Chapter 183
Chapter 183
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 183
Chapter Title: Wyvern Knights' Assault
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Commander Alma Alloi had never personally faced Mazd Leg.
But Alma was well aware of Mazd Leg's notoriety.
The United Kingdom kept tabs on every wizard who could pose a threat, but among them, Mazd Leg—who had ascended to apostleship—possessed power that was in a league of its own. Without the Wrathful One's power, countering him was practically impossible.
Of course, part of the reason was that the United Kingdom refrained from deploying wizard forces.
The Wrathful One—that is, Player Hegemonia—had opted for a build that excluded magic entirely.
Shunning magic was a standard build, one that prioritized a unified and consistent system, and even Choi Seong-un used it often. In fact, a build that incorporated Seong-un's magic was the exception, and the current situation could be considered particularly special.
Instead, technological progress was steadily keeping pace with the Heukrin Empire.
Even though they had never placed much emphasis on technological development or knowledge systems originally, they could match strides with the magic-focused Heukrin precisely because they had excluded magic.
Alma spoke.
"You couldn't confirm exactly where the apostle went?"
"That's correct. But there were a few other incidents around the same time."
Del continued.
"A thunderstriker was sighted at the Vaseniol Airship Dock. It wasn't there long, but it definitely landed."
"It landed?"
"Yes."
Alma spoke.
"Any other incidents before or after that?"
"Right before, there was our operation. It went according to plan until Mazd Leg showed up and interfered."
"Anything else?"
"Well, an automaton got close. It had deviated from its usual route..."
"Ah, that's unrelated. One of our units wrecked an imperial supply depot. It was probably relocating munitions. Nothing else unusual?"
"Hmm."
"Anything I might not know about—even trivial details."
Del seemed to ponder for a moment before speaking.
"It's minor, but the vampire we were trying to win over vanished. At least until I slipped out of Vaseniol. They might have tracked him down by now."
"I see."
Alma nodded as if something had clicked.
"I've got two theories on why the Corpse Crow is on the move. One is to reinforce another front while the Ronante-Oroban alliance is temporarily weakened."
"And the other?"
Alma said,
"The thunderstriker landing is what's nagging at me."
"Pardon?"
"The Corpse Crow flies on his own. Like he's flaunting the fact that he overcame his curse. No need to order a landing just to board an airship. And he's not the type to fuss over ceremony, either."
"Ah."
Del nodded.
"So you're saying someone boarded the thunderstriker... The vampire's what's bothering you?"
"Yes."
"But from our investigation... His past is murky, but he doesn't seem to have done anything noteworthy."
"Hmm, perhaps."
Del waited for more, but Alma said nothing further about the vampire.
Alma shifted to more practical matters.
"We need to deploy a hero."
"A hero... you mean?"
"Yes."
Heroes weren't a formal concept in the Lost World system.
But players always kept an eye on certain standout entities, which naturally boasted high stats.
And granting special power to one elevated it above the rest.
Just as the Temple of All Gods called them Chosen Ones, the Wrathful One's faithful dubbed them heroes.
Many heroes had racked up feats and become legends of the United Kingdom.
The most renowned earned the people's adoration, with songs and poems composed in their honor.
Sadly, those days were before the war.
By the United Kingdom's reckoning, the empire's vile powers had slain the heroes of old.
In this era, becoming a hero didn't mean a heroic life of peace—it meant laying down one's life to live on in honorable tales.
"...Send Mahim."
"Wyvern Knight Mahim?"
"Yes. If we need to track the thunderstriker and confront it, he's perfect."
Of course, Mahim alone couldn't take on a Temple of All Gods apostle.
After that, it would be up to the Wrathful One's will.
Del said,
"We'll pass the Wyrm Nest where he is on the way to my next stop. Where should I tell him to go?"
"Got a map?"
"Of course."
Del pulled a map from his coat.
The spot Alma indicated was lower than Del had expected.
"Isn't the front line higher up?"
"If the Corpse Crow's bombing the front, sure. But if he's bypassing it, he'll stick to the Sky Road of the Vast Heavens. Soaring to the limits of the sky beyond our sight."
"...You think he'll bypass the front? Over a mere vampire?"
Ignoring Del's question, Alma said,
"Send Mahim here. Have him bring his knight order, ride wyverns to the highest point they can reach, then scan the skies from there. That's where the thunderstriker will be."
Ramin Solrost Muel wondered if this journey wasn't turning out better than expected.
His initial worry had been the sun being too close, but the airship's design made it easy to live without unwanted exposure if one chose.
Especially at midday, the massive gasbag shielded the sun, letting him head to the deck for some fresh air.
Plus, with Mazd Leg being a wizard, it perfectly fed Ramin's curiosity-driven thirst for knowledge. Mazd Leg was busy with research in his cabin and often discussed magic with his disciple, Hui Juran Muel, but Ramin could use the onboard library in those cases.
