Wooo...
A deep, melodious howl echoed across the horizon with the rising sun, coming from two metallic Sky Fortresses facing each other.
Howls of anguish filled the land.
Bloodied wounded soldiers were everywhere.
After a brutal night of battle, the monsters retreated like a tide with the arrival of dawn. Aside from a few elite legions tasked with pursuit, most Grand Soldiers were assigned logistical duties.
Everywhere, figures bustled about. Even a brief rest had become a luxury.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
Dozens of balloon airships, each over thirty meters long, floated in orderly formation across the sky. With the rumble of their bellows, their shadows fell across the ground.
After a brutal night of fighting, the balloon airships had been repurposed as logistical platforms, transporting the wounded to nearby fortresses.
"Masters! The Third Army has thirty-two severely damaged balloon airships, three of which are on the verge of crashing. Marshal Cole Nor has asked His Majesty to send two Grand Scholars with repair expertise to help me restore them for battle as soon as possible. His Majesty has approved the request. Which of you has repair expertise?"
After a brief flurry of commotion, several scholars soon departed.
At the edge of Sky Fortress Number Two, Reilo first turned his attention to a damaged section of the metal base.
It was a huge dent, about five meters in diameter.
Six low-ranking scholars specializing in magical metal smelting were hurriedly repairing it under the direction of a chief engineer, lest the damage become a weak point in the Sky Fortress during a future battle.
It looked as though some powerful creature had unleashed a sudden, tremendous burst of force, broken through the relatively weak energy shield beneath the Sky Fortress, and punched straight through.
Judging by the average strength of the shield