Chapter 49: Authority
After passing through winding corridors and passages, Joshua arrived at the rear section of this massive airship.
Currently, the Gale had a total crew of sixty-seven, with twelve specialized service personnel responsible for maintaining and repairing the Mana Cores. Along the way, the warrior encountered many service personnel who were busy inspecting the ship's data back and forth. They were all professional spellcasters or engineering armor specialists, their expressions serious as they conducted their inspections, not even noticing the warrior passing by.
The Gale's two Mana Cores were located in the middle-front section of the ship, where the armor was thickest. For convenience of energy supply, most of its core components were also in the front half. A rectangular space in the rear half served as the cargo hold, which naturally also functioned as a transport compartment for soldiers.
The cargo hold was quite spacious. By design, it could accommodate two standard squads of sixty people, along with all the various weapons and equipment they needed. If necessary, special modifications could be made to transport even more people.
Just as he was about to approach the compartment, Joshua stopped, furrowing his brow as he looked ahead.
Scorching hot air distorted the air, and a visible wave of heat rushed toward him from the other end of the passage, causing all surrounding moisture to dissipate. The warrior could feel the water on the surface of his skin evaporating from this heat wave, and his clothes were beginning to yellow, even showing signs of burning.
"This isn't just heat—Fire elements are going berserk!"
Clicking his tongue, Joshua turned his head and glanced sideways at the silver-haired girl following behind him. The warrior roughly understood why Ying's expression had been so unpleasant earlier—if the heat waves emanating from Hei had been at this level all along, then even the Divine Mechanism's psionic body would be affected, making them uncomfortable.
"Next time something like this happens, come tell me sooner." Patting Ying's head, the warrior shook his head and strode decisively toward the cargo hold. "If the temperature keeps rising, it might damage the ship's hull. That would be an undeserved disaster."
The cargo hold used a magical door equipped with recognition magic. As the owner of the Gale, Joshua had the highest authority level, so he opened the cargo hold door without hesitation. As he did, the warrior immediately spotted Hei's massive form.
It was a colossal beast nearly twenty meters tall. Even though it had lowered its body due to discomfort and was lying on the ground, it still occupied half the space in the cargo hold. The heat waves capable of easily igniting wood emanated from its body. The warrior could even faintly see a few sparks floating in the air.
Currently, Hei was lying in place, seemingly unconscious. Otherwise, it would have reacted to Joshua's appearance—following its usual habit, it would probably have given him a couple of enthusiastic licks.
"Just the instinct to protect itself after fainting from extreme discomfort."
With a single glance, Joshua understood the situation. Knowing this was easy to resolve, the warrior turned to the silver-haired girl and said directly, "Ying, give me the Shape-Shifting Pendant."
"Understood!"
Hearing the warrior's request, Ying quickly took a silver V-shaped pendant from her pocket. She handed the pendant to Joshua, then slightly raised her head, looking at the warrior with her green eyes, and asked with some concern, "Master, how is Hei now?"
"It's fine. You can tell from how energetically it's setting things on fire. This is probably just sleepwalking."
Sensing the magic within the pendant, Joshua nodded. He pondered for a moment, then said, "Ying, after I shrink Hei down to normal size, go to the storage room and find some Frostgrass for it to eat. That stuff works wonders for dizziness and altitude sickness. There's bound to be some on the ship."
After giving his instructions, he decisively stepped forward and walked toward Hei.
Although the Shape-Shifting Pendant was called a pendant, it didn't actually need to be worn around the neck. As long as the magic on it was triggered, it didn't matter where the pendant was hung. Normally, it required the user to activate it themselves, but since Hei was unconscious, Joshua had to do it for him.
Once its size was reduced, it would be easier for him to treat this dragon's seasickness.
Joshua arrived beside the half-dragon. By now, the air temperature was close to that around a volcano. Beneath the giant beast's black carapace, golden-red veins flowed like magma, containing scorching energy capable of melting steel. The warrior knew this was actually Hei's blood. Gold-rank Ancient Dragon bloodlines were no longer ordinary beings but genuine Transcendent lifeforms. The blood flowing through their bodies was no longer pure blood but a powerful energy carrier.
What people commonly called Ancient Dragon Blood was actually the essence of this carrier, containing unimaginable energy. However, those without a dragon blood inheritance found it difficult to utilize.
Placing his hand on the black carapace, Joshua adjusted his breathing rhythm, using his will to mobilize the Battle Qi within his body to suppress Hei's current instinctive self-defense behavior.
