Genjitsushugisha no Oukokukaizouki - Volume 18 - Chapter 9.2

Around the same time, Liscia murmured, “I wonder if Carla and her folks are all right...”

Currently, it was just her, me, and Julius in Parnam Castle’s war room.

The first serious battle against the Great Tiger Empire was about to take place at Red Dragon City. The Republic was doing well holding off the Great Tiger Empire on their front, with the Euphoria Kingdom in a staredown of their own, and the Orthodox Papal State had already been driven back on the Amidonian front.

Our comrades were doing their best all over the continent. In order not to waste their efforts, we couldn’t let the enemy tear through us.

“There shouldn’t be an issue,” Julius said, pointing to Red Dragon City on the map laid out in front of us. “Red Dragon City is a hardened fortress. With ten thousand defenders, they can hold out for months without resupply. And with their former masters, Sir Castor and Madam Carla, also present, morale inside the castle must be high. Even the Great Tiger Empire will struggle to take the city.”

Though Julius said this, Liscia only looked more concerned.

“But if they’re going to handle Fuuga and that flying tiger of his, only Halbert and Ruby or Naden and Aisha can do it, right? All four of them are defending Parnam. I know Carla’s out there, but can the wyvern cavalry handle Fuuga or Krahe and his griffon cavalry?”

“We’ve set things up so they can,” I said, looking at Liscia straight on. “They have the men, equipment, and supplies. I’ve prepared some secret plans for them too. If Fuuga puts in an appearance himself, they’ll have to trigger the magic canceler and hide inside the castle, but Fuuga and his men shouldn’t be able to handle them either. If he sticks around there, obsessed with taking Red Dragon City, he’ll be doing just what we want him to.”

“I concur. If I were on the enemy’s side, rather than go after a troublesome castle like that, I would leave some soldiers to keep them under control and press on to Parnam. Because that’s what we don’t want them to do.”

Liscia nodded at what Julius was saying. “You’re right... We’re going to have enough trouble on our hands here soon, so we’ll just have to trust in them and wait.”

“Yeah. Once they pass Red Dragon City, there are no more cities to act as a breakwater between there and Parnam. Fuuga and his men will arrive in no time. We need to finish up our preparations to meet them.”

I noticed a somewhat complicated expression on Julius’s face. I asked, “Is something the matter?”

“No... It’s nothing...” Julius simply shook his head quietly at the question.

◇ ◇ ◇

Meanwhile, at the Great Tiger Empire camp in the mountains surrounding Red Dragon City...

“First, we’ll need to engage in a brief skirmish in order to gauge our opponent’s will to fight,” Hashim said.

Gathered with him were Fuuga and Mutsumi, as well as Gaten, Kasen, Gaifuku, Krahe, and the influential commanders from the lands they’d absorbed.

“The enemy has holed up inside the castle of General Castor. This is a key city for the Kingdom of Friedonia to train their wyvern cavalry, so they won’t readily abandon it as they have the others before now. I expect they have a considerable number of wyvern knights here. If we try to assault the castle, the Air Force will unquestionably come out to meet us.”

“Then let my griffon cavalry handle the task!” Krahe stood up, thumping his chest with one hand. “The griffon riders are faster than wyvern riders, and we can execute tighter turns. We are the blades of the air, feared by other nations since the time we served under the Gran Chaos Empire. I might not speak so boldly if we were against the Dragon Knight Kingdom, but there isn’t even the slightest chance that the Kingdom of Friedonia could defeat us!”

Krahe sounded confident, but Fuuga looked at him dubiously, resting his cheek in the palm of one hand.

“You talk big, but I doubt it’ll be that easy. They know you’ve joined us, so I figure the Kingdom will have taken measures against griffons, don’t you think?”

“No matter what schemes our opponent has dreamed up, my squadron, the blades trained under Saint Maria and offered to the great Fuuga, will cut them to pieces. In our last battle, they used that accursed tool (the magic canceler) against us, making it so we couldn’t even fly, but it also places them in the same predicament. I cannot see them using a weapon that renders their own air force ineffective, so the winner will be decided solely by which of us is stronger.”

Krahe was bursting with confidence. Historically, it was true that the griffon cavalry had been superior to wyvern cavalry, and Souma had been wary of them after the war with the Principality of Amidonia. Also, even if the enemy used the magic canceler, griffons had wings, unlike Durga, so they could glide down to the surface.

Fuuga seemed to think for a moment...then nodded. “Well, you might as well try. Go for it.”

“As you command. Victory will be yours, my liege.”

With that, Krahe did an about-face and left.

The young genius, Kasen, looked at Fuuga. “Was that wise? Sir Krahe seems to be taking the enemy lightly...”

“I have to agree with young Kasen,” Gaten added, sharing Kasen’s concern. “That confidence of his is dangerous.”

Fuuga shrugged. “The guy fought as Maria’s blade for years. We won’t be able to fix that pride of his unless he has a hard time. He didn’t even get to fight in our last war with the Kingdom, after all. Only tens of thousands of men holed up in Red Dragon City, nothing against a force of our size. If Krahe wins, then good, and if he doesn’t, then it won’t have much effect. If he wises up and sees Souma and the Kingdom for the threat they are after they make him suffer, that’s fine too.”

