The massive warship, Ultima, approached. At their appearance, the escort ships hurriedly cleared a path.
-Kuuuung.
Each time Ultima's propellers turned, the air vibrated. The fine hairs on skin stood on end. It felt like a massive beast was growling right in front of them.
Being overwhelmed visually and auditorily at the same time was an uncommon experience.
"Do we really have to fight that thing?"
Loraine turned around with an awkward expression and asked.
It seemed like a joking question, but she was serious. Since Loraine was a former military officer, she knew more about Ultima than others. Such strategic weapons were classified even within the military, so Loraine didn't know everything either.
But just knowing a few more details allowed her to realize something.
-That monster-like weapon should neither be fought nor confronted.
"That thing is honestly ridiculously powerful."
Ultima was the incarnation of death where all the science and technology accumulated throughout human history was concentrated solely for destruction. How powerful the destruction it could unleash would be was too obvious to even bother explaining.
Osian spoke decisively.
"Since we've come this far anyway, there's no way to retreat."
Loraine let out a groan. She couldn't deny that. She knew it better than anyone.
"Well, yeah. We've already come this close, so running away won't work. Damn, but that thing can't even be compared to the escort ships."
"I'll take the lead. Please handle support as needed."
Osian rotated his sun ring. As heat instantly spread around them, Balud hurriedly created cold air.
"Ugh! It's too hot!"
Loraine complained. If not for Balud's cold air, her lungs might have been cooked. The heat was that intense. It was such an urgent situation that it was difficult to accommodate allies' comfort.
Martinez also used divine power to block Osian's heat as much as possible. Thanks to that, Osian was able to increase the rotation speed of his sun ring even more. The sun ring rotating at maximum speed gradually grew larger, and the sun ring's straight sword's size increased accordingly.
"Here I go."
Osian drew one sun ring straight sword. The sun ring straight sword imbued with powerful energy trembled. Piercing through the heat resistance of the sun ring armor, hot heat was transmitted through his palms.
More than sufficiently heated, it was overflowing. The sun ring straight sword spoke. Release me quickly. Defeat the enemy quickly.
If that's the case, gladly.
Osian hurled the sun ring straight sword toward one Ultima ship.
Swoooosh! Kwaaaaang!
The moment a golden streak cutting through the air was visible, an explosion occurred. Terrifying flames devoured the space, temporarily bringing dawn to the surrounding area. After the flash like the sun blinking once greatly subsided, pitch-black smoke billowed up densely.
"Did we get it?"
No sooner had Loraine muttered that than Ultima revealed its majestic form piercing through the smoke. Despite being hit by Osian's sun ring straight sword, Ultima was surprisingly intact. Only the front part being slightly blackened was all.
Everyone stared intently at Loraine.
"Ah, no, what did I do?"
Whether Loraine muttered awkwardly or not, Osian stared intently at Ultima. Before the sun ring sword made contact, a defensive barrier protecting Ultima had activated. It was the same function equipped on escort ships, but the performance was on a different dimension.
'Even in that massive explosion, only a very small part getting slightly scorched was all.'
With this level of defensive power, one might wonder if escort ships were even necessary.
-Kuuuung!
A roar echoed from Ultima. The other companions also raised their alert posture. After Ultima let out a roar, eventually the lower hangar opened.
-Swoooooosh.
With an ear-piercing sound, something black poured down. It was a black liquid. Its glossy surface made it look like spilled oil.
"Could that be bombs?"
Everyone gathered there couldn't help but be shocked. What was presumed to be black liquid turned out to be aviation bombs plated in dark color, one by one. Because their individual size wasn't large and there were too many, from a distance it looked like pouring liquid.
Thousands of bombs fell at the same time. Considering their size, individual power wouldn't be great. But if they poured down like a dam opening its floodgates, then the story would be different.
"Everyone!"
In the slowly flowing time, Lukai's shout was heard stretching out.
"Take cover...!"
────!!
