Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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>Translator: Lord First
>Chapter: 32
>Chapter Title: A Night of Counting Stars (6)
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*
The Sky-Reaver at least had its Phantom Staircase, but the airship had no such thing. And humans have no wings.
Therefore, infiltrating an airship—one floating placidly high in the sky, completely unguarded in the dead of night—was an incredibly difficult task.
And now, they had to do just that: infiltrate the airship, intimidate the captain, and deal with the entire crew without any fatalities.
“At sea, a warship is often compared to a fortress. An airship, then, could rightly be called a celestial fortress.”
Oswald spoke with a gentle smile. He wasn't wrong, but his words were grating.
“That bastard really thinks he’s an elf.”
“He is a real elf. Can’t you see his ears?”
“Wow, he’s gone full knife-ear, body and soul. Hey, Boss! I have a brilliant idea!”
Yujin grumbled and shot his hand into the air. When Ivan nodded at him, he puffed out his chest proudly.
“That knife-ear can just use [Feather Step]!”
“How many times do I have to tell you I’m a mind sorcerer? Is your human learning capacity that low?”
“Wow, this guy has really become a knife-ear. Why would we team up with a mage who can’t even use Feather Step? Boss, let’s just grab someone from the School of Magic. Preferably from the School of Destruction.”
“[Mind Schism].”
Purple mana swirled at Oswald’s fingertips, and Yujin’s pupils went slack.
Yujin lowered his head, drool dripping from his mouth.
Silence fell over the club room.
*Useful,* Ivan thought with a nod.
“We just have to wait until evening.”
“Is the warship suddenly going to land in the evening or something?”
“No, but the people who need to go to the warship will show up.”
The Krasilov monarchy had given the warship three days to withdraw. That was yesterday.
And yesterday evening, Elizaveta had issued an ultimatum: withdraw within a day or be shot down.
The warship’s captain must be feeling anxious. By tomorrow, the entire monarchy could launch a military operation. Even if they didn’t, he would assume Elizaveta was planning some kind of move today.
That meant the captain had to contact the Crown Prince by today. It was his only way to turn the situation around.
He wouldn’t be able to move during the day. As long as the Counter-Intelligence Command existed, the entire Pritschenkaya region was under Elizaveta’s watch.
So it had to be evening, or at least after the sun had set.
“Even if… the Crown Prince’s side contacts the warship, how are we supposed to squeeze in?”
“They’ll use a carriage enchanted with a levitation spell.”
“Exactly. Are we supposed to ask them to make some room for us in the carriage?”
“No.”
Ivan glanced at Oswald, who was watching him with suspicion, then at Yuri, who was still looking around nervously, and finally at the stupefied Yujin. He then spoke to Yuri in a serious voice.
“If you had to carry one of them on your back, who would you choose?”
“Huh…?”
“Excluding me. Who would you carry between those two?”
Yuri looked at the two young men with trembling eyes. One was a golden-tanned hunk, the other a slit-eyed hypnotist.
The slit-eyed hypnotist had even just proven his abilities by casting a hypnosis spell on the golden-tanned hunk.
Yuri bit her lip tightly, then barely managed to answer.
“Y-Yujin… I’d rather….”
“Rather…?”
Ignoring Oswald, who flinched with a hurt expression, Ivan readily nodded.
“Then I’ll carry Oswald.”
“But why are we suddenly carrying people?”
“Because we’re going to be hanging on.”
They were at an altitude of about 800 meters. While ridiculously low compared to a modern aircraft from Earth, it was an impossible height for people in this pre-modern world to reach.
Even with Earth’s highly developed civil engineering, 800 meters was the height of the Burj Khalifa—a height only attainable by the tallest structure ever built.
If they tried to ascend to that altitude using another levitating vehicle, they would undoubtedly be spotted beforehand.
Therefore, to infiltrate without being seen, their only option was to hide underneath the carriage the Crown Prince’s faction would send for contact.
The only problem was whether they had the stamina to hang on underneath a carriage.
Oswald looked completely incapable, and Yujin didn’t seem very reliable. He might be good with a sword, but he was still a priest.
Yuri, on the other hand, was the top student in the Knight Division. Aside from Mord, she was considered the strongest first-year in practical skills. Carrying one person while hanging on for about ten minutes should be doable for her.
“You say that as if you’ve infiltrated a ship by hanging in mid-air before.”
“Fortunately, I’ve done something similar.”
“Seriously, what kind of life have you lived? Ah, not that I’m particularly curious.”
Ivan ignored Oswald’s remark and stood up. There was much to prepare.
“Get warm clothes and arm yourselves fully, then come to the astrology spire at the School of Magic.”
In Krasilov, every season except summer was not much different from winter. It was a cycle of a short winter, summer, a medium winter, and a goddamn winter.
This meant it would be quite cold to be flying at an altitude of 800 meters in the middle of the night, hanging from a carriage. The transmigrators shivered as they mulled over Ivan’s words.
*
After waiting, sprawled on the roof of the spire since evening, Ivan and the transmigrators finally stood up and stretched their stiff bodies well after the sun had set.
The cold had made their hands numb. The transmigrators sighed and tried to warm their hands and feet. A while later, Ivan finally lifted his head.
After darkness had blanketed the surroundings, making the streets seem even darker under the shadow of the massive ship, a small light flickered for a moment.
“Get ready.”
Ivan rolled his shoulders once to loosen up and drew his axes. He spun an axe with a rope attached to it, then extended it straight out to gauge the distance.
