Chapter 630: In The Clouds

The army took an airship after reaching the base near Kera, and it soared toward the sky in no time. After a while, they reached the height needed to remain undetected by the invaders.

Then, the soldiers were asked to gather on the roof, wearing their skydiving equipment. The rest was to wait for the airship to reach above the calamity for their plan to begin. Arthur and Maryam stood atop the roof of the airship, the wind howling in their airs, as they stared at the monitors showing the situation in Kera. 

Arthur stared at the flying creatures in the sky of Kera, recognizing them as the Skywalkers that had once tried to kill him too. It was a kingdom of flying demi-humans that lived in the mountains west of Alva that wanted to make sure Arthur didn't cure Diana.

"This is horrible," muttered Maryam beside him. "Such a destruction… this must be a calamity-tier monster, no less."

"Not necessarily a monster," said a voice behind them as it walked toward Arthur and Maryam. It was General Perli staring at the scene on the screen. "Initial reports stated that the one leading the attack is a human."

"Can we take them down, sir?" asked Maryam to assess how reliable the army was. General Perli was silent as he gazed at the hordes of a monster rampaging through the city.

"We are not here to save the city but to stop the calamity. As long as we can kill their leader, our mission is fulfilled."

"Then, what about the citizens?" asked Arthur with a frown.

"There was a city-wide Dungeon Breaks, and that was a few hours ago. Those who managed to flee have already fled, and those who have survived are too few for us to save. This is what is best for the kingdom."

Arthur was silent as he heard the general's words. Although he was slightly angry that his city was being abandoned, he didn't show it. Perli might be right, as stopping the calamity would reduce the victims in the long run rather than wasting time and efforts on recusing the survivors.

"We are the spear of this army," said General Perli as he turned around and returned to his cabin. "Prepare for the start of our mission. We attack from above."

Their flying ship cut through the clouds, trying to get as close to the calamity from above. Then, the army would descend from the sky to strike the monsters surrounding the calamity and the calamity himself.

"What are we going to do?" asked Maryam as she turned to Arthur. "Are we attacking the calamity or going rouge?"

"There is no need for us to do anything," muttered Arthur as he walked toward the railings and stared at Kera below them. "That man… has already spotted us. This is a terrifying showcase of his perception."

"What man?" asked Maryam with confusion as she followed. "You cannot possibly mean the calamity. We can't even see him! The city looks like a small egg from here!"

She was right, as Kera was far below them. This was to ensure their attack did not get hindered by the flying monsters below, but Arthur's eyes shone golden as they looked downward.

"That figure… is looking at the sky…" muttered Maryam as she turned toward the screens on the walls of the cabin. "However, even if he can see us, then there is no way for it to attack the airship, right?"

"Here is how to prepare against a calamity," Arthur muttered as he smiled. "You cannot. The best plan is to assume that they would achieve what you fear most with such ease."

Arthur retracted his head from the railing before walking toward the cabin. Maryam stared at him silently before running after him, muttering to herself how an idiot she was for coming to this place.

"We need to run away, sir," said Arthur as he reached the main cabin, where General Perli discussed the rest of the army officials. All of them paused at Arthur's rude interruption. "Please activate the airship's defenses, and run away!"

"Have you lost your courage, soldier?" asked one of the officials with a cold expression as he drew his sword. "Let me show you how cowards end up in this world!"

However, before he could discipline Arthur, General Perli raised his hand for him to stop. As a Major General, he can see that Arthur was far from afraid but was relatively calmer than any of them.

"We still have to save energy for the attack," frowned General Perli. "If we activate the defenses now, the plan might be compromised. You better state a good reason."

"Is survival of this unit a good reason?" asked Arthur before slowly pointing his fingers toward the monitors. "That man is looking at the sky, and he seems to have spotted us. An attack is coming in a minute or so."

"Even a calamity cannot see that far," muttered one of the more scholar knights as he adjusted his glasses. "There is no perception stat or ability known to humankind that can see through such distance. We did the calculations, young man. Thank you for the concern, but we are safe."

"Humankind," stressed Arthur as he lowered his hand. "This calamity is a human and one of our species. Is this something that humankind has witnessed before?"

"There is a limit to what the human body can hold," said General Perli as he shook his hand. "Even if that man is looking at the sky, there is nothing he can do. We are still avoiding his minions by being this high."

"The minute is almost up," said Arthur as he stared at the screen. "The soldiers who will die… their blood is on your hands."

"This insolence!" the swordsman from earlier was about to strike at Arthur when the scene on the screen changed. The man there earlier disappeared, and all that was left was the swirling wind.

"We lost track of the calamity!" shouted one of the intelligence agents with panic! "We cannot follow it with our mana trackers, too!"

"There is no way he disappeared without using mana!" shouted the swordsman with rage before turning toward Arthur. "Where did the target go?!"

It made Arthur inwardly laugh that he was now asking for guidance. However, he didn't reply but pointed downward. An explosive sound came from below a moment later, and the impact made the officials fall to the ground.

"We've been struck by something, and we lost control of half the runes in the ship!" shouted one of the monitoring soldiers who tried to lift himself from the ground. "General… the enemy is here!"

Arthur and General Perli remained steady even with the airship shaking and turned toward the explosion source. General Perli turned toward Arthur, and the latter could feel his gaze.

"Is it… here?" asked the Major General, and Arthur turned and nodded. "Good heavens… we are fucked."

"I couldn't agree more," said Arthur before walking out of the cabin before anyone. The roof was destroyed as if the metal was vomited out from the inside. In the middle of the destruction and corpses stood a man, his green cloak swaying the wind.

"This is a nice artifact you have here," said the man as he looked around while dusting himself. "It is a shame that I tore it apart. I can be quite rash sometimes."

"…this man speaks our language?" asked General Perli while standing behind Arthur. "Then, maybe we can negotiate, Amelio!" shouted Ilia Perli toward the calamity.

"There is a sole outcome where negotiations would work," said the face hiding beneath the hood. "I am a peaceful man. First, you hand over this kingdom to me, and anyone can just leave. Second, you hand over that man."

Amelio pointed toward a particular soldier who was far from being unique. General Perli was confused and were so the rest of the officials. It was none other than the person who warned them about the attack.

"What do you want with one of my soldiers?" asked General Perli with confusion. "This is not being peaceful, is it?"

"One of your soldiers?" laughed Amelio heartily. "I must admit that the outsider indeed hid well, but that disguise cannot work against my stats."

"A disguise?" muttered the swordsman while looking at Arthur suspiciously. The rest of the officials also started having doubts after Arthur warned them about the earlier attack.

"No matter who he is," said General Perli while looking back at Amelio, "this person is on our side. You are the invader, and we refuse to hand over our kingdom."

"Well, that is too bad," said Amelio while scratching his head. "You see, this man has something that belongs to me, and I need to take over this kingdom no matter what. It will hurt my reputation if I go back empty-handed."

"Your reputation?" muttered Arthur while staring straight at the calamity. "As the man who slaughters millions for strength? Or the guardian who has fallen?"

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