Chapter 230: Vengeful Spirit
Obin Mabru looked down at the fleet of airships and said, "I was thinking they had come incredibly fast... It makes sense now."
Generally, the airships of the Union Kingdom were slower than those of the Empire. Although both followed similar technological trajectories, the Empire's elite airship models had wizards onboard.
However, some airships from the Union Kingdom were much faster than those of the Empire, with some even surpassing the speeds of the Thunderstrider when Mazdari wasn’t onboard.
"That's the fourth fleet of the Union Kingdom."
While the first to third fleets of the Union Kingdom were typical naval fleets, the fourth fleet was different. It was a high-mobility fleet, designed to cope with constantly changing front lines due to the interventions of guardians or apostles. To give high maneuverability to the airship, it required corresponding power, and the power source the fourth fleet utilized was unique. Instead of adding special technology, the airships were made so that creature creations could pull them. Due to this, every airship in the fourth fleet was led by a massive Eel swimming in the sky.
Madman Toolbo looked at the Eels and tightly closed his eyes while saying, "Oh my! Aren't those the creatures Mazdari struggled to deal with?"
"These ones are much smaller. From what I know, other than swiftly swimming in the sky, they don't possess any significant abilities."
"Then is it safe? Can we get closer to see?"
"Not really. They could swallow us whole in one bite."
The fourth fleet was smaller in size compared to other fleets, but Obin noticed an increase in the number of airships.
"Those big ones are likely transport ships."
"How many people do you think are inside?"
"If we're talking about soldiers with smaller physiques, around 300 strong per ship. With eight ships, it's close to a brigade."
"...Hmm."
"But apart from the transport ships, facing the Union Kingdom's air force, including the destroyers and command ships, won't be easy."
Toolbo looked like he was about to cry. "What do we do now?"
"As always, shouldn't we?"
Obin drew their short sword.
Toolbo, unaware of his fate, looked up at Obin with wide eyes. "...Huh?"
"Land on the deck."
"What?"
Obin then released the legs that had been holding onto Toolbo. Toolbo screamed as he fell, and then bounced up and down as he fell onto the envelope of the airship.
On the airship, there were no guards on lookout, but another airship had already spotted Obin and Toolbo and was sending flag signals.
Then, Obin skillfully maneuvered the parachute line to stick close to the side of the airship and cut the line of the parachute.
Ping!
Obin slid down the ropes connecting the envelope and the body of the ship and rolled onto the deck in a practiced fall.
"...?"
This destroyer ship had just received signals from the neighboring ship to send guards up to the envelope, and it seemed they had just started summoning their guards. Before Obin stood about ten heavily armed soldiers.
"Darn."
Someone shouted from the deck, "Intruder!"
"It's an enemy!"
"Where did he come from?"
The air force soldiers aimed their rifles at Obin. Memories of the fortress raid during the mid-phase of the war against the Union Kingdom, where Obin first made a name for themself, came flooding back.
As a lower-rank soldier who had been conscripted, Obin was positioned on the front lines. With the Empire's front lines expanding after several losses in battles, even people from the third continent were being conscripted. In a trench where mortars would fall when hiding and machine gun bullets rained when standing, Obin charged with their squad.
Obin was lucky. Obin managed to charge up to the fortress they were facing and even entered its corridor. But in another sense, Obin was also unlucky. When they slipped into the enemy's bunker, none of their squad members, let alone the entire unit, had advanced as far as Obin had. They were annihilated while advancing.
‘If I retreat now, I'll be shot in the back. But can I kill all the enemies inside the bunker?’
Given the bunker was likely to contain a battalion-sized force, Obin had no other options. Obin prepared for hand-to-hand combat and charged in.
Obin was discovered by the Empire’s army the next day.
The bombardment from the bunker had ceased, indicating that the Empire’s troops had somehow managed to successfully advance.
‘Even back then and now, I don't think I have any exceptional talent. Being small in stature as a Renard, I could sneak up and take someone out with a knife. I diligently wielded grenades, throwing them wherever I could. Before encountering the enemy, I always checked if my magazine was jammed or if there were spare bullets. I was lucky too. One officer who pointed a pistol at me ended up throwing it at me because it was a blank shell.’
