Kiana and the Captain's Bizarre Adventure

Chapter 308 Alpa: The Clown. (jpg)

When Chasca and his group arrived on the hot air balloon, the captain had already been standing there for a while.

"Huh? Captain, how did you get up here?" Paimon asked curiously. "I didn't see you come up, so I'm a little curious."

"It's nothing, I just used teleportation."

"Teleportation?" Paimon immediately realized what was happening and stomped his foot angrily. "Fine, you can teleport without even telling us! We've been stuck here thinking about it for ages, I'm getting angry!"

"What if I said that this teleportation can only teleport one person at a time?"

"Huh? Is that so? I'm sorry, I didn't know." Paimon quickly apologized.

"Okay, I was just kidding. Actually, teleporting ten people at once is no problem," the captain laughed.

"Ugh!!!" Paimon puffed out his cheeks angrily at the captain. "You're really something! I'm really angry this time! I've decided that from now on, I'm making you steer the ship!"

"The boatman..."

The captain's lips twitched slightly; to be fair, the nickname suited him quite well.

“Now is not the time to argue, business is more important,” Chasca said.

Sora was also comforting the angry Paimon from the side. Before long, Paimon's anger completely disappeared. Rather than saying that she had only complained a little bit.

"Although we're already up here, how exactly do we operate this hot air balloon?" Chaska looked around and realized she knew nothing about the equipment on the hot air balloon. At that moment, she couldn't help but think of Shinonin.

If only she were here, but that was just a thought in Chaska's mind. Besides, they weren't completely without options, so Chaska took out Tepar's notebook and began to examine it.

However, the data and technical jargon were somewhat obscure and difficult for Chaska to understand. Fortunately, Chaska was not the only one present. With the help of the captain and Sora, the group finally activated the hot air balloon's ascent function and flew towards the unknown altitude.

After a period of ascent, the hot air balloon slowly came to a stop on a platform. Seeing that the hot air balloon had stopped, the captain was the first to step off the platform.

After all, for the current captain, a mere freefall from 10,000 meters is nothing, not to mention that he can also ask Ai-chan to activate the emergency teleportation device to send him back to the Hyperion.

After confirming that the outside world was safe, the captain called the rest of the crew down. Perhaps the other party knew in advance that someone was going to break in, or perhaps the other party just happened to be out. In the huge aerial workshop, there were only a few guards watching over and maintaining the normal operation of the aerial workshop.

After quickly dealing with the guards, the group began to rescue the Velvet Wyverns trapped in cages that could extract phlogiston. However, the situation was not optimistic. Some Velvet Wyverns had been drained of too much energy and were completely lifeless, while others were lying on the verge of death in their cages.

Seeing the scene before them, everyone couldn't help but feel nervous. After all, Koya's child was just a juvenile velvet dragon that had only been born a few years ago. Even these adult velvet dragons couldn't survive in this cruel aerial workshop, let alone Qimei, who was just a child.

Seeing this, Koya became even more anxious and vented her frustration on the spot. If Chaska hadn't calmed her down in time, the equipment here might have been affected. Finally, following the leftover operating manual, everyone released the cages one by one. The vertical coordinates of the aerial workshop were not far from the Flower Feather Society, and it was believed that once the cages landed safely on the ground, the Flower Feather Society would naturally retrieve them.

After completing these tasks, the group followed the path constructed from various platforms and eventually arrived at the core area of ​​the workshop.

Even after arriving here, there was still no sign of the little velvet pterosaur, which inevitably made the heart that had just been put at ease jump again.

“In any case, let’s search the vicinity first. If we still can’t find any trace of Chime, we’ll go back and search again,” Chasca suggested.

So everyone began searching for useful clues in the vicinity. After a while, the captain found a suspicious letter on a table. After reading the contents of the letter, the captain's expression became serious, and he quickly called everyone over.

After reading the letter, Chaska had his answer.

"Why was this letter sent to the Flower Feather Society? Why did Tepar yearn for the sky? And how was he able to obtain the relics of Ash City? I think we already have the answers."

“That’s right, Tepar… is the child I had when I was wandering aimlessly after I became a Wingless One.”

