Chapter 183: Headfake
Commander Alma Alloy had never personally encountered Mazdari. However, Alma was well aware of Mazdari's evil reputation.
The Danly Union Kingdom was checking for all potentially threatening Wizards, but among them, Mazdari, who had become an apostle, possessed unrivaled power. It was pretty much impossible to face him unless one possessed the power of the Angry One. Of course, there was the reason that the Union Kingdom did not utilize wizardry in the first place. The Angry One, or in other words, the player Hegemonia, chose a build that excluded magic. It was a common build that aimed for a unified and consistent system, and Sung-Woon also frequently used it. In fact, it was an exception for Sung-Woon to use a build incorporating magic, making this situation rather special.
Instead, the Danly Union Kingdom diligently pursued technological advancement as much as the Black Scale Empire did. Despite not originally placing much emphasis on technological advancement and knowledge systems, they were able to catch up with the Black Scale, who started out with the tendency, due to excluding magic.
Alma said, "Have you not confirmed exactly where the Apostle went?"
"Yes, but there were several other incidents that occurred around the same time." Del continued to say, "The Thunderstrider was spotted at Vaseniol’s flight dock. It wasn't for a very long time, but they definitely landed."
"They landed?"
"Yes."
Alma asked, "Were there any other incidents before or after that?"
"We had an operation just before that. It was part of our plan until Mazdari appeared to interfere."
"Anything else?"
"Well, the Moving Castle was close. It had deviated from its original path..."
"Oh, that's because of something else. One of our units destroyed one of the Empire's supply depots. So they probably did so to transport military supplies. Anything else unusual?"
"Hm."
"If there's anything I don't know, even something minor, please tell me."
Del seemed to contemplate for a moment and then said, "It's nothing significant, but the Vampire we were trying to persuade also went into hiding. At least until I left Vaseniol. They might have been found by now."
"I wonder."
Alma nodded as if she knew something.
"I can think of two reasons why the Corpse Crow is moving. One is to temporarily lend his power to another front during a time when the Ronante-Oroban Alliance is weakened."
"There’s also another reason?"
Alma said. "I'm concerned about the fact that the Thunderstrider landed."
"Pardon?"
"The Corpse Crow flies in the sky, as if he’s showing off the fact that he has overcome the curse of his kind. So there's no need to command the Thunderstrider to land just to board the airship. And he’s also known for not following protocol.”
"Oh."
Del nodded.
"So that means someone else went aboard the Thunderstrider... Does that Vampire bother you?"
"Yes."
"According to our investigation...there are uncertainties in her past, but it doesn't seem like she engaged in any noteworthy activities."
"Well, it’s still a possibility."
Del waited for Alma to say more, but she didn't mention the Vampire any further.
Alma returned to a more practical discussion.
"We should move a veteran."
"A veteran…?"
"Yes."
Veterans were not a systemic concept in The Lost World. However, there were individuals that players paid special attention to, and such individuals naturally had high ability. And if a player gave special powers to such individuals, they would stand out even more compared to the others. In the temple of Angry One, they were called veterans, counterparts to the chosen ones in the Pantheon.
Many veterans made great achievements and became heroes of the Union Kingdom. Well-known veterans received praise from the kingdom's citizens, and songs and poems were composed about them. Unfortunately, those were tales from a time before the war. It was the standard of the Union Kingdom, but the veterans of the previous era had vanished due to the Empire's wicked power.
Becoming a veteran in this era meant not becoming a hero and living a peaceful life but sacrificing one's life to leave an honorable legend behind.
"...We should send Mahim."
"Champion Mahim?"
"Yes. If we are to find the Thunderstrider and face them, Mahim would be the best."
Of course, Mahim couldn't face an apostle of the Pantheon alone. Beyond that, it depended on the Angry One's will.
Del said, "It seems that we will pass by the dragon's nest where Mahim is on our way to my next destination. Where should I tell Mahim to go?"
"Do you have a map?"
"Of course."
Del took out a map from their bag.
The spot Alma pointed at with her finger was further south than what Del had in mind.
"Isn't the front line above that?"
"If the Corpse Crows were bombing the front lines, it would be around there. But if he’s descending after passing the front lines, they will follow the path of the blue sky. He’ll fly to the end of that sky path, which we can't see with our eyes."
"...Do you have a reason for thinking he’ll pass the front lines? Just because of a Vampire?"
Alma ignored Del's question and said, "Send Mahim this way. Mobilize the knights and have them ride Wyverns to the highest point they can reach, and tell them to look at the sky from this location. The Thunderstrider should be there."
***
Ramin Solost Muel pondered whether this journey was perhaps not as bad as she thought. Her first concern was that the sun was too close, but contrary to her expectations, the structure of the airship provided a nice, shielded space to be in, especially if one didn't want to bask in the sunlight. Moreover, during midday, a huge envelope blocked the sunlight, allowing people to come up on deck and enjoy the breeze.
Additionally, since Mazdari was a Wizard, Ramin's purely interest-driven knowledge hunt was well-satisfied. Of course, Mazdari seemed busy with some research in his own room, so she did more often talk with his student, Hwee Juran Muel, about magic, and in such cases, they could use the library located within the Thunderstrider.
Certainly this airship was originally constructed for war, but the actual power of it relied on Mazdari or the other Wizards that would be on board, so it was well-equipped for living and convenience. It was also natural that the Wizards performing the war for the Empire were all high-ranking officers.
