Captain Hitos was utterly stunned when he saw the massive explosion that nearly struck his ship. Gripping the wooden railing tightly, he held his breath. That was no natural phenomenon—it was a force on par with magical weapons!
"Damn it, what was that? That… that was definitely a magical weapon!" he exclaimed, his face turning pale as he rushed toward the two magi he had hired.
One of the magi, his voice filled with panic, spoke hastily, "Captain, they have magical weapons! We must flee. We'll use teleportation to save ourselves."
Hitos felt his heart race faster. He grabbed the magus's arm tightly, his eyes a mixture of desperation and anger. "Wait! I paid you handsomely to protect this ship! There's precious cargo here—something the Magic Tower would pay an exorbitant sum to acquire! You can't abandon this ship!"
The magus hesitated, his expression conflicted, before replying, "Captain, you've seen the threat for yourself! If we stay here, we're all going to die."
Gritting his teeth, Hitos's mind raced. "Listen, I have a communication crystal that connects directly to Duke Kritus! I can call on his aerial knights for assistance. They can protect us from those iron ships!"
Without wasting a moment, Hitos sprinted to his cabin. He pulled open the drawer of an aging wooden desk and rummaged until his hand found a gleaming purple communication crystal. By reciting the activation incantation, he initiated contact with the duke.
But instead of Duke Kritus, the image that appeared in the crystal was that of a young man with a sly smile, his eyes brimming with satisfaction, and an air of arrogance that instantly grated on Hitos's nerves.
"Hitos! Well, what a surprise! What brings you to call on us?" the young man greeted mockingly.
Damn brat, I called for your father, not you! Hitos fumed inwardly but held back his anger. Forcing a polite tone, he replied, "Greetings, Prince. I was hoping to speak with your father, Duke Kritus. He once offered me aid in return for my... contributions to our partnership. I'm in dire need of his assistance now. There's a valuable cargo aboard my ship, and I'm being pursued by strange iron ships. Prince, please dispatch the aerial knights to rescue us."
The prince's smirk widened, his cunning gaze sharp and unrelenting. "Hmm… Hitos, you know, deploying our aerial knights is no small task. Each of them is incredibly valuable, and we can't just send them off without a compelling reason," he said with a playful tone.
Hitos exhaled sharply, frustration building. Negotiating with this arrogant young prince was proving to be as unpleasant as he had anticipated. "Very well… I'll offer 30% of my profits to you. That's a substantial amount!"
The prince raised an eyebrow and replied casually, "60%."
"What?! Prince, that's outrageous!" Hitos protested, his disbelief evident. His eyes burned with anger, but he forced himself to stay composed, knowing the prince could easily refuse to help.
The prince chuckled lightly, shrugging with feigned indifference. "Well then, good luck, Hitos. I hope those iron ships don't tear you apart."
This damned brat is why I hate dealing with him! Hitos raged internally. But he had no choice. "Fine, fine! I agree. 60%… Just send help immediately. We won't last much longer!"
The prince's smile turned triumphant. "Excellent. I'll alert the aerial knights patrolling nearby. Use your emergency beacon, and they'll come to you."
"Thank you, Prince," Hitos replied through gritted teeth, his voice betraying his disdain. As the communication ended, he slammed his fist on the desk, his frustration etched deeply on his face.
"That conniving swindler! Even now, all he cares about is profit," he muttered bitterly. But there was no time to dwell on his misfortune. Protecting the precious cargo aboard his ship was all that mattered now.
In the storage hold below deck, secured within a massive iron vault, was the cargo that made Hitos so desperate—a rare and immensely powerful mystical creature. It was an entity so valuable that the Magic Tower would offer a fortune to acquire it for their experiments. Hitos knew that preserving this cargo could offset the immense loss he had just endured in negotiations.
Rushing back to the deck, he stared toward the iron ships gaining on them. Now, his only hope lay in Duke Kritus's aerial knights. Lighting an emergency flare, its bright glow pierced the darkness of the sea, signaling for aid.
"They're not stopping, are they?" Cero muttered, observing the fleeing ship through his binoculars. His expression was tense, the challenge of this pursuit testing his patience.
Turning to Commander Ragner beside him, he asked, "Commander, are the marines ready for a direct assault?"
"Fully prepared, Sir. We only need to halt that ship's movement," Ragner replied with unwavering confidence.