“You don’t sound like you think he can win,” Gaten said, earning him a boisterous laugh from Fuuga.

“The information I got from Yuriga before she married Souma never mentioned the air force. If she could send information about the island carriers but not the air force, then he kept their secrets from her.”

“Which means...they have something in store for us,” Mutsumi concluded.

“Yeah.” Fuuga nodded. “I’m really looking forward to seeing what it is.”

The rest of the group had complicated expressions, unsure whether they should be reassured or worried by how happy Fuuga sounded about this.

“Reporting! Griffon and wyvern cavalry have taken off from the Great Tiger Empire’s forces!” shouted the soldier who had been observing from the watchtower. “A portion of their ground forces have also begun advancing towards Red Dragon City!”

Hearing this, Castor and Carla each jumped into the saddles on the backs of their wyverns.

“Hee hee... You know, this really takes me back, Father,” Carla said with a chuckle. Castor nodded and smiled back at her.

“I know how you feel. I had to stay here and hold down the fort back when we fought against our lord, so it’s been even longer for me.”

“Didn’t you ride when you were on the carrier? You were carrying wyverns, weren’t you?”

“I was always too preoccupied with giving orders. Besides, when I was at sea, captaining a cruiser was more fun than flying on a wyvern.”

“Sounds like you were enjoying life at sea to its fullest...”

It was a bit hard for Carla to accept that. While she had been in the castle, forced into humiliating outfits by Serina, Castor had been living the good life out on the high seas.

Castor laughed. “It’s fun once you get used to it. You should come over and play when this war is over. The whole ship will welcome you.”

“You plan to return to the carrier again after the war?”

“It’s like my home away from home now. I wish I could’ve brought it into this fight. Maybe we could’ve had Mechadra or the rhinosauruses pull it.”

“You know that’s what destroyed the original battleship Albert. Also, if you go calling it your home away from home, Carl and Mother will get upset, you know?”

“No...I’m starting to feel that Accela will probably come along with me next time.”

“It looks like Carl’s troubles are going to continue a while longer...”

As the two of them were bantering, the aforementioned Carl himself rushed over with Tolman by his side.

“Father, Sister. You’re heading into battle, I see.”

“Yes, Carl. Leave the skies to us. Tolman, I trust Carl and the soldiers to you.”

“Understood,” Tolman said with a nod reminiscent of his days as a steward.

“Carl...” Carla said, placing a hand on her brother’s head. “You’ve done well protecting the house all this time. That’s how I know we can trust you with Red Dragon City. Make sure we have a home to return to when this is over.”

“Yes! And best of luck to you, Sister!”

Carl watched Carla move away, and Castor shouted to the rest of the wyvern cavalry, “All right, it’s time we head out!”

The air force unit comprised people who’d previously fought under Castor’s command and those who currently served under him aboard the carrier Hiryuu. To them, Castor was a reliable commander they could trust.

“As of this moment, there is no longer any need to hide the skills we’ve polished or the technologies we’ve long kept secret! We are going to throw everything we have at the enemy! Let them see that we’re the stars when it comes to the war in the skies!”

“““Yeahhhhhhh!””” Castor’s words were met with throaty cheers.

He raised his right fist up high as he listened to the applause.

“Men! Activate your propulsion devices!”

At Castor’s command, the wyvern riders activated the ring-shaped devices at the back of their mounts’ saddles. These were the light-model Maxwellian Propulsion Devices, also known as the Little Susumu Mark V Light. They’d been developed after the war with the Principality of Amidonia, and they’d yet to see battlefield deployment due to a lack of wars between countries since then. This technology had only really been used by Halbert during the storm in the Star Dragon Mountain Range, but now it would enter combat for the first time.

“Okay, people! Let’s race through the skies as the swords of His Imperial Majesty!” Krahe shouted from his position at the head of the griffon and wyvern cavalry that’d lifted off from the Great Tiger Empire’s camp.

If the enemy had taken flight themselves, then that was a sign that the Kingdom of Friedonia had no intention of using the weapon that nullified magic this time. Krahe concluded they likely planned for a direct confrontation between the two air forces. He also thought that in a battle of air force versus air force, the Great Tiger Empire could score an overwhelming victory.

If wyverns were bombers, then griffons were fighter planes. Unlike wyverns, whose large wings meant it took a long time for them to turn, griffons’ wings were smaller, allowing tighter turns. When the two collided head-on, griffons had the upper hand. However, the griffon’s style of flying meant they tired quickly, so they needed wyvern-riding allies to cover for them.

Also, because the Kingdom of Friedonia still needed to leave behind an air force to defend Parnam, they only had so many wyvern cavalry to deploy here. Krahe, on the other hand, could command almost all of the air forces that the Great Tiger Empire had brought for this invasion into the fight. With an advantage in both quantity and quality, he felt that his victory was inevitable.

“Reporting! The enemy has also sent out their wyvern cavalry!”

Krahe smiled, looking ahead as he listened to the report. “I knew it! The enemy has less than half our numbers!”

