The Thunderbird ark rose into the air, while the Imperial arks tracked it with their hot weapons. They hadn’t yet taken their shot, but they were keeping the Thunderbird destroyer locked in their sights. They could fire at any moment and potentially reduce the Thunderbird ark to little more than scrap if Leon were to try and run away without dealing with them.

The rest of the fortress was a problem, too. While his rampage through its streets had wreaked quite a bit of havoc, most of the defensive infrastructure remained in place, most notably the fortress’ complement of Imperial Lances meant to defend it against attacks from the sky. Six Lances were trained on the destroyer from the Imperial arks, but if they rose much higher than they already were, they’d be targeted by another dozen or so.

Leon almost decided to just charge out of the ark from the nearest airlock and take on those Imperial arks himself when the destroyer’s wisp appeared before him again.

“Rec-recommending activation of defense matrices!”

Leon blinked in surprise, wondering what the wisp was talking about. But without much hesitation, he ordered, “If we have defenses, then activate them!”

The wisp blinked out of existence, and, at the same time, Leon felt the magic flowing through the ark dramatically shift.

“We’re losing power to the engines!” one of the Tribal crew members shouted in panic.

“It’s not enough to shut them down completely!” another responded. “We’re still going to get into the air! Something’s just taking up a ton of power!”

“What is it?!”

Anshu, clearly angered at the panic they were showing, growled, “Get your heads on straight and figure it out! We have three enemy arks out there and I want us in a position to shoot them down as soon as possible!”

The Tribal crew members straightened up and began scrutinizing the control consoles much more closely while Leon did his best to focus on both the Imperial arks, still visible on the projections covering the bridge’s walls, and whatever the wisp had activated.

“What’s the status of our weapons?” Anshu shouted.

“They’re powering up, but they’re not under my control!” a third Tribal crew member shouted.

Anshu responded, “Get them under our control, then!”

“I think… someone’s trying to communicate with us?” a fourth member of the Tribal crew called out as he stared in confusion at the console in front of him. “I think there’s an integrated comm stone in this ark!”

“And someone’s trying to use theirs to call us?” Anshu asked.

“Aye, Captain!”

Anshu glanced at Leon, waiting for his order. Leon subtly nodded and Anshu ordered, “Can we answer it?”

“I think I can pull up a projection,” the crew member answered.

Anshu cast his gaze Leon’s way once more and, without hesitation, rose from his seat in a clear offering. Leon walked over, sat down, and said, “Bring it up, then.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” the crew member shouted as he tapped a few control runes.

A moment later, a light screen appeared floating close to one side of the ark’s bridge. Appearing on the screen was a Sunlit military officer looking quite serious, yet with a few beads of sweat running down his brow. For a moment, a look of shock appeared on his face, quickly buried as, Leon presumed, a projection of him and the status of the destroyer’s bridge appeared on his screen.

With the man visibly conveying as much confidence as he could, he demanded, “Surrender yourselves and that vessel immediately and free all prisoners you’ve taken, or you will be fired upon.”

“Not really interested in negotiating in good faith, are you?” Leon murmured. He supposed it made sense that if the Imperial officers were concerned for their comrades aboard the destroyer they’d hesitate to fire upon the ark. “Commendable that you’re so concerned about your fellows, though.”

’Not many of them remaining, however…’ he silently finished. The destroyer had a crew of a couple hundred, and all but a handful had been killed as his people seized the ark. A few prisoners were taken when some chose the wise option of surrendering, but most either fought to the death, barricaded themselves in less important compartments, or hid as the ark was taken. There were less than twenty percent of the Imperial crew still alive at this point.

The Imperial commander scowled. “You have ten seconds to comply. There will be no further offer.”

With that, the screen went black.

“He cut the call,” the comms crew member said.

Leon sighed and looked around. “Wisp?” he asked. To his relief, the wisp blinked into existence right beside him.

“O-Orders?” it sputtered.

Leon stared at the wisp for a long second. This was it, he could feel it. Either they were going to get away with this ark or it would be shot down right here, potentially killing everyone aboard.

He didn’t take too long to think it over. Surrender wasn’t an option, and they weren’t sneaking back out. They could fight or they could die, it was that simple. And they had taken a destroyer; he hated the idea of being shot down without destroying at least one thing first.

“Weapons status?” he asked.

“Ready,” the wisp replied.

“Kill those other arks,” he ordered.

The wisp didn’t respond, but it didn’t have to; the ark itself roared its compliance. Thunderbird Clan destroyers lived up to their name with more than a dozen Lances in total peppered over their frames. Four to a side of about average size and two much larger ones in the front. Surrounded as they were, they had plenty of firepower to use on all of the enemy arks.

The four Lances on each of the flanks fired on two of the arks, while the frontal Lances fired at the last, the one that Leon was sure the Imperial commander who demanded they surrender had called from.

