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Chapter 153: A Reliable Yet Unreliable Invention

The charging method for the “Artificial Flight Wings No. 1786” is simple and environmentally friendly. Iriush seems determined to fully implement the concept of “Magic Nullification,” so many of her inventions, including this one and the transformable travel assistant she used before, are driven by “solar energy.”

Whether it’s sunlight or moonlight, even sufficiently bright magic crystals are barely acceptable. Although it was zealously advertised that, “As long as it is exposed to enough light, it can operate continuously for at least three hours!” now that we’ve put it to actual use, Vilyric has come to understand a very real truth.

That is: “The ideal is lush, but reality is slim.”

Whether it can truly hold out that long in sufficient light is uncertain for Vilyric at the moment, but at least under the current heavy snowfall and lack of sunshine, if it continues to move at full speed, the flight wings struggle to last even half an hour.

To be honest, while solar energy sounds energy-saving and eco-friendly, in a world devoid of magic, it might indeed be impressive, but here… due to the high density and capacity of magical energy, devices powered by it have durability and stability that are undoubtedly far superior. This conclusion has been reached by countless races through thousands of years of experience.

Forcibly using other energy sources has led Iriush’s inventions to have similar issues to some extent.

Like the device she previously used that generated a force field to shield from the wind and rain, it seemed to run out of energy after just a few hours, nearly subjecting everyone to a torrential downpour… This was something Vilyric interrogated out of that contraption during a casual chat later.

Improvements! They absolutely must be made!

The soul of the Priestess is burning brightly!

However, even though there’s a mountain of test feedback she wants to toss straight back at Iriush, Vilyric can’t just fly back now; the flight wings still need to be used to gather more data. Luckily, Iriush seems to have anticipated a similar possibility and specifically taught Vilyric how to recharge the flight wings in poor weather before her departure.

It’s simple—just shine some light on it.

Somewhat akin to solar panels on the Blue Star, the metal wings of the flight device are also equipped with light energy-absorbing mechanisms. The detailed principles are too lengthy and boring for the Priestess to pay attention to, but the application is straightforward.

Vilyric raised her hand, and her palm immediately projected a bright golden beam of light, shining on one half of the dark gray metal wing, causing certain parts of the flight wings to emit a noticeable special hue.

Having recharged this gadget for the third time, the Priestess knew this signified it had begun to absorb light energy.

The recharging process takes about five minutes, during which Vilyric maintained her action while also turning her head to observe her surroundings.

Spirit Butterfly Peak is located approximately 700 kilometers northwest of Moonshadow Valley, of course, this is in a straight line; in reality, given the terrain of the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons, reaching there in this heavy snow would take at least several days, even for the speed of a mountain wolf.

“What a fierce storm we have here…”

Though it had only been snowing for a day and a night, looking around at the mountains and the ground was already a blanket of white, a silver-clad scene.

Even at this moment, the sky continues to pour down goose-feather-like snow. If not for the special little gadgets made by Vilyric that kept the three warm while also melting the falling snowflakes nearby, they would have likely gotten buried under a thick layer by now.

Understanding that the Priestess was referring to the snowy scenery, Miss Slime, maintaining the stability of the flight wings, earnestly chimed in.

“Indeed, Lady Vilyric, I’ve lived in the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons for a hundred years, and to be honest, I’ve never seen snowfall this heavy right at the start of winter before. Plus, considering the week-long torrential rain before this, many magical beast races are probably overwhelmed by the sudden drop in temperature and the negative effects of this severe weather. I wonder how things are going over at the border where humans and magical beasts meet now.”

“Mm…”

Little Lan wasn’t wrong; the sudden onset of such extreme weather would surely have a tremendous impact on the cooperation and trade recently resumed between the United Kingdom and the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons. With rain and snow blocking the routes, the transfer and resettlement of victims would definitely have to be postponed for the time being.

While it’s said that the unusual climatic changes are due to impacts on the world barrier, causing disruptions in the magical energy of the earth veins, Vilyric couldn’t help but wonder about the chain of phenomena that stemmed from this.

Is it coincidence…? Or are some certain individuals deliberately steering things toward such a situation now?

“Lulu, let me ask you something.”

“Ah? Oh, go ahead, Lady Vilyric.”

Lulu, holding a warm bottle and waiting idly beside Little Lan, blinked in surprise before nodding as if she had snapped back to reality.

“How strong is your Spirit Butterfly Clan? How many magical generals are there in the clan? And during the time before you were captured by humans, did anything strange happen?”

“Well, about that…”

Lulu propped her little head on her hand, thinking for a bit, before finally responding in a somewhat uncertain tone.

“To speak honestly, even though the Spirit Butterfly Clan appears mysterious and powerful to outsiders, we are actually not very skilled in combat. You should be able to tell this from our innate ability, ‘Spirit Detection.'”

“Saying we’re weak would definitely be a lie, but while we can defend ourselves just fine, fighting enemies, especially killing them, does seem rather challenging. The Spirit Butterfly Clan actually tends to lean towards mental abilities, like calming people down, causing disturbances, and temporarily turning enemies into brainless fools who can only babble.”

“Hm? What’s that last one about…?”

“Ahh, hahaha! Just a comparison, just a comparison! It’s not like we actually have that kind of power!”

Miss Spirit Butterfly hurriedly explained with a panicked expression, yet from her face writing “Oh no, I let something slip!” Vilyric could tell this girl was feeling a bit guilty at the moment.

The Spirit Butterfly Clan is actually quite impressive; it’s amazing they even possess such strange abilities. The ability to sense whether someone harbors malicious intent through “Spirit Detection” alone is already outrageous.

However, from certain tactics exhibited by Tiyelu, they definitely align with Lulu’s description.

“Ahem, as for how many magical generals there are in the clan, I wouldn’t know. There are probably some great magical generals as well, but only the Holy Ancestor would know the specific numbers.”

“Well, it’s not surprising that Tiyelu knows; doesn’t your clan leader usually keep track of things?”

“Clan leader?”

Lulu tilted her head in confusion, seemingly puzzled.

“The Spirit Butterfly Clan doesn’t have a clan leader; we have the Holy Ancestor, and that’s sufficient!”

“?”

“?”

The two girls exchanged confused glances during their conversation, ultimately causing Vilyric to shrug her shoulders and nod, closing this impromptu chat.

“Alright, I have a general understanding now. The time is about right… Little Lan, how are things on your end?”

Miss Slime, who had been quietly listening to both sides without interrupting, glanced at the controller in her hand.

“Lady Vilyric, it’s almost complete, we can set off at any time.”

“Great, let’s keep moving. It’s a bit troublesome, but at this rate, we should reach Spirit Butterfly Peak before nightfall.”

 

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