Compared to Gold-rank, the power of the Ultimate-rank was not just slightly stronger but an all-around suppression. This was true even if one side was human and the other a dragon. Black-red Battle Qi light flickered around Joshua, and a oppressive atmosphere spread. The heat wave that had been sweeping through the entire cargo hold instantly ceased. Pure life force locked the restless fire elements firmly in place, rendering them immobile.
The temperature dropped instantly. Suppressed, Hei immediately became much calmer. The lava-like patterns on its body were slowly dimming, and the half-dragon's face, which had looked somewhat ferocious due to unconsciousness, also softened. Seeing this, Joshua nodded in satisfaction and withdrew his hand. "That's enough."
Even when a dragon was asleep, the magic within its body would leak out, preventing other creatures from approaching. It was said that some powerful dragons slept for hundreds of years. The places they inhabited, due to years of magic contamination, would transform into special terrains like swamps, lava pools, ice lakes, and forests. This magic also served as a warning and protection, capable of automatically repelling weaker spells.
The shrinking spell inscribed on the Shape-Shifting Pendant was naturally one of them. So Joshua needed to break down Hei's instinctive resistance to make it easier to shrink.
But just as the warrior was holding the V-shaped pendant, about to trigger the magic within it and use it on the still-unconscious half-dragon, he suddenly stopped his action.
Ying, who had been watching from the side, naturally noticed this. She looked at the warrior with some confusion in her green eyes, as if wanting to ask what was wrong. But the girl immediately noticed that the expression on Joshua's profile was strange, as if he had discovered something unusual.
One human, one dragon, and one Divine Mechanism all stopped moving at the same time.
The entire cargo hold instantly fell silent. The sound of the heat wave sweeping through ceased, leaving only the heartbeats of the warrior and the dragon. Generally speaking, the dragon's heartbeat should have been louder. But in reality, the warrior's heartbeat overpowered the dragon's. It even drowned out the faint rumble of the ship's operation, clear and eerie.
"Thump—thump!"
Heavy, powerful pulses of blood echoed through the spacious compartment. Joshua withdrew his right hand holding the V-shaped pendant and pressed it against his chest with a puzzled expression. "What is this?"
The warrior had just felt a surge of unknown power within his body.
It was different from the life force of Battle Qi, and completely different from Order Force. It didn't originate from his body, nor from his beliefs or soul. This strange power, coming from nowhere, seemed to have been there from the beginning. As long as Joshua himself still existed in this world, it would continue to exist.
"...Authority?"
In just an instant, the warrior understood the essence of this suddenly surging power. Feeling this unknown force flowing rapidly within him, he murmured to himself, "Residual Steel... the gift from the Ilgena World—it's suddenly surging at this moment?"
But why?
Joshua was now an Ultimate-rank expert. In a sense, his body was a physical fortress armed to the teeth. Every joint, bone, tendon, muscle fiber, and even his blood flowed with life force unimaginable to ordinary people. This power surged through Joshua's body in a wondrous rhythm with his breathing, creating various peculiar effects.
It could resist high temperatures, repel arrows, withstand severe cold, make the body indestructible, and grant its owner the strength to move mountains—the cycle of life energy was so wondrous that it could produce effects no less impressive than magic.
But now, a force surged from the warrior's heart. It ignored the vast Battle Qi power and the rhythm of the Breathing Art, moving through his body on its own. It was so special, completely uncontainable, and constantly wanted to burst out of his body and release itself.
"Is it because the Azure Orb has merged into my body? No, that's not the reason."
Joshua recalled that back in the Ilgena World, to fight against the Calamity Evil God, he had once again entered the Soulflame King state and merged the Azure Orb into his body. The warrior had indeed managed to block the Evil God's attack because of it. But after the battle, the orb hadn't detached; instead, it had fused somewhere unknown.
Now that he thought about it, it should be in his heart. For such a long time, since no accident had occurred and the warrior didn't know how to resolve this matter, it had been left aside. But now, the power of Authority had unexpectedly appeared, putting Joshua in a passive position.
"—Ying, stay back."
To prevent this uncontrollable power of Authority from affecting others, Joshua retreated to a corner of the cargo hold. Frowning, he told the silver-haired girl who was approaching to move a bit farther away. "The situation is a bit strange now. Stay on guard."
"...Yes, Master!"
Although Joshua's words were serious, his aura was stable. So Ying, despite her concern, obediently moved away. She stood at the entrance of the cargo hold, occasionally poking her head in to glance at her master.
