Chapter 154
Chapter 154
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: For Paradise
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'This... this is wrong!'
The Sky Knights of the Laviter Empire had shifted into a natural attack formation while following the Gold Wyverns belonging to Neruman.
They maintained their wedge-shaped assault line even relying on the faint light of the crescent moon.
The result of grueling training.
If any other kingdom's soldiers saw it, they would be in awe of the Empire's magnificent flight.
But Commander-in-Chief Count Lukens felt his mouth go bone-dry.
The landscape of Neruman, one he could sketch with his eyes closed.
Before he knew it, Denfos—the heart of Neruman's core cities—loomed ahead.
'No lights...'
At this hour, a bustling central city like Denfos should be ablaze with magical lamps and radiant lights pouring from every corner. Instead, it was pitch-black, like a ghost town devoid of a single soul.
On top of that, the air above the city thrummed with taut, razor-sharp auras.
Anyone who could sense mana knew it instantly.
The nature of that energy: killing intent.
'No way... a lure?'
He had ignored the ominous feeling before arriving here.
But now it was unmistakable.
Denfos.
Something unknown lurked within.
"Strike the Aerie first!"
He couldn't stop now.
Today's opportunity was too perfect to heed his instincts screaming danger.
Even if the enemy knew, it didn't matter.
As long as that man called Kayer wasn't here, Denfos would be reduced to ashes before the night was out.
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"Heh..."
As darkness swept in, he felt the chill of the cold air settling onto the air plate.
Protected by magic, he didn't feel the actual cold, but the fury of the north wind churning in his heart sent an icy chill creeping inside his armor.
And then he saw them.
The Laviter invaders, oblivious to the wyverns hovering above their heads, shifting into ground-bombing formation and channeling mana into their spears.
They surged past the pitch-black walls of Denfos, charging straight for the Aerie.
'No better spot than this.'
A gift for the invaders deployed at the Outer Aerie.
"All mounts, raise your heads to the sky!"
"Yes, sir!"
My Sky Knights positioned high above Denfos.
I relayed orders to the squadron leaders.
Then I closed my eyes.
Every wyvern and Sky Knight lifted their gazes to the heavens.
The defensive magic circles I'd installed long ago at the Outer Aerie and various points along the Denfos walls.
Some of them now primed for activation, emitting blue light as they drew in mana.
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'Huh?'
Count Lukens and the Laviter Sky Knights, mid-attack, spotted what looked like wyverns lying sprawled in the Outer Aerie.
The Gold Wyverns that had carried the fleeing mages—who'd attacked and run—had vanished.
Denfos appeared utterly defenseless at a glance.
The extinguished lights aroused suspicion, but amid the darkness, the sight of wyverns resting outside the hangars eased their minds.
'Th-that's!'
But that was as far as it went.
Lukens and his Sky Knights, mana surging into their blessed spears for a bombing run, confirmed the "wyverns" lying motionless.
Wyverns hastily fashioned from hay used as horse feed.
Fwaaah!
Before they could react, blue light erupted from the Aerie and surrounding areas.
'Magic!'
No mages themselves, they couldn't identify the spell precisely, but the glow and mana flow screamed extraordinary power.
"Uh..."
His mouth fell open unbidden.
Even with the defensive magic on the wyvern armor and over 200 meters distance, the sheer magical radiance made his heart pound.
Fwaaah!
The completed arrays unleashed their spells.
Shiiiiiieeeeek.
Dozens of magical projectiles streaked skyward, trailing long tails.
The Sky Knights, in the midst of their assault, instinctively tracked the spells with their eyes.
Bwoooooom.
The rising magics detonated in midair.
No explosion sound followed.
Just an instantaneous storm of light severing the world from view.
"Urk!"
"Gah!"
The Sky Knights, dazedly staring at the arrays, squeezed their eyes shut in unison.
They saw nothing.
Their fragile eyes wounded by light dozens of times brighter than the sun—a white storm of brilliance.
Kuaaaaaaaa!
Kiaaaaaa!
The wyverns, alongside their riders, struck blind by the light spell, shrieked and flapped wildly.
'We... got hit.'
Lukens forced his eyes open to assess, but his damaged retinas showed nothing.
An unimaginable method of attack.
A mere 1-circle Light spell had blinded 500 Sky Knights in an instant.
"Attack!"
Kuaaaaaaaa!
Kiaaaaaa!
A powerful voice laced with mana rang in their deafened ears.
Followed by the enraged roars of the furious wyverns.
Shiiieeeeek!
Shwishshwishshwish.
His heightened hearing, sharpened by blindness, caught the spears slicing through the air.
'Ka... Kayer...'
Lukens finally grasped the situation fully.
He was here.
Neruman's lord, Kayer.
He had descended to defend his lands.
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Pah!
The 1-circle Light spells burst forth in an instant.
Even gazing skyward, the overwhelming wave of light—enough to melt the moonlight—temporarily blinded him.
"Argh!"
Kuaaaaaaaa.
Screams rose from below: Sky Knights and wyverns alike.
If those facing the sky suffered this much, those hit directly might lose their retinas permanently.
'Impressive.'
A defensive spell on the walls, building on how I'd used light and sound against wyverns before.
Powered by 3rd-grade magic stones, I'd crafted Light arrays.
A secret defensive magic known only to me, not even my other knights.
One solid hit.
A mere 1-circle spell with no offensive power, but amplified with 6-circle mana output, it was on another level.
Dozens of them? Impossible to keep eyes open.