A familiar voice rang out behind them. Judging from the direction the voice came from, it seemed to be coming from the sky, and the owner of the voice was someone they knew very well.

As everyone turned around, a female figure descended from the sky. Although she was wearing a mask, based on her voice and figure, it was not difficult for everyone to guess that this [Tepar] was Elder Alpa.

"His birth instilled hope in me; I believe his mother will one day be a knight soaring through the skies, not a lost and aimless wanderer."

But his father wanted to return to the tribe peacefully and give his child a stable life. The argument eventually escalated, and their past friendship crumbled…

After landing, Alpa removed the mask from his face and continued to explain: "His father formed a new family with another travel companion who was planning to return home, while I... returned to the Flower Feather Society alone."

"Alpa!" Paimon exclaimed, after all, she was the only one who was still out of it and hadn't guessed the identity of the person who had arrived.

"I just never expected that this child would follow them to the Echoing Children, yet his heart would always belong to the sky. Do you know how overjoyed I was when he appeared before me and said he wanted to participate in the flight trials?

How proud I was when he told me he didn't want to curry favor with me as an elder and wanted to hide his identity and fly to the sky on his own.

…When he was rejected by the velvety pterosaur, and like me when I was injured, was forced to become a wingless one…how much pain I felt…”

After calming his overflowing emotions, Alpa chuckled and said, "Please don't misunderstand, Chaska, I'm not here to fight you. Let's talk—just like you've always liked. You already knew about Tepar's vision on your way here, didn't you? That all humanity could share the same blue sky…"

If his dream comes true, from now on there will be no more lost wings. Our air power will be far greater than before, and the regrets brought by war will be greatly reduced... Tragedies like those of Aoi and your mother will never happen again.

Chaska…are you really willing to let the Flamewing Wings remain gathering dust?”

“That’s not a reason for you to stir up trouble,” Chasca retorted.

Yes, now all the truth is known. Tepar was born outside of the Winged by Alpa when he was still a Wingless. The relics of the City of Ashes and this aerial workshop were secretly funded by Alpa in their early days.

The real Tepar is dead. The current Alpa is just a pitiful woman who has gone mad in her search for her child, but that is no reason for her to incite tribal conflicts and harm the Velvet Wyverns.

“You mean the gossip in the tribe? Sometimes, the only way to get people to accept something new quickly is through this method.” Clearly, Alpa didn’t care about that. “When a mother coaxes her child to take bitter medicine, does she do it to hurt them? No, even if it’s hard for a while, the child will eventually understand his mother.”

Burning Essence Wings are a bitter pill to swallow; without giving up the small benefits of the Velvet Wyverns, the Flower Feather Society cannot progress. Once the Flower Feather Society accepts Burning Essence Wings, even if they know the source of refined Burning Essence, how could they give it up? They will convince themselves that sacrificing some Velvet Wyverns for the greater good is worthwhile, and they will not relinquish their power to dominate the skies.

I just didn't expect you to act so quickly... you investigated this place right after the Burning Essence Wing was first launched.

"Your plan is far from perfect."

"Heh... but it's not too late, Chaska, Kong... you are the hope of humanity. I know you will question my actions, but my enthusiasm for humanity and Nata is absolutely genuine. Chaska, you know that for so many years, I have always regarded everyone in the Flower Feather Society as my own children. I hope that you, as humans... can understand my thoughts."

Kong immediately retorted, "Don't dream about it."

“Alpa, Nata is not just Nata, a human, and Chaska is not just Chaska, a human.”

Chaska also offered a rebuttal, and Koya behind him roared in agreement.

"How many times has the Abyss invaded Nata? They are stronger and larger than us. The current peace is just a temporary peace summoned by that being. Sooner or later, the Abyss will return. Besides, Nata is still a kingdom of humans and dragons. You once told me... that reconciliation achieved by force will not last more than a few days, because bonds are the cornerstone of civilization."

To disregard the bond between humans and dragons and seek power solely for oneself—that's as foolish as using this arm as a war club!

"How could that beast, driven only by its instincts, possibly understand human bonds?"

"It's hard to imagine that you can still be called a Velvet Wyvern Knight now." The captain finally couldn't help but speak up, "The bond between humans and dragons...aren't you standing right in front of me as a living example?"

