Ch.256256. Senova (2)

Unlike the large, round airships commonly imagined by modern people, the airships of this magical era have a more sophisticated and impressive appearance.

The gas tanks, modified using magical means to generate buoyancy, are divided into two parts. The hull is massive in comparison to these gas tanks, boasting considerable width….

The gas tanks—officially named “flotation tanks”—are made entirely of metal, and throughout the hull are mounted ship cannons modified from Blood Cannons and anti-aircraft guns applying magical artillery technology.

With bombing bays attached to the bottom of the hull for dropping bombs, the true identity of this clearly military airship is—

[Ten minutes until arrival at target point!]

“Good. Prepare yourselves, troops! It’s time for atonement!”

[[[WAAAAAAAAAA—!!! Atonement! Atonement! Atonement! Atonement!]]]

It’s a “Multi-purpose Battle Airship (M-BA)” operated by the Holy Assault Corps, a specialized close-combat avenger unit formed by training selected criminals.

Designed to transport Holy Assault Corps members quickly and accurately into enemy territory, this airship is specially equipped with magical shields used by High Elves.

“《Fire Ball》! 《Fire Ball》! 《Fire Ball》!!”

BOOM—!! BOOM—!! BOOM—!!!

“《Thunder Javelin》!!”

“《Acid Arrow》!”

“《Twelve-Flame-Dagger》!!!”

Thanks to this, the airship—the Black Sinner—could withstand magic and gunfire from the ground, and even push through despite constant exposure to attacks.

“Two minutes until arrival at target point! Everyone prepare for descent!”

And so, breaking through the barrage of bullets and magic fire, they arrived above Senova City and began preparing for descent.

“Shoot, shoot!! I said shoot more!!”

“The, the range doesn’t reach!”

“Even when we hit, it deflects!!”

Maintaining a perfect distance from the ground where attacks couldn’t reach them, the black warriors equipped with gear designed for aerial descent stood quietly against the walls of the bombing bay, each holding their weapons.

[Arrived at target point! Bomb and drop according to the field commander’s orders!]

KABOOM—!!! KABOOM—!!!

After clearing the drop zone by releasing bombs made with alchemical explosives through the open bomb bay…

“—Drop!!”

The moment the field commander’s order came, these warriors, armed with thicker equipment than usual, jumped through the bomb bay and deployed the collapsible gliders strapped to their backs, following the field commander’s lead as they began to glide.

To the people on the ground, these avenger corps members operating their black-dyed gliders looked like vicious monsters falling from the sky.

“Wh-what is that…!!”

“Monsters, monsters!!”

“No! Those are demons! Demons have appeared!!”

“””””””””KYAAAAAAAA—!!!”””””””””

This misunderstanding, created by the airship’s shadow conveniently obscuring them, quickly spread even among the militia and residents, causing a major commotion.

“Demons! Dem—”

—THWACK!!

“Silence—!! Those who cause confusion will be executed!!”

The chaos seemed to diminish slightly when a halberdier summarily executed one of the militia members causing the disturbance, but people still faced with an incomprehensible situation fell into panic, turning the entire city into complete chaos…

THUD!!

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

“…Wait until everyone has landed.”

Meanwhile, the Holy Assault Corps members who had caused this chaos were landing in the area cleared by bombing and preparing for battle.

While folding the wing sections of their deployed gliders back into their armor, some soldiers carrying gunpowder weapons began loading ammunition, which had been kept unloaded due to explosion concerns.

Others were checking their melee weapons, adjusting their grips and confirming their condition…

“There they are! The enemy is there!”

When they heard someone shouting as if they had discovered them, these warriors couldn’t hide their excitement for the coming battle, grinning widely—

“Kill them! Die! And thus atone!!”

“””””””ATONE—!!!!”””””””

With the mid-level commander’s lead chant, they let out their war cry and these brave, fearless giant warriors charged at the newly arrived enemies with weapons in hand.

