Chapter 336: Aerial Battle

Chapter 336: Aerial Battle



At the front of the recently docked Federal giant airship, a conical structure resembling a ship's bow was adorned with large glass portholes and intricate carvings framed by brass borders. Inside the portholes, members of the Federation delegation looked down upon the welcoming crowd, noticing a slight commotion among the Imperial reception party below.

"It seems something important has happened. Oh, where are our spies in Mingster?"

"Let's find out immediately."

"I want to know the situation within half an hour," Treyna said with a slight smile.

"Yes, Your Excellency," a colonel promptly replied.

As the delegation, led by Treyna, slowly descended from the airship, the official welcome ceremony began.

However, despite the cheerful atmosphere, Duke Mingster and Admiral Edward were anxious. They quickly exchanged opinions behind Duke Victor.

"Your Excellency Treyna, welcome to the Draconian Empire," Duke Victor greeted.

"Duke Victor, it's a pleasure to see you. These two are..." Treyna glanced at Duke Mingster and Admiral Edward beside him.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce them. This is Duke Mingster, the Provincial Governor, and Admiral Edward," Duke Victor added.

"Your Excellency, it's a pleasure to meet you," Duke Mingster and Admiral Edward greeted.

"Your Excellency, Duke Victor, I and Admiral Edward have an urgent matter to attend to," Duke Mingster said, feeling responsible for the situation in his province.

"Oh? Duke Mingster, Admiral Edward, if you need any assistance, please don't hesitate to ask. This time, we have the Federal Lancers Class Mega Battleship, which has considerable combat power," Treyna said curiously, hinting at something.

Duke Mingster and Admiral Edward exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of surprise in each other's eyes.

"This..."

"Your Excellency, we greatly appreciate your kind offer. Please allow us to discuss this with Duke Victor first. Perhaps, we might need your help later," Duke Mingster said.

Duke Victor was taken aback, as he was the one in charge of receiving the delegation, and the absence of the Provincial Governor was a breach of diplomatic etiquette.

A few minutes later, Duke Victor excused himself to use the restroom, and Duke Mingster and he quickly met.

"Ferrara (Duke Mingster's real name), Edward, is the situation really that bad?" Duke Victor's expression turned serious.

"Yes, it might be worse than we imagined," Admiral Edward said, looking at Duke Mingster.

"A few hours ago, we received an urgent message from a survivor of a Diamond Rank Swordsman squad that had lost contact. It seems there's an unrecorded Sealed Gate, and inside is an ancient corrupted dragon with strong corruption energy that can corrupt living beings and restore its strength," Duke Mingster explained.

"Currently, this corrupted dragon is on its way to Brightsin, and it has already destroyed three small towns along its path."

"What?! That means tens of thousands of casualties!" Duke Victor exclaimed.

"If we don't send strong and swift support immediately, Brightsin will be destroyed, resulting in hundreds of thousands of casualties," Admiral Edward continued.

"Furthermore, according to intelligence, if Brightsin is destroyed and the dragon restores its strength by corrupting life, it will quickly regain its peak power."

"That's the worst part," Admiral Edward added gravely.

"Yes, Duke Victor, we discussed this, and we might need to borrow the Griffin Guards you brought for escort. Otherwise, we might not have enough power," Duke Mingster said.

Duke Victor fell silent, pondering the situation. This timing was awkward, as it was the moment the Federal delegation arrived at their first stop in the Empire.

If all the Griffin Knights were dispatched, it would be like revealing the Empire's dire situation to the Federation, indicating that the Empire couldn't even maintain basic stability.

In diplomatic terms, this was a major taboo and would be detrimental to future negotiations between the two countries.

"In other words, it's too late to wait for the Imperial Guardians, right?" Duke Victor thought aloud.

"Yes, so we want to gather all the Griffin Knights and rush to Brightsin. Even if we can't stop the dragon, we'll try to divert it away from Brightsin," Admiral Edward said.

"At least we can buy some time and evacuate a portion of the people from the county city," Duke Mingster added.

"So, we hope the Griffin Guards you brought can also join us," Admiral Edward requested.

Duke Victor frowned, clearly weighing the options. On one hand, there were hundreds of thousands of lives at stake, and on the other, it would be like revealing the Empire's weakness to the Federation.

But soon, he understood. After a century of war and countless minor frictions between the Empire and the Federation, both sides had planted numerous spies and informants. Could such a situation be hidden?

If Brightsin were to be truly destroyed, such a disaster would inevitably come to light. Rather than hiding it, it would be better to have the Federation accompany us.

Although they would gain a deeper understanding of the Empire's strengths and weaknesses, the same would apply in reverse, allowing us to observe the new developments the Federation has made in the past two years.

