Steel and Mana
Chapter 420 – Spreading Out

The moment I was informed that the Stormbringer was coming back and Pion was aboard it, wanting to meet me the moment he arrived, I knew something was wrong. At least, there was no news of Sasha getting injured or something, so it had not been that serious... but... Something did happen.

Arriving at the palace, his posture looked rigid, but the way he walked gave it away. He was worried. Hm. The way he looked, it had to be something related to the monsters and not to someone getting injured or killed. Was there a wave? We are heading into summer, and... That never happened before. Well, it became clear after he placed the artifact projector on the table, saying nothing and letting the image speak for itself.

While we were waiting for Pion, who was being led in by Oleg, to arrive, I had already called for everyone to gather around. It included Arthur and Leyla, who looked especially concerned as Sasha was away in Markoth. Then, there was Lancelot, silent but just as stiff as Pion, his hands clasped behind his back, standing with Yuri. Same as Morgan, who was with Mikan, pretending to be disinterested but fidgeting with her sleeve, not trying to look worried. With a chair over, there was Galahad, sitting perfectly still next to Luna, his mood somewhat unreadable. Of course, not only was my family present, but Merlin was also here, with Fila, who was half-hidden behind a thick book but watching everything, peeking over its edge, only shrinking back if someone met her eyes.

And, of course, a guest... Bakhi. I don't know why, but I just had a hunch he should be here, so I invited him in.

Maybe he also felt out of place, so he stood a little apart from the others, dressed in his Khulmani ceremonial garb, changing the moment I sent the call for him. He looked uncomfortable; I could see it in his eyes, though he didn’t show it in any obvious way. To my surprise, he didn’t flinch when Pion activated the display, and the projected image of a winged beast shimmered to life in the air above us... probably because he was shocked, his mouth slowly starting to hang open.

"Flying," he muttered after a long silence, saying what we all were thinking.

"Yes," Pion confirmed, his voice low, looking at him once before turning to me, waiting for my assessment.

I let the room sit in that silence a while longer, not because I wanted to be dramatic but because I was thinking and examining the image. What an ugly little fucker! It's a good thing I made the choice to create planes that could do some dogfighting up in the air. Well, with this confirmed, they were no longer scouts and bombers, but it was time for Avalon's flying knights to be born. Maybe I should implement some kind of Top Gun school? Huh.

Shaking my head before my thoughts started wandering aimlessly, I looked at the others to see their reactions.

Arthur and Leyla exchanged multiple glances already, and I could tell they were talking in their own unique way. Leyla's eyes were already calculating something, maybe ranges or countermeasure ideas, while Arthur was sorting through his sister's thoughts, throwing out those that wouldn't be useful. A perfect teamwork...

Then, there was Morgan, who had stopped fidgeting. She stared at the projection, looking deadly serious. I saw the same look on Mikan's face—the one who was worried about the people and what it would mean to be preyed upon by such monstrosities. Like mother, like daughter, as they say.

Finally, glancing at Galahad, he was tapping his fingers against his knee, barely perceptible. I knew how to recognize when a thousand thoughts were rushing behind his eyes, and his mind was already in overdrive. I could already imagine the designs he was beginning to sketch in his head. No... He was making modifications to his current one. Will this news set him back once again? Maybe. But now we do need some AA measurements to develop and install.

To my surprise, Fila had put down the shield that was her book and was instead leaning forward, absorbed in the image. Her fascination was the most honest, but so was the fear on her face. As for Merlin? I didn't need to look—he was still like a kid on Christmas.

"How many were seen?" I asked, looking back at Pion, who had been waiting patiently until now.

"Nine were confirmed after reviewing everything," he answered. "From that, we can safely state that five were killed. The rest are presumed to be still alive."

"Gods..." Bakhi exhaled through his nose. "With this contract, one thing can be sure... They will not stay gone. They have the scent; they will try to find its source! Monsters always do that... The fact that they have come this far west already shows that the eastern part of the continent must be running dry! They won't stop..." He exhaled again, sounding a bit... panicky.

"No," I agreed with a half-smile. "They indeed won’t."