Gorgota Falu, who had little contact with the air force, just spent their time like a fish out of water and occasionally made conversation with Ramin. In Ramin’s perspective, the agent looked bored.
Gorgota said, "It's amazing how casually you interact with the Apostle."
"He's about the same age as me."
"...Is that really the reason?"
"Actually, what surprised me more was that you know my age but still treat me the same way as before. Lakrak had said that if you want wisdom from the elderly, start by treating them with respect.”
"...How much more respectfully do I need to treat you?"
"That's exactly the point!"
Ramin was about to retort when a commotion came from the deck.
Gorgota hurriedly went out the door and said, "I'll check and come back."
A few seconds afterwards, Gorgota returned.
"It's an attack!"
When Ramin followed Gorgota out onto the deck, she saw the blue sky. There were scattered clouds, but looking down, she could see the round shape of the horizon. The altitude was high enough that oxygen was lacking, but a Wizard was responsible for supplying air to the hull, so there was no problem with breathing.
Gorgota said to Ramin, "Why did you come up? Didn’t I tell you to stay in your room because there’s an attack?”
"If I stay in my room, I won't know anything until the airship crashes, right? Unless it's a threat serious enough to make the airship crash, it's not a big deal."
Gorgota thought they could come up with a counter-argument if they were given a moment to think about it, but that was a luxury given the situation.
"Oh, okay, fine."
Mazdari quickly ascended to the deck with Juran following behind him.
Then a soldier rushed over and said, "It's the Dragon Knights. There are quite a few of them. They haven't approached yet, but..."
"I’ll check myself.”
"Yes, sir. They are about 500 meters away. There are no clouds, so they should be aware that we noticed them."
Mazdari looked down the railing of the deck. The enemies were very far from them, and an ordinary person might not easily recognize them but only make out the shape of something flapping its wings—that was enough to identify it as something flying.
Dragon Knights rode on Wyverns. In chronological terms, Wyverns were the most recent monsters that were domesticated. Their body length was over 8 meters, and their wingspan was more than 15 meters. But much of their body length was occupied by their tails and wings, so in terms of actual body size, there were larger monsters. Still, Wyverns were so fierce and threatening that there was a saying that on the ground, there were Drakes, and in the sky, there were Wyverns.
Once it became possible to keep Wyverns as livestock and they became rideable, the next thing that happened was riding them to fight. The so-called Flying Dragon Knights—or Dragon Knights—emerged as an alternative force while knights on horses were losing their effectiveness due to firearms on the battlefield. By aiming for the moment right after rifle shots, Dragon Knights, with their over 300 kilograms mounts, could sweep past infantry units at almost crashing speed, causing significant disruption.
Moreover, in the battles in the sky that had become crucial after the Helix Wings were made, Wyverns were incredibly effective. Wyverns were faster and had more freedom of movement than the Helix Wings.
There were approximately a hundred Wyverns beneath the Thunderstrider. Considering that they were all ridden by Dragon Knights, this couldn’t be taken lightly.
Mazdari called out to the captain, Ploy Tansen, "Ploy."
"Yes."
"How long have they been there?"
"We spotted them about a minute ago. But we're much larger than they are, so..."
"We might have been late in spotting them, right?"
"Yes."
Mazdari looked up at the envelope.
"Apostle?"
"Do you remember the strategy commonly used by Dragon Knights?"
"You mean the Headfake strategy?"
Even though they were Dragon Knights, it was difficult to directly attack an airship with greater firepower and air forces on board, especially when there were Wizards. Therefore, the typical offensive strategy of Dragon Knights had them attacking from above, not below. Of course, the airship was made with thick leather, and even if there was some damage to one of the layers, the internal gas wouldn't leak immediately. To deal with that, the Dragon Knights didn't use their spear blades to pierce through it. Instead, they used the dynamite that they carried. Additionally, in most cases, the airship could spot Dragon Knights from above, so they sometimes used a separate formation for deception. This was known as the Headfake strategy.
Ploy said, "I thought about it. However, it's a high altitude where it's difficult for Dragon Knights to ascend."
“Hmm.”
"But there are soldiers on duty on the ship's deck..."
"That would be enough if they are ordinary Dragon Knights."
Mazdari turned around.
"Ramin."
Ramin was startled because she didn't expect Mazdari to call her.
"Yes?"
"Your sword...you already have it with you. You can use this…this gun."
Mazdari took out a revolver from his inner pocket and put it in Ramin’s hand.
"What?"
“You can land on your own.”
“What did you say?”
Mazdari didn't reply. Instead, he grabbed Ramin's wrist and jumped over the railing. No, the only one jumping down was Ramin. Mazdari’s other hand was holding onto the rope that connected the envelope to the hull.
"Ahh!"
Ramin thought she was going to be thrown off the airship just like that. And her thoughts were accurate—except for the direction she was thrown in. Ramin saw a magic circle glowing on the back of Mazdari’s black left hand. It was a magic circle tattooed on his hand. He then threw Ramin and drew a circle, sending Ramin upward with centrifugal force. Ramin shot up as if she had lost gravity, slightly rolled, and saw the top of the envelope of the airship.
Then she met eyes with a Wyvern.
"Huh?"
And behind that Wyvern stood a Minotaur in armor. Despite the rider wearing a helmet, Ramin recognized it as a Minotaur by its head. Below all that was happening, Gorgota, who had the mission of protecting Ramin, looked bewildered.
"...What's going on?"
"Don't worry, agent," Mazdari said while perching on the railing, "Among those on this ship, besides me, that Vampire is the strongest."
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