C90- The Fall of Anfre (4)

"We have been spotted! Fly faster!"

The mage at the front of the carriage shouted. As alchemical explosives flew towards them from the enemy ships, some of the mages used their magic to divert the explosives as they were fyling a little bit off the ground.

"Leave the carriage and just carry the weapons. Be careful, they are really prone to explosions.", shouted Corvin and jumped off the carriage.

"Young boy! What are you doing?!"

"They may send soldiers after us! We need to go faster. I can fly on my own. Just focus on the rockets!"

Corvin shone green as he flew faster towards the Altus camp. The mages sped up and flew with him as well, while also carrying the rockets carefully. While they were flying, after diverting another explosive, a mage got close to him and talked.

"You are talented, kid. You are almost as good as us in raw power at this age. No wonder the Margrave took you in as his disciple."

"Thank you!"

"Since you are also smart to boot, I guess you know it already but, you still lack a lot of experience in wars. I assume, except for monsters, your life hasn't been in serious danger yet?"

"Yes."

"I see. But, even without experience, only power can also do a lot. Do you think you can carry these weapons with you?"

Corvin thought for a bit. A couple of months ago, it would be impossible. The camp was still far away and he knew how hard it was to fly at high speeds for extended amounts of time. But, these last months, he spent a lot of time at the factory, managing the production of weapons.

It took a lot of effort, moving tons of steel into machines. The weight and the amount of moving he did using his magic replaced his magic training, but it was also harsher on him.

He still vividly remembered the ringing in his head when he was trying to fly out of the collapsing nest, and he never wanted to live something like that again, but now, he was more confident in himself.

"I think... I can."

"Great. Then when I count to five, you are going to take these weapons with you and leave us behind."

"Why?"

"Do you think the enemy is going to just throw explosives at us and then wait for their soldiers to find us? Their mages must be ready to attack us soon. Or they may send monsters, I can't know yet."

"Monsters?"

"Yeah. The enemy king is a whisperer."

"I see... So, you all are going to defend my back?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about us, we are professionals."

"I don't. You all are stronger than me, it would be disrespectful."

The mage ruffled Corvin's hair and said.

"I am glad you aren't like one of those arrogant noble boys who think they are heroes."

After that, the mage captain started the countdown. As he counted to the last number, The other mages stopped flying with Corvin and the rockets slowed down. Quickly, Corvin used his magic to pull the rockets towards himself and continued flying.

He glanced back and watched the mages get smaller in his vision. Turning back, his vision got blurry. He wasn't crying. He didn't realize, but the mages were using their magic to also shield their eyes from the incoming wind as well. Using his magic to do the same, Corvin smiled slightly at the subtle difference and got faster.

After half an hour of flying, he got close to the camp. As he was flying, suddenly, two knights flew next to him and asked.

"Are you the Margrave's disciple that was called to the siege?"

"Y-Yes.", startled by the sudden appearance of the knights, Corvin stuttered a bit.

"Alright. Are those metal cans the weapons you brought here?"

"Yes. They are the new weapons I made."

"Great. Follow us. The Emperor is waiting for you there."

The knights showed him the way to the Emperor. After ten minutes of flying, They landed on an area slightly lower than the ground around it, making it a spot that's naturally out of sight.

"Your Highness. We brought the weapons and the boy.", said the knight as he kneeled in front of the Emperor.

Corvin also kneeled while trying to land the rockets carefully on the ground.

"You can lift your heads. We don't need to spend time for stuff like that during battle.", said Terry.

As Corvin lifted his head, Terry walked towards the rockets on the ground with interest in his eyes.

"So, Corvin Mundy, what did you make for me this time?"

"I-It's really nothing special, Your Highness. This is just a very specific solution to the current problem. I don't think this will be much useful in it's current state anywhere else. It needs a lot of work, and I really mean a lot of work."

"It's okay. I just need something that can confuse the enemy defense for a bit of time. It is enough if this weapon can break the stalemate once, the rest will come easily. So, what is this thing?"

"It is a rocket. Um.., it can fly and will explode when it hits something fast."

"I see... Does it make a lot of smoke? I don't want low visibility in the battlefield."

"It's okay, Your Highness. It only leaves a smoke trail when it is flying. The main explosive doesn't make smoke."

"It also doesn't include alchemically made materials, right? The enemy should only be able to sense it's momentum, not the ripples in mana."

"It doesn't, Your Highness. It fits everything you listed in the letter."

"Great. Then, I don't see a reason to hesitate, let's just use them as fast as possible."

Upon the Emperor's orders, the generals ordered the soldiers to be ready for an explosion at the enemy's side. While the orders were reaching everyone in the battlefield, Corvin started calculating the angle the rockets needed to reach the enemy.

After everything was done, Corvin carried the rocket's to their respective places, but then realised something.

"Your Highness, may I speak?"

"Yes."

"The rockets need to the at the same height with the enemy castle for them to reach it properly."

"I see. Be careful."

"Hm?"

Because of the shaking, no one noticed it, but Terry's hands and the green mark between his shoulder blades glowed green ever so slightly. The mark had grown ever since it appeared, and could be easily described now. It was a slice of circle with the image of a landscape in it.

Terry reached his hands towards the ground and the ground beneath them started to rise. The ground turned into a flat stone platform, and five spikes extended from beneath the rockets and held them in place firmly.

"It was hard to hold the rockets, wasn't it? Does this help?"

"Y-Yes... Thank you, Your Highness."

As Corvin was saying that, there was something else in his mind.

'...I didn't feel a single ripple in mana... It's like he never used mana, but that's obviusly false... Is he that good at magic? I never knew...'