Chapter 225: The Only Solution (2)
The ice tower collapses.
The ice tower melts away as if it were exposed to intense heat.
People hurriedly evacuate.
By the time the ice tower’s debris hits the ground, it has already melted and turned into cold rain.
“The rampage has… stopped?”
Myeong’s eyes widen.
He had heard that in the past, when the Frost Monarch was young, he was unable to control his madness and would rampage uncontrollably.
He had also heard that whenever that happened, the Frost Monarch would enter an ice cave and continue his rampage for a week before finally calming down.
This time, the rampage had stopped less than 30 minutes after it had started.
No. He hadn’t stopped it himself.
Someone must have stopped the rampage for him.
But who?
“Oh, this guy is really…!”
Scratching his head, Myeong rushes out.
He caused the rampage and then stopped it himself?
It’s better than not being able to stop it, but…
Still, there’s no way to know what he’s thinking.
Didn’t he say he just wanted to see his face?
How did he provoke someone who couldn’t even recognize him in the first place?
“Halt! Halt!”
“It’s me, Myeong! Open the door!”
“Oh, yes. Sir Myeong. Please come in.”
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“Thank you!”
“Yes. You’re welcome… Hmm? Sir Myeong? What? When did you come back?”
Myeong, who had passed through the checkpoint naturally, quickly enters the headquarters.
He doesn’t know what happened, but he needs to take the old man out right away.
Because of the rampage, the security has been tightened and there’s chaos.
At this rate, the headquarters will soon be completely closed.
Myeong walks along the path where the melted ice tower has left shallow water and opens the door.
The first thing he sees is the witch, Julia, who has just regained consciousness and is opening her eyes.
She’s holding her head and groaning, her face wrinkled as if she has a bad hangover.
“Ugh…? M, Myeong?”
“Oh, yes. I’m back.”
She looks fine at first glance.
Myeong answers briefly and steps inside.
And then…
“…What is the old man doing?”
He finds the old man.
The old man is holding the sleeping Frost Monarch in his arms as if he were something precious.
Myeong’s expression instantly turns sour.
.
.
.
I’m alive.
There are a few scars left, but the parts that were broken and cut off have all been reattached.
My body is functioning normally without any problems.
Unlike me, Mijeong has been frozen and hasn’t moved since, so she has regenerated cleanly without a single scar.
‘This is the Frost Stream Secret Technique.’
Here, Yerina’s will has blossomed.
The result of Yerina’s training, asceticism, and contemplation.
The Frost Monarch’s grand ambition, the Secret Technique to rule ice, was manifested by melting ice and giving life to it.
I can feel that the secret technique is now flowing into me.
Of course, it’s impossible to reproduce it perfectly.
However, I’m confident that I can create my own Frost Stream Secret Technique through this secret technique.
Just like I combined Landgrid and Iron Blood Storm Strike to create Thousand Blood Armor.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Yerina is asleep, breathing roughly.
Her face seems to be a little deep in thought, but there is no sign of a rampage.
She has completely calmed down.
Of course, I don’t believe that this peace will last forever.
Yerina’s madness will never disappear.
I can’t trust Yerina completely either.
But so what?
Humans are creatures who can’t trust anyone but themselves.
Even Mijeong and I are like that.
We say we’re one in body and mind, but to be honest, we’re always thinking about hitting each other in the back of the head and sacrificing each other to save ourselves.
People are that selfish.
Unconditional love?
It sounds nice in theory.
But when you think about it, isn’t it a love that doesn’t demand or expect understanding?
Isn’t it just one-sided love?
Both Yerina and I are far from being people who love like that.She constantly doubts, demands proof of love, and exhausts her partner with her possessiveness······.
But now it’s time to get used to it.
Yerina is also prepared not to cross a certain line.
Perhaps Yerina’s success rate will never exceed 95 percent.
But is that so bad?
I don’t know.
The day Yerina’s success rate hits 100 percent will be the day she has completely deceived Yerina······.
I don’t have the shame to thoroughly deceive the one I love and then confidently call it love.
A relationship that is 5 percent short.
A relationship that is not perfect and is constantly struggling to fill the last 5 percent that can never be filled.
I think I’d be satisfied with just that kind of relationship.
“······What are you doing, sir?”
Swish.
At Muming’s voice, I slowly lowered Yerina to the ground.
