350 Kingdom of Eric Falls (2/2)
Willbert wielded his witchcraft sword and used its beam of light to slash some of the attackers in the sky.
”Fire!”
The enormous gun barrel Alpha carried fired and gleaming element light burst out of the barrel. It surged to the sky and shot down a small airship spinning lower in the sky.
The ship was disintegrated and the fragments fell to the ground. A giant iron wing scraped against the stones as it crashed, igniting a blazing fire. Alpha continued operating the level-four element annihilation cannon, and he aimed it at another airship that tried to dive.
The three of them stood on the ruins and watched with clenched teeth as their people were slaughtered. The Kingdom of Eric was engulfed in flames. Clock towers, buildings, even Golden Oak college was in ruins. The three took off to kill as many priests and soldiers from Hollyma as they could, yelling like maniacs as they tore through the streets.
The air smelled revolting, like burned meat.
”Level-four element witchcraft. Level-four wizard! This is a level-four wizard!”
”And an element annihilation cannon? How does he have this weapon? Isn't this a secret alchemy weapon from Sheehan City Alliance?”
”Be careful! We need help! Help!”
Priests who encircled the three were all terrified. They would have never expected to meet such enemies in this tiny kingdom.
Many priests rushed toward the three, and in the distance, high priests of the Master of the Night hurried toward them as well. Even the airships in the sky paid attention to them.
”Go! We need to leave now! Kingdom of Eric has fallen! We've failed!” yelled Willbert. ”Go! Let's go!”
Willbert tried to drag Frank and Alpha away. When they saw that the three were trying to escape, some of the lower-level priests tried to go after them. Willbert cast sword light in their direction and Frank bombed them with witchcraft, allowing them to escape the city.
The three of them fled in a panicked helter-skelter while the squad of high priests of the Master of the Night continued to chase them. The airships circled the sky, shooting and dropping bombs, trying to find them. They fled into the forest, and the priests lost track of them.
As they were leaving, Frank looked back at the fallen city of Eric. All the civilians in Kingdom of Eric were trapped in catastrophe and death. He looked at the scene, dazed. It was apocalyptic, as if the entire world was crumbling.
Frank recalled the people running and yelling in agony, and the bodies of children in ruins. Wives had held their husbands in despair while others were blown up or swallowed by flames.
The three recalled their partners who were slaughtered by soldiers from Hollyma. Some of them were supernatural creatures with a similar mindset; some of them were scholars who wished to change their future and some of them were youngsters who'd flown combat airships for the first time. They could still hear the blood-curdling screams.
”No! No! This is not what I expected. How did this happen! We promised them a bright and happy future! Why did this happen?”
Frank was screaming so hard that the others thought his throat might break, and his mouth became dry. He clenched his fists so hard that his fingernails pierced through his palm. The only thing he could see was airships from Hollyma circling in the sky.
Willbert squeezed the long sword in one hand and with the other he was supporting Alpha who'd been hit by the divine techniques performed the high priest of the Master of the Night while they were trying to flee. Although Willbert used purification potions on Alpha, the power from the divine technique still penetrated Alpha's body, rendering him incredibly weak.”
”I'll have revenge!” Alpha cried.
He raised his head and his face was covered with sweat and blood.
”Let's go to the central province. There are all sorts of belief systems there, and countless clashed between commoners and supernatural creatures. Let's go there. Then we can have a fresh start.”