Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 1159

1159. Who Pays the Price? You Do! (11)

Another, no, the *true* meaning of the ‘First Aerial Battle’ ended fiercely but quickly.

At the time of the battle, France had 10 aircraft, while the Empire had 6 kestrels and 6 albatrosses, totaling 12. The result was that 7 out of 10 French aircraft were shot down—all 3 modified Daedaluses and all 4 unmodified Daedaluses—while the Empire lost none.

However, during the battle, 3 kestrels had to leave the front lines early, trailing long plumes of smoke due to engine damage. Fortunately, they managed to retreat safely with the help of their comrades just before being shot down. Surprisingly, the albatrosses played the most significant role in this battle.

* * *

The ‘most reliable cheat key,’ conceived by Hyun, designed by Wan, and spiced up by Hyang, was the albatross. The albatross’s most important mission was operating the self-propelled guided bomb.

To safely take off from the airship carrier with its short runway while carrying the heavy self-propelled guided bomb, a powerful thruster was essential. To achieve this, the albatross’s engine was structured by combining two engines from the kestrel.

Of course, it wasn’t simply and directly combining two engines, but a newly designed engine tailored to that concept. Thanks to this, the albatross boasted the most powerful engine and thruster in both Europe and the Empire.

It wasn’t just the engine.

The albatross’s fuselage was sturdier than the kestrel’s. Again, this was due to the self-propelled guided bomb. In particular, the robustness of the beak section connecting the wings and fuselage was unmatched.

This was because the albatross was designed to fold its wings. To fly ‘well without problems’ while carrying the self-propelled guided bomb, the albatross’s fuselage and wings were quite large.

To load a sufficient number of albatrosses onto the airship carrier, where space was inevitably limited, the wings had to be foldable.

Due to this folding wing design, the joint between the wings and fuselage was designed with the utmost importance placed on robustness from the start. Thanks to the powerful thruster and sturdy fuselage, the albatross exhibited different maneuver characteristics from the kestrel.

If the kestrel excelled in turning maneuvers by taking advantage of its small size, the albatross excelled in straight-line flight—or ‘straight speed,’ as Hyang put it. If an albatross that had dropped a self-propelled guided bomb made up its mind and flew, even a kestrel couldn’t keep up. Superior rapid ascent and descent capabilities were a bonus. Of course, this was only true when unburdened by the self-propelled guided bomb.

* * *

Due to these different characteristics from the kestrel, the albatrosses had shown a passive performance in the battles that had taken place so far. Since their main mission was ground bombing, the albatrosses flew at a fairly low altitude. Therefore, if caught in a joint attack by the French Daedaluses and the Spanish army, they had to immediately drop their bombs and retreat.

No matter how sturdy they were, they couldn’t avoid being shot down if they were subjected to concentrated fire. The second problem was the limited combat space for engaging in battle with a lightened body after dropping the bombs. As mentioned earlier, the albatrosses had poor turning maneuverability.

The low altitude, poor turning maneuverability, and the situation where the Daedaluses and kestrels were already mixed up in a melee meant that the best course of action for the albatrosses helping the kestrels was to retreat immediately. However, this battle gave the albatrosses an opportunity as the modified Daedaluses rushed in with determination.

* * *

Seeing the modified Daedaluses and kestrels becoming fully entangled, the albatross squadron leaders immediately sent hand signals. The albatrosses, seeing the Daedaluses approaching them and the squadron leader’s signals, simultaneously dropped the bombs they were carrying and began to climb in unison.

The albatrosses, raising their output to the maximum, were faster than ever. The eyes of the Daedalus pilots approaching to intercept the albatrosses widened uncontrollably at the sight.

“Is that possible with that size?”

The surprise was brief, and the Daedalus pilots also began to climb after the albatrosses.

However, the albatrosses they were aiming for were already high up in the sky.

Having secured weight and activity space by discarding their bombs early, the albatrosses began to fully demonstrate their abilities. The albatrosses, which had risen far above the kestrels and Daedaluses who were busy fighting, rotated their aircraft as if twisting a *kkwabaegi* [Korean twisted doughnut] and turned their noses.

The albatrosses, which had turned their noses, began to descend towards the enemy aircraft below. Since the albatrosses were much sturdier than the kestrels, their descent maintained a very steep slope. The faster speed was a bonus thanks to the combined output and gravity.

The French pilots, targeted by the albatrosses rushing in at a descent angle and speed they had never seen before, or rather, impossible with their Daedaluses, hurriedly moved their control sticks, but it was too late. *Hwacha’s* [Korean multiple rocket launcher] spewed fire from the nose of the albatross that had approached in no time.

Thanks to the ample size and output, the albatross could carry more ammunition. In other words, it could pour more ammunition on the target.

The cockpit of the Daedalus attacked by the albatross was instantly messed up. After dealing with the Daedaluses that had been targeting them, the albatrosses quickly ascended again and surveyed the surroundings.

After confirming that three kestrels were retreating, the albatrosses twisted their bodies again and plunged down.

* * *

Ding-dong-ding!

“They’re coming back!”

A soldier on the watchtower, looking at the sky, rang the bell and shouted, and many people, including Count Montfort, rushed outside and looked at the sky.

“Ah….”

The French, who had been looking at the sky with earnest expressions, sighed simultaneously.

