Chapter 100: The Carnela Port Recapture Operation (7)
After receiving our portions of unsavory rations, we settled them in our stomachs and were assigned to night watch. Knowing that our enemies were aware of our presence here, we remained vigilant, expecting a nocturnal ambush as a preemptive strike.
However, to our surprise, that fateful night, which marked the onset of a major battle, passed quietly without incident…. and then morning came. I didn’t anticipate being able to see the morning sun without shedding blood, but being in optimal condition to fight was more important.
At dawn, the Imperial Army began to move. Equipped with armor and positioned outside the range of defensive weapons, the grand spectacle of over a hundred thousand troops arrayed was quite impressive. Hm? I believe I had a similar impression before… Well, it doesn’t really matter.
Don! Don! Dodon!
The sound of war drums, signaling the advance in the spring wilderness, echoed. Simultaneously, the Imperial Army started advancing with perfect coordination. The battleship-destroying team, including myself, observed their movements from atop a nearby hill, close to the main camp.
Accompanying us was one of Marcellus’ subordinates, following his orders as he prepared to take flight with us. The moment came without surprise, and it came swiftly. Fifteen battleships set sail from the coast of Carnela Port. Whoa, that’s quite a number!
Among the fifteen ships, one stood out, being more than twice the size of the others. Naturally, it boasted a greater number of cannons and appeared to have particularly thick armor. Perhaps it was the flagship of the fleet.
“…C-confirm the movement of the battleships! Prepare to fly!”
Marcellus’ subordinate seemed taken aback by their sheer quantity, but he quickly ordered us to take off. Barely had he finished speaking when we sprang into action. Instantly, everyone transformed into their demon forms, while Linardo, Tuhru, and I tightly gripped the ropes that were tethered to Mika and the others’ bodies, taking flight together. The ground and the surface of the sea rapidly receded, and in an instant, the Imperial Army’s massive formation appeared as nothing more than a gathering of small dots to us.
Having ascended to this altitude, our purpose wasn’t merely to fly. The crucial part was yet to come. We slowly approached the fleet, moving over the open sea, and making sure not to attract attention from below.
Without using our fighting spirit or spiritual arts, we reached directly above the battleships. The fleet came to a halt in the open sea, ready to commence the artillery bombardment. In this most vulnerable moment, as the massive cannons rotated and took aim, we didn’t let the opportunity slip away.
“…”
The demons, carrying bombs as planned through prearranged hand signals, began their bombardment. As they circled above the fleet, the scattered bombs, propelled by gravity, descended, and… upon impact with the battleships and the sea surface, they erupted into massive explosions.
The bombs were true to their reputation of detonating with tremendous force upon impact….no, the explosions exceeded expectations. Although all the battleships were supposed to be made of metal, there were large holes where the bombs had struck.
One particular battleship suffered the most severe damage, not just developing holes but also splitting in half and sinking. And all this from simply dropping bombs from above… It was a terrifying weapon, perfectly suited for one-sided bombardment from the sky.
However, despite having depleted a significant number of the bombs provided by the Imperial Army, only half of the battleships had sunk so far. Some were immobilized by the whirlpools created by the sinking battleships in close proximity, while others remained afloat but had holes in their hulls, allowing water to flood in. Nevertheless, there were still about five operational battleships that could continue their missions.
These remaining five ships were not unscathed, and several of their cannons were damaged, rendering them incapable of providing effective artillery bombardment. They could only deliver less than one-third of their original firepower… Yet our mission was to sink the entire fleet. Moreover, the largest battleship was still intact. We couldn’t turn back now; that’s precisely why we were here.
I tugged firmly on the rope connecting me to Mika. It was a signal that, from this point on, I would engage in close combat on board the ship.
“Are you going to descend from this height? It seems like…you are very confident about this.”
“…”
“Understood. Linardo and Tuhru will proceed as planned, disembarking on a different battleship. I leave the details to you. Now, please demonstrate your full strength.”
Mika seemed concerned about me descending from the same height at which we had dropped the bombs, but for me, this height posed no issue. While I had never fallen from such a high place, my instincts confidently reassured me that I would be fine.
Whether Mika understood that I would be fine or simply gave up trying to convince me, I couldn’t tell. Regardless, he didn’t stop me from descending. Entrusting the rest to Mika, I released my grip on the rope and began my descent.
As I accelerated downward, directly below me was the largest battleship. Among the operational ones, it had suffered relatively less damage, but its thick armor was warped, and several cannons were broken, engulfed in flames. It was far from being in pristine condition.
However, as long as the “leader” remained intact, there was a high chance that the morale of the troops would not break. On the flip side, if I were to sink this battleship, it might shatter the morale of the remaining battleships. If I wanted a quick and easy victory, that would be the way to go.
(Oh? Someone appeared on the deck… Is it a White Armored Soldier?)
While I was descending through the air, two white-armored soldiers appeared on the deck of the colossal battleship. For a moment, I thought they had emerged to intercept me, but it seemed they had come out to extinguish the raging flames on the deck.
Both of them seemed skilled in water spiritual arts, desperately dousing the areas engulfed in flames. The flames that roared on the deck of the massive battleship were swiftly extinguished, giving rise to pure white steam.
