A wyvern was typically a creature they referred to as a "flying dragon."
It was a degenerated species of dragon incapable of utilizing the inherent abilities or magic of dragons. However, being direct descendants of dragons, they boasted high magic defense and could spew fireballs from their mouths.
This monstrous child had the terrifying combination of flying, long-range attack, and high magic defense.
Luckily, it had a clear weakness. Its physical defense was noticeably low.
Armed with anti-air nets from Stage 4 or so, one could take them down without too much trouble.
The problem was... our monster frontline hadn't recovered from the damage they sustained in the fight against the blood race.
While engaging in the decisive battle with the vampires atop the city wall, more than half of our cannons and ballistae were ruined.
We put our all into repairs, but we couldn't fully restore the anti-air nets.
'In addition, the composition of these monster bastards is a problem.'
Krrrrrrrr-!
Twenty or so giant monsters were flying in from the front of the wyvern horde.
These giant lizards, which were emanating flames from all over their bodies, were called Flame Wyverns.
As the tanker unit of the wyvern legion, it swallowed all flame and explosive attacks into its stomach.
Not only the cannons, but also most of the explosive arrow bombings from Burnout, who was attacking with explosive arrows, were sealed.
Even just this was a headache, but there was more.
[Enemy Information - STAGE 6]
- Lv.35 Trishula : 3 units
- Lv.25 Flame Wyvern : 30 units
- Lv.20 Wyvern: 710 units
Information about the boss monster of this stage, which had previously been hidden by question marks, had appeared on the stage enemy information.
Trishula, the three-headed dragon.
As a wyvern with three heads, it could be said to be the strongest monster in the wyvern category.
This stage had assigned these three elite monsters as the boss.
And with the start of the stage, their names were revealed.
In other words, they were not joining in the later wave but had come from the beginning.
Upon closer examination through the telescope, it was indeed true.
Three three-headed dragons were visible, flying right behind the leading Flame Wyvern.
'This is crap, seriously...'
Various tactics came to mind and disappeared. There was no way to fight without taking damage from these things.
Damn, is there any way? Still, I have to try as much as possible.
'I will get rid of the Flame Wyverns with the artifact from last time that redirects entrance, and then have Damien snipe, while Burnout bombards...'
Just as I was about to give the final instructions, I was interrupted.
"My Lord!"
Lucas called out to me urgently.
Wondering why, I turned to see Lucas pointing to the opposite direction of the incoming monsters - the north.
"Something is coming from the northern sky!"
"What? From the north?"
Startled, I turned around.
Lucas was right. Far in the northern sky, the shadow of a large object was visible.
The unidentified something quickly closed in. Lucas, recognizing its identity, yelled out.
"That's... an airship!"
"Airship?"
"A ship that can fly in the sky, built with ancient magic!"
I know what that word means! But was that a thing in this world?!
"I thought there were only a few left in the entire continent. And the airship that's coming now...!"
Screeeeaaak-!
The airship was approaching with a noise that split the wind.
There were three airships in total.
One was a jet-black airship with the imperial royal insignia of a sword and a rose.
And two escort ships, clad in thick plates, flanking the royal airship.
Lucas recognized the middle ship and called out its name.
"The royal flagship, 'Alcatraz'...!"
Three airships that appeared from the northern sky charged into the Wyvern horde that was covering the southern sky, without slowing down.
Thwoooosh-!
Blue flames burst from the stern of the two escort ships.
The two escort ships that quickly accelerated flew across above our heads and dove into the center of the Wyvern horde.
Kraaaaaaaa-!
The wyverns let out a simultaneous wail and spat fire from their mouths. Hundreds of fireballs rained down like a downpour.
However, the wyverns' fireballs evaporated when blocked by the thick armor of the two escort ships.
The magical characters carved into the escort ships' armor flashed with a chilly light.
"What kind of defense magic did they use to block that without any damage?"
