Chapter 158: The Fall
“Titan, initiate withdrawal. Local Strategy AI has requested a recalculation of operations. Accepted. Utilizing resources from the Terek Port Town base. Calculations complete. New operational actions have commenced.”
“192 fighter jets have reached the combat airspace! Transferring command to Oceanus Tactical AI!”
In the footage, the Titan, pierced through its fuselage by a breath attack from a Wyvern, began to spiral dramatically, spewing flames and smoke.
The breach was located in the central section of its all-wing structure, slightly forward and to the left. While it did not affect the heart of the ship—the computer cluster—one of the two nuclear fusion reactors had sustained critical damage.
“Emergency shutdown of the B-type nuclear fusion reactor has been executed. Forced energy discharge is currently underway. Due to an overflow in the energy lines, 12 main engines have been damaged, and 2 sub-engines are inoperable. The left-side radar’s operational efficiency has decreased. The weapon activation rate is below 20%. We will utilize rocket boosters for emergency withdrawal.”
To compensate for the lost acceleration due to engine damage, the Titan ignited six solid fuel rockets mounted at its rear. Of the 20 plasma jet engines, 12 were either damaged or completely destroyed. The sub-jet engines that were activated also had 2 out of 8 rendered inoperable due to equipment failure.
With just a single direct hit from the breath attack, the Titan was already in a state of disarray.
Moreover, while the two nuclear fusion reactors had escaped direct hits, one of them was completely silent due to surrounding equipment being blown away.
“What’s the situation?”
“Yes, Ma’am. The Titan has transitioned to a withdrawal trajectory. A large-scale fire has erupted within the ship, and firefighting efforts are ongoing. Flight is possible, but reaching the outskirts of Flatara City is a fifty-fifty chance. The Wyvern has begun its escape, lowering altitude and increasing speed. Oceanus is still operational. The fighter jets under command have resumed their attacks.”
The descending Wyvern was rapidly increasing its flight speed. It was likely to exceed the speed of sound.
However, pursuing it were hypersonic missiles and armor-piercing shells fired from the underbelly railgun. No matter how fast it went, it would not be able to escape.
“Oceanus, engage the Maser Cannon. Executing pinpoint targeting on the Wyvern’s head.”
A high-output Maser beam was directed toward what appeared to be the sensory organs on the Wyvern’s head. Jamming was initiated against the microwave frequency it was using.
To put it in human terms, it was like being suddenly illuminated by an ultra-powerful searchlight while sprinting at full speed.
Whether it was disoriented or simply startled, the Wyvern began to spiral downwards.
Missiles and a barrage of armor-piercing shells surged toward it.
The acceleration conversion via the Defense Membrane had already gathered sufficient samples necessary for predictive calculations. The impact from the incoming missiles and the raining armor-piercing shells was converted into acceleration, with the direction of that acceleration controlled by the Local Strategy AI with over 75% accuracy.
Then, at the calculated moment, the Defense Membrane lost its glow.
“Coil Cannon, fire! Penetration confirmed. Direct hits on the missile swarm confirmed!”
With the Defense Membrane gone, a multitude of missiles and shells descended upon the Wyvern, striking with deadly precision. The shells and explosions from the missiles shredded its scales and sent them flying.
“Numerous direct hits. Damage analysis in progress.”
The shells fired from the Coil Cannon penetrated from the back of the neck to the opposite side. While many of the railgun shells did not penetrate, they inflicted significant wounds all over its body. The missiles blasted away scales and skin, seemingly damaging internal organs beyond the subcutaneous muscle tissue.
“The Wyvern has ceased its acceleration. It is decelerating due to air resistance.”
“C-Could it be… we finally did it…?”
In an unnatural position, the Wyvern spiraled down toward the ground, showing no signs of any further action.
“Wyvern, silence confirmed.”
“Sister, we’ve also confirmed the disappearance of the microwaves emitted by the Wyvern. It is likely dead, or at the very least, unconscious!”
“Unconscious… Well, it seems there’s no sign of the Defense Membrane reviving, and with that fall speed, even a super organism wouldn’t be able to withstand crashing into the ground…”
Due to atmospheric friction, the fall speed wouldn’t be excessively high. However, even at several hundred kilometers per hour, crashing into the ground would be beyond the tolerance of a body that was merely reinforced.
If it were the Rain Kroin, perhaps it could withstand it.
“Sister, firefighting on the Titan has been completed! The damage is severe, but it seems we can still fly back to base!”
“Good, well done. I’m relieved we didn’t end up with a disastrous maiden sortie.”
The Gigantia Unit demonstrated unparalleled strength in ground suppression warfare. They could drop a large number of ground suppression units from high altitudes and provide supporting artillery fire from multiple gun emplacements. Their flight speed exceeded 1,000 km/h, allowing for rapid movement to necessary battlefields. Moreover, they could supply power to nearby command units using the immense energy generated from their nuclear fusion reactors. Naturally, they were equipped with an AI capable of controlling all those units.
Truly, a flying fortress.
Yet, even so, due to the nature of aerodynamic flight, they had the weakness of thin armor.
This time, that weakness had been directly struck.
Moreover, being at the front lines meant that air cover was insufficient. In fact, they had not anticipated the approach of flying enemies at all. Even so, it was a fine play to have at least sent some minimal escort fighters.
It was utterly unpredictable that a dragon would attack from hundreds of kilometers away.
“The suppression of the Afrasia United Kingdom was completed as scheduled, yet that Wyvern single-handedly swept it all away…”
“Yes, Ma’am. I sincerely apologize. We had not anticipated this at all.”
That was understandable. Even Commander Eve and Asahi could not foresee the Wyvern’s appearance. It was unreasonable to blame Ringo, and seeing Ringo downcast pained her heart.
“Don’t worry about it, Ringo. There’s nothing we could have done about this. In this unreasonable world, you never know what might happen.”
As Commander Eve comforted Ringo, she checked the wide-area map.
All major cities in the Afrasia United Kingdom had been secured. The Duke Class individuals and their families had all been located. Should anything arise, they could respond immediately.
The main forces in each city had also been mostly suppressed. While there was a slight possibility of a resistance forming, it was not particularly concerning.
After all, Paraiso had an excellent intelligence network.
“Well then, all that remains is the East Gate city. It’s effectively occupied, but we’ll still detain the influential figures and strip them of command authority. Lastly, we’ll send a notification to the Forest Country.”
“Yes, Ma’am. With this, the ‘What’s yours is mine’ operation will be completed. It should be finished by sunset today.”
Somehow, they managed to pull through.
Taking a deep breath, Commander Eve sank into her chair.
“Still, it’s truly a world where one must remain vigilant… And just as Asahi said, to think dragons would actually appear…”
“Not that surprising, sister! But even I didn’t expect a dragon to show up at this timing!”
On the monitor, Asahi was dancing joyfully, raising her arms in celebration. It seemed she was excited about acquiring a dragon, a quintessential monster of the fantasy world.
Yet, even while dancing, she continued to send out a flurry of instructions over the radio, diligently fulfilling her duties. It was merely a bit unsightly, not enough to warrant a reprimand. In fact, Commander Eve watched with a smile, finding it rather endearing. Ringo remained silent.
Amidst the commotion, the silver dragon showed no signs of slowing down as it plummeted into the depths of the Demon Forest.