161: Chapter 161 Meeting

Amelia sat in the cockpit, watching the distance on the radar gradually shrink, her palms sweating slightly from excitement as she gripped the joystick.

A dozen minutes later, the carrier aircraft arrived at the designated airspace.

Amelia looked forward through the porthole, her pupils constricting sharply.

She gazed at the Cloud Top Fortress in the sea of clouds.

'Is this the foundation of the mysterious force that saved the Guild Leader?' Amelia was secretly shocked in her heart.

"Beep—"

Just then, the carrier aircraft's encrypted video communication channel suddenly lit up, and a forced access request popped up. Amelia did not hesitate and immediately clicked to connect.

The holographic screen flickered, and then, a face that haunted Amelia's dreams and caused her to worry day and night appeared clearly on the screen.

"Guild Leader!"

Amelia's voice was distorted with excitement. Where in the screen was there any sign of the miserable, critically injured appearance of Grace?

Her stunningly beautiful face was glowing, her skin as fair as jade, and the dignified, regal aura between her brows was even more captivating than it had been in her prime.

"Amelia, thank you for your hard work."

Grace looked at her most loyal subordinate, a gentle smile appearing in her deep cyan eyes.

"As long as you are safe and sound, anything I do is worth it!"

Amelia took a deep breath, forcing down the stinging sensation in the corners of her eyes.

"We can save the reminiscing for later. Follow the guidance coordinates and park your fighter on the helipad at the top of the fortress."

Grace issued the order from the other side of the screen.

"Come down first; I will introduce you to our White Feather Guild's benefactor."

"Understood, Guild Leader!"

Amelia pushed the joystick, and the silvery-white carrier aircraft, guided by the Cloud Top Fortress's tractor beam, headed steadily toward the steel gate slowly opening at the top of the fortress.

"Hiss—"

As the carrier aircraft's hatch opened, Amelia walked quickly down the ladder. When she saw Grace up close, completely unharmed and with an aura even more unfathomable than before, this female general, known for her coldness and iron-blooded nature, couldn't help but feel her eyes redden slightly, and she knelt on one knee to perform the most standard Winged Tribe military salute.

"Guild Leader! You have finally returned!"

"Get up, Amelia. You have all suffered during this time."

Grace stepped forward, helped her up with both hands, and then turned to introduce the people behind her.

"Come, let me introduce you. This is Lord Zhou An, the owner of the Cloud Top Fortress and the benefactor who saved me from Cormac. These two are Ms. Li Muzi and Doctor Shen Xingyue, and that is Luo Ning."

Amelia stood up, her gaze scanning the people in front of her sharply.

Besides Ivy and Sheila, whom she was familiar with, the composition of this team made her feel very surprised.

Li Muzi was dressed in business attire, looking gentle and quiet, like a civilian staff member without any combat ability; Shen Xingyue was in a white lab coat, and although her temperament was cold, she looked more like a pure researcher or medical worker; the girl named Luo Ning, although boisterous, did not look like a combatant either.

In the entire team, apart from the young man Zhou An, who had his hands in his pockets and eyes as calm as water, and who made her feel a trace of bottomless danger, the others did not seem to possess the ability for a direct assault.

'Just relying on these few people, how did they manage to bring the Guild Leader out from the heavily guarded bottom layer of the LV6 flagship without anyone noticing?'

Amelia was full of doubts, but out of absolute trust in the Guild Leader and respect for the benefactor, she restrained herself and suppressed these questions in her heart, respectfully bowing and thanking Zhou An and the others.

"Great kindness needs no thanks, Lord Zhou An. If there is any need in the future, Amelia will not refuse even at the cost of her life."

Zhou An nodded slightly and said indifferently, "No need for pleasantries. Let's talk about the intelligence you brought first. What is the internal situation of the White Feather Guild now?"

Everyone moved to the central hall to take their seats. Amelia took a deep breath and reported everything that had happened in the holographic conference room, including Cormac's disguise, Ronan's coercion, the extreme shortage of supplies, and the miserable state of having to secretly hide the seriously wounded within the formation, in detail.

After hearing this, Grace's originally gentle eyes turned completely cold, and the temperature in the hall seemed to drop by several degrees.

"Cormac... Not only did he betray his comrades, but he is also draining the last drop of blood from the Guild!"

Grace's slender fingers gripped the armrest of the sofa tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"Does he really think he can cover the sky with one hand?"

"Guild Leader, although Cormac has lost the trust of most mid-level officers, he still holds the treasury, as well as the core flagship and his trusted inner guard battalion."

Amelia looked worried and glanced at Zhou An.

"If we are to fight head-on, although the fortress on Lord Zhou An's side looks powerful, it is, after all, just a base. Facing the concentrated fire of one LV6 flagship and over fifty LV5 warships, I'm afraid..."

Amelia's worry was not unreasonable; in her understanding, seizing power meant ship-to-ship bombardment between two opposing armies.

"Who said we were going to go head-to-head with his fleet?"

Grace sneered.

"Dealing with Cormac is actually very simple. I will go to him in person and personally twist off his head."

"Go in person?!"

Amelia was shocked, "But Guild Leader, Cormac is surrounded by Tier 5 loyal guards, and the flagship's defense matrix is always on; we can't even break through the outer defensive perimeter!"

"No fleet is needed, and no breakout is required."

Grace curled her lips into a calm arc and pointed to Zhou An beside her: "Lord Zhou An will help me directly 'skip' those tedious steps. We don't need to face his army; we only need to face Cormac himself."

"Skip... steps?" Amelia was stunned, her face full of confusion. How could a defensive barrier just be skipped?

"Don't ask what shouldn't be asked; you will know when the time comes."

Grace did not explain the trump card of the space warp, but stood up, patted Amelia on the shoulder, and issued the final order.

"You must return to your Third Formation immediately and pretend that nothing has happened."

"When we have dealt with Cormac and regained the highest authority of the 'wind chaser' to broadcast to the entire ship, you must immediately lead your subordinates to stabilize the situation, take over the surrounding formations, and prevent anyone from mutinying in the chaos. Do you understand?"

Although she still felt that this "strike at the heart" tactic was like a fantasy, looking at Grace's determined and dignified eyes, Amelia instantly regained her backbone.

"Understood! Your subordinate will wait in the fleet for the Guild Leader's return!"