The alarms grew more piercing, and black smoke shot straight into the clouds, rising thousands of feet high.
Any wizard on the ground of the base only had to look up to see Nautilus Floating Ships beginning to circle high overhead in small formations, arranged in triangles. Then each small formation took charge of a separate area, and one after another, they began bombing runs.
The Magic Anti-Air Crossbows on the ground also began firing densely into the sky. Rows of bolts poured upward. Though these older-style weapons were inaccurate against enemies at too high an altitude and easy to dodge, some bolts that had been further enchanted for range and acceleration still managed to strike a number of Nautiluses—especially the more reckless Floating Ships that had kept their altitude lower to ensure their bombs hit.
These Floating Ships, which were in fact more civilian-oriented and had weaker defenses, often lost speed after being hit, allowing other, slower bolts, which had Gravitation Charms attached, to strike them as well.
Once these bolts hit their targets, the arrowheads released the magic stored within them, briefly altering the gravity of nearby objects. The Floating Ships that were hit basically only struggled a few times before losing their ability to stay aloft and began falling from the sky.
And after smashing into the ground, those Floating Ships set off tremendous crashes and explosions because of the Alchemy Bombs or other items they carried, along with the brief screams of the wizards who had not managed to Apparate away in time.
However, the Magical Kingdom had never used Nautiluses as warships. Not long after these reconnaissance ships launched their attack, amid the smoke and clouds filling the air, enormous tentacles that stretched freely like waves burst out through the cloud layer.
Giant Squid-shaped Floating