The sudden intrusion of the knight order threw the battleship command into chaos. The ground forces were helplessly pushed back against the knights. It wasn't because their equipment was lacking. Having grown into proper knights, each one possessed strength equivalent to a company-level force or more.
Inspired by the sight of the knights standing as the vanguard, the gangs of District 45 regained their courage. Momentum is important in battle. When gripped by fear, the available choices of action are drastically reduced. In other words, when full of fighting spirit, the number of options you can choose from increases.
"Support requests from everywhere. We simply cannot break through!"
"Ground forces! Retreat!"
Soldiers withdrew from the real-time battlefield display mounted in the command ship. The ground forces judged that there was no point in engaging in a meaningless war of attrition. Instead, they requested support from the fleet.
"These damn bastards! The army guys never do anything properly!"
"Commander, sir. What shall we do?"
"The blockade must be brought down. Tell all the remaining battleships in charge of the outer perimeter to head to District 45! We're putting that place within the baptism of fire range too."
If the heretics were evacuating the people hiding there, then those people were also accomplices of the heretics. They just needed to purify District 45 the same way as District 44.
"Ship 6! What's happening!"
[Enemies! Liberation army inside! Aaaah! Lu, Lukai! It's Lukai!]
"What? Lukai? What are you talking about!"
How could Lukai, who should be in District 44, have infiltrated Ship 6? Ship 6 was floating in the air. Moreover, there were no traces of external enemies infiltrating. If there had been, Ship 6 would have noticed first and engaged in counter-fire.
Boom boom boom boom!
An explosion occurred inside Ship 6, visible from afar. Red flames burst forth. Whether the fire had consumed the hangar, Ship 6 was engulfed in flames and crashed.
"Commander!"
"Ignore it and carry out the operation! If Lukai really did infiltrate Ship 6, he won't be unharmed there either!"
Thinking of it as the price for killing the most annoying liberation army leader, it wasn't a bad trade. It was then that a signal came that irritated the commander's mood.
[Support request! Lukai! Lukai has appeared!]
"What are you talking about!"
At the urgent request from Ship 19, the commander had to feel like he was dreaming.
"Lukai! We need to get out of here quickly!"
Clara, a mutant girl with impressive red hair, shouted. Bullets poured down like rain from beyond the ship's corridor.
"Lukai!"
"I know."
Crash! Lukai smashed even the remaining engine with his red wrench. Ship 19 instantly lost propulsion and plummeted toward the ground.
As if gravity had reversed, their bodies were pulled toward the ceiling. Even in that chaos, Lukai maintained his balance and grabbed Clara's hand.
Light flashed and the two people moved to safety on the ground.
"Clara. Can you do the next one?"
"No. It won't be easy. The escort ships immediately put up magical protective barriers. The coordinates won't get mixed up, but it'll take time to get in."
If the previous movement was like instantly opening a door and going inside, now it was like forcibly opening a creaking door slowly from a crack. If soldiers were waiting in the meantime, they would become riddled with holes without a chance to respond.
"Just two ships."
Considering the number of remaining escort ships, the results weren't significant. Especially considering it was the result of using a trump card like Clara.
The military wasn't foolish either. Even in this chaotic situation, they realized that Lukai had means to infiltrate across space.
As a result, instructions were immediately given to internal crew members on all ships. Now it was impossible to secretly infiltrate inside the ships.
"But other things are possible."
"Huh? What are you trying to do now!"
"Going inside isn't possible, but outside should work, right?"
Clara was about to tell him not to do anything crazy but stopped herself. Their leader, Lukai, was always a man who pulled off such reckless stunts. He was the miracle man who found thread-thin possibilities in such situations and ultimately made them reality.
"The outside won't be easy, starting with the wind speed."
"Don't worry. We won't stay long."
Lukai's gaze turned toward the people fighting above the airship. They were people who had come to help, presumably colleagues of Osian.
"We must use all the cards we have to their fullest."
