"Zimir!! Are you done yet? What's taking so long? The other two are in danger!!" "Damn it, we're missing a support!"
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH
Three airships had locked onto their targets. Antonio and Meuner were squarely in the pilots' sights.
OPEN FIRE!!!
BANGGG BANGGG BANGGG
Hundreds of thousands of bullets flew from their barrels, hurtling straight towards where the two stood.
Antonio used about forty percent of his Dinoera just to block a few of the bullets. Their firepower was not to be underestimated. Shards of crystal flew out, directly hitting both of them. Some lodged deep into their bones, while others directly shattered their Karma.
"Ugh...!" Meuner spat out blood. His Kartocus was a pure offensive Karma, with extremely weak defense. Getting hit by one or two bullets caused him excruciating pain.
"Meuner! Get back!" Guzanke shouted. "You too, Antonio, quickly!"
But Xirvich wouldn't waste this perfect moment; he lunged incredibly fast at Meuner, stabbing him.
THWACK
Guzanke understood Xirvich's intention and caught Xirvich's spear.
CRACK
The spear snapped, and Xirvich staggered back a few steps in surprise. Antonio seized the opportunity, rushed forward, and pushed Meuner down to where the rest of the group was.
Xirvich only then realized his prey had escaped. Annoyed, he threw another stone spear at the group. The spear went through a gap where Guzanke had emerged and struck a soldier in the thigh.
THUDD!
"ARGGGHHHH!"
Unaware of what was happening, the soldier endured a horrible pain radiating from his leg. He screamed, flailing the spear around, creating an extremely chaotic scene.
Xirvich conjured another spear from his hand and slowly stepped onto the edge of the hollow where they were hiding. The spear slowly rose, intending to strike straight down.
"You fools won't know that my comrades and I share the same abilities!"
He used his Karma, causing Guzanke's defensive rock layer to slowly open up, and—
BOOOMMMMMM
His body took a direct hit from a crystal bullet fired by the engineers. With just one shot, a single shot, both the spear and his hands became a mangled mess. The cannonball, after piercing the spear, continued to fly skyward and vanished immediately afterward.
Xirvich was stunned after taking the full force of the shot. He staggered, unable to stand steady, looking at his hands and then at the disappearing bullet.
"What the hell was that?"
Even the pilots turned their heads after hearing the sound.
"Anti-aircraft? No way, there are no Kobis stations or support platforms here... How could they—!"
"Retreat! Retreat..."
One pilot directly transmitted the message to the other two, but one was far beyond the range of his communication device. That pilot continued to turn back, aiming to attack again.
The two pilots who could communicate with each other immediately sped up and increased their airship's altitude to escape the range of the newly erected turrets. When they climbed to an altitude of over four miles, they noticed something unusual coming from the South.
Two objects were flying at a considerable speed, trailing a long smoke plume.
"The air force is here, run, full speed!" One tried to transmit the message to his comrades, but even he wasn't sure if they received it.
Below, Xirvich was still dazed from the shot. His Dinoera had to constantly work to heal his hands. Guzanke intended to finish him off, but his Dinoera was also almost depleted.
With his Dinoera reduced to twenty percent, Xirvich couldn't stand steady. His entire body was now no different from a drunkard. He fell to the ground, thrashing, as his Dinoera continued to drain.
"Don't mind him anymore! He's dead! Quick, aim for me!" Zimir yelled.
Antonio didn't wait to watch the show either; he broke off a few more crystals and fed them into the Karma amplifier. The roaring engine sound signaled that the cannon was starting to load.
WHOOSHHH
The airship that hadn't received its comrades' signal finally turned back. The pilot glanced left and right but saw no teammates. He was a bit stunned, but a cannon shot woke him up.
BANGGGGG WHOOSHHHHHHHHH
A blazing spot of light appeared, hovering in the air above the turret. The pilot flew past it, leaving a trail of Karma dust.
"That guy's dead!" Zimir screamed.
"But the cannon missed, didn't it!?" Guzanke wondered.
"It definitely hit!" Antonio continued loading crystals. "We need two more!"
Antonio broke two more crystal fragments into the amplifier. Zimir bent down to work, while Meuner and Guzanke stared at the cannonball still hovering.
"Is it moving?" Meuner said.
The pilot, who had just flown past the sphere, quickly turned back to assess the situation. The sphere, which had been hovering moments ago, now began to move, following his exact previous flight path.
"What... What the hell is this?"
He tried to accelerate, but it was too late. After hovering for a moment, the sphere shot forward at an incredibly high speed, much, much faster than his airship.
BOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
The sphere slammed directly into the airship, completely destroying everything. What fell after the explosion was nothing but ash.
The two pilots who had fled earlier turned back after hearing the explosion. They only saw an enormous blast, and then their comrade's airship was no longer on their Kobis display.