Chapter 1463: High Altitude Drop
Good worked his joystick and kept his eyes fixed on the plane ahead.
It’s really dark.
Sky, clouds, ground — apart from the blinking tail light fixed in front of him, there was nothing. And from staring too long, even the tail light began to seem uncertain. A hallucination. A pinhole of light in nothing.
Am I actually moving?
Or have we been stationary this entire time?
He lifted his visor and rubbed his aching eyes. His gloves came away sticky.
I’m sweating.
When was the last time this happened? Probably chasing the specters.
He breathed twice, deliberately, and recited the King’s words under his breath.
The darkest period is precisely right before the dawn.
Before dawn…
“Let’s talk — otherwise I think I’ll choke.”
For a moment Good thought it was his own pulse speaking. Then he registered it: Finkin, through the communications.
“Hey, using the transmitter to talk is breaking protocol!” Another voice — Hinds.
“Her Highness said we can’t use the transmitter during a battle — it might interfere with important signals. We’re not at the battlefield yet, and Devilbeasts can’t fly in the dark.” Finkin’s voice was easy, unhurried. “Besides, I’m on the team frequency. She won’t hear us.”
Silence.
“Fine. I’ll admit it — hearing your voices is actually great.” A third voice joined them. “Lads, what do you want to talk about?”
“Anything. But can everyone count how many tail lights they can see? Honestly, I can’t tell which ones are lights and which ones are stars.”
“That’s right, anything at all.”
“I count six large lights.”
“Four from where I am.”
“Then you’re at the flank of the formation — watch you don’t break off.”
The frequency filled up fast. Night flight into unknown territory had pressed down on everyone, and this was the valve. In daylight, at least when you lost the formation you could tear through cloud and find your bearings alone. But in this blackness you couldn’t even feel the motion of the aircraft, and without the formation’s lights you would never find Eleanor Skycruiser with the naked eye.
Without quite knowing when, Good found his shoulders had dropped.
“Does talking help?” The princess’s voice came through, cutting the frequency quiet in an instant.
Someone had told her. That was clear.
“Your Highness — that was my fault—” Good steeled himself and spoke up.
“No. What I mean is: if it’s working, I’m happy to join in.” Tilly had no intention of reprimand. “Just don’t take your eyes off your squadron mates, and give Maggie and Lightning less trouble.”
A stunned pause, and then a cheer broke across the frequency.
“Understood — we won’t lose our targets!”
“Your Highness, you can relax. I can see much more clearly now!”
“All right, if you want to flatter me, do it Graycastle-style — do you think you’re owls?”
Laughter burst out. Even the bombing squadron joined in.
“Your Highness — this is Kun Peng. Can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“Is the explosive beneath us the Glory of the Sun? It looks different from what Ark of Peace is carrying. Theirs is big and round. Ours looks more like a barrel.”
Good understood instinctively that this was a question people would remember.
“The ones you’re carrying were produced by the Ministry of Engineering using a simplified design,” Tilly explained. “They’re not as powerful, but they’re sufficient to breach the enemy’s first defensive layer. Come to think of it, His Majesty Roland was unexpectedly pleased with how they turned out — said something about a historical coincidence.”
“Er… Your Highness, I’m not quite following…”
“It’s fine if you don’t.” Her voice shifted to something quieter. “He’s… a very strange man.”
Time moved faster after that.
The endless dark was no longer quite so oppressive.
How much time passed was impossible to say. Then a surprised voice broke over everyone else’s chatter: “Everyone — look to your right!”
Good turned.
A faint gray had bled into the darkness — so thin that most people would miss the difference entirely. But it changed things. Where the gray touched the horizon a smear of purplish-blue had appeared, and that smear was pulling the black apart at the seam.
The prelude to daybreak.
“Focus up!” Tilly’s voice, sharp as the change of color. “We’re almost there.”
At the same moment, inside the Seagull.
Sylvie looked through the dark and traced the Deity of Gods’s approximate position.
To avoid being caught by the thousands of Eye Demons, she had kept her ability restricted to the sky alone, solely to confirm that the formation’s heading had not drifted. Only as daybreak approached did she lower her gaze carefully to the ground.
Everything performed as the plans had required. In under ten minutes, she felt the enormous concentration of magic power blooming from the Deity of Gods.
As they closed on the fortress, it finally came into full view — the gigantic stronghold, Blackstone walls surrounding it entire. At this moment the enormous floating structure was motionless, hovering tens of meters above the ground, most probably holding position to conserve magic power. Behind it lay dense columns of troops stretching for several kilometers.
An opportunity handed to them. She understood it the moment she saw it.
To keep pace with its ground forces, the Deity of Gods would stop at nightfall. A target that large, held perfectly still — the bombs couldn’t miss. More importantly, dawn hadn’t broken yet, meaning no Devilbeast patrols in the air. They had seized the initiative.