After Clara and Lukai were swallowed by light and reappeared, they were at the center of the [Steel Wing] unit members who were continuously firing at Diolan.
[What the!]
The unit members who had been keeping Diolan in check couldn't react in time to Lukai's sudden appearance. Lukai's wrench swung and all the soldiers were sent flying.
The enlarged Diolan stared at Lukai and Clara. Clara was frightened by his fierce appearance and hid behind Lukai. Lukai nodded appropriately in greeting.
"Let's help each other."
Nod. Diolan also nodded his head and leaped high from his position. His body, transformed like a black whirlwind, headed toward the airship swallowed by fog.
Around it, Steel Wing members flying like bats could be seen. They were very attractive prey for a cat.
Rip!
One Steel Wing member's wing was torn away by Diolan's claws.
[It's the Cheshire Cat! How on earth?!]
[What are those guys who were supposed to be restraining him doing!]
Diolan even had the nickname Cheshire attached to him.
[Remove Mist first!]
While some kept Diolan in check, the rest concentrated their firepower to target Mist. The fog that Mist wielded, Ether Water, was quite troublesome. Mist somehow wrapped himself in a shield of condensed fog while pulling out spare Ether Water from his waist and continuing to drink it.
"Gulp. Ugh. I'm really going to burst."
Since no one was watching, complaints naturally came out of his mouth. While he could use it by drinking Ether Water, it wasn't without side effects.
No one drinks cooking oil freely instead of rice just because it's high in calories. For Mist, Ether Water was a similar action.
Normally he would consume small amounts and gradually accumulate it in his body, but in situations with heavy consumption like now, he couldn't worry about such things.
"I'll be living in the bathroom for the next week."
It wasn't something to say after drinking nearly 1 liter of liquid that would put others on the brink of death with just one drop. Fog poured out more violently from Mist's body. But the consumption rate was stronger than the output.
Steel Wing even had capsules. As 3-star level magic spells exploded in succession, even Mist found it difficult to respond properly.
'Damn it. Now even the spare Ether Water is running out.'
If he had known this would happen, he should have prepared more, but regret always comes too late.
-Thud!
A flying bullet pierced through the gas bag's outer skin. From the hole, gas and white fog gushed out together.
'Wait. That's Ether Water too!'
Mist's eyes changed.
[Keep pouring it on. I can feel his output weakening.]
[Remove that annoying fog first, then hunt the Cheshire Cat.]
Confirming that Mist had wrapped his body in a fog cocoon, the Steel Wing members thought it was over and prepared to finish.
At that moment, the cocoon cracked open like metamorphosis, and an enormous amount of fog gushed out from inside. Contrary to the Ether Water shooting up like a fountain, the airship's gas bag shriveled pathetically. It looked like a deflated balloon.
Giant butterfly wings spread out. Wings made of fog flapped once, and the surroundings were instantly dyed white.
[Damn! Retreat!]
[I can't move!]
The Steel Wing unit members caught in the fog realized their equipment wasn't responding. The output was rapidly decreasing. They belatedly realized that the propellant's Ether Water was being rapidly depleted.
Meanwhile, the output of fog that Mist emitted increased further. Stealing others' fuel and adding it to his own. What kind of insane ability was this?
Mist's fog headed toward other escort ships. The fog, moving like tentacles, tore apart the outer gas bags and began sucking the Ether Water inside like a mosquito.
[Ship 20 output declining! Ether Water depletion is being exhausted!]
"Damn it. Everyone support Ship 20!"
The commander, thinking this wasn't right, immediately gave orders. Some of the gun ports that had been targeting Osian turned toward Mist and fired.
Boom boom boom boom!
Bright red flames dotted the sky. As ultra-high temperature heat mass spheres exploded in succession, the size of Mist's wings rapidly decreased.
Mist hurriedly fell away from Ship 20 and left his position. The fleet's gun ports persistently pursued him. While it would be truly hellish for Mist, it was fortunate for Osian.
