Chapter 232
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 232
Chapter Title: No Decent Weapons
'I don't lack decent weapons.'
The apostles Rakrak, Aldin, and Kajuu possessed mythical levels of martial prowess.
The other apostles had superior intellect or astonishing abilities, but Owen believed he had neither.
However, Owen had become an apostle relatively early in the sequence, though if judged purely by era, he was among the latest. For instance, Tulbo had become an apostle only after death, long after the height of the war had passed.
Owen considered himself a beneficiary of advanced scientific technology.
The fearsome monsters that his ancestors once had to face with spears were no longer a major threat to humans.
There were guns and bombs now.
It wasn't just monsters.
They reinforced riverbanks that swelled with rain and shattered solid bedrock underground.
These were simple tasks with the power of civilization.
In the end, people turned those magnificent weapons on each other, and among their enemies were guardians and apostles too formidable for ordinary humans to oppose.
Owen Mavru looked down at the explosives in his hand.
'It's all thanks to this.'
As a soldier, he was familiar with the smell of gunpowder on the battlefield. During retreats in the thick of war, Owen often had to carry out operations alone.
To maximize efficiency single-handedly, he needed literally explosive power.
It was a natural conclusion that Owen would come to handle bombs.
'Of course, watching the flames is enjoyable too.'
While Owen continued his tasks on the deck, harsh voices echoed from the bridge of the lead transport ship that had just spotted him.
"We can't let that guy get close to the transports!"
The transport captain shouted.
But the fleet tasked with protecting the transports was either crashing after being attacked by Boomer No. 3 or pulling away to evade.
The transports had stripped all armaments to carry as many troops as possible, making them hard to shoot down.
Moreover, no one knew how many bombs that ship carried, but if it penetrated the center of the transport fleet and detonated, the damage could be considerable.
The transports milled about in confusion, trying to issue orders among themselves, but their signals got tangled.
With the command ship down, there seemed to be no other options.
The adjutant asked the captain.
"There's nothing we can do here. We have to evade."
"If we do that, the ships behind us might collide with him. The chain of command is messed up, so movement is sluggish, and some ships might not have grasped the situation."
"Then what should we do?"
The captain stared at Owen's warship with a hardened expression for a moment.
"...We'll sacrifice one of our own transports to buy time. We have Lady Lightla with us."
"Captain?"
"...We're the lead transport. Signalman, send flag signals to the transports in the rear."
The adjutant and signalman fell silent at the captain's words.
It wasn't a reasonable order.
The transports carried not just air force personnel but soldiers set to cross the ocean and advance on the continent.
To save lives, it made sense.
But to win the war, they couldn't.
Someone had to give their life.
"Yes, sir!"
The signalman saluted.
Soon, the bridge crew moved with disciplined precision for their final mission.
Meanwhile, Owen was aware that one of the Allied Kingdom's transports was stepping forward for a heroic feat.
'When you think about it, those guys are just like us.'
That might be why the war dragged on for so long.
Owen followed Mankyeol's words but had also received teachings from the main god Yacheon.
As Yacheon said, even though everyone shared the same will, the misunderstanding that they were different prolonged this horrific war.
'But that's the way of the world. It's inevitable.'
Owen pulled a pre-assembled item from his universal arsenal.
It wasn't comparable to the mad inventor Tulbo, but Owen could mimic an engineer to some extent.
He tightened screws and hammered in nails, creating a one-man helicopter.
'If it's going to be a tragedy anyway, it might as well end as quickly as possible.'
Owen pressed the button on the device he'd rigged on the deck.
Since the one-man helicopter couldn't generate lift on its own, Owen eyed the approaching transport and sprinted across the deck.
The auxiliary wings on either side caught the wind, and he felt his body weight vanish.
Owen slipped into the clouds and circled the transport fleet.
He checked his wristwatch.
'Now?'
When nothing happened, Owen glanced back and forth between the warship he'd left and his watch.
'Did the connection fail? There's still distance between the warship and the transports, so if I move fast, I can—'
As Owen pondered, a massive roar erupted.
-...!
Tinnitus rang out, followed by a blinding red flash that forced Owen to squeeze his eyes shut.
Considering the gunpowder and shells originally on the warship, plus the explosives Owen had packed tightly into the broken deck, it was a given.
The warship laden with explosives scattered as unrecognizable charred wreckage beneath a fireball, and the massive flames scorched even the prow of the transport that had resolved to sacrifice itself.
'As expected, not enough power to affect all the transports.'
Owen wasn't bothered.
He'd anticipated it wouldn't be easy if the enemies scattered.
With Tulbo rampaging spectacularly, it was unavoidable.
So Owen had aimed for misdirection with a flashy explosion.
'Target the moment they believe someone heroically sacrificed themselves and averted the crisis.'
People were always most vulnerable when they thought the danger had passed.
Owen approached the transport at the right flank of the fleet.
Before the sentry on the gondola could react, he sniped from the helicopter and slid down to infiltrate the deck.
'My nickname isn't useless.'
