Chapter 452 - Scouting
The snowfall wasn't stopping at all, not even after almost a month into the early winter. It wasn't as heavy as the first two weeks, more like a quiet drizzle of white that never stopped. Additionally, over the past two weeks, the attacks have become more frequent as well. There were dozens of the same 'small-sized' monster packs testing the army standing at Markoth, always coming at the city from the east. But they never grew large enough to feel overwhelming. But they came every day, without fail, and without much pause between them. Morning? Afternoon? Midnight? Didn't matter.
As far as the Avalonian army was concerned, they were most likely being pushed toward them. The assumption was that there had to be something that was driving them westward. Most likely something larger, something that either was controlling them or scaring them out of their hiding holes. Of course, no one yet knew if that was indeed the case. Yet.
At twenty kilometers towards the eastern borders of Markoth, the world looked peaceful from above. Tomas leaned slightly forward, peering over the edge of his biplane's open cockpit, his scarf wrapped tightly around his neck, flapping in the wind behind him.
"Visibility is good. The wind is coming from our left... But Snow clouds keep going... You see anything?"
"Nothing much!" Behind him, Ricca tapped the side of the fuselage and muttered through the headset she was wearing after leaning back into her part of the cockpit, "Still just trees and snow. Looks clear."
They'd done this route a dozen times already, as it was nothing more than a routine patrol. They were conducting their second survey in the region, heading from north to south, to re-examine the abandoned lands and look for possible migration routes of monsters. Occasionally, they spotted a few beasts, always the same minor variants, always coming from farther out of the east.
"Wait!" Ricca adjusted the crank on her hand-held binoculars and leaned out again, pulling on the straps that connected her to the frame of the airplane. "Hold on…"
"What is it?" Tomas asked, adjusting the throttle slightly, and the plane automatically tilted to give her a better view.
"There's a... haze. There! Low altitude... East by northeast. That's not fog... I think."
Tomas narrowed his eyes, looking at where she was. True... There, like a smear of charcoal on the snow, a cloud hovered above the land. And it was moving. The closer it got, the more dense and wider it had grown, slowly undulating as if it were alive.
"And...That's not smoke either." Tomas added.
"Nope," Ricca muttered, the noise of the engine drowning out her voice at first, "I think we just found out a huge issue, heading directly towards us!"
Tomas, as an answer, yanked the plane into a tighter arc, tilting the wings to get a clearer view. They needed to know what they had to report home... To let the others prepare. The haze grew darker as they adjusted altitude, and then, just as they stabilized, it shifted.
More than that... it looked as if it swelled, like a disturbed bubble.
"My gods…" Ricca breathed, getting a good look at it.
It wasn't a cloud. Well... It was, in a way. A cloud of winged beasts.
Hundreds of dark shapes circling around a particular area, a nest or some kind of base, who knows. They were moving in loose, wheeling currents like a flock of vultures above a dying prey. She watched as some glided on the air currents, barely exerting any energy to stay in the air, while others flapped in jerking spasms, probably younger variants, still learning the tricks of flying.
"This is Flight Redbird to Air Command!" Tomas barked into the radio, his voice urgent, gazing at the cloud that was more chilling than the winter winds, "Repeat! This is Redbird! We've spotted a flying swarm! Estimated twenty kilometers to the east of Markoth! I repeat! Massive airborne monster swarm!"
For a moment, there was only static. Magic or not, without proper relays, the distance over which they could communicate was limited. He knew that in the past few weeks, forward-moving squads had been erecting transmitters, but the coverage was still spotty at best.
"Flight..." Then a voice crackled back, "Redbird, say... again? You said... airborne?"
"Affirmative! Dozens! No, hundreds! At least!"
"Come on..." Ricca grabbed the handle on the side of her seat instinctively. "We need to turn back now!"
"I'm on it!" Tomas pulled the control yoke into a wide arc. The biplane groaned as it turned, kicking the engine into overdrive and increasing its noise, but he didn't have a choice. Although sworn to protect Avalon, they weren't suicidal... and once dead, they wouldn't be able to uphold their oaths. They were barely five seconds into their retreat when the first shapes broke from the main swarm, noticing the plane.
Ricca, watching, noticed the three of them flapping their leather-like wings before shooting out from the swarm. They had elongated, winged bodies like eels mixed with bats, with talons and vertical fins where feathers should've been. Their wings flapped with a shudder of the force behind them, propelling them forward like loosened arrows.
"They've seen us!" Ricca called with a shout. "They're chasing!"
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Tomas opened the throttle wide, facing towards the west, trying to gain distance between them and their new pursuers. The biplane's engine sputtered, but it held while Tomas was climbing into a steeper dive to gain more speed, making the wings and the whole body of the plane rattle. Trees passed in a blur below, and the snow-covered plain became a uniform sea of white... the race was on.
"Damn them!" Ricca braced in the back, looking backward, "They're closing in! Fast! They can keep up with us!"
The first of the monsters closed within fifty meters, looking like a professional swimmer shooting itself forward with every flap of its wings. No matter what maneuver Tomas did, the monsters kept up with them, visibly hell-bent on catching this weird thing that dared to come and spy on them. To Ricca's horror, of the three in their V-like formation, the one on the left dove beneath them, rising again on their right.
"They're trying to flank us!"
"I see it!" Tomas dipped the left wing hard, but the plane groaned in protest.
