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A massive cloud, resembling an inverted mountain range, covered the sky of the Sota Desert. It was the cloud formed by Kinzelo's flagship, Grenil.
The dark clouds continued to spit out bright blue thunder. It looked like a tidal wave had spread across the sky. Within it, the lifeless Zipfel battleships merely shattered and crashed to the ground.
Already, twenty or so battleships, each the size of a small moon, had been sunk.
Dragons numbering over one hundred and fifty, more than fifteen hundred mages, and the flagship Kozec.
Most of Drakka's reinforcements anxiously headed towards Grenil.
They thought that no force except Runcandel would be able to harm Zipfel.
Kinzelo, who was nothing more than a third-rate terrorist group before the Holy Kingdom incident, was tarnishing the airspace of the Lutero Magic Federation.
Of course, after the Sword Emperor Castle terrorist attack, it became known to the public that Kinzelo was not lacking in any of the three major factions.
Grenil seemed even stronger than when it first appeared at the Sword Emperor Castle.
Spikes protruding from the hull emitted mana that distorted the surrounding space. The falling debris of battleships caused the entire Sota Desert to vibrate.
The sandstorm mixed with lightning raised fierce vortex in various places, and the battleships were slowly being sucked into them.
'This day was bound to come someday...….'
Octavia Zipfel.
She stood in the commander's room of the Kozec, observing the situation with expressionless eyes.
Octavia, along with some high-ranking mages who had known Kinzelo's power from before, showed no surprise. However, it wasn't that they were unaffected; rather, they were angrier than those who had underestimated Kinzelo.
Octavia, fully aware of Kinzelo's strength, had predicted such a turn of events. Nonetheless, it was bitter to see it unfold.
It could only be expected that Kinzelo's invasion of the Sota Desert was not just an act of aggression, but rather had underlying reasons.
'Surely, their leader hasn't fully recovered from the Sword Emperor castle terrorist attack, yet they rampage like this, as if they are ready to start an all-out war.'
Runcandel.
They were the reason.
As long as Runcandel held firm, Kinzelo took advantage of the fact that Zipfel couldn't recklessly engage in an all-out war.
At least for now.
Handling both factions at the same was impossible. Well, it might be possible, but Zipfel would suffer catastrophic losses nearing destruction after the war.
In that case, world hegemony will be taken by someone else, not those who have lived under the tension of war for the past thousand years.
Even with hundreds of flying fleets, the recreating of the Orb of Origin, and the near completion of the immortal living golem.
The fact that they couldn't overpower their opponents in the long, nightmare-like tug-of-war, was giving rise to intense resentment as enemies exploited their vulnerability.
'We need to become stronger. We must reclaim the lost magic and divine powers of our clan as soon as possible.'
So, they wanted to be accused that they, indeed, will become the masters of the surface before the time of Chiron ended, and before the leader of Kinzelo fully recovered.
Dragons, mages, and fleets surrounded Grenil.
Perhaps the term "surround" might not be appropriate. Initially, Grenil didn't show any signs of fleeing even when everyone gathered against it.
Octavia stepped out of the commander's room and took her place at the forefront of the Kozec. Then, she raised her glowing staff to the sky.
"Bishkel Ivelianos!"
Octavia's resounding voice, amplified by mana, echoed through the sky. Bishkel was aboard Grenil.
He maintained his characteristic cold expression even with Octavia's arrival.
"I've always wondered why Kinzelo's leader holds you in such high regard. Is today a chance to see your abilities?"
Bishkel had nothing to say in reply. He didn't possess any particularly special abilities yet.
His virtue lay in being a meticulous vice-leader, always maintaining a rational intellect.
He could be considered skilled compared to other Kinzelo executives, who tended to be hot-tempered or somewhat eccentric. Somehow, he easily gained favor from both internal and external people.
In any case, the sight of Bishkel standing still without an answer amplified Octavia's strange anticipation.
""I hope that a glimpse of your power is worth this humiliation."
Whoosh!
As mana emanated from Octavia's staff, Grenil's thunder that was pounding around the area subsided for a moment. For a brief moment, she utilized mana greater than Grenil's engine.
That mana transformed into a huge net, wrapping around Grenil, even managing to intercept the fragments of falling battleships.
Waang-!
The warning sounds signaling impacts encoded within Grenil.
Though the protective shield that withstood even Ron's formless sword had yet to have the smallest crack, the battleship wavered under the force of the net.
'Octavia Zipfel is truly the second-in-command of the world's greatest clan.'
A bead of lukewarm sweat trickled down Bishkel's forehead.
He wondered just how much time the newly recruited person could buy them against their opponents.
Haaam-!