"Ferrara, Edward, let's involve the Federation as well," Victor spoke up.

"We can take a look at what these Federation folks are relying on."

"Involve the Federation?"

Duke Mingster and Admiral Edward exchanged glances, their faces lighting up with joy.

For them, swiftly eliminating this massive threat was the top priority.

"Hmm, gather all the Griffin Knights. Oh, and the small airships too! Even if they don't have airships as large as theirs, we need to make a show of force." Duke Victor added.

"Er, currently, we only have two small airships available. The others are on missions and already on their routes. It will take several hours to gather a few more."

Meanwhile, in the reception hall.

"Are you aware of the situation?" Terra turned to her deputy and asked.

"Yes, I have a basic understanding. A corrupted dragon is currently on its way to Brightsin, having already destroyed several towns along its path."

"A corrupted dragon? That's not an easy opponent," a nearby Federation brigadier general whispered.

"Can we handle it?" Terra asked calmly.

"It shouldn't be a problem."

"Good, this will be a chance to demonstrate our strength to the Empire. Let's go, I'll inform Duke Victor as well." The beautiful woman, Terra, stood up and said.

"Hmm? Ambassador, won't this expose our strength?"

"Don't forget, we're here for negotiations. Demonstrating our strength will make the negotiations smoother." The beautiful woman, Terra, couldn't help but smile.

In a corner of the reception hall.

"Lord Rain, an urgent mission. You need to depart immediately. Admiral Edward is already waiting on the military airship." A capable-looking young woman, with a worried expression, approached Rain.

"Hmm? So urgent?" Rain raised an eyebrow.

Depart immediately?

This was the first time Rain had encountered such a pressing task.

However, Rain suddenly thought of something and hesitated for a moment.

"Yes, Lord Rain, we just received an urgent report. The specific details will come later. Admiral Edward will brief you on the airship." Olenna quickly said.

"Hmm, let's go." Rain stood up and said.

A few minutes later.

"Edward, who are we still waiting for?" Duke Victor asked with a displeased expression.

"Oh, I just called upon a Diamond Rank Swordsman from the division. He should be here soon." Edward said with a slight apology.

"Facing a dragon, a Diamond Rank Swordsman might not be of much use against a dragon."

"This..." Admiral Edward thought for a moment, recalling how Rain had repeatedly turned the tide, and nodded hesitantly.

"Duke Victor, I'm familiar with the young man Edward mentioned. He's a talented individual who creates miracles. He's also the newly appointed Chief Security Advisor for the Mingster Administration." Duke Mingster explained.

At that moment, Rain, accompanied by Olenna, also boarded the airship.

"Hmm? Is it this young man?" Duke Victor looked at the two beside him with suspicion, clearly not believing it.

So young?

How could he possibly be very strong? He must be a relative.

However, despite his suspicions, Duke Victor wouldn't say anything to their faces.

Inside the cabin, Admiral Edward quickly briefed the situation concisely.

"Just now, we received an urgent report."

"The Sealed Gate at Dragon Tooth Pass has broken, and an ancient corrupted dragon is attacking multiple towns along its path, currently heading towards Brightsin County City."

"What! A dragon?" The Griffin Knights and several Diamond Rank Swordsmen in the room were all shocked.

Rain's eyes narrowed, and he was inwardly astonished.

Although he had previously heard some news about Dragon Tooth Pass, it seemed the Black Sword Squad had gone to investigate a suspected Sealed Gate at a mine, but he never imagined the situation would escalate to this extent.

"Silence! The Imperial Capital will likely send reinforcements soon, so our objective is to disrupt the dragon's attack and prevent it from easily assaulting Brightsin."

"At the very least, we need to buy time for the residents of Brightsin to evacuate."

Several hours later, as the airship approached Brightsin.

Both the Empire and the Federation could see from the airship that Brightsin County City was in chaos. A dragon, dozens of meters long, was wreaking havoc in the city's sky.

At the same time, thousands of monsters of various sizes were fighting the city's guards, but with the corrupted dragon leading the attack, the battle was almost one-sided.

The situation was now on the brink of collapse.

"Let the Griffin Knights go first and search for the dragon's weak points." Duke Victor, with a solemn expression, observed the scene before him and said.

As the Imperial Duke with rich combat experience and the special envoy for this mission, Duke Victor naturally took command of the battle. Duke Mingster and Admiral Edward, on the other hand, were responsible for deployment and coordination.

"Yes, Duke Victor," the Griffin Knight captain beside him slightly bowed and said.