The ropes tied to the two axes were fastened to Yuri’s and Ivan’s waists, respectively.
After confirming that Yuri was carrying Yujin, Ivan slowly drew his arm back.
“Here it comes.”
The transmigrators swallowed nervously. Ivan was staring intently at a point somewhere in the dark, empty night sky.
Mana flowed. Mana, finely tuned, coursing through Ivan’s muscle fibers.
Oswald, clinging to his back, was inwardly amazed at its precise arrangement.
“You go first.”
“Huh? Y-Wha—?! Aaaaaahhh!!”
*Fwoooosh!!*
Ivan didn’t wait for Yuri’s reply before throwing his axe. The handaxe shot through the night sky in a clean, straight line.
The rope attached to the end of the axe jerked taut, and Yuri, tied to the other end, was yanked into the air as if hooked by a fishing line.
In an instant, Yuri’s silhouette vanished into the darkness.
“Hold on tight.”
“W-Wait a minute. I’m not mentally prepared yet…! Wait, wait, maybe we should reconsider—!!”
*Fwoooooosh!!!*
“Ugh-argh-aaaaaaahhh?!!!”
Oswald shrieked, foaming at the mouth, as the ground receded in an instant and the harsh wind slapped his cheeks.
The fear of death, a sharp ringing in his ears, a sense of floating as if he’d been dropped from the sky… *I must be crazy, calling this a plan…!* Oswald reflexively gripped Ivan’s shoulders and wailed.
“Ugh…! Uuugh…!! Urk…! Huh…?”
The deafening noise that had been battering his ears suddenly stopped.
As Oswald looked around with dazed eyes, he saw a pale-faced Yuri and Yujin right beside him.
They were hanging from the carriage’s wheels.
“Uh…? Uhhh…?”
“Whoa…”
In the distance, they could see the spire they had leaped from. *This distance…? He crossed it by throwing a handaxe…?* They looked at Ivan with a newfound sense of awe.
“Won’t we get caught like this?”
“Of course we will.”
Ivan could already hear the commotion from inside the carriage.
The people inside weren’t deaf. The carriage had suddenly lurched, gaining the weight of four people, and an axe had struck it head-on. There was no way they wouldn't notice.
For now, they were fine since no one could open the carriage door or see below the wheels from the window, but that would only last for a moment.
The moment they reached the deck, they would be surrounded. The Crown Prince Aleksandr himself wouldn’t be on board, but they had just ambushed a carriage carrying his envoy, so an attack was inevitable.
In other words, a stealthy infiltration had been impossible from the start.
Realizing this, the transmigrators stared at Ivan with dumbfounded expressions.
“So what do we do now?”
“Hold on.”
“Huh?”
Ivan stared straight ahead into the night sky and slowly pulled the axe from the carriage.
Below the clouds, the airship was gradually drawing closer.
After confirming the blinking lights on the deck guiding the carriage’s landing point, Ivan hooked Oswald onto the carriage wheel and hung on with one hand.
Then, he aimed the retrieved axe straight ahead and tilted his head slightly.
“No way. You’re not abandoning us, are you? Boss, are you abandoning the Patriot Squad? Is there no loyalty?”
Ignoring Yujin’s nonsensical rambling, Ivan pulled his arm back and channeled his mana.
A stealthy infiltration was impossible from the outset.
In that case, a feint was the right move. It was only natural. The Annihilation Squad had always adhered to the doctrine of creating confusion among the enemy right before infiltration.
They weren't exactly sacrificial pawns… but they were decoys to divert attention.
Besides, two of the transmigrators were nobles—one a high-ranking military aristocrat—and the other was an elf.
This meant that even if they were attacked, they wouldn’t be executed on the spot. If only students showed up, there was a good chance it would be dismissed as a childish prank.
That’s why he had said, “no killing the crew.” To prevent the situation from escalating into a life-or-death struggle.
“I’ll come find you soon.”
“No, wait, Boss…? Boss!!”
*Fwoooooooooosh!!!*
Ivan hurled his axe toward a point in the night sky. The powerful recoil shook the carriage, and when the transmigrators opened their eyes again…
Ivan was gone. He was already streaking through the darkness of the night like an arrow.
“That crazy flying Santa Claus. He doesn’t even need a Rudolph.”
“Hahaha… What do we do now?”
“What do you think?”
Yujin gritted his teeth as he watched the rapidly approaching deck.
“We clear the quest.”
*If the reward for this quest sucks, I swear I’ll find a way to kill that damn status window.*
*
Ivan was hanging below the warship’s hull, his axe lodged in a cannon port.
The harsh wind rushed past his ears. He felt a sense of floating beneath his feet, and far, far below, the streets looked like scattered grains of sand.
If he fell, he would die. No, not even a fragment of his limbs would remain.
“Hup.”
*Crack!!*
From that height, hanging by one hand, he twisted his waist to generate momentum and slammed his other axe into the cannon port.
*Crack! Crack! Crack!*
*Creeeeak!!*
He swung steadily, expressionlessly, swaying precariously as if he would fall at any moment.
Silently. As if chopping wood on solid ground.
Soon, the wooden cannon port gave way, creating a hole large enough for a person to fit through.
*Weee-ooo!! Weee-ooo!! Weee-ooo!!!*
The interior warning lights flashed frantically, and he could hear the sound of crew members rushing about.
*The diversion was a success.*
Ivan nodded numbly and threw himself through the dark opening of the cannon port.
Now, in this place.
The woodcutter has arrived.
*