April 22nd, Asunt, the capital of the Kingdom of Egerea.
The castle walls towered ten meters high, engraved with magi-formulas that granted them resistance to magic. These walls were thought to be impregnable, a shield protecting the interior from any external threat.
Yes—they were, at least, until that morning.
"Morning. Relief's here."
"Morning. All clear. Over to you."
At sunrise, the guards stationed at the castle gates began their shift change. While the towns near the borders were being scorched by the flames of war, this Royal Castle was supposed to be a sanctuary of peace.
Suddenly, a sphere of fire streaked through the air and exploded. It was a Flame Ball.
"W-What's happening?!"
Soldiers peered out from the guardhouse, only for a second Flame Ball to come hurtling toward them.
"U-Uwaaaah!"
"Gyaaah!"
Two soldiers, caught without their armor or shields, were struck by the Flame Ball at point-blank range. A third Flame Ball struck the barracks directly.
Only then did the survivors find the presence of mind to look for the source of the attack. It was directly above them.
"W-What the hell is that...?"
"You’ve got to be kidding me..."
The soldiers stared up at mysterious vehicles floating in the sky. Each one looked like a large basket suspended beneath a massive sphere. Five of them were drifting through the air.
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On that same day, the conflict between the Kingdom of Franz and the Klein Kingdom was proceeding in favor of the former.
Having broken through Stolsk, the Franz army had captured Gresha and occupied Cosise. Now, they were closing in on the regional fortress city of Tetrada.
Tetrada was a fortified city, and standing ready to intercept the invaders was the Klein Kingdom's Third Ritter Order. Vice-Commander Niclas Fahlheit, father of Lishia Fahlheit, had taken command in place of the regular commander, who had been wounded in battle two days prior.
"Vice-Commander! Look at that!" one of the ritters shouted, pointing toward the dawning sky.
"What is it?"
"Are those... Are they actually flying?"
Five giant spheres floated approximately a hundred meters above the ground. Magic began to rain down from the baskets hanging below them.
"Ugyah!"
It was the mid-level lightning-attribute spell, Thunderbolt. Ritters were struck down one after another.
"Darn it! All units, use your anti-magic shields!"
As the name suggested, anti-magic shields were resistant to spells, but they were notoriously weak against physical impact. While it was technically possible to forge a shield with both traits, the resulting weight would be staggering.
This was because an anti-magic shield had to be large enough to cover the wielder's entire body; anything smaller left them vulnerable to spillover damage. Making such a massive shield sturdy enough to resist physical force resulted in a weight that only a golem could carry.
And it was then that two of those very golems began their descent from the baskets.
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"I have dispatched eight units to the capital of Egerea and five to the Klein battlefield for a start."
"Good work. I doubt they ever expected to be attacked from the sky."
"Truly, ancient technology is magnificent."
"Ufufu. Demonstrating its power is also part of the objective. We shall make them taste a despair that cannot be prevented, while showing them the human dream of flying through the clouds."
"What shall we do about the super-weapons?"
"The Gigas? Those are our trump card. It should be fine to keep them in reserve for now."
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No matter how high a castle wall was, there was no defense against an attack from above.
Asunt, the capital of the Kingdom of Egerea, was no exception. Magic rained down without distinction across both the Outer and Inner Palaces.
"Gyah!"
"F-Fire! Put it out!"
Fire magic falling from a hundred meters in the air had thrown Asunt Castle into total disarray. Amidst the chaos, no one noticed that three more flying spheres had approached from the opposite side and were rapidly lowering their altitude.
"Alright, now—go!"
Three golems leapt from the baskets suspended from the spheres and landed on the roof of Asunt Castle, crossing a distance of about twenty meters.
"Uwah!"
There were fifteen soldiers stationed on the roof, but all of them had been fixated on the five spheres firing magic in the distance. By the time they noticed the attack from behind, it was too late.
The three golems silenced the fifteen men in an instant. Then, they began their descent from the roof to the lower floors in search of further prey.
＊ ＊ ＊
The golems that had descended from the baskets landed on top of Tetrada’s city walls.
Even for a golem, jumping from a height of a hundred meters would not leave them unscathed. They had slid down ropes hung from the baskets, killing their momentum as they descended.
Even if the defenders wanted to stop them, the constant rain of Thunderbolts kept the garrison pinned down and unable to move.
Once the golems were confirmed to have landed, the three flying spheres ceased their lightning barrage and climbed to an even higher altitude.
"Dammit! Was that all a diversion to drop those golems?!"
Vice-Commander Niclas drew his sword and shouted to his subordinates.
"Destroy those golems! Their goal is to open the gates!"
Indeed, while few had noticed amidst the panic over the flying spheres, the Kingdom of Franz army surrounding the fortress city of Tetrada had suddenly burst into activity.
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"W-What is that...?"
"Can humans truly fly...?"
The battalion commander leading the Kingdom of Franz army and his adjutant were struck with awe as they watched the spheres from their position outside Tetrada.
"With weapons like those, the face of war will change forever."
One could scout enemy formations from the sky, rendering ambushes obsolete in an instant. No matter how high a wall was, it was rendered meaningless. One could attack at will, just as they had seen.
"I wondered why His Majesty would declare war during the busy farming season, but it must be because he had this kind of backing..."
He then barked his orders.
"Battalion, prepare for battle! The west gate of Tetrada will open shortly! Once it is clear, the 1st and 2nd companies will charge! The 3rd and 4th will provide rear support! The 5th and 6th are to stand by to the east and strike down any enemy soldiers trying to flee the city!"
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"Ugh! Your Majesty, please escape!"
The royal apartments were located on the upper floors of Asunt Castle, as enemies would typically be forced to fight their way up from below.
However, that common sense had been overturned. Two golems that had invaded from the roof were now kicking aside the royal ritters as they moved toward the royal quarters.
The King, the Queen, and Prince Ernest were all there.
A secret passage for escapes existed, but as luck would have it, a portion of the tunnel had collapsed during the golem incident some days ago and remained unrepaired. The King had chosen to prioritize the welfare of the affected soldiers and the reconstruction of vital organizations over a secret passage he never expected to need so soon.
"Wind Blow!"
Just as one of the royal ritters appeared to be in mortal danger, a powerful blast of wind magic was unleashed. It wasn't enough to knock the golem over, but it forced it to stumble, buying them precious seconds.
"Sister!"
The spell had been cast by Airi Solyus of the Royal Guard magi-ritter corps. She was the older sister of Lyla Solyus, the maid assigned to Prince Ernest.
"Lyla! You protect His Highness! I will protect His Majesty and the Queen!"
"Yes!"
The chaos inside Asunt Castle only continued to spiral out of control.