The force of wyvern riders lifting off from Red Dragon City was at best forty percent the size of Krahe’s. Now that the enemy was also in the air, the risk of that magic-sealing weapon being used was completely eliminated, and there was no sign of that red dragon knight he’d considered a threat. Krahe was certain of victory.

“Now, let us show the Friedonians who the stars of these skies are! We will wipe away a paltry force like theirs in no ti—”

“Incoming!!!” one of Krahe’s men shouted, cutting Krahe off.

The Kingdom’s wyvern cavalry, which had appeared so distant, closed in quickly. By the time Krahe’s eyes widened with surprise, they were only a stone’s throw away.

“Grr! Intercept the—”

“Too late!”

As Krahe tried to give the order, the Kingdom’s wyvern cavalry raced past him at an incredible speed. He didn’t even know who’d said that. In contrast to how the Empire’s air force was flying in formation, the Kingdom’s air force just flew straight at them. They even shot right past without their wyverns unleashing their fiery breath on the Empire’s air force.

Speaking strictly in terms of its effect, all they’d done was fly by. It hadn’t even been an attack. However, after seeing his enemies fly past at speeds many times beyond what he believed was possible, Krahe’s mind froze up, unable to respond. There was also a violent burst of wind as the enemy passed, breaking up the Great Tiger Empire’s formation.

“H-Hey! Stay back!”

“Whoa, don’t complain to me... Agh!”

“Raise altitude! Do you want to collide?!”

As they lost control of their wyverns and griffons, midair collisions started occurring everywhere, and some men even plummeted to the ground below.

Coming to his senses, Krahe barked orders for his men to calm down. “Urgh! Calm yourselves! Confusion only plays into the enemy’s hands!”

“Incoming! Another attack from the left!”

There was another shout from one of the soldiers, and wyvern breath attacks, arrows, and wind magic launched by the enemy hurtled towards them from the left.

Reflexively, Krahe shouted, “Everyone, defend yourselves!”

At his command, the Empire’s air force began performing defensive maneuvers. They countered the breath attacks with their own and blocked or evaded the others, using a variety of methods to endure the assault. However, they weren’t being given even a moment’s respite.

“H-Here they come!” someone shouted.

Then the Kingdom’s wyvern cavalry charged at them again, just as fast as the balls of wyvernfire that’d assaulted them. They boldly flew past the Empire’s air forces once more, breaking up their formation, but this time Krahe could observe his enemies closely.

They have something on the back of their saddles?! I don’t know how it works, but it must be the source of their speed. Do they mean to compensate for their wyvern’s poor ability to make tight turns by specializing towards speed and competing with us using hit-and-run tactics? Grr... How shrewd of them. As he thought this, the Kingdom’s air forces flew off into the distance. Their speed is incredible. Yet, at the same time, that also means that they’ve lost the ability to make tight turns. That’s where we’ll find our chance of victory!

Having found a solution, Krahe shouted, “People! You mustn’t be tricked by the enemy’s movements! They are fast, yes! However, they cannot change direction so quickly! Watch! After just one attack, they’ve flown so far away! They’re fleeing so we cannot attack them during the long time it takes them to turn around!”

Having commanded an air force for as long as he had, Krahe wasted no time figuring out the weaknesses of the propulsion devices.

“There will be time between one charge and the next! Use it to calm yourselves and return to formation! They must approach us to launch an effective attack, so we need only wait and strike them when they do! If we intercept them with minimal movement, it is inevitable that they, who are far fewer in number, must tire before we do!”

“““Yeahhhhhh!”””

Krahe’s words were having a calming effect on his men. The Empire’s air force held their position, and they kept on facing the Kingdom’s air force with the absolute minimum amount of turning necessary as they braced for the attack.

Meanwhile, in the Kingdom’s air force...

“Father! The enemy is regaining its composure!”

“Yeah. Looks like they’ve got some capable people on their side.”

Castor and Carla were talking as their wyverns flew side by side. Castor stroked his chin, a concerned expression on his face, as he considered what to do.

“The plan was to throw them into even greater disarray and seize control of the battle...but it looks like the Great Tiger Empire plans to just sit there and wait for us to come attack.”

“Charging into that would be like riding into prepared pikemen with ordinary cavalry. Maybe our momentum would carry us through, but it would probably hurt.”

Hearing his daughter say this, Castor grinned.

“Yeah. I’m not a fan of pain.”

There was a certain composure to his smile. Turning to look behind him, he shouted to the wyvern riders following them.

“Looks like they’ve decided that we’re not able to turn with these propulsion units, so they’re going to wait for us! And normally, they would be right!” Castor smiled. “But do you remember what our unit is called, men?!”

“““The Mobile Wyvern Cavalry!!!””” the soldiers answered without missing a beat.

“What is your attachment?!”

“““The carrier Hiryuu!!!”””

“Who trained and led you?!”

“““Captain Castor!!!”””

If Halbert’s Dratroopers were the best of the best when it came to ground operations, then the Mobile Wyvern Cavalry were the elites of the air. They had learned from Castor aboard the Hiryuu and were trustworthy men he’d eaten with and slept alongside.

Satisfied with their responses, Castor looked at Carla.

“Carla! We’re going to do that!”

“Huh...?! That?” Carla’s expression grew a little tense.

