Chapter 1521: Chapter 948: Planar Pioneering (Part 2): Setting Sail_2
And the plans for this expedition, along with the recruitment of volunteers, were fired up and set into motion.
As the one and only miracle created by players in the "Elf Kingdom," the Floating City had already attracted the attention of players worldwide from the moment construction began. When the expedition quest was announced, almost the entire server boiled over.
Even though the major guilds that posted the quest warned in advance that this mission might involve a long period of void navigation, that it might not be as fun as everyone imagined, and that once they set out, they wouldn’t be able to return to Segis World and other World Tree Plane Worlds for quite a while, it still couldn’t dampen the players’ enthusiasm.
When it comes to the unknown, everyone is always full of interest.
In less than half a day, all slots for registration were filled.
This didn’t really surprise Little Xian Miao and the other organizers. After all... nearly seven years had passed, and the players in the "Elf Kingdom" were no longer just the original three hundred, but had already approached twenty million.
The footsteps of the Chosen Ones now covered the entire universe.
And one Segis week after the announcement, the day of launch finally arrived.
Chosen City, the area where the World Tree once stood.
After the World Tree "disappeared," a super-giant square had been built here around the enormous light gate that appeared following the fusion of the Planes.
It truly was a super-giant square; its area even surpassed Maniya City’s Holy Square—oh no, it should now be called Life Square.
On the square, a massive number of players had gathered. Looking around, there were probably hundreds of thousands.
And farther away, in the streets of Chosen City, even in the forests outside the city, in the farmlands, on the ranches, there were also densely packed players in sight.
There were players from Tianchao, and there were international players as well.
They had all rushed here after hearing the news, to witness the launch of the Floating City with their own eyes.
Everyone knew that this launch would formally mark the advent of the age of void navigation, and the rise of a second great Plane expansion boom.
On the Floating City, the players taking part in the battle were already in position.
They stood atop the city’s outer walls at the edge, looking down at the magnificent Chosen City below and the endless sea of players, their expressions brimming with excitement.
Up in the sky, tens of thousands of Flying Magical Beasts circled around the Floating City, constantly flying. Some of them were players who had also come just to watch, while others were the aerial legions that would depart together with the Floating City.
It’s worth mentioning that for this large-scale deployment, Li Mu was still the overall Commander of the army.
Of course, only until they reached their destination.
After that, command authority would be handed over to experienced pioneers like the Optimist and the others, and they would lead the players to officially begin Plane exploration.
The sun in the sky gradually shifted; the time had already reached two in the afternoon.
Sitting in the command cabin of the Floating City, Li Mu checked the timer in the system, exchanged glances with Little Xian Miao, the Optimist and the others, and said:
"Time’s about right."
"Charging is also complete, we can start up the Floating City."
On the other side, Gugu Bird, who was in charge of the entire operating system of the Floating City, checked the power system and said.
"Then let’s head out."
Little Xian Miao nodded.
The Optimist and the others also inclined their heads slightly, eyes full of impatience and anticipation.
Seeing that everyone agreed, Li Mu withdrew his gaze.
"Everyone, attention! Prepare to depart!"
"Buglers, ready! Sound the horn!"
With the order given, a long and far-reaching horn call slowly rang out.
It was a horn sound the players had recorded into a Magic Phonograph, amplified by the Floating City’s amplification magic to cover the entire city and the whole sky.
"Woooo——"
The powerful horn call was like the whistle of a giant vessel, echoing through the heavens.
Countless flying dragons and Demon Beasts let out long roars and returned to the Floating City.
At this very moment, in the control room of the Floating City, the technical players operating the whole system of the city were also reporting their statuses one after another:
"Magic Energy Gathering charge check complete!"
"Power system check complete!"
"Magic Shield activated!"
"Magic-powered propulsion Array activated!"
"Shield charging ready!"
"..."
One report after another came into the command room of the Floating City through the magic voice transmission network. After listening to the reports from each control position, Gugu Bird, serving as the "Captain," gave a slight nod:
"Very good!"