With a sharp whistle, the captain and Viscount Philk led two teams, totaling twenty-four Imperial Griffin Knights, in two straight lines, charging towards the corrupted dragon at high speed.

The griffins' speed was astonishing, and within less than half a minute, the two sides engaged in battle.

Compared to the dozens of meters long body of the corrupted dragon, the twenty-four once majestic griffin knights now looked like a group of tiny sparrows besieging a giant eagle.

"Whoosh!"

The well-trained griffin knights skillfully maneuvered their griffins, dodging the corrupted dragon's claws and wing attacks with agility. They weaved through the air like the wind, simultaneously throwing their sharp short spears at the corrupted dragon.

"Pfft!"

Many of the spears pierced the corrupted dragon's skin, causing the griffin knights to rejoice.

"Captain, their defense isn't strong!" exclaimed one of the griffin knights.

The situation was better than they had anticipated, as their spears wouldn't even penetrate the dragon's scales under normal circumstances.

But the next moment, a sudden change occurred!

"Careful!"

As if irritated by these annoying 'flies', the corrupted dragon took a deep breath, followed by a powerful 180-degree breath attack!

A massive, high-pressure water cannon-like breath of intense yellow-green color instantly hit three griffin knights who failed to dodge in time.

The others watched in shock.

The three griffin knights, along with their griffins, quickly became covered in colorful mushrooms, lost their balance, and fell from the sky within seconds!

A single breath attack had taken down three elite griffin knights.

This scene caused the expressions of Edward and the others on the small airship behind to change drastically.

They knew that the Empire had to spend an amount of gold equivalent to a person's height to cultivate a qualified griffin knight."

The loss of each griffin knight was a significant blow to the Empire, and with three knights lost in less than half a minute, the upcoming battle seemed daunting.

"Damn it, what are those Federation people doing, just watching the show?" Mingster couldn't help but curse.

"This battle is happening within the Empire's territory, and we can't interfere with their actions," Victor said with a grim expression.

Rain considered for a moment and decided to ask Edward if he could give it a try.

Suddenly, the Federation's mega battleship started to move.

About two kilometers behind the aerial battle.

Inside the captain's cabin of the Federation's Lancelot-class mega battleship.

A group of Federation officers carefully observed the Empire's griffin knights surrounding the corrupted dragon.

"Impressive control, each of them seems to be at the Great Knight rank, and their coordination with the griffins is excellent."

"Indeed, they are worthy of being the top elite force of the Draconian Empire."

"But these griffin knights must be challenging to cultivate, and how many can the Draconian Empire have?"

"These two teams of griffin knights are probably most of the griffin knights in this Menin Province. Oh, right, that includes the team escorting us. So, a province might have around twenty griffin knights at most."

"Impressive, but too few."

"The Empire's cultivation strategy won't be able to cope with the subsequent battle losses."

The officers commented.

"What a powerful breath attack!" After witnessing the corrupted dragon's breath, the Federation officers also paled.

"This corruption ability is astonishing."

Upon seeing this, Terra's expression turned solemn, and she leaned towards the officer beside her and said:

"Vice Admiral Reiz, the upcoming battle is up to you."

"Of course, Your Excellency Terra, we should show our strength and let the decaying Draconian Empire know of the Federation's progress these past years." Vice Admiral Reiz bowed slightly and smiled.

"Port turn, portside cannons ready!"

"All ship cannons, commence loading!"

"..."

Orders were relayed through brass tubes to the lower cabins.

The massive battleship suddenly turned sideways in mid-air, causing Victor and the others on the small airship to think the Federation was retreating.

But the next moment, they saw dozens of black holes appearing on the battleship's side, followed by a series of flashes and rapid-fire sounds.

"Boom!"

Instantly, five or six massive holes erupted on the corrupted dragon's body, and yellow pus gushed out.

"Roar!"

The corrupted dragon let out a painful roar, its attention shifting from the surrounding griffin knights to the 'big guy' not far away.

"The power is insufficient to eliminate the enemy; it seems we need to use our secret weapon," Vice Admiral Reiz narrowed his eyes.

"Main cannon ready!"

An extra-large opening appeared on the side of the ship, revealing a long cannon barrel.

Engraved on the cannon base was a large six-pointed star magic array, and six official wizards were casting spells according to the captain's orders.

As the incantations sounded, the six-pointed star began to glow, and its energy was infused into the massive cannon covered in various runes.

The next moment!

"Boom!"

A spherical lightning-like object rapidly blasted towards the corrupted dragon.

"Boom!"

The corrupted dragon, seemingly sensing the danger, slightly sidestepped to dodge the vital blow, but one of its flesh wings was struck with a gaping hole, causing it to start falling rapidly.

