With a series of roars, the first group of three planes left the airport one after another.

“Which side do you think will win?” Tilly asked.

“...Uh, wanna bet a Chaos Drink?” Sylvie said uncertainly.

“No, just guess.”

The latter seemed relieved. “Then I’ll guess Group Two. They were all selected from the First Army, right?”

“Indeed,” Tilly nodded. “Camilla, what about you?”

“It doesn't matter to me, Your Highness,” Camilla Dary sighed. “Although this thing is indeed magical, thirty-odd people are equivalent to only ten or so Terror Beasts. Even if it doubles or triples, its impact on the situation is still quite limited. I’m afraid it’s not worth your concern.”

“Only for now,” Tilly smiled. “When I first came to Neverwinter, the factories by the river could be counted on one hand. Look now, they’re almost reaching Shallow Beach Port. Besides, the Terror Beasts now are no different from those four hundred years ago, but these things have only been around for half a year, and they've been modified several times. Who knows how they'll develop in the future?”

“...” Camilla was silent for a moment. “I can't argue with you. But Sleeping Island still needs attention. I’ve been here for too long.”

“I’m sorry, I made you worry.”

“No, Your Highness—”

“I know,” Tilly said frankly. “You were supposed to leave Neverwinter after the Northern Expedition, but you stayed because of my problem. Thank you, Camilla. I’m fine now.”

The chief steward met her gaze for a few seconds before nodding slightly. “I understand. But Sleeping Island can’t be managed by me alone. If you have time, it's best to go back and take a look. The witches who stayed behind are all looking forward to your return.”

“...They still don’t want to come to Neverwinter?”

“No. Some people are just… too deeply hurt.”

Although it was only a small portion, it also represented that the bloody and cruel past had not completely disappeared.

Perhaps it never will.

“I’ll go back after the War of Divine Will is won,” Tilly said.

“What if the war can’t be won?”

At this moment, the second group of planes roared across the runway.

Tilly didn’t answer, but smiled. “Training has begun… Let’s go.”

…

“Hey, do you think Her Royal Highness can really pay attention to the movements of six planes at the same time?”

Fin Kin roared from behind. The airflow rushed against the fuselage, making whistling sounds. If you were facing the sea breeze, the noise could almost fill the entire cabin. You couldn't hear each other unless you shouted loudly.

“That’s the Princess’s business! What she says goes!” Goode also roared back. At this moment, he noticed that four of the six “numbers” at the distant airport had turned green, indicating that Group Two was taking off.

Since they couldn't stay over the Academy, the three planes in Group One almost simultaneously chose to detour towards the sea. He couldn't see the movements of planes four, five, and six, but there was no doubt that the opponents had noticed their route, so they would definitely not follow immediately. Climbing and speeding up take time, and rashly entering the advantage area of the first flyers would inevitably put oneself at a disadvantage.

“The thought of the Princess watching me makes me a little nervous! If she can judge the direction of the reticle, her line of sight must overlap with mine, wouldn’t that mean she’s in my arms—”

The plane suddenly dropped a bit.

Interrupted, Fin Kin shouted, “What are you doing! Control it steadily!”

“I’m saving you, you idiot! If the Princess can see the reticle, do you think she can see your mouth movements? You’d be lucky to go mining in the mines then!”

The latter immediately shut up.

Goode looked around through the gap between the wing and the fuselage. He could only vaguely see a black dot moving near the horizon, and the other plane had completely disappeared. Obviously, everyone had chosen to fight on their own.

Apart from some basic concepts, Her Royal Highness had not taught them specifically how to do aerial combat. Everything had to be judged by themselves. Perhaps even the Princess herself didn’t know—after all, air knights were something that had never existed before, and it was normal to explore from scratch.

Since there were no rules to follow, choosing an open airspace and improvising after discovering the opponent was also a safe approach.

He thought for a moment, turned the heading, and flew towards Shallow Beach Port.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“West, go around from the factory area!”

“Go around? Wouldn’t it be better to wait for them here?”

“But that’s just an equal opportunity!” Goode shouted while turning, “Think about it, how will they fly!”

He really didn't care about winning or losing, but the winner's flight time would obviously be longer.

“How else can they fly? They’ll raise their altitude and speed, and then find us at sea!”

That’s right, since they didn't know when Group Two would be ready, the first flight group couldn't get an accurate strike time. This made them more inclined to be on the defensive, like a knight who had chosen a battlefield waiting for the opponent to launch a charge.

And there was a way for him to seize the best opportunity to strike first one hundred percent of the time.

That was when Group Two had all its attention on the planes at sea.

On open ground, it’s usually difficult to escape detection when a team moves over a large area.

But the sky is not the ground. Besides left and right, there is also up and down.

“If only we can see them, but they can’t see us, then we can break the equal situation!” Goode shouted his thoughts out loud, “You don’t think they practice less than us, do you?”

“Ahahaha… so that’s it!” Fin Kin patted him hard on the shoulder. “I thought I was cunning enough, but I didn’t expect you to be even more treacherous, kid! But I like it, let’s do it!”

Treacherous… are you praising me or scolding me? Goode rolled his eyes, lowered the nose of the plane, and fell towards the sea. The altitude quickly converted into speed, also hiding the fuselage under the sea cliffs. At the lowest point, the wheels of the plane were about level with the top of the mast of a seagoing ship, and such low flying also caused the sailors on the ship to look sideways in unison.

When the plane flew over Shallow Beach Port, the pier even erupted in cheers and whistles!

But the reactions of those migrants were obviously different. They stared blankly at the sky, their expressions horrified, and there was even a slight commotion in the line waiting to disembark.

“Don’t fly too low, or the police department will sue us, and we’ll have to sweep the toilet for another month!” Fin Kin reminded.

“Don’t worry, this distance should be enough.” Goode slowly pulled back on the control stick, and the plane slowly jumped out of the horizon, rushing into the factory area—which was equivalent to the west side of the airport, and there were plumes of smoke rising all year round. It was unlikely that Group Two would choose to climb here.

“Hmm?” Tilly, who was concentrating on watching the sky through the Magic Eye, let out a soft hmm.

“Are they… running away?” Sylvie also noticed this scene.

“Maybe they’re just restless,” Tilly said with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

In the vision of the Magic Eye, the entire sky was unobstructed—the three biplanes of the second flight group had all taken off at this moment. Unlike the first group, the First Army cadets did not immediately go to the sea to find their opponents after taking off. Instead, they continued to circle in the north, and only after the third plane was ready did they fly south in a row.

Although this move took a longer time to gather, it also kept the three planes from being too far apart.

Interesting. Tilly muttered to herself. She had neither taught the students methods of confrontation, nor had she arranged simulated combat airspace and formations. It could be said that whether they dispersed to fight alone or formed small teams to act collectively, it was all their own decision.

There was no doubt that no matter who won or lost, after today, the combat section of the Flight Manual would no longer be a blank page.

“Sure enough, they’re not here.” After confirming that there were no traces of opponents, Goode immediately increased the throttle to the limit.

The plane roared and climbed to a high altitude. Only after the wind around him gradually subsided did he switch to level flight, heading southeast.

There were no landmarks in the boundless sky. At this time, even if the people in Group Two looked over from a distance, they would only regard the sesame-sized black dot as a hawk.

Plane number two circled a large circle and returned to the Air Knight Academy from the rear.

And at this time, the three biplanes of Group Two had flown into the Whirlpool Sea, accelerating towards their closest target!