87_87643 Gate of the World.

Forty-seven stared at the magical portal with a flaming crimson rim for a long time. Tentacle-like bands of light fluttered, making the space in the hall tremble—a bit like the visual distortion effect caused by the temperature difference.

Inside the tall door was a solidified dark shadow, making it appear to be a large chunk of burning coal. Victor stood beside the portal, the light lingering beside him, failing to make a mark in the lich's dark eyes. He raised his hand to the magic door and whispered a word.

The pronunciation sounded like a muffled murmur, and with forty-seven hearings, it was impossible to even distinguish its plainness. But the sound apparently activated the portal, as the shadows inside the door began to swirl - and gradually became clear under Victor's gesture, as if a glass of water mixed with ink had finally begun to settle.

"Moriel, where are you going to start?" Victor kept the Magic Gate in a state that seemed to be shrouded in a burning mist, and from time to time there was a flash of illusory scenery inside the door, and it was fleeting: "Unfortunately, although it took me a long time to perfect this door, it has only been able to access a limited number of planes so far, most of which are in the lower realms. I build yì you from ......"

The female mage glanced at Forty-Seven, then made a decision.

"Astral Boundary. If only you sent us to the astral plane, Mentor Victor. ”

"Astral?" The lich was slightly surprised, "You want to go to the astral plane in physical form?"

Morrill nodded, "Yes, Mentor Victor. Let's be honest...... I don't plan to follow in the footsteps of my former teacher, Isabella. Since she and the other mentors were looking for ...... Find the remains of ancient structures. Then all I have to do is get ahead of them. Theoretically, the astral plane connects all known and unknown outer planes, so I guess it would be a good idea to start there. ”

Victor listened to Morriel's explanation and nodded.

"You're a good thinker, Moriel. Well, well......"

The lich used two hands, his withered ten fingers slashing flexibly in the air, and the flowing bands of red light danced under his movements, giving birth to many strange magic symbols, one by one into the gradually boiling magic door.

Soft starlight was cast from inside the door. Through the portal. Forty-seven saw a familiar landscape—an infinite world of brilliant stars. Tiny stardust drifted into the hall through the portal, a complete collection of energy, flawless and pure. The wind blew through Forty-Seven's ears, and it was the air drifting towards the beautiful starry sky inside the portal with a gentle but irresistible force.

Victor manipulates the portal to make the world flow in front of them. Thousands of silver filaments with no beginning and no end are intertwined into a huge web-like substance, transparent and thin, and the starlight is dotted among them, like the crystal dew on the spider web in the morning. The stars make up the Milky Way and flow in the extreme distance. When the perspective was opened again, it was only a part of the slowly rotating spiral nebula that spread out. Countless points of light flickered and flickered in the deep universe, dispelling the darkness and coldness that should have existed in the void.

Forty-seven stared at it, his eyes were blazing, and he couldn't wait.

"I have found for you a material entity floating in the astral plane...... Victor finally fixed the scene inside the portal on a swaying grassland, and the blades of grass also had a faint glow, "Be careful, children. ”

Seeing the tall backs of forty-seven blocking Morrill and Kairo's figures, and disappearing together in the starlight from the Magic Gate, Victor lowered his hands.

The hall quickly darkened—the portal reverted to a lifeless, gray-black mirror. The magical flames that pulsed around the door also diminished, turning into a faint red halo.

The lich stood silent for a moment.

"Collect the stardust that has not yet dissipated and send it to my room. Finally he gave the order to make the most of it and turned away. Although the dark hall seemed to be empty except for the magic door and a few floating remnants of stardust.

The blades of grass gently moved away from his feet, giving Morriel a foothold.

The starry sky is endless. The female mage looked up and saw a bright trail across the astral sky.

"Meteor!" Kyro saw it and cried out happily.

Forty-seven focused more on other areas. He looked down at his body. **The tight-fitting armor made of metal appeared in his eyes with a different strange appearance at this moment. The body of steel wrapped in starlight was dim and blurry, and at first glance it looked like a grayish-black rust, but when he scanned it with a different visual mode like the Predator. The trajectory of the energy and plasma spectrum radiating from various frequency bands on the body is running steadily like a nuclear energy reactor. Forty-Seven took a deep breath, and the stardust spots that swams like fireflies in the space around him melted into his mouth like iron filings from a magnet—a very good feeling.

Morrill and Kyro are no longer in the main physical realm. They seemed to have thinned and lost their thickness, was it an illusion of the senses? and, like the grassland beneath their feet, they were also shining with shimmering starlight, as if they had been assimilated into the same form as other astral matter.

"We'll have to find an astral portal to get out of here. Traveling around the astral plane is quite difficult, at least for us. Morriel took a tentative step, but still not a single grass had been treaded, and her feet slipped out of the grass like blades without hindrance.

"I like it here, though...... But why not let that skeleton take us to something more practical?" Forty-Seven turned his head, but there was nothing red in his eyes

Deep as an abyss, bright as a spark.