A roar encompassing heaven and earth erupted. A blinding flash spread, and after it, sound tore through everything as it spread.
After the flash that could blind eyes subsided, crimson flames could be seen standing tall like mountain ranges. All the houses around the blast center were completely destroyed. Beyond the level of being pulverized, they vanished without a trace in the heat.
Following that, a massive shockwave carrying heat spread out fiercely.
-Kukowakwakwakwakwa!!!
Buildings that hadn't been touched by the heat aftermath couldn't withstand the shockwave and shattered completely. Habitable buildings were torn apart into units smaller than pebbles.
Crack! Balud swung his axe. Walls of frost shot up, greatly curving around the surrounding area. Martinez's divine power covered it. Mist also reinforced the barrier by spewing fog, and Edgar deployed defensive magic that offset physical shock.
Kuwaaaaah! Following that, the high-temperature shockwave swept through where they were. Dust clouds obscured vision. Debris of what were once buildings swirled like a typhoon carrying hail. The sound of tens of thousands of locusts flying around rang in their ears. The ground shook as if heaving.
Only after the shock subsided and the heat decreased somewhat could the party survey the surrounding scenery.
"What the hell..."
Loraine muttered as if she couldn't believe it. What kind of people were gathered here? They were composed entirely of experts whose skills would make even herself, called the Witch of the Battlefield, feel shabby.
Their best defense had collapsed almost halfway. The melted frost barrier and crumbled golden barrier, and the faded fog and blue mana barrier full of cracks.
What was more shocking was the scenery beyond.
Nothing was visible.
Nothing remained where the flames had swept through. Irregular buildings, illegal extensions, complex streets, maze-like alleys. All of it had been completely erased.
What remained was only the floor where heat shimmered, without even debris. It had literally become a wasteland. The blast center was worse. There, the ground had already melted bright red.
'How many people died from this bombing just now?'
Although they had worked hard to evacuate as much as possible, there was no 100 percent. There would have been people whose evacuation was delayed, and people who got lost in underground waterways and passed under the blast center.
"Damage report! What's the damage situation? Report!"
[Bzzt. Bzzzzt.]
No response came back. The massive shock had temporarily affected radio communication as well.
Lukai's assessment was that at least 500 people had died from the first bombing just now.
After some time passed, the radio buzzed loudly. Half the reactions were those terrified by the destruction that had just occurred, and half were panicked reactions to the severity of the situation.
'Just once.'
A single bombing had instantly dyed the entire war situation with terror. Even when escort ships scattered in all directions and launched simultaneous fire, it wasn't to this extent.
What made them even more devastated was the fact that all these results were caused by just one Ultima ship. Two more ships still remained. And they still had more than enough firepower.
"The words about erasing districts weren't empty boasts after all."
Balud muttered while adjusting his glasses. He had wondered how just three ships could erase this entire wide district, but seeing the scene just now, it was certainly not impossible. That was a dangerous weapon capable of erasing even nations. It was incomprehensible why Tirna didn't wage expansion wars.
"How do we deal with that thing!"
Loraine raised her voice. Her ears weren't hearing well due to the explosive shock, so it couldn't be helped. The guns she possessed couldn't even scratch Ultima. The others were the same. They had gathered boldly, but seeing Ultima's power broke their fighting spirit.
If the bombing just now had directly hit them, could they really have blocked it?
It might not be nuclear, but the power it unleashed was almost equivalent to tactical nuclear weapons. And Ultima's firepower was comparable to strategic nuclear weapons.
The right thing to do was to retreat immediately. This was no match. It wasn't even fighting other monsters in personal combat, but fighting three aerial battleships accompanied by numerous escort ships.
Osian drew his sun ring straight sword. Seeing that, Lukai asked.
"Are you crazy?"
"Were you crazy when you kept fighting?"
At the question containing much implication, Lukai couldn't say anything. Instead, it was Martinez who asked.
"What should we do?"
"Buy time."
