Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1219 - 1212: Revisiting Helros

Chapter 1219: Chapter 1212: Revisiting Helros

"Huh..." Luo’er seemed a bit surprised.

"I told you to adhere to our principles as much as possible and not to get into conflicts arbitrarily, but that doesn’t mean you should not fight back if attacked. Whoever troubles us, whether they’ve already done so or are about to, you must eliminate them immediately. After all, I can’t bear the responsibility if anything happens to you," Zhuyan Yu continued.

"Understood," Luo’er nodded.

What Zhuyan Yu said was heartfelt; she knew very well how important the identities of Luo’er and his team were. To have Luo’er’s team protect her was like equipping her with a bunch of glass swords—extremely sharp, yet she dared not use them recklessly for fear of breaking them.

Luo’er was the grandson of the Queen of Ilanadale, and Cheng Ziang was likewise a nephew from outside Otland. If anything happened to them, the strategic arrangements set by the headquarters would face the risk of total collapse, and Zhuyan Yu was keenly aware of that cost.

The airboat, following the route it had taken on the way there, moved eastward, crossing through the territory of the Masaya Kingdom, and it took a week to finally reach the capital of Helros, Ronisca.

For the Advance Team, the mountainous region of Masya was always a shadow in their hearts, whether it was traveling from the banks of Roen River to the capital Galan of Masya, or being forced to march on foot to Helros because of the airboat’s crash. The country had left the team members with painful memories.

Luo’er vaguely remembered the last time they arrived in Helros was in April of the 52nd year, and before he knew it, five years had passed. In five years, the city of Helros hadn’t changed at all. This city, built on the mountainside, had grown to its maximum size; any further expansion would have to be built at the foot of the mountain.

Last time Luo’er and his team came stealthily to Helros, but this time, they arrived as esteemed guests of Ronisca. The Air Force Commander Mooer, along with a group of Dwarf politicians and scientists, was waiting at the air force base.

Helros didn’t have permanent deep-water berths, and all the airboats basically hovered above the mountain cliffs using anti-gravity engines. The deep-water berths were located in the New Town District at the base of the mountains. However, with Ronisca’s great wealth, they didn’t care about the consumption of magic crystals, so it didn’t matter where they stopped.

As the airboat descended, Hu Daoke pointed out of the porthole window at a huge airborne warship and exclaimed, "Wow, look, what a big airship!"

"That must be the Helrandum, I saw it in the shipyard five years ago," Cheng Ziang glanced and said.

The Helrandum, suspended in the berth, was extremely conspicuous because it was simply too large—almost more than twice the size of a High-peak class warship. It was probably the largest warship Ronisca had ever built up to that point.

The Helrandum was a typical airborne aircraft carrier cruiser, a combination of an aircraft carrier and a cruiser. The High-peak people used the Four Beasts-class to test the future direction of airship development, and the Helrandum-class was likely the result of their exploration.

The upper deck of the Helrandum was an aircraft carrier deck for launching and docking fighter planes, and the lower level was packed with ground artillery. According to Ronisca’s combat planning, the Helrandum could deploy fighters for aerial support, and at the same time, it could fly directly over the battlefield and use the dense artillery on the lower level for ground strikes.

In the use of airborne warships, the High-peak people had always been stuck in rigid thinking, using the airborne warships as a mobile aerial platform rather than imagining them entering the battlefield for combat, which was something that people from Earth found very difficult to comprehend.

World War II taught Earth that aircraft carrier platforms were the future direction of warship development. Warships, as firepower platforms, had always been limited and could not achieve the long-range combat capability of carrier-based aircraft.

Clearly, when it came to combat methods, Otherworlders still had certain limitations and lacked the rich experience of Earthlings. Nevertheless, as a new type of warship, the Helrandum had broken free from original thinking, made a breakthrough in combat strategies, and thus had adopted this combination of aircraft carrier and cruiser.

