Chapter 48

The anti-aircraft gun installed at Achimlab Fortress ceased firing.

Its muzzle, pointed skyward, was glowing red from overheating and spewing out large amounts of smoke.

Count Dman ascended the ramparts.

His cloak flapped in the wind, creating an imposing atmosphere.

And then.

Boom!

The engagement resumed with a spectacular main cannon shot from the enemy's medium-sized airship.

As Count Dman's eyes glowed, a large shield unfolded in the air, perfectly blocking the main cannon.

"Hmph...!"

Perhaps due to the instantaneous use of an unbearable amount of mana, Count Dman staggered, clutching his eyes.

But his disarrayed appearance lasted only a moment.

Knowing that a commander leading a battlefield should not show weakness, he quickly regained his composure with a normal expression, though he couldn't hide a slightly distorted look.

The enemies began to surge forward.

The White Hero's airships rose into the sky, and infantry ran across the desolate plain, trampled by countless boots.

"Waaaaah!"

Despite the considerable distance, perhaps due to their sheer numbers, their shouts and the loud engine noises filled the vast battlefield.

In response, the Alliance's airships rose into the sky.

Unit 917's airship did the same.

The White Hero's airships rapidly closed the distance.

Then, the moment their main cannons' range was secured, both sides' airships, as if on cue, fired their cannons at each other.

Unit 917 took a slightly set-back position, biding its time so as not to be swept away by the insane waves of the battlefield.

"Hmm…"

Selina frowned, craning her neck to look up at the sky.

The old man, also looking up, muttered to himself as if throwing out a casual remark.

"The weather is quite bad. We should be careful of rain and lightning."

As he said, the weather was not good today.

The clouds were stained gray, as if rain would pour down at any moment.

Pouring rain would obstruct visibility, making them vulnerable to long-range bombardment, and lightning strikes, sudden and unavoidable, were a disaster that human reflexes could not counter, making it virtually impossible to block with a barrier.

It seemed natural disaster, a third force, was interfering with the war between the White Hero and the Alliance.

Not only us, but all Alliance commanders participating in this war would be on high alert, wary of the natural disaster.

Only I.

Through my Eye that Seeks Truth, I knew something more terrifying than lightning existed.

Even Count Dman was unaware of its presence.

‘What should I do now?’

What I had to do now was figure out how to naturally convey this information.

Selina was the only one who knew about my Eye that Seeks Truth.

Even then, she only knew that I could see things others couldn't, including the nurturing system, but she didn't know about the existence of players or the chat window.

No matter how much I trusted Selina, I couldn't reveal that much.

I racked my brain, but no brilliant idea came to mind.

‘Is there no other way?’

In the end, only methods that would put me at a disadvantage came to mind.

But what could I do?

If I didn't convey this information, half of the fortress would be obliterated, and Unit 917, including myself, would surely be annihilated along with the fortress.

I had no choice but to choose the lesser of two evils.

I looked around.

There were a total of eight people on the deck: five members of Unit 917, the old man, Selina, and a veteran sailor.

The sailor and the old man also trusted and cared for Selina, so trusting Selina ultimately meant trusting all of them.

I looked up at the sky. And in that state, I used my Eye that Seeks Truth.

"..."

My heart pounded rapidly, and my breathing quickened, thinking that black flames must now be visible in my eyes.

Even after using my Eye that Seeks Truth, all I could see were dark clouds.

However, I frowned as if I had seen something I shouldn't have.

And.

"Selina."

I called her.

"Yes. What's… R-Ryan?!"

She rushed towards me in surprise, extending her hand to cover my left eye.

However, those who needed to see had already seen.

Lirisa shook her head from side to side, glancing at the people, and the old man's face was filled with horror, as if he had seen something he shouldn't have.

But the most spectacular was, without a doubt, Selina.

Her flustered glances around made her look like a hamster startled by a noise and wary of its surroundings.

I removed her hand.

I had already deactivated my Eye that Seeks Truth since the whole point of using it was to put on a show for her.

With this, all the preparatory work was done.

All that remained was to push forward.

Selina thrust her face close to mine, as if she were about to grab me by the collar.

"What are you thinking? I told you not to use it in front of others, but did you even listen to me properly—"

"Selina."

My gaze was still directed towards the sky.

Only then did Selina, with a serious expression, look up at the sky.

When I was sure her gaze and mine were directed at the same place, I uttered the words I had prepared.

"We have to go above the clouds. Right now…!"

"..."

Selina said nothing.

She simply revealed her intentions through action.

Hastily tapping her rank insignia, she attempted to communicate with the supreme commander, Count Dman.

However, despite several attempts, no reply came.

It could be that the communication traffic was too heavy for a proper connection, or that the other party was too busy to inevitably ignore the communication.

Ultimately, failing to obtain Count Dman's permission, Selina exhaled deeply and opened her mouth.

"Unit 917…"

She paused for a moment after uttering just a single word.

