Chapter 693 - The First City
A semispherical magic barrier was erected, shielding all of the people and luggage on the bird’s back.
The massive bird flapped its wings and continued to rise higher into the air. In the blink of an eye, the buildings down below had all been reduced to tiny spots. One was able to see the entirety of Chaos City from this vantage point.
“Wow! Flying is so fun!”
Amy, who was very excited, and not fearful in the slightest as she looked down, yelled, “Father, look! That’s the Aden Square, and in that corner is our restaurant! It looks like a little box from up here!”
In contrast, Ugly Duckling was a lot less calm and collected. It had put its front paws over its eyes, and buried its head deep in Amy’s arms as it trembled uncontrollably, leaving only its backside sticking up into the air.
Mag had made numerous trips on planes in his past life, so he naturally wasn’t afraid, either. However, this was his first time flying on such a massive bird, and there was undisguised excitement on his face.
This bird obviously wasn’t flying as quickly as a plane could, but traveling through the air was naturally far quicker than traveling on land. According to Cayrols, they should reach Rodu around dusk.
Mag took a glance at Luna, and found that her expression was also quite calm and collected, indicating that this wasn’t her first time on a flying steed.
Stupid hillbillies. Ryan pursed his lips with disdain as he glanced at Mag and Amy. They were getting so excited just from riding on the most ordinary flying magic beast; he simply couldn’t understand why his father held Mag in such high regard.
He then turned his gaze toward Luna, and his eyes roamed over her body surreptitiously while he slowly nodded to himself. This Luna is also quite beautiful. Compared to all of those girls who wear heavy makeup and spend hours deciding which items of clothing they should wear every day, she’s like a breath of fresh air, and she’s quite alluring in her own way. If that Gloria turns down the marriage proposal, I can consider getting Father to visit her family with a marriage proposal.
Mag could see everything that Ryan was doing, but he wasn’t overly concerned about Luna. He could tell from the way that Cayrols was treating Luna that her family was most likely more powerful than Cayrols’s family. As such, Ryan surely wouldn’t dare to do anything to her.
As Chaos City faded from view, Amy turned her attention to the trembling Ugly Duckling, and scolded, “Ugly Duckling, you can’t keep hiding like this. You’re a duck, and you’re going to become a white swan in the future; how can you be scared of heights?”
Ugly Duckling still had its front paws firmly clasped over its eyes, and it didn’t utter a single sound as it buried its head even deeper in Amy’s little arms.
“If you can’t fly, then you can’t be referred to as a white swan. If you’re not a white swan, then I won’t be able to eat roast goose!” Amy looked at Ugly Duckling with a serious expression as she reasoned, “Hence, I have to train you so that you get used to flying in the sky.”
Mag turned to Amy with an intrigued expression, wanting to see how she was going to train Ugly Duckling to get over its acrophobia. This was not a phobia that could be easily remedied.
Luna was also looking at Amy with a curious expression. Her weird and wacky thought processes often had Luna caught between tears and laughter, but she could come up with some very interesting ideas from time to time.
Ugly Duckling hadn’t let out a single sound the entire time, but that did nothing to divert Amy’s attention away from it. She pried Ugly Duckling’s front paws away from its face, only to reveal its tightly shut eyes, and a smile appeared on her face as she said, “Ugly Duckling, we’re currently very, very high up in the sky. There are white clouds around us, and everything on the ground below is very tiny. We’re flying high and fast, high and fast, high and…”
“Meow~”
Ugly Duckling was trembling even more violently. Even though it still had its eyes closed, it felt as if it could see everything down below through Amy’s verbal description, and it was even more horrifying.
“Now, listen to me: slowly open your eyes. When you open your eyes and look down, you’ll find out that it’s not actually very scary. Come on, slowly open your eyes, slowly…”
Ugly Duckling’s eyes remained tightly shut, yet Amy’s patience had run out. She picked it up by the scruff of its neck, and her voice cooled as she threatened, “If you don’t open your eyes, I’m going to toss you off this bird!”
“Meow!”
Ugly Duckling opened its eyes almost immediately. It cast its gaze downward, and its body stiffened before its eyes rolled into the back of its head, and it fell completely unconscious.
“Ugly Duckling? Ugly Duckling! It’s still breathing, thank heavens. What a coward.” Amy squeezed Ugly Duckling’s cheeks with a displeased look before placing it back on her legs with a resigned sigh.
“Amy, don’t force other people to do things against their will. That’s basic courtesy,” Luna said to Amy with a smile.
“Alright, Teacher Luna.” Amy nodded obediently before looking down at Ugly Duckling with a serious expression as she said, “Ugly Duckling, you’re a duckling, not a person.”
The flight spanned an entire day.
The Flathead Falcon’s extraordinary stamina was on full display, and it only took a single half-an-hour break during the course of the journey. Just as the sun was beginning to set, a grand and lavish city appeared before everyone’s eyes.
Rodu was the capital city of the Roth Empire, and also one of the most important cities to the human race on the Norland Continent, with a history of over 10,000 years.
During the war among species that took place around a century ago, Rodu acted as the central hub of the human military, and when the war concluded, the king at the time decided to make Rodu the capital of the Roth Empire. Since then, it had gone through several major expansions, and was now known as the largest city on the Norland Continent.
The city walls were over 100 meters tall and up to 30 meters thick, with countless magical runes carved into their surface. Even the massive forest trolls wouldn’t be able to easily bypass it.
Regardless of whether it was measured in terms of land area or population, Rodu was undoubtedly the number one city on the Norland Continent.
“Wow, Teacher Luna, is this Rodu? It’s so big!” Amy’s eyes widened.
“Yes, that’s Rodu, my home city.” Luna nodded, and she also wore an excited look on her face. It had been over a year since she had last returned home, and this city was just as adorable to her as she recalled.
In contrast, Mag’s emotions were quite complex as he looked at the city.
He had access to Alex’s memories, so he was naturally extremely familiar with this capital city of the Roth Empire. This was a city that symbolized the prosperity of the human race, and was a place that he had once vowed to protect. He’d come to this city when he was only 15 years old, and he gradually rose to the top of the Roth Empire’s official hierarchy. However, it was also in this city that he had completely fallen from grace.
The Flathead Falcon landed in front of the city gates, attracting the attention of many of the commoners who were lining up to enter the city. Everyone then disembarked from the bird’s back.
A horse-drawn carriage was already there, waiting for Luna. She turned to Mag with a smile, and said, “Mr. Mag, I’ll go back home and inform my grandpa of your arrival. After you cook for His Majesty during his birthday banquet, I’ll organize a meeting between you and my grandpa; is that alright?”
“Sure.” Mag nodded with a smile. He didn’t have anything else to do in this city anyway.
“Alright, then it’s goodbye for now, Mr. Mag, Little Amy.” Luna patted Amy’s head with a smile before getting onto the horse-drawn carriage.