{There were a total of thirty-two airships still hovering around the city of Krun. }
With the delivery by the flying carpet, Yang Zicang informed Dereiano, who was protecting Hailikoni and the others as they departed, of the situation here.
“Are you saying we should utilize these airships to form mobile projection equipment for broadcasting television images? “
{Yes. I’ll come pick you up right now. }
The crowd hiding in the abandoned quarry outside the city was astonished by the news, feeling it was nothing short of a fantasy.
Dereiano, in the darkness, found it almost unbelievable. “That can’t be possible, right? ” Then he promptly slapped his forehead.
“Oh my god! Good heavens, these guys. Their luck is just too good. “
“What’s wrong? ” Mortaf, who was wrapped in a sheet on a large boulder nearby, lifted his head slightly and looked over weakly, “I think I heard you say ‘television’. “
“Yes! ” Dereiano jumped to his feet and said:
“Do you know, Yang Buchen and the others, under the name of the World Ark, are requisitioning all the nearby drifting airships that have nowhere to land in the sky. He wants to use your new television as a signal receiving source, connecting them into a television broadcasting system covering the entire continent, to deliver a rousing declaration. “
“Turns out… I’m still not awake.” Motaaf muttered as he lowered his head, only to have Jennifer immediately smack him on the top with a slap.
“Stop sleeping, your injuries are already healed. At a time like this, we should be thinking about the doomsday problem first, Research Expert Motaaf! Great Scientist!“
“I… What can I do?” Motaaf struggled to half sit up, using one arm to prop himself up.
……
Before long, a whistling sound came from the distance.
The figures in the darkness were transferred onto a soft blanket, swept through the wind towards an airship in the sky.
Inside the noisy cabin, as Yang Zicang, the disheveled Motaaf, and the others arrived, warm applause rang out in the gondola.
Those left here were only a few students from the Academy of Sciences handling the airship; the rest were the members of this temporary squad made up on the spot.
“Mr. Motaaf, I think this job was made for you.“
Beside the installed Visualizer, a young man from Zhao Anlong’s team smiled at the civilian researcher who had just entered.
Tonight was extraordinary for these seafarers as well, especially at this moment—they should be witnessing, no,participatingin the birth of a miracle.
And this meant the birth of a Radiance.
The young man watched as Motaaf, missing an arm, walked over in a daze.
The researcher first slowly glanced around at the people from the two different continents with round ears and pointed ears standing nearby, then looked at the machine waiting quietly for him right there.
Without saying a word, he silently reached out his hand, placed it on the switch of the Visualizer, and gently pressed it down.
Click. Buzz… Whoosh~ Whoosh~
The gentle sound of sea water… came from beneath the round wooden panel filled with tiny holes next to the faintly striped screen of the Visualizer.
The students from the Academy standing nearby, as if witnessing a divine miracle, stared with slightly open mouths at the disabled old man in front of them, and the scientific instrument they had never seen before, protected by the Fogfolk at his side.
“How… how is this done? ” Mortaf asked, utterly bewildered.
A sound tinged with slight static came through from the Visualizer.
— “Repeat Three. Buchen, and everyone else, can you see this? “
“We can see it. ” Zhao Anlong said, standing with arms crossed beside the television, a faintly glowing ring lighting up his chest.
It was only then that the crowd realized, from the slightly choppy rotating shot, that this was footage taken from a moving train.
“Transmission successful! ” Haili Koni, Dereiano, Zorro, and the others almost cheered in unison.
— “Excellent. “
The reply from the television left both the pointed-eared dirigible crew and a few members of Mortaf’s team utterly stunned.
“Th-this… ” a student from the Keruen Academy of Military Science pointed at the Visualizer.
“Why can the people inside it still talk to us directly while out at sea?! Isn’t this just a recorded broadcast! “
Snapping out of his daze, Mortaf seemed to realize something, let out a light chuckle, then threw his head back in hearty laughter.
He pointed to his head and said, “This is what I call science, my friend. Our products are going to sell like hotcakes! “
……
Almost instantly, a cross-border audio and video signal transmission plan was devised.
