Chapter 207

Aerial Battle Over Arland
Pash’s Point of View
“We’ve detected the enemy fleet. Distance: 50 kilometers. Approximately 300 ships.”

“That’s a fat goose.”

Pash sat heavily in his chair in the CIC—the combat information center of the armed airship—watching the visuals unfold before him.

“The enemy fleet is hopelessly outdated. Our vessel outperforms them in every category.”

The armed airship was a state-of-the-art vessel, leagues ahead of conventional airships in firepower, range, speed, and defense.

Its four 127mm cannons boasted formidable firepower and exceptional accuracy. On top of that, many functions were automated for ease of use, even by new recruits.

In fact, Pash had no concerns about crew proficiency. Given the enemy's capabilities, this was a battle they couldn’t lose. Even minor mistakes would be tolerated.

Thus, Pash saw this aerial battle as an opportunity to improve the Arland Royal Air Force’s training and gain valuable combat experience. It wasn’t real combat—certainly not against an opponent worth going all out against. That said, he would not allow arrogance or complacency.

“Very well. Maintain a distance of eight kilometers and commence the attack.”

“With this ship’s specs, we should be able to close in further without issue. Wouldn’t our main guns be more accurate at closer range?”

Pash frowned at his adjutant’s words. Seeing that, the adjutant broke into a nervous sweat.

“This is the only armed airship in existence. It is the pride of our air force. We cannot allow a single scratch to befall it.”

The armed airship was the shining hope of the air force, which had long been treated like an afterthought. With it, they could finally fight on equal terms with the army.

That’s why the air force treated the armed airship with extreme care. They even polished it daily until it gleamed. If it were ever damaged, the entire crew would likely go mad.

“U-understood, sir!”

The adjutant, who loved the armed airship just as much, quickly agreed. Of course he didn’t want it to be damaged. Staying at range and shelling the enemy safely was the best way to protect the ship.

“Distance approximately 8 kilometers. Commencing bombardment.”

After the calm voice of a subordinate, the ship gave a gentle tremor. But the tremor was rhythmic, and some of the crew even began humming to it.

“Direct hit. Enemy ship ablaze!”

“Excellent!”

Pash rose to his feet. On the monitor, an Imperial airship was engulfed in flames. This footage was being transmitted from a magic tool called an “Explorer’s Eye,” which resembled a large eyeball. Normally stored in a chimney-like housing, it deployed during combat or reconnaissance and projected real-time visuals.

These images were displayed in the CIC and were also useful for pinpointing enemy coordinates with high accuracy.

“The enemy fleet is splitting left and right. They appear to be attempting an encirclement.”

Initially, the Imperial fleet had simply flailed under attack, but now they were moving to execute a pincer maneuver. At least ten ships had been definitively sunk by now, with several more burning. Their confusion was obvious.

The captain immediately turned the ship around—not that they could ever catch up. Though the armed airship was reversing to create more distance, it could still fire on both flanks with the two rear 127mm turrets, which continued pounding the enemy.

As expected, the vanguard ships on both flanks burst into flames, began to lose altitude, and then plummeted toward the ground.

“Talk about bringing a goose already seasoned with green onions,” Pash muttered, glancing around at the CIC staff. The crew, initially tense, had relaxed somewhat in the face of their overwhelming success, maintaining just enough edge for combat readiness.

—
Imperial Fleet Point of View

“Could this be some kind of mistake?”
That was the thought running through the mind of Marquis Elman Heilgo.

He was the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Air Force.

He was by no means incompetent—on the contrary, he was a highly capable officer within the Imperial military. He had led the Imperial air fleet to numerous victories.

He believed this war was already won. With overwhelming numbers, the Arlandian forces would be swallowed whole. That had been his assumption.

“And yet... And yet, what the hell is this!?”

“Commander Elman, sir! Any more losses and—!”

The fleet Elman led was crucial for Imperial supply lines. He understood how important control of the skies was. The Imperial fleet had been equipped with a new weapon—cannons capable of engaging both ships and ground targets.

Thanks to this, Elman’s fleet had earned a reputation across the continent as the invincible armada.

And yet, a single enemy airship was annihilating that fleet with ease.

Many of his proud vessels were belching black smoke. Some were falling out of the sky entirely. The crews of crashing ships had little chance of survival. The elite soldiers he had spent half his life training were being slaughtered without accomplishing anything. Darkness clouded Elman’s vision.

“What did I get wrong…? Where did I go wrong…?”

“Commander Elman, sir!”

His adjutant shook his shoulder.

“Please pull yourself together! Any more losses and the entire fleet will be lost!”

“R-right... You’re right. Retreat—we retreat! Signal the remaining ships—withdraw from this airspace immediately!

Tie ropes to any ships with damaged masts and tow them. Get as many back to the Empire as possible!”

The Imperial fleet was the key to the current invasion’s logistics. But as long as that demon of the skies remained, they would not succeed.