He had flashy nicknames like Trench Ghost and Bomb Demon, making him a celebrated war hero within the Empire.
Yet among the apostles, Owen was known best for infiltration and assassination.
Unfortunately, his enemies hadn't yet dubbed him with such names.
Thanks to Owen's proficiency, the Allied Kingdom still didn't realize he was behind numerous assassination incidents.
'Occupying a trench alone to earn the ghost rumors, or hiding and detonating bombs—it's all only possible while maintaining stealth.'
Gripping a dagger, Owen headed for the bridge.
It took mere minutes to silently clear it.
Using the full-spectrum communicator, Owen ordered the messenger.
"I need to urgently contact each transport captain. Confirm no other threats, no need for aid, and no disruptions to future operations. Relay to all ships."
Confirming the messenger's acknowledgment, Owen continued.
"All squads, listen up. An important meeting will be held on the bridge—no entry until 1800 hours. Over."
Replies came from the tech and supply squads, and Owen began packing the bridge with more explosives.
'This time, for sure—one big boom.'
But not everything went smoothly.
As the transport fleet regrouped, Owen spotted a massive lime-green body through the window.
He halted the explosives setup and pressed flat against the wall.
-Suspicious. I clearly saw a bug sneaking in here.
It was Lightla.
Lightla circled the airship, scanning the deck and the gondola.
-The captain of this vessel, come out on deck and respond.
Owen made no move, pondering briefly.
'What happened to Lady Aruna?'
He pulled out a portable monocular and peered outside.
Far off, Aruna was trapped in a translucent twenty-sided polyhedron. Magic.
A divine beast like Aruna could break magic with sheer physical force, and cracks formed each time she rammed her beak, but escape looked difficult for now.
'The explosion I caused drew attention.'
Lightla declared.
-By the name of Lightla, third apostle of the Allied Kingdom, I hereby assume supreme command of this vessel. All non-essential personnel, check the bridge.
Owen reached for a machine gun barrel from his universal arsenal but sighed.
'No point resisting anyway. In that case...'
He eyed the explosives filling the bridge.
'Pack in more and wait for other transports to get closer. But no time for that. Detonating now could at least hit Lightla.'
He doubted it would kill her, but injury might allow Aruna and Tulbo to down the remaining airships while she recovered.
'They'll swarm in any second—no time for a timer. Have to blow it now.'
Even an apostle's body couldn't withstand such an explosion head-on unless it was a dragon or divine beast level. Unless they had tales of surviving such attacks.
But Owen lacked such feats.
'Then, one more massive flame...'
As Owen grabbed the lighter from his chest pocket, a sharp engine roar tore through the air.
"...Hyaaaaap!"
It was Boomer No. 3 and Tulbo.
Boomer No. 3 charged at Lightla's head.
Though the distance seemed impossible, Owen didn't dwell on it.
'I've been too absorbed in my solo hero play.'
Drawing his machine gun, Owen kicked open the bridge door and charged out.
Soldiers rushing toward the bridge tumbled under his gunfire.
Meanwhile, Lightla scowled at Boomer No. 3 clinging to her back.
-You damned mongrel...!
Though she had tough dragon hide, the spinning drill shed scales and drew blood.
Lightla twisted to shake it off and snapped with her jaws, but Boomer No. 3 gripped firmly with its leg claws and crawled up her back.
Blood vessels tore, gushing crimson.
-You pest!
Lightla's crystal glowed, summoning sharp spears from thin air.
The red-hot spears targeted Tulbo.
But a deck-mounted machine gun on the transport fired at Lightla, disrupting the crystal's ritual and shattering the magic spears.
As Lightla turned, Owen stood dominating the deck.
It didn't inflict major damage, but it was enough to break her concentration for the spell.
-You filthy vermin...!
Lightla now reached toward the transport's deck.
But her will was thwarted again.
-The filth is you!
A massive blue flame gripped Lightla's nape and slammed her into the transport.
The dragon's head crashed through the hull side.
Lightla had been grappling with Boomer No. 3 and Aruna, but the head blow left her dazed.
'Now!'
Owen's mind sharpened as he dashed back to the bridge.
With her head embedded, maybe he could kill Lightla.
As Owen lit his lighter to open the door, a voice reached him.
-Well done, Owen.
It was the familiar voice from before.
-...Lord Yacheon?
-Good idea, but no need to play hero again.
Owen didn't grasp it immediately.
-You're already a hero.
Suddenly, a massive wind blew.
It enveloped Owen, Tulbo battling Lightla, and Aruna, pulling them high into the sky.
Gunpowder stench and blood, corpses and rifles, shattered transports and white gondolas, Allied Kingdom insignias and the elongated lime-green dragon—all shrank to dots in the lofty heights.
It happened in an instant.
Normally, flesh would tear and pressure would cause unconsciousness, but to the three apostles, it felt like a summer breeze.
Then, Lightla stared in bewilderment at the vanished foes, and the now-masterless oil lighter spun in the fierce wind, tumbling into the explosives.
The explosion detonated.