It was a clear day with very low weather interference with the current mission. Me and a full squadron of F-35's and Hornets were heading towards the navy battle occurring north of the Astra Kingdom. For all of us, this will be our first time to engage an enemy fleet from such a far distance from our aircraft carrier strike group.

Our mission is to eliminate the enemy and allow the fleet to return to Allure port where the diplomatic delegation is currently at. They said there are about 67 enemy ships near the fleet which are designated as targets. All we need to do is obliterate the enemy, then well be done with it.

As we continued our 15 minute flight, we spotted the fleet in the distance.

"Blue leader this is USS Nimitz, you should be closing in on the enemy fleet. Do take caution as the enemy fleet is currently engaged with our friendly fleet. Repeat, take caution. Other then that, you have permission to engage the enemy fleet."

"Copy that Nimitz, engaging the enemy fleet."

"Squadron, this is blue leader. Take caution of friendlies. Permission to engage has been confirmed. Lets begin our attack."

We emerged from our cruising altitude, and someone below noticed.

The battle was raging on for almost half an hour now.

"Your highness, please head back inside the ship! There are too many enemy ships around!"

"Its for that exact reason that I must stay outside. Heading inside won't change the situation."

Our fleet was in a dire circumstance right now. With the enemy sloops slowing down our vanguard ships, the fleet as a whole had to slow down to assist. This led to our current predicament where we are fighting for our lives right now. However, if we fail here, my kingdom will be in jeopardy.

"But your highness... You look exhausted right now. You must have used up all of your available Mana already. Please... Your health and safety is of upmost importance."

There goes the admiral again. He can be a bit annoying considering his nagging, but I have to help deal with these pirates. Although he is right that I am sort of at my limit, I have to get another spell out before I pass out. Its the least I can do.

I gathered my energy to my hands and when I felt it was ready, I released the energy. It wasn't at its full form until it left my hands as it would burst everything around it into flames.

My spell formed a ball of fire that is brighter than everything around it. It moved at a fast speed towards one of the pirate ships in the distance.

As the ball hit the ship, the ship moved violently and caught fire. I could see the flames and smoke billowing from the ship clearly. However, as I was looking on, my body felt weak and I couldn't put any more strength into my legs. I would have fell onto the floor if it wasn't for the admiral right behind me. It seems like this is my limit.

However, as the cries of battle continued around me, I heard something strange. Something more distinct and different than anything I have heard before. Its almost like a Wyvern's screeching, except it was more distant and constant, and was more of a low rumble than anything I have heard before.

I tried to look into the sky to see where that noise was coming from, however I could only see some small moving specks in the sky. However to my disbelief, they got close extremely fast, to the point that I was struck with disbelief as I continued to observe these specks.

In the next moment, I saw and heard a huge explosion behind us. One of the pirate ships just blew up out of nowhere. No, I saw something. It was only for a split second, but I swear I saw it fall from out of nowhere and land on that ship! I tried to find the black specks from before, but they were not there anymore. They were much closer! I could see it. The lifeless artifact flying through the air with such ease and movement.

It didn't flat its wings, however it was able to move with such speed and power. To release such a sound that comes directly from hell, those artifacts must be the direct minions of the demon king himself.

At that moment I felt a strong desire to sleep and rest. I thought our ship would be hit, but they didn't hit our ships for some reason. If this was help, I will take it. Although I was deadly tired and I could feel perspiration all over my body, my face formed into a smile for the first time since this journey.

The real battle has started.

"Admiral Tridom! Weird artifacts have come out of nowhere and have besieged our fleet!"

"What? Wher-"

Boom. Another ship exploded not too far from us. Although we were not that far, it wasn't close enough to see a sailors face from a distance without help from an eyeglass. But I could feel the heat of the explosion all the way from here.

I looked around to only see fast moving artifacts as my sailor just told me. They had a fearsome sound and were extremely fast. Forget about arrows, our Wyverns wouldn't be able to catch up to those artifacts. Nonetheless, we could only press forward from here. I would be killed either way if we fail here.

The battle was turned against us. I can feel it. However, the sounds of the artifacts gave me the chills. I have never seen anything like that before. Something so lifeless and fast, its like it came straight out of the depths of hell.

I have fought against monsters before, but at least I could see their face before going into battle against them! These were the real monsters!

"Release all of our Wyvern's! Its would be a waste if they all died in the ship before they even flew into the air. At least they can distract the enemy for a while."

"Yes Admiral Tridom!"

Haa. We were so close to succeeding too... I could have expanded our fleets influence if we succeeded in this mission. However if we manage to return, I will surely be killed for my failure.

As I listened to my surroundings, what gave me the chills wasn't the screaming of my men, but rather the lack of it. Are the all dead? This is unbelievable. Those explosions are too powerful for someone to wield. Who is it? A talented Mana user? Why are there so many!? Is it those damn natural users? No, there are not very many with most of them living in the kingdom of Astra.

However, before I could think about the issue even more, I could only see white in front of me.

"Damn it al-"

Boom. Another explosion added to the messy battlefield.

"Blue leader this is gold leader, we spotted some UFOs released from those ships."

"Copy gold leader. Do we know if they are friendlies?"

"Permission to engage the UFO's was granted."

"Copy that gold leader. This is blue leader squadron, attack all UFO's. Not friendlies. I repeat, not friendlies."

"Copy that blue leader."

Although the hornets were decent fighters, the F-35's were the best fighters on this mission. We were tasked with dominating the airspace while also attacking the enemy ships. Although I was a bit worried about their capabilities, if they are the enemy, we must bring them down to the ground.

Our fighters began to target all of the unknown flying objects. At a closer glance, I noticed they were not anything mechanical at all! They were huge flying lizards? What the heck? They were mostly all black with gleaming scales that reflected the sunlight.

However, now was not the time to be bewildered. I needed to carry out my task. I fired off my rounds and shot down the Wyvern. I think its only my imagination, but I thought I saw terror in the enemy's face when I got close. Although its pretty difficult to see their face at this speed, so it might just be my imagination.

I looked around and I saw that many of the UFO's were shot down already.

"Gold leader, we shot down those UFO's."

"Copy that blue leader."

I checked my gauge to see how long we had till we must return to the strike group. We had about 10 minutes of fuel before we need to head back. However, looking at the battlefield, I don't think we need that extra 10 minutes.

The battle below was not as lively as before. The only targets left were now just floating pieces of wood. It looks like we succeeded.

"USS Nimitz this is blue leader, targets have been eliminated. Returning to the fleet."

"Copy that blue leader. Have a safe trip."

I looked around and saw the quiet battlefield. Totally different from before where puffs of smoke were billowing up from broadside cannon fire. I could feel the intense battle all the way up here. However, in the face of our fighters, no enemy stood a chance.

"Gold leader, returning to USS Nimitz.

"Copy that blue leader. Returning as well."

As the sun was closer to late afternoon, I was able to see the water reflect even more light than usual. However, those terrified expressions still stayed with me.