“I taught you how, didn’t I? Have you practiced?” Castor asked.

“Yes,” she replied. “I borrowed one of the castle’s wyverns, but this will be my first time trying it in an actual combat situation.”

“Ha ha ha! Don’t worry. That’s the same for all of us.”

“That’s not reassuring at all! Yeesh...” Even as she said this, Carla steeled herself.

If Castor said they were doing it, then she would. Even after all the time she’d spent away from home, Carla was still proud of her distinguished career in the Air Force. That was why she’d practiced “that technique” when she could find time while still looking after Prince Cian and Princess Kazuha.

Seeing Carla’s enthusiasm, Castor raised his voice. “Men, after our next charge, we’re using that! It’s time to show off our talent and grit!”

“““Ohhhhhh!”””

The Kingdom’s air force let out a cheer that echoed through the sky. Even the Empire’s air force was able to hear it.

“Here they come! Everyone, prepare to strike back!”

Anticipating another charge, the Empire’s air force readied their bows and held their blades to strike; their wyverns’ mouths were open and ready to meet their attackers with their flaming breath. Their actions seemed to say, Bring it on. And that’s just what the Kingdom’s air force did.

“Fire!”

At Krahe’s command, a volley of arrows, magic, and breath attacks flew towards the Kingdom’s air force.

“Wha?!”

However, the attacks all flew underneath the Kingdom’s forces.

Unlike in their previous charges, they hadn’t just flown straight at the Empire’s air force; they’d taken a course that would send them over their opponents’ heads, causing the attacks to miss. Krahe clicked his tongue as he looked up at the Kingdom’s air force racing past overhead.

“Tch... More trickery. But it will still take time for them to turn. Men, get back in formation before they can turn—”

As he was trying to give that order...

“Yeah, you would think that! Do it!”

On Castor’s command, Carla and the Kingdom’s air force cut the power to their propulsion devices, turning their wyverns’ long necks and tails around like a cowboy spinning a lasso. The wyvern’s momentum kept them going in the same direction, but they slowed down, with their bodies facing the opposite direction. This maneuver was effectively a midair turn.

It was the same method cats used to turn around and always land on their feet. It wasn’t possible to change directions in midair by just twisting their bodies around, but by spinning their necks and tails they could turn their bodies around. Once her wyvern had turned, Carla waited for her momentum to die down and then restarted the propulsion device.

“Ngh!” Her body was put under pressure like nothing she’d ever felt.

She grimaced under the strain but made it through, and soon she was flying at the Empire’s air force again. It wasn’t just Carla. Castor and the wyvern cavalry were already preparing for another charge at the Empire’s air force.

The Mobile Wyvern Cavalry called this maneuver the Castor Turn.

It wasn’t impossible to do it with a normal wyvern, but without any means of accelerating in the opposite direction, it would only leave one vulnerable. It even had the risk of falling due to insufficient lift, so no one had tried to fight this way before now. However, with the propulsion devices to provide acceleration, Castor had secretly been studying this way of fighting aboard his carrier.

The Empire’s air force was still trying to get turned around. Their backs were completely exposed to the Kingdom’s forces, who had already turned and gotten back up to speed.

“Attack!”

At Castor’s command, the Kingdom’s air force attacked the Empire from behind.

The units of the air force were generally only able to attack things in front of them, leaving them to flee or dodge any attack that came from the rear. It was hard to fire bows or magic behind them, and wyverns couldn’t fire their breath weapons backwards. Because they couldn’t turn in place the way units on the ground could, once the enemy was to their rear, all they could do was run and hope to change directions so they could fight back.

“Wha?! From behind us?!”

“Absurd! That’s well beyond the wyvern’s ability to turn!”

“Urgh! We have to dodge somehow...!”

This attack from the rear sent the Empire’s air force into utter disarray. They each scrambled for a solution. Some accelerated as they tried to shake off the enemy while others moved left or right, but that only served to break up their formation and cause collisions that aggravated the chaotic situation. Still, the elite griffon cavalry could evade the Kingdom’s wyvern cavalry with minimal movement.

“Calm down! Don’t let the enemy’s unexpected plans confuse you!” Krahe shouted, trying to get the situation under control, but a burst of wind assaulted him too.

“I see you’re the commander! Your head is mine!” Carla shouted. She charged in with her wyvern for a surprise attack.

Riding in at high speed, she swung her sword, hoping to take his head off with one blow. Krahe, however, easily dodged by tilting his griffon to the side.

“Wha?!”

“Fool! Your moves are too straight!”

Krahe imbued the three short swords attached to the back of his saddle with magic and hurled them after Carla, who’d just passed him. The three blades closed in on her from behind, and the hunter quickly became the hunted.

“Urgh! I’m counting on you, wyvern!”

Carla executed another turn like before, knocking down the three incoming blades with her wyvern’s breath attack as she turned. But as she tried to accelerate again, Krahe’s rapier closed in.

“If I can just get her before she accelerates!”

“Damn it!” she grunted. This guy’s good!

Just as Carla drew her sword to fight back, fire magic flew down from above Krahe, forcing him to reflexively bring his griffon to a stop. Then a red shadow passed between her and Krahe.