“Tonight’s mission is very heavy. “
Yang Zicang, who had just stepped off the flying carpet, stood at the edge of the rooftop. He waved away the lit cigarette that Ying Renyu offered him.
“Thank goodness Chairman Yang had such keen insight, or we would have missed out on Mortraph’s team. “
Yang Zicang said with a faint smile, “Not really. Back at the hospital, I almost mistook it for a common evil nightmare incident. “
The group began discussing the content of the plan.
“Our projection system urgently needs an emergency design and modification plan, and equipment is indeed in short supply… ” Before Ying Renyu could finish, footsteps sounded.
A graceful figure emerged from the small door on the rooftop and said:
“We can dismantle the cinema. “
The few people in discussion looked over at Ms. Hei Yang, who was approaching.
“I’ve been a regular at those theaters in recent years. Don’t underestimate their projection systems. With the help of our fellow villagers, they’ve become quite practical within this year’s technological scope. “
The woman made her suggestion without any hint of guilt over the imminent misfortune that might befall the cinemas again.
A man in a thin trench coat at the edge of the rooftop chuckled slightly:
“I support it. Actually, a few months ago I converted all my shares in Xiangjing Film into gold bars. So, yeah, my theater chain experience hasn’t expired yet. The map is still in my head. “
The others looked at the man in the windbreaker.
“I’ll tell you a few places. Move fast, and by tomorrow morning we can get the goods and have them modified.“
The group huddled around and crouched down, nodding from time to time as he spoke in a low voice, drawing a map with a stone on the ground.
……
As the Imperial rebel army bore down on the border, the sky above the Great Craig Kingdom was a tapestry of gunpowder-gray smoke mingling with the clouds.
Crown Prince Craig Roman sat in the cockpit of an aging “Night Owl III ” biplane fighter.
His hands gripped the control stick tightly.
His squadron had been reduced to just twelve aircraft within a single hour, circling at the edge of the clouds like a flock of birds torn apart by a storm.
Below, aside from a few legendary Blood Beasts, the Imperial air fleet moved like steel geese in formation.
Further off on the ground were dense, unsettling clusters of sheep, patched with black and brown, grazing in variegated herds.
The only ace air unit currently at Oderlev’s disposal—the Double Lion 3rd Pursuit Air Group, composed of thirty “Iron Lion ” heavy bombers and twenty “Black Mountain ” escort fighters—was deployed in full force this time.
Their mission: to annihilate the Great Craig Free Kingdom, a nation likewise built upon aerospace military power.
The reason the Great Craig had been able to sleep soundly on the lion’s border for so many years was because it possessed an air force capable of striking deep into the heart of Steffin in a very short time.
But without the support of the Golden Shell Federation, the march of time would allow the Empire to build up an air force capable of challenging their own nation.
“If only we could really destroy that air force, ” some pilots’ voices crackled through the headphones.
The pilots who heard this knew deep down it was undoubtedly an impossible mission.
— “If that happened, maybe our country would still have a glimmer of hope, even with General Odelifu’s army at the gates. “
Roman listened silently to the sounds coming through his headphones.
The border lines of the Great Craig Kingdom were falling back in defeat. The Crown Prince, who could have retreated with the royal family to a neutral country, chose to stay and personally lead this squadron to face the main Imperial air force.
Only by tearing open this aerial line of defense could his country’s forces continue to threaten this “Commander ” who had betrayed Serdfen.
“Your Highness, we have only about forty minutes of fuel left. “
The voice of the co-pilot and communications officer, Wisania Ivanova, came through the headphones, her hoarse voice betraying a hint of exhaustion.
Craig did not answer. He stared at the rolling sea of clouds in the distance. The cloud layer today was exceptionally thick, almost pressing down to an altitude of one thousand meters.
At that very moment, a bolt of lightning split the sky.
Roman Craig’s pupils constricted slightly.
