Chapter 87 – Suppressing the Skies
by PinkPanther“N-Nasser, do you have some kind of plan──?!”
Holding down his pointed hat, Bummel turned toward Nasser.
…A plaaaaaan??
Hah! Like hell I’ve got one!
“…We’ll just play it by ear────!!”
“W-Whaaaaaat?!”
Bummel’s eyes bulged, but Nasser didn’t care!
“This is your fault for not telling me about the wyvern unit in the first place…!”
“It wasn’t intentional!! Damn it all!”
Bummel sounded half-desperate, yet contrary to his tone, there was something almost amused about his expression.
“Bummel! Match their speed! Even at the dragon’s top speed, it can easily keep up with the transports!”
“Shut up! Keep your mouth closed unless you want to bite your tongue off!”
Even though dragons were the rulers of the sky, they were still living creatures in the end.
There was no way they could come close to the speed of aircraft. However, one of the German aircraft had been damaged, so the formation’s cruising speed had dropped considerably.
Fortunately, though, the damaged aircraft had only lost one engine.
At this rate, there was no danger of it immediately falling from the sky, and it didn’t seem like maintaining formation would be a problem either.
“Close formation! Close formation! Prepare for an attack!!”
Nasser spun his hand in circles, signaling everyone to gather in.
In response, the ten transport aircraft, each with men stationed at their gun positions, drew so close together that it almost seemed as though they could reach out and touch one another.
…Their opponents, meanwhile, were the Magic Corps’ aerial forces──a massive wyvern unit numbering roughly one hundred!
──GIEEEEEEEEEEE…!!
At the vulgar beastly cry that sounded like rotting flesh being torn apart, Nasser instinctively slapped Bummel on the shoulder!!
“…They’re coming!! Forget about the drop point for now──! …First we evade the enemy and stay alive!!”
So, go!!
Go, Bummel!!
“Tchhhh… What a slave-driver of an old man you make me out to be──!! Dragoooooon!!”
Without needing Nasser to tell him twice, Bummel forced the dragon’s nose around in a hard turn.
The wyvern unit had split into two groups: one blocking their path head-on, and another climbing to higher altitude while taking aim at Nasser and the others.
“Trying to use your numbers to your advantage, huh? Then───”
…Then first, we’ll throw their formation into chaos!!
“Load the first round──!!”
───Fire awayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!
The ten tactical transport aircraft and the single massive dragon banked sharply in flawless formation!
Then, they unleashed a defensive wall of fire straight at the noses of the wyverns diving down from above to strike!!
Dadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadada!
Zudadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadada!!
Countless streaks of fire flashed as tracer rounds tore across the sky!
──The German Army’s tactical transport aircraft, the Ju 52/3m, had a somewhat comical appearance with its three engines, but despite how it looked, it was still a military aircraft.
The aircraft were armed, each one equipped with three MG 15 7.92 mm flexible aircraft machine guns!
With ten aircraft in the formation, that meant a total of thirty defensive machine guns! Those guns protected the group of transports like the spines of a hedgehog.
“Fireeeee! Keep firinggggg!!”
Pah!!
A cloud of blood suddenly burst into the air!
──GIEEEEEEEEEAAAAAA…?!
From the tightly packed transports, defensive fire poured out like a torrential rain, knocking down the wyverns that were desperately trying to land a decisive strike.
Tracer rounds glittered as they tore across the sky. Even if they were only 7.92 mm rounds, there was no way the wyverns could completely withstand them.
“「「「Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!」」」 ”
──Buchu…!
For just an instant, the screams of the Dragon Riders could be heard.
Helplessly caught in the defensive wall of fire, they were shot down one after another, their screams echoing through the thin air at high altitude….
“Haaaaa-hahahahaha!!”
They must have attacked believing the transports were defenseless targets.
That was why several wyverns, having recklessly charged in without ever imagining they would be met with return fire, were shot out of the sky in the blink of an eye.
