Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 173

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Airship.

The driving force that transformed the Ayment Kingdom, built primarily by West Continent immigrants, into an empire in a short period.

About half of the airship’s crew consists of wizards. The Lionel Kingdom’s only large airship, the Golden Dragon, was even more so.

Except for a very few, all were wizards of 3-star or higher.

The captain was the same.

A 6-star wizard, he usually enjoyed reading magic books during the potentially boring flight time.

Because of that, the situation room of the Golden Dragon often had the atmosphere of a quiet reading room. But now, it was in chaos.

“Unidentified objects approaching!”

“Airships! Estimated to be from the Arya Kingdom!”

“Two large, ten medium, and countless small ones!”

The observer’s reports poured out.

The captain, feeling like he was about to lose his mind, roared.

“Sound the alarm!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

Wiiiing! Wiiiing!

The siren signaling a state of emergency echoed throughout the ship.

“What? What’s going on?”

“Shut up and run!”

“To your battle stations!”

The Golden Dragon’s crew, scattered throughout the ship, moved in an orderly fashion to their positions.

The captain in the situation room stared at the screen displayed by the observer with a grim expression.

It was indeed the Arya Kingdom’s airship fleet.

Two large airships were approaching, escorted by medium and small airships.

‘How did they know we were coming this way?’

The captain couldn’t understand the situation.

Like the sea, the sky has its paths.

The Golden Dragon was returning after greatly detouring from those proven paths, pioneering its own route.

‘Could it be a spy!’

The captain shook his head.

That couldn’t be.

They were isolated in the sky. It was impossible to leak the route to the outside. No, it would be possible using communication equipment, but then they would know.

The communication equipment was right in front of the captain’s seat.

“Captain, can we shake them off?”

At Reina’s voice calling him, the captain snapped out of his thoughts.

Worrying about how Arya’s fleet found out about the Golden Dragon’s route was a problem for later. Overcoming the immediate crisis came first.

The captain turned his head.

He saw Fran and First Queen Reina’s grim faces.

He carefully opened his mouth.

“It’s difficult.”

“I see…”

Reina bit her lip slightly.

The problem was the medium and small airships. Although their hulls were small, many of them had speeds that overwhelmed the large airships.

Above all, there was a headwind.

The captain felt that the current situation of the Golden Dragon was like a fish caught in a tightly woven net.

“Captain! The approaching Arya fleet has stopped temporarily. They are requesting communication.”

At the communicator’s words, the captain looked at Reina.

Reina nodded slightly.

“Connect them.”

“Yes, sir!”

A middle-aged man with white hair and blue eyes appeared on the screen in the situation room.

“Lichid Pros….”

Reina murmured his name.

There was no way she wouldn’t recognize the face of the Prime Minister of the Arya Kingdom and an 8-star wizard.

“Greetings, Lionel Kingdom. I don’t think I need to introduce myself, do I?”

“I was wondering where you were during the Horizon [likely referring to a past conflict or event], so you were waiting here?”

Fran’s cynical words.

Lichid smiled wryly and calmly 받아넘겼다 [accepted it].

“Let’s get straight to the point. Duke Fran Minerva, come to the Arya Kingdom. We will provide you with so much support that you won’t even miss the support of the Lionel Kingdom. If only you, Fran, would come with us to the Arya Kingdom, we will send the rest of the crew back without touching a hair on their heads.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Unfortunately… Stella’s research, which could have advanced the world’s civilization by one step, will have to be done by someone else, wouldn’t it?”

Saying they would even be willing to eliminate them.

“Fran.”

Reina called Fran quietly.

“I know. Even if I go willingly, the others won’t be safe.”

Although they coveted Stella, it was clear that what the Arya Kingdom was most worried about was the development of the Lionel Kingdom.

Fran noticed that fact from Lichid’s answer, which meant that they would kidnap him if they could, and if not, so be it.

The Arya Kingdom would not miss this good opportunity to easily eliminate the kingdom’s large airship, the Golden Dragon, and Reina.

Fran looked at Lichid and opened his mouth.

“Get lost.”

“Oh, what a pity. Then, good luck to you all…”

The communication was abruptly cut off.

The communicator, who had been staring blankly at the screen, was startled and checked who had cut off the communication.

“Captain?”

“Maximum engine output! Head for the Midra Triangle!”

“Sir?”

“Are you serious?”

The crew shouted in astonishment.

The Midra Triangle was famous for its unpredictable turbulence. There had been several cases where airships passing near it had disappeared without a trace.

“What are you doing! Is this insubordination!”

“No, sir! Maximum engine output!”

“Navigator, change course!”

The Golden Dragon turned sharply by 90 degrees.

Reina, who was holding onto a pipe protruding from the hull, wrapped her arms around Fran’s waist, who was about to fall.

Once the turn was complete, Reina looked at the flight map. She had also heard about the Midra Triangle.

Ayra, who often went abroad, had told her many 괴담 [tales/urban legends] about it during tea time.

“Captain, can we avoid being caught up until we reach the Midra Triangle?”

Reina didn’t ask why they were going there.

She seemed to know the reason.

The current situation was similar to when Evan had headed to Yongamok, where irregular waterspouts rose, to avoid the Joe Bayley pirates in the past.

It was clear that the captain was trying to use the variable of turbulence, just like Evan had sunk the Joe Bayley pirates by using uncontrollable natural phenomena.

The only difference was… Evan wasn’t here.

“I’ll do my best.”

At the captain’s reply, Reina bit her lip tightly.

***

The Arya Kingdom’s flagship.

