Anti-Aircraft Cruiser
The two cruisers cut through the fjord side by side, engines steady, bows aimed straight at the Goldenclaws airships.
On the deck of one cruiser, a prison guard—Comet—stood planted beside a dwarven anti-aircraft cannon. One hand on the handle, the other working the mechanism, cocking the autocannon with practiced ease. Ahead of him, the enemy airships were still busy dumping shells into the forest like they were trying to erase trees from existence.
"Uh… sir?"
The comm crackled to life. "Is… is that really all the plan? I just drive straight past the enemies?"
Comet glanced back toward the bridge.
"Why?" he asked flatly. "You got some fancy maneuver in mind?"
"Uh… no, sir," the helmsman replied, voice tight. "I can only do… simple procedures."
"Then shut the fuck up and keep driving," Comet snapped.
Another voice cut in, amused.
"Hey, go easy on him, Comet," it chuckled. "They're all just a bunch of kids up there."
Comet looked sideways. On the neighboring cruiser—Cupid—stood at her own AA cannon, casually resting against it like it was a bar counter.
"That's exactly why they shouldn't think too much," Comet said. "We're sailing with a skeleton crew. No captain, no officers—just gunners and a handful of bodies that still remember how to breathe."
"And yet here we are," Cupid snickered. "Baptizing those handful of children with fire."
She raised her telescope just in time to see two airships peel away from formation.
"Oh. There we go," Cupid said pleasantly, cocking her autocannon.
"Helmsman," Comet barked into the comm, "put more distance between ships."
"A-Aye sir!"
Comet tightened his grip and grinned.
"Well then, Cupid. Let's see if your theory holds."
"What theory?" she asked.
"If we're good at firing spider cannons," Comet said, lining up his sights, "then we're good with any cannon."
BOOM BOOM BOOM —
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM —
BOOM BOOM
Both autocannons erupted, hurling bursts of fire straight at the incoming airships.
---
Underground Hangar
HIIISSSSS—THUNK
Another projectile screamed out of Hilda's steam cannon.
And missed.
The one-armed Crawler armor below twisted sharply, the shot ripping past empty space.
"CHARGE IT AGAIN!" Hilda shouted.
Behind her, the two engineers looked like they were trying to drown themselves in sweat. Coal flew into the furnace as they shoveled frantically.
Below, the one-handed Crawler armor accelerated, retractable wheel screaming as it dashed straight toward Hilda's position. It had no cannon—only speed and intent.
Hilda tracked it, eyes flicking between the moving target and the rising gauge.
"Hurry… hurry… hurry…" she muttered, sweat dripping down her brow.
The armor leapt—springing onto a platform, then vaulting again to a higher platform. Each jump brought it closer.
The gauge needle crept toward the red.
Then—
THUD
The armor landed directly in front of her cannon. Raising its single arm, poised to deliver a killing blow.
Hilda glanced at the gauge.
Red.
HIIISSS—THUNK
She slammed the trigger.
At point-blank range, the steam discharge blasted the armor backward in a violent arc. It flew nearly eighty meters before smashing into the lower floor, crumpling lifelessly.
"…Sigh…" Hilda exhaled shakily. "That was close…"
Her relief vanished almost instantly.
Movement.
Three remaining Crawler armors converged on the fallen unit, pausing only long enough to confirm its destruction—then, as one, they turned toward Hilda.
"…shit," she whispered.
---
Underground Hangar, Other Side
Dwordoug sprinted past a long line of steam-armors, checking each cockpit as he ran. Most stood incomplete—open frames, missing limbs, exposed boilers.
"Fuck…" he muttered. "Why is there no working armor over here?!"
He reached the end of the line.
Nothing.
Every operational unit had already been deployed.
"Oh no. No. No!" Dwordoug snarled. "WHY?!"
"Keeee! Kee ke."
Shawshank chirped sharply from his back.
"Huh? Where?"
"Kekekeee!"
Dwordoug slowed, turned, and spotted a corridor branching off the hangar. At its end stood a lone armor surrounded by crates and tools.
A worker armor.
Its cockpit was open, partially framed, designed purely for hauling cargo.
"Shawshank, that's not for fighting," Dwordoug argued. "It doesn't even have a weapon."
"KEE KE KEEE!" Shawshank protested.
"What do you mean?"
"KEE KEE!"
"…Are you serious?"
"KE!"
Dwordoug hesitated—then looked across the hangar.
Hilda was still firing, struggling to hold back the remaining enemies.
"Hilda…" he muttered.
He clenched his fists.
"…Fine," he growled. "Let's do something stupid."
And sprinted toward the worker armor.
---
Goldenclaws Airship
The two airships assigned to eliminate the cruisers were locked in a brutal exchange. The sky around them erupted with constant flak bursts, the airships shuddering as explosions detonated nearby.
On the bridge, the airship captain raised his telescope toward the vessel flying to his left. Fires burned across its hull.
"Crone 10, this is Crone 6! You're taking too much damage—evade!"
He lowered the scope. "Crone 10! Come in!"
His blood ran cold.
Through the telescope, he saw that half of Crone 10's bridge was gone, blown clean away.
The crippled airship began drifting off course.
Suddenly—
BOOM—CRASH
A flak burst detonated near Crone 6's bridge, shattering windows and killing a crewman instantly.
"WHAT KIND OF WEAPON ARE THEY USING?!" the captain roared.
"I—I don't know, captain," an officer stammered. "It's similar to artillery mage fused-explosive spells!"
"But what kind of mage can enchant hundreds of shells like this?!" the captain shouted.
---
Anti-Aircraft Cruiser
"Proximity fuse?" Cupid asked casually.
Beside her, an engineer struggled with a fresh ammo belt.
