Chapter 300: Chapter 296: Free Flight
Flight, something that humans have always yearned for.
In the past, it was a privilege exclusive to birds, and humans had never touched the sky.
While Mages can fly, it is hard to call it true flight, after all, it’s challenging to consider continuous floating or gliding for a certain distance as flying.
Even though early airplanes hardly qualified as true flight, the Wright Brothers’ plane flew for a shorter time than a paper airplane during its first ascent, but it was, after all, the first successful venture by humans to use sustainable power to send a person into the sky.
It was neither a glider nor a hot air balloon but a machine that could continually provide power, allowing humans to fly successfully and persistently.
The magnificent history of human aviation in the original world began with this seemingly cruder thing than a glider.
However, in this world, Perfikot not only kicked the wheel of history but also gave it a nitro boost, now she soars in the sky wearing flight knight armor.
The feeling of flight is so free and unfettered, Perfikot felt completely unrestrained by anything.
The thrust provided by the flight backpack on her back was unexpectedly powerful. If she hadn’t been controlling the steam turbine’s output, she might have performed a subsonic flight by now.
In fact, the design of this flight knight armor was already capable of flying solely on the output of the flight backpack, but the power output of the two 220-horsepower steam turbines was still a bit excessive.
And when Perfikot activated the anti-gravity field of the Flying Stone, the maximum flight speed of the flying knight armor could nearly approach the speed of sound.
Perfikot dared not attempt to break the sound barrier. After all, this was the first test flight, and many design details of the flight knight armor were still incomplete, and Perfikot feared an accident when breaking the sound barrier.
It’s important to know, in the original world, when humans were researching supersonic aircraft, they relied on the fearless spirit of pilots who continuously attempted and broke barriers, a process in which many perished in the sky.
They proved the possibility of supersonic travel with their sacrifices, demonstrating with their lives that pilots were free souls not bound by gravity.
But Perfikot still didn’t have the courage, as her life now held extraordinary significance for this world.
If she were to die now, it would be a devastating blow to the entire world.
Playing with the flight knight armor installed with Flying Stone was not much of a problem. Even if the flight knight armor suddenly exploded, Perfikot was confident enough to save her life, and the other Flying Stone she kept close ensured her safe landing.
Therefore, Perfikot dared to taste the sensation of flight, becoming the first human to fly freely.
But this was entirely different from using her head to break the sound barrier. Though her body had been fortified by alchemy, its strength was thrice that of a normal human, it didn’t mean she could withstand the tremendous impact generated while breaking the sound barrier.
That impact could shudder to pieces a plane made with metal skin. Even though Perfikot had confidence in the defense of the flight knight armor, she didn’t want to do such a thing.
At the very least, she didn’t want to be the first reckless fool to do so.
So, after circling Eagle’s Beak Cliff twice, Perfikot quickly landed.
"Count! Before you do such dangerous things again, could you consider the feelings of those of us who are here to protect you?" Samantha asked Perfikot with a very angry expression and a severe tone.
Facing Samantha’s questioning, Perfikot merely smiled and said, "Don’t be too tense, Samantha, it’s just testing my new design. I designed and built it myself, and I have enough assurance and confidence in its performance. Even if something goes wrong, I can ensure my safety.
Look, I even have another Flying Stone on me. Even if it crashes mid-air, I can ensure a safe landing, so you don’t need to worry so much."
As Perfikot spoke, she pulled out another Flying Stone hanging from a chain around her neck from her collar.
Samantha’s face eased a bit upon seeing the Flying Stone hanging around Perfikot’s neck, but she solemnly said to Perfikot, "Count, you now hold the safety of the entire Northern Territory. Even if you don’t consider yourself, you must consider the stability of the Northern Territory and the Empire!
If something happens to you, it would cause a massive earthquake for the entire Empire, even affecting the whole world! I hope you won’t engage in such dangerous behavior in the future!"
"Okay! Okay! I got it, I’ll be careful in the future." Perfikot replied to Samantha, though speaking so, there wasn’t a trace of acknowledging her mistake on her face.
Samantha felt quite helpless seeing her this way but had nothing more to say.
After all, Perfikot was the Count of the Northern Territory, her identity and status were far above Samantha’s, and Samantha’s advice to Perfikot was only something she would hear if she wanted to; if she didn’t, all of Samantha’s words were in vain.
So Samantha didn’t dwell on the issue further, instead advising Perfikot, "Count, even if you want to test new inventions, you can let your knights take the lead. I believe every knight of the White Bear Knight Order would be willing to sacrifice their lives for you.
Even if you deem them unsuitable, you could recruit volunteers from the entire Northern Territory or even the Empire. I’m sure countless individuals would be willing to serve you as volunteers in this endeavor, making it unnecessary for you to conduct such dangerous experiments personally."
"No, Samantha, you don’t understand, the title of ’first human to fly freely in the sky’ is something I will never yield to others." Perfikot’s face was full of a satisfied pride. She detached herself from the flight knight armor, then patted her new invention and said, "Moreover, as an Alchemist, one should be the first to try out their own inventions and creations. If I doubt its safety, how can I assure others of its safety?"
Having said that, Perfikot looked at the White Bear knights who had now surrounded her, their eyes eager and longing as they gazed at the flight knight armor.
Seeing their reaction, Perfikot smiled immediately. She understood their feelings well, so she laughingly said to them, "Do you want to try the feeling of flying?"
The answer was naturally affirmative.
However, Perfikot mischievously added a sentence at this moment, "Want to fly? No problem, as long as you can meet one precondition."