"They struck when we were weakest," Pion added. "Just before the Stormbringer took flight. They aimed for it... Timing it perfectly when it could not yet attack."

"It shows a hunting method." Merlin hummed, barely able to sit still, "Birds are most vulnerable when they are on the ground, just about to take flight. This points towards the fact that on the other end, there must be other flying variants, and they eat each other! And that we were right, they go for the core... how fascinating..."

"Fascinating?" Bakhi turned to him, grimacing, and then looked at me as if asking if my Prime Minister had been hit on the head or not. In the end, he just shook himself, turning serious: "I need to bring this back to the Kahn."

"Of course," I nodded. "You will do so. And you won’t go alone." I raised a hand while I glanced at Lancelot. "Son, you are already familiar with them, so you’ll accompany him. Take the Stormbringer and make haste!" Then, with a hand, I slid the projector in front of him. "Make sure to show them everything. The flying beasts, the horde, the survivors. You can gift them this one... take it as," I smiled at Bakhi, "A show of our goodwill. Leave nothing out."

"Thank you..." Bakhi mumbled, unsure what to actually say.

"Don't worry," Lancelot gave me a firm, proud nod. "I will do so, Father."

"What will your Kahn do?" I asked, examining Bakhi's expression, seeing it changing a few times.

"I don't know..." He paused for a moment. "But this concerns Khulman the most... I am sure that our armies will mobilize at the news."

"Then it’s settled!" I clapped suddenly. That should have been the end of the meeting, but I didn’t move. "I’m going east." There was a beat of silence after I declared my intentions... Then, three voices shouted at me at once, something that I was expecting already.

"No, you’re not!" Luna huffed, standing up from her chair.

"You can’t!" Mikan said at the same time, already crossing her arms, her face worried.

"Are you hogging all the fun again?!" Yuri complained, but not for the same reason as the others.

Heh... It made me feel warm inside, and I couldn't help but giggle like a schoolgirl.

"My Sovereign," Oleg spoke next, "With all due respect—"

"I know the risks," I cut in, not letting him finish. "But I won’t lead from guesswork, and while our Khulman friends gather their forces, I can take a peek at what is what. I am not going to sit this one out. I need to see it."

"You have your commanders," Luna argued. "Why not send General Oleg?"

"I agree," Oleg added at once; of course...

"And they are all doing what they must." I shrugged, "But I’m still the Sovereign. And sometimes, that means I have to go where the danger is."

"You just made that up." Mikan moaned, used to my antics after a decade or so.

"Ehehe... maybe." I winked at them, "Girls, you let me go to the other side, taking the kids with me... Then this is... well, nothing!"

"That is... true." Yuri laughed, making the others suddenly unable to find their words.

"This will be fun!" Merlin grinned, making me look at him.

"Who said you are coming?"

"Huh?" He flinched, his face going desperate in an instant. "But, but, but, I am usually there... Y-y-y-you can't do this to me! Leoooooon!"

"Sure, sure," I waved a hand. "I do need a mage with me." I chuckled, almost making him collapse with relief as I looked at the others, "We will take Camelot and go as soon as possible."

"Well..." Mikan and Luna looked at each other, shrugging, "At least it should be strong enough..."

"Dad,"

"No." I shot Arthur down before he could ask his question.

"But–"

"No. Unlike in my position, you are my child." I repeated, "That overrides all arguments. Plus, you and Leyla will go with Princess Fila."

"Huh?" The young girl suddenly trembled, glancing not at me first but at Galahad before looking at me.

"Mirian needs to know, plus," I sat up straight, looking at Mikan and Yuri, "You two will also go with them. Call an emergency meeting of the Union. I'll be back with more information by the time they start gathering."

"Hahhhh..." Morgan sighed, shaking her head, "How one image can throw everything into chaos..."

"True," I agreed, rubbing my short beard. "But at least we can still prepare, and it didn't catch us with our pants down."

...

....

......

The bridge of the Camelot was abuzz with orders coming from Kustov, making the final preparations for leaving.

I sat behind him in my designated chair, staring out through the Imaginary, displaying all that stretched across the entire front of the command bridge. It was still early morning, only a day later, but it was a clear day with no clouds above the land. Perfect. I do hope it stays like this so we can find flying beasts more easily and see how big trouble we are in.

