"Silver down! Silver down! Escort ship Silver has crashed-!"
Crash! Boom!
The escort ship Silver, spinning as it fell, crashed into the forest.
Swarms of flies gathered around the crashed Silver, beginning to dismantle it like ants breaking down prey.
Kellibey did not hesitate for long. The old dwarf blacksmith's hands swiftly manipulated the control panel.
Screech!
Whoosh!
The thrusters backfired, and the escort ship Gold came to an emergency stop in the air. Simultaneously, a perplexed communication from Lucas came through from Geronimo.
"Kellibey, this isn't right...!"
"Sorry, but."
Kellibey widened his eyes and looked around the interior of the airship.
"I have to go save my son."
The crew aboard Gold unanimously nodded.
All the crew members on the escort ship Gold were dwarves, loyal followers of Kellison.
They couldn't leave their king behind after he had crashed.
Gold, spinning around in mid-air, shot towards the forest like an arrow.
And at the same time,
"All fleets, halt-!"
Fleet Commander McMillan shouted.
The accelerating air fleet came to a unanimous stop. McMillan, sounding resolute, ordered,
"Join the rescue operation while maintaining defense mode! Right now-!"
Click, clank!
Whoosh!
The airships, turning around in unison, followed Gold flying ahead towards the forest.
Despite the endless swarm of flies, their attack power was not enough to penetrate the air fleet's magic barriers. The air fleet crushed the swarms of flies as they advanced.
"Damn, there are too many!"
"We can't secure a clear view ahead!"
"Use scan magic to check bearings and maintain distance with friendly ships on both sides! We just need to hold out until we rescue Silver!"
Suddenly, the flies retreated.
The flies that had been relentlessly slamming their bodies against the airships dispersed in an orderly fashion. The captains were puzzled as they observed the suddenly clear visibility.
"Everyone, be cautious!"
Lucas urgently shouted.
He knew well.
A sudden change in the monsters' movement is never a good sign.
Woooo...
The King of Flies, floating far away in the air, emitted a long moan.
The three layers of halos above the King of Flies spun furiously, with the outermost halo beginning to shine brightly.
The King of Flies extended hundreds of legs in all directions, and then.
Snap!
It clapped hundreds of feet in front of its chest at once.
Crrrrash!
Immediately, an enormous shockwave poured out from the King of Flies.
In the sky, all clouds were swept away as if being brushed aside, and on the ground, every tree in the forest bent as if about to snap in the opposite direction.
The air fleet was also caught in this shockwave. And then.
Crackle!
Clang!
The magic barriers enveloping the airships shattered hopelessly into pieces.
"The magic barriers have been neutralized!"
"What is this...?!"
"It's completely dead! It won't recover!"
The humans were startled as the King of Flies' moaning reached their ears.
Woooo...
That ominous sound seemed satisfied, or perhaps.
Ssssssssh!
It was as if signaling its kin to attack.
The flies that had momentarily retreated swarmed in from all sides. The airships desperately opened their gun ports and poured cannon fire towards the attaching flies.
"Damn it! There are too many!"
"Captain McMillan, what do we do?! Please give us orders!"
"Captain McMillan-!"
McMillan froze in panic for a moment.
The last bastion that made airships the strongest weapon of modern humanity, the magic barrier, had been neutralized.
Would they force their way through the flies to rescue Silver?
Or...
While the main fleet was engaging the swarm of flies and momentarily paused, Gold, piloted by Kellibey, poured all remaining firepower towards Silver.
"Target lock complete! Fire all missiles!"
"Firing all missiles-!"
Dududududu!
Gold's rear launch bays opened wide, and dwarf-made guided bombs poured towards the set coordinates.
The guided missiles, trailing long smoke, accurately bombarded the area around the crashed Silver.
Boom!
Flames erupted, sweeping away the flies.
While the crew sprayed gunfire in all directions, Kellibey, who had emerged from Gold's hatch, shouted towards Silver below.
"Kellison! Are you alive-?!"
Thump!
As soon as he spoke, the emergency door on Silver's side fell off, and the surviving dwarves began to peek out one by one.
"Oh, father..."
Bleeding from the forehead, presumably injured during the crash, Kellison also crawled out.
Kellibey let out a relieved chuckle.
"You've got a tough life, you rascal!"
"Who do you think I get it from? Hurry up and throw me something!"
"Here you go!"
Kellibey threw a rope. Catching the end of the rope, Kellison grinned.
"...!"
Then, the young dwarf king's face suddenly stiffened. Kellison yelled.
"Get out of the way, father-!"
"What?"
Kellibey gritted his teeth and looked to the side, only to meet.
The sinisterly twinkling red compound eyes of the swarming flies.
Vrooooom!
Crash!
The swarm of flies collided with Gold's side, swirling in.
Gold's co-pilot desperately tried to maintain balance, but another swarm collided from the opposite side.
Crack! Crash!
Another swarm.
Bang! Boom!
And another...
Crackle!
Flies from all sides attacked Gold, and the armor of the magic-barrier-deprived airship scattered like fish scales.
Battered and swaying, Gold eventually lost its balance. The airship's massive body flipped over and fell to the ground.
