737. [STAGE 45] Zombie Defense (2)
“The second bombing is canceled! “Raise altitude!”
“yes?!”
“Stop talking nonsense and comfort me! right now-!”
However, the empty space is not the type of object that is large and can be moved immediately just by commanding it.
The pilot, who heard my command, urgently moved the control stick and tried to raise La Mancha upward again.
It’s a little late.
Gwaaaah!
Ahhh!
The group of zombies let out a terrible roar and immediately clung to each other like a swarm of ants, building a pillar with their bodies.
Blocks of corpses piled up spontaneously…
Columns of zombies were created in real time and soared upward, and the zombies climbed on each other’s bodies and tangled endlessly into the sky.
Dozens of such zombie pillars rushed towards the airship at once. Macmillan, startled, stretched out his hand.
“Carry out strafing! “Get rid of them!”
Doo doo doo doo!
Dozens of machine guns attached to the airship fired fire all at once.
Bullets rained down like a rainstorm, leaving holes in the bodies of the approaching zombie monsters.
But these are not just zombies. The monsters lurking in District 10 of the Lake Kingdom have become zombies.
Even though he has lost his reason and his abilities have also been lost, his body is strong.
Surviving despite being hit by dozens of bullets, the zombies tenaciously built up a pillar and eventually climbed upward… and
stuck to the bottom of the airship. I was shaken.
“Gain altitude! “Can’t it be faster?”
“We are doing our best, but the monsters are building up the pillars faster…!”
La Mancha was lowering its altitude for bombing a little while ago.
Even if I urgently tried to raise the altitude again, it was not something I could do as quickly as I wanted, and during the short time I hesitated, a column of zombies rushed in.
‘Anyway, how can they build pillars as tall as a high-rise building so quickly with their own bodies?!’
I feel like it’s faster than I can build an automatic turret, but damn it!
There is no way zombies could have carried out such organized and clearly purposeful actions on their own. I quickly looked around and eventually found it.
The very center of the zombie army.
A gigantic demon woman glaring at us with ominous green magic flowing from her deer antlers extending in all directions.
“Cromwell…!”
As if I could hear my own voice at the same time as I was spitting out the name of the opposing army commander.
《Kaaaaaaa!》
Cromwell roared and raised his hands.
Enormous green magical energy spread out in all directions from her gigantic deer antlers, and the zombies within the range let out screams all at once, building up pillars at even greater speed.
“Shake it off! “Hurry up!”
In reality, the time that La Mancha, which had lowered its altitude for bombing, hesitated to raise its mass again was very short.
However, without missing that brief gap, the zombies built a pillar with their bodies and approached, succeeding in approaching La Mancha one by one.
When we came to our senses, we were tied up in the air, held by several zombie pillars.
“What nonsense…!”
A look of disappointment flashed across the faces of all the flight attendants.
Zombies continued to attach themselves, and red lights came on on the aircraft’s various sensors. Emergency warning sounds rang out from all directions, hurting my ears.
Macmillan shouted urgently.
“The downward force is getting stronger! If this continues, we will fall, Your Majesty!”
“Tch…!”
Recognizing that the situation was far beyond common sense, I racked my brain to find a solution.
Do you think I will let it fall? Diarmuddin and I are here. In that case, the means that could be used now…
was right then.
Macmillan, who was examining the radar, looked at me with a puzzled look.
“Your Majesty, here’s a report!”
“What is it again this time?!”
“We found a group of aircraft approaching rapidly from the north!”
My eyes widened at the unexpected sound.
North?
So, in the crossroads direction?
“They are flying in straight formation! This is… a flying troop!”
There are flying troops coming from the Crossroads?
There is no way that would be the case. La Mancha would be the only air force we have…
“I will project it onto the screen of the northern sky!”
At Macmillan’s direction, one of the crew members manipulated a magic panel to project an image of the northern sky.
And what I saw there was…
“?!”