"They're toying with us…" Ricca murmured, watching as the birds were now only a dozen meters or so away, moving to surround them. Whatever smarts they had, it was clear they were used to hunting in flocks... And just as the first was about to lunge with another strong flap... Something broke through the clouds above them. It came down, sharp and fast, its noise finally reaching them, being a blur of motion.
Then, it was followed by another shape... and another.
Three sleeker-looking Avalonian planes came into view as Ricca looked up, diving in perfect formation, their wing-mounted weapons opening fire. She knew that these weapons were even more of a secret in Avalon than the Knights and their machines... as these required no magic... She learned during her pilot training that these weapons were something her Sovereign did not want to spread, and they had only been brought into reality because he had no other options. There was a quote in the book directly from him...
"I don't trust people to be responsible with it. Giving a simple man the power to kill anyone without any training is indeed a great equalizer. I know it will spread one day or another... I just want to delay that as much as possible until I can at least hope it wouldn't throw the world into chaos."
Ricca couldn't really understand it back then. If Avalon had a weapon as such... why not use it? But then, when she asked, her instructor asked her back how sure she was that if this knowledge spread, Avalon's neighbors would remain peaceful or not. Even if not against Avalon, would they not move against each other? The friction between nations wasn't gone... it was simply suppressed. Eroding it needs more time... A long time. And this technology of Avalon would probably be a match that lights a fire.
Now, she understood it as she watched the results of the attack of the incoming Avalonian second-generation fighter planes. One monster exploded mid-air the moment it appeared, shredded by the barrage. The second turned to intercept, but it was too late. A line of tracers cut through its body like a knife through the snow, splattering its blood over the forest.
The final monster tried to pull up and retreat, but the last incoming plane caught it square in the chest, shredding it apart and making it fall down just like the rest of its brethren. It was over before it even started. Then, the biplane dipped again as Tomas adjusted the flight path, making Ricca see that the sky was full of friendly shadows by now.
"This is Commander Ves of Eagle Squadron," a crisp voice crackled through the receiver in their headsets, "Redbird, maintain your current heading. We've got your tail, don't worry about it."
"Thanks, Eagle Squadron," Ricca exhaled, her death grip on the gun finally loosening. "We owe you a drink back at base."
"We will take you up on that!" one of the other pilots chuckled, clearly in a good mood; as everything considered, this was the first actual deployment of Avalon's air force.
While fighting Ishillia was a great experience, many things have changed since then. All to prepare for this day.
"Command, this is Redbird," Tomas radioed again. "We're inbound with the report and the recorded images. Airspace is no longer secure. I repeat... the enemy aerial force is incoming."
"Copy that, Redbird," came the grim reply, this time being more clear than before as they neared Markoth, "Return immediately. The Eagle's Nest is deploying all wings, and the Camelot is preparing for engagement."
As the biplane flew westward once more, now flanked by six other planes, Tomas risked one more glance behind. The swarm was no longer visible... but even with their airplanes and ground forces ready to fight to the death... the number of monsters was staggering.
...
....
......
The briefing room was like a busy little beehive aboard the Camelot. The moment the confirmation came through, and later, the returned reconnaissance plane's recorded images, we had what we wanted: an early warning.
Currently, I stood before the central table as Oleg, Seltana, my wives, Kustov, Pion, and several other leading officers went through the process of setting up the defenses. I wasn't bothering Lucca, as the Pass was being assaulted every second or third day, a big bastard coming through and then dying. But he was doing well, not letting the new fortress suffer any real damage and gifting me with ample monster cores.
Considering what was happening back home, Merlin was receiving them constantly, as I had tasked him to simply oversee the mechanical productions. We had a significant number of them ready, missing only the final component... the core that would power them. This meant that this winter yielded a plentiful harvest, allowing us to potentially double the number of active mechs and store cores for later use.
Ceasing my daydreaming, I looked back at the map, where Oleg was explaining wind vectors, predicting monster trajectories, and estimating arrival times.
"By the fourth and fifth flyby," Sasha said, standing to my right, pointing at the big, red circle on the map, "Even if they send out a few of theirs to try and chase away our planes, the horde itself keeps a steady pace. If anything, we still have two days until they come into view."
"Assuming the swarm keeps its pace," Seltana added from the other side of the table, flipping through a collection of reports, wearing Avalonian military uniform, marking her as a personal attendant of Oleg, "They can show remarkable speeds, so if they see the city, or smell the people here... They may decide to hurry it up."
"Doesn't matter," I shook my head, "We are preparing everything for their arrival. The rook has dug in, along with the princess. The Eagel's Nest and the planes are prepped, and they will be the main fighting force alongside us." then I looked at Sasha and Mikan. "How's the cannons?"
"We modified them, but the actual test will be when we fire them." Mikan answered after they exchanged glances, "The airburst spell should work, but its range is barely half of our normal cannons."
"Good enough." I shrugged, shaking my head. "Are the troops ready?"
"They are." Oleg nodded, looking at Seltana briefly, "We split some of them off, deciding to leave them back in the city. The beasts can and may break through with their speed and numbers, so we are double-layering our forces. The civilians are already being relocated to the castle or into basements and temporary bunkers we have built under the houses. We will hold the city."
"Any that comes down low enough," Pion nodded at me, "will not get back to the sky, My Sovereign."
"Make sure of it." I nodded back at him, "Make sure our pilots are ready and able... This day will be in the history books..."