novelraw Chapter 83 : Chapter 83
Chapter 83 : Chapter 83
Chapter 83
A single streak of light split the sky.
The powerful mana of the cannonball flew, drawing a pillar of light, as if a shooting star that had fallen to the ground was returning to the sky.
“Observer!”
Even amidst the intense noise, Saeb’s urgent cry was clearly audible.
Saeb, clutching the communicator so tightly it seemed it would break, looked more frantic than ever before.
A sound came from the communicator Saeb was holding, but it was too faint and the surrounding noise too loud to be heard.
However, Saeb’s expression relaxed as if he had heard the answer he wanted.
Immediately after, a large, shimmering circle formed before Saeb’s eyes.
Inside the circle, a blue sky stretched out.
And at its center, a massive black shadow was subtly hidden within a sea of clouds.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE…
As time passed, the cannonball resembling a shooting star disappeared from view, and the noise and light subsided.
From here, there was no way to confirm whether the cannonball fired from Ederka had reached its destination safely.
But that was what magic and observers were for.
“Rian Kaltz. Selina Verdin. You may come closer and confirm. No, I recommend you come closer in case an unexpected problem occurs and a swift response is needed.”
At Saeb’s call, Selina and I, who had been keeping some distance, approached him.
Selina, as if fascinated by the sight before her, examined the shimmering circle from various angles with eyes like a curious cat.
“This is the vision-sharing magic mainly used by observers, right? I have never tried it, but I heard it is very difficult to learn… Besides, this is the first time I have seen such a clear screen without any shaking. The observer must be very skilled.”
“He is one of the top ten talents in the Empire. Unlike other novices, he can stably transmit a clear screen without any shaking or blurring…”
“Huh? The screen is shaking.”
“…”
As if to mock Saeb’s praise while boasting about his subordinate, the screen, which had been stable until a moment ago, began to shake slowly.
However, it was not due to the observer’s mistake or lack of ability.
A small dot that had not been there before appeared on the screen.
The tiny dot, like one made with the tip of a brush on a canvas, swelled in size at a rapid pace, like ink spreading on paper.
As the dot grew larger, the shaking of the screen intensified, and soon, a sound that tore through the air began to be heard.
[Main cannon, approaching at high speed!]
Immediately after the observer’s tense voice was heard.
A loud warning sound blared from Demersia.
It seemed they had identified the incoming cannonball and were moving to take some sort of action, but it was far too late.
The cannonball flew without a single deviation and struck the exact spot we were aiming for.
The engine room on the third basement level.
KRAKOOOOM!
[Aaaargh!]
I could feel a splendid explosion and a fierce storm raging even through the screen.
The reconnaissance airship must have shaken violently, as the screen borrowing the observer’s eyes vibrated intensely before finally going dark.
The only sounds were a loud noise of all sorts of things mixed together and the observer’s screams.
“Observer! Pull yourself together and focus on your role!”
Saeb slammed his fist on the table and roared.
It seemed to have an effect, as the blacked-out screen slowly brightened.
The first things to be seen were the deck of the airship and a hand, presumably the observer’s.
The screen was still shaking violently.
The observer staggered, grabbed the railing to stand up, and captured the distant Demersia on the screen.
The curtain of clouds that had been densely distributed around Demersia, as if protecting it, had scattered in all directions with the flow of the air, and as a result, Demersia, which had looked like a shadow, was completely revealed.
Apart from the external design, the basic framework of Demersia and Ederka was not very different.
A huge hole was pierced in the engine room located on Demersia’s third basement level.
Flames that had risen from around it were gradually spreading in a wider direction, and black smoke soared high into the sky.
[Uh… uh… A h-hit! It is a hit!]
Simultaneously with the observer’s shout, which was close to a cheer, Demersia tilted sharply.
Demersia, leaning forward precariously, twisted its body like a child trying to right itself from falling, but its engine room and main systems had already been blown away.
Whatever it did was nothing more than a meaningless struggle.
Eventually, Demersia’s altitude began to drop slowly.
[Demersia is falling!]
“Finally…”
An undisguisable emotion showed on Saeb’s face.
It was impossible to even imagine how strong the wave of emotion Saeb felt upon encountering the moment he had longed for for so long would be.
But one thing was certain: this was not the end.
There was still work to be done.
“Lord Saeb.”
“I know.”
Saeb nodded, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, as if to calm his excited heart.
In the meantime, the speed of Demersia’s fall toward the ground increased.
At first, it was so slow that one wondered when it would reach the ground, but then gravitational acceleration took over.
On top of that, due to air friction, flames spread across the entirety of Demersia.
The sight was reminiscent of a giant meteor falling from the sky.
“Demersia’s fall angle… It is slightly off from the prediction, but it is within the expected range.”
“Karam 212-04 Unit. Commence bombardment toward point C-23!”
[This is Karam 212-04 Unit. Firing in 3 seconds. 3… 2… 1… Firing!]
“Observer!”
[Observation result… A hit! Demersia’s trajectory has changed, and points C-23, 21, and 24 have been destroyed!]