It was fortunate that they focused on putting out the flames caused by the bombs. The reason being… that they had paid no attention to what lay above, completely absorbed in what was below them. Keeping my presence concealed until the last possible moment, I hardened my entire exoskeleton and crossed my arms. Then, I explosively amplified my fighting spirit, strengthening my forearms as much as possible.
“■■■■■!?”
“■■!■■■■……!”
Sensing the released fighting spirit, the white-armored soldiers quickly turned their attention towards me. It seemed they were about to draw their weapons and counterattack. But it was already too late. By the time they looked up, I had already collided with the battleship at high speed.
For a brief moment, the impact of the collision reverberated through my arms, and then my body pierced through the deck, creating a gaping hole in the battleship before stopping midway. Without wasting a moment, I heightened my spiritual power and rapidly generated a large amount of sand within my surroundings.
Gigigigigi……Megi!
Under the pressure exerted by the expanding sand, the battleship’s hull emitted a fatal creaking sound. Simultaneously, the massive battleship split into two from the point where I had crashed into it.
Seawater gushed forcefully into the fissure, causing the battleship to sink downwards. Charging towards me with a terrifying aura, emanating immense hostility, were the white-armored soldiers who were likely entrusted with guarding this battleship. They rushed at me when I collided with the deck, just before it became submerged in seawater.
“■■!■■■■■!”
I was present during Asumi’s interrogation, but I couldn’t learn the language just from the translated voices that previously echoed in my ears. I wasn’t that smart. However, even without understanding the words, I could grasp the emotions they carried. The white-armored soldier standing before me exuded rage and hatred.
Rather than fighting on board according to the mission, I managed to sink the battleship, skipping over the process entirely. The two individuals who were on board would surely be in dire straits. But I didn’t concern myself with such matters. I had no room to worry about the enemy’s circumstances or emotions.
The white-armored soldier in front of me poised two straight swords drawn from his waist and charged straight at me. The back of his armor opened with a snap, and he lunged towards me while spewing flames from his back. Anyone witnessing this sudden acceleration would likely be caught off guard and struck down.
However, I had clashed swords with white-armored soldiers many times before. I couldn’t be shaken by anything they did at this point. I firmly clasped his two swords between my hands, reinforced with fighting spirit, to immobilize him. In response, the white-armored soldier didn’t attempt to retract his swords but delivered a front kick to my abdomen. And then something he had concealed on the soles of his feet detonated.
“…”
“■■!?”
However, such an explosion was not enough to shatter my exoskeleton. The impact was insufficient to harm the flesh protected by the exoskeleton. The voice of the white-armored soldier, who didn’t react much when he got his weapons clutched, contained a hint of surprise and a slight trace of fear for the first time.
At that moment, someone forcefully emerged from the water behind me. It was the other white-armored soldier who was on this battleship. He had been lurking underwater, apparently waiting for the perfect moment to launch a surprise attack on me. It seemed he had hidden himself in case the other soldier couldn’t overpower me in our current battle.
He had indeed made no sound and tried to conceal his presence. However, my field of view covered even my backside. In other words… the pure white armor amidst the water was fully visible to me. His or her surprise attack had failed from the very beginning.
The person coming from behind shot out of the water with bullet-like speed, wielding an iron hammer taller than their own height. The striking surface of the iron hammer had numerous protrusions, and it was equipped with flame jets on the opposite side to enhance its acceleration. With that combination of shape and speed, it could be somewhat dangerous. The time for pretending not to notice was over.
“■■!?”
“■■■■!”
Without turning around, I flicked my tail and thrust my poisonous stinger into the gap in the armor of the white-armored soldier behind me. Of course, the stinger secreted an extremely potent and fast-acting venom. The white-armored soldier convulsed for a moment before falling forward… rolling on the incline of the sinking ship, and sinking into the sea.
I swayed my tail deliberately, making it appear exaggerated. In response, the white-armored soldier standing before me decisively twisted the hilt of one of his swords. And all of a sudden, a thin sword emerged from the sword I was gripping.
It seemed that what I held was not only a blade but also a sheath. With the thin sword seamlessly integrated into the hilt, the white-armored soldier sliced through my exoskeleton.
“■■……■■■……■……!”
When the thin sword appeared, I resigned myself to being struck as I realized there was no way to defend against it. The sword emitted a radiant spiritual power, and I knew that with the white-armored soldier’s power, I would be sliced through.
It was precisely because of my knowledge that my response was swift. After suppressing my sense of pain, I took a step forward and thrust the blades I held in both hands into the area between his neck and armpit. Though I was also struck as I moved forward, the thin sword embedded itself in the exoskeleton and the flesh of my shoulder, before halting its motion.
And thus, the white-armored soldier, who was dealt a fatal blow in a place his armor couldn’t protect, collapsed while muttering incomprehensible words. As for myself, I too tumbled down the tilted deck and plunged into the sea.
************
TN: what I understood is that the enemy has two swords; when mc grabbed those two swords the enemy managed to draw another thin sword from one of his swords that our mc grabbed. He then attacked with it but didn’t expect the mc to give up defense and attack him with the two swords.
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