A woman behind Bishkel yawned as if her mouth was about to split.
She was dressed in an extravagant gown unsuitable for combat, and a pair of petite wings, about the size of a palm, protruded from her back.
"It seems like the time has come! Hey, vice-leader. I just need to fight them until they find those Runcandels, right?"
"..... Ainas. It would be better to approach the situation with a bit more caution."
Ainas Kaligo, that was the woman's name.
"Hmph! Are you saying that the second princess of the great Kaligo family should take these lesser beings seriously? Ah, there are also dragons."
Ainas' arrogant and carefree attitude had been making Bishkel uneasy since before they arrived in the desert.
"Oh, don't look at me like that. Alright, alright. I just need to do it properly, right?"
Ainas lifted the greatsword beside her casually. The way he stood up and swung around her sword looked quite relaxed.
"Instead of just buying time, can't I wipe them all out if possible? Hehe."
"This is not the time for jokes."
"Watch and see if it's a joke or not. Vice-leader, why don't you relax and wait with a cup of warm tea while I sweep them all away before dinner?"
Octavia narrowed her eyes as she observed Ainas, who had taken the lead on Grenil.
"Demon... Could it be, you've opened the gate? So, this is your ability, Bishkel Ivelianos!"
Octavia's eyes flashed and she began releasing mana again. Ainas snorted as if it were ridiculous and suddenly threw her body into the air toward Octavia.
"You are noisy, human... Kya!"
However, instead of reaching Octavia, Ainas is intercepted by the magic of the other wizards and falls to the ground.
Ainas, who was covered by the dragons' breath and magic bombardment before she hit the ground, ended up screaming like this.
"V, Vice-leader! Help me! Help! Quickly!"
Bishkel sighed deeply, touching his forehead.
What was more unfortunate was that Bishkel's despair didn't end there.
Suuaaargh!
Suddenly, a tidal wave of sword energy surged from the ground. Unlike Octavia's net, this sword energy directly struck Grenil's protective shield.
It was Hedo's sword.
Wooosh!
A crack appeared in Grenil's lower hull, and Bishkel had no idea why someone like that demon woman, resembling Bubare, was accompanying him.
'I heard it withstood the Sword of the Sword Emperor and it is indeed a sturdy battleship.'
Hedo, leaping once again, unleashed waves of sword energy as he jumped to the forefront of Kozec.
Octavia was taken aback by his injured state, and widened her eyes in surprise.
"It seems Kinzelo has firmly made up its mind. I was surprised when you requested support, but how could you be hurt that much, sir? Moreover, I saw on the way here that the 2nd tower was completely destroyed."
Like Bishkel, Hedo also had nothing to say in response to Octavia.
So, he decided to reprimand her.
"It would be good for you to take better care of your subordinates from now on, Captain of Spectres."
"Take care of my subordinates?"
"They followed young lady Sandra's orders without thinking. That's how I got into this mess."
It wasn't entirely wrong, but it wasn't entirely true either. Nevertheless, Octavia had decided that now wasn't the time to argue with Hedo.
"It seems that my subordinates have earned your displeasure. We'll talk about it later. First, we need to find those who seriously injured you, sir. Who are they, and in which direction did they flee?"
Hedo caught the sight of Ainas struggling to avoid the constant barrage of attacks.
"Uwaaaaah, Vice-leader, what are you doing!"
Demon.
It seemed like a reasonable excuse.
He hoped it would be.
"..... Well, it seems like they were demons. They fled towards the direction of the Kuta Forest, but I didn't know about their path after that."
"Were there any Runcandels with them?"
"Flagbearers, Black Knight, and the Black Dragon Murakan were with them."
He couldn't deceive her about that. Even though it might not be perfect, it was undoubtedly closer to the truth, so saying that he has never met Runcandel would be a betrayal beyond simple deception.
If that happens, Sandra will be in danger.
Octavia's eyes widened once again at the word 'Murakan'.
"The fact that the Black Dragon has come means the 12th flagbearer is also in the Sota Desert. It makes more sense why you struggled, sir."
"You should hurry if you don't want to miss them."
Octavia drew a long line in the sky with her staff.
A light made of mana moved, forming command runes in the sky.
Focus in the direction of the Kuta Forest and search for the fugitives.
Capture Jin Runcandel alive!
As soon as the command was given, ten dragons broke away from their ranks and began flying at full speed towards Kuta Forest.
Having already experienced the disgrace of letting Jin escape in front of their eyes several times, the Spectres were now determined to capture him at all costs.
Unfortunately, the direction indicated by Hedo as the Kuta Forest was the exact opposite of where Jin and Sandra had fled.
Hedo just cleared his throat and resumed directing his sword energy towards Grenil.