehicles below could be seen breaking off to the right and left, seemingly heading toward other regions.
The cavern they were passing through truly looked like an underground network designed to reach other dwarven cities or subterranean mining towns. Several steam-powered iron golems, looking much like robots, stood along the edges of the road boundaries as if they were directing the traffic below or guarding the road from something.
As they moved deeper through the middle path, the airship flew out of the cavern, but they were no longer traveling over a road. Instead, they were soaring over a gorge that appeared incredibly deep and dark; it looked as though there was an endless darkness beneath them.
To their right and left, narrow paths visible on the cliffside looked like mountain mezzanines, guarded by golems and traversed by several horseless carriages lined up one after another. Ard, Eva, and the others began to huddle toward the center of the deck, worried by the sight of the bottomless abyss below.
"This is really okay, right? Crossing a gorge like this," Beatrice murmured, starting to feel terrified.
"Relax, Princess. Look, Princess Thorena and Geoffrey are perfectly calm," Rosalind said, pointing toward Geoffrey, Thorena, and Hardim, who seemed completely unfazed.
"She’s right, sister Beatrice. I’m sure it’s safe, just stay calm," Adeline said, taking Beatrice’s hand.
"I hope so. This is starting to get scary," Beatrice replied.
"That’s why you shouldn’t look down; just pretend we’re flying through the air," Milia said.
"Exactly. Just imagine we’re flying on a familiar, then there’s no need to panic, right?" Alicia added.
"Except there aren’t any birds, and it’s like it’s nighttime," Mirea noted. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
"Why would you even say that? There aren’t any birds down here," Patricia muttered.
"Forget it, nothing is going to happen, just relax," Irwin said.
But when he turned to look at his sister Irina, who was standing right beside him, he saw her frozen stiff, gripping his arm with trembling hands. Although she didn’t say a word, it was crystal clear that Irina was actually terrified out of her mind. Irwin simply shook his head and took his older sister’s hand.
While they remained quiet and tried to keep their intrusive thoughts at bay, the sound of several wings flapping drew closer to them. They saw a swarm of giant bats fly past the ship, and behind them, a prehistoric-looking bird that resembled a pterosaur was chasing the large bats that had just passed them.
As the pterosaur flew by, the airship rocked slightly because it seemed the ancient bird’s wing had clipped the cigar-shaped balloon above them. Though it didn’t cause any damage, the tremor was definitely felt. Naturally, everyone started screaming, and the ancient bird began to glance toward the airship. However, it immediately turned back, appearing as if it had seen airships like the Black Wings many times before, and resumed its glide to hunt the swarm of bats.
Ard turned to check on Hardim’s reaction, who looked perfectly calm as if this were a daily occurrence. Thorena was busy trying to soothe Geoffrey, while Eva, standing right next to him, already had Exelion gripped in her hand.
"Hey... what are you doing?" Ard asked.
"Oh, this... just in case," Eva answered, glancing down at her sword.
"Put it away. You might end up attracting the wrong kind of attention," Ard said.
"Fine, I’ll put it back," Eva replied, opening her dimensional storage and placing Exelion inside.
"Now that’s more like it. Don’t go joining in the panic; we have to stay calmer than the others, understand?" Ard said to Eva.
"I understand, and there’s no need to remind me about that," Eva replied.
Then Ard and Eva turned to see Hardim, who was already glancing their way. A moment later, Hardim approached Ard and Eva, leaving Thorena to continue comforting Geoffrey, who remained slumped against the side of the deck with a pale face. Hardim studied Ard and Eva’s worried expressions; then, he smiled and looked at the two of them with a relaxed gaze.
"Don’t worry about it. Those birds are denizens of the underworld, and they usually hunt giant bats in this cavern because it’s their natural habitat. Once we cross this gorge, we’ll be at the border shortly," Hardim explained.
"Hmm... so by taking this airship, we can cross the gorge directly, whereas by land, we’d have to take that side path over there?" Ard asked, pointing to the cliffside mezzanine to their right.
"Exactly. Going by land is much slower and more dangerous than taking an airship. That’s why we’re on this ship," Hardim replied.
"I see. But is that bird really not dangerous?" Eva asked.
"Not dangerous at all. They couldn’t possibly swallow us; they’re just large in size, that’s all," Hardim answered casually.
"Well, whatever. As long as it’s safe, we’re good," Ard replied.
"Exactly, no need to give it another thought," Hardim replied with a smile, giving a thumbs-up.
"But it looks like they haven’t gotten the memo," Eva muttered, pointing toward Alicia, Mirea, Milia, Patricia, Beatrice, Adeline, Rosalind, Irwin, Ainsley, and Irina. They looked incredibly tense, weapons drawn, standing back-to-back in a circle in the middle of the deck as if preparing for an enemy ambush.
Naturally, Ard and Eva immediately went over to their friends to calm them down, assisted by Hardim, whose further explanations quickly put them at ease. The airship continued its journey across the gorge, which stretched out in a straight line but still seemed a long way from the far side.
The trip remained smooth, with no further obstacles aside from the occasional bats flying by with a pterosaur in hot pursuit. Seeing their friends calm again and stowing their weapons, Ard and Eva felt relieved. they walked back to the front deck and stood at the very edge of the ship, looking ahead once more and enjoying the ride.