They were creatures with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.
“This is…a griffon?!”
And those knights riding on that griffon, wearing silver armor and fluttering scarlet capes…
“Delivered to the flagship La Mancha.”
At that time, a communication came from La Mancha.
“This is the Sky Knights belonging to the Kingdom of Vermilion.”
The leader of the knights riding the griffon.
A boy with bright scarlet hair and a long braid on one side… No, a man who had become the face of a young man in that short period of time that I had not seen was driving a griffon.
The man, somewhere between a boy and a young man, grinned and announced his name into the communication device.
“This is leader Mikhail Vermilion.”
“Mikhail…?!”
“Do you need help?”
Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Vermilion.
Leader of the Sky Knights.
The boy knight who lost everything and was frustrated on the front lines, overcame it on his own and returned to change his hometown, has returned.
Mikhail took out two long, sharp spears attached to the Griffon’s saddle and held one in each hand. The end of the spear had a scarlet jewel embedded in it, and was emitting dazzling magic light.
“It doesn’t matter if you say you don’t need anything. “I’ll help you however I want.”
“Haha…!”
The faces of everyone on the bridge brightened at the sudden appearance of this reinforcement.
Mikhail shouted in a sonorous voice as he thrust his window forward.
「The Sky Knights charge! “Save La Mancha!”
Oh my!
Mikhail charged at the forefront with his spear in front.
They were followed by as many as 50 Griffon knights.
The Sky Knights flew in at incredible speeds, each with their weapons engulfed in magical light, and rushed at the zombie pillar.
Kwaaaang!
With its overwhelming destructive power, it instantly destroyed the zombie pillar.
Ahhh!
Gwaaaaah!
Zombies fell from the bursting pillar, letting out an ugly scream.
In particular, Mikhail’s performance was terrifying, swinging his two spears like windmills and literally crushing a column of zombies.
Griffons also crushed the heads of zombies that came close to them with their huge feet and pecked them with their beaks.
Due to the activities of the Sky Knights, the zombie pillar was loosened, and La Mancha was able to shake off the zombies’ reach and gradually increase its altitude.
After ascending to a safe altitude and circling around to confirm that the situation was safe, Mikhail spoke into the communication device.
“Delivered to the private ship La Mancha.”
A mischievous smile appeared on the boy knight’s face.
“Is there a small place for our griffons to rest inside that large assault ship? “We came a long way and fought a battle, so everyone seems tired,”
I said, holding the communication device myself.
“Delivered to the Sky Knights. “This is Ash ‘Bornhater’ Everblack, commander of the World Defense Front.”
A smile appeared on my face too.
“Goodness is permitted. I’m going to open the deck. Please feel free to use it as if it were your own home.”
I continued.
“Welcome back to the front lines. “Mikhail.”
Mikhail grinned and gestured to his knights.
Then, about 50 Sky Knights circling around the airship began landing on the deck of the airship one after another.
***
“Crown Prince Michael!”
Diarmudin was the first to run out to meet the kind-hearted Mikhail.
Mikhail, who was taking off his helmet and hanging it on his griffon saddle, greeted Diarmudin with a smile.
“Lord Diarmudin.”
Diarmudin approached and grabbed Mikhail’s hand.
“I’m so glad you came back safely. “I’ve been worried since you left…”
“I’ve been worried about whether the front line here will be safe, so I’m glad to see you doing well.”
Then Mikhail held out his hand to me.
“I’m relieved that you are safe too, Prince Ash.”
I held his hand tightly.
“It’s really nice to see you alive again, Mikhail…!”
We shook hands firmly.
There was more emotion in this handshake than in many words.
At that time, Mikhail made a noise and added.
“Oh, and… I’m no longer the crown prince.”
Diarmudin and I both froze in shock.
You’re no longer the crown prince?
So… as I said before, was he dethroned from his position as crown prince because he was held responsible for the defeat?
