Chapter 67 : Chapter 67
Chapter 67
“…Come to think of it, that's right.”
A supply base must be established in a place where safety is secured.
The Alliance concluded that it was safer to keep it afloat in the air like this than to build a building directly on the sky island, and the same was true for White Hero.
Far away.
Somewhere in the clouds gathered across the four archipelagos, there was also a White Hero supply base.
White Hero and the Alliance were constantly conducting reconnaissance to find each other's supply bases, and diversionary operations to interfere with each other's searches were also occurring almost daily.
The battles taking place on the sky island right now were quite fierce, but the moment a supply base was discovered, a large-scale battle of an incomparable scale would probably break out.
Because if they could shoot down the opponent's supply base, they could monopolize the mana sources generated on the sky island.
‘…Wait a minute. Come to think of it, I know where White Hero’s supply base is.’
Did I just know the location?
It was possible to grasp not only the supply capacity, armament status, maximum number of airships that can be accommodated, and movement routes, but also the number of airships currently staying there if I used the Eye that Seeks Truth with enough time.
“……”
“Senior. What are you thinking so hard about? You’re all zoned out like someone who's lost their mind.”
“…I got a little scared.”
“Huh? All of a sudden, in the middle of an explanation?”
Lattia, as if she found it absurd, opened her eyes wide and looked up at me.
But it was true that I had become scared.
Because I thought that although Unit 917's strength was insufficient, it might be possible to shoot down White Hero's supply base with a little support.
In the past, I was reluctant to use the information I had because of the possibility of being suspected as a White Hero spy, but it was different now.
Selina, who thought my Eye that Seeks Truth was an almost all-powerful authority in terms of information gathering, would unconditionally trust and follow my opinion.
‘Should I try to formulate a plan?’
If I could erase White Hero's influence from this Frei Archipelago, if I could list Unit 917's name as the greatest contributor.
It would become possible to receive additional mana sources periodically, just as we received the Trace of the Dragon Vein from Ahinlab Fortress.
Judging that there was no reason to drag it on, I decided to act on my thought.
I used the Eye that Seeks Truth to scan the players' chat window.
Perhaps because we had entered Stage 2, the number of chats was noticeably higher than before.
But something was strange.
‘The chats…. there are too many.’
It was true that this section was usually active, but even considering that, the speed was too fast.
I focused and carefully examined the content.
Thanks to that, I was able to quickly identify the cause.
Odin’s hero is different.
Even though he’s Level 4, how can he be so savage?
I just tried to talk to him and my hero almost got killed.
Look at his personality.
There’s also a hero from Rhodes next to him.
You can see Odin if you go to the forefront, but isn’t Rhodes really hard to see?
That’s true…. But why are Odin and Rhodes together? Weren’t those two on bad terms?
“……”
The moment I heard the news that the heroes of the 2nd ranked Odin and the 1st ranked Rhodes were both on this battlefield, my head went dizzy.
Reysia.
What in the world was she planning?
I couldn't understand.
Regardless of my situation, the airship of Unit 917 entered the Alliance's air base.
Creeeeak….
With a heavy sound, a huge door opened, and a dock where numerous airships were anchored was revealed.
* * *
The Alliance's air base.
This place, named Ederca, was about the size of a very small city.
Of course, the resident population was significantly smaller compared to a city of the same size.
The first reason was that it was a base built on the front lines, and the second reason was that most of the large buildings were composed of magical and mechanical devices to keep the base afloat in the air.
The noise pollution was also considerable.
Wooooong!
When walking down the street, a huge mechanical sound that periodically echoed.
If you listened to this all day, you would soon go crazy with stress.
“…I hate this place.”
Whether she was sensitive to sound or not, Lattia already had a half-dead look on her face.
But what could she do?
“Get used to it.”
“Senior….”
“The only place you can rest comfortably in the Frei Archipelago is Ederca.”
“……”
Did she somewhat grasp the hidden meaning in those words?
Lattia couldn't hide her slightly flustered expression.
“It should be around here…”
Selina, who was walking at the head, muttered while staring at the map she was holding.
The map, which she had received from the manager at the dock, was a very detailed map that contained the entire city, but it was difficult for a first-timer to find their way.
The air base Ederca's top priority was to keep the base itself stable in the air, so even the paths people walked on were not ordinary.
The path connecting A to B was not a straight line, but a winding path that twisted and turned to avoid all sorts of devices installed at will, and in some cases, it even went around the outskirts of the city to reach the destination.
It had such a maze-like structure.
Although the fundamental problem was something else.
“Selina.”
“Wait! Just a moment! Just a little…. I think I can figure it out with just a little more time!”
“Don't bother, just give me the map.”
“…Yes.”
Selina was so bad at reading maps that it made me wonder how she had been able to navigate the vast sky so stably until now.
To be precise, should I say she had no sense of direction?