It was a warship through and through, yet with its main firepower relying on Mazd Leg and the other wizards aboard, the living quarters and amenities were well-appointed.
Naturally, all imperial wizards on war duty were high-ranking officers.
Gorgota Palu, who had little to do with the air force, spent his time like a fifth wheel, occasionally chatting with Ramin. He seemed thoroughly bored, by Ramin's reckoning.
Gorgota said,
"It's surprising how casually you treat the apostle."
"We're about the same age."
"...So that's it?"
"What surprised me was you treating me the same even after learning my age. Rakrak always says to show elders respect first if you want their wisdom."
"...How much more deferential do I need to be?"
"Exactly!"
Ramin was about to press the point when a voice rang out from the deck.
Gorgota hurried toward the door.
"I'll check it out."
Gorgota returned seconds later.
"It's an attack!"
Ramin followed Gorgota to the deck, where an endless blue sky stretched out.
Scattered clouds below, high enough that the horizon curved visibly when looking down.
The altitude thinned the air, but a dedicated wizard kept the hull pressurized, so breathing was no issue.
Gorgota said to Ramin,
"Why'd you come up? I told you to stay in your cabin during an assault."
"If I'm inside when the ship drops, I'll die clueless. If it's not a ship-falling threat, it's no big deal."
Gorgota figured he could come up with a rebuttal given time, but not right now.
"Fine, whatever."
Mazd Leg strode onto the deck moments later, Hui Juran trailing behind.
A soldier rushed up.
"Wyvern knights. Good number of them. Not closing in yet, but..."
"I'll see for myself."
"Yes, sir. Roughly 500 meters out. Clear skies—they know we've spotted them."
Mazd Leg peered over the deck railing.
A great distance—even a normal person might struggle to make it out.
Still, anyone could tell they were winged shapes beating the air.
Wyvern knights rode wyverns.
Wyverns were the most recently domesticated monsters, chronologically speaking.
Body length eight meters, wingspan over fifteen. Most of that was tail and wings, so plenty of beasts were bulkier in raw mass, but the saying went: drakes rule the ground, wyverns the sky. They were vicious and intimidating.
Once wyvern herding—and riding—became viable, the idea of fighting from their backs naturally followed.
Wyvern knights had emerged as an alternative force amid mounted knights fading against firearms.
Timing dives right after rifle volleys, a wyvern knight could hurtle down at near-plummet speed, over 300 kilos of armored lancer skimming the ground to shred infantry lines.
And post-spiral wing, they shone in aerial combat.
Wyverns outpaced and outmaneuvered them with ease.
About a hundred wyverns swarmed below the thunderstriker.
Factoring in riders, it wasn't something to scoff at.
Mazd Leg called to Captain Floy Tanssen.
"Floy."
"Yes, sir."
"How long have they been lurking?"
"We spotted them a minute ago. But with our size..."
"We were late to notice. Right?"
"Yes."
Mazd Leg tilted his head back to eye the gasbag.
"Apostle?"
"Recall the wyvern knights' favorite tactic?"
"'Head-bashing'?"
Even wyvern knights couldn't charge headlong into a numerically superior air force backed by ship guns and wizards.
Typically, they struck from above, not below.
The gasbag's outer hide was thick hide, and a single puncture wouldn't vent the gas right away, so no lancing strikes.
They dropped dynamite bundles instead.
And since airships usually spotted them coming, decoy squads ran interference. That was the head-bashing strat.
Floy said,
"I considered it. But this altitude's tough for wyvern knights."
"Hmm."
"That said, we have rotating sentries atop the gasbag..."
"That'd suffice against run-of-the-mill wyvern knights."
Mazd Leg turned.
"Ramin."
Ramin jolted—he hadn't expected to be singled out.
"Yes?"
"Sword... you're carrying one. Gun... take this."
Mazd Leg drew a revolver from inside his coat and pressed it into Ramin's hand.
"Huh?"
"Handle the landing yourself."
"What?!"
Mazd Leg didn't respond.
He seized Ramin's wrist and leaped over the railing.
Or rather—only Ramin leaped.
Mazd Leg's other hand gripped the rope linking gasbag to hull.
"Gah?!"
Ramin figured he'd been hurled overboard.
He had—but the trajectory was off.
He glimpsed a glowing magic circle on the back of Mazd Leg's left hand, blackened as if scorched. A tattooed array.
Mazd Leg flung him out, then swung in an arc, centrifugal force propelling Ramin skyward.
Ramin rocketed up, gravity forsaken, spun once lightly—and spotted the gasbag's upper surface.
He locked eyes with a wyvern.
"Huh?"
Behind it loomed an armored minotaur.
Helmet or no, the bovine head gave it away.
Below, Gorgota—tasked with Ramin's protection—couldn't mask his bewilderment.
"...What the hell?"
"Don't worry, agent."
Mazd Leg, perched on the railing, said,
"On this ship, barring me—that vampire's the strongest."