Both Julia and Yerina were unharmed, and there seemed to be no casualties.
There was a minor problem that the water had gotten out of hand, but that was just a matter of time to solve.
I’ve gotten everything I wanted without much fuss, so I think it’s time to go.
“Let’s go.”
“No. Seriously, what are you doing······. Don’t you know that if you touch them, you’ll be executed? Have you lost your mind? Is your brain completely out of whack?”
“So what.”
So what. Lovers.
Then Muming gagged and spat, glaring at me with contempt.
“Once you get your sense of self back, you’ll see······. I saw it all. You kissed the Frost Lord on the forehead. I’ll tell you everything that happened today, so you know.”
“Whatever.”
“Oh, no. You’re not going to stop me? If you’re unlucky, you’ll be hanged? It’s a crime to harass a head of state! Try to persuade me a little more! Shouldn’t you be begging me not to tell?”
“I told you to speak.”
Muming was rather embarrassed when I came out strong.
There was a look in his eyes that said, “Huh? This isn’t right.”
Naive boy.
I stroked Muming’s head, who was getting on my nerves, and went outside.
“Hmm······?”
I expected it to be peaceful outside.
Unexpectedly, it was chaotic.
Soldiers with serious expressions were running around.
Jill was receiving reports one after another under the tent of the makeshift command post, her eyes twitching.
“The 1st Fleet of airships, which had lost contact, is still sailing.”
“Yes? Sailing? Where to?”
“They are coming here, towards the United Headquarters. It’s not just that the engines are on and they’re left alone, they’re changing course along the way and heading straight here······.”
“Saint! Urgent news! We have contacted the crew! The crew has now escaped from the airship! The airship is sailing on its own, ignoring all navigation system operations!”
“······?!”
What the hell is this?
Jill and the officers must have been just as surprised, because they just stood there in a daze.
But Jill’s expression turned to horror at the next report.
“This is a communication from the Gallia Royal Family. The Gallia Navy and the 1st Fleet met and engaged in battle, and four battleships were destroyed! Two were badly damaged and are retreating!”
“What, what are you saying? A battle? How did it come to a battle?”
“When there was no response from the 1st Fleet, the Gallia Fleet opened fire, and as soon as they aimed their main guns at the sky, the bombardment began······. They say they couldn’t even respond because of the difference in range, and they’re retreating after being hit one-sidedly.”
Jill brought her fingers to her mouth, then winced and lowered them again.
She has a habit of biting her nails when she’s nervous.
It seems she’s holding back because there are people around.
Anyway, the navy and the airship fleet fought?
To begin with, the 1st Fleet’s main guns are superior in performance, and in the sky, they have superior reconnaissance capabilities and receive a range increase buff by utilizing gravity. So it’s only natural that the navy has no chance of winning.
The 1st Fleet airships, which are moving on their own without a crew, are even destroying the navy fleet that is getting in the way and approaching this way?
There is no fear like this fear.
“Communication from the Allied Anti-Air Defense Base! After receiving one or two bombardments, all communication was cut off!”
“This can’t be happening······. Everyone, go into defensive mode. Everyone except the combat personnel will evacuate.”
Jill, who seemed to be panicking, quickly pulled herself together and began giving orders.
There is a fair distance from the coast to here.
That means there’s still plenty of time to respond.”Transmit the order to the anti-aircraft base. Prohibit engagement, and conceal all anti-aircraft guns in bunkers. They won’t reach them anyway due to the range difference, and even if they do, the barrier will block them. How many airships of the 2nd Fleet have been completed?”
“One flagship has been completed and is preparing for deployment, two are undergoing sea trials, and three are still assembling the framework.”
“The airships undergoing sea trials, complete their safety inspections and deploy them all urgently. We will form Task Force 1st Fleet centered around the three airships of the 2nd Fleet. We must neutralize them with a surprise attack before the 1st Fleet conceals itself and disappears-“
“Huh?!”
Boom!
At that moment, a sound like thunder tore through the sky.
Startled, the eyes of the officers and staff focused on one spot.
It was an ordinary sky.
A blue sky with white clouds spread out.
But everyone’s eyes were unusual.
The state of the sky was strange.
The sky was rippling as if a mirage was occurring.
Only then did Jill’s face turn pale and she shouted.
“Shoot! Shoot!”
“Gunners! 12 o’clock! Fire one shot towards the tip of my finger!”
