While the air fleet was launching to halt the advance of the King of Flies, I scoured all the historical records left in Crossroad but failed to find any particularly meaningful information.
Given the city's long history of warding off monsters, information on all the monsters defeated here was recorded in the form of a bestiary. However, there was nothing about the King of Flies.
"Damn!"
After finding no useful information in the last book I looked through, I closed it roughly and hurried to the teleport gate of the lord's mansion.
I intended to head straight for the Lake Kingdom. I thought perhaps those in the darkness there might have information about the King of Flies.
However,
[The teleport gate to the 'Lake Kingdom' is currently unavailable.]
A red notification window appeared, and the magic stones that formed the teleport gate crumbled away.
"What the?"
I tried several more times in confusion, but the result was the same. All connections to the gates inside the Lake Kingdom were currently blocked.
As I was struggling to somehow restore the connection, someone approached from behind and said,
"It seems something has happened inside the Lake Kingdom."
"...!"
"Perhaps the recent civil war between the Black Dragons and the Demon Guardian Corps is the cause..."
I turned around and called out the name of the person behind me.
"Aider...!"
The damn Director was standing there.
Aider was now so badly injured that he could barely walk, leaning on a cane. His gray hair seemed to be dusted with ash.
His eyes, already dim and in poor condition, were now half-closed. Is he sleeping? No, he's not asleep, right?
"You seem to be getting worse every time I see you."
"Hehehe. But I'm still in the prime of youth."
His mouth was still alive, at least.
Limping towards me, Aider gestured with his eyes.
"I've heard about the monster that appeared in this defense battle."
"Yes, it's the King of Flies."
I had planned to seek out Aider if I couldn't find any useful information in the Lake Kingdom, so I quickly asked him as well.
"It's a monster I've never seen in the game before. Do you have any information you could share?"
"This game is really full of peculiarities."
Aider trailed off and looked at the southern sky.
It seems I spent quite a bit of time searching through the history books and bestiary. Night had passed, and the dawn was breaking blue in the distance.
"This monster has appeared only a few times even after countless repetitions. It only appears under a series of coincidences, and yet, it has appeared in this cycle too..."
"You've encountered it before then? So you must know how to defeat it?"
I felt a sense of relief inside. If Aider had encountered it, then he must have some hints for me.
However,
"Let me tell you first, my lord. In all the games where the King of Flies has appeared..."
Aider spoke decisively.
"We've ended up with a game over."
"..."
"Not once have we succeeded in stopping the King of Flies. Of course, the situations on the front lines when we encountered the King of Flies were all more dire than now."
Aider let out a slight sigh.
"What I can say for sure is that we have never once succeeded in defeating this enemy. It's that powerful of a monster."
"I don't give a damn about that."
I grinned, grinding my teeth.
"Just because we failed before doesn't mean we'll fail this time, right? Just tell me what you know."
Aider seemed pleased with my response and smiled slightly.
"I'll tell you what I remember about the King of Flies. I hope it will be helpful."
The information Aider provided about the King of Flies was as follows:
The being is composed of countless flies, with a collective consciousness formed by the unity of the flies' minds acting as the thinking and acting entity.
"The being is created from the flies' collective desire for the prosperity and continuation of their species."
This collective consciousness built a society of flies, using each individual as a part, for the future and well-being of their species.
Not only did they band together to repel enemies, but they also designed a system that allowed the flies themselves to evolve over time.
"Didn't you feel like the flies were getting smarter during the battle?"
At Aider's question, I shuddered.
During our first encounter at the forward base, the flies adapted to our attacks with each wave.
By the last wave, they were not falling for traps, and they began to meaningfully evade cannonballs and ballista bolts.
Was it... not a coincidence?
"The collective consciousness learns information about the enemy and injects it into the next generation of offspring. The offspring evolve to better withstand the threats and are born anew."
"So, they're not only producing offspring in real-time during battle, but they're also evolving in real-time...?"
"That's right."
Aider nodded clearly.
"They acquire information, teach it to the next generation, use the old generation of flies as ammunition, and replace their massive body with the new generation of flies. This way, they improve the species over generations and ultimately aim for the perpetuation of the species."
So, what, then.
I thought of them as a moving aircraft carrier and production base. And now you're telling me they have a self-evolution and upgrade feature too.
"What the fuck...!"
This isn't just a difficulty problem anymore.
How the hell are we supposed to defeat such an enemy?
One that compensates for its weaknesses and moves towards its ultimate form, what method could possibly...?
"But this King of Flies, too, is a being that went extinct in the distant past. What remains today are only its pathetic descendants."
Aider spoke calmly. I suddenly came back to my senses.
"In the end, the flies did not reach their ultimate form, and their descendants are living the most humble and miserable lives at the lowest levels."
"..."
"There must be a way to defeat them, there has to be."
I recalled what Dusk Bringar had told me earlier.
- The flies built their own empire, and their end was not much different from that of any other empire.
If the end they met was like that of most empires, then that means...
"...!"
Suddenly, an idea flashed through my mind.
But could this be a feasible operation?