The Divine Mechanism girl couldn't sense the strange power within the warrior's body, just as others couldn't see the fragments of Burning Steel or the remnants of Residual Steel.
The warrior was now in a stalemate.
This uncontrollable power of Authority surging within him was almost beyond any restraint. Unless he maintained a state of complete concentration, he couldn't even suppress it. It was unusually active, as if it desperately wanted to get outside. Joshua had no idea what consequences would follow if this power burst out, so he could only forcefully suppress it within his body.
But this seemed counterproductive. This power seemed inherently meant to be released, completely uncontainable. Even with the warrior's will, he could only restrain it for less than three minutes.
"Tch."
Feeling that he couldn't stop it at all, Joshua frowned and decisively released it. He guided this power to his left hand and then pressed it against the wall of the Gale's cargo hold.
This was all too sudden, making the warrior feel very strange. He thought it was a minor issue with the Azure Orb within him that had affected the Authority power granted by the Ilgena World's Will, causing it to stir. But Joshua couldn't find the reason.
"Perhaps something has changed with another Sage's inheritance."
The warrior calmly analyzed in his mind. When his Azure Orb had fully awakened, it had indeed affected Brandon's Order Twin Blades. According to what the old Pope Eagle had said, the Pure White Scepter had also shown some unusual movement. This was enough to prove that there was some wondrous resonance between the inheritance items. "I wonder if it's the Sword Saint friend or if something has happened with the Church."
This was a very normal guess. Since he had returned to the Mycroft Continent, the Authority power gifted by the Ilgena World had shown no movement at all. Joshua had also tried to use it but hadn't found a method. However, the warrior hadn't really cared much about it, so after a few experiments, he stopped paying attention. He truly hadn't expected that, due to the Azure Orb's unusual activity, this Authority power would suddenly become active, as if some condition had been triggered.
Perhaps—it was because of Order Force?
All these thoughts occurred within a fraction of a second. After considering, Joshua looked up and gazed at the cargo hold wall.
After being infused with his Authority power, this steel-cast wall began to undergo a strange change. On its silver-gray surface, crystalline patterns like cracked glass began to appear. These patterns spread rapidly, covering about two square meters of the wall before stopping their expansion.
Joshua looked seriously at these cracks. He knew that the power of this ability was far from limited to this. And as he thought, within those seemingly broken crystalline patterns, flickering light patterns began to gradually light up. Black-red light flickered, bringing an eerie atmosphere to the entire cargo hold.
Ying, at the entrance, also noticed this change. She gently covered her mouth, her eyes wide as she watched.
"Crack."
With a light sound, the wall underwent an obvious change. Accompanied by the grating sound of metal friction, the two-square-meter area of light-patterned wall began to gradually writhe. It bulged as if alive, then detached from the wall—at this point, its full form could be seen. It was a massive iron block, two meters high, one meter long, and 0.75 meters thick.
It was entirely wrapped in black-red, web-like light patterns. Within these patterns surged some strange power, transforming this ordinary iron block, causing it to deform bit by bit.
"Creak—creak—creak!"
Like fingernails scraping against metal, or the grating noise of glass against glass, it made people want to cover their ears. But Joshua didn't mind. He stepped forward, approached the iron block, reached out, and infused a bit more of the Authority power from within him.
This time, the restless Authority power was completely released, and the iron block rapidly underwent an obvious change.
"Zzzzzzzzzzzz—"
As if shaped by an invisible hand, the massive iron block underwent a tremendous transformation in just a few seconds. From its square, blocky form emerged the rough outlines of a head and limbs, and then it completely became a tall humanoid figure.
Its head had no facial features, only a fist-sized black-red light spot. Its limbs and torso were exceptionally robust, with black-red patterns flickering rhythmically on them, as if breathing.
"Zzzzzzzzz—"
This metal humanoid stood quietly in place. It stared at Joshua with the light spot on its head, then naturally lowered its body, indicating submission.
"...Ying."
"Yes... Master?"
Hearing Joshua's voice, the silver-haired girl was startled for a moment, then quickly replied, "What are your orders?"
"Take the Shape-Shifting Pendant and try to activate it for Hei."
Tossing the V-shaped pendant to Ying, Joshua looked at this steel lifeform before him with great interest. Curiosity flickered in his eyes. "I have other things to do now."
With that, he stepped forward and reached out to touch the obedient metal lifeform.
[????? Steel Element]