Chapter 459

Chapter 459

Roaring loudly, the Imperial airships that were on standby soared into the sky.

"The enemy ship is coming from high altitude! Intercept it!"

While directing boarding, Rayna shouted out her commands.

"We must stop them at all costs! Right now in the palace, there is..."

Rayna's gaze fleetingly shifted towards the palace.

The palace with its line of black spires, the Thorn Palace, was there. Rayna, shivering with rage, cried out.

"Emperor Fernandez is in the final stages of preparing the 'Ark'! We cannot let them interfere!"

Fernandez was currently connected directly to Everblack, preparing the final phase of his plan.

"We cannot let them sabotage this at the very last moment." for new novels

"Share the thermal scan results with all airships in real-time! All ships, follow the heat source and spread out a barrier along its anticipated path!"

"But, Rayna! The enemy is invisible!"

An airship mage nearby shouted in urgency.

"The enemy ship is in stealth! We have limitations in tracking with thermal detection..."

Scan magic is always a beat slower than visual observation.

And in aerial combat, where the situation changes in moments, a beat is as good as an eternity.

Geronimo's stealth capability was frustratingly formidable.

"...I'll lead the way."

Rayna, clenching her teeth, boarded the Alcatraz, and the imperial flagship lifted its massive body into the air with a deep engine rumble.

"Just match the first strike, and the stealth will be deactivated. Then, open fire."

"But how will you manage the first strike?"

"Shut up and get ready!"

"Understood!"

The Alcatraz shot up into the sky rapidly.

"Urgh...!"

The sudden movement of the airship exerted enormous pressure. Gritting her teeth, Rayna kept her gaze fixed on the sky.

Invisible to the naked eye.

But for an old mage who had lived her life on the battlefield.

For a veteran who had always returned alive from the battlefield where if you don't kill first, you're killed.

She had a transcendent intuition, akin to a sixth sense.

"...!"

Far away in the sky, a faint glimmer of magic power flashed for an instant.

Rayna, reaching out her arm through the half-open hatch, rapidly conjured a spell like a gust of wind.

"There!"

Boom!

A wind bullet was shot.

Just one shot.

Though a simple attack that could easily penetrate human flesh but was hardly effective against solid machinery.

That magic bullet unmistakably grazed the side of the stealth enemy airship and-

Whoosh!

Deactivated its cloaking field.

Suddenly, a massive airship appeared in the sky.

An airship with a rough exterior and two propellers, completely different from the Imperial style - Geronimo.

Screaming through the air, Geronimo plummeted from the sky like a meteor, its trajectory undeniably aimed at the Imperial Palace.

"The enemy ship has been revealed!"

"Fire!"

"Shoot it down!"

The Imperial airships, in a rush, opened fire to block Geronimo's path.

A barrage of red bullets covered the sky like a torrential rain. However, even amidst the storm of bullets, Geronimo did not slow down.

Armed with the unbreakable siren statue - [Iron Myth] as a shield, Geronimo braved the onslaught of bullets with its thick armor and protective magic, charging like a bolt of lightning.

As Geronimo continued its relentless assault unfazed by the bullet storm, Rayna was forced to make a decision.

"All ships, listen! Block its path with your bodies! Stop it!"

"Understood!"

The Imperial airships ceased firing, raised their barriers, and positioned themselves in the air to block the way.

The organization made a fortune by charging exorbitant fees to those desperate to enter or exit the capital.

In just a few months, the organization grew immensely, thriving in its business...

"..."

Whistling winds blew through the pub, deserted like the rest of the area, with doors and windows nailed shut.

Reluctantly, the gamblers knew they had no other choice.

"Break it down."

"Damn, I have a bad feeling about this..."

Creak! Crack!

Struggling, the five gamblers pried open the barred entrance. Not used to physical labor, it took them a while.

Finally removing the boards, they revealed an intact door. Violet, the party leader, gulped and grabbed the doorknob.

"Fuck, at this point, I wouldn't even be scared if a ghost or two popped out..."

In the belly of the beast, there was nothing left to fear.

Violet slowly opened the door.

Creak-

The door, unused for a long time, creaked noisily, revealing...

"...?!"

Inside the largest pub in the slum were people.

Leaning against the bar, sitting at tables, holding shriveled glasses. All with blank stares, motionless, sitting still as if they were stuffed dolls.

"Why are they all like this, like stuffed dolls?"

"Hey, hey! Can you hear me?"

"They are breathing. What exactly is going on here?"

Inspecting the people closely, the gamblers quickly came to a conclusion.

"They all seem to be under hypnosis."

"All these people? Is that even possible?"

"What can't the Emperor of the Empire do?"

"Let's try to break the hypnosis."

Being specialists in their field, the gamblers found a way to do so.

Using Lime's Clairvoyance, Orange's Heart Reading, Violet's Illusion, and other skills, they managed to break the hypnosis.

"Ugh?!"

The first man to snap out of the hypnosis jerked awake in terror.

"Please save me, Your Majesty! I don't want to die!"

The man panicked and stumbled, but soon collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. Approaching him, Violet demanded answers.

"Listen, we came from outside the capital. What exactly happened here?"

"Huff... huff... What, Your Majesty was just here...?"

Still disoriented from the hypnosis, the man seemed confused.

Interrogating the bewildered man, they managed to gather a rough idea of what had happened in the capital.

Long-standing lockdowns had bred widespread dissatisfaction across the capital. Citizens were seething, and suppressing this unrest with military force was increasingly untenable.

Signs of uprising and rebellion began to surface, with frequent clashes between the military and citizens.

That's when Fernandez employed his specialty.

He cast a city-wide illusion, using hypnosis and mind control.

Utilizing thousands of mana amplification artifacts, he hypnotized the citizens, injecting messages directly into their minds.

And to ensure no one could escape, he had every house sealed shut.

So, that was why the streets were deserted. All the citizens of the capital were trapped in their homes, under hypnosis.

"What message did Emperor Fernandez send you?"

"We're heading to paradise now..."

The man mumbled blankly.

"And there, we will gain eternal life..."

"..."

"Just wait a little longer, quietly..."

Astonished, the gamblers were at a loss for words.

"This is insane... Fooling the entire nation with nonsense about eternal life, turning them into a state worse than death?"

Scratching her purple hair in frustration, Violet grumbled.

"I'd bet my entire fortune that this kind of lunacy is unique to this place. Unbelievable."