Only 3 out of the 10 aircraft that had sortied were returning.

The pilots who landed safely immediately sought out Count Montfort.

“Good work. How was it?”

“We were able to chase away three of the Empire’s clowns.”

“It’s a shame we couldn’t cut off their heads with a little more.”

Count Montfort replied in a cold voice to the pilots’ report.

“But we lost seven comrades.”

“I admit it. There are still many shortcomings.”

The pilots reported what they had learned from this battle to Count Montfort and his staff.

-The modification can be considered successful. Now it’s worth fighting against the Empire’s ‘clowns’—a nickname attached to the kestrel. It was attached because of the stripes painted for identification.

-However, the magazine is a problem. Once attached and detached, we have to retreat urgently to replace the magazine. We need to deploy more aircraft in one battle or attach *hwacha*.

“*Hwacha*…..”

As Count Montfort stroked his chin and muttered, the aide next to him stepped forward instead.

“Isn’t the reason why *hwacha* cannot be attached due to the problem of poor ammunition supply? You haven’t forgotten that you were the ones who seized on that, have you?”

“I know. But this problem must be solved. The Empire guys are using *hwacha* without any problems.”

“If we can attach *hwacha*, we can increase the win rate a little more!”

“Of course, it would be best if there was a better aircraft.”

Count Montfort opened his mouth in response to the pilots’ answers.

“We are still requesting the development of a better aircraft. The home country is said to be focusing on development now, so let’s move on from this part. Instead, let’s focus on the *hwacha* part.”

“I understand.”

After listening to the pilots’ answers, Count Montfort ordered the aide.

“Summon the artisans.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

As the artisans were gathering according to the Count’s orders, a horse carrying a messenger galloped in from afar.

“It’s a letter from Marquis Alba.”

“I’ve received it.”

Count Montfort, who received the letter delivered by the messenger, sighed softly and unfolded the letter.

This was because most of the letters the Marquis had sent so far were full of subtly sarcastic content.

But this time, the content was a little different.

-I was very impressed with the valiant fighting of your subordinates. I look forward to the future. I wish you good luck in battle.

Count Montfort, who read the Marquis’s letter containing sincere praise and blessings several times, turned to the aide.

“I need to write a letter to send to the Marquis. Prepare the messenger.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“And let the soldiers know that Marquis Alba sent a letter of thanks. It will help boost morale.”

“That’s right. I’ll do it right away.”

* * *

As the news spread that Marquis Alba had sent a letter of thanks, the morale of the pilots and soldiers rose greatly.

Until then, the morale of the air force had been hitting rock bottom due to repeated defeats.

But today’s battle had a different result.

-The annihilation of the unmodified Daedaluses should be seen as unavoidable.

Because it was like that every time.

-But the modified Daedaluses should be seen as hopeful. Even if they didn’t lead to a crash, they inflicted injuries and repelled them.

-On top of that, Marquis Alba, who had only complained every time, conveyed his thanks.

“Then that means it’s worth a try!”

The pilots and artisans, whose morale had risen, clenched their fists.

The pilots and artisans, who had regained their energy, began to put their heads together and study countermeasures.

-First of all, we have confirmed that the method used this time is useful. But there are still many problems.

-But we can’t give up this method. Because it’s the only method that has potential.

-Therefore, first, we will modify all the Daedaluses that can be moved to fit this method.

-Ask the Count to increase the number of aircraft that sortie. It is possible because there are new pilots and aircraft that have arrived.

-If there are enough aircraft participating in the battle, it is possible to exchange magazines with more leeway.

-Then the battle duration will increase. In other words, the sacrifice will be reduced.

“This is all we can do right now… The problem is still *hwacha*.”

All the pilots and artisans nodded at the oldest surviving pilot’s point. But the faces of the attendees were not good.

“I wish I knew what tricks the Empire guys used….”

“They’re the guys who run away as soon as there’s a hole in the plane. It’s impossible until we completely shoot them down.”

“Damn Empire guys… The most despicable guys….”

Amidst various complaints and curses against the Empire, the veteran pilot organized the situation.

“Let’s continue to think about the *hwacha* part, and let’s focus on the modification first. Hmm….”

The veteran pilot, who had been contemplating for a while, asked the artisans.

“How many days will it take to modify all 20 Daedaluses?”

“Five days if there are enough hands.”

After hearing the head artisan’s answer, the veteran pilot immediately got up.

“I need to see the Count.”

* * *

“A sortie ban? For five days? Antoine, do you think that’s possible?”

Before Count Montfort could say anything, the aide stepped forward and gave such a rebuke, but the veteran pilot Antoine stubbornly pushed his opinion.

“The Spanish army will curse, but we still have to do it. If we keep using it little by little every time it is modified like now, it will only lead to meaningless consumption. We must secure at least 20 modified aircraft and then mobilize all 20 at once to overwhelm the Empire.”

“If we only think about ourselves, that’s right. But….”

“It’s not a but! We were pushed back in this battle because the big guys of the enemies intervened! We were outnumbered!”

Antoine and the aide continued their debate.

“Stop.”

Count Montfort, who had been silent in the back, opened his mouth, and Antoine and the aide both shut their mouths.

“I’ve gotten used to being cursed since I came to Spain. However, ’20 aircraft in five days’ must be achieved.”