Cero sighed, deliberating quickly. "In that case, we could use a torpedo to stop them…"
But he halted mid-thought, shaking his head. "No, wait. Damn it, we still need the people on that ship for questioning. We can't risk destroying them. Aim for the hull—just enough to warn them. Make them understand this is serious."
"Understood!" Ragner relayed the order to the artillery team, instructing them to target the lower section of the ship, just above the waterline, ensuring minimal damage.
Before the plan could be executed, a sonar operator rushed forward. "Sir! Incoming unidentified objects… airborne and approaching fast!"
Cero's eyes widened. "What?!" He frowned, his mind racing. "Could it be… large birds? No, in this world, we can't take any chances…"
After a brief pause, he issued a decisive command. "Activate anti-air defenses! Shoot down any approaching objects before they reach us!"
"Yes, sir!" the operator replied sharply, quickly redirecting the ship's defense systems.
As the crew worked swiftly, the ship's anti-air guns roared to life, scanning the skies for the unknown threat. Cero gripped the railing beside him tightly, his gaze fixed on the horizon, bracing for what was to come.
High above the serene waters, six massive wyverns glided gracefully through the air. The squadron of aerial knights, elite soldiers of the duke, was on routine patrol to ward off pirates preying on trade vessels. Their wyverns—scaled, winged reptiles—beat their powerful wings, creating audible gusts in the otherwise still sky.
The patrol was uneventful, a monotonous task that left the squadron leader, Sir Kael, sighing heavily in boredom atop his wyvern's saddle. "Pirates… always pirates," he muttered. "Days of flying, and not a single suspicious ship. Sometimes, I wonder if we're even needed out here."
One of the knights in the rear chuckled softly. "At least we get to enjoy the view, Sir. Isn't this better than fighting every single day?"
Kael gave a slight nod, though his boredom remained unchanged. However, their monotonous routine was soon interrupted by a magical voice resonating in their ears—a call from the central tower.
"Wyvern Squadron 03, this is Central Tower. We have an urgent mission for you. A merchant ship has sent out a distress signal, reporting they're under attack by pirates. You are ordered to provide immediate assistance."
Hearing this, Kael sat up straight, the laziness that had enveloped him quickly dissipating. "Thank you, Central Tower. We will proceed to the location immediately," he responded firmly. Then, speaking to his squadron through magical communication, he ordered, "Alright, knights. We've got work to do. Cease patrol and direct your wyverns to the provided coordinates. The magical fire signal is visible about five miles from our current position."
"Understood, Sir!" the knights replied in unison.
Their wyverns dove sharply, gaining speed with every beat of their massive wings. The magical signal blazing in the sky, though faint, stood out like a bright red torch in the distance.
Kael pondered for a moment. The mission seemed straightforward, but he couldn't shake the unsettling feeling creeping inside him. Regular pirates wouldn't force a merchant ship to send a distress signal this quickly. "Something feels off," he muttered, mostly to himself.
Silently, the duke's aerial knights pressed forward, speeding toward the location with full determination, ready to face whatever awaited them below. Yet, none of them could anticipate that their enemy wasn't mere pirates but something far beyond their imagination.
As the wyvern squadron pierced through the clouds, the landscape below them shifted dramatically. The clear blue sky that had been their view during the patrol was now replaced by an expanse of glittering water reflecting the sunlight. But what truly caught their attention were three massive, dark-colored ships, seemingly made of metal, pursuing a merchant ship with sails.
Sir Kael, the squadron captain, furrowed his brow, his eyes scanning the scene from atop his wyvern's saddle. "What… is that?" he murmured in disbelief. The sight was bizarre. Ships made of metal? Impossible. Even with the finest magical technology, metal that heavy couldn't possibly float on water.
The other wyvern knights were equally bewildered, some whispering to one another through their magical communication links. "Those ships… where did they come from? Is this the work of the Magic Tower?"
Before they could fully process the situation or take action, a bright flash erupted from one of the metal ships. Within seconds, an explosion rippled through the air, deafening their ears. A wyvern in the rear suddenly spasmed, losing control. One of the knights screamed as his body was flung off, plummeting into the sea alongside his lifeless wyvern.
"ATTACK! What the hell is that?!" Kael shouted, his eyes wide as he watched one of his men fall so quickly.