If the sky was denied them, the Imperial army would lose its supply lines. The land routes were already on the verge of collapse, thanks to the Arlandian elven forces. Of course, anticipating these logistical difficulties, the invasion force had brought every storage pouch in the Empire, so they wouldn’t need resupply for some time. And as the campaign continued, the number of mouths to feed would shrink.

But sooner or later, they would face food shortages. With both land and air blocked off, the Empire had to crush the Arland army while momentum was still on their side.

And in that moment, Elman began to wonder...

"Where is Alicetia?"

"Commander Elman?"

"Something’s wrong. That’s it—Alicetia hasn’t appeared on the battlefield."

Alicetia, hailed as the Kingdom’s treasure. There’s been no sign of her movements at all.

The army’s forecasts had assumed Alicetia would be deployed with the land forces. She’s a patriot who would never tolerate enemies within. And yet, she hasn’t made a move.

"Could it be… this war…"

We might lose—Elman muttered. They should be winning. The Arlandian forces were steadily being worn down by the sheer numbers of the Imperial army. Eventually, they should be crushed.

The skies are a threat, but aside from that one airship, no other sightings have been reported.

They’d heard from an informant that Alicetia was behind the creation of the military airship, but they had gravely underestimated the power of a single ship.

However, if there’s a reason Alicetia hasn’t moved… if she’s the one who built that airship that bombards them unilaterally from the skies, then that’s an utterly intolerable situation.

Reports from the invasion force say that Alicetia is not among the Kingdom’s army. No notable magical attacks or magical support have been detected. And Elman was convinced she was not aboard the armed airship either. There’s no reason to place valuable personnel aboard a ship that won’t be attacked.

"Contact His Imperial Majesty. If we don’t crush the Arlandian forces immediately, we’ll reach a point of no return."

If there’s even one more of those airships, the Imperial forces will face serious trouble. Of course, he doesn’t think they’d lose from just one ship—but with two, one could hold off the Imperial fleet while the other directly attacked the invasion force. He was now convinced they had that level of capability.

"Have the remaining ships operate independently and deliver supplies to the invasion force at all costs!"

"Commander Elman, sir!"

"The invasion force cannot afford to halt now. Arland’s strategy is to stall the battlefield. They’re still rampaging that hard, yet haven’t finished their war preparations!

Time is our enemy. Therefore, we must swiftly overwhelm the Arlandian forces. Ships that are no longer operational should be left at Fort Granzur.

If we split up and move independently, they only have one ship. That means even if we take losses, we can still get supplies to the invasion force."

Elman instantly identified what the Arland Air Force would hate most. The air force, too, wants to prevent the Empire’s resupply. They’re stalling the battlefield to buy time. Time is on Arland’s side.

As long as they can buy time, Alicetia’s mind will save Arland. That’s the only hope Arland has left.

That day, the Empire’s proud invincible fleet suffered a crushing defeat by a single airship. Over fifty airships were either shot down or sustained irreparable damage, and even the surviving ships were heavily damaged.

However, the remaining Imperial fleet disbanded, and the airships began operating solo to deliver supplies to the invasion force. This did incur losses, but they managed to avoid a complete disruption of supply lines.

—
Pash’s Point of View

"General Pash, the communication equipment on this ship is being used illicitly."

"They finally showed their tail. Turn on the cameras and intercept the transmission. Bridge crew and CIC staff, retrieve handguns from the armory. We’re going rat hunting. Have the captain review and execute Security Order 02."

Pash sneered at the fool who’d fallen for Alicetia’s scheme.

Security Order 02

That was the procedure for dealing with enemy informants within the ship.

Pash and Alicetia had already suspected there was an informant onboard. The ship’s internal cameras confirmed the suspect was a young noble from the Noble Council.

He had been assigned as an officer out of courtesy. While he seemed somewhat competent, in the end, he was still a rat—Pash lamented. This was their final chance. With this betrayal, Arland could sever ties with the Noble Council. Betrayal during wartime is the worst crime, one no noble could defend.

And the true goal—comes after the war. Pash had been wide-eyed when Alicetia spoke to him about post-war matters. The war hadn’t even begun properly, yet she was already thinking beyond it.

The air force’s success in this war would be too great. That could easily create friction with the army. Alicetia believed this must be avoided at all costs. Thus, the Arland Air Force had to commit a blunder.

If they made a mistake like nearly losing their one precious armed airship, the air force couldn’t act high-handed toward the army. And the army couldn’t win without the air force’s support. This would balance the two branches. That was Alicetia’s plan.

"As expected of the Princess."

"General Pash?"

"No, it’s nothing."

Very few people are allowed to know the contents of Security Order 02. From the air force’s perspective, it’s practically treason. So only a minimum number of people are informed.

Pash sighed as he watched, on screen, the officer foolishly and proudly communicating with the Empire.

What an idiot. He didn’t even know that communications from the airship’s transmitter were being recorded by the CIC.

And interception too—though they had learned about such concepts from people of another world, they lacked the technology to implement it. That’s why none of the nations were wary of signal interception.

They had never been trusted from the beginning.

What do you think about this chapter?