Boom!
A flash of light shot up into the sky from behind, accompanied by an explosion.
The shell that seemed to pierce the sky and rise endlessly exploded as if it had hit something in the middle.
Gradually, the rippling in the sky that had felt ominous intensified and took shape.
The curtain that had been hanging in the sky was lifted.
The airships that had lost their stealth function revealed themselves one by one.
“Gasp…!”
The 1st Fleet, consisting of nine airships.
The entire fleet was now floating above the headquarters.
Jill was stunned and speechless.
But the moment I nudged her from behind, Jill’s eyes focused and she began to move urgently again.
“Deploy the emergency barrier! Hurry up with the defensive posture! We’re going to be shelled!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“How did they get this far so quickly… ?”
“It’s a communication from the witch! They just detected a large amount of magic being released into the atmosphere…!”
“Spatial transfer?! Airships don’t have that function!”
Oh my, I got goosebumps.
Even to me, who was sensitive to magic, the conclusion was the same.
That was clearly a trace of magic being used to split the gap in space and transfer.
But airships don’t have that function.
A function that was not in the design was installed on the airships?
Unmanned airships that move without people?
Isn’t this like the fleet has gained a self-awareness?
A machine with self-awareness.
I only know one thing.
“Saintess. Don’t tell me-“
“Yes. It seems that Linda has betrayed us.”
Linda had taken control of the airship fleet.
Without giving us time to be shocked, the airships began to open their gun ports one by one.
The officers, who had thought it was impossible even after hearing the news of the engagement, began to tremble in fear only after facing the gun ports directly.
The anti-aircraft guns had been firing shells into the sky since earlier, but they had not been able to inflict a single meaningful hit.
As if to mock that firepower, the gun ports looking down from the side of the airships had eight guns per ship.
If all nine ships were combined, that would be a total of 72 guns!
“Shelling! Brace for impact!”
Boom, boom, boom!
The sky was instantly filled with smoke from the chain of explosions.
Shells poured down like a hailstorm, engulfing the headquarters’ barrier.
The salvo fired by the 72 main guns pounded every side of the barrier, and for a moment, it felt like an earthquake had struck.
I sighed in relief, thinking that we had endured it.
But Jill and the officers’ expressions showed no sign of improving.
“Re, report on the barrier output.”
“The 1st and 2nd barriers have been destroyed. The 3rd barrier has about 20 percent of its output remaining…”
Does that mean that the headquarters will be scorched if it is shelled just one more time?
Meanwhile, the fleet airships were hovering in place, turning their opposite gun ports towards us.
It was not a distant future, but a shelling that would happen in a minute.
“Saintess! Evacuate for now! There is no way to stop it!”
“Ouch! Let go of me! I’ll use my magic power to buffer the barrier first!”
“What difference will it make if we endure one more salvo!”
“I can buy some time for the people on the ground to evacuate! If you’re not going to help, then get out of the way!”
“…”
Jill’s judgment was quick.
She had given up on shooting them down.From the beginning, the operation had been focused on evacuation.
However, would it be possible to evacuate this many people if we endured one more blow?
In the first place, would the air raid shelter be able to accommodate all these people?
As someone responsible for countless lives, Jill had no choice but to turn her attention to a realistic response.
But I, for one, could not yet give up on shooting down the airships.
“Mijung. Do you think you can reach it?”
“······Impossible. It’s too high.”
It was too high for Mijung’s magic to reach.
Even if I shot my crescent, by the time it reached that high altitude, it would be weaker than the anti-aircraft fire.
No, even if I was lucky enough to take out one or two, it would be impossible to intercept all nine.
There was only one way to make that possible.
It was to restore my lost traits.
“Mummy······ Little one. Prepare the grand magic. We need to start right now.”
“······.”
“Hey!”
I wondered why she was so quiet.
Muming was just standing there, staring at the sky, lost in thought.
I shook her shoulders, thinking she was paralyzed with fear, but the light had gone out of her eyes.
Had she lost her mind?
Why was she acting like this?
In any case, there seemed to be no way to make Muming use magic right now.
I had gathered all the other ingredients.
The only thing that was not ready was the framework to reconstruct the inner world.
“Damn it······.”
The airships, which had finished their turn, began to line up towards the ground.
Just when I thought it was really over.
In my hand, I felt flowers falling and brushing against me.