Wizard Land was devoid of such creatures as griffins, but before their departure, the esteemed Wizards had shared intelligence regarding several special imperial legions, one of which was the Griffin Knights.
"Retreat, retreat quickly!" Hammy shouted at the top of his lungs, and his second-in-command immediately turned the airship around, fleeing toward the safety of the kingdom’s interior, and at once pressed the button for optical invisibility.
A spherical shield appeared instantly around the airship, and the massive vessel swiftly vanished amid a swirl of twisted light.
The griffins in pursuit let out a series of shrill howls, yet contrary to Hammy’s expectations, they did not scatter in confusion due to the loss of their target. Instead, they accelerated, organizing themselves into a ring and closing in—an increase in speed of more than double from before…
"Damn it, these creatures are too tenacious, even invisibility can’t fool them!" Hammy cursed under his breath.
Hammy, who knew very little about griffins, was unaware of their high olfactory sensitivity, which allowed them to detect the scent of prey’s blood from several kilometers away; simply disappearing from sight did not pose much of an obstacle to them, especially when it was invisibility enacted right before them…
However, one could hardly blame Hammy and his crew for their lack of caution—the Polarization Magic that was applied to the airship was effective, but the amount of Magic Power consumed to hide such a behemoth was no small figure, and thus it was reserved for critical moments!
Considering the possibility of having to remain outside for two to three months, the pilots naturally economized on the Crystal Stones wherever possible—they couldn’t afford the luxury of keeping Invisibility Magic engaged for the entirety of a mission!
"Hurry, hurry, hurry..." In a race against time, Hammy and his crew swiftly pulled the joystick to its limit. After completing the challenging maneuver, vast amounts of Magic Power were transformed into hydrogen, fueling the engines at full throttle!
The rest of the crew squeezed the triggers of their fire guns tightly, though at this distance, they refrained from firing rashly.
The airship’s speed increased ever more rapidly, and the Griffin Knights, who had pulled close enough to form an almost encircling ambush, were astonished to find that this behemoth, akin to a battleship in the sky, suddenly erupted with a velocity surpassing the griffins’ flight…
Dewade, the captain of the Griffin Knights, had not anticipated this. In his view, alchemical apparatus of such immense size should move sluggishly, yet the speed of the airship proved unexpectedly swift…
If this continued, they could only watch as their quarry escaped right before their eyes…
Dewade’s gaze hardened. From this brief encounter, he had already classified this peculiar alchemy-created airship as a serious threat that had to be clearly identified and dealt with!
Dewade was acutely aware of the major role that a manned, stealthy, and extremely fast aerial vessel could play in warfare!
They must stop the enemy at all costs!
Preferably, they should capture the alchemical airship in as intact a condition as possible!
With this in mind, Dewade immediately lowered his head and communicated with the griffin beneath him, roughly estimating the positions and distances of both parties—northeast, approximately six hundred meters away!
It was a height that eluded the reach of arrows, but Dewade was full of confidence because before he became a Griffin Knight… he was a priest!
…
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"Thank goodness we’re quick on our feet!" Seeing the airship breaking out of the enemy encirclement with extreme speed, Hammy and his companions breathed a sigh of relief, their hearts swelling with the joy of a narrow escape.
Even though they had been prepared to sacrifice themselves, if there was a way to flee, no one would complain about living too long…
As long as they could get far enough away, once the enemy lost track of them, they would be completely safe.
All the crew members present also relaxed in unison.
The deputy, who had been on alert for enemy movements, suddenly felt a sense of warning surge within him and, without hesitation, he threw himself onto Hammy, pinning him down inside the cabin.
Almost in the very next second, a fierce shockwave came flying from afar, hitting the airship’s cockpit directly.
The massive airship shook violently, blasting one of its side panels to smithereens.
Apart from Hammy and the deputy who had been pressed down in advance, the rest of the pilots were thrown out by the impact, smashing heavily against the cabin walls...
However, before they could recover, the second wave of the offensive arrived!
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"Praise ’Alia’—Holy Light Shock!"
Dewade and several other Griffin Knights, who were also clergy, again shouted loudly, as intense waves of light arrived in an instant, striking all over the cockpit.
Even though the airship had been crafted with special materials and each one was fitted with Alchemy Arrays like "Tenacity," "Solidification," "Lightness," "Wind Protection," they still could not withstand the continuous Divine Arts bombardment.
If it weren’t for Dewade and his companions wanting to capture this unique alchemical creation intact, the airship would have already been shot down.
But even so, under the second wave of the offensive, the sky-faring airship was severely damaged, with its speed becoming slower and slower.
"Damn it, it must be the propellers outside that are broken!" Hammy, his eyes red, knew all too well what this meant, as someone who had studied the structure of airships: without power, it meant they had lost all hope of escape...
"Gentlemen, since these bastards leave us no way out, we’ll have to go down fighting with them!" Hammy turned his head to look at everyone present and shouted hoarsely.
"Let’s fight it out with them!" "Killing one means no loss, killing two is a gain!"
All the pilots, gunners, and observers on site cried out in unison, their faces showing a resolute expression...
The lives of these civilians were incredibly cheap, and no one usually cared whether they lived or died, but in Iyeta, they could exchange a single life for a whole ten Magic Gold Coins!
That was already enough!
If they could kill a few more enemies, that would be a huge profit!
After the shouting, Hammy and the others stopped dodging and instead took up their fire guns and shot at the approaching Griffin Knights...
The successive gunshots soon rang out in the skies, a kilometer high. Since the Griffin Knights had never faced fire guns before and were unprepared for such strange weapons, several griffins were hit within moments...
But their victories were pitiful; as one of the elite creatures among magical beasts, griffins were incredibly tenacious. Unless shot directly in the head, or hit by several successive fire gun shots, they were far from being fatally wounded...
One audacious Griffin Knight even charged ahead, relying on his exquisite flying skills and an unpredictable flight path, he fortunately dodged the first round of shooting, and before the next round could be loaded, he had already flown close to the airship.
"Receive the judgment of the gods, sinners!" the Griffin Knight raised his war hammer with considerable pride, turning towards
Hammy, on the other hand, took out a bottle from his pocket, filled with a peculiar liquid, and threw it directly at him.
At that moment, the distance between them was only a little over twenty meters; too late to dodge with the speed they were rushing, the griffin under the Knight let out a sharp cry, and with a flap of its wings, a strong gust turned into a blade of wind that cut the incoming bottle of reagent in half.