Somehow, he recalled a few little stories from his very early childhood that he had read in the Royal Library:
About a hundred years ago, a commander serving under the great forebearer Craig once lured enemies into the clouds during a thunderstorm, using a lightning strike to destroy an enemy vessel.
At that time, young him only took it as a legend.
But at this moment, Crown Prince Roman stared at the impeccably uniform flight pattern of the Imperial military formation.
They were advancing along the lower edge of the clouds, evading the high-altitude air currents, guarding against him—this lone survivor in the sky—trying to breach the line toward the hinterland.
There was no other way…
“Ivanov!” Craig’s voice suddenly turned from extreme suppression to calm. “Notify all units. Cancel the frontal interception. Follow me…“
On the ground, the citizens saw the nimble iron birds pull nearly a 360-degree arc in the air. Climbing mid-pursuit, they repositioned toward the direction of Stephansen’s border.
— “What are you going to do, Crown Prince Roman?” The headset crackled with a sharp sound.
“I’m going to lead them into the clouds.“
— “What? Your Highness!“
— “That would be suicide, sire! Visibility is nearly zero in the clouds, and static electricity would burn out the equipment and even the engines!“
“Precisely for that, they won’t be on guard.” A hint of a smile curled at the corner of Craig’s lips:
“The Imperial Blood Beasts have a ceiling limit due to weight constraints. Their planes can fly higher, but they still rely on electronic instruments. But us? What do we still have?“
A few seconds of silence hung in the air.
— “Understood, Commodore. Owl Squad 2, got it.“
— “Wingman 3, accepted.“
— “Wingman 7, confirmed…“
— “Owl Squad 5, affirmed.“
Twelve “Night Owls ” followed the lead fighter as it pulled up and drilled into the distant dark clouds.
The Imperial air commander, who had defected to Odrlef, stared in disbelief at the fleet of aircraft charging headlong into the cumulonimbus clouds.
“We can’t let them escape to the rear, sir! “
Indeed, under Odrlef’s relentless pressure, the commander couldn’t tolerate his own dereliction of duty allowing Prince Roman to tear apart the sky’s defensive line. He felt he couldn’t bear the consequences.
“If they can do it, so can we. “
The Iron Lion fighter jet charged first into the clouds, followed closely by the somewhat cumbersome Black Ridge.
Inside the aircraft, Roman glanced rearward, seeing the planes climbing up toward him. Letting out a humph, he spoke into the headset:
“The upper cloud layer holds a positive charge, while the middle layer is the main negative charge zone. Everyone, power down your electronics and follow my exhaust trail by sight. “
After finishing his instructions over the headset, Roman shut down all electronic signal equipment, relying solely on the sound of the wind and visual cues to control his turns amidst the fuselage’s tremors.
He led the formation to circle at the edge of the negatively charged layer like agile birds.
Several wingmen behind him followed in a single line like wild geese, when suddenly Roman Craig looked back at a few enemy aircraft shadows closing in. Judging their speed and orientation, he pushed the control stick forward, tilting the plane towards the dangerous discharge zone.
This unfolded beneath the tense watch and tailing of his comrades behind him.
The pilot’s plane abruptly rolled to adjust its attitude, unleashing a stream of bullets from the machine guns!
Metal bullets, streaking with fire, pierced through the churning, misty clouds.
Among the pursuing Imperial pilots tracking behind, a sudden pang of dread rose in their hearts — was Craig Air Force not planning a risky escape toward the Empire to threaten the military…
Were they aiming for mutual destruction?
The bullets slammed into the central, invisible region of lightning!
Simultaneously, the plane tilted and plummeted like a free-falling object beyond the clouds.
“No! ” The Imperial pilots had no time to pull back the control sticks.
Boom! Rumble!
The electric charges stirred up by the friction of the bullet trail instantly spawned a lightning bolt as thick as a giant python, striking several iron lions that had just entered the clouds!
Two planes turned into fireballs in an instant, the roar of the explosion shaking the entire cloud layer!
Immediately after, a deafening rumble echoed in the area; the iron lions’ aluminum fuselage dove sharply to evade in the strong electromagnetic field, while several approaching Black Peak gyroscopes shuddered erratically as if malfunctioning all at once.
