Buzz!
Powered by diesel aircraft engines, the Akron was essentially a giant rigid airship.
Relying on a swing-like device resembling an iron frame, together with the cross-shaped hatch beneath the hull, it could easily release or recover the newly invented ornithopters into the airship's interior.
It was like an "aircraft carrier" hovering in the sky, capable of allowing up to six ornithopters to dock freely in midair, take off, and fight.
Making use of the airship's ability to remain aloft for long periods and its much greater speed compared to surface warships, while carrying ornithopters with extremely limited endurance for reconnaissance and attack, was also an innovation of the Alliance air forces.
They firmly believed that using the strongest fleet of a duchy to christen their weapons in this uninhabited region deep within the Eritrea Sea would be a magnificent footnote to the Flying Aircraft Carrier's entrance onto the stage of history!
However, the massive airship's inherent vulnerability to harsh weather was unavoidable, and in terms of reliability, it was far inferior to a battleship.
So, just as every Tulip Alliance battleship was equipped with at least one Formal Wizard of the Alchemy School or a high-ranking Steam Master,
every Flying Aircraft Carrier was also equipped with at least one Formal Wizard of the wind-element path, or an Extraordinary person of a related path, to serve as its captain.
Even though they were currently within ten kilometers of the Magic Element Turbulence Bomb's effective range, where elemental wizards were little better than useless,
the captain who received the distress signal did not care in the slightest and gave the order:
"Begin bombing tactics. Target: the duchy fleet. Primary target: the Crown Prince!"
"Understood!"
Six Sparrowhawk-type ornithopters had already howled out from the Flying Aircraft Carrier's two hatches.
Inside the ornithopters'