Sylvie picked up the handset and relayed targeting data to the bombing squadron while keeping her expanded field of view on the enemy. The whole battlefield laid out before her sphere of vision: the two bombers at seven thousand meters above; the biplane formations between twenty-five hundred and three thousand meters, knitted into a tight net to catch anything that tried to climb; the Deity of Gods less than ten kilometers ahead. In a few minutes the Kun Peng would be in range for the drop.
Then a strange senior demon entered her sight.
Despite the distance, their gaze found each other. The demon went still and raised its head.
“He’s an Eye Demon — he’s spotted us!” Her heart lurched. They had known detection was only a matter of time, but the moment it happened was still a shock.
“It’s already too late for them,” Andrea said, Sigil of Listening active as she relayed to Tilly: “Bombers are approaching drop position. Note the clearance around them.”
“Roger.”
“The demons have noticed our fleet.” A deliberately casual tone.
“Is that so? I’ve been waiting for this.” Tilly toggled to the full-fleet frequency. “Everyone — ten-degree turn to the right. Enter roundabout. Prepare for the blast.”
The entire biplane formation wheeled with the brightening sky. The dome’s color was still dark, but no longer the absolute black that swallowed hands and faces — now a deep blue edging toward indigo. Stars dimmed. The aircraft lights sharpened. Only the Kun Peng held its original heading. Stability before release: that was non-negotiable.
Unlike the Fury of Heaven, which could drop ordnance in a dive, Kun Peng and Ark of Peace had been designed specifically to carry their particular weapons. Aiming equipment was built in throughout; the planes were pressurized, capable of sustained flight at altitudes the biplanes couldn’t hold.
Night vision was poor and cloud cover patchy beneath them, but sight was irrelevant — Sylvie was feeding exact coordinates. The release crew made their calculations and signaled the pilot.
“Open hold — release!”
A low shudder ran through the belly of the plane as the control stick was pulled back. Four tons of bomb tore free from its cradle and the bomber leaped upward, swaying for a moment before it found its trim again.
The dark shape below shrank to a dot and was falling — falling toward the Deity of Gods, pulled by gravity, indifferent to everything in its path.
Chapter 1463 - High Altitude Drop
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Good controlled his joystick while focused on the plane in front of him.
It’s really… dark.
Sky, clouds, ground—aside from the flickering light fixed before him, he was unable to see anything. And from prolonged staring, even the tail lights seemed to become hallucinatory.
Am I really moving?
Or more accurately speaking, have we been stationary all this time?
Good lowered his visor and rubbed his sore eyes—at this moment, he noticed that his gloves were already sticky.
I’m actually perspiring…
When was the last time this happened? Most probably while chasing after the specters…
He took two deep breaths and silently recited the King’s words.
The darkest period is precisely right before the dawn.
Before Dawn…
“Let’s talk, otherwise I think I’ll choke.”
At that instant, Good thought he was hearing his heart calling out to him. But he quickly reacted, because it was Finkin through the communications!
“Hey hey, using the transmitter to talk is breaking protocol!” Another familiar voice sounded—Hinds.
“Her Highness stated that we cannot use the transmitter to talk while in battle, because it might interfere with important information. But we aren’t even close to the battlefield yet. The Devilbeasts can’t fly at night,” Finkin replied. “Furthermore, I am using the team frequency; Her Highness won’t hear us.”
“…” There was a short silence over the receiver.
“Fine, I have to admit, hearing your voices is truly great.” Another one joined in. “Lads, what do you want to talk about?”
“Anything is fine, but can everyone make a count as to how many tail lights can all of you see? To be honest, I can’t make out which ones are the lights and which ones are the stars.”
“That’s right, anything is fine.”
“I see six large lights.”
“Four here.”
“Then you should be at the flank of the formation, be careful not to get break out of formation.”
Very quickly, the frequency became crowded; obviously the flight in the darkness to unknown territory had placed immense pressure on everyone— compared to flying in the day where they could at least tear through the clouds and see them coming for them, they were still able to find their way back alone if they got lost. However, not only was a night flight difficult to determine that they were moving, upon being separated from the formation, it was also impossible to find Eleanor Skycruiser just with their naked eyes.
Upon hearing the cacophony of his squadron mates, Good relaxed without realizing it.
“How’s it; does chatting keep all of you relaxed?”
The princess’s voice suddenly cut in. At that instant, the frequency went silent.
Without question, someone must have reported the situation to Her Highness.
“Erm, Your Highness, it was my fault—” Good toughened his skin and spoke up.
“No, what I mean to say is that if this is effective, I can chat with all of you as well.” Tilly had no intent of blaming anyone. “But don’t forget to stare at your squadron mates and give less trouble to Maggie and Lightning.”
Everyone was mildly stunned, but cheered after.
“As you command, we will not lose our targets!”
“Your Highness, rest easy. It feels like I can see much clearer now!”
“Enough, if you want to suck up, you have to do it Graycastle style; do you think you’re some owl now?”
Roars of laughter came out, and even the bombing squadron joined in.
“Your Highness, this is Kun Peng; can I ask you a question?”
“Yeah.”