“Huh?!” she gasped.

It was Castor and his red wyvern. Having dropped between the two of them, Castor performed a turn with his propulsion device aimed at the ground, rising up between them again. Now that he had a good look at his two opponents, Krahe finally realized who they must be.

“Dragonewts? Are you from the House of Vargas?”

“Yeah. But now I’m just a dragonewt with no family name,” Castor said.

Carla nodded. “I’m in a similar position, but my desire to protect the House of Vargas is the same as it ever was.”

“There you have it...former General of the Gran Chaos Empire Air Force, Krahe Laval.”

Both Castor and Carla knew about Krahe.

Souma and the others had told them that if there was anybody in the skies they needed to watch out for other than Fuuga Haan himself, it was Krahe. His former boss, Maria, had warned them, “He might be a little conceited and have a unique sense of aesthetics, but he’s definitely a capable commander.”

“So the sword of Saint Maria has fallen to become Fuuga’s dog, huh?” Castor taunted, making Krahe’s eyes flare with anger.

“It was you people who sullied my beloved saint! I wanted to see her stand at the forefront of all mankind, carrying our flag! Her meeting with King Souma made her lower herself to being just another woman!”

“How selfish!” Carla spat, angry at the way Krahe talked about it. “You were just forcing your own ideals onto her! Queen Maria is the only one who can decide how she lives her life! And she shines brighter now than when she lived how people wanted her to! Why can’t you see that?!”

“Yeah, she’s right... Queen Maria’s so full of life now.” Castor agreed. “Whether she’s flying around doing her part to help the weak or getting her hands dirty doing disaster relief, she’s always beautiful. Did you know, Krahe? They call her the Angel of the Kingdom now.”

“An angel?! Ahhh! I see! I can see it!” Krahe’s face shifted from rage to ecstasy. “Because I became her enemy, she regained her radiance! Even after losing her country, her position as empress, and marrying that uninspiring king, she can still retain her glimmer because she can overcome all of those misfortunes! It means that by giving her more to struggle against, I have become to her what the devil is to heaven!”

“What’s wrong with this guy? He’s crazy.” Carla felt sickened by Krahe.

He had his own sense of aesthetics and internal narrative that explained the world in a way that was most convenient for him. People tend to see the world through the lens of their own values, but in his case, he took it way too far. He never stopped to consider if things were really as he saw them.

The way he completely immersed himself in his own narrative was unsettling to everyone else.

“I guess you could say he’s pure...in a way.”

“Father?”

Carla cast a doubtful look at her father, who showed signs of understanding.

“We were similar to him once,” Castor explained with a wry smile. “Blinded by our pride as warriors and loyalty to King Albert, we caused trouble for a whole lot of people with our stubbornness. Remember?”

“I see what you’re getting at...”

He must have recalled Georg’s rebellion. Carla felt his pain as if it were her own.

“We’re fighting the war your boss started,” Castor said to Krahe. “I don’t know if you’re doing this out of loyalty to him, for friendship, your pride as a warrior, your sense of aesthetics, the future, or whatever... You can come up with all sorts of excuses, but all you’ll see on the ground below is a pile of corpses. If you keep looking away from the harsh reality, you’ll end up hurting what you want to protect.”

His words were full of conviction, but they didn’t reach Krahe.

“Shut up! I will fulfill the role I was given! If it’s to make great people like Lord Fuuga and Lady Maria shine brighter, I’ll gladly dirty my hands!” Krahe shouted.

Castor furrowed his brow. “Your love for your ‘great’ people is so deep that you’ve lost sight of any other values you might have had. Maybe it would have been different for you if you had a family or someone you loved...”

“I said shut up!”

Krahe took a swing at Castor, but Castor accelerated and dodged.

“Carla! We’ll combine our attacks so he can’t take advantage of the opening when we need to accelerate!”

“Yes, Father!”

Responding to her father’s call, Carla closed in on Krahe, swinging her blade.

Krahe evaded Carla’s attack and tried to chase after her, but before he could, Castor finished his turn and shot towards him, and Krahe had to dodge the attack. That gave Carla the opening to finish her turn, closing in for another attack, which Krahe parried... This repeated for some time.

Krahe put on an impressive display, continuously warding off the two fierce warriors’ attacks, but he couldn’t do anything else while he did it, and the Empire’s confused air force couldn’t recover anymore. This was how their numerically superior air force was suppressed by the Kingdom’s much smaller one.

While the great battle in the air was unfolding, the Great Tiger Empire’s ground forces were also pressing the attack on Red Dragon City. It was a well-defended city halfway up the mountainside, but the Great Tiger Empire’s forces pressed on with sheer numbers and momentum. They were losing in the air, but not so badly that they’d lost control of the skies. On the other hand, the Great Tiger Empire’s ground assault reached the walls without being bombed by the Kingdom’s air force.

Fuuga, watching his forces from the main camp, turned to Hashim and asked, “So that castle...Red Dragon City, was it? You were telling me that Souma took it before, right?”

“Indeed. It was during the rebellion of the former General of the Army, Georg Carmine,” Hashim answered, uninterested. Fuuga crossed his arms and groaned.