Among the options I have, is there a way to turn this idea into reality...?
"Your Majesty! Urgent news!"
That was when.
A soldier ran up to me in a hurry. Seeing the pale complexion of the soldier sent a shiver down my spine.
What is it, what's happening?
Could it be...
The soldier, who had collapsed to one knee in front of me, reported in a trembling voice.
"The air fleet! The air fleet that went south to stop the enemy monster...!"
***
An airship is not simply a boat that flies in the sky.
This battleship, made of the essence of magic engineering, is equipped with overwhelming firepower as well as formidable defensive capabilities, both physical and magical.
Its sturdiness is comparable to the walls of New Terra, the capital of Everblack.
Once in a defensive state, it can withstand even a direct hit from a dragon's breath. That's the defensive capability of an airship.
A fortress in the sky.
This is the word that defines an airship.
Boom! Bam-Bam-Bam!
These fortresses were retreating.
The air fleet had been firing flares and pouring down barrages, burning through the darkness all night. As a result, the King of Flies and its forces could no longer advance and had to stop in their tracks.
Coincidentally, the wind was a northerly.
The wind pouring in from behind the fleet, from the north, was heading straight towards the King of Flies, making it difficult for the flies to fly against it, which was advantageous for the air fleet.
But the wind did not favor humans forever.
It was now summer. The sunrise came early, and dawn broke quickly. And with the break of dawn, the wind changed direction.
A southerly wind.
With the wind from the south, the flies' movements became much faster than before.
Moreover, the flies, flying in formation and swirling around, began to dodge and mock the air fleet's barrage with their evasive maneuvers.
Everyone sensed that it was time to retreat.
"Captain McMillan, it might be best to start retreating."
Lucas's voice came through from Geronimo to aid the captains lacking experience in battling monsters. Lucas was aboard Geronimo, continuously offering advice on the battle.
"Hmm!"
A low moan from McMillan was transmitted through the communication.
"Prepare to retreat! Let's slowly back off while maintaining formation!"
Even though they had stocked up on magic stones and mana cores for replacement fuel in Crossroad, ammunition was running low, and more importantly, the crew had been exhausted from the continuous fierce battle through the night. It was time to retreat.
The air fleet began to slowly back off while maintaining their fire network.
However, the flies were not about to let humans off easily.
"Huh?"
Kellibey, who had been scanning the area with the scan magic installed on the airship, shuddered. Something strange was detected on the magic panel's visualized map.
Below where the air fleet was positioned, a wide forest spread out, and something was wriggling through the forest, moving in large numbers.
"...!"
It was a swarm of flies, moving on the ground.
Ssssssssh!
Flies that had burst out of the forest ambushed the fleet from below. Simultaneously, swarms of flies that had maneuvered to the fleet's left and right sides also poured in.
"They're coming around-!"
With Kellibey's shout, the air fleet's reserve barrels all fired at once.
The crew members of the air fleet, not distinguishing between the front, back, or sides, fired machine guns and scattered magic bullets, clearing the clinging flies. But the flies seemed endless.
"We can't fight any longer! Switch to defense mode and retreat the battleships!"
Originally, they had planned to retreat slowly while pouring more fire, but the situation had become urgent. As McMillan ordered, the captains all agreed.
Click, click!
The airships, as if on cue, simultaneously closed their gun ports and raised their magic barriers.
Thud! Thud! Thump!
The rushing flies were unable to penetrate those barriers and were crushed.
This was the airship's defense mode.
A testament to modern human technology, it was impenetrable by the mere attack power of flies.
The airships all turned around. Now, a full-speed retreat meant the situation was over.
"Huh?"
But then, something went wrong.
"What the hell, why isn't this working? Damn it!"
One airship failed to switch to defense mode.
It was the escort ship Silver, located at the end of the fleet's right wing.
Like Geronimo, made with the same design featuring two rotating propellers, this escort ship's gun ports did not close properly, and its magic barrier flickered and failed to operate correctly.
"Damn it! Bloody hell! This shouldn't be happening, everything was fine during maintenance...!"
As Silver's captain, Kellison, screamed in frustration,
Ssssssssh!
A swarm of flies, as if they had found their prey, poured towards Silver.
Lucas and McMillan almost simultaneously shouted in desperation.
"Full speed retreat now!"
"We must shake off their pursuit!"
Whoosh!
Sixteen airships all accelerated at once.
However, the flies clung to Silver, which was not yet at full speed, and began to tear apart the armor of the airship whose barriers had not been activated.
Watching this, Kellibey muttered quietly.
"It's no use."
"Get off, get off, you filthy vermin! Do you know who built this ship-"
Click.
As Kellison's communication cut off,
Crack!
One of Silver's propellers was torn off.
Bang! Boom!
An explosion occurred near the engine thrusters at the back, drastically reducing its speed, and...
Emitting a long trail of smoke, Silver spun around and crashed into the forest below.
Kellibey, staring blankly at the scene, heard the communication buzz dully in his ear.
"Silver down! Silver down! Escort ship Silver has crashed-!"