"We are ready when you are, Sovereign." Kustov stood ramrod straight, making his report, saluting towards me.

“Take us up,” I said softly, nodding my head.

"At once!" He lowered his hand, turning towards the rest of the bridge crew. “All decks, prepare for ascent! All towers, release docking clamps! Engineers, give me a smooth climb.”

A chorus of confirmations echoed from the crew stations, coming from the radios. Then, like a waking monster itself, Camelot stirred as the twin cores deep within came alive. The floor beneath my feet vibrated only once, but then we were already ascending, the ship manned by its full complement, battle-ready from the get-go.

Through the Imaginary, I watched as the Stormbringer, which left before us, was already moving. With a sharp turn, it pulled away from us and headed east and then southeast, steering directly for the Khulman Empire. I remained silent as the figure of the Stormbringer began to fade into the distance...

Then came a different silhouette. This time, the sky above Avalon was indeed busy, as every one of our airships had its mission. The Knight’s Errand emerged right after us as it began its climb, heading the same way as my Camelot. It matched pace with us for a moment—close enough that I could make out the shapes on its deck, glancing at the dangling mechs it was carrying along.

To counter the dangers, I was sending reinforcements. Some familiar faces: the Valiant, Tiburon, Shadow, and Thunder should be enough, along with fresh troops and artillery stashed into the ship's cargo hold.

“The Knight’s Errand shows a bit of lower speed than us...” Kustov murmured. “ETA to Markoth is less than six hours. Should we match their speed?”

“No, we will go ahead,” I replied. “They’ll arrive after noon, but by then, we should be further east. Make my ship fly, Kustov.” I grinned, making him nod, holding the same smile.

Yet, before we would pull ahead, I watched as two more shapes lifted up from below us. The rest of the four, smaller airships my Avalon had. One was coming with us, or with the Knight's Errand, to be precise. It wasn't flying alone, though, as more than a dozen airplanes lifted up after it, flying alongside its frame. Then... there were more inside and under it, latched to its frame. The Eagle's Nest, a dedicated carrier.

She was not a beauty, having so many dangling parts from her frame, but she was a monster of function. An aerial hangar designed to carry, launch, repair, and recover airplanes, both biplanes and my newer variants. And now, one of our most essential pieces... I just hope all my plans will function as we tested them.

Even as I watched, thinking about it, two whole squadrons took off from its flanks, and four Avalonian biplanes were released from its underbelly in tight formation, their trails forming white ribbons in the air as they climbed steadily to escort her.

More than half of Avalon’s current air force had been committed to Markoth with this one move...

“They fly well,” I muttered, smiling.

“They’ve trained for this,” Merlin hummed, standing next to me, arriving a moment ago from the engineering room. “This will actually test them and our machines. They better not screw it up...”

Just as he finished speaking, the last airship, the slowest of the four, also took to the skies, heading south towards Ishillia. Its name was The Punisher. It wasn’t meant for speed. It was a support vessel designed to hold ground and accompany my Camelot in battle. Its role was to suppress enemy magic and coordinate from next to me, providing an extra shield if necessary.

With a slight smile, I turned away from the Imaginary and glanced across the bridge. Now that we were on course, about to climb for a few minutes more before leveling out and reaching the maximum of our traveling speed, the officers began moving between their stations, each doing double checks and making sure every system was operating at peak efficiency.

“I wonder..." Merlin said all of a sudden, making me look at him with a raised eyebrow, "Will we use the main gun...? Or not?"

"If we do..." I muttered, caressing the armrest of my chair, "It means we found something bad."

"Something really bad..." He grimaced, making me squint at him.

"Did your old self warn you or something?"

"He did..." He whispered, leaning close so only I could hear him, "He warned me to be careful. He once saw a cloud on the other side... Only, it turned out not to be a cloud but a swarm."

"Lovely." I answered, "Couldn't he say it earlier?"

"He said the ones he saw were bird-sized... so he doesn't think it's the same."

"Haah..." I shrugged, shaking my head. "Let us hope so..."