"Finally."
Osian reduced the size of his solar shield and drew a straight sword from his ring.
Whoosh!
He aimed at Ship 20, which was barely maintaining balance after shooting toward the sky.
With flashing brilliance, the sun's energy lit up the night sky. Ship 20, caught in the massive impact, plummeted while emitting smoke.
Osian, who was looking for his next target, staggered without realizing it. It wasn't because he had maintained the solar power too long.
'The ground is unstable.'
Osian's surroundings were already filled with liquid melted like magma. It was a death swampland that would melt ordinary people just by passing through.
With splashing sounds, he sank down to his knees. Thanks to the heat resistance of his solar shackles, it wasn't hot, but maintaining balance wasn't easy.
Just as he was about to consider complete liberation, cold air rushed in from somewhere. It was as if winter had been hiding somewhere and suddenly appeared.
Crackle crackle crackle.
The heat cooled in an instant, and parts with weak heat even froze. The heat of the solar shackles that had been heating Osian's body also cooled considerably. When he exhaled, steam formed in the air.
"I'm grateful you came to help, but are you planning to freeze me to death?"
Osian smiled inside his helmet as he spoke.
"If it's you, you'd be fine even in colder air than this, so what's there to worry about?"
Soon, with the sound of footsteps trudging across the frozen field, Balud walked over. The tattoos carved on his already rolled-up sleeves were glowing red.
"For someone who says he's busy to personally come all the way here. As if he knows what's happening here."
"Whatever's happening, when you're here, is there any reason I can't come?"
"Of course there is. Because I'm stronger."
"And right now you received my help."
A childish yet trivial power struggle ensued. Osian asked.
"That's just putting out the urgent fire for now."
"It seems so. As long as those dangerous ships above exist, this chaos won't end."
Balud took off his glasses and tucked them into his chest pocket.
"Still, well, since I've come this far, I should give it a try."
"What are you planning to do?"
"You'll know when you see."
Balud said that and placed the huge iron case bag he was carrying on his back onto the ground. With a thud, the frozen ground sank an inch. It meant it wasn't ordinary weight.
With a click, the case opened, revealing the weapons inside. They were two-handed axes. But their shape was different from usual.
Unlike two-handed axes made for chopping and splitting by folding and swinging, the handles weren't long. If anything, they looked like hand axes made for throwing but greatly enlarged.
'There are almost dozens of those inside.'
Balud gripped one large hand axe and lightly loosened his wrist. Blue patterns formed on the axe blade, and wind and cold air began to swirl.
'This guy.'
What was carved on the axe were runes. Roughly analyzing by shape, it was definitely a swiftness rune. This meant there was a runemaster who had reached the stage of engraving on tools beyond carving on his own body.
'And the power dwelling in the axe is a [Frost Wolf] characteristic storm hammer.'
Balud gripped it and pulled his arm back with all his might. It was the stance of a pitcher preparing for a full-power throw. His muscles writhed and expanded.
"Hup!"
Balud threw the hand axe with all his strength. With blue lightning, the hand axe split the atmosphere.
-Boom!
With the sound of air bursting, a sonic boom occurred. The hand axe, containing tremendous rotational force, struck an airship in an instant.
-Clang!
The axe easily pierced the airship's defensive barrier and struck the main body. The airship's hull shook greatly, and frost thorns spread like a plague centered on where the hand axe was embedded.
One escort ship was engulfed in cold air and froze, then soon stopped functioning and crashed.
"Well, roughly this much."
Balud said while loosening his shoulders. Osian chuckled and pulled his feet, which had sunk up to his knees in the ground, and stood next to Balud.
"Well, if it had been useless, I was going to have you serve as my coolant, but that won't be necessary. By the way, I'm not ordinarily hot, so be careful not to get burned."
"You too, be careful not to get frostbite."
Osian drew his solar straight sword, and Balud gripped a new hand axe. Now it was time for a counterattack.