Chapter 684: Fire!(2)
The broadcast sounded loudly, and the elven nobles rushed out of various entertainment facilities, their faces filled with panic. However, they managed to maintain some composure and returned to their rooms.
Some armed elves emerged with guards, vigilantly scanning the western horizon.
Teams of elven guards quickly reached their respective positions on the airship. The alchemical cannons at the edge of the gondola were adjusted upward, aiming towards the west.
Miligas wore a grim expression, having already guessed who the attackers were. He slammed his fist hard against the wooden wall, producing a loud thud.
“Damn it, these evil orcs dare to attack an airship filled with elven nobles. It’s enough to make them guilty of genocide!”
Ji Chen remained silent, realizing that this attack was likely his fault. It seemed the demons had somehow learned of his and Lainekel’s presence on this airship, bound for the elven capital. In response, they sent their allies, the evil orcs, to intercept.
It was late at night, and the airship was slowly flying below the cloud cover. Thick dark clouds obscured the moon, leaving the surroundings pitch-black with no sign of the enemy.
Only on the alchemical radar carried by the airship could one see a large number of red dots rapidly approaching from the west. The alchemical cannons on the west side of the gondola adjusted their angles and directions. “Adjust firing parameters!”
“Firing parameters adjusted!”
“Load the ammunition!”
“Ammunition loaded and ready to fire!”
The airship’s captain watched the radar with a tense expression. When the mass of red dots entered firing range, he shouted, “Fire!”
Elven gunners pulled the taut ropes, and from the cannon’s muzzle, an orange-red burst of fireworks erupted. A ring of circular white mist billowed from the muzzle and was instantly dispersed by a high-speed flying object, causing the entire airship to shift abruptly to the left by several meters.
The captain looked through the glass, only to see that within the deep darkness, several orange Mandrake flowers suddenly bloomed, illuminating the night sky.
“Target hit; the enemy count reduced by two hundred and ten.”
The first shot had hit the enemy, achieving a significant result. In the past, this would have been cause for celebration, but now they couldn’t afford to smile. The enemy was simply too numerous. On the radar, hundreds of red dots swarmed out like locusts. The first volley had only taken out a negligible portion, and even more red dots appeared at the radar’s edges.
Several alchemical rapid-fire cannons also unleashed a barrage of metal storms, forming several continuous streams of fire dragons.
However, this was just a passenger airship with extremely limited firepower. The most potent armaments were only a few medium-caliber cannons and a few small-caliber rapid-fire guns. It was not like the war airships, which were bristling with large-caliber cannons and various medium and small-caliber guns.
The cannons kept firing, but they couldn’t stop the enemy from approaching.
Soon, in the darkness, orcs riding wyverns appeared.
“Troop, that airship is the one. Use your claws to destroy those little tubes with fire on top! Kill all the livestock on board! Find that human and the traitor!” Excited howls were the response. These seemingly chaotic evil orcs split into groups of a hundred, flying toward various parts of the massive airship.
Some evil orcs leaped onto the top of the gondola in an instant, using all sorts of DIY weapons to break through the ceiling. The elves hiding in their rooms immediately screamed in terror.
The ceiling above the corridor was punctured, and a burly evil orc leaped through the hole, immediately spotting Ji Chen and Miligas who had just emerged from a room not far away.
Excitement and eagerness flickered in the orc’s murky pupils.
The human!
“The head of this human shall be claimed by me, Batulu!”
As the evil orc brandished his rusty greatsword, he charged forward aggressively. Miligas, the civil official, instinctively took two steps back in fear. However, when he saw Ji Chen standing unmoved, he suddenly felt relieved. With Ji Chen around, what threat could a mere evil orc pose?
Thud!
The window glass in the corridor shattered suddenly, and an agile and slender figure leaped in from outside. Swinging a longsword, the newcomer beheaded the evil orc in one swift stroke. The headless body of the orc staggered forward a couple of steps before collapsing, blood gushing from its neck in a reckless manner.
