Chapter 18 — Ambush

The night was dark and silent. The Imperial Army numbering 20,000 ships, 100 flying fortresses, 5 flying giant cannons, and one bone dragon completely blocked out the faint moonlight. It was truly a formidable force.

10 kilometres away, a fleet of 20 steel flying ships much smaller than a battleship were lying in the forest. They slowly rose and cleared the tree line. Their sleek and steampunk design showed their specialisation in speed and agility. The twenty ships raised their cannons with quiet puffs of steam at the Imperial Fleet. The torches alight on the Imperial Fleet made them perfect targets.

The rows of cannons constantly twitched to adjust for wind speed and the slight movements of the ship.

[Fire!]

The quiet night was shattered with the firing of the giant guns. Great muzzle flashes briefly illuminated the forest below like day. Giant glowing shells arced through the sky, impacting directly into the fleet like horizontal rain. The commanders were shocked awake.

[What is going on?]

[Where is the enemy?]

Daiki was sleeping with his harem when the explosions went off.

[Master, what was that sound?]

Daiki's eyes widened as observation spells reported the damage. With a wave of his hand, his extravagant wizard robe flew onto his body. Flying into the sky, he saw a second volley of rounds screaming over. He snorted and waved his hand, casting a legendary magic. Hundreds of magic missiles all streamed at the shells, colliding mid-air, and setting off the explosives in them. The volley harmlessly burst into fireworks above the Imperial Fleet.

Seeing this, the attacking ships instantly turned and started speeding away at full speed. Their speed was surprising, given their size.

[You think that you can attack MY fleet, then leave as you with? Skelbreaker, go get them!]

The bone dragon roared and charged at the ships at full speed. Of course, these ships were from the Third Reich. Konrad had personally designed a smaller, faster and cheaper variant of the battleship which he named Frigates. The ships were ordered to ambush the Imperial Army, and then retreat at full speed. Konrad tried to anger them and force out any hole cards that Daiki might have. And it had worked. Only that there was now an angry bone dragon charging at them at full speed.

With night-vision equipment, the commander of the fleet looked at the bone dragon getting closer and closer. He picked up the radio and transmitted an order.

[We have no choice but to engage! Get into battle formation! Load airburst rounds!]

The Frigates got into a line with their sides facing the approaching enemy. Giant airburst rounds were loaded into their cannons.

[Fire!]

The entire fleet fired at the same time. The shells were fired to form an inescapable web for the dragon. Even if it could dodge a few, it could not dodge them all. The airburst shells were designed to still detonate in the air even if they missed their target, showering their target with shrapnel. Explosions flowered on and around the bone dragon. It was enveloped in a blinding bubble. Its fate was uncertain.

[Keep firing until its death is confirmed!]

The smoke gradually cleared to show a damaged bone dragon. Many bones were missing or broken. Large metal fragments were embedded deep in its bones. However, it didn't stop and instead roared angrily and charged towards the fleet.

A second volley was quickly fired, but the dragon continued speeding forward. If it was a real dragon, even in its peak form, it would already be dead. But this was an undead bone dragon. It couldn't be stopped until it was well and truly destroyed.

[It's going to impact our fleet at this rate!]

The commander gritted his teeth and looked at the approaching Imperial Army.

[We still have some time before their army reaches us! Destroy it at all costs!]

The bone dragon collided with a frigate, tearing a giant hole into its side. Soldiers in the ship fired at it with their rifles, but the bullets harmlessly pinged off its bones. It rampaged through the ship, tearing out its interior. Nothing could stop it.

The commander of that ship opened a red box labelled 'SELF DESTRUCT' on the bridge of the frigate with a key. He flicked multiple missile switches and entered a password. Alarms went off as the protective cover slipped off a red button. Without hesitation, he smashed it down.

[For the Third Reich!]

The ship detonated in a massive explosion. The remaining frigates lined up and got ready to fire at the bone dragon if it had survived. However, when the smoke cleared, there was a person floating in front of it. He was obviously the owner of the dragon and a very powerful wizard.

[So, you think you can defeat me… How laughable]

[Fire at the new target!]

Shells poured towards Daiki, but he quickly dodged out of the way. Only a few pieces of shrapnel managed to hit his magic shield.

[How dare you injure my bone dragon! You shall feel my wrath!]

He made exaggerated movements with his hands. Everywhere he pointed in the sky, a giant crystal shard appeared, floating there.

[Legendary Spell! Multiple Chain Crystal Barrage!!]

The sharp crystals shot towards the frigates, who instantly dispersed. Flak cannons opened fire, trying to shoot the crystals out of the sky to little effect. Giant shards penetrated the armour of the frigates and destroyed many cannons.

[You haven't seen my true power yet! I call upon… Hurricane of Fire! Come, Burn my enemies to a crisp!]

While constantly dodging cannon fire, a huge amount of fire shot out of Daiki's hands. It circled around the entire fleet, growing larger and faster as Daiki injected huge amounts of mana into it. The firestorm had nearly enveloped the entire fleet.

[Fire… Heed my call and destroy! Come and melt those iron ships!]

The firestorm rapidly contracted and split off to surround each individual ship.

[Quick, close the blast doors and ventilation system!]

With all the ship's entrances sealed, the fire couldn't get in through the steel armour. However…

[Not good! The crystals are disappearing!]

[Come fire! I shall lead you to a path! I am the light! I am the way!]

With a wave of his hand, Daiki turned all the crystals into powder. The fire poured in from the gaping holes left in the armour. The flames devastated everything it touched and gradually melted through the walls of the ships. Soldiers screamed as their bodies melted. All the cannons were disabled, and the engines stopped moving. Metal creaked and groaned as molten steel dripped from the ships. However, the flame couldn't get through the final bulkheads.

[Hmm, just die obediently!]

Daiki's eyes glowed red and countless magic circles appeared behind him. From each circle, a beam of mana was shot out, spearing the frigates. While the damage they dealt was not lethal, the fire rushed into the new holes and incinerated the rest of the ship. Seeing no way to survive, the 19 remaining frigates exploded as their captains self-destructed to prevent technology leakage. There were no survivors.

From his command room far away, Konrad emotionlessly watched as his 19 frigates turned into fireballs.