Chapter 86 – Controlling the Skies
by PinkPanther『『『Enemy aircraft directly above!──────!!!!』』』
A beat too late, the contact warning rang throughout the German air force!
At that very instant, a tremendous bari-bari-bari tore through the air as razor-sharp claws ripped into the steel plating of a transport aircraft. One of the transports, subjected to the violent assault, began spewing black smoke from its engine as its speed suddenly dropped.
───Boom…!
“Shit…! We lost one?!”
『Warning alert! Warning alert!!』
『『『《ALAAAAAAAAAAAAAARM》!!』』』
A fraction of a beat later, screams thundered over the radio!!
At once, the warning alarms aboard every transport aircraft began blaring────!!
Veeee!!
Veeee!!
The shrill alarm tones carried even through the radio, and without giving them a moment to react, the enemy launched a sudden assault!!
That’s right.
…Whether they had deliberately planned it or it was merely coincidence────either way, to engage at this exact moment…!!
“Ghh… So they got us…! Of all things──dragons!! And they came straight out of the sun?!”
It seemed the transport flying directly behind Nasser’s lead aircraft had been hit.
When he instinctively looked back, he saw the transport’s corrugated metal outer skin split wide open, black smoke pouring from the gash.
The left-wing engine also began coughing smoke before grinding to a halt.
“Damn it!!”
At most, Nasser had assumed they might take some anti-air fire in the form of magical attacks from elevated positions on the ground.
But apparently, the Kingdom had some prized combat force capable of detecting Nasser and the others’ mana from afar and dutifully scrambling into the air────…!
And dragons, no less?
He had been certain that every airborne mobile unit, such as wyverns and giant birds, had already been requisitioned by the Hero for his Royal Guard───….
“W-Wait, wait, Nasser. You’ve got it wrong. Those aren’t dragons──. …Those are wyverns. See? They’re monsters that live up north.”
Huh?!
“W-Wyverns…?!”
Wyverns───monsters that could be considered a subspecies of dragons.
They were especially common in the northern regions, with savage and fearless dispositions. They were dangerous creatures said to give even the Demon King’s Army trouble.
…In truth, although they carried the name『dragon』they were a species closer to birds and looked nothing like true dragons───.
“This is the first I’ve heard of that?!”
“O-Oh, oh. My apologies, my apologies. I-I completely forgot───…! Those are a new troop type that was only deployed recently. …I-I believe they were captured for use in training Summoners.”
According to Bummel, the Tamer cooperating with the field division had apparently domesticated the countless wyverns inhabiting the area as practice for taming the more advanced 『Flying Dragons』. And they had been doing so for quite some time….
However, because the monsters ate enormous amounts of food and were rather stupid, they had ultimately been deemed useless as an actual fighting force and were said to have been relegated to little more than rear-line liaison duties──.
But,
“Ahh….Sorry about that. Looks like there were some rather enthusiastic researchers among them….Judging by what I’m seeing, once the formation of the Flying Dragon unit went well, some bigshot…must’ve gotten carried away and approved a budget for creating an aerial unit.”
T-That means….
“In other words──Are they part of the Magic Corps?!
“Y-Yes, I suppose so…?”
“Then that means… t-they’re your damn comrades!!”
『Did you set me up?!』Nasser shouted as he instinctively turned toward Bummel.
After all, Bummel was the Marshal of the Magic Corps, and excluding the Hero’s Royal Guard, he was the commander of the only corps that possessed an aerial combat force!!
“D-Don’t be ridiculous! If I were going to go through something that troublesome, I would’ve just slit your throat back in the royal capital───now, instead of wasting time whining, you’d better scatter those bastards.”
…Tch!
You senile old bastard!!
Bummel acted as though he knew nothing about it. And on top of that, he made it sound easy──but there were… roughly one hundred wyverns in that unit!
Who knew where they had been hiding, but with the sun at their backs, more and more of them kept emerging to block Nasser’s flight path.
GIEEEEEEEEEEEEE…!
──Fine.
“If you bastards want a fight, then before I deal with the cavalry regiment, I’ll slaughter every last one of you first!!”
Being attacked was unexpected.
But after coming this far, there was no way they were going to just let themselves be taken down!!
“──All aircraft. Release the gliders!! …Close formation to cover the damaged aircraft!”
『『『Roger!!』』』
The Ju 52/3m transports, packed full of paratroopers, were precious combat assets──…not a single one could be lost!
If that was the case, then they would match their speed to the damaged aircraft and defend it in a tight formation──but first, they had to release the sluggish gliders and lighten the load.
At this rate, they risked being shot down while still towing those cumbersome gliders.
If they were going to crash together, then at the very least, they had to protect the mother aircraft──!!
──Gliders, release!!
Sparks scattered from the rear of the mother aircraft and the noses of the gliders as the firmly secured tow cables snapped free!
At that instant, the sound of air being sliced apart changed.
…Kashin!! Hyuiiiiiii…!
With the troop-filled gliders released, the transport aircraft, suddenly freed from their heavy burden, began to raise their noses but the pilots forced them back down with sheer strength.
The detached gliders briefly floated softly as they caught the air resistance, but then, through their own weight and the pilots’ control, they stabilized their flight posture and began gliding away at a shallow angle.
──Salute!
Bishii…!
The soldiers stationed at the upper gun positions near the noses of the gliders all saluted at once. Nasser returned the salute as he watched the glider unit depart.
‘Stay safe──’
…It wasn’t as though this was some final farewell, but Nasser still couldn’t help feeling as though he had abandoned the gliders.
But he wanted to believe that wasn’t the case───.
──In truth, whether the gliders would be targeted or not was nothing more than a gamble.
Even so, the gliders had defensive armaments of their own, and… more importantly, Nasser was almost certain that the wyvern unit would go after their transport aircraft instead.
After all, among the formation of ten Ju 52/3m tactical transport aircraft that made up the main force, there was also the dragon that Nasser was riding.
…If the enemy was going to target anything, then naturally it would be Nasser’s main force, the one that possessed a dragon!!
GIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
“Knew they’d come…!”
…And sure enough, the wyverns that had shifted to a higher altitude came swarming straight toward Nasser!!
“Ohoho, look at them getting all worked up───mere lizards.”
Bummel grinned broadly and Nasser smiled as well.
“Hah, couldn’t agree more…! Come at us──you fake dragons……!!”
Nasser raised his middle finger and taunted them!
‘I’m not letting them chase the gliders──…!’
──Come on!!
You’re up against the real Dragon Summoner and the German Army Summoner!!
The two Summoners laughed mockingly,
and at the sight of them, the wyverns, brimming with fighting spirit, and the mages who hunted wyverns sounded the charge.
GIIIEEEEEEEEEE…!!
GIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…!!
And then──.
The first battle on the northernmost frontline began, unbelievably enough, with an aerial battle…!!