By now, the Oasis Seeker had come to a complete stop, hovering motionlessly in the air. Of course, that was apart from the violent rocking caused by the relentless attacks from the Blast Griffins.
The Silver-Winged Herculean Bears at the front of the ship were known for their defensive and physical prowess that even allowed them to pass through the Reality Rift unscathed.
But there was a problem at the moment.
These beasts might be powerful existences that neared the top of the food chain, but the Blast Griffins were not targeting them!
Under the instructions of their riders, the Blast Griffins repeatedly fired at the Oasis Seeker. As large as the ship was, there was simply no way for the Blast Griffins to miss their target.
The mighty Silver-Winged Herculean Bears roared in anger, trying to intimidate the Blast Griffins into retreat.
But how was it possible to scare them off this easily?
If they were wild Blast Griffins, there might still have been the possibility of them backing off out of fear, but these were tamed mounts in action!
It would take more than a roar from a slightly stronger beast in order to scare them into disobeying orders!
Guided by their riders, the griffins quickly flew around to the back of the ship, putting the ship in between them and the four Silver-Winged Herculean Bears that were all leashed to the front of the Oasis Seeker.
In one simple maneuver, they had effectively used the ship itself as a form of shield against the mighty giants.
The Silver-Winged Herculean Bears were not exactly trained for combat, and when each of them tried to turn around to the back in different directions, they only ended up being held back by their reinforced leashes.
With that, they could only watch on helplessly as the griffins continued their assault against the ship.
"Insolence!"
A man roared as he flew out from a window and hovered in the air above the ship, staring down at the riders with a cold gaze. He looked to be in his fifties, sporting a short goatee and a luxurious looking robe that was loosely wrapped around his body, revealing much of his chest.
"Just a bunch of weaklings and you dare wreak havoc here? Do you think that the Oasis Seeker has no capable men on board?" the man sneered in anger.
Following his lead, a dozen other men flew into the air and hovered behind him, their expressions all extremely ugly. They were the Defence Team of the Oasis Seeker, tasked to handle any breach of security during the trip.
The man who appeared first was their leader, commonly known as Ice Fist.
At this moment, the junior members of the Defence Team were nervous, but the senior members were furious!
All of them thought that this would be an easy job, probably just involving the occasional calming of rowdy passengers.
Who knew that they would suddenly encounter an attack by the FADAI?
Seeing the appearance of the Defence Team, the riders from FADAI temporarily halted their assault as well.
"Hahaha! Capable men? I sure don't see any of such people around!" one of the riders flew higher than the rest and shouted back, evoking mocking laughter from the rest.
"What do you want in return for stopping this attack?" Ice Fist shouted back in anger.
He might be reluctant to negotiate with the other party, but he was no fool either. Judging from the current situation, they definitely did not hold the upper hand. Thus as long as possible, he was prepared to resolve this issue using monetary means.
"There is only one thing we want, and that is to send a message to the world…using your lives!" the representative of the other party laughed as the griffins resumed their attacks, continuously firing at the Oasis Seeker.
"Take them down!" Ice Fist bellowed with rage as he hesitated no further, commanding his team to take action.
Since the other party did not wish to negotiate, then that left him with no other choice. All he could do now was to try his best and hope for a miraculous victory!
Fire balls.
Arcane Bolts.
Lightning Orbs.
All sorts of magical projectiles were fired from the Defence Team towards the riders, immediately filling the skies with a multitude of colours!
But even in the face of such an attack, the griffins were still able to maneuver through the rain of missiles with great agility, easily dodging most of them.
And whatever they could not dodge in time, the riders atop the griffins would intercept with magical projectiles of their own.
The riders themselves were no pushover either!
After a few short minutes, it was already obvious to everyone that the Defence Team was completely helpless against the riders.
At this rate, it seemed to be only a matter of time before the energy of the defensive enchantment was depleted!
Since the end result was already obvious to everyone, it would be even more so for Samuel Pierce who always had a strong aptitude towards magic. From the very first exchange, he was already clear on the fact that the Defence Team was going to fail.
What a joke!
With this kind of capabilities, they actually dared to call themselves the Defence Team?
He had to do something, or the ship might really end up falling from the skies!
As a relatively accomplished mage himself, Samuel was obviously capable of flying as well.
But they had only just emerged from the Reality Rift, so who knew how high they were flying at the moment?
If the altitude was too ridiculous, then even he might completely deplete his magical energy before he managed to reach the ground!
On top of that, there were also those FADAI riders who probably would not allow them to just slowly make their way down.
Stronger magi like his father would definitely be all right, but even for his father, there was no guarantee that he would be able to save everyone from the Pierce Family either.
If word got out that the Pierce Family suffered great losses due to an attack by a mere extremist group, then the honour they had built from establishing ties with Baron Rocker in the Master Realm would definitely diminish by a great deal.
That would mean that most of their efforts over the past years would have been for nought!
How could he allow that to happen?
The Pierce Family was meant to be his in the future, so any setback to the family was equivalent to a setback to him!
No matter what, he had to try and keep that from happening!
Gritting his teeth in determination, Samuel stood up unsteadily on the rocking ship's deck floor and hollered out loud, "Everyone on board, listen up! The Oasis Seeker is currently under attack! The Defence Team is currently trying their best to handle the attackers, the enemy is truly too numerous, and the Defence Team require our help! Anyone who is trained in the magical arts, no matter what level you are at, please head to the deck and lend us your strength! We might be weak individually, but together we are strong! With our collaborative defence, we can definitely ensure that all of us reach our destination together in one piece!"
Samuel had imbued his voice with magical energy, sending it echoing throughout the ship so as to ensure it reached the passengers who were not on the deck as well.
This was the only thing he could think of to salvage the situation right now.
Hearing his words, Ice Fist smiled in satisfaction.
As the leader of the Defence Team, it would be awkward for him to ask for help from the passengers. However, it was an entirely different matter if the passengers voluntarily offered their help!
Now, he simply had to buy enough time for the passengers to gather. And then they could launch a collaborative defence to drive away these extremists!
Back on the ship's deck, Rachel looked at Samuel in surprise, a tinge of admiration rising within her heart.
She knew as well as Samuel that with the help of everyone on board, they stood a much better chance against the attackers. But even so, she did not possess the same level of confidence and decisiveness that had allowed Samuel to make an instantaneous decision and call upon everyone for their aid.
This cousin of hers was as impressive as ever, no wonder he was so highly valued by the Head of the Family!
It seemed like she truly had a long way to go before she could finally catch up to him!