"That's right," he said. "The commander's family installed a tiny madar-like sender-receiver in every shell."
"Wow," Cupid smiled sweetly. "That's… impressive. Don't you agree?"
The virgin young dwarf flushed instantly.
"Y-Yes, ma'am."
"Cupid," Comet's voice crackled over the radio. "Not—the—time."
Cupid sighed and waved the engineer off.
"Tch. You just don't get it, Comet," she said, cocking her cannon again. "It's been so long since I've been surrounded by young, energetic dwarves like this."
She aimed upward.
"And these assholes just had to ruin it."
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM
Her autocannon roared, shells tearing into the remaining airship's hull again and again—
KABOOM
A secondary explosion bloomed from within the ship.
---
Goldenclaws Airship
The airship began descending, its massive hull groaning as power bled away.
"SIR!" an officer shouted. "WE ARE LOSING POWER!"
"Tch…"
"We need to initiate emergency landing procedures, sir!" the officer continued.
Suddenly, the comm crackled to life.
"Crone 6, damage report."
The commander's voice cut through the bridge—cold, controlled.
"Commander, we're continuously losing power," the airship captain replied. "We need to perform an emergency landing."
A brief pause.
"Can you still steer?" the commander asked.
"…Yes, sir," the captain answered.
"Then go finish your job."
The captain's face darkened.
"…Understood, sir."
He turned and walked toward the helmsman.
"Aim the airship toward the cruiser," he ordered.
"What? No—Captain, that will kill ev—"
BOOM.
The helmsman collapsed instantly, blood splattering across the controls.
The captain holstered his hand cannon without hesitation, stepped over the body, and grabbed the wheel himself. Around him, the remaining bridge crew stared for half a heartbeat—then ran. Every single one of them.
"…Fuck," the captain muttered, gripping the controls.
---
Anti-Aircraft Cruiser
Cupid watched with satisfaction as her target spewed black smoke, its massive frame sinking lower and lower.
"Nice shot, Cupid," Comet said over the comm. "Six airships remaining."
But then Cupid's smile vanished.
The descending path of the burning airship wasn't erratic.
It was controlled.
And it was closing in—fast.
"COMET!" Cupid screamed into her comm. "THEY'RE GOING TO CRASH INTO YOU! ABANDON SHIP! HURRY!"
From her position, she could see dwarves on Comet's cruiser leaping desperately into the water. She couldn't tell which one was him.
Then—
CRAAASH — SPLAAAASH
The enemy airship slammed directly into the cruiser.
The impact was catastrophic.
Metal crumpled. The cruiser's stern reared upward, propellers rising clear out of the water before slamming back down with a thunderous splash. The airship itself was violently arrested mid-descent, folding and tearing as it crashed into the fjord.
Both vessels began sinking.
Slowly.
Heavily.
"…Shit," Cupid whispered. "Comet…"
She clenched her jaw—but had no time to mourn.
Three remaining airships began turning toward her.
"…Director," she said into the comm, voice steady despite everything. "I think I'm screwed."
"…And Comet?" Cinderclaws' voice replied.
"...I don't know," Cupid answered honestly.
"Don't worry," Cinderclaws said. "I'm coming."
---
Underground Hangar
HIIISSS—THUNK
Hilda's shot clipped a Crawler armor at the shoulder, staggering it—but the armor ducked out of sight almost immediately.
"MORE COAL!" Hilda shouted.
She glanced back.
The two engineers were moving slower now, arms trembling as they shoveled enhanced coal into the furnace. Exhausted—but still working.
Then—
BOOM
A cannon shot tore into a pipe beside one of the engineers.
PSSSSHHHHH
Superheated steam erupted violently.
"AAAAAAAAAGH!"
The engineer was boiled alive in an instant.
Hilda snapped her gaze upward.
Across from her, the Crawler leader armor had climbed above her position. Its cannon was already firing.
BOOM—THUNK
Hilda dove aside, taking cover behind the boiler with the remaining engineer as the shot slammed into the structure.
The Crawler leader leapt down from the pedestal, landing heavily—and began advancing.
Its weapon shifted.
FWOOOOOSH
Flames erupted, washing over Hilda's hiding place. She and the engineer pressed themselves tight, bracing against the heat.
The armor advanced steadily, firing controlled bursts of flame.
There was nowhere left to run.
Finally, the Crawler leader loomed beside them.
"Hiiiieee!" the engineer squealed.
Hilda stared back at the armor defiantly.
The flamethrower lifted.
"Time to die," the Crawler leader said.
Then—
THUNK
An energy blade sliced clean through the Crawler leader's arm.
The armor staggered as a massive white armor, larger than the Crawler, stood before it.
The Crawler leader tried to counterattack with his cannon—
THUNK
The white armor swung again, its energy blade cleaving through the cockpit and remaining arm in a single stroke.
The cockpit split open. The pilot was fully exposed.
The Crawler leader stumbled backward, stopping beside the violently leaking pipe from earlier.
The white armor advanced.
With its massive construction claw, it seized the Crawler leader by the head, locking him in place.
The two pilots stared at each other—no armor, no cover, face to face.
"Dwordoug Axebreaker…" the Crawler leader muttered.
"That's me!" Dwordoug snarled. "And the one you were about to burn is Hilda Axebreaker!"
He forced the Crawler leader to face the ruptured pipe.
"And THAT," Dwordoug roared, shoving the armor forward and holding it there, "IS MY WIFE!"
Superheated steam poured directly into the exposed cockpit.
"AAAAAAGH! AAAAAAAGH! AAAAAAAGH!"
The Crawler leader screamed as boiling steam flooded his cockpit, cooking him alive inside his own armor.