From the ground came a sound like crashing thunder.
“Anos!” Lay shouted. A castle hurtled towards me.
“Hmm. Perfect timing,” I said, catching one of the last remaining Eten ships that had just been pierced with Evansmana. “Send the other remaining ship here too.”
As soon as I said that, Lay took a step straight forwards and pierced another Eten’s castle walls with his sword, sending it flying through the air with its magic power.
“Haaah!” Lay cried out.
“A-All crew, abandon ship!” voices yelled from the open holes of the ship, followed by the glowing light of Gatom.
I caught the unmanned ship in my left hand, making a total of twenty fallen Etens. I glared at Zeridheavens and the four Camlahi approaching me.
“Let’s see this true worth you speak of,” I said, spinning with the two castles in hand.
“Send support fire,” Eldmed immediately instructed.
The Demon King Express behind me pointed its cannons at the approaching fleet of sky fortresses. Magic circles of cogs spun rapidly.
“Target aligned!”
“Here goes!”
“Boros Hetheus!” the Fan Union shouted.
Ancient wheels fired towards the remaining Balandias Fleet, curving through the air. Camlahi Two’s turrets opened fire in return. The Veylonbosm directly hit the wheels, diverting them slightly off course. The third ship deployed Badirahier from afar. Boros Hetheus dug into the barrier without being able to impact the ship, allowing them to overtake the wheels.
Farris had probably commanded it. His Magic Eyes were as sharp as ever.
“How about this then?” I said, turning like a tornado with the giant fortresses in hand as I charged into their formation.
“Zaimon Epala, Fearless Fortslasher of Camlahi One, hereby challenges you!”
Camlahi One moved forwards to engage me. Just before the castle crashed into the Eten I was swinging around, a magic circle covered the entire outer wall.
“Drawing sword! Gazdema!”
Giant castle swords extended from the entirety of Camlahi One.
“Raaaaaah!”
Camlahi One spun like a spinning top, rivaling my tornado and boldly crashing into the sky fortresses I held in my hands. Gazdema slashed the two sky fortresses down the middle, breaking my weapon into pieces.
“Bwa ha ha. Not bad,” I said.
“Zaimon has opened the path. Follow his lead!” said the castle lord of Camlahi Four.
While I was clashing with the first ship, three other ships shot past the Demon King Express and me, charging straight for the ground.
“Aiming for Lay, I see.”
I drew a Dogda Azbedra magic circle aimed at the first ship. But the next moment, something crashed into my body, sending me flying.
“Oh?”
I hadn’t seen anything. There was no magic activation, just a sudden impact against my body. This power...
“All resistance is futile. Balandias now lies on firm foundations,” the Royal Tiger Maytilen said, flying before me. “This is my world, inside a castle governed by the Royal Tiger. No matter how strong you are, you do not stand a chance against us.”
“Are your foundations really that firm?” I asked, making Maytilen glare at me. “I think you’re lying.”
“Drown in your tears of regret, brat.”
Maytilen shot through the air with lightning speed. I followed her with my Magic Eyes as another impact sent me flying.
“Interesting power,” I said.
“Isn’t it? But as we speak you’re being tossed farther and farther from your frail follower on the ground.”
The next moment, my chest was suddenly and instantly slashed open from a swipe of claws, blood dripping from the wounds.
“Zeridheavens approaching,” Misha’s voice warned through Leaks. It wasn’t directed to me, but the engine room. I could see the Sky Fortress Zeridheavens and Demon King Express Beltexfenblem in the distance.
“Bwa ha ha! So the time has come to fight that ship. How exceedingly enthralling, exciting, and exhilarating!” Eldmed cheered.
Wheels shot out of the Demon King Express, while Zeridheavens fired its fire cannons. The sky fortress designed to freely traverse the skies dodged the Demon King Express’s attacks with ease while simultaneously wearing down our barrier.
On the ground, Camlahi One, Two, Three, and Four had Lay surrounded under a barrage of Veylonbosm. Whenever Lay tried to approach one, it backed away faster than he could move, constantly staying out of Evansmana’s reach.
“Sword of Three Races, second hidden art—” Lay stepped firmly against the ground and leaped up, thrusting the Sword of Three Races forwards. “Sky Piercer!”
A divine light wrapped around Lay’s body and sword, turning them into a beam of light. The radiance of the hidden art was nothing like when it was in Militia’s World—it swallowed the barrage of spellfire in blinding light, moving faster than Camlahi Two could travel.
Lay focused his magic on Fless to outspeed Camlahi Two. But their reaction time was still quite fast, and they managed to shift so that the Sword of Three Races grazed only the outer wall.
“That should do it— What?!”
Shocked voices spilled through the Leaks of Camlahi Two as their magic circle was damaged along with the outer wall. Sky Piecer had barely grazed it, but that had been enough to blow half the sky fortress away.
“All it did was graze us...yet Camlahi Two is...”
Lay’s gaze fixed on the castle lord of the wall-less Camlahi Two. He took a step forwards—then fell to his knees.
“Guh...”
He stabbed the Sword of Three Races into the ground to try to push himself up, but his legs, completely void of strength, would not obey him. Through the use of his hidden art, Evansmana’s awakening had progressed even further, making it much stronger—and harder for Lay to control—than before.
“Urgh...”
Lay clenched his teeth at the pain. Just holding the sword had blown one of his sources away. He was no longer able to control the rampaging magic power of the sword, and now it was eating away at his body.