Same day, 4:30 p.m.

"Well then, thank you very much for everything you have done for us.

Jin D., Reiko, Liese, and the others are greeting Duke Breu outside the walls of Breuland.

There is Jin's new airship, the .

Since they could not say that they had come to Blueland by , they had sent them from Horai Island in a hurry.

And just as Jin D was about to board the ship, the Duke of Bruu, who had been sent off to see him off, received an urgent message.

"Urgent news!　Urgent news!"

The Duke, who did not scold his messenger because it was the second most urgent situation in the war, looked over the document.

"What!"

It read, <

"What's wrong?"

Jin D., who knew that something had happened, did not board the Hurricane, but instead looked around to see what was going on.

"Ah, ah, Jin-dono, actually ......."

Duke Breu explained to Jin about the failed attempt to capture the bandits.

"I'm sorry. Jin-dono helped us."

"......"

Jin D, no, the old man thought fast.

（<

The old man concluded so, and asked Jin D. to speak,

"Sir, my can reach a speed of 400 kilometers per hour. There is a possibility that we can catch up with them even now.

He made a proposal.

"Oh, oh, that would be great!"

"However, we need to choose our companions as soon as possible, because every moment counts. The total number of participants will be limited to 15.

"Okay. ...... Guard Platoon 3, come with your platoon leaders and Platoon 1 to 3. ...... are you sure about the battle golem?"

Yes.

Thus, Duke Blou and three of the 3rd Platoon's teams boarded the . 1 team consisted of a battle golem and three soldiers, so there were 14 men in all, including the platoon leader. There are 14 men in all, including the platoon leader.

"Hope, launch the <>! Heading east-northeast!

Hurricane is on the move. Proceed east-northeast.

Pilot Hope recites Jin D's instructions and launches the <>.

The <> rises into the evening sky. The silver hull of the <> glows red as it heads eastward.

The speed is 400 kilometers per hour, and a distance of 100 kilometers can be covered in 15 minutes.

That's fast. ...... is indeed the work of a Magecraft Meister.

I'm impressed.

The Hurricane hurtles through the darkness. It is heading east, and it is getting darker and darker as time goes on.

"Mister Jin, can you see it?"

Duke Breu is a little worried.

"Yes, I can. The pilot, Hope, has night vision.

"Oh, I see. That's very encouraging.

In fact, Hope has no problem as long as there is moonlight. There is also an infrared mode and an ultrasonic detection mode if the need arises.

After flying over Mount Bilbo, the heads further east. The sky was now the color of night.

"They say it was a black blimp over there, is it safe?"

"Yes, I think it would be hard for humans to see, but Hope should be fine.

Besides, the old man has been keeping an eye on the bandits with his peepers on Horai Island.

The airship was now over the Kingdom of Cerroa. They pretended to be heading eastward, but instead changed course 90 degrees to the north.

Master, we have a visual of the airship on the left.

"Okay, let's track it."

Hope's vision picked up a black blimp flying about 30 kilometers away.

"Left?　It's turning north!　But you can see it well."

Jin D explains to the astonished and impressed Duke Breu.

"Yes, since they fled in an airship, I was on the lookout for them, thinking that they would not run straight away.

"I see... I'm impressed."

The duke was convinced by this explanation. It seems that his character is at best generous and at worst a bit rough.

The changes course to the north, flying at 400 km/h. Within 10 minutes, a black airship comes into view.

"Master, we're catching up. What do we do now?"

"Well, I don't know..."

Duke D. Buru pondered,

"Well, I wish I could call out to him..."

The Duke of Breu also ponders over it, saying, "Hmm, it would be nice if I could call out to him. Jin D. hears this and says, "Well, it would be nice if I could call out to him,

"...... Sir, we have a loudspeaker on board. Would you like to use it to call for surrender?

I suggested.

"Oh, that's a good idea. Can I borrow it?"

"Yes, please use this.

Receiving the microphone part of the loudspeaker from Jin D, Duke Bruu spoke to the black airship.

This is Duke Bruu, Lord of the Blue Lands. Attention, bandits! Surrender. If you intend to do so, slow down and lower your altitude.

I repeated this three times, but there was no reply. No, two <> were launched.

"So this is the response: ......"

The <> on the <> easily blocked the <>.

And the black airship speeds up even faster.

This is the last time. Surrender!

But the black airship did not listen to him and increased its speed even more.

"Oh, that's pretty fast."

Its speed is over 200 kilometers per hour.

For a helium airship, it is more powerful than any airship on modern Earth.

However, the that Jin has built is not a helium airship. It is an airship type <.

Its top speed is 800 kilometers per hour. That's four times faster than the black pirate airship.

The < closes the distance and turns on its floodlights.

The bandit is...

And the bandit?

"d*mn, how did they know where we were?

"That can wait. We've got to get out of here now!

Leave it to me. This airship has a top speed of 200 kilometers per hour. It can reach 300 kilometers per hour at a moment's notice.

Then I hear a voice saying, "Surrender.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Okay, let's give them a fright."

The bandit's airship launches two fireballs backward.

But they seem to have been bounced off an invisible barrier.

"d*mn it, they even put up some kind of warding!"

Was there ever such an airship in the Blue Lands?

I can't pull him away!　I'm doing 250 kilometers per hour!

The Duke of Brouw's airship is getting closer and closer.

"d*mn it!"

At that moment, a blinding, dazzling light flashes. <

The afterglow reveals the entirety of the <>. The family crest of the <> is painted on its hull.

One of the bandits, who was in charge of technical work, screamed when he saw it.

"Oh, that's ......!　That's not the airship of the Blue Lands!　<