“Is the explosive equipped beneath us the Glory of the Sun? Why does it look different to the Ark of Peace’s? Theirs is big and round, but ours is more like a barrel.”
Good realized that it was a question that would leave its mark in history.
“Because those that you are carrying are produced by the Ministry of Engineering and utilizes a simpler form. Although it isn’t as strong in comparison to the others, it is sufficient to break through the enemy’s first line of defense,” Tilly explained. “But come to think of it, His Majesty Roland himself was unexpectedly satisfied with the result, and even said that it was a historical coincidence…”
“Er, Your Highness… I don’t quite understand…”
“It’s fine if you don’t.” Tilly’s voice suddenly became much gentler. “He… is a really strange man.”
TIme seemed to crawl faster just like that.
And the endless darkness beyond them was no longer as unbearable.
After an unknown period of time, a surprised voice drowned out everybody’s conversation. “Everyone, look to your right!”
Good turned and immediately noticed a slight gray mixed with the darkness —the distinction so fine that the majority of people would find it hard to see a difference. But its appearance was like a dye that changed the never ending darkness. At the boundary of the horizon that was affected by the gray was a smear of purplish-blue.
It was the prelude to daybreak.
“Focus up!” Tilly bellowed. “We are arriving soon.”
…
At the same time, inside the Seagull.
Sylvie looked through the darkness and caught sight of the Deity of Gods’s approximate position.
To avoid being sighted by the thousands of Eye Demons, she had restricted her ability only to the sky, just to ensure that the formation’s path had not deviated. It was only when daybreak was approaching did she carefully cast her eyes to the ground.
Reality proved that be it the early stages of planning and calculations or the later stages of implementation, everyone performed outstandingly to complete their tasks. In less than ten minutes, she sensed the astonishing magic power blossoming out from the Deity of Gods.
As they pulled closer to the Deity of Gods, she finally saw the gigantic stronghold surrounded by Blackstone walls.
At this moment, the gigantic protruding structure remained static in midair— most probably to conserve magic power. It was only tens of meters away from the ground surface. Behind it were dense troops that spanned across several kilometers.
It was a god-given opportunity.
She realized that in order for the ground troops to keep up, the Deity of Gods would stop upon nightfall. With such a large target staying completely still, it was impossible for the bombs to miss. More importantly, as dawn had not arrived, there were no patrolling Devilbeasts around, allowing them to seize the initiative!
Sylvie picked up the handset while informing the bombing squadron of the data regarding the target while observing the enemy ranks. In her spherical field of view, the entire battlefield gradually exposed itself to her: situated high above at 7,000 meters were the two bombers. It was an altitude which would demand the Devilbeasts to take an extremely long amount of time to ascend and reach. Situated in the middle of around 2,500 to 3,000 meters in altitude were the biplanes in formation, forming a tight net to intercept anything that attempted to ascend. The Deity of Gods was less than 10 kilometers away from them, and in a few more minutes, the Kun Peng would be able to conduct the drop.
But right at this time, a strange senior demon entered her vision—despite the distance, both their gazes found each other. The demon suddenly stopped moving and raised his head.
“He’s an Eye Demon; he spotted us!” Sylvie’s heart jumped. Although they knew that the demons’ migration would employ a great number of Eye Demons and they would ultimately be discovered, the actual occurrence still caused her heart to skip a beat.
“It is already too late for them.” Andrea activated the Sigil of Listening and reported to Tilly, “Bombers are about to go into positions, take heed to avoid
them.”
“Roger that.”
“Right, the demons have noticed our fleet.” She feigned a casual tone.
“Is that so, I’ve been waiting for this.” After completing her sentence, Tilly immediately turned on the frequency that broadcast to everyone. “Everyone, pay attention, take a ten degree turn to the right and engage in a roundabout. Prepare for the blast.”
The large biplane formation turned immediately with the gradually brightening sky. The hue of the entire dome remained dark, but it was no longer a pitch black that prevented them from seeing their own hands, but more of a dark blue that neared blackness. The stars turned dimmer as the lights on the planes became more obvious.
The only one that remained in its original path was the Kun Peng, it had to maintain perfect stability before casting the bomb.
Unlike the Fury of Heavens that were capable of dropping bombs while diving, the Kun Peng and Ark of Peace were specially designed planes meant for unloading the unique bombs, with all sorts of aiming equipment on the ready. The planes also had pressurized capabilities, allowing them to fly much longer than the ordinary biplanes.
Although night vision was extremely limited, there were thin clouds beneath them. But sight was not needed with Sylvie supplying the accurate data. The crew in charge of releasing the bomb only performed simple calculations and gestured to the pilot that they were ready.
“Open hold, release!”
A low rumble sounded from the belly of the plane when the control stick was being pulled upwards—it was the sound of the heavy bomb being separated from its frame. Once the large object that weighed about four tons was released, the bomber was instantly lifted, swaying for a moment before regaining stability.
This bomb that transformed into an unremarkable black dot increased its speed due to gravity, heading straight towards the Deity of Gods.