As it happened, the first Senova forces to encounter this Holy Assault Corps were ordinary militia who, though somewhat shabby, had received regular training and muskets, making them different from typical militia.

A gun is a gun no matter who fires it, and the firepower they unleashed under their commander’s orders couldn’t be ignored… but in the end, they were just militia who had barely been trained to shoot.

And this time, their low morale and poor training level became their downfall.

“Hee, heeeek!!!”

BANG!

One militia member who encountered the charging Holy Assault Corps head-on became so terrified by their fearsome appearance that he fired before the signal was given.

“Wh-what?!!”

“Th-the enemy!! There! There!!”

RAT-TAT-TAT! RAT-TAT!! RAT-TAT-TAT!! BANG!! RAT-TAT!!

This became the catalyst, and militia who hadn’t yet properly assessed the situation began firing sporadically as they searched for enemies around them, but…

CLANG! PING! CLANG!!

Without rifling, the iron balls they fired couldn’t penetrate the thick Dwarven armor of their opponents. With only a few unlucky warriors suffering slight injuries, these warriors blocked the gunfire and instantly closed the distance, reaching right in front of the militia.

The militia had bayonets attached to their muskets so they could have resisted, but they faced warriors nearly 2.5 meters tall charging with weapons.

“Aaaaaaaargh!!”

“Run!! S-spare me?!!”

“What are you doing?!! Argh!”

—SQUELCH!!

Naturally, the militia fell into panic, throwing away their weapons and beginning to flee. The halberdiers, whose job was to prevent this, stabbed one with a halberd to try to stop the desertion.

“Move!”

“Get back! Get out!”

“Run and we won’t kill you!”

But that was far from enough to control militia in panic.

The militia, believing they could only survive by fleeing regardless of who was being cut down beside them, scattered in terror at the Holy Assault Corps’ words. Thus, in an instant, a militia of 200 men was routed by just 12 members of the Holy Assault Corps.

“C-come on—!!”

However, the halberdier who was the commander remained at his post, refusing to flee.

Despite the overwhelmingly unfavorable situation, he maintained his fighting spirit, pointing his halberd and shouting as he attacked the Holy Assault Corps despite having no chance of victory—

—CRACK!

“…Admirable.”

The Holy Assault Corps commander responded to the halberdier’s courage by beheading him with an aura-infused axe.

※ ※ ※

Afterward, the Holy Assault Corps, despite their insane numerical disadvantage of just 12 members with only one mid-level fighter, actively utilized their superhuman combat abilities to continue routing the militia.

The militia commanders (halberdiers) who burned with hostility were somewhat capable, but most of the militia were people who had been swept up without motivation, just following public opinion.

As a result, when the Holy Assault Corps suggested they flee, they naturally ran away. The Holy Assault Corps found this somewhat boring as they merely had to frighten them and kill one or two while roaming throughout the city.

KABOOM!!! KABOOM!! KABOOM!!!

Occasionally, the sound of bombing from the Multi-purpose Battle Airship “Black Sinner” hovering in the sky echoed, and after wandering around for a while, they finally encountered their target—Senova’s main forces.

A total of 45 Senova halberdiers forming a battle formation, and about 120 Senova crossbowmen protecting themselves with large rectangular shields while positioned on embankments.

Presumably, these were Senova’s only remaining regular forces, excluding those killed by bombardment or those guarding the city council.

“Found them… damn bastards!”

And leading them was the famous mid-level mercenary hired as Senova’s military commander, known as the “Ogre Slicer.”

Looking at him—nicknamed for the tale of cutting an ogre in half with his massive battle-axe—and the soldiers who were ironically enraged that their homeland was under attack, the Holy Assault Corps once again—

“Kill them! Die! And thus atone!!”

“””””””ATONE—!!!!”””””””

They let out their battle cry with all their might and willingly leaped into the treacherous battlefield where they might find atonement through death.