The two escorts that had plunged roughly into the Wyvern swarm suddenly extended their concealed cannon ports, and indiscriminate firing commenced.
Boom! Bang! Thud...!
Bullets rained down, monsters splattered flesh and blood, crashing in all directions. The formation of the Wyvern fleet was torn apart in an instant.
Gazing at the overwhelming firepower, a moment later, a pitch-black airship flew in and stopped above us.
"This message is transmitted from the Imperial Special Task Force Alcatraz."
A voice, seemingly talking into a microphone, flowed from the airship.
Creak-
The hatch under the airship opened, and a soldier slowly revealed themselves.
A middle-aged woman with neatly tied black hair, dressed in a neat Imperial Army uniform, emerged.
"I am Reina Windwell, the Captain of the Independent Regiment under the Royal Command, the Imperial Magic Corps. Following the imperial command, I am here to support the extermination of monsters on the southern front."
The woman, Reina, bowed respectfully to me.
"From this moment, for the next five monster defense battles, the command of our 'support troops' will be transferred to Prince Ash."
"..."
"Please issue your orders, Your Highness."
As if there would be any special directives in this situation.
I yelled loudly at Reina.
"Wipe out all these monster bastards!"
"Your command is received."
Reina bowed once more and stretched her hands out in front. Her body faced south.
Grrrrr...!
A great surge of magic power began to converge on Reina.
The other four magicians who had appeared behind Reina began to assist her.
Simultaneously, a warning voice flowed from the airship Alcatraz.
"Prepare for the Captain's bombardment. Anchor 1 and Anchor 2, temporarily withdraw from the area."
Immediately after the command, the two escorts that had been slaughtering the Wyvern fleet spewed fire from the rear and quickly escaped the area.
Suddenly, the airships retreated without looking back, and the Wyverns in the middle of the battle were flustered.
And before they could regain their formation,
Whoosh-!
Tornadoes struck from above the monsters.
Numerous gigantic tornadoes, more than ten in total, were formed and pummeled the Wyvern fleet.
Junior muttered in disbelief as she watched this abnormally powerful wind magic.
"Joint magic from a party of five wind mages...?! This is absurd..."
I didn't fully understand the principle, but the results were tremendous.
It didn't matter how high the monsters' magic resistance was.
The Wyverns caught in the devastating tornadoes couldn't withstand it, either falling or getting shredded to pieces.
Whoosh-!
The airship Alcatraz barely held on, spewing flames backward from the thrusters.
We, standing on the ramparts, had to hold on to something and brace ourselves to avoid being swept away by the wind.
How much time passed? Dozens of seconds? Maybe dozens of minutes?
The wind began to gradually cease. When the gust finally stopped, I took a deep breath and looked at the southern sky.
The Wyverns, regular monsters, were completely wiped out. Only a dozen or so Flame Wyverns and three boss monsters, Trishulas, managed to stay afloat in the sky.
"Indeed, they're of the Dragon species. It's amazing that they're still alive after that," Reina exclaimed in admiration.
"Anchor 1, Anchor 2, return to the area. We'll finish off the remaining monsters. The main ship will join as well."
With the command issued, the two escorts that were far away once again spewed fire from the rear and charged into the remaining Wyverns.
Reina bowed to me one more time before entering Alcatraz. The hatch slowly closed.
Thud-!
Alcatraz too, spewing fire from the rear, flew up and joined the ongoing battle.
Boom! Bang! Thud...!
Watching the few elite monsters being torn apart by the firepower of the three airships, I muttered to myself.
"...I asked for support, and they sent forces that seem capable of not just holding but taking over this place?"
I don't know much about the Imperial Army's composition.
But I can tell that these three airships and the magicians on board are monsters that even the Royal family has painstakingly raised and honed.
Thanks to this, we were able to accomplish our original goal of 'defeating the monsters without harm'...
"Lucas, do you know a woman named Reina?"