──How’s that!!
“Hey, Nasser!! In front of us!! Is this really the time to be getting carried away over something like that?!”
…But the main force of the wyverns was still intact! Worse, dozens of them were lurking within the sunlight directly ahead, blocking their flight path!!
And on top of that, their numbers were still continuing to grow….
“Tch!! More and more of them just keep coming──!”
But was this what it meant to fight in enemy territory──…?!
‘Are they trying to form a wall?!’
The wyvern unit loomed before them like a massive, thick wall. If they charged straight into that, even the German transport aircraft wouldn’t come through unscathed───.
“H-Hey! At this rate, we’re going to fly straight into them?! C-Can’t you do something──?! Something, anything──”
“Hah?!”
What the hell do you mean,『something』?!
──The German Army isn’t omnipotent either!!
“You’ve got that… don’t you?! The thing that shot down my dragon──”
“Huuuh?! T-That… You mean the Messerschmitt?!──Don’t be stupid! With the difference in relative speed, there’s no way it could make it here in time…!”
…Damn it! Don’t say it like it’s that easy! If I could’ve done something about it, I would’ve done it already!!
“For now, we can probably ignore the wyverns that climbed above us, even in the worst case───”
At the speed of the tactical transports, they could shake them off, and if the wyverns continued trying to attack, they would only suffer more losses against the defensive wall of fire.
“Forget about the ones above us!! The real problem is the wyvern unit blocking us head-on──!! They’ve got us beat in turning ability! …At this rate, we’re going to crash straight into them?!”
───What are you going to do, Nasser?!
“I know!! I’m thinking!!”
…Even without Bummel telling him, the wyvern unit kept swarming out like a cloud of bats, constantly moving to cut off Nasser and the others as they tried to make a wide turn around them.
At this rate, in just a few seconds, the transport aircraft would plunge straight into their swarm…!!
The enemy would undoubtedly suffer casualties too, but Nasser’s side wouldn’t come out of it unscathed either. Even the Ju 52/3m’s corrugated metal outer skin wouldn’t hold up against that.
──No, wait!?
“That’s it! …The Messerschmitt………!!”
“Haaah?! You were the one who said it couldn’t make it in time because of the relative speed!!”
Idiooooooot!!
I was talking about the Bf 109 G piston-engine fighter!!
Don’t underestimate the evolved German Army… my Lv7 Summoned Beast!!
“Nothing is impossible for the German Army!!”
If we’ve only got a few seconds before impact, then I’ll settle this in those few seconds……!!
…Haaaaaaaaah!!
Nasser poured mana into the summoning seal on his chest….
“…Come forth, German Army──────!!”
Bwaaaaaaaaaaaah…!
Receiving Nasser’s mana, four summoning magic circles appeared in midair!!
Since he was summoning them in the sky, naturally, they were aircraft!!
But not just ordinary aircraft────… Yes, they were the very embodiment of speed, capable of covering a distance of mere seconds in an instant…!!
“───Goooooooooooooooooooooooo!!”
Kah───…!
Lv7 Summoned Beast,
※ ※ ※
German Army
Lv7: Messerschmitt Me 262
Skill: Supersonic Flight
Four 30 mm nose-mounted autocannons,
Twenty-four 55 mm R4M air-to-air rockets
Remarks: A German Army jet fighter.
Appearing near the end of the war, its tremendous speed exceeding the speed of sound,
combined with its heavy armament of large-caliber autocannons and numerous air-to-air rockets,
threw Allied aircraft into a state of panic.
However, its engines suffered from poor reliability,
and low operational availability remained a persistent problem until the very end.
Its nickname, 『Schwalbe』, means “Swallow.”
※ ※ ※
───GIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!!
───GIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!!
The Lv7 Summoned Beasts, manifested after devouring an enormous amount of mana, unleashed an almost maddened roar!
…That’s right.
The thunderous roar of their 『Jumo 004B-1』 turbojet engines!!