“That’s Zenan’s Airborne Mobile Fortress, isn’t it?”
“Yes. But it’s the first time I’ve seen it in the Empire.”
Keith said as he put down the bowl of soup he had drunk while Roka and Shaula said.
“It said there are seven airborne mobile fortresses in Zenan–probably that one is Lindwurm, judging by its shape and color.”
“Oh, there’s such a thing in Zenan Dragon Kingdom. I forgot all about it because we rarely see them in Tsefte Aria.”
Lindwurm was a large castle itself, built in a green color scheme.
The entire massive structure was covered with a green membrane that seemed to prevent any kind of attack. It was probably an advanced warding technology.
It is much larger than any castle owned by any great nobleman in the empire, but the entire foundation floats in the air and slowly moves towards the west.
“Oh my, I don’t like it… why such a thing is flying over Imperial territory?”
The coachman’s lady said with a frown.
Her husband followed suit.
“Surely. In the last battle with Zenan, the airborne mobile fortress caused a lot of damage. …… I didn’t want to see anything like that again.”
That’s right. That aerial mobile fortress was said to be impregnable, capable of not only defending but also attacking.
A single blow from the magic cannon fired from a very high altitude will cause tremendous damage to the entire area.
Keith also stares at the fortress with a slightly bitter face.
“It is said that the Zenan Dragon Kingdom has revived the legacy of a prehistoric civilization that was said to have existed further east of the Lugal Kingdom. Attacks and defenses are perfect, but they do not have complete control over automatic movement. Hence, Zenan Dragon Kingdom claims that it is unavoidable if it move over other nations. It’s ridiculous, though.”
“Oh my Goddess, I didn’t know that. ……. I can’t sleep well when that thing is near me. We’ve seen a lot of damage in the north, too.”
I guess it’s understandable. The thing is not something that people can confront from the start.
It is an amazing thing that keeps moving through the air and destroys everything around it. I don’t know exactly how it works, but I’m sure it’s related to magic.
“It’s unbelievable that such a huge thing can move around in the air. And no matter how many times you attack it, it doesn’t even falter, does it?”
“I’ve heard that the Elberia Imperial Army had a lot of trouble dealing with those airborne mobile fortresses. Each of the seven fortresses had different characteristics, but the most astonishing of them all was the Red Fortress, the Dreig.”
As expected, he was the most knowledgeable about the war in the empire out of all of them. Keith continued.
“It is said that in one minute, it fired 300 rounds of artillery equivalent to the upper ranks of the forbidden arts. It may be hard to believe, but the northern territories actually suffered the damage.”
“300. …… How did the Imperial Army survive such a ridiculous amount?”
“Led by Mildiana’s army, which had the most knowledge of magic, those who were skilled in the control of magic power from all the armies, east, west, north, south, and south, were gathered and put up a huge quantity and quality of barriers against the forbidden arts. The commander was Marshal Audran, who was said to have been Lt. General Lambert’s teacher.”
“But if you’re on the defensive, You’re on the side of the disadvantage, aren’t you?”
“Umm. Actually, after finishing 300 shots in row, it seems that Dreig used a certain amount of time to fill its magic power and then attacked again in the same way. It was Lieutenant General Lambert who took it all in and used his magic to directly destroy the Dreig… However, his leave from defensive battle cause maintenance of barriers weakened, and so Marshall was killed.”
I see. So Principal Ludio had such a past?
Destruction of the airborne mobile fortress of the Zenan Dragon Kingdom… With that kind of achievement, it’s not surprising that no matter how much of a half-elf you are, you deserve to be in the position of commander-in-chief.
However.
“Lieutenant General Lambert was awarded the rank of Lieutenant General by the Emperor for his achievements. However, it is also true that Marshal Audran was killed in battle due to the influence of that man leaving the defensive battle. And because of this and the fact that he is a Half-Elf, he has come under fire from the military.”
“That’s also the reason why some idiots in the Imperial Army had a hand in the Final Droplet incident, right? They must be trying to get rid of that half-elf.”
“Exactly. However, if the Lieutenant General had not acted at that time, the damage would have been even worse. And the achievement of destroying Zenan’s airborne mobile fortress, which was considered impregnable, was praised by the people of the city. The death of the Admiral was regrettable, but it was unavoidable. In my opinion, I think so.”
“It’s really like the Five Great Heroes. It was about the same size as that Lindwurm whatever, wasn’t? Absolutely amazing, that Lieutenant General.”