Osian drew another straight sword. The sun ring straight swords held in both hands transformed into the majestic and beautiful starlight sword and the gentle and cold moonlight blade.
Martinez immediately realized what Osian was trying to do. He was trying to show again that miraculous power he had displayed that day in District 17.
"Five minutes. That much is needed to properly attune."
[Triple combination technique Sun-Moon-Stars God]
He planned to call forth again the light of heaven that had made Red Eternity retreat that day.
"No way, you need that long?!"
Loraine exclaimed in shock. Considering the current level, they wouldn't last even 30 seconds, let alone 5 minutes.
"This is already reduced as much as possible."
Osian had already used Sun-Moon-Stars God once. He remembered the optimal combination formula through experience. But knowing the ratio in his head and attempting it again were entirely different matters.
If he couldn't sharpen his senses keenly, the moment even a droplet's worth of error occurred. Osian's body would disappear from the spot without leaving even powder behind.
In other words, the 5 minutes he mentioned was time to heat up his still insufficiently warmed nerves to the maximum and pull the strings of tension and sensation as taut as possible.
"Understood. I'll try to hold out as much as possible."
When Martinez stepped forward and spoke, it was difficult for others to express dissatisfaction. When the second youngest person here after Edgar was taking the lead, what position would the adults be in?
"Well, it's not like I can't handle holding out. It would be fine to shoot that down, right?"
Balud asked boldly while Osian chuckled and nodded. Now he had no leisure to answer and had to raise his concentration.
"So, the question is how to block that thing."
Diolan muttered. In the case of Ship 1, even if it needed time until the next attack after pouring out explosives once, the remaining two ships were the problem.
"Directly attacking it would be best. It would be even better if that draws their attention."
The problem was that Ultima maintained a higher altitude than the escort ships. Simple attacks wouldn't reach. To catch their attention, they needed to approach as closely as possible. Mobility was essential for that.
"I can help you."
Clara stepped forward. Although she wasn't in charge of combat, she was the most important card here.
"I'll ride this one."
Edgar said while climbing onto Diolan's back. Loraine also watched for the right moment and naturally climbed onto Diolan's back.
They had to buy 5 minutes somehow. It would be nice if they showed leisure and let their guard down.
"As expected, that won't happen."
Lukai muttered as if chewing something. Perhaps noticing that Osian was trying to do something, Ships 2 and 3 of Ultima began roaring.
Ship 1 had also made that sound before immediately pouring down massive bombing. In other words, it was a signal that bombing like before would now fall twice as much.
He didn't know who the commander was, but he couldn't shake the thought that they had ghostly eyes for judging the war situation.
"We have to block it!"
"No good! It's already too late!"
There was no telling how to block something that was just starting to attack.
Swoooooosh!
Something black began pouring from Ships 2 and 3 of Ultima. Like massive beasts regurgitating what they had eaten, black vomit-like things fell down in a rush. It was a number that could devastate an area with simple mass alone, not even being explosives.
And unlike the first time, this time the position was close enough for direct hits.
"Tch!"
Balud clicked his tongue and threw his rune axe wrapped in cold air. Several bombs that collided in mid-air froze, but it was still far from enough.
The bombs approached close enough to be confirmed with the naked eye. They were streamlined black aviation bombs. The moment they touched the ground, they would trigger the detonator and cause tremendous explosions.
It was the moment everyone thought it was over.
Thud thud thud thunk!
The aviation bombs stuck into the ground but caused no explosions whatsoever. Martinez and Edgar hurriedly surrounded the area with barriers to block the bombs falling overhead.
Bounce bounce bounce bounce!
The deflected bombs fell powerlessly to the ground. There were still no explosions. Over thousands of bombs had all misfired simultaneously.
"How?"
The moment Loraine muttered in disbelief. They all saw the glint of a single matchstick flame on top of a distant building.
Holding a single candle burning large like a sacred flame was a girl with a red cloak and blonde hair reaching her shoulders.
"Everyone! Are you all safe?"