“The defenses look tough. How did Souma take it when he’s so averse to fighting? You said something about him using a battleship on land, but I don’t see it lying anywhere.”

Seeing how amused Fuuga was, Mutsumi let out an exasperated sigh.

“No situation ever feels tense when I’m around you, darling. That makes things easier on me though.”

“Don’t be like that, Mutsumi. I’m bored having to stay in the main camp all the time.”

Hashim sighed at Fuuga’s touristy attitude.

“Unfortunately, it seems they’ve already dismantled it. After dragging it here quite forcefully with a team of rhinosauruses, the battleship Albert had to be decommissioned.”

“What a shame,” Fuuga said with a smile.

Meanwhile, around that same time, Carl observed the attack on Red Dragon City.

During the earlier battle between Souma and Castor, he’d been sent to stay with Excel in Lagoon City, so this was the first battlefield he’d ever seen. Carl, still too short to wear the armor a lord like him ought to, was standing on the wall, clad in clothes enhanced with enchantments. Beneath him was the grand army of the Great Tiger Empire, attempting to take Red Dragon City. All those people were here to destroy the House of Vargas and take his head. His knees felt weak with fear, but he still remained standing there as a lord.

“Lord Carl. You could have waited inside the castle,” Tolman said to him with a tone of concern.

Carl shook his head. “No. Let me stay here. You might be giving the actual orders, Sir Tolman, but I have a responsibility as lord to see this through. Father, Sister, and even Mother are fighting. The only way that I, who cannot fight, can defend our house is to take responsibility for things.”

Even during the time they were labeled as insurrectionist traitors, Carl had remained head of the House of Vargas, supported by Tolman and his mother, Accela. He might have still been little, but he had a lot of fortitude. Watching him, Tolman, the former steward, smiled with satisfaction.

“Do not fear. We won’t be letting them do as they please with this house.”

With that said, Tolman went to work fighting back against the Great Tiger Empire.

Morale was high as the Great Tiger Empire’s land forces attacked Red Dragon City. This army assembled to push to Parnam was now pushing its way up the mountain. They gave it their all to secure Fuuga’s hegemony in this war against Souma—it was their last chance for advancement.

Because they knew how formidable the Kingdom of Friedonia was, if they could take Red Dragon City, the war would be as good as won. Once that happened, the other countries of the Maritime Alliance were bound to cease resisting. This meant it was the last chance for the Great Tiger Empire’s soldiers to push forward and make a name for themselves. In addition, the fact that they’d seen no appreciable resistance so far, and that the detached forces sent out had been cleverly defended against had led to frustration among the men. They weren’t as fanatical as Krahe, but every last one of them desired to fight alongside the great man Fuuga in a war that would shape the world for future generations.

Despite their high spirits, the main force—including commanders like Kasen and Gaten, who’d been around since the Union of Eastern Nations days—stayed in the rear. The ones at the front were mercenaries, refugee soldiers, and soldiers from the newly joined Kingdom of Meltonia and the effectively nonexistent Frakt Federal Republic. Essentially, they were people who wanted to move up in the world but would be no great loss.

Because time was on Souma’s side in this war, if it became apparent that taking Red Dragon City would be too difficult, Fuuga’s forces planned to detach some soldiers to keep them in check and then move on towards Parnam. They kept the main force at the rear so as not to exhaust them in a general assault while figuring out the feasibility of taking the city. In place of the best of the best, these attackers were mounds of self-interest, no different from bandits. If they surged into the city, there would be a bloodbath filled with looting, assaults, and massacres.

The defenders desperately resisted in order to prevent that. From atop the city’s high walls, they rained arrows and magic down the hill at the climbing imperial forces...

“Unfortunately, there is not much we can offer you,” murmured the one-horned, blue-haired dragonewt standing on the walls, looking down at the attackers. It was Accela Vargas, daughter of Excel, wife of Castor, and mother to Carla and Carl. Wearing her navy uniform for the first time in ages, she raised her hand high.

“If there is one thing we do have for you, it’s this... Commence firing!”

“Yes, ma’am! Commence firing!”

“Commence firing!”

“Commence firing!”

With this naval-style command, the cannons opened fire on the enemies setting up ladders and sieging weapons or firing bows and magic at the walls.

Pop, pop, pop. Kaboom! Pop, pop, pop. Kaboom! Pop, pop, pop, pop!

The roar of large cannons resounded amid the ceaseless firing of lion-dog cannons. They were raining iron on the heads of the swarming imperial forces.

Bang! Crack!

“Gwagh!”

“Wahhhhh?!”

An amount of cannon fire that was probably excessive for one city rained down on the Great Tiger Empire’s forces. Fist-sized lumps of iron fell along with cannonballs, caving in helmets and skulls as well as destroying ladders and siege equipment. Excel had sent all of the navy’s gunpowder weapons to protect the city where her daughter and her family lived.

However, the Great Tiger Empire’s numbers were overwhelming, and no matter how many died, there was always more swarming to the walls. It was like a zombie horde out of the movies, and the imperial forces came endlessly even as they were crushed by cannon fire. Along the wall, the battle was either even or the defenders were being worn down.