Of course, all those skills were crucial in conquering the bunker. Obin ended up capturing the bunker alone. That day, Obin was promoted by two ranks and awarded three medals.
Due to this feat, Obin, known as the Master of Hand-to-Hand Combat, was invincible in the story that made them an apostle.
"It's time to get to work."
***
"My legs can't reach!"
Toolbo came to his senses and had to struggle with the rope ladder in order to descend from the airship's envelope.
Both the Empire and the Union Kingdom used items that were compatible for any species. However, unlike the detail-oriented Empire, the Union Kingdom didn't seem to consider the Platys, a rather short-statured species with shorter arms and legs. In fact, the average height of the species in the Union Kingdom were a bit taller.
"How are Platys like me supposed to use a ladder with such wide steps?"
Toolbo grumbled as he painstakingly made his way down the rope ladder.
On the deck, alternating sounds of gunfire, shouts, and explosions could already be heard, intermittently interrupted by screams.
"Ah! It's a vengeful spirit!"
"Do something about that fire-fox!"
"Get down!"
Toolbo hastily came down on the deck. By the time Toolbo arrived, the chaos had already calmed down.
On the deck covered in blood, ash, and bodies, Obin walked over to Toolbo,
"Oh, you got down faster than I thought."
"Well…The ladder rungs are too wide."
"I know. It's typical of those Union Kingdom folks."
Obin continued to say, "I'm about to head below deck. Dr. Tulbo, please gather any necessary items here first."
"D…do you not need me to help?”
"It's fine."
For some reason, to Toolbo, Obin's smiling face seemed to suggest, ‘Please stay out of the way.’
Toolbo sighed. He felt like he didn't fit in with the apostles. The apostles of the Pantheon were all strong and outstanding, without a single weak link. From Lakrak, the first apostle known as the Thunder Dragon Emperor, to the powerful wizard Mazdari, who could turn the earth inside out, to Redin, the knight who became the symbol of the Empire's doctrine of charge… They were all strong and cool.
'...But I'm just a Platy.'
Though the Platys weren't particularly despised, in the equality-driven Empire, there were those who couldn't help but laugh when seeing a Platy. In his lifetime, Tulbo had asked why, and they simply said they looked funny.
'I can't help the way I was born.'
Toolbo then said, "Did Aruna leave?"
Obin replied, "I don’t think so. Even Aruna wouldn't reject a direct order from Night Sky. Aruna must have some reasons."
"Okay..."
Obin grabbed Toolbo's shoulder and said, "In my opinion, the success of this operation depends on you, Dr. Toolbo."
"Haha, surely not."
"I truly believe so. I've cleared the way to the ship's bridge. There would be complicated machinery there, and I'll leave you with my all-purpose military gear. So you can proceed with your great inventions as usual."
"Oh, okay."
"I'll go clear the deck below."
As Obin saluted, Toolbo awkwardly returned the salute. Although Obin became an apostle before Toolbo, Tulbo had been born earlier and joined the Pantheon first, so it wasn't odd.
'Obin really is a true soldier.'
As Obin jumped down to the deck below, explosions and screams resumed.
Toolbo looked around the deck, hurriedly entered the bridge, and started pulling out various items.
One of the benefits of becoming an apostle was that he became stronger.
Toolbo quickly disassembled the machinery and control room mechanisms and threw them onto the deck.
The name Machine Dismantler stemmed from Toolbo's past, where he had broken numerous machines discovered in ancient ruins.
'Hmm...what should I create? We need to bring down these flying ships before they reach the Empire's land. So then...'
As Toolbo pondered, he felt a sudden sense of unease and looked up. Without him noticing, another Union Kingdom's airship had approached.
Toolbo panicked for a moment, then gathered the machines and invented a parabolic reflector. It was an invention that didn’t exist in the world until just now, which Toolbo created.
'With this, I should be able to hear distant sounds.'
Toolbo aimed the parabolic reflector at the airship beside.
"Annihilation! It's a massacre! I see nothing but blood and bodies!"