At my question, Lucas answered immediately.
"Of course. Reina Windwell, a famous wizard known more by her alias 'Gale'. She's a key figure representing the Imperial Magic Forces."
A well-known person, it seemed.
Lucas continued to explain.
"I knew she had stepped away from the front lines after the Magic Forces transferred from the 1st Division to the direct control of the Royal Family..."
"So, she's not a retired wizard, huh? She must have been hiding and doing something in the back. There's always something fishy about those directly under the Royal Family."
As I was muttering, I suddenly noticed a sour expression on Junior's face, who was standing next to me. I cautiously asked,
"Junior? What's wrong? Is something the matter?"
"...No, it's nothing."
Junior forced a smile.
"It's just... the relationships between people... it's disgustingly never-ending."
"Do you know her?"
"A little."
Junior stared at the pitch-black airship cutting across the sky and pouring out bullets.
"Just... a little."
***
BANG-!
Thud...
The last Trishula's third head, crushed by the bullets, was torn apart, spurting blood.
Without even a chance to scream, it crashed, raising a dust cloud.
With that, the wyverns were completely annihilated.
After confirming that there were no more monsters to shoot down, the three airships smoothly landed outside the walls.
Leading my party members, I opened the castle gates to greet them.
Creak...
Raising a cloud of dust as they fully descended to the ground, the hatches of the three airships opened simultaneously.
From the two escort ships, knights and soldiers in crisp Imperial Army uniforms formed rows to exit, while wizards walked out from the Alcatraz.
Seeing the scale of these neatly lining up in front of me, I internally gasped.
There were so many. Too many.
There seemed to be over twenty hero characters and about two hundred soldiers.
Including the personnel on standby inside the airships, there would be even more.
'This scale...'
At that moment, Reina slowly approached me and saluted politely.
"Allow me to greet you again. It's an honor to meet you, Prince Ash."
"I'm pleased as well, Lady Reina."
I pointed to the soldiers standing behind Reina.
"But... the scale of the reinforcements is much larger than I thought? The royal favor seems more generous than I thought?"
"Ah, these are not reinforcements."
Reina gently smiled and corrected me.
"The official reinforcements sent by the royal family are five officers including me, and fifty soldiers."
"Ho... then what are these friends here for?"
"Don't you suspect, Your Highness?"
After a pause in her words, I bit my lips.
"It's a royal decree from His Majesty to return to New Terra immediately."
"..."
"These people were dispatched to escort you back. That's why the Alcatraz, a royal special mission airship, was sent as well."
I sighed quietly.
"So Father has called for me... Can I know the reason?"
"Does the Supreme need a reason to want to see his son?"
"Isn't Father residing in the royal palace? Did Father really call me? It's not someone else from the royal family using Father's name to summon me?"
"I'm an ignorant soldier, so I don't know such things. I'm just following the order given to me."
Reina, who had stepped aside, stretched out her hand towards the open hatch of Alcatraz.
"Now, please get on. I assure you that the Alcatraz's air travel is very comfortable."
"..."
"You're not thinking of rejecting the Emperor's summons, are you, Your Highness?"
To me, who stood silent, Reina stepped forward, her smile not fading.
At that exact moment.
Swoosh!
Lucas, who had stepped forward drawing his sword, pointed his blade at Reina.
At the same time, Evangeline stepped in front of me with her shield deployed, and Damien, who had drawn his magic guns, aimed at the other wizards around us.
Junior finished preparing to launch dozens of magic elements she had floating above her head.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
And as if they knew it was coming, the imperial knights drew their weapons.
The imperial magicians aimed the spells they had previously cast at my party members, while the soldiers prepared to shoot with their crossbows.
"His Majesty the Emperor must be heartbroken."
Even in this tense atmosphere, with Lucas's sword pointed at her throat, Reina didn't even blink as she murmured.
"It's because his beloved youngest prince won't listen to his words."