C228
¡Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The fleet was firing a rain of fire against the monsters in the outer area.
Hundreds of monsters were simultaneously pulverized. However, as they died, more monsters emerged from somewhere and rushed towards the fleet.
'They won't last long.'
Although the ammunition was unlimited, the cannons and ballistae have a limit of endurance.
Smoke was already coming out of the cannons of some aircraft.
Unable to shoot. It seemed they had failed after continuous bombardment since the beginning of the mission.
Although it would have been possible to take a break for repairs, the fleet did not stop firing.
They were faithfully carrying out my order to prevent the monsters from approaching Group 1.
[Current Progress: 092/100]
Crack.
The eggshell began to crumble.
A large crack spread from top to bottom from the black eye.
'The end will be simple.'
I tightly gripped the sword in my right hand.
The blade of Bifröst emitted a dazzling light.
It seems to be telling me to use my power to handle this.
Rumble.
The entire forest was shaking.
The trees of the forest were flattened by an earthquake, and the elevated ground sank.
[Current Progress: 093/100]
Crack.
The egg that had swallowed several large monsters trembled.
"Listen, mechanic. From now on, the Lucette will approach the egg at maximum speed."
<Towards there?>
The tentacles near the egg undulated simultaneously.
"If we don't handle it, it will be total annihilation. I don't have time to play with you. Can you do it or not? Answer me quickly!"
<That...>
Boom!
I stomped heavily on the deck.
<Ah, understood! Let's go there! Here we go!>
The rear thrusters of the airship spewed fire.
High-speed navigation. The Lucette quickly headed towards the egg.
<Aaahhh! I don't even know!>
The tentacles twisted towards the airship.
[The airship Lucette has been severely damaged!]
Boom!
In an instant, the airship shook violently.
The tip of a thin tentacle had grazed the side of the airship.
"This is nothing! Ignore it."
The Lucette dodged and turned, gradually approaching the egg.
The deck shook like a roller coaster. I held onto the railing and resisted. Although everything was upside down and sideways, everyone maintained their balance.
<There are too many tentacles!>
"Leave it to us."
Clang!
A tentacle trying to strike the hull bounced off an invisible shield.
Katio's magical barrier.
Boom!
A loud sonic boom followed by a steel arrow piercing directly through a tentacle.
Jenna shot her bow from the inverted deck. Although she couldn't get rid of the tentacles completely, it was enough to alter their trajectory.
[Current Progress: 094/100]
Whoosh!
Suddenly, the Lucette was pushed back.
A roar that vibrated the atmosphere.
Crack. Crack. Crack. Crack.
The shattered shell fell like rain.
<Aaaah!>
Bang!
A tentacle burst from the ground and pierced the rear of the airship.
[The airship Lucette has been severely damaged!]
'The magic engine...'
A third of the Lucette was in ruins.
Right where the engine was.
Without propulsion, the Lucette began to fall rapidly.
"We can do it!"
Katio waved her hand.
A pale blue light enveloped the airship like a cobweb.
<Virtual magic engine reconstruction!>
Uuuuuung.
The falling Lucette stopped in midair.
"Let's go again!"
There was no response.
I hurried to the cockpit.
A young woman in maintenance uniform lay bleeding over the controls.
It seems she had accidentally hit her head during the airship's shake.
'Is she unconscious?'
But there was no available personnel to take control of the airship at that moment.
I snapped my fingers.
[Ding!]
[Master, Han (★★★★) is requesting manual control of the Lucette.]
A notification appeared on Anything's control panel.
Anything, who was organizing the fleet with the tactical tool, quickly shifted perspective and looked at the Lucette on the screen.
[Do you wish to operate the aircraft manually?]
[Yes (Select) / No]
The Lucette began to rise slowly.
Ahead of it, seven tentacles attacked.
Girrr!
The Lucette spun five times in a row to dodge the tentacles.
An impressive maneuver.
'For now, just handle it.'
And get ready to give me that Warhorse Statue you promised.
Boom!
The Lucette surged at extreme speed.
[Katio (★★★★) has entered Mana Frenzy state.]
[Tips/Mana Frenzy occurs when a mage excessively uses magic.]
"Ugh!"
Blood gushed from Katio's mouth.
She was replacing the role of the magic engine with her own body.
No matter how talented a Mage was, they couldn't avoid the strain.
[Current Progress: 095/100]
Beyond the half-broken egg, the shape of the monster became vaguely visible.
"Jenna."
"Here!"
Pang! Pang! Pang! Pang!
The steel arrows pierced the writhing and retreating tentacles.
"Belkist."
"Ready."
"Kishasha."
"Let's go!"
I nodded.
Only 30 meters remained to the egg.
A scene reminiscent of a giant black cliff unfolded before me.
"Good job. The three of us will finish this."
"Big brother, I also...!"
"No, stay with the airship. We need an escape route."
Jenna, visibly disappointed, nodded.
"Thank you."
I firmly gripped my sword.
A tentacle lunged right in front of me.
[Unique ability, Transcendental Transformation, activated!]
[Kishasha (★★★★) transforms!]
Transformed Kishasha struck a tentacle with her fist.
Thwack!
The impact of Kishasha's fist spread, causing the entire tentacle to ripple.
"Grrrr!"
Kishasha roared and jumped over the railing.
Following the trembling tentacle, she began to run directly towards it.
"I'm running out of energy."
Belkist moved towards the bow.
[Unique ability, Horns of the White Dragon, activated!]
White horns began to sprout from Belkist's head.
"I can only use this strength one more time. But it should be enough to clear a path."
Uuuuuung!
Belkist's sword swung slowly.
"You go first."
I nodded.
And I leaped over the railing into the sky.