'Time to reap the harvest.'
Vision restored after the brief flash, he turned Bebeto downward.
'Total chaos.'
The Laviter Empire wyverns, orderly in formation moments ago.
Now blind, they careened wildly through the sky.
Pbabam! Kwaaang!
Some collided midair; others plummeted to the ground at full speed.
"Attack!"
"Chwang!"
Loyal knights' cries echoed in their helms.
Shwishshwishshwish.
Shwaaaaaaaa.
My territory's wyverns—encircling the enemy from all sides except their approach vector—swooped like hunting falcons.
Pbeeeeeeng.
Blessed spears tore through space.
Long mana trails slashing the air.
Pbababam.
Kuaaaaaaaa!
"Arghhhhh!"
A whirlwind of screams.
Even amid it, knights and wyverns whose sight returned fled on instinct.
Pabababam.
But it wasn't just Sky Knights.
Territory knights and soldiers manning the anti-wyvern heavy ballistae.
They unleashed volleys of magical bolts at the fleeing wyverns.
Kuuung! Kukuung! Kung!
Wyverns crashing to earth, each impact a thunderous boom.
Kueeeee...
Their death cries echoed endlessly.
And in a moment, the black horde blotting Denfos's skies vanished.
A short, devastating blow.
Today too, Victory Goddess Ormion smiled upon him.
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"Th-they're coming! Evacuate!"
Kueeeeeek!
A wyvern, right wing joint pierced by a spear, spiraled drunkenly toward the Aerie hangars.
Denfos and the Aerie now blazed with magical lamps and torches.
At the guard's shout, people near the crash site scattered in panic.
Kueee...
Its massive bulk demolished an entire hangar on impact.
From the dust crater, it let out a pitiful wail, its hardy vitality on display.
"Spray it with sleep potion!"
Preparations were perfect.
Soldiers rushed forward with alchemy-brewed potent sleep agents and holy water.
'My lord! Incredible!'
Derbal witnessed yet another legend unfold.
The enemy wyverns threatening Denfos moments ago—gone.
Now the skies held only the shadows of Neruman's valiant wyverns.
Derbal's eyes tracked one in particular.
A black wyvern gleaming with golden stripes under the moonlight.
Astride it, Neruman's lord Kayer gripped the reins, circling Denfos in a triumphant lap.
"Knights and soldiers, capture the enemy wyverns that fell outside the walls!"
A command amid surging emotion.
Kayer, his lord, had secured a great victory with an unimaginable, bizarre tactic.
Soon, it would echo across the continent.
Invade Neruman lightly, and you'd suffer humiliating defeat like the Laviter Empire.
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'What is your true identity?'
Aegis, princess of the Bazran Empire—now merely a refugee.
She had joined Neruman's wyverns in battle.
But she hadn't fired a single spear before it ended.
Positioned in the rear from the start, hundreds of wyverns plummeted like shooting stars earthward in a blink, no chance to engage.
"Sky Knights, land at the New Aerie!"
Commands echoed through the sky.
The enemy wyverns never knew.
Communication magic embedded in squadron leader Sky Knights' helmets.
Invaluable for aerial combat.
Squadrons didn't judge independently; they received orders and responded in perfect, organic unison.
And today, it led to total victory.
"Kayer..."
Aegis whispered his name softly.
She gazed at his noble silhouette slicing through the moonlit sky.
Believing he would protect not just Neruman, but her—forever.
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"Congratulations on the great victory, my lord."
"Congratulations!"
In a warehouse of the unfinished Grand Cathedral of Neruman.
Knights leaped from wyverns landing one after another in the vast Aerie.
They saluted me upon my landing, eyes burning with fervor.
'Whew...'
A long sigh escaped.
Finally, the calm feeling of home.
'Spacious, perfect.'
The New Aerie, not yet officially in use.
Twice the size of the old hangars.
Runways and fields ample for hundreds of wyverns to land simultaneously.
In the central field of the Aerie, my knights gathered.
"You've all done well."
Betrayed into crisis, but that traitor handed us gains too.
Wyverns equivalent to two Empire legions—annihilated.
Even mighty Laviter couldn't cavalierly eye Neruman after this loss.
They knew full well it could threaten the Empire itself.
'Need to bolster the Sky Knights.'
Wyverns reusable if they survived.
Light damage to eyes treatable with holy water, mostly.
"My lord, punish this humble servant."
Unable to dismount amid the throng to greet the knights, Jenis stepped forward and bowed.
Betrayal by her own subordinate.
She knew well the dire crisis it brought to Neruman.
"To punish you, I must punish myself first."
"..."
Jenis lifted her head, eyes glistening at my words.
"Berces... was my knight. This happened due to my failings as lord—no one can be punished."
"Ah..."
Truthfully, Jenis was pitiable.
How deeply she'd trusted her retainer.
Likely more shocked than I.
Punishing her made no sense.
"My lord, how about it? Time for a feast today?"
Raiker, ever prioritizing food and revelry in life.
"You've all worked hard! With you by my side, I'm happy today as ever. My knights! Drink deep to victory! In honor of Victory Goddess Ormion and Festival Goddess Sepir, I permit you raise your goblets!"
"Waaaaah!"
"Long live Neruman!"
"Long live Lord Kayer!!!"
The knights cheered like children.
A small happiness after the savage winds of battle.
A gentle smile touched his lips.
With these men, Neruman would always be happy.
Tomorrow, they would run onward again.
Toward the paradise that would be completed—for me, for all of Neruman.