……
“Good heavens! ” Soldiers and civilians from both sides, looking up from below, gazed upon this scene with shock and indescribable emotion.
Twelve shadows of Nightshade sliding from the clouds behind the lead aircraft exploded in three amidst the thunderstorm, and two more crashed to the ground like stones, never to rise again. The remaining eight sub-aircraft sharply ascended after dodging the lightning, charging into the chaotic Lion’s 3rd Fighter-Bomber Wing.
They swooped down from the clouds like swifts, pouring bullets at the battered remnants of the Empire!
Flaming explosions in the sky and debris cluttered rains of wreckage began once more.
On the ground, looking up at this spectacle across the border, The Griffith National populace understood that the fiery fireworks there were tied to their very survival, and beneath the thin drizzling rain, their eyes reddened and dampened to a sheen.
As Imperial aircraft fell like dumplings into the pot, the only streaks of black smoke still moving seemed unbering towards the array at Odreal’s camp, racing frantically to get there.
Below, the group of Griffiths instantly broke into a thermal of joy.
“Oy there! “
The spontaneous, crowd gathering on the borderline stands waving their helmets rejoicing aloud.
At last, four shabby royalist airplanes with hardly any fuel thundered home, plus one black-smoking bird came coasting in like a lion become eagle over the flying people’s heads.
“Long live Crown Prince Roman!“
“Freedom is King over the vast Kreagrian air!“
“By Thunder I wish you life eternal!“
In the campast’ the seat at left the helmet wipe tears from blood shot eyes and backward scroll down vision to his people below.
“—Zzz… Captain, what do we do next? “
“Our reinforcements are on their way. If we want to keep fighting, we’ll have to ask Orderlev if he has recruited any new defecting Air Force commanders. “
“—Hahaha… Wuwuwu… Your Highness, I can hardly believe you managed such a miracle. “
“Yeah. ” Roman maneuvered the plane into a slow glide downward. “I can hardly believe it actually worked myself. “
……
Aboard the airship bearing the hull number “Krupp 031. “
Motaf was basically wrapped in a quilt, petrified like an old monk seated on the wooden floor before the Visualizer.
The seascape of Katon was no less mesmerizing even after watching it for more than ten hours.
At this moment in the picture, Cheng Yunze and his companions’ train was still half-sunken in the seawater like a boat. To keep the entire demon train from sinking by any one car, they had tied the two demon trains together using pre-prepared long straps.
The big star, Little Ma Chao, had never enjoyed such treatment, and he spent the entire morning reveling in the seawater.
Beep, beep, beep…
The sound of the telegraph machine chimed from a corner. Jennifer listened, transcribed the signal, glanced at the codebook to decode it, and then, with an incredulous look, rose to her feet and ran over to the group, saying:
“General Orderlev’s Air Force has been routed at the Greater Craig border! “
“What! “
The people gathered around the television, equally curious, turned around in a rustle and rushed over to look at the paper in her hand.
“The entire 3rd Destroyer-Bomber Wing… almost completely annihilated?“
“Only four returned.” Jennifer could hardly believe the paper in her hands.
“You didn’t make a mistake recording this, did you?“
A woman with small freckles kicked one man’s shin, causing the crew-cut student to cry out, “Ouch!” as he clutched his foot.
“We must inform our Chairman, Yang Buchen, of this news immediately.” Jennifer spoke urgently and excitedly.
In this incident, she had truly come to appreciate the unique action and imagination of the Fogfolk through the Honorary Chairman of the World Ark International Rescue Committee.
She could hardly imagine what new developments this news would ferment if it fell into the hands of the Fogfolk.
……
Yang Zicang and Dereiano, along with others who were beside another airship installing a projection system—which they had looted from a cinema—using flying carpets, heard Hailikoni’s voice reporting as she opened the cabin door, and they stopped their work.
There was actually a nation that could surpass the air force of Stelfen.