"I don't trust Victor. The female mage was surprised to find that in the astral plane, the appearance of forty-seven had changed a lot. He was no longer a cold body of steel, starlight and flames converging and bursting out of his energetic armor like a humanoid sun—and she and Kyro were only slightly blurred. It's just a slight halo.

If she could communicate with Forty-Seven about the difference in the image they saw, it might be a topic worth studying. But Morriel only went on to answer his question: "As long as we enter the astral plane, it will be much more difficult for him to track us...... At the very least, normal spells will fail. And in this way, we also avoid being led by the nose by him, it is not so easy to find a satisfactory portal in the outer realm, and in the astral plane, which borders all outer planes, our choice is even greater. ”

"Aha. Forty-seven touched his chin and sparkled: "So...... Girls, do you want a ride?"

"The astral plane can be different from the main material plane. Can you do it?" Morriel skeptical.

"Yes, yes!" said Kyro.

Large, thin wings of glow unfurled. Under the influence of the supermatter effect of the astral plane, the deformation of Forty-Seven also has characteristics that are different from those of the material realm. He was shrouded in a misty haze of light. The translucent fin membranes connected between the hideous ** metal skeletons seemed to flow shadows under the light of the astral plane, and the flickering stardust quickly extinguished after sticking to it. When the ever-changing color dragon gently shook its spiked tail, the astral breeze carried a chill for no reason.

Forty-Seven lowered his head, allowing Morrill and Kyro to find a more comfortable position between the sharp bone spurs on the nape of his neck, which of course required his cooperation. Then forty-seven spread out their wings, and the steel wings grew a little larger as they stretched, and seemed to cover the whole steppe - not even like weighty ground, and the dragon flew silently.

They left the grassy island and went away. The stars were eclipsed along the way.

In the vast silver stream of the astral plane, a ship, or rather a fortress, is floating and sailing along a long river of silver threads with endless starlight as energy.

It is based on materials collected from astral space, and is built with the amazing skills of its masters. It snowballed in size after a long time and a lot of resources—tinkering, remodeling, expanding, until it remained immortal like a real city.

The creator of this floating giant ship lives in it. The mixed armor layer that surrounds the entire hull protects the numerous domes and minarets of the living quarters like a city wall. Planting, Foundry, Trading...... But apart from building their Astral Fortress, they spend most of the rest of their time in grueling and rigorous military training in order to deal with the dangers that may arise at any time in the seemingly calm Astral Plane. At the same time, they are looking forward to finding opportunities to satisfy their small desires for "victory" and "conquest".

"Sir. One of the guards on duty turned his head. His long, rough, earthy gray face had a pair of dull yellow eyes embedded in it, and his steel needle-like hair was tied in a small pigtail at the back of his head, making him tall and thin against the astral background outside the wide porthole. A pair of pointed ears with jagged edges as if they had been bitten by a mouse, but the biggest difference from humans is that he has almost no obvious nose. The two nostrils open and close, like a skeleton that can breathe.

He reported to his superiors in the mysterious language of his race with a large number of distinctive nasal sounds: "An unknown reaction has been found on the psionic probe. ”

A non-commissioned officer in refined armor approached the probe, his mouth lacking lips into a barely visible slit. The main part of this instrument is a crystal lens about six feet in diameter. It is inlaid on a circular platform made of astral metal called "star steel". In addition to the reflection of the armor that the non-commissioned officer had painstakingly processed, there was only a silver void that shimmered with various points of light.

But these humanoids in the astral plane saw more from it.

They continued to observe the psionic probe for a moment, then reacted quickly. A dark yellow button was triggered, and the cable connected to it made a shuddering ripple, rattling the magic bell installed in the fortress barracks. The guards stationed on the lower floors of the watchtower nervously wound the ballista, adjusting the angle of fire, and the ghostly light flowed on the blades of spear-like arrows - as soon as the crossbow machine was moved, it would be fired by the unearthly elastic tendons, piercing the target to the heart. If the opponent is clever or lucky enough to dodge, the arrow will fly forever in the astral space with no gravity or air resistance, until it hits some floating object or some unlucky guy running around the astral plane.

The whole fortress stirred like a disturbed hive. One after another, the soldiers rushed out of the fortress and lined up in a small fan-shaped square in front of the main entrance of the fortress. Each of them has a distinct personal character on the ground armor. The weapons in the hands are also specially processed to create a bizarre shape and be extraordinary.

At the commanding officer's order, a group of warriors close to the edge of the square ran and jumped, leaving the ground and leaping into the endless astral boundary without hesitation. They didn't fall into the silver abyss beneath the fortress or dance like drowning fools, in fact they didn't even make any physical movements—they just put their legs together, held their weapons steadily, and "swam" out with great smoothness and swiftness. Unbelievably fast, it confronted the giant flying monster that approached while devouring starlight in the display of the psionic probe.

As far as Morrill knew, movement in the astral plane was different from anywhere else. Here, well-developed muscles and strong strength don't do much, because the astral plane has its own rules. Psychic energy and willpower are the sources of power for travelers, and there are two more

Growing wings doesn't make you move faster - you have to do that. And the female mage believes that this is what Forty-Seven lacks the most.