Unfortunately, given the distance to the enemy arks and the fact that they had to move the destroyer just a bit to get the angles right, the Imperial arks had time to respond, and respond they did. The commanding ark chose to dive out of the way, and the frontal Lance blasts only clipped it, cutting into its hull and several outer decks but failing to kill the ark. The other two chose to go down swinging, firing an Imperial Lance apiece at the destroyer just before they were hit by the destroyer’s shots. The hulls of these Imperial arks proved no match for Thunderbird Lances, exploding in the sky almost as soon as the destroyer’s payloads hit them.

But their shots fell upon the destroyer. Leon grimaced and braced himself, but before they hit, a shimmering barrier of dull white light appeared over the destroyer, hugging tightly to the hull instead of projecting outward in a rounder shape. The Imperial ark’s shots hit this barrier and splashed right off, the molten metal rapidly cooling as it then scattered around the fortress.

The destroyer hardly even buckled under their impact.

“By the tits of the Ancestors…” one of the bridge crew whispered in awe.

“Stow that language,” Anshu immediately reprimanded. Turning to Leon, he asked, “What should we do?”

Leon glanced at the wisp. “Can you operate this ark on your own?”

“S-Still require navigation inputs, Your Highness,” the wisp explained. “This one’s capac-c-city is limited; cannot handle all tasks without aid.”

“Mark which ones you’re using,” Leon ordered. “Follow directives, but ensure they’re being handled as efficiently as you can.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” the wisp replied.

“Now,” Leon continued, “let’s kill that last ark and properly take off, shall we?”

The bridge crew cheered in agreement as the destroyer tracked the final Imperial ark as it tried to break their line of sight. They hadn’t yet ascended more than a few dozen feet off the ground, nor had they moved from above the arkpad. Those Imperial Lances throughout the fortress were giving Leon pause, otherwise he would’ve ordered them to engage in a more maneuverable battle. As they were, he wanted that last Imperial ark taken care of before they attempted their escape, though he wouldn’t insist upon it.

Leon rose from the captain’s chair and gave it back to Anshu while he chose to walk around the control consoles, watching the crew work and trying to parse what they were doing—something they were also trying to do, given their unfamiliarity with the controls and information the consoles were giving them.

The ark shuddered as the primary frontal Lances fired two more deadly payloads, and Leon couldn’t help but grin as they flew true. Many of the Tribesmen on the bridge cheered and stomped their feet as the final Imperial ark erupted into a ball of fire.

“That’s it!” Anzu called out, his blood-red eyes gleaming with excitement. “The last one’s dead!”

“Anshu!” Leon shouted, drawing the Indradian’s attention. “Take us out, and don’t be too gentle as we go!”

Anshu smiled and nodded his acknowledgement and began barking orders. With the wisp making things easier, the crew got the ark to begin to rise. The Imperial Lances of the fortress tracked their movement, but when they fired, their shots, to Leon’s immense relief, also splashed harmlessly off the destroyer’s barrier. Once they’d risen high enough, Anshu had them return fire, eliminating most of the Imperial Lances in one salvo.

As they rose, they passed through the fortress’ defensive wards. Leon felt the destroyer shudder slightly as arcs of lightning rippled over the ancient war machine, to no effect, as the fortress attempted to prevent them from leaving.

But on they went, rising into the sky, and discouraging anyone from following them as they fired one more salvo into the fortress itself. The remaining Imperial Lances were immediately slagged while some of the fortress’ largest buildings were destroyed.

Disregarding the obvious warning, many Imperial mages rose into the air, inundating the undercarriage of the destroyer with their various magic. Unfortunately for them, not a single spark of magic penetrated the barrier, ensuring that the destroyer continued to rise and bank southward unimpeded.

Not paying the mages much mind, the engines of the destroyer fully engaged, and they began speeding away from the fortress with all haste, leaving the Sunlit mages behind.

As he watched the fortress disappear behind them thanks to the wall projections, Leon finally began to relax. Relief and elation flooded through him as it fully hit him: they’d actually succeeded, they’d managed to steal one of his Clan’s ancient arks right out of the Sunlit Emperor’s hands! A wide grin sprouted on his face, and he wasn’t particularly inclined to do anything about it, stoic dignity be damned. This was something worth celebrating, as the Tempest Knights on the bridge were already beginning to do, stomping and hollering their joy at this success.

But the bridge crew, while excited and just as joyful, didn’t partake in such displays. Anshu rode them hard to make sure they left the fortress behind as quickly as they could, while also ensuring that they diligently signaled the rest of the Tribal forces in the area that the ark that had been hounding them for the past month was now under their control. It was late enough at night that it had become early, after all, and the last thing they needed was some sleep-deprived warrior on their side mistaking them for an Imperial attack.

Leon chuckled at the thought of stealing this ark only to forget something like that and getting shot down by their own side. Thankfully, after passing the front line, several Tribal arks fell in beside them, escorting them further south all the way to the Ten Tribes’ base of operations on the Sword: the port that even now their reinforcements were streaming into.

