Success in Sacrifices

[Imperial Capital, Sierra Torre, Sky of Imperial Palace]

Thirty minutes had passed, the Cobra Pilot and Commander Ayze continued clashing in the air. This is arguably the newest breathtaking aerial dog-fight since World War II. The only difference - Wyvern against an Attack Helicopter.

The Pilot of AH - 90 Ultra Cobra knew this was a Suicide Mission after leaving the rest of his squadron. He checked his fuel and ammunition supply - it was almost on the red.

Commander Ayze persisted on chasing the Cobra Pilot as he continued evading the barrage of bullets and missiles. The Pilot couldn't do anything. He stood up from his Wyvern and gathered Mana from his surroundings.

The Cobra Pilot didn't miss this opportunity and immediately fired at the Commander but was deflected by its strong Barrier Magic. Commander Ayze raised his hand and the Imperial Dragon Airforce charged towards the Pilot.

"Charge! Don't let him take a break!"

"For the Empire!" The Imperial Dragon Airforce's Wyverns flapped their wings and charged towards the Attack Helicopter.

"I see, so this is the end" The Cobra Pilot noticed that he can't overturn the battle.

One against Seven hundred - he was too outnumbered. The Pilot gave a smile while reminiscing about his comrades and pressed the Self Destruct Button.

"What is that?" The Civilians looked up at the sky searching for the sudden loud bang, as the powerful explosion shook the whole Imperial City.

The Wyvern struggled from the blast when the Attack Helicopter blew unable to withstand the explosion. It's try to managed to control its altitude. The rider was exasperated as well, sweats slowly dropped down from his cheeks.

Commander Ayze also fell from his Wyvern, but he was able to gather enough mana to strengthen his Barrier and only got a few bruises. The he last thing he heard was the cry of Dragon Riders turning to ashes from the intense heat.

"Damn...that was anticlimatic" He didn't expect the Pilot would choose sacrificing himself rather than being caught alive. Was it the difference in morals? Or was it the difference in determination. But, after all that struggle, he knew that fight took a lot of courage and he respected his enemy after that. It may not look much to others, but this left a deep impression.

"Your country does that posture right? As a sign of respect, I salute" Commander Ayze lifted his arms despite the bruises he got. He looked at the sky and gave a salute, so he can remember one of the bravest warriors he had fought

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[Imperial Capital, Sierra Torre, Near West-Port]

The Cobra Pilots saluted at once when the signal of their leader was lost from the radar. Ambassador Jonathan clenched his fist, many have died because of a misunderstanding.

Clara was sitting on the Attack Helicopter. She didn't understand why the Pilots did that and looked at the crystal clear glass. She and the loyal nobles were shocked at the Giant Metal Warship without sails.

They were impressed at the Attack Helicopter but more amazed by the beauty of the MDC Battleship. They understood the concept of the ship more than the strange flyers.

"What is that Giant Metal Warship?" Duke Carmaine asked as he looked from the glass. He was curious about how it was keeping afloat on sea.

"That is the Modern Dreadnought-Class Battleship named Ares" Ambassador Jonathan gave a seemingly forced reply. He was still thinking about the incident.

"We're about to land hold tight at the Iron Bars" They followed the Pilot's announcement as the Helicopter landed towards the Battleship.

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[Imperial Palace, Sierra Torre, Inner Wall Tunnel]

The remaining Marines headed back towards the tunnel. Tarma carried Veronica's sleeping body at his back. He wants to go back to their Amphibious vehicle as soon as possible.

"We're already close to our Land-Sea Vehicles" Fio looked at the blue dot signal in her Wrist Terminal. " There's no hostile! Area Clear! Move!"

The Marines quietly exited the tunnel and ran towards their Amphibious vehicles. When all the Marines were aboard, they then started the engine.

The Amphibious vehicle's engine silently started and when it had warmed enough they quickly drove towards West-Port.

Naval Captain Enrico saw the Marines rushing towards the port. He was about to ask them what was happening, but he was ignored. The Marines went straight to the waters. Naval Captain Enrico only frowned.

