Emperor of Steel - Chapter 673
Chapter 673: Red Hawks Flying in the Sky 1
When the battle of Symphonia army 1st squad and 2nd squad began in the northwestern region against the monster legion.
The Blood Hawk Knights traveled to the city of Lamer via the long-distance teleport gate and were greeted right away by the count.
“You have come early, Sir Hwang Bo-sung.”
“It has been very long, Count Pavel.”
Pavel and Victor and other Volga men were awarded new titles after Luke founded the Symphonia Kingdom.
Among them, Count Pavel had officially taken the office as the Mayor of Lamer city.
Making him the mayor of the second-largest trading city in the Symphonia Kingdom after the Royal capital, Brandon, it was a way for Luke to show how much trust he had in Pavel.
“Haha, if I could do something, I would have welcomed you with a banquet, but we are all prepping for the war, so I might have to postpone it for next time.”
“I know the situation, so you don’t have to worry about it. Rather, where’s His Majesty?”
“He led the fleet early in the morning to meet the enemies halfway.”
“Tch. I thought I would get to see him. That was unfortunate.”
The two men had a lengthy conversation and then led the knights to a field near the Lamer city.
There were dozens of wizards who were dispatched from the magic towers and several engineers gathered together to do something.
There was also a scene where the air was being injected in dozens of flying devices. Maybe they were about to be completed or in the process of completion.
“Is that the hot air balloon that we will ride?”
Hot air balloons were mainly used for whether observations or scouting purposes.
However, it wasn’t that great for other purposes as it was weak against crosswinds, and it was difficult to control.
But then, Emperor Rudolf managed to defeat the western rebels by using them in huge numbers.
“But its size and appearance are very different from what I heard.”
Pavel nodded at Hwang Bo-sung’s question.
“It is. I heard that the boarding space in the balloon has been increased, so it could carry more men. Also, artifacts had been attached to it to increase its stability and control efficiency.”
The improved hot air balloon was a collaboration between Luke and Zegal Soha.
As a result of the hard work to overcome the inferior fleet power the Symphonia possessed, he devised an assault operation using the hot air balloon.
Of course, in order to load the soldiers, the size of the hot air balloon had to be increased and the stability had to be maintained.
For that, magic circles and magic artifacts were equipped into the balloons.
“Ah well, a person who will give you the hot air balloon training.”
Pavel, who was explaining to Hwang Bo-sung, pointed to a woman who was giving instructions to wizards and engineers there.
She was none other than Zegal Soha.
She had disappeared from the Royal palace for a while, and her whereabouts were unknown, but she was over here.
Zegal Soha came to the place where Hwang Bo-sung was.
“Has it been two months?”
“It has. This is the first time that I have seen you after returning from the Southern Continent, so I guess it has been two months or so.”
After a light greeting, Zegal Soha brought up the subject.
“I am sorry, but Your Majesty has given me just two days to train, so we will have to start practicing right away.”
“Understood.”
Immediately after Zegal Soha summoned the Blood Hawk Knights, she gave them instructions on how to board the balloon.
Since the control of the hot air balloon had to be done by the wizards who would accompany them, the knights didn’t have to learn much about the hot air balloons.
However, the only important thing they had to learn was to use a magic item called ‘Wing Suit’.
“Wing Suit? Does it mean some kind of winged clothes?”
“I know that it is supposed to look a bit grand, but… it is more like the form of a flying squirrel.”
“Is that really something which can be done?”
As Zegal Soha herself demonstrated how to wear the Wing Suit, the knights were in awe.
Zegal Soha halted her explanation and took down the sword from her waist and slammed it to the ground.
“Pay attention everyone! If you don’t learn how to use this now, you’ll end up landing in the wrong place or fall somewhere and die!”
The Blood Hawk knights went silent at her cold words.
That was when Gyochon raised his hand on behalf of everyone to ask a question.
“Miss, well, Court Tactician. Should we really have to learn this? Can’t we just get closer to the target with this hot air balloon?”
At Gyochon’s words, everyone nodded.
From their point of view, if they took the hot air balloon and move it to the place it was supposed to go, they would probably have to jump down 10 meters, but they were being asked to wear a Wing Suit, which would end up being a hassle.
“The hot air balloon has the disadvantage of being vulnerable to every external attack. The speed would be slow and if the cloth is torn somewhere in middle, it is very likely for us to fall.”
That was why they asked for the hot air balloon to be placed above the target.
If not, they would have to jump hundreds of meters from the air and land on their targets. This had the advantage of not being hit by shells and arrows, but without that suit on them, everyone would be dead.
“But to jump by wearing that piece of cloth…”
“This is not just a piece of cloth. Floating magic, weight reduction magic, and anti-gravity magic circles are imposed on the Wing Suit, so if you can handle this right, you won’t have to worry about safety.”
Zegal Soha emphasized the words ‘won’t have to worry about safety’, but the knights paid attention to the words ‘if you can handle this right’ instead.
Zegal Soha, who had explained the specifications and the usage of the Wing Suit, showed a demonstration and jump from a 20-meter high tower that was installed for a temporary training ground.
“Keep in mind that in order to go down, you will have to read the direction of the wind and the power!”
Zegal Soha looked at the wind’s direction and then jumped off the tower.
Flutter!
With her arms and legs wide open like a squirrel, she flew to a point far from the tower and settled on the ground with light footing.
Not realizing it, everyone clapped their hands.
“Now, you all saw what the Court Tactician can do right? Go ahead and start your training men!”
At the words of Hwang Bo-sung, the expression of the Blood Hawk knights turned stiff.
It was impossible for them to disobey their commander who was looking straight at them, so everyone went and wore their own Wing Suits and climbed up the tower one after the other.
‘Oop! This is a lot higher than I thought!’
Kyochon, who was the 1st one, looked at the bottom of the tower and began to break out in sweat.
With the height they were in, if he was a master who could deal with heights, he might not die right away from the fall.
Moreover, there were priests and medics on standby in case of any emergency.
So there was nothing to fear, but Kyochon couldn’t jump off quickly… because he was scared of heights.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you jumping off?”
“Uagkkkk!”
As Kyochon kept on thinking, Hwang Bo-sung, who got onto the tower, pushed the man from behind.
Kyochon, who was suddenly thrown away, struggled.
Flutter.
The Wing Suit unfolded.
However, because of his poor posture, he wasn’t able to fly that far away and rolled onto the ground without a proper landing.
Still, thanks to the magic circles engraved on the Wing Suit, he only had a few bruises.
“Kay, saw that now? You can’t just go and do things like that. Keep in mind that hesitation can end up hurting you.”
‘Th-the commander pushed me!’
The knights, who saw what Kyochon did, didn’t hesitate anymore.
“Woahhh!”
“Oh, mother…!”
“Miss Line! Please end up marrying me!”
Everyone jumped off the tower by crying out their family members or the names of their girlfriends.
The first run was a mess, but it ended without anyone getting injured.
And like any person who learned martial arts, they tried several times and managed to quickly adapt to it.
During the two days of training of the Blood Hawk knights, the wizards and engineers succeeded in assembling large hot air balloons.
Now all they had to do was wait for Luke’s orders.