To think the desire to accomplish something while serving under Fuuga would be so strong, Accela thought as she looked down at the situation from the wall. No matter how many of their fellows lie wounded nearby, they are so driven that they pay it no mind. To truly defeat Fuuga Haan, we can’t simply win... So this is what His Majesty meant.

Those entranced by Fuuga’s grand ambition would rise again and again unless Fuuga lost his charismatic appeal. They might win once or twice, but as long as Fuuga’s charisma remained intact, the Great Tiger Empire would not yield. Even if Fuuga himself were to fall here, the fires of resentment would remain inside the people, and the world would continue to be ravaged as these gave birth to his legacy’s successors.

In order to prevent that—in order to completely beat Fuuga and cut off the trouble at its root—Souma was preparing something. And for Red Dragon City, he’d also devised a plan.

It’s good we prepared that thing for this. Accela turned to the hooded figures behind her.

“If we are to break our opponents’ morale, we must catch them by surprise,” she said. “Please, lend me your assistance, both of you.”

The two individuals walked over to Accela and revealed themselves.

“You heard her. Looks like we’re up, Merumeru.”

“Don’t call me Merumeru... Well, this is why we were called here from the evacuation site in Venetinova. It would be a wasted trip if this thing couldn’t make an appearance.”

The pair who revealed themselves from beneath those hoods were the two heads of the Kingdom’s research division now that Taru and Trill had returned home: Genia the Overscientist and Merula the high elf. They’d initially been evacuated to Venetinova on Souma’s orders but then were recalled to Red Dragon City at Accela’s request.

Souma and Ludwin had been opposed to them being on the front lines, but their interest in the proposal and the pair’s passion won them over. With Excel arguing Accela’s case, Souma had folded and allowed their deployment.

“We’re bringing it out,” Accela said to them. “Please make preparations.”

“Roger,” Genia said with her usual casual demeanor. “But we’re not the ones who’ll actually be moving it.”

“Because our job is to remodel it,” Merula agreed with a nod. “The actual movement will be done by Sir Souma and Genia’s golems. In that sense, couldn’t we say she’s moving it too?”

“Maybe,” said Genia. “Anyway, I’ll go ahead and contact His Majesty’s consciousness through the golems that are standing by.”

Accela nodded.

“Please do. Now, shall we liven up this place even more?” She turned to address a messenger and Genia. “Take a message to the performers with orders to begin playing! Miss Genia, please ask His Majesty to begin moving that thing along with the music!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Roger, roger!”

A short while after the messenger took off running, a brave, rousing melody began playing on the walls. The soldiers on the Friedonian side knew the tune. It’d been used in a certain tokusatsu program, and they thought it was probably being used to raise morale.

It had become common knowledge after the Real Song Battle that music could strengthen magic. The soldiers of the Great Tiger Empire, however, did not know this melody. Even if they could surmise that their enemies must be playing it to raise morale, none of them understood the meaning of it.

“Okay, everyone! Let’s all sing along to hype up its appearance!”

Accela raised her hands over her head as though she were a conductor at the front of a marching band.

Immediately, the melody surged, and people began to sing. The noncombatants of Red Dragon City—the elderly, women, and children—were behind the vocals. Within the walls, they stayed hidden inside their own houses, with instructions from Accela to sing when the music played.

As for the tune...

“The Sparkling Dragon of Conquest (Full Armor ver.)” (Lyrics: Souma Kazuya; Music: Juna Doma)

Clad in hunks of warships, its steel body shines.

Call that when you’re in trouble! The guardian of the world has risen!

Pile! (Driver!) Tail! (Drill!) Tearing apart enemies!

Dragon! (Cannon!) Butt! (Bolt Thrower!) Shooting enemies!

The sparkling dragon of conquest, Me-cha-dra!

It was the theme song of the mechanical dragon, Mechadra, that appeared in the tokusatsu program Overman Silvan. As if in response to their singing voices, Mechadra emerged from a forest on the mountainside. However, it had changed since the battle with Ooyamizuchi. With its new steel equipment, the mechanical dragon looked as if it was wearing armor.

That wasn’t all. It now had ranged weaponry, including battleship cannons and antiair repeating bolt throwers, all over its body. It really did look like a Full Armor Mechadra, and was akin to an armored battleship. This extra equipment had been made from the remains of the original battleship Albert.

Seeing how magnificent it looked, the Kingdom’s forces cheered while the Empire’s forces were dumbstruck.

Genia tittered to herself as she listened to the singing. “Now that the true nature of this world has been revealed, we’ve proved the bones used in Mechadra have nothing to do with the Star Dragon Mountain Range. Now we can remodel them as we see fit.”

“Not that it makes using remains in a weapon in any better taste,” Merula said with an exasperated sigh.

“Well, it’s His Majesty’s policy to use what he can,” Accela said, grinning at this exchange. “So let’s have him do his best to save our home with Mechadra.”

As if responding to Accela, Mechadra made a gesture as if it were roaring, then began to walk towards the soldiers outside the wall with heaving steps.

“Wh-What is that?!”

“No way! I thought there were no demons!”

“M-Monsterrrrr!”

