Torn Asunder by War, A Sword Saint for Tomorrow X The Knight Wizards!! – Chapter 120

Chapter 120: The Attached 12.7mm Machine Gun Is as Useless as a Zaku Machine Gun
  『 A flying type!? 』
  『 Another troublesome one… 』
  
  Ignoring the voices laced with astonishment, and without being dragged along by the flustered Revia, Claude raised Belphegor’s right arm shield above his head, preparing for a low-altitude attack. However, the winged Clawsolas in question only glanced at the forces battling below before heading south.
  
  In other words, it seemed likely that the sleek, winged Clawsolas was targeting either the regular infantry in the rear or the airship “Count Zeppelin” carrying Nina Valer, the Margrave of Zephyrus.
  
  『 Your Majesty, what are your orders? 』
  
  Almost simultaneously with the astute Fine grasping the situation accurately and posing the question in a slightly anxious tone, a hollow giant form intervened before them. It raised its right fist, clad in an ore-made gauntlet, and swung it down.
  
  『 Ugh, providing support in this situation is difficult! 』
  
  While responding to the Knight Commander’s adopted daughter, Claude retreated the black-silver Clawsolas to evade the attack. The combat-type giant golem that had pursued him then launched a left short uppercut.
  
  Claude knocked it down with a shield bash from his right arm shield and slammed a counter left fist into its chest. However, Revia, who had been distracted by the enemy Clawsolas earlier, couldn’t complete the spell in time.
  
  Feeling a slight apology transmitted through the nerve nodes of the artificial muscles from the rear seat of the Clawsolas, Claude immediately created distance and pierced the partially shattered chest armor and core with the tip of his military sword.
  
  “Uuu…gh”
  
  The opponent, emitting a groan of unclear origin, stopped as if its strings had been cut and began to crumble with a rattling sound.
  
  Taking advantage of this opportunity, Claude glanced at the battle lines that had spread laterally from their slightly pushed-in position. The Clawsolas units, forced into close-quarters combat by the rock golems that didn’t mind taking some damage, were struggling.
  
  In addition to being unable to fully utilize their weapons, they couldn’t neglect to be wary of the sporadic earth magic spells cast by the mage-type golems.
  
  『 It’s difficult to retreat… 』
  『 Indeed 』
  Claude earnestly hoped that the rear forces, including the airship, would utilize the terrain around the road cleared through the forest and things like teleportation magic sealing stones to survive. To protect a Gladius unit from their side that had been knocked down by a heavy blow, he slashed diagonally into the enemy lines.
  
  Similarly, Knight Commander Xenos, Zacks, and other skilled knights were prioritizing defense over offense, concerned for the inexperienced squires. This caused the battle to stagnate, and the enemy’s “Mechanical Dolls” also began to move, their blades shimmering with a pale magical light.
  
  
  Meanwhile, the airship crew, hastily informed via relay by scouts carrying portable telepathy devices, were somewhat perplexed.
  
  “A flying Clawsolas…?”
  “Does such a thing exist, Lady Nina?”
  
  “It should be extremely rare, but they’re deploying it. All forces, disperse into the forest in company units! Main and auxiliary airship mages, construct defensive spells!!”
  
  Following the orders that echoed from the external loudspeakers attached to the lower hull through the speaking tube in the VIP cabin, the ground forces began to retreat all at once. Amidst this, the Lizel Knight Kingdom’s expeditionary force also attempted to withdraw under Raizes’s precise command.
  
  In this suddenly chaotic situation, the Lord’s daughter pondered what to do with the isolated airship, but… before she could make a decision, a discordant sound like shattering glass rained down from even higher above, and the magic sealing stones equipped in the seats for each crew member resonated and shattered.
  
  『 Hehe, now you won’t be able to teleport so easily. 』
  『 We won’t let you escape. We’ll finish you off here for sure. 』
  
  The white elf maids, piloting the “Mechanical Magi,” tossed away the cracked amulets of magic stone destruction towards the target that had hastily deployed a semi-transparent floating barrier above the hull, and extended their now free arms.
  
  『 Carve them up, blades of wind! 』
  
  As Theta, with her silver hair tied to one side, uttered the incantation, the red-haired girl’s signature explosive wind bullet spell was also unleashed, detonating just before colliding with the double-layered barrier.
  
  Countless small wind blades that rushed in broke through the first layer of defense, carving into the exposed bow and stern of the airship. Some stray blades claimed the lives of the territorial soldiers who had been delayed due to their position in the center of the formation.
  
  “Full speed ahead! Rendezvous with the giant knight unit!”
  “Understood!!”
  
  The helmsman, Lionel, responded to the young lady’s loud voice, which was unbecoming of her elegant dress, and activated the four burst mechanisms installed on the rear sides of the airship.
  
  The airship accelerated, propelled by the continuous explosions of magic condensed within the Magic Furnace. However, the sniper in the rear turret reported through the speaking tube that they couldn’t shake off the pursuing winged Clawsolas.
  
  “Shoot it down. I give you permission.”
  “What are you saying, Milady? We can’t penetrate a Clawsolas’s armor with a 12.7mm machine gun.”
  
  As the immediate retort pointed out, the single-barreled chain gun she had developed was excellent because it ejected spent casings using an embedded external power source instead of relying on the recoil from firing, preventing misfires due to jammed cartridges. However, it consumed precious gunpowder without restraint in this world, and its use was limited. It couldn’t be denied that it felt like it had been attached simply because they wanted some kind of armament.
  
  “Hmm, aim for the gaps in the moving parts.”
  “If I could pull off such godlike precision shooting, I’d be beyond human…”
  
  Exasperated by the unreasonable request, the gunner resigned himself to the fact that it was better than doing nothing and deactivated the safety. He quickly aimed at the enemy Clawsolas’s joints.
  
  After a brief silence of concentration, numerous armor-piercing rounds were scattered from the barrel into the air.