When we looked at him with concern, Mikhail looked embarrassed and took out a small gold crown instead of the helmet he had just taken off and put it on his head.
“You are the king now.”
“What?!”
Diarmudin and I were shocked at the same time.
Mikhail briefly explained what happened after leaving the front here.
He faked his death and secretly returned to the Kingdom of Vermilion and succeeded in gathering forces to follow him.
The actual ruling force of the Vermilion Kingdom, which has been conducting homunculus genetic experiments to create the ‘perfect king’, rebelled against the ‘Wizards’ Council of Elders’, but the rebellion failed.
“I was captured and imprisoned with my people. But…”
“But?”
“Suddenly, daylight disappeared from the world and heavy snow fell like crazy.”
“ah…!”
The Kingdom of Vermilion is a country located at the northwest end of the continent.
Last time the Night Bringer eliminated daylight from the world, the northern part of the continent was particularly hit by heavy snowfall.
“Thanks to the night and the covering of snow, the country’s security system was completely neutralized… and through that gap, we were able to gather people again and launch a counterattack against the Council of Elders.”
“I never thought it would go on like this…”
The terrible disaster caused by the damn black dragon child served as an opportunity for Mikhail. People say that life is a mystery, but you really don’t know.
“So the rebellion succeeded and the Council of Elders completely collapsed. “Now, our Vermilion Kingdom no longer does things like human breeding.”
Mikhail looked back.
The griffons that occupied the hangar inside La Mancha were lying down comfortably and making purring sounds.
“After succeeding to the throne and organizing the internal affairs of the country… I came immediately with all the gryphons and trained knights who could go to the front.”
“That’s how it happened.”
This young crown prince… no, the king himself, went on a grand adventure while away on the battlefield here.
At that time, the knights of the Sky Knights swarmed behind Mikhail. Mikhail smiled broadly and gestured to them.
“Let me introduce you. This is the new Sky Knights. They are all trustworthy people who have followed me since the rebellion. “They are all enhanced homunculi like me.”
The knights of the Sky Knights all showed respect to me. Diarmudin and I also greeted each other.
Among them, five male knights looked at me and gave me a subtle look. Mikhail introduced carefully.
“These are my sister’s husbands.”
“ah.”
Are you talking about the older sister who was originally engaged to me but immediately broke off the engagement?
After that, my sister said she had five husbands due to the shock of breaking off her engagement. It seems that these are the people. I understand that you are looking at me with a subtle gaze…
“My sister is currently staying in the kingdom and stabilizing the country on my behalf. “He’s so smart and strong, he’ll do better than me.”
Next, Mikhail pointed to the five female knights standing behind him.
“And this is not my fiancee… who I told you about before.”
For some reason, Mikhail’s face became dark.
“My wife… So, they are queens.”
“….”
The female knights took off their helmets one after another and looked at Mikhail with fierce, pointed eyes.
The air in the hangar suddenly became cold. I was sweating coldly and asked quietly.
“…But why is the air like this?”
“…Actually, I came right after the wedding. “I faked it and said it was my honeymoon.”
What?!
“The condition these children put forward for participating in the rebellion was that they marry me officially.”
“so…?”
“So, as soon as the rebellion was successful, they organized the internal affairs of the country, held a coronation ceremony and wedding ceremony like roasting beans over lightning, and then… Now, they said they would go on a honeymoon. “I’m also worried about the situation at the World Defense Front.”
“….”
“So we said let’s go on a honeymoon in the south, and we all came together… like this. Huh.”
Queen Vermillion×5’s gaze became even colder. Mikhail desperately avoided that gaze.
Oh my gosh, it’s a honeymoon destination, and the place you came to is a monster front…
I asked cautiously.
“I’m still happy…?”
Then Mikhail smiled brightly.
For some reason, there were a few tears in my eyes…
but I just gave a thumbs up and said this.
“Ash, you must get married too. You must do it…!”