The sudden appearance of an armored mechanical dragon put the army attacking Red Dragon City into a panic. Just seeing Mechadra was enough to send some of them tumbling down from the ladders they were climbing. They were in disarray despite not even being attacked yet because they remembered the battle they’d fought against the Seadians.

At the northern end of the continent, they’d fought a battle with a gigantic weapon and won a bitter victory with some assistance from the Star Dragon Mountain Range, but their losses had been extensive. They’d worried they might be swept away in a burst of light. When Mechadra placed its front legs on the ground, the battleship cannons mounted on its back pointed at the Great Tiger Empire’s troops.

Boom! Boom!

With that, the cannons began destroying siege equipment, like the battering ram that’d been brought up to the gates. Many soldiers were sent flying in the blasts, only adding to the chaos. The more confused things got, the easier it was to launch attacks from up on the walls, and it became hard to tell which side was attacking. Genia and Merula watched from atop the walls as the imperial forces were pulled this way and that.

“Yep. Looks like it’s reloading all right.”

“Your golems are the ones firing, yes?”

“That’s right.” Genia nodded. “Part of His Majesty’s consciousness is controlling Mechadra, but reloading, aiming, and firing are all done on my orders.”

“We’re lucky the enemy fell into a panic. This isn’t really all that different from using a battleship on land, is it? Mechadra’s not really designed as an antipersonnel weapon, after all.”

As Merula pointed out, Mechadra’s movements were slow and heavy. That might be good enough when wrestling with a single kaiju, but it only had armor as good as a battleship’s. If the imperial forces regained their composure and focused their attacks, it wouldn’t last for very long.

“That’s true. It’s really only a neat gimmick,” Genia admitted. “We can’t let them take Red Dragon City. But at the same time, if they bypass it and take a route straight to Parnam, we’re in trouble. We’d like to hold them here for a number of days, and Mechadra’s a convenient way of getting their attention. Hopefully the enemy will think it’s going to be a threat to their advance if they decide to leave it alone.”

“Will things work out that well?”

In the main camp of the Great Tiger Empire’s forces, which Merula was eyeing with concern, Fuuga was smiling with glee. Because Mechadra was so big, he could see it even at this distance.

“That’s the mechanical dragon Yuriga mentioned! It’s pretty cool!”

“Yes, you would be the type to like such things, darling...” Mutsumi said with dismay.

“Uh-huh,” Fuuga agreed with a nod. “In one of Yuriga’s reports, years ago, she said he used a mechanical dragon to fight a kaiju in the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago. Was that it? I wonder what makes it move.”

“More importantly, though, is this all right? Your men are falling into disarray,” Mutsumi pointed out.

“Hrmm.” Fuuga stroked his chin. “You know...it’s not as dangerous as that gigantic mushroom thing that was defending the demons...I guess I’m supposed to call them Seadians? Anyway, it’s not firing off the light attacks that thing did.”

“Indeed. I suspect that the weapon we’re seeing poses little threat,” Hashim said before turning to a messenger. “Tell the men at the front that they should not be led astray by its appearance. That dragon can only fire cannons. Tell them that it is something like a siege tower that can be used even on bad terrain, and they are to remain calm and deal with it accordingly.”

After watching the messenger nod and run off towards the front line, Fuuga looked at Hashim.

“So, in your eyes, is it possible to take the city?”

“If we are willing to spend the time and take considerable losses,” Hashim said with a shrug. “However, the more time we spend on this city, the greater Souma’s advantage will grow. That is only more true if, as you have said, Lord Fuuga, he has some scheme in mind.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet. So, what now?”

“I think we should leave soldiers to hold them in place and move along immediately. Because that is what Souma least wants us to do.”

“And doing what the enemy hates is how you win on the battlefield, huh?” Fuuga nodded. “Got it. Have the ground forces stop attacking and pull back right away. And tell the air force to continue keeping the enemy in check, then return if the enemy withdraws.”

“Understood.”

Once Hashim left, Fuuga crossed his arms and looked at Mechadra rampaging off in the distance. There was a look of joy in his eyes...and also one of sadness.

Noticing this, Mutsumi asked, “Is something the matter, dear?”

“Hmm? Nah, I was just thinking how fun it is to see all the stuff that shows up when you go to war with Souma.”

“And yet...you still seem sad?”

“Yeah, it’s fun and all, but...I won’t be able to enjoy this for long,” Fuuga answered with a small smile. “Either it’s my victory or Souma’s. There probably won’t be another big war like this for quite a while. If I win, I can unite the nations of mankind on this continent. If Souma wins, there’ll be a loose federation of states like what he has in the Maritime Alliance. At that point, there won’t be any need for big wars. These times have sent my blood pumping and my heart racing...and they’re coming to an end.”

“Because of what Yuriga told you about...?”

“There’s that too.” Fuuga nodded with a wry smile. “In our last meeting, she put a time limit on my dream, after all.”

“I’m sure Yuriga wanted to stop you...so that you could move on to the next thing,” Mutsumi said. She knew the situation and how both of the siblings felt.

Looking straight ahead, Fuuga said, “Even if she did, I’m just going to keep racing forward. In order to give this era its answer.”

“You’re so awkward.”

“I think so too.”

With that, the Fuuga and Mutsumi drew closer to each other as they watched their own forces retreat.