Chapter 87
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Chapter 87 - 악연 (4)
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Chapter 87
Evil Fate (4)
Some time ago, before I was possessed by this damn game, in my previous life, I witnessed a power plant exploding.
The forces that had invaded a thermal power plant in Gangwon-do during the dead of night were all repelled, but a bomb that hadn't been defused detonated, and flames shot up from Unit 3.
In the blink of an eye, the fire spread to the surrounding facilities, causing a terrible disaster with immense loss of life.
The memory of that time and the scene unfolding before my eyes now slowly overlap.
We're screwed.
That was the only thing that came to mind. From the outset, the entire premise of this operation was flawed. The problem was that both I and Colonel Soni had only thought of the Sovye Empire as a slightly extreme and insidious nation.
I mean, I knew about the mutant technology already... but I never thought they'd actually use it.
And of all places, it had to be this Remansk Ordnance Factory.
The plan to simply deploy an assault force to seize the facility and frame it as the work of the 'rebels' was completely shattered by the appearance of the mutant.
The Sovye Empire had already lost all its cards. Their closely guarded secret—the dark underbelly of their biological experiments—had been exposed, and the Omen Pearl they had just stolen from the Ukran Duchy was taken back.
Ultimately, for the 'powerful gambler' who had lost everything, there was only one thing left to do.
Flip the table.
Along with erasing the very record of their defeat.
"Damn it! Damn it!!"
Curses erupted from all over, right in front of all the officers, including the Colonel. Most of them were soldiers.
In a situation where their lives were hanging by a thread, the officers and non-commissioned officers, the backbone of the unit, were in no position to reprimand the soldiers.
After all, they were probably cursing up a storm on the inside as well.
"If the armory gets caught in the explosion, it's really over! Raise the altitude right now!"
Even with Soni Chepelin's urging, the pilot holding the airship's helm was just sweating profusely.
"That's impossible...!"
"Why is it impossible?"
"The original capacity of this airship is a maximum of 100 people! Including cargo!"
"And so?"
"Because you put the 3rd Battalion on other airships, the number of people on this one has increased significantly! And to make matters worse, you looted the ordnance factory's warehouses and armories for equipment, so we're already overloaded just by the number of people!"
Even with magic incorporated, an airship ultimately relies on air buoyancy to take off. It's a given.
The weight it has to lift is much greater than when it started, so a quick takeoff is impossible.
"We have to throw out all the equipment and anything else that's cargo, right now!"
At the pilot's desperate cry, Chief of Staff Major Yozef gave orders to the other company commanders.
"Tell the soldiers to throw out any useless loot they have! All the guns and ammunition taken from the ordnance factory too!!"
"Yes, sir...!!!"
As soon as the harsh command was given, Nikolai and Hilton hurriedly disappeared into the boarding cabin.
"Even so, it's too late! If the fire spreads to the armory, it's really over!"
It was an ordnance factory, to boot.
Oil and gunpowder needed to run the production facilities were piled up everywhere, and at this point, with the explosion already starting, it wouldn't be long before the entire facility was wiped out in a massive blast.
Just then.
"I, I, I can do it."
Appearing with her pink hair fluttering, Sergeant Roxana Elim stepped forward. She clutched her chest tightly as she entered the cockpit.
"Roxana...! Are you alright!?"
Her expression was terrible. She was a patient with heart disease. Given that she already had a weak heart, the hypoxia from being underground could have been fatal.
I grabbed Roxana's swaying body. But she gently pushed my hand away as if to say the concern was unnecessary.
"If it's me, I can forcibly increase the engine output of this airship. Then... then, we can ascend faster, right?"
She made direct eye contact with the pilot. The pilot swallowed dryly, then looked back and forth between me and Soni Chepelin before nodding.
"Wait, Roxana! There's no need for you to do it, Roxana! You're not in a good state as it is...!!"
"Ma'am, this is something only Sergeant Roxana can do. Not even Colonel Soni Chepelin can do it."
The pilot added in a firm voice.
"The mana crystal used to control the airship isn't a normal one. It's an instrument woven with an extremely intricate spell. To adjust the output of this crystal, you have to meet several very strict conditions."
A green archmage of 1st class or higher.
The amount of mana stored in the mana core must be sufficient to bear the airship's weight.
