Chapter 321: 321. Archipelago

Noah's spectacular performance had one sole purpose: gathering all the attention on him and increasing his value in the eyes of the Empire.

As for why he had done that, it was to instill some urgency in the soldiers on the battlefield.

Anxious persons would commit mistakes and that was what Noah wanted.

He had to create the image of the genius running away from the battlefield, forcing the other soldiers to chase him immediately, the Warp spell played an important role in the matter.

Since his teleportation spell made him completely disappear, leaving no traces of his passage, he could deceive the soldiers, making them believe that he had gone toward the depth of the continent.

Noah's plan worked, the remaining cultivators of the Empire quickly moved to chase him, he guessed that it would take them a few days to realize that they had been fooled.

'One week and there is still no trace of land. Well, my speed is quite low.'

Noah was flying over the sea, his two pairs of black wings paired with the occasional usage of the Shadow step spell allowed him to travel even with the absence of a foothold.

The only problem with his flying ability was that his speed was far lower than what his body was capable of: That ability used a rank 3 magical beast and a rank 0 spell to work, it was obvious that it couldn't match the power of a rank 4 body.

'If only I could make a movement-type martial art that can be used mid-air… That would be too troublesome, it's best to wait for a rank 4 flying creature of the darkness element.'

Noah's martial art needed him to stomp twice on the ground to work, he couldn't pair it to his flight.

Yet, a flying rank 4 magical beast would solve the problem concerning his weak wings.

'I might even surpass the power of my body like that. Magical beasts have a stronger body after all, having their wings would surely add my ability to fly to my combat style.'

Noah didn't want to give up on his wings.

The ability to fly was usually restricted to cultivators in the heroic ranks or to specific spells, having it before that threshold was an advantage that Noah wasn't ready to abandon.

'Well, I don't think I'll find a suitable creature anytime soon, the environment of the sea doesn't fit the darkness element.'

When Noah escaped, he didn't follow the coastline.

The Empire was simply too powerful and he was deep in its territory, the few days that he had over his pursuers wouldn't be enough to make him reach the Efrana nation safely, he needed to change his route.

Noah stared in the distance, only the blue sea was visible on the horizon.

Behind him, the sight of the continent had long disappeared, he was quite far away already.

'Where the hell is this Coral archipelago!?'

Noah cursed in his mind as he continued to fly forward, he required rest and his reserves of "Breath" had never been refilled after the last battle in the valley, he needed to find a place where to recover.

As for the Coral archipelago, that was Noah's new direction.

If he couldn't reach the Efrana nation directly, he would just take the long road across the sea, the archipelago was his first stop in that path.

'I really didn't want to go there though.'

Noah's mood became sour at the thought of going to that place.

Generally speaking, there were many gray zones in the continent, places that had no rulers.

Most of them were danger zones, only super forces like the Empire or the Utra nation could transform them into research grounds and even they only chose those that suited their needs.

Apart from the danger zones, there were places that were ruled by more than one powerful nation.

The Efrana country was one of them, its geographical position put it between the influence of two great nations, making it a seemingly lawless zone where mercenary troops and tribes could develop.

The Coral archipelago was the same, the only difference was that it was under the influence of all three big nations, which is why Noah had excluded it when he obtained the map.

'More than two years have passed, are they still looking for me?'

The thought of returning to a territory occupied by the Royals worried him but he couldn't find a better solution.

The Coral archipelago was far away from the main territories of the three big nations, information about the continent was scarcer.

'It seems some kind of colony from the description of the map, I don't know much though. I should go for the part controlled by the Papral nation as soon as I reach my destination.'

Noah's new escape route was quite articulate.

He had first thought that he could travel in a straight line toward the Efrana nation but the events in the Odrea country had piqued the interest of the Empire, it wasn't safe to travel between its territories anymore.

So, Noah created an alternative path.

He would fly toward the Coral archipelago, enter the territories under the influence of the Papral nation, and find a way toward the northern part of the continent.

He wanted to enter the Papral nation!

Then, from there, he would head south toward the Efrana nation where he would continue to develop.

Noah's intentions for his escape were quite simple: He wanted time to develop without being controlled by powerful forces and wanted to gather resources where he could.

Being a mercenary would have helped in his search for techniques and spells but he had realized that many countries could produce unexpected benefits, just like it had happened with the Odrea country.

Simply speaking, Noah was worried about the possibility of being discovered by the Utra nation but he was also eager to see with his eyes how the cultivators of the other countries lived and trained, he couldn't wait to see what possibilities the archipelago offered!