Lichid, whose communication had been unilaterally cut off, looked at his adjutant.

“As expected, he doesn’t accept.”

“Didn’t I tell you he wouldn’t?”

“Pursue them immediately.”

“I think that would be best.”

The communicator, who was listening to their conversation, felt something strange. It was as if Lichid was reporting to the adjutant.

And that was correct.

In fact, Lichid was reporting to Saphian, the third head of Etrim, who was disguised as an adjutant.

Saphian, who had accompanied them to eliminate Fran.

Saphian had no intention of revealing his identity if possible. The more he interfered in the Middle World, the heavier the terrestrial karma that bound him became.

As Saphian, who desired ascension, he wanted to avoid such a situation.

However, he was prepared to reveal his identity if the worst came to pass. If they missed the Golden Dragon now, he felt that the damage would be greater than if he revealed his identity.

‘Right, Bidon?’

Saphian called the name of the fourth head, who had been killed by the second head.

He was the one who had been running around on his own, waking up the other heads when he could have acted after everyone had woken up.

Even though he knew that his actions would irritate the violent second head.

‘I should have heard what he saw.’

Saphian was very disappointed about that.

He should have at least left a record, but because he had personally implemented the order to 폐기 [discard/abolish] all ‘records,’ there was no way to know what he had seen.

‘Well, even if I knew, would it have made a difference?’

The future that Bidon saw was abstract. It meant that it could be interpreted in many different ways. There were also many cases where his interpretation differed from his own.

“Tell the small airships to stick to them and drag them down!”

“Yes, sir.”

Saphian shook off his thoughts at the busy sounds coming from the situation room. He looked at the Golden Dragon displayed on the screen.

Hoping for a wonderful fireworks display.

***

Bang! Kwang! Kwaaaang!

The starboard side of the Golden Dragon.

Magic cannon number 47 spat fire.

Light lingered on the Arya’s small airship that barely avoided the attack.

“Ah….”

The gunner of magic cannon number 47 let out a regretful sigh. He knew very well what that light meant.

It meant that the magic cannon’s projectile mounted on the small airship was flying towards them.

He closed his eyes tightly without realizing it.

Kwang!

Even though he knew that the opponent’s magic cannons couldn’t damage the Golden Dragon yet.

It was thanks to the magic shield that the Golden Dragon had on its own. It could easily withstand ‘three or four’ magic cannons fired by small airships.

‘How long will the Golden Dragon last….’

There were at least 30 small airships following them.

Fortunately, Fran, an 8-star wizard, was focusing all his energy on strengthening the magic shield, so they were holding on.

At least the starboard and port sides were better off.

The biggest problem was the stern of the Golden Dragon, which was being targeted by the small airships that were sticking to it like flies.

No airship is designed with retreat in mind. The fewest magic cannons are 배치되어있다 [positioned/placed] at the stern of the airship.

Reina was there.

Flash!

“First Queen!”

A knight witnessed a magic cannon projectile flying directly towards her and shouted a warning close to a scream.

Reina, who was holding the hilt of her sword.

Her sword was drawn at a speed that the knight couldn’t even perceive.

Swoosh- Bang!

The knight’s mouth dropped open.

Reina showed the amazing feat of blocking the flying projectile with her sword.

It was a skill that Evan had shown with magic.

Reina couldn’t use magic like Evan, but she had reached the point where she could emit materialized aura.

Of course, the efficiency was terribly inefficient. It was like swinging a sword to cut a fly in half that could be caught with a fly swatter.

But.

In the current situation where Arya’s airships were sticking to the Golden Dragon like flies in the vast sky and firing magic cannons, that was all she could do.

Flash! Flash!

Reina desperately blocked the magic cannons fired by the small airships that followed the stern of the Golden Dragon.

“Haa… Haa….”

She quickly became exhausted.

Reina’s gaze turned to the medium airships that were gradually closing the distance.

As the 체급 [size/class] had increased, the magic cannons mounted on the medium airships were also more powerful. If those joined in….

‘Your Majesty, Ian….’

The faces of Evan and her son flashed through her mind. It seemed impossible to return alive.

***

The Arya’s medium airships finally approached to a position where they could launch meaningful attacks on the Golden Dragon.

Kwang! Kwang! Kwaaaaang!!

It was incomparable to the magic cannons of the small airships.

Each shot was heavy. Blood dripped from the corner of Fran’s mouth as he poured magic power into strengthening the shield.

Kwang!

Kwaaaaang!!

Continuous shelling from the Arya fleet.

How long had it been?

A crew member assisting Fran screamed.

“Number 1 power source has been completely depleted!”

The captain’s mind became complicated.

It was a magic shield that operated using top-grade magic stones. The fact that one had run out meant that the others were also a matter of time.

Kwang! Kwang! Kwaaaaang!!

The captain’s gaze turned to the map.

‘Too far….’

The Midra Triangle, which was their goal, was still a long way off.

In fact, it was a predicted result.

The captain had also guessed that it would be difficult to reach there. The Midra Triangle was the only escape route he could think of, so he had headed there at full speed.

Bang! Kwang! Kwaaaaang!

“Oh, no! Number 2, 3, and 4 power sources have stopped working in succession!!”

“Cough, cough!!”

“Fran!!”

Fran vomited blood and collapsed.

‘This is the end.’

Not only the captain but most of them thought so.

At that time.

“Something is approaching from the front!!”

Sudden report from the observer.

Fran, who had collapsed and was dripping blood from the corner of her mouth, smiled faintly.

‘Too late.’