Read Novel Full Chapter 272
Chapter 272
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Chapter 272 – Like a Squid Longing for the Sky
The plane that landed on the water approached us, circling quickly. On its back is a huge T-shaped tail. The blades spinning inside the wing are either duct fans or turbo fans; in short, they are the propulsion system. The power of the propulsion system is unknown, but the speed before landing on the water indicates that it has a high power.
“Yahoo, Yoshua, long time no see!”
A former high-school girl, a mad engineer turned clumsy saint, waved as she appeared through the open hatch on the side of the fuselage. When she was on Casemaian, she wore a high school uniform and a white coat, but she changed into a khaki boiler suit with many pockets. It is the uniform of the Dwarf Workshop, but strangely enough, she looks more like a girl in her current outfit. Maybe it is because her hair has grown longer, or her expression has brightened. Well, I’m glad to see her happy.
“Now, can you fly me over this blue line, please?”
I grab Myrril, the Prince, and his two escorts at once and teleport them to the designated position on the plane. This is the only striped part of the plane that is a different color. The blue stripes that run from front to back of the white fuselage, which looks a bit like a squid, straddle the hatch on the side of the fuselage.
“Oh, don’t ride on the wing side.”
This blue band is the part of the girder that can take the load as a structure. I have seen warning signs like this on airplanes.
I turned around, stored the hovercraft, and checked the situation. There were three enemy gunboats under anti-ship missile fire, all too inclined to attack us. The distance was… about a kilometer. The surrounding ships were also swarming around the damaged ships, perhaps to rescue them, but for the time being, they did not seem to be coming towards us.
“Okay, then, come in, come in.”
Rinko leads us directly into the cabin. The hatch on the side of the hull is a simple folding type, more like a door than a hatch, like the entrance to a basement. I looked at the bare cross-section of the hatch and was startled.
“Wood! Rinko, could it be that this plane is made of wood?”
“Yes, that’s right. The main structure is a wooden frame covered with fabric. It’s covered with a hardened resin coating and reinforced with magic, so it’ll be fine.”
“It’s fine, you say… really?”
“Yes, we’ve done many structural calculations. In fact, organic materials are more efficient at penetrating enhanced magic. With a maximally reinforced aircraft, it is theoretically possible to exceed the speed of sound.”
“Stop it. At least not while we’re on board.”
“I won’t do it with the Prince on board. We don’t have enough thrust to go that fast now.”
She sounded like she would have tried to go supersonic if she could. A top speed of 1,200 kilometers per hour is impossible. And that’s in a wooden, cloth-covered plane. I wondered if she had been British in a previous life.
“Oh, Yoshua, you’re looking good.”
“Have you put on some weight? It gives you a certain dignity.”
As we walked in, the old dwarves looked back and laughed. It is true that I may have gained weight from all the good food I ate. The crew consisted of Rinko and old Heimann in the cockpit and old Carretta at the control console in the back. They were the technophiles of the Casemaian.
“Well, Yoshua, isn’t it amazing?”
“Yes, I’m amazed. I didn’t know you could make a ground-effect winged aircraft.”
“What, you knew about it?”
If you’re a military fanatic, you’ve probably seen pictures of it, and if you’re interested, you’ve probably seen videos of it. It also appears in games. But that’s about it. Of course, I have never ridden in one, nor have I seen the actual machine. I only have a vague understanding of how it works.
The size of the fuselage seems to have been kept small, perhaps due to engine thrust problems. It was less than 20 meters long and wide. The cabin was long and narrow, with a low ceiling, and the volume was about half that of a Casspir or Griffon. It is already tightly packed with the eight people present.
First, we briefly introduced the two of us, who were meeting for the first time, and then we got to know each other and confirmed the situation. Even though we had silenced the last gunship, we were still in the middle of a battle, so we didn’t have time to talk about the details of the situation.
“Sorry, it’s so small. Most of the rear of the passenger compartment is an in-flight tank for fuel loading.”
“So much… Or rather, it is natural. Small planes usually don’t fly more than 7,000 kilometers, right?”
“Hmm, well, if we’re talking about range alone, it could make 7,000 round trips.”
“What power source is used, gasoline? Or diesel?”
“A hybrid of gasoline and magic power. We connected seven dragon magic cores we had in stock and converted the stored magic power into driving power. At economic speed, it can fly for a month.”
“Ah, I have already heard the drone story. Can we go back like this?”
“Not that fast. I told you, at economic speed. In the open sea, we had to use most of our magic power for the magic barrier…”
“We’re almost out of fuel.”
“Magic barrier? Did you have any enemies on the way?”
Rinko and the old dwarves shook their heads with horrible looks on their faces at Myrril’s question.
“We saw something that looked like a sea serpent, but that’s all. It was the waves.”
“Oh, I see.”
I don’t think Myrril gets it, but I kind of do.
The ground-effect wing aircraft known as the “Caspian Sea Monster” was developed independently in the Soviet Union but did not spread to other countries―or rather was replaced by hovercraft even in their own countries. ――One reason is the limited operating conditions and risks. The Ekranoplan was supposed to be faster than ships, more economical than airplanes, and capable of transporting large quantities of goods, but in reality, it could only be used on the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, which are inland seas. In addition, the light metal hull, similar to that of an airplane, could be easily destroyed by bad weather, high waves, other passing ships, or drifting debris.
And a wooden-framed, cloth-covered squid would be no match for such a thing. I don’t know how much reinforcement was provided by the magic, but the fact that it was necessary to reverse the thrust means that the strength of the aircraft was not so great under normal conditions.
“There were rough seas on the way. The waves were over ten meters high. It was so stormy that we didn’t even hope for ground effect; we were going to fall apart just by landing on the water.”
“What did you do about it?”
“We put up a layer of magic barrier, and then it was just a matter of willpower.”
Rinko quickly indicated with her hand that she had gone straight ahead. That’s a damn manly decision. I don’t want to be a part of it. But the Casemaians are so fantastic only in the most humble way.
“Can’t this thing go higher?”
“As long as you don’t worry about fuel, you can go higher. I don’t know if we can keep it going, but we have to try.
Okay, let’s go home with the worst-case scenario. I have some gas, and I’ll get some from Simon if we need it.
“Yoshua, can I ask you to deliver some magic cores later?”
“Okay, then. Let’s get some things done first.”
The Imperial Fleet is still in chaos, but part of it seems to be turning towards us. Two gunboats are moving away from the rescue ships as if they were kicking them out.
“Which one is the flagship?”
“To the right. The lead gunboat is coming toward us with a small boat. It’s a transfer battlecruiser or something.”
Do they think they can kill each other at this stage of the game? I think it’s because we recovered the liaison shrine maidens that they can’t understand the situation. Looking at the current situation, where the land was immediately covered by jungle, I think it’s safe to at least understand that the troops that landed were wiped out.
“Rinko, can you stand back and wait, just in case?”
“I’ll be fine. I can provide air support.”
“That’s fine for now.”
I gave her two barrels of gasoline and a gas pump and asked her to refuel.
“Your Majesty the Demon King.”
Behind the Prince, holding his own PPSh, the twin escorts look at me appealingly.
“I’ll take the Prince and Myrril, but not Fel and Eyal. I’m sorry, but could you please wait here?”
They may be unhappy, but they understand that the only means of transportation is my teleport. They knew that even if they tried, what they could not achieve would be impossible, and they knew that it would only slow us down. They nodded their heads reluctantly.
“”…Please take care of the prince.””
“Of course. I’ll bring him back without a scratch. In the name of the Demon King and Queen.”