Regardless of their combat strategies, just the sight of the carrier-based aircraft on the upper level of the Helrandum and the dense ground artillery below would give an inexplicable visual impact. This steel behemoth, assembled with rivets and packed with heavy artillery, very much conformed to everyone’s aesthetic standards.

"What a powerful warship," said Hu Daoke, gazing at the Helrandum, unable to hide his enamored expression.

"Hmm, last time I came here, didn’t I see the Black Tortoise parked inside the air harbor? Why can’t I see it now?" Luo’er looked around curiously and asked.

"It must have been taken for transformation," Zhuyan Yu shrugged and then asked the others curiously, "Don’t you know?"

"Know what?" The crowd looked at each other in puzzlement.

"Ronisca plans to transform the Xuanwu into an Earth support warship and then give it to us. That way, our headquarters will have its first aerial warship," Zhuyan Yu said with a smile.

"Wow, such a generous gesture, giving away warships just like that," Luo’er asked in surprise.

"It’s nothing. Once our shipyard is up and running, we’ll be able to build our own warships. By then, their gift won’t be as valuable anyway. After all, the Xuanwu has already completed its historical mission. It’s better to give it away than let it sit idle," Zhuyan Yu replied casually.

"So, it seems the headquarters probably had this idea a long time ago, right?" Cheng Ziang reflected aloud.

"How can you tell?" Zhuyan Yu asked curiously.

"The Type 47 rifle, it uses a bullpup design. I was wondering why they went back to the bullpup after having returned to conventional layouts before. What exactly is headquarters up to? Now it seems obvious that they were interested in acquiring airboats all along, and the Type 47’s bullpup is mainly for the equipment of air crews and marines," Cheng Ziang analyzed.

"You’re pretty sharp," Zhuyan Yu laughed, not denying it.

"Wow, with the addition of airboats, Lipei’s defenses will be impregnable," Hu Daoke said excitedly.

"Without airboats, Lipei would still be impregnable. The headquarters simply doesn’t want to fight. If they did, not all the countries in Otherworld combined would necessarily be able to take down Lipei," Cheng Ziang shrugged.

While they were chatting, the airship finally docked steadily at the berth. Then the hatch opened, and the welcoming Dwarves came in, warmly greeting Zhuyan Yu and the rest of the party.

Taran nestled beside his sister Baiyue, looking around curiously. It was his first time joining the Advance Team on a campaign and seeing such a novel scene; he couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous.

The party disembarked from the airship, and Mooer and his group had been waiting for a while. When they saw Zhuyan Yu and his group coming down, Mooer immediately approached them, and then extended his hand, enthusiastically saying in Chinese, "On behalf of Ronisca, I welcome Professor Zhuyan Yu and the members of the Advance Team. The king has been bedridden with a long illness and could not come to meet you in person; I hope you will forgive us."

"Commander Mooer is too kind," Zhuyan Yu said, shaking his hand respectfully.

"Members of the Advance Team, welcome again to Helros. Last time, I could not properly host you when you came from afar, and I hope you will not blame me," Mooer continued to say to Luo’er and the others.

Mooer’s words clearly acknowledged the events that had taken place in Helros five years ago. Obviously, his attitude was much better, at least not evasive about this issue.

"Last time I visited secretly and failed to notify Commander Mooer; that was my mistake. I should be the one to apologize," Luo’er said with a smile, shaking Mooer’s hand generously.

"No, no, no," Mooer, grabbing Luo’er’s hand, said excitedly, "Captain Luo’er, you saved Yila and Sara last time. There is no way I can repay that kindness."

"It was just my duty," Luo’er paused, not expecting Mooer to know that he was the one who saved Yila and her daughter. It seemed that they were the ones who had told Mooer about him.

Previously, Luo’er had regretted that he should have been more decisive and eliminated Yila and her daughter. Now it seemed that maintaining a kind heart was indeed the best choice. There is a saying, "A blessing in disguise."