“But even that Lieutenant General Lambert is only one of the five heroes, isn’t he? What is it about General Duras, who is said to surpass him, that has brought him to the point of being called a great hero?”
I was also curious about Roka’s question.
Keith continued.
“First of all, the war with the Zenan Dragon Kingdom began eight years ago. General Duras’ rank at the time was Major. Furthermore, the Duras family is a prominent family that has few rivals in the Empire. For that reason, that man had been providing support from the rear for some time.”
“Because they don’t want a soldier from a famous family to be the first to die?”
Keith nodded vaguely at Liz’s question.
“That’s part of it, but did you know that …… General Duras is acknowledged by all to be the best swordsman in the Empire? It may seem strange to say this, but he only has a very small amount of magic power in him, less than that of a normal human being.”
“I see. We beastkin are also incompatible with the dragon race. For those of us who use our own bodies as weapons, their epidermis, which is harder than rock, is extremely troublesome. This is true even for sword fighting. In other words, they didn’t expect him to be a force to be reckoned with, did they?”
“You’re right. No matter how many times you call yourself a Sword Saint or a God of War, you’re still in a bad position when you’re up against dragons and dragon people. Everyone thought so, but…”
The red-haired young man said, lost in emotion.
“I’m not sure what the circumstances were, but General Duras took the Divine Sword Revisitra, created by Orphelia, the Great Goddess of Creation, and headed for the front lines of the battlefield.”
“Revisitra is that…. a phantom sword that no one could pull out that was stuck in a pedestal in the Great Temple built in the Forcus Mountains in the northern territories of the Empire?”
“That’s right. This is the divine sword that has long been whispered about by some. With it in his hand, General Duras gained divine power and single-handedly destroyed Zenan’s impregnable airborne fortress, Beruda. This was the decisive blow, and the Zenan Dragon Kingdom demanded a ceasefire, to which the Emperor agreed.”
I remembered the characteristics of Beruda, the airborne fortress.
As I recall, that fortress also had offensive characteristics, but its essence was in its defensive capabilities.
Keith complemented me on that.
“It’s a fortress characterized by its advanced warding technology, which is said to be impervious to hundreds of rounds of forbidden magic. It is said to be the cornerstone of Zenan’s defense, and at the same time, although it is inferior to the Draeg, it is powerful enough to burn the surrounding area to the ground with its powerful magic cannon.”
“Destroying an airborne mobile fortress is impressive, but isn’t it the same for Lieutenant General Lambert?”
“Lieutenant General Lambert had indeed accomplished a great feat. However, even he could not remain unscathed. He was seriously injured in the battle. It is said that he was in a dangerous state at one time, although he has now completely recovered.”
Keith said in a tone as if he was feeling a little scary.
“General Duras fought single-handedly against not only the defensive-minded Beruda, but also the thousands of dragons and dragon-men that guarded the fortress, as well as the dragon cavalry using flying dragons, and destroyed them all before destroying Beruda. Unharmed.”
“… Haa. It’s like something out of a heroic tale. It’s similar to the actions of the great hero that led to the founding of the Elberia Empire.”
“What a horrible man. It would be reassuring to have such a man as a reinforcement for us, Lugal…” (Shaula)
“It’s ridiculous, but it’s true. It’s always the generals who are hailed as the great heroes.”
“In any case, two of the seven airborne mobile fortresses had been destroyed. Zenan must have been in a state of shock. I wonder what would have happened if General Duras had continued his march. Even those of us from the same empire shudder a little.” (Keith)
“For Zenan, I guess they couldn’t let the remaining five units be destroyed either. Afterall, If you saw such a scene up close, you would doubt your own head.” (Roka)
“He’s more like monster than great hero. It’s not that I want to say anything bad about him, but…. he’s so scary.”
While everyone nodded, I was impressed by a situation I hadn’t known about.
General Claude Duras …
He defeated those dragons unscathed and brought down the strong air mobile fortress. A great hero indeed. A great hero indeed. I’m looking forward to meeting him more and more.
But Roka’s vaguely muttered words earlier were not exactly correct.
There are not five air mobile fortresses left in Zenan, but only four.
The reason is that a long time ago, one of my compatriots destroyed another airborne fortress, Fafnir.
–I remembered that nostalgic event and looked up at the sky.
Hey, Satan. What the hell are you doing right now? Why did you disappear from our sight that time? Is there a reason?
If there is, please tell me, my friend.
As the special students continued to talk, I took a moment to think about my old ally.