Kellison screamed.
"Father!"
Boom!
A short distance from Silver, Gold also crashed.
Staring blankly in that direction, Kellison's ears were filled with screams coming from Silver's internal communication system.
"Gold down! Gold down! Following escort ship Silver, Gold is also down!"
"The next wave of flies from the King of Flies is approaching!"
"We can't restore the barrier! We can't hold out any longer-!"
The rest of the fleet tried to descend towards the two ships, but dealing with the flies flying towards the fleet was overwhelming enough.
The flies already seemed to know how to evade the fleet's barrage, skillfully dodging the bullets and clinging on.
With the magic barrier also neutralized.
At this rate, the main fleet would soon meet the same fate as Silver and Gold.
Kellison, fists clenched and trembling, pushed himself back into Silver. He grabbed the communication device and shouted.
"Retreat! Right now!"
Silence fell over the communication device for a moment.
Kellison yelled again.
"We'll all be annihilated at this rate! The reason Silver crashed in the first place was because I didn't maintain it properly. There's no need to feel guilty, hurry! Before it's too late!"
McMillan hesitated.
But Lucas did not.
"Order the retreat, Captain McMillan!"
"But, but!"
"Do you want to lose the entire fleet here? Hesitate any longer and we're all doomed! Hurry!"
Lucas's thunderous shout rang out.
"We must retreat, now!"
McMillan swallowed.
The silence was brief but felt like an eternity. Finally, McMillan gave the order.
"All ships, retreat...! Continue firing as we retreat at full speed!"
The airships turned around unanimously. The situation was already beyond endurance. Some of the airships had their armor completely torn off, exposing their interiors, while others were on fire.
Whoosh!
The fleet began to retreat.
As Kellison blankly watched the fleet moving away to the north, a voice came through the communication device. It was Lucas.
"Lord Kellison."
Lucas did not offer condolences or apologies. Instead.
"I wish you martial fortune."
He said briefly.
Kellison chuckled in response.
"I wish the same for the air fleet and the World Guardian Front."
Kellison picked up his hammer that had been rolling around inside Silver and held it in his hand.
"I'll make sure to exterminate these damned pests."
Click-
The communication cut off.
Kellison, holding the hammer, staggered back outside of Silver.
Woooo...
Thousands of flies were swirling in the sky right above the crashed Silver and Gold.
And from the south...
The King of Flies, which had momentarily halted its advance, was slowly approaching.
Only two layers of halos remained above the King of Flies' head, and the halo that had shone brightly during the mysterious shockwave attack was disintegrating into dust.
"If you too are an airship."
Kellison unwittingly chuckled.
"Whoever made you, you're pretty impressive."
Ssssssssh!
The thousands of flies swirling in the sky swooped down towards Kellison and the dwarves in a whirlwind.
***
Two days after the appearance of the King of Flies. Noon.
I clenched my teeth in front of the returning airships.
Of the sixteen airships that had been deployed, two had not returned. They were the escort ships Gold and Silver.
Kellibey and Kellison, along with their dwarf followers...
They had failed to escape from the crashed airships. Either they died in the crash, or if they survived, they were likely captured as prey by the King of Flies.
"...It's my fault."
I trembled with rage.
"Because I hastily ordered a sortie on an airship that wasn't properly maintained, this happened..."
I clasped my forehead.
Why did I do that?
It was unlike me. An entirely uncharacteristic order to sortie.
Had I been perturbed by the appearance of an unknown enemy? Because the memories of strategies I knew were useless, I lost my composure and mishandled the troops, resulting in this damage.
'I relied too complacently on the airship's defensive capabilities... Why...'
The thought of losing Kellibey, who had dedicated himself to me and Crossroad for so long, made it impossible for me to think clearly.
As I closed my eyes and blamed myself, Lucas spoke to me in a firm voice.
"My lord. Now is not the time for self-reproach."
"...!"
"The King of Flies is still advancing towards Crossroad. We need to find a way to delay its advance and a way to cut off its lifeline."
His following words cooled my mind.
"We must protect the world."
"..."
Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes wide and faced Lucas. Lucas nodded.
"I will continue with the report on the damage to the air fleet. All fleets have entered repairs for the magic barrier, and the escort ships Kite One and Kite Two have entered emergency maintenance due to severe damage..."
The magic barriers had been completely neutralized by the mysterious shockwave emitted by the King of Flies, causing damage to the fleet even as they retreated.
Ultimately, even after repairing the magic barrier devices, the number of airships ready to sortie again was reduced to about ten.
McMillan, looking gloomy as he ordered repairs in front of the fleet, caught my eye. I bit my lip.
'While repairing the airships, we must find another way to delay the enemy.'
Emergency defensive lines were being constructed from the Black Lake to Crossroad on the second day of the distance, but it was insufficient.
What other methods did I have?
As I was pondering, someone ran up from inside the city.
"Your Majesty!"
Turning around, it was Serenade and Dearmudin.
Serenade, with a bright, sweaty face, shouted.
"I've found the historical records!"
My eyes widened. Serenade held up an old book.
"This is a historical record of the King of Flies' demise!"