“General Oderlev’s troops are now temporarily stationed.“
Hailikoni looked at the paper in her hands, a hint of excitement in her voice, and said, “This news will surely galvanize the people of our Southern Sea Water Tributary Alliance.“
“Should we announce this news?” Zorro asked.
Dereiano, who had rolled up his sleeves, turned to Yang Zicang and said,
“Let’s give it a try. Let the very first news we broadcast be about Oderlev’s major defeat.“
Yang Zicang lowered his head and thought for a moment. “There are only three airships that have been retrofitted for now. With the help of my Ability Spheres, they should have already flown over the small and medium-sized cities surrounding Krupp. ” This is actually a good opportunity. _”
“Then let’s do it, President Buchen. It’s time to give these arrogant warmongers some counterattack from the south. ” A man who had come to assist from Towncov Electric stood up and said with great vigor.
As for the workers of Stiefen Cinema, who had been “press-ganged ” onto the Flying Carpet to do forced labor, they looked on in terror at the discussion among the people before them.
……
In Oran City, on a street that looked as ordinary as ever, the citizens discovered an airship hovering at the edge of the city.
The defense forces below immediately aimed mortars at the high altitude, preparing to fire should it descend into a dangerous zone. But it kept coming down anyway.
Some of the people nearby began to gather around there.
The crowd, young and old, short and tall, could already see the large hull number “Krupp 107 ” on the steadily descending airship. However, the number was crossed out by a thin line of paint, and below it, in an unsteady, scrawled handwriting, were the distorted Mutao Language words “World Ark, ” looking like a splashed rope of mud.
Everyone below whispered guesses that this airship had fled here as a refugee from Krupp.
“——Criminals of the Empire, your ‘Lifeboat Project’ has doomed tens of thousands of innocent Commoners and their families in the capital. The city of Oran does not welcome you. Leave immediately! “
How pitiful. The citizens thought as they heard the voice from the loudspeaker.
It was said that some of those controlling the airship up there were still just children from the academy.
The artillerymen did not dare to actually open fire, because it was directly above them.
People saw a long horizontal pole extending from the airship. Some children pointed at the strange pole contraption and murmured amongst themselves, puzzled as to why it looked different from the ones in the books.
Just then, a shout of “Hey! ” rang out from the airship, startling the crowd below.
Immediately after, a huge, square white light area lit up on its side. Then… a photograph appeared in that area of light.
Some people below stirred with intense curiosity.
The image depicted a battle scene of dozens of aircraft under a dark cloud, locked in close-quarter dogfights like a flock of eagles, their momentary postures frozen by the camera.
“Hey, hey hey… Hello down there, you guys look so tiny. Oh, uh… did you see that? The black speck that’s falling right now is a fighter from our Admiral Oderlev’s 3rd Pursuit-Bomber Wing. “
The thousand-odd heads craned upward were stunned in unison.
“What? ” some people hadn’t reacted yet, but a few were already beginning to realize what was happening.
“And another one, this one, this one is good; beautiful. Odessus, what are you doing? Hurry up and switch it! “
The blurry black-and-white photo projection outside the airship was replaced by an image of giant thunder flashing in the clouds, striking several Iron Lion bombers, and other black dots representing planes gliding like chaotic flies at the edge of the clouds.
“Destroy it quickly! ” Shouted the deputy mayor, who often appeared in municipal speeches, as he waved his hand hoarsely from a car that had driven into the city.
“Evil ideas, evil schemes! Fire the shells immediately! This is my command, everyone take cover, everyone take cover! “
The panicked crowd rushed towards the buildings nearby.
“Open up, or I’ll shoot him dead! ” The man fired his pistol into the high sky outside.
The city defense had no choice but to prepare to flee for their lives while loading a shell, and after the-aiming rod was pulled high, they immediately covered their ears and ducked into a wall hole nearby.
The shell headed straight for the airship, which had descended to just over two hundred meters.
But it exploded with a blast against a translucent hexagonal energy shield, turning into a one-time high-explosive firework that had absolutely no effect on the airship.
Leave a Reply