"All posts on the Dingyuan, attention! Now, set sail!"
Dingyuan—that was the name of this Floating City.
With a command from the Gugu Bird, pale blue Magic light blossomed over the entire Floating City, and hexagram-shaped defensive shields unfolded around it, gorgeous and dazzling.
After fully deploying, the Magic Shield slowly faded away again, as if it had never appeared.
Right after that, all the lights in the city flashed on at once, and with a thunderous boom, the massive Floating City shuddered slightly and began to move slowly.
"It’s moving! It’s moving!"
Seeing the scene in the sky, the players on the ground let out excited cheers.
The distant sound of horns rang out again, and ghostly blue Magic light appeared beneath the Floating City as the fortress-like city suddenly accelerated.
It set off from the eastern side of the Chosen City and began to slowly move toward the super‑sized plaza in the west, its target locked straight on the mysterious light gate above the plaza!
They said that was a light gate leading to the Void World.
Only existences acknowledged by Her Highness the Goddess could pass through there.
And as a blessed Floating Fortress, the Dingyuan was qualified!
The Floating City moved slowly, and the huge shadow it cast over Chosen City swept continuously across the city below.
The players on the ground followed the Floating City’s movement and surged toward the giant plaza, only to find... there were even more people watching there, and after squeezing and squeezing, they couldn’t squeeze any further.
About five minutes later, the Floating City’s speed also rose to a respectable level; drifting forward, it finally arrived above the giant plaza where the mysterious light gate stood.
The next moment, a strange scene unfolded.
The light gate, which had shown no reaction for so many years, suddenly burst into brilliant radiance, enveloping the Floating City above it.
Then, under the players’ astonished gazes, space suddenly twisted, and strange halos exploded around the Floating City, as if countless beams of light were whirling around this aerial fortress.
Shrouded in the light, the silhouette of the Dingyuan gradually blurred, and finally, with a muffled sky‑boom, the massive Floating City turned into a single beam of light, dove into the light gate below, and vanished from the players’ sight.
Only a faint ripple of space remained, spreading outward...
On the ground, the players’ cheers reached a climax.
They didn’t leave immediately, but instead opened the system network, logged onto the bullet‑screen video site, and entered the Dingyuan’s livestream room.
The Floating City had departed.
But the journey had only just begun.
In a small attic in Chosen City, a handsome Shadow Elf youth slowly withdrew his gaze.
"They’ve gone?"
Behind him, a beautiful female Shadow Elf asked.
"Mm, they’ve gone."
The young man nodded.
"Not being able to adventure with them anymore, do you feel a bit regretful?"
The female Elf hesitated, then asked.
"Regret... there’s always going to be some, I guess."
The young Elf let out a sigh.
He took out a Magic projection photo in a frame, his eyes full of emotion.
In that photo were him, the optimist, Chopin, and everyone from that old Glory Squad.
Hearing his words, the female Elf’s gaze turned a little complicated, but the next moment, the stern‑faced young Elf smiled slightly, revealing a warm smile:
"But compared to regret, I like my current life more. There are more important things I need to protect..."
As he spoke, he reached out, gently took the female Elf’s hand, and placed it on her lower abdomen.
The movement was very gentle.
The two of them looked into each other’s eyes, their gazes full of tenderness.
"Let’s go, it’s getting late."
The young Elf lightly pecked his wife on the forehead, glanced at the time, and said softly.
Then he turned back to look out the window once more and murmured:
"Everyone, I wish you a safe journey."
With that, he took his wife’s hand and left the attic.
However, just as the young Elf was about to leave with his wife, the players who had gathered to watch the Floating City’s launch recognized him.
Their eyes lit up instantly:
"Holy crap! It’s the legendary Boxed Meal boss!"
"Boss! I was your old buddy when you were alive! Give me a purple epic quest!"
"Boss! Can you teach me some skills?!"
The young Elf: ...