Not only the soldiers but also the sailors who had gathered on the deck, one by one, held their breath and stared at Selina.

"Rapid ascent!"

Having made her decision, the power in Selina's eyes and voice had changed.

Her gaze, her voice, instilled confidence in everyone.

The sailors moved busily, and the airship rapidly increased its altitude.

The sky, which had felt infinitely distant, rapidly drew closer.

Lirisa, gripping the railing and squinting as she looked into the distance, urgently cried out.

"It's coming!"

"Elder!"

Selina urgently called the old man, and Oscar, who had been posing and stroking his beard in a corner, nodded.

The eyes of both mages glowed simultaneously.

Blue and black defensive barriers simultaneously enveloped the airship.

Crack…

A chilling sound was heard, and at the same time, a flash of light engulfed our vision.

KABOOM!

A tremendous impact struck the airship.

The airship shook so violently that it was difficult to stand properly even while clinging to the railing.

The sound of lightning striking swallowed all other sounds around.

Even Lirisa's scream right next to me couldn't be heard.

The flash quickly subsided, and as the thunderous sound quieted, the buried sounds were unearthed one by one.

The two defensive barriers were so damaged that their form was unrecognizable, and a part of the airship was charred black as if it had been burned.

If there hadn't been two defensive barriers, the airship would have lost power and fallen helplessly.

In the distance, the main cannon of a medium-sized airship could be seen spewing smoke, aimed in our direction.

"...They shot at us."

Selina murmured with a trembling voice.

The corners of her mouth were slightly upturned.

Below us, numerous airships were engaged in battle.

A fierce offense and defense, so intense that no one could say who had the upper hand.

Small and ultra-small airships had no means of resistance, so if a medium-sized airship fired its main cannon, the tide of victory would instantly swing towards the White Hero's side.

All the Alliance could do was desperately hold out, sacrificing allied personnel until the next anti-aircraft gun was ready.

Nevertheless, the enemy fired a weapon that could instantly turn the tide of the battle at a mere ultra-small airship.

"That means they themselves have proven that there is something very important above these clouds."

The old man nodded, his gaze fixed on me. It was an intensely burdensome look.

The airship rapidly ascended, eventually entering the sea of dark clouds.

Because lightning was moving within the black clouds, they had to maintain the defensive barrier continuously while passing through the clouds.

Selina and the old man would be forced to expend a considerable amount of mana.

Nevertheless, there was a reason to break through this thick layer of dark clouds.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, light poured down.

They had finally succeeded in breaking through the thick layer of dark clouds.

In the bright sky, incomparable to the dark underside, we stood at our respective positions as if by prior arrangement, surveying our surroundings.

And.

"Enemy ship, found it!"

Sergel shouted in a louder voice than usual, pointing in a specific direction.

In the place his fingertip indicated, a single ultra-small airship bearing the White Hero's flag was rapidly approaching.

The White Hero's airship, which had been cruising freely above the sea of dark clouds, suddenly turned its bow.

"It seems they've spotted us too."

"What should we do? Lady."

To Selina's murmur, the veteran sailor approached, asking for the plan.

Selina, however, looked not at the sailor but at me.

"Was that airship what Ryan saw?"

"It's not just a regular ultra-small airship."

"It seems so. To think it's just an ordinary ultra-small one… Its speed is too slow."

Despite the considerable distance, she immediately pinpointed the problem with the enemy airship the moment she saw it.

Selina was indeed a capable commander.

Even the veteran sailors only realized this fact and their eyes widened after hearing her words.

"Pursue."

As soon as the order was given, the airship's speed surged, forming a steep curve, as if it had been waiting.

Since Unit 917's airship performed well for its size and the opponent's speed was slow, the distance rapidly narrowed.

At the forefront, I used my Eye that Seeks Truth once again.

This time, it wasn't just for preparatory work, but to ensure that the information I had was correctly used before engaging in battle one last time.

And.

High-density mana bomb.

A large bomb in which mana is condensed at high density.

"What do you see?"

Selina, who had approached my side, asked, tidying her hair scattered by the wind.

"High-density mana bomb."

"…My god."

Selina pressed her lips together, as if speechless.

What would have happened if I hadn't checked the chat window using my Eye that Seeks Truth yesterday?

The thought alone was terrifying.

Mana bombs.

They possessed considerable power, but their efficiency compared to the investment was not very good, and their drawbacks were so clear that they had practically become obsolete.

Nevertheless, the reason mana bombs were occasionally used was their immense power compared to the amount of mana consumed.

The White Hero's strategy was to drop an ultra-small airship carrying a high-density mana bomb from above and detonate it.

It would sacrifice one of the White Hero's airships, but in return, it could have blown away half of the fortress.

It was not a bad strategy.

If it hadn't been for my Eye that Seeks Truth, the White Hero's operation would have successfully concluded, and I, along with Unit 917, would have been reduced to a handful of blood and ash along with half of the fortress.