Patheia swiftly approached Ji Chen, saluting, “I arrived late to the rescue, please forgive me, Lord.”
Ji Chen waved his hand, “No matter.”
Before boarding the airship in the Maple Principality, he had instructed Patheia to follow behind the airship with the Sea Crystal Wyrm, ready to provide support at any time.
Outside the window, the Sea Crystal Wyrm had already begun battling the orcs, with beams of blue light piercing the night sky, shooting down one sharp-beaked wyvern after another.
These sharp-beaked wyvern knights were probably at the fifth-tier, around 8 to 9 stars in strength, numbering at least three thousand. They clung to the airship like ants.
Using their weapons to shatter the glass windows and jumping in, they pursued the elven nobles running amok in the corridor.
These pampered elven nobles were experiencing the most terrifying night of their lives. Yellow-toothed, burly evil orcs leaped in from outside, using rudimentary weapons to kill their own kind before them. The walls and floor were splattered with blood.
The sound of doors being violently torn open echoed from time to time, followed by screams.
The elven soldiers on the airship fought valiantly, but the orcs were increasing at a much faster rate than they could kill. Many of them were even overwhelmed by the orc horde, meeting their end under swords.
Hearing the commotion outside, Lainekel could no longer stay put. He quietly opened the room door slightly and saw a headless corpse lying on the ground, momentarily stunned.
“Lord Ji Chen, what’s happening?”
“In simple terms, demons sent evil orcs to attack the airship, attempting to thwart our journey.”
As Ji Chen spoke, he and Miligas retreated into the room, closing the door to buy some time.
Lainekel’s face brimmed with killing intent. “It’s just some orcs, I can handle them all by myself!”
“As long as you can eliminate them,” Ji Chen shook his head. “The concern is that these orcs might directly attack the airship, causing it to crash. When that happens, I’m afraid not many elves on this airship will survive.”
Note that the “elves” struggling to survive did not imply that Ji Chen and the others couldn’t survive.
The Sea Crystal Wyrm was already in position, and they could board it to escape.
Facing so many orcs, the downfall of this airship was only a matter of time.
Miligas clenched his teeth as he heard the cries coming from all over the airship. “Lord Ji Chen, this airship can’t stay any longer. Please leave directly.” “Take the message to the capital; we can’t let the demons’ conspiracy succeed!” Seeing Miligas so resolute, ready to sacrifice himself at any moment, Ji Chen couldn’t help but feel speechless. “We can all leave together on the Sea Crystal Wyrm.”
Hearing this, Miligas deflated. “What about the other elves?”
Ji Chen fell silent for a moment and then said, “To escape the pursuit of the orcs, the Sea Crystal Wyrm can only rescue a small portion of us. The rest will have to be abandoned.”
This airship carried over a hundred elven nobles, along with various guards, soldiers, and crew members, totaling at least six or seven hundred. The Sea Crystal Wyrm could only carry so much.
Miligas sighed and didn’t say anything more.
Outside, the orc knights began cutting the ropes between the gondolas and the gasbags. When they found that their rudimentary weapons couldn’t quickly destroy them, they turned to damage the gasbags.
The gasbags were made of special materials and were very resilient, but they couldn’t withstand the brutal destruction of weapons. Soon, the gasbags were being tom apart bit by bit, and the propellers were firmly entangled by the ropes thrown by the orcs.
The airship slowly lost power and lift, struggling to carry the weight of the gondolas. The deck tilted, causing some elves to tumble down, resembling falling dumplings.
The orcs, upon seeing this, cheered and quickly disengaged from the battle, jumping out of the windows and mounting their mounts to move away.
Amidst the chaos, the Sea Crystal Wyrm swiftly glided through the vicinity, saving some elves. Ji Chen, Lainekel, and Miligas boarded one of the Sea Crystal Wyrms and quickly turned into a streak of light, flying away into the distance.
A sharp-eyed orc rider spotted this scene and roared in anger, “That human has escaped! Pursue!”
The orc riders immediately urged their mounts and gave chase..