However, it is said that non-sapient or self-aware creatures such as zombies or golems cannot move a single step in the astral plane, which provides another argument for Forty-Seven that he is not an ordinary construct. She turned her head to look at the dragon's outstretched wings. Blade-like wings cut through the astral mist, leaving a clear trail of burning clouds in the silver void.

Forty-seven is enjoying the feeling of the moment. The wind of the astral realm was blowing around him, the earthly energy reaction from the wind made him satisfied and thirsty, and the endless sea of stars contained the spiritual projections left behind by countless consciousnesses in infinite time - they may have long since disappeared in the material world, but in the realm of spirit and energy, this is everything.

Suddenly, a shimmering humanoid appeared in his field of vision, as if it had suddenly no-clipped out of the astral void. The dragon didn't change direction, but slammed straight into them. But the humanoids had the flexibility to defy the common sense of physics, first flying away in all directions to avoid Forty-Seven, and then turning back to follow. Much faster than him, quickly forming a loose encirclement behind the dragon's tail.

Forty-seven can't do what they say, turn and turn. Perhaps he hadn't completely shaken off the shackles of the material world's way of acting, but the dragon's shining body suddenly rippled like water waves, and the overall structure changed with the energy of the shock, and in an instant. He had reshaped like a mass of fluid, turning back to face the guys from beginning to end.

"The Gies?" Morrill recognized them.

"Saiyan!" Forty-Seven muttered in a low voice.

The Gis warriors also watched the two people in front of them vigilantly. There is no doubt that they are the main material guys. Especially the little girl whose "ignorance" in her mind overflowed into every expression. But they weren't your average prime matter - as an ancient race that had been wandering the astral plane for thousands of years, the Gise had lived a much longer history than the existence of intelligent beings in many planes. They're well-informed, so they can tell if the Billy Traveler in front of them is fragrant fresh meat, tough bones, or as dangerous as the Dreadnought.

Neither the female mage nor the girl had behind them a silver thread that connected to the physical body of the material realm and could allow them to return at any time. Proof that they are traveling in the astral plane as entities. The guy who did that was either stupid enough or strong enough, and judging by the hand that the dragon had just played, the latter was more likely.

"Hmm...... It's a pleasure,...... See you, strong ...... Hit the Gies. Morriel tried to say hello with some difficulty, but she didn't learn dragon language very well.

The non-commissioned officer leading the Guise reconnaissance team floated forward a little. He looked down at Morriel proudly, the strangely shaped silver greatsword in his hand shimmering with a liquid sheen: "I speak your language. ”

"Thank you. The female mage did not change her sense of direction in the astral realm because of the other party's position, because according to the record, it was easy to be considered weak: "We are just a few plane travelers who are looking for a portal to the astral plane...... Honorable warriors of the Guise, may I ask what you are doing to stop us?"

"You are approaching our city. The non-commissioned officer spoke the lingua franca a bit nasal and indistinguishable, but there was no difficulty in communicating: "If you just don't mean to, then go another way, in the silver sky, you have countless directions." ”

Morrill thought for a moment. The Guise are the most common inhabitants of the astral plane, though not native - and notorious. Their greatest hobby is to enrich their arsenals by raiding and plundering, making all kinds of weapons of war, and most of the time they are out-and-out bandits. But maybe they could get some of the possible directions of the portals out of their mouths...... And what kind of reward you need to pay depends on your status in the eyes of the Guise people.

"My friends and I have no intention of offending the lives of the Guise people. Morrill said, "We're just passers-by in the astral plane......"

"Now we just need a safe place to rest. Forty-seven continued, not as Morriel meant: "Say-Gis warriors, may I wait for a short stay in your city?"

He spoke as he looked at the Guise. In front of his terrible dragon head with sharp horns, the Gies were very thin. Forty-seven looked at them from different angles, his slender neck coiling like a snake, and his body stretching and twisting in the light—a strange shape that made him seem to encircle the Guise, and the flapping wings of the dragon wandered away like a gigantic fish. During this period, he consciously or unintentionally glanced at the silver blade in the hands of the Guise people.

The Giess looked a little nervous.

The non-commissioned officer's gaze involuntarily chased the two red fires in Forty-Seven's eyes, as if he was not sure that they would not be at ease there.

"Wait, travelers. When Forty-Seven's gaze stopped on his face, the non-commissioned officer glared back stubbornly, but activated the psionic communication stone around his neck.

Then the non-commissioned officer's yellow eyes fell into a state of lifelessness - he held the communication stone in front of his forehead, and his stiff body froze motionless in astral space. Morriel watched as the light formed by the psychic power emanated from the polyhedral shape of the Communication Stone, extending several feet before disappearing into the silver void. During this time, the other soldiers were all lined up close to the non-commissioned officer, and they were clearly put on alert.

Moments later, the non-commissioned officer returned to normalcy.

"Follow me. ”。