The Ultimate Glitch ～One Man Conquers a Dungeon That Humanity Couldn’t Conquer for Hundreds of Years, in Only Two Hours～ - Chapter 16

The Floating Island

Chapter 16

Two airships went ahead and moved closer to the fortress. For where they were, it wasn’t close enough to see an entrance.

“C’mon, we need to get closer! We can’t see well enough from here,” said John Orlando, the captain of one of the two airships. He was trying to put up with his team. He wanted to get in the castle as quickly as possible, as the Conqueror was rumored to be still inside.

Besides, he knew the Chancellor was watching him. If he was successful in finding the Conqueror, he might get a raise. And so thought the commander of the second airships, who was also approaching the fortress.

“Let’s get inside that fortress before the second airship,” he said, “let’s control this castle first!”

Both airships raced to the fortress until they heard a loud noise. The airships had collided into something invisible. Light pierced through the metal before they both exploded into pieces, which came down like pouring rain. The whole scene was witnessed by Lois as he watched from the ground, but also by citizens who were shocked by the sight of falling flames.

The military airships the Empire was so proud of had been destroyed – which left everyone dumbfounded.

The Imperial Airship Division was said to be invincible. Even as they were bombarded by enemy fleets, they had never lost.

People couldn’t believe their eyes. “Sir Lois!,” shouted Foress.

“Please calm down,” replied Lois. Foress face had gone pale. “There seems to be an invisible wall around the fortress, which is what destroyed the airships.”

“Is it magic?,” asked Milg.

“I don’t know, but it sure looks powerful.”

Milg immediately ordered the soldiers standing behind him to use the magic crystal to give the airships their new orders. The airships’s canon were now pointing toward the invisible wall.

“What a bunch of idiots,” said the captain of the fifth airship. “They just rushed in to get credit.”

“At least they won’t bring shame to us anymore.”

“All ships will bombard the wall all at once!,” a soldier informed them.

“Alright, I’ll count down,” answered the captain. Using the magic crystal, he gets everyone ready to fire.

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Shoot!”

The cannonballs headed all at once on the floating castle in a straight line. Once they touch their target, they explode. “Now, that’s what I’m talking about!,” said the captain of the fifth airship, proud. The floating castle was wrapped in a large smoke.

But as the wind swoop the smoke, the soldiers were faced with an intact castle.

They were dumbfounded.

“Let’s shoot closer! This barrier won’t last long!”

Lois watched with a hand on his chin, thinking. “Milg, that’s enough. Tell your man to withdraw.”

“What?,” answered Milg, “we have to keep going! If we don’t break that damn wall, the honor of the airship division will be sullied. Please, sir!”

“It isn’t your fleet’s fault. It seemed that I was too lenient on the castle’s power. If we keep going, we might lose another airship. Milg, I want you to withdraw your soldiers.”

Milg bit the inside of his cheek. Withdrawal without having been able to do

anything… But he knew he couldn’t go against the Chancellor’s orders. He used the magic crystal to relay the order, but the airships had gotten closer to the castle and were ready to fire again.

“Shoot!”

The impact on the invisible barrier was stronger. But this time, a single cannonball bounced off it and exploded in the engine room of the fourth airship. The soldiers inside were panicking as they lost control of their airship.

The ship then headed to the third airship at full speed. They tried to avoid it, but it was too late and the two airboats collided and exploded.

The cannon balls that were about to get fired by the third airship deviate from their

course and shot at the seventh airship, which ended up exploding at well.

It was a disaster. Five airships had crashed before the eyes of Milg and the citizens of the Empire, who saw those invincible ships as the symbol of the strength of their county.

“Sir Lois…,” said Foress, who couldn’t contain his tears.

“Well, the King is not going to like this.” Lois turned around, to the Royal Castle. A floating castle with an invisible iron barrier was beyond his imagination. He thought that with their current strength, there was nothing more to be done. He had to go report the unfortunate situation to the King.

****

At the same time, Reid was making stew with potatoes that he had harvested from his field and milk that a farmer had given to him.

“Jack, it’s time for lunch!”

For Jack, he had prepared a special meal with beef, pork and beans. Jack was happily eating. In front of him, Orchid was sitting in the kitchen, staring at nothing. Even if she was there, he still felt as if he was eating alone.

While he was having lunch carelessly, the Empire tried to see their remaining airships as a victory.