‘A good way to start this counter-offensive,’ Leon thought. But as this thought occurred to him, he couldn’t help but glance westward, to where his people were moving to halt the Sunlit Emperor’s current campaign. They’d yet to meet the Emperor in battle, but Iron-Striker and the Jaguar’s forces were nearing the coast, where Sunlit was concentrating his attacks.

Fourteen Imperial war arks and Sunlit’s entire western fleet, augmented and supported by auxiliaries from the Pegasi States, made for a formidable opponent. Moving to counter them were the forces led by the Jaguar and Iron-Striker—the former in command and the latter there to move against the Sunlit Emperor if he made a move in person.

The Lion Tribe and its seven war arks, meanwhile, were doing admirably well preventing the Imperials from landing any troops, but that was all; they couldn’t do much to prevent their defensive fortifications from being blasted to pieces, and they were being slowly pushed back.

They just had to hold on for a few more hours and their relief force would arrive. Not long enough for Leon to reach the battlefield and participate, but he’d be watching the battle play out with great interest…

---

Sunlit glared to the east, the pain that had wracked his body since his ambush against Leon Raime not intensifying at all. Given how much stronger it had gotten when Leon Raime made it to the Sword, he couldn’t help but feel like the infuriating boy wasn’t in the incoming Sky Devil relief force.

‘Coward…’ the Sunlit Emperor had derisively thought when he first came to that conclusion… only for that derision to cruelly shut down as reports started coming in about the chaos further inland, and the assault on the eastern fortress.

When Sunlit received word that one of the Thunderbird Clan war arks that he’d pulled out of his Empire’s vaults had been stolen, he’d been apoplectic with wrath. He didn’t quite remember what he’d done in the hour or so since, but he was certain that the officer who’d brought him that report had been ripped to pieces.

‘Not that anything of value was lost…’ Sunlit thought, briefly allowing himself to fantasize about what he was going to do to the high-ranking officers in his army who had allowed such a strategic asset like an ancient Thunderbird ark to be stolen out from under them.

If they weren’t currently hammering the Sky Devils in the west, Sunlit would’ve personally led an attack to try and reclaim that ark or destroy it if that wasn’t possible. The fact that the filthy Sky Devils had trespassed upon his property had him grinding his teeth in anger as he glared at the Sky Devils slowly approaching.

‘Hurry up you cocksuckers,’ he angrily thought. He was so furious that he could barely think straight.

As the Sky Devils drew closer, the seven war arks that had been trying—with some success, he had to admit—to delay and harass their assault in the west broke off their operations and made to link up with this new force. With those arks pulling back, so too did the Sky Devils on the ground.

Those Sky Devils pulled back in good order, Sunlit was frustrated to see. His armies were unable to break their lines and put them to proper flight, and the Sky Devils were able to retreat to favorable positions without suffering crippling casualties.

Sunlit had to resist the urge to facepalm as he continued to observe the incompetence of his commanders.

‘I’m going to need a massive purge when I get home,’ he thought. ‘If these useless bastards can’t even break a few barbarians, then what’s even the point?!’

To his annoyance, some of his forces pulled back in the face of the advancing Sky Devil relief force. He supposed he could see the military value in doing so, ensuring that their forces were concentrated enough to receive the enemy counter-attack, but it still annoyed him to see them giving up territory they’d just fought and bled for.

As he glared from the bridge of his flagship, one of his adjutants hesitantly arrived.

“Your Imperial Majesty,” the adjutant said, doing a good job of hiding his anxiety, “current estimation is that battle will be joined in about one hour.”

Sunlit barely spared the man a glance, dismissing him with a contemptuous wave of his hand. The enemy had a few more arks than they did, but it seemed like they were calling upon their entire ark fleet for this counteroffensive. He scoffed. Without Leon Raime, they’d be losing their entire fleet of war arks, then.

He was perfectly happy with that. It wasn’t Leon’s head on a spike, but it would be a good start. He might even head out himself and rampage amongst the Sky Devils a bit. Even he had to admit that he couldn’t kill all of his own officers that annoyed him, so taking his anger and frustrations out on the Sky Devils would be the most productive use of his time.

However, just as he was about to launch himself into the air, he felt the arrival of someone else, someone powerful.

‘A tenth-tier…’ he thought. ‘I’d almost thought the Sky Devils didn’t have any of those left.’

Leon Raime was getting close, that much he’d been able to tell. But this was the real deal, a proper tenth-tier mage.

With a sigh, Sunlit put aside all thoughts of rampaging through Sky Devil lines. It seemed he would actually have to work for his win.

His annoyance just wasn’t going to get any reprieve, it seemed. He took off from his flagship, leaving it behind as he moved to meet this new challenger in battle. He would show this man why he was the Sunlit Emperor, why he deserved everything that Leon Raime had just been given, that he would be bringing an end to their foul, barbarous existence…