"You mean Chaska? Ha... Well, people raised by dragons naturally know how to communicate with these wild beasts..."

"Just give me enough!"

The captain rushed forward, grabbed Alpa by the collar, and punched him in the face. Alpa, who was knocked to the ground, dazedly covered the spot where he had been hit, before the captain pulled him up.

"Isn't your Nata a country where humans and dragons coexist? Don't you train your dragon companions by cultivating feelings from a young age? Even cats and dogs develop simple feelings for humans after spending a long time together, let alone dragons, which are creatures with a certain degree of intelligence?"

How much longer are you going to remain trapped in the cage you've built for yourself? Wake up! Isn't the reason Tepar hasn't been able to produce a final result precisely because this technology would harm the velvet dinosaur itself?

"Captain, is it?" Alpa, regaining his senses, pushed the captain away. "It seems I don't need to say anything more. Take a look at this."

Immediately afterwards, the cage holding Qimei fell from the sky.

"This is a cage that can extract phlogiston? You really hid Chime away." The captain said, and the others immediately assumed a fighting stance.

"Before I came here, I had already instructed my men to take over the Flower Feather Society while the tribe's strongest warrior and strongest external support were away."

"Take over? What do you intend to do to Mutota and the others?" Because Chime was still in their hands, Chaska dared not make any rash moves and looked sharply at Alpa.

"It's just accelerating the demise of the conservatives, Chasca. If you hadn't pushed me so hard, I wouldn't have wanted to come to this. Since you're unwilling to join, then stay here obediently and wait until everything settles down before going down."

"What negotiations? Your real goal is to stall us, isn't it?"

“No, Chaska, I do hope you can understand me. You are all exceptionally strong among humans. Lay down your weapons, and I promise I will not harm this little dragon. As long as you stay here peacefully for ten days or half a month, and let our people control the situation, I will let you leave safely with this little dragon.”

At this moment, Mavica was brought up, saying, "Do you think Lord Vulcan would agree?"

"As long as the majority of the Flower Feather Society agrees with our dream, even Lord Vulcan has no excuse to interfere in the tribe's internal affairs."

"The Flower Feather Society... will never condone your distorted dreams!"

"Is that so? Then you can stay here and wait to see the results."

"Hey, haven't you forgotten something?" the captain said. "You don't actually think I'm just their hindrance, do you?"

Unbeknownst to them, the captain had already rescued Chime and placed her behind Alpa, the muzzle of the Heavenly Judgment weapon pressed against Alpa's head.

"when?!"

Alpa's face contorted in a ferocious expression. She never expected that the captain she had excluded was actually no weaker than Chaska and Kong!

It should be noted that Chaska is one of the six ancient name holders, and his strength is self-evident, making him the undisputed strongest within the Flower Feather Society.

Kong, who had served as an outside aid in the war against the Abyss's all-out attack, had demonstrated strength no less than that of the six heroes. Alpa naturally wouldn't underestimate him, which is why he used Chime to restrain the two of them.

Alpa went to great lengths to keep the two of them occupied, but who would have thought that the captain was the one who was hiding the deepest secret, managing to rescue Chime and come up behind her without anyone noticing.

"I suggest you don't move around too much, or I can't guarantee the gun won't go off accidentally."

A gun? Alpa glanced at the Judgment of Heavenly Fire in the captain's hand and noticed that the weapon was extremely similar to the muskets in the hands of the Fatui, and both radiated powerful fire elemental energy. However, compared to the Fatui's muskets, the Judgment of Heavenly Fire in the captain's hand appeared to be smaller and more exquisite.

Realizing that his chances of winning were slim, Alpa gave up resisting, and Chasca eventually escorted Alpa back to the Flower Feather Society.

When Alpa's men within the Flower Feather Society saw their leader arrested and Chaska return, they instantly lost their fighting spirit. Thus, the coup within the Flower Feather Society ended in a dismal fashion.

Alpa and her men were also imprisoned on multiple charges. The place where she and her men were imprisoned was the aerial workshop, which had been mostly demolished.

Now that things here have been resolved, it's time to head to the City of Ashes—Ochikanata, once known as the Holy City.