<Ha, ha, ha! I remember those days when I played with the emperor!>
My body, affected by gravity, began to fall.
In the air, I changed position and threw Bifröst.
The sword flew like lightning and pierced a tentacle.
'Absorption.'
Crackle!
Dark red lightning burst from both my left arm and Bifröst.
And, affected by magnetization, my body was drawn towards the sword.
'Once more.'
Stepping on the inverted tentacle, I pulled out the sword and threw it again.
The curved weapon flew and impaled another tentacle.
[Current progress: 096/100]
The death messages of the heroes appeared one after another.
The fleet's fire barrier had been broken. I moved from tentacle to tentacle, approaching the egg. Beside me, Kishasha advanced on all fours.
Uuuuuuuuu.
The egg groaned and concentrated dozens of tentacles at one point.
And then it shot them towards us.
Like a wall rising up, the tentacles approached en masse.
[Combined ability, White Dragon's Vacuum Slash, activated!]
A transparent energy grazed me from behind.
It passed by my side and sliced through the tentacles.
Paf-paf-paf!
Dozens of tentacles tore apart like fireworks.
Reaching the top of the egg, I put a foot on it.
"......"
Looking down, an eye at the base stared at me.
[Current progress: 097/100]
'...Phew.'
It really made me sweat.
"Watch."
Puf.
I drove the blade of the sword into the monster's eye.
However, the sword that could cut even steel stopped halfway.
Even Bifröst encountered resistance.
But, anyway...
"The final blow is yours."
I smiled faintly.
And then...
"Aaaaah!"
Crack!
From the sky, Kishasha dove down, stepping on the sword's hilt.
Uuuuuuuu!
With a dazzling flash, blood spurted from the pierced eye.
At that moment,
[Destiny Break!]
Clang!
The field fractured like glass.
The mission had been completed, but instead of the usual completion message, a familiar word appeared.
This was the message displayed upon entering the last part of floor 40, which was a loop-type mission.
"Eh?"
The purple clouds covering the sky had completely dissipated.
"What's happening?"
Jenna blinked in confusion.
Suddenly, we were back on the Lucette's deck.
Looking around, three airships could be seen floating in line.
"Hadn't we finished everything? We crossed the poison wall, defeated the horde of monsters, pierced through the tentacles, and drove the goddess-blessed sword into the egg. Why...?"
Katio spoke with a defeated expression.
'...This is.'
I squinted.
In the sky above the vast forest.
This was the place where we had started the mission.
But nothing in the forest had changed.
[Monster Legion Lv.???] X 8325
Underneath the forest, the multitude of monsters still swarmed,
[Current progress: 001/100]
And in the center of the forest.
The egg was intact, writhing.
"Are you telling me we have to do all of this again from the beginning?"
Katio laughed ironically.
"Why don't we just go back to the Lobby? Weren't we done with the egg and everything?"
"It must be that we also have to deal with that."
Belkist continued the conversation.
"The number of monsters is no less than before. We could rest a bit and then continue."
"No, rest or not... I'm already quite exhausted."
Jenna grimaced.
Although the enemies remained the same, our situation had changed drastically.
More than half of the heroes were incapacitated by wounds or death, and the airships emitted smoke everywhere.
Additionally, I had excessively used the power of Exceed and the Black Dragon's Blood.
I probably wouldn't be of much use in this mission.
The situation of the rest of Group 1's team wasn't much different.
<What should we do?>
Benik asked through communication.
<The troops' morale is dwindling. If we leave them like this, they'll soon be unfit for combat. Even if we boost their morale, I'm not sure they can fight properly...>
"It's going to be tough. We probably can't fight a second time."
The deck was riddled with holes.
I sat on a broken pillar.
<Are you suggesting we retreat?>
"We can't retreat. Is there even such an option in the mission?"
Retreating wasn't an option, and yet it would already be too late.
<Then...>
"Look back."
<There's nothing behind!>
No.
I murmured as I pulled a canteen from my belt.
Unscrewing the cap, I took a sip, and the warm water spread through my body.
'What a scare.'
I thought we'd have to start over.
If that had been true, even I would have given up.
<It's good we didn't arrive late.>
A familiar voice echoed in my ears.
It was a soft and comforting female voice, almost like a whisper.
<Thank you. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been able to introduce myself.>
What are you saying.
I emptied the canteen.
<Now it seems it's my turn to return the favor.>
Crack.
The communication cut off.
And then...
"Listen up, mercenaries!"
A huge echo spread throughout the forest.
"I don't have enough money to pay all of you. Nor do I have enough honor to grant you titles."
The echo continued.
"However, today I will employ all of your lives."
Behind the Lucette.
Countless airships filled the sky.
In different shapes, colors, and emblems, but the airships were aligned with their bows together.
And on the airship at the front, a woman dressed in a silver dress stood.
"The price is..."
I looked down.
On the plains outside the forest, countless mercenaries were mounted on horses.
At the forefront of that cavalry was the young man known as the Mercenary King, Yoshu, looking at me.
'The price is.'
"The future of Taonier!"
Priacis raised her sword.
"Everyone, attack! Eradicate all the wrongdoers who have deceived and betrayed the people of the empire!"
Booooom!
Yoshu blew a large horn.
[Ally NPC 'Eco Mercenary Band' has joined the field.]
[Ally NPC 'White Beard Mercenary Band' has joined the field.]
[Ally NPC 'Wolf Claw Mercenary Band' has joined the field.]
[Ally NPC 'Green Collar Mercenary Band' has joined the field.]
[Ally NPC 'We Are Strong Mercenary Band' has joined the field.]
[Ally NPC 'Your Dad Left Home Mercenary Band' has joined the field...]
And once again.
[Human Mercenary Lv.???] X 15473