“Karam 212-04 Unit, move to the next operation area! Senos 1090 Unit, point A-3. Mergan 338 Unit, point P-78. Firing in 3 seconds.”
As Saeb counted down the seconds, the main cannons of two airships that had been waiting in hiding on-site fired simultaneously.
In response, the trajectory of the falling Demersia shifted slightly.
The number of airships deployed in advance exceeded thirty.
The airships moved quickly, carrying out the operation according to Saeb’s instructions, and accordingly, the trajectory of the falling Demersia was gradually corrected in the direction we wanted.
The observer followed Demersia to the very end, capturing everything in his eyes and transmitting it to us.
Before long, Demersia was buried in the thick sea of clouds.
The observation ship also followed as closely as possible.
All that could be seen on the screen was white.
And a moment later.
The clouds disappeared, and the vast blue sea stretching out below revealed itself.
[The sea level is visible!]
Perhaps feeling a great burden from his assigned role, the observer relayed information that was not strictly necessary.
I swallowed dryly.
I had been trying my best to act composed until now, but I could not help feeling anxious.
Unlike Saeb, for whom failure in this operation would end in disappointment, we would be dragged into a battlefield with a high probability of defeat and have to fight for our lives.
“Please…”
Selina, who seemed to share my feelings, clasped her hands together and fidgeted.
Below, on the surface of the sea, lay the corpse of Roka, dead and belly-up, and two huge groups gathered around it.
The fleets of the Purity and the Alliance.
Demersia was falling on their heads.
There must have been a very small mistake, as Demersia’s fall trajectory was slightly off from what was expected.
However, it was impossible to change the trajectory with additional bombardment.
The airships could not keep up with Demersia, which was falling at a terrifying speed with accumulated acceleration, and there were no pre-deployed airships left.
The fast observation ship was following as best it could, but the gap was only widening.
However, it was not that there was no way.
If the trajectory could not be changed, then the target’s coordinates could be changed.
“Lord Saeb, we need to strike the right side of the target now.”
“Understood.”
Saeb nodded and made a call somewhere.
In the meantime, the Purity airships, having confirmed that Demersia was falling on their heads, began to move quickly.
As if to prove they were not a motley crew, they identified a safe zone and tried to move toward it by the shortest route.
The entire Purity fleet moved eastward.
However, the Alliance’s large airship, which had hastily turned its head, fired its pre-loaded main cannon in that direction.
KRAKOOOOM!
A blow incomparably stronger than the one I had seen from the medium-sized airship at Achimlab Fortress completely blocked the Purity fleet’s path of movement.
A few small airships that reacted late were swept away by the main cannon, but the rest managed to brake safely.
Following that, the Alliance’s airships closed the distance and began a simultaneous bombardment.
The Purity forces calmly blocked the airship’s bombardment and resumed their movement.
However, the brief moment of hesitation to avoid the large airship’s bombardment brought about a disastrous result.
The falling Demersia directly hit a small airship that occupied the highest altitude.
The small airship was crushed and distorted without being able to put up any proper resistance.
Demersia did not lose its momentum from that.
BOOM! KABOOM!
The Purity airships exploded with a sound reminiscent of fireworks bursting high in the night sky on a festival day.
It crashed into the blue sea, crushing numerous airships below it with the same falling speed.
The displaced water, making a refreshing sound, became an angry wave.
“…”
A heavy silence hung over the command headquarters.
The observer on site was also at a loss for words, staring blankly at the sea surface.
Demersia, which had been stuck vertically in the sea, slowly lay on its side, engulfed in flames.
The sea surface in the area boiled, and a large amount of steam rose.
After a long silence.
The observer barely managed to open his mouth.
[R-reporting… The Purity fleet. It is estimated that about 68 percent of it has been crushed and destroyed by Demersia. This includes a large airship.]
My heart felt like it was being squeezed tight by a rope.
It was a success.
No, a great success.
We had not annihilated 100 percent of the enemy, but we had not hoped for that in the first place, and we thought it would be a success if we could just erase one large airship from the battlefield, but we had succeeded in sinking both.
Of course, our side was not entirely without damage.
While there was no direct hit, the strong shockwave and the high waves caused small and micro airships to sway back and forth, colliding with each other and crashing.
But I could say for certain.
The tide of victory had already turned greatly.
And the commanders operating the airships on site could not have been unaware of that fact.
Whether someone had given a signal or not, we could not tell from here, but the Alliance’s airships all charged toward the enemy at once.
A fierce battle began, but it was clear that the end of this battle would be a victory for the Alliance.
“Let us go too.”
Selina pulled me along.
I was here because I was the proposer of this operation, but the place where Unit 917 was supposed to be was over there.
“Rian Kaltz.”
Saeb called out to me as I was about to leave the command room, following Selina.
What was he thinking?
Saeb, with a complex look in his eyes that was hard to read, paused for a moment as if thinking about something, and then opened his mouth.
“When the battle is over, return to Ederka. I promise you a just reward for the merits you have established in this battle.”