Thirty minutes had passed when they reached the MDC Battleship Ares Docks. It was also the time when the Attack Helicopters landed near the Bridge.

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[G-22 Unnamed Ocean, Modernized Dreadnought-Class Battleship Ares, Bridge]

The MDC Battleship Ares and its escort Cruisers are sailing back towards UN Solum Harbor. The atmosphere inside the bridge was suffocating.

"First, let's honor the Fallen from this Mission" All stood at the Captain's command, and solemnly saluted the fallen soldiers.

The Natives stared at the Iron People, amazed how they honored the dead. Earl Joseph looked around at the pure metal ceiling of the warship with strange equipment he never saw. Clara, on the other hand, didn't know what to do and imitated the Iron People. The Captain gave an astonished smile at the Beast Maid while Duke Carmaine only watched.

When they finished, the Marines and Cobra Pilots also arrived - one could see that they were weary and tired from the mission.

"Congratulations Marines and Cobra Squadron. Mission Success!" Marco salutes at the Captain. "Captain, Ambassador Jonathan we have good news"

"What is it?" Ambassador Jonathan curiously asked when Tarma laid Veronica's body on the sofa.

"Impossible!" Both Duke Carmaine and Earl Joseph's eyes widened. They couldn't believe the defeat of the Imperial Mage while Marco nodded and began stating his report.

"After the unexpected contact we captured a Magic-user. We can use her to interrogate or experiment about their magic".

"Human Experiment? Don't be ridiculous it was banned since the early 21st Century, and it's against our morals as humans!"

Ambassador Jonathan didn't like Marco's suggestion and his voice suddenly rose which surprised everyone.

"That sleeping woman, is that Veronica?" Earl Joseph asks trying to identify the Imperial Mage.

"I don't know or I forgot" Marco replied as he tried to remember the name of the said Magic-user.

"Ambassador Jonathan, I didn't do that kind of experiment but use the scientist to study how their magic works. Now our small arms can't do a thing to their Magic Barriers, what if they're hiding more devastating magic?" Marco turned to the Ambassador and explained.

They were intrigued by what Marco said " Point taken, but we will only do this crap to increase our soldiers' survival in battles" Everyone agreed at the Ambassador's suggestion.

"Alright! Go take a rest first, Solum is still far away. I will report it to the Headquarters."

When everyone exited the bridge. Ambassador Jonathan and the Captain went towards the Command Center. "Looks like this is going to be a long report".

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[Imperial Capital, Sierra Torre, Imperial Palace]

The whole Imperial Palace was heavily guarded after the incident. It's already dark and the Imperial Army still continued to investigate.

They didn't inform the local folks about what happened so it will not cause any violent reactions. Prime Minister Roland was elected as a temporary leader to lead the confused citizens.

"Elena, The Imperial Guards are starting to shift! come on"

Commander Stewart signaled to Elena. She secretly walked towards the dark alley.

"The Fourteenth Griffon Squad is currently waiting near the Imperial Airfield".

Elena nodded and walked quickly but quietly, careful to not be caught by the Imperial Guards. They talked about escaping the Palace earlier. Both of them felt something bad was happening inside the palace.

"I'm out of breath, I never thought that the Imperial Airfield was so distant When are we going to sneak" Elena complained "Don't complain and move your feet" Commander Stewart was annoyed when suddenly Elena stepped on a branch.

"Shi--" Elena was about to curse but Commander Stewart immediately covered her mouth and took cover at the dark alley.

"Who's there?" An Imperial Guard noticed the sound of the cracking branch. He pointed his spear and slowly walked towards the source.

When he arrived, he didn't see anything strange and immediately returned to his guarding place with mixed relief. " Maybe, some kind of animal".

While the Imperial Guard was not watching the two hurriedly ran towards the Imperial Airfield. They can't cast Stealth Void Magic or they will be detected by the Magic Circle imbued on the entire palace.

When both of them arrived at the Imperial Airfield, the Griffon Squad members quickly greeted them " Commander Stewart! it's good that there's nothing bad happened".

Commander Stewart just smiled.

"We will talk about that later. Now, we need to get out of here as soon as possible" Everyone boarded their griffon and flew towards the sky.