In the captain's cabin of the Federation's Lancers Class Mega Battleship.

"Vice Admiral Reize, excellent command. Next, I believe, in the negotiations with the Empire, we will have a significant advantage."

"Clap, clap, clap!"

The mature young woman, Terra, smiled and took the lead in applauding Vice Admiral Reize, and soon after, the others reacted and joined in, resulting in thunderous applause.

Meanwhile, on the small airship nearby, Duke Victor and his companions witnessed this scene, their faces initially relaxed, but not particularly joyful, instead falling into a silent contemplation.

The power of the Federation's battleship strike was comparable to a second-rank sorcery, and perhaps even more formidable.

"Something seems off, everyone, take a look," Rain spoke up at this moment.

Everyone's gaze once again focused on the falling corrupted dragon.

The corrupted dragon wobbled and crashed into the southwest corner of Brightsin County City, and in an instant, a cloud of dust and smoke rose.

"Roar!!!" A loud dragon's roar followed.

At the center of the crash site, countless Spore Humans rushed towards the dragon from various parts of Brightsin, like moths drawn to a flame.

The thick dust and smoke obscured the view, but everyone knew that some kind of change was taking place.

After a few seconds, the unharmed corrupted dragon flapped its wings and soared into the sky!

"Not good!"

"The enemy can restore their injuries by devouring these monster minions!" Admiral Edward, with his vast combat experience, exclaimed.

The corrupted dragon charged towards the Federation's mega battleship.

"Follow the great Agnes into corruption!" The dragon spoke in the ancient draconic language.

"Ancient corruption!" The dragon's breath attack was astonishing, a waterfall-like yellow-green breath struck the side of the mega battleship's cabin, clashing with the white magical shield instantly activated by the ship.

This scene caused Duke Victor's expression to change drastically, "We can't let the Federation envoy die here, it will directly sour the relationship between the Federation and the Empire."

"Signal the Griffin Knights with flags to intercept Agnes, and have the Exodus behind us prepare the high-explosive bombs to ram into her." Duke Victor's expression turned stern.

"The Empire's losses will be too great," Duke Mingster frowned.

Admiral Edward's expression also grew solemn, and the Swordsman Division's four Griffin Knights had already taken off.

At this moment, as if remembering something, Admiral Edward turned to Rain and said,

"Rain, you're not a flying knight, so later, you'll be in charge of leading the team on the ground to eliminate the infected humans and monsters, ensuring they can't restore Agnes' injuries and stamina again."

"Exactly! We can't let this corrupted dragon recover again," Duke Victor nodded in agreement.

However, Rain's expression turned thoughtful, and he didn't immediately agree. After a moment of consideration, he pointed at the corrupted dragon, Agnes, who had severely damaged the Federation's battleship, and said,

"Admiral Edward, let me give it a try, perhaps, I can handle it."

It wasn't that Rain wanted to show off, but he had a few considerations.

First, he was a citizen of the Empire, and currently, both Admiral Edward and Duke Mingster had shown him great care. If the corrupted dragon continued its rampage, not only would the residents of Brightsin suffer, but these two would also face blame from the Empire.

Secondly, he didn't want to see the Griffin Knights, including Philk and Fei She, die before his eyes, especially when he felt he could do something about it.

Lastly, Rain also wanted to test some of his ideas.

"Hmm?"

Everyone, including Admiral Edward and Duke Mingster, looked at Rain, unsure of what he meant.

Duke Victor's eyebrows furrowed, as he had already formed a poor impression of the late Rain.

This time, hearing the young man in front of him questioning Admiral Edward's orders, made him even more displeased.

However, seeing that Admiral Edward didn't say anything and merely pursed his lips without reprimanding, he held back.

As Rain's thoughts moved, the lookout suddenly shouted, "A ferocious bird of prey has suddenly appeared behind us!"

"Don't worry, it's my mount," Rain said calmly.

"Hmm? Rain, you have a flying mount?" Admiral Edward's expression brightened, but then darkened again as he thought of Agnes's might.

Even if Rain became a flying knight, it would only be equivalent to an additional top-notch Griffin Knight, with minimal impact on the battle.

But Duke Victor, standing nearby, had other thoughts. He stared at Rain with a less-than-friendly gaze.

You're a flying knight?

Why didn't you join the Griffin Knights in their fight against the corrupted dragon? Are you afraid of death? Just as he was about to reprimand Rain,

"Boom, boom, boom!"

Three heavy thuds sounded.

The Bloodfeather Griffin, which had just landed, placed three battle puppets on the airship's deck.

Rain turned and walked towards it, and a distant voice called out, "Prepare three high-explosive bombs for me."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end