And finally, the resonance with the mana crystal must be at least 90%.
"To my knowledge, the only people who satisfy these conditions are me and Sergeant Roxana. If the other two conditions are met but the resonance with the mana crystal doesn't match, the airship won't just fail to ascend; it will lose power and crash."
We were cornered.
Truly, this was a task only Roxana could perform.
She staggered towards the crystal orb. A faint trickle of blood flowed from her tightly bitten lips.
"I've been waiting for this day...!! I've always been a burden to others because I was sick...!!"
Her eyes were already set with firm resolve. If it were anyone else, I would have granted permission immediately. There was no reason to stop her, was there?
But for me, Roxana Elim was someone I couldn't help but hesitate over.
She was a patient with heart disease. A condition where her heart could stop if she expends too much mana. In a situation where it was unknown how much mana it would take to make this airship ascend rapidly.
There was no guarantee her heart wouldn't stop midway.
Moreover, her current state was far from fine. Wasn't she clutching her chest in pain? She was already in an overworked state, and now she wanted to use her magic again.
Could even Roxana handle that?
'This is the only way.'
Just before Roxana could grab the mana crystal, I hugged her tightly. Even though she had just been on the battlefield, full of composure, she smelled of a warm, spring fragrance.
"M-Ma'am?!"
"Is there a problem if a third party provides the mana for adjusting the mana crystal?"
I asked the pilot directly. He understood my meaning immediately and answered.
"Yes. But the mana efficiency will drop drastically. I know that Sergeant Roxana is a heart disease patient... but can she handle that much mana?"
"Of course."
"Wait, Lieutenant Enok? If that's the case, I can do it...!!"
"And if the Battalion Commander collapses from mana depletion, who will take responsibility? You can supplement just enough to keep me from passing out after I do."
I flatly rejected Soni Chepelin's suggestion.
If it were anyone else, maybe, but if it were me, it was definitely possible.
According to Roxana's primary care physician, I was a 'monster' with mana nearly comparable to Roxana's.
Plus, Roxana was my squad member, and my company member. If I were to help her, I wanted to give it with my own power, not anyone else's.
Even as a critical patient, she was a true 'company member' who didn't hesitate to prove herself as a soldier and a comrade.
I couldn't just stand by and watch her like this.
'Whether as a man or as a commander.'
I focused my mind and resonated my mana with Roxana's mana core, which was nestled in my arms. The flow of mana went from top to bottom, flowing through my fingertips and into Roxana.
"Roxana, do you trust me?"
"Ma'am...!!"
"Go all out, it's fine."
Roxana's trembling pupils stopped for a moment. Her gaze, which had been looking at me, shifted to the mana crystal responsible for the airship's power.
And then.
Roxana placed both hands on it.
Kiiiiing!!
A green light burst forth from the mana crystal. The fluctuating mana amplified, enveloping the entire airship.
Kwaang!! As soon as the mana burst out, a massive explosion occurred behind them. The air, heated by the intense heat, churned, shaking the airship.
A change in the air current had occurred.
"K-keuht...!! Ughhhhh!!!"
Roxana's mana was released to its maximum. I, too, fully opened my mana core to match her pace.
As if opening the mouth of a dam, a mana of incredible concentration and density swept through my entire body and poured into Roxana's mana core.
Then, the airship's altitude clearly began to rise noticeably. The ascent accelerated, and it rose at high speed along the curve of the turbulent air currents.
Keeping the airship from stalling or twisting vertically was now entirely up to the pilot.
"Hold on tight!!!"
With my eyes squeezed shut, I focused only on infusing mana for what felt like several minutes.
How much mana had I poured in? Just as my head started to ache and my breathing grew ragged, the pilot's voice, filled with emotion, finally reached me.
"It, it's done!! We've reached a stable altitude!!! We've escaped the explosion!"
I opened my eyes and looked back. Kwa-ang!! As soon as it ascended in altitude, a mushroom cloud comparable to a nuclear explosion rose from the Remansk Ordnance Factory.
If it had been even a little later, the airship wouldn't have been able to escape.
Roxana also took her hands off the crystal orb and watched the spectacular explosion. Her shoulders, which had been tensed and hunched, slumped down—.
"Ah, thank goodne..."
Without even finishing her sentence, Roxana collapsed.