On top of that, her pride and stubbornness were also strong.
If it weren't for the excellent crew members she had brought from the Verdin estate, we might have gotten lost in the sky of the battlefield a few times.
Come to think of it, I don't even know the crew members' names.
I thought I should start paying a little more attention to them from now on.
Thanks to confiscating the map from Selina, we were able to arrive at our destination quickly.
The central part of the city.
A considerable number of people were gathered in groups of three and five around a bizarrely shaped building that made me wonder what kind of person had designed it.
All of them were dressed in the same soldier's uniform as me, and their numbers reached hundreds.
They sent their gazes to us, the newcomers, with a very tense look.
“……”
The soldiers of Unit 917, who had been chattering away, also fell silent as if they had been assimilated into the atmosphere.
As we approached the entrance, a young woman in an office uniform blocked Selina's way.
“I apologize. Due to the limited and crowded space, only the commander and one escort are allowed to accompany. This is an instruction from Saev-nim, the general manager of Ederca, so please cooperate.”
“Rian.”
Selina pointed at me without a moment's hesitation.
The other soldiers, as if they had expected it, did not change their expressions and moved away from me to mix with the other soldiers.
Whether it was because the position made the man, or because he was trying to be a man worthy of the position.
Byan gathered the remaining people and was doing his role as a field commander well.
“Selina Verdin, commander of Unit 917. My escort will be Rian Kaltz, the 1st field commander of Unit 917 here. May we enter?”
“Rian Kaltz of Unit 917, you say…”
The woman's gaze towards us changed.
Her lifeless eyes, which had a strong business-like feel just a moment ago, came to life and were filled with interest.
Her attitude also became a little more polite.
She bowed her head more deeply and even opened the door for us herself.
The structure of the room inside was quite peculiar.
Should I say it was like a theater stage?
One side of the room was occupied by a large table and an operation board, and a number of chairs were arranged in a semicircle, surrounding the table.
The number of chairs was close to 100, but most of the chairs already had owners.
That many people were talking about something on the same topic, which made it quite noisy.
To the point where it was difficult to understand what they were talking about unless you focused properly.
I could roughly tell that it was a briefing for this operation.
As we entered, people's gazes were briefly focused on us.
“May I have your affiliation?”
The man standing in front of the operation board spoke to us.
My overall first impression of the man was that he was somewhat shabby.
The clothes he was wearing were all high-quality items, but the buttons were undone, he hadn't put his arms through the sleeves but had just draped them over his shoulders, and his hat felt like it was just placed on his head.
His expression was the same.
There was no motivation at all.
But Selina was on high alert.
“Selina Verdin. Affiliated with Unit 917 of the Mergan Kingdom.”
I knew who the man was.
Selina probably also knew the man's identity and acted as she did.
The man's name was Saev Leucius.
He was the general manager of this air base, Ederca.
“…A distinguished guest has arrived. Thank you for responding to Ederca's request for support. I am Marquis Saev Leucius of the Elgion Empire.”
Saev welcomed Selina with a voice that still lacked any motivation.
On the other hand.
The people sitting in the chairs all sent interested gazes.
Towards Selina, and me.
“If it’s Unit 917 of the Mergan Kingdom…”
“That soldier must be Rian Kaltz who defeated Odin’s hero.”
“He also took care of the Devil of Letipus, who had gone down to the remote areas and was causing trouble…”
I felt like a monkey in a zoo cage.
Still, perhaps because I had gotten used to such gazes.
Unlike before, I was able to let it go without feeling uncomfortable.
As we sat down, Saev resumed the briefing that he had paused for a moment.
“…To continue, the operation will proceed as usual. The objective is to defeat the lava beast, Galakal, which is periodically produced on the first island of the Frei Archipelago, Tet, and secure a mana source from its corpse. When Galakal is defeated, the aftermath will affect the second island, Roka, so please head to Roka immediately. In Roka, you will defeat the salt beast, Plik, and secure a mana source.”
Stage 2-1A.
To explain about the first island of the Frei Archipelago, Tet, it is easy to understand if you think of it as a raid on a boss monster that you commonly know.
Tet, due to the characteristics of the island, periodically gathers a large amount of mana, and Tet, which cannot handle it, releases it into the atmosphere in the form of a volcano.
At that time, the strongest individual among the beasts living near the volcano eats the mana and swells in size, and that is the raid boss, Galakal.
When Galakal dies, the mana accumulated in its body crystallizes and scatters in all directions, which becomes a very high-quality mana source.
The problem is that the Alliance is not the only one aiming for Galakal.
The raid that takes place on Tet is a three-way battle between Galakal, who is trying to protect its life, and White Hero and the Alliance, who are aiming for Galakal's life.
“But there is one problem.”
Saev let out a deep sigh as if he was dying of annoyance.
“We have received information that Odin’s airship has been observed in the enemy camp.”