"Where did the vengeful spirit go?"
"I don't see the ghost on the deck! But..."
"But...?"
The following words were closer to a scream. "Ahhh! It's the mad Platy!"
"Mad Platy? ...Could it be?"
"Yes! It's the Platy!"
"Create distance! Prepare to fire all ship cannons...!"
Hearing that, Toolbo looked back at the ship.
"Oh no, it's a command ship!"
The cannon below the command ship started to aim at Toolbo.
"Oh dear, what do I do now?"
Just then, when Toolbo was panicking, the command ship that had been ascending suddenly shot up even higher. Upon closer look, Toolbo saw that something was happening at the forefront of the ship.
"...Hmm?"
The Sky Eel leading the command ship was startled and shot up. This caused the soldiers on the deck to be flung out and fall from the sky.
Following the Sky Eel was a massive Phoenix. The Phoenix Aruna swiftly chased the Sky Eel and tore its neck with its beak.
As the Sky Eel couldn't stay in the sky any longer, the command ship, unable to bear its weight, began a slow descent. Whether aiming at Aruna or Toolbo, the ship's cannon shots all missed their mark.
The Phoenix Aruna caught up with the airship Toolbo was on and said.
-You foolish Platy!
“Aruna!”
-What are you doing? Get on with your task! Why do you think Night Sky sent you?
"I…I'm sorry."
-Hurry up!
Feeling Aruna's irritation, Toolbo hurriedly began to work on his invention, a Great Invention.
***
"It was a firebird!"
"There were three apostles?"
The fourth fleet admiral bared his teeth.
"What about Laitla?"
"We haven't made contact yet..."
"Enough!"
The admiral looked around at the mess inside the bridge and said, "Did we disconnect from the Sky Eel?"
There was a small explosion from the front of the ship, then a soldier came running.
"We've disconnected the Sky Eel!"
The descending commander ship seemed to have avoided the fate of crashing.
"Notify the entire fleet again! Tell them not to wait for orders and bring that ship down!"
"Yes sir!"
The communications officer on each ship, responsible for relaying signals between ships, acted quickly.
"We're regaining balance and altitude."
"As soon as we level out, check the deck!"
The command ship's speed had decreased considerably, but through a telescope, they could easily observe the apostles from the Empire aboard the airship.
"...There's something."
The admiral snapped at the lookout's vague statement. "Don't just say something. Explain!"
"...It's a machine."
"And?"
"It appears to have legs."
"Legs? And what's on top?"
"A triangle...no, a cone. The cone-shaped...it's rotating...wait."
The lookout hesitated as if they were uncertain about what they were seeing.
"What is it?"
"It seems like…it's turning towards us...as if watching..."
Frustrated, the admiral snatched the lookout's telescope, and the moment they took it, the lookout muttered, "I…it’s coming."
***
Boom!
It sounded like the deck was destroyed.
From below the ship's bow, Obin, having just killed the last soldier, raised their head.
"Oh, has it begun?"
***
"Phew, it's all set."
Satisfied, Toolbo climbed onto his invention.
The sturdy legs on the deck were the essence of this invention. These legs resembled that of a Rabbit, but the body on top of these legs was the cockpit.
Toolbo climbed up and sat in the cockpit.
"...Shall we begin?"
Toolbo thought about waiting for Obin as Obin liked his inventions, but he was scared of Aruna’s ire, so he decided to operate the machine immediately. He could show off the invention to Obin after the battle.
Atop this rabbit-like machine was a cone-shaped, spiral-grooved drill instead of a head. When Toolbo pulled a lever, the drill began to whirl fiercely.
Essentially, what Toolbo had created with his skill was a robot with two legs and a drill for a head.
As Toolbo controlled the robot, the robot twisted its body and faced the distant command ship. It then folded its legs, as if it was about to spring out at any time.
Toolbo slid his goggles over his eyes.
"Okay, let's go! Hop No. 3!"
Toolbo pushed the lever. Hop No. 3's legs extended and kicked off the deck.
Rocketing into the sky, Hop No. 3's drill aimed straight for the Union Kingdom's command ship
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