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nCommander Gram’s anger subsided considerably upon hearing the vice commander’s voice.

nAfter taking a deep breath to calm down, he nodded gently. I’ll let you handle this, Laura.”

nGram said before leaving the bridge to take some time to relax. In truth, dealing with the rebels was a simple matter, and he didn’t necessarily need to be present.

nWith the firepower of their airships, the rebels would easily meet their end if they decided to confront their army. In the first place, they had already captured two of the three masterminds of the rebels, weakening them to a great degree.

nThe missing one wasn’t even in good condition. Because of that, the remaining rebels were no longer organized and just waiting for their end.

nHowever, the situation was different when it came to the Masked Devil and his ability to summon heavenly lightning.

nDespite the airships’ formidable defenses, most were focused on the bottom, leading to significant damage to Prince Gregory’s Airship after getting hit by the lightning from above. The formation circle was then immobilized, and the Airship’s mechanical abilities were damaged, leaving them no other choice but to fight the Masked Devil on the Airship’s deck.

nGram would not make a mistake, so he decided to join the expedition quest.

n“I have to capture that Masked Devil. If I learn what kind of artifact or Spell Model he was using to create that, I’ll be the strongest in the Kingdom!” Gram muttered, envisioning himself summoning those lightning strikes.

nThe prospect of finding the Masked Devil filled him with eager anticipation.

n***

nTwo weeks had swiftly passed, and during this period, they managed to eradicate a total of 12 hidden rebel bases.

nThe extent of their numbers came as a surprise. They had only discovered that they had these many bases because their ground troops interrogated captured rebels and revealed these locations.

nNeedless to say, all these bases were destroyed.

nHowever, they were uncertain whether they had eliminated the last mastermind, as they had resorted to bombarding the enemies and couldn’t identify the corpses.

nThe corpses were burned, heavily mutilated, or even completely disintegrated by the mere force of their cannons.

nNonetheless, they simply moved forward with their operation. They intended to consider the mastermind killed once all their hideouts were eradicated.

n“I believe that we’ve already defeated the rebel army, and they could no longer come back from this defeat. We also eliminated all their supporters, so this matter can be considered done, commander.” Laura said proudly, reflecting on her dedicated efforts to eliminate the rebels.

nIt hadn’t been easy for her, but seeing the mutilated corpses of the rebels would always make her smile and make her feel better.

n“Now then, I heard you obtained clues about the Masked Devil’s whereabouts… Tell me about it.” Gram remarked.

n“Yes… About two days ago, a group of Elementalists attempting to summon a Wood Spirit in the depths of the forest witnessed a powerful lightning strike. The lightning strike frightened them and the Wood Spirit they were trying to summon. I believe it’s the Masked Devil’s doing. He must have encountered some malevolent entities hidden in the forest and was forced to summon that lightning…” Laura explained.

n“Very good! What are we waiting for?! Let’s visit the place! Contact the Seers on the ground and find the Masked Devil’s traces!” Gram exclaimed.

nEager to carry out the commander’s orders, Laura wasted no time, and they quickly proceeded to the marked area where the lightning strike had been observed.

nTo their astonishment, they stumbled upon a castle, or perhaps fortress, perfectly concealed in the forest, utilizing the natural surroundings and illusion arts to remain hidden. Had the illusion not been momentarily lifted, they might never have noticed the castle at all.

n“There was no castle in this forest according to the map. Is this the Masked Devil’s hideout? But they lifted the illusion for a moment. Is this a trap?” Laura pondered aloud.

n“It doesn’t matter! Destroy the illusion! Bombard them!” Gram declared enthusiastically, more interested in uncovering potential treasures of the ancient castle than confirming the Masked Devil’s presence.

nHowever, Laura held a different view. “Commander, we still have to refill our supplies and ammunition. We have less than 30 percent shells for our cannons…” She reported, worried that it would not be enough to destroy the defenses of the castle.

nThey hadn’t tried attacking yet, but her intuition told her that they needed more firepower to win against that fortress.

n“It’s fine! We’re only dealing with the Masked Devil… We don’t need that many!” Gram dismissed her concerns.

nWith Vice Commander Laura unable to dissuade him, they proceeded with the bombardment.

nBoom! Boom! Boom!

nOne of the Airships commenced bombarding the castle, aiming to test its defenses without causing damage to the structure and its potential treasures.

nOnce the smoke cleared, they confirmed that the castle remained unscathed, exhibiting no signs of damage.

n“Interesting… It actually defended well. When will the ground troops arrive?” Commander Gram inquired while touching his chin.

n“About 30 minutes, Commander. Most of them are moving on foot, but if you require them, we can ask the 300 elite Knights to rush to the location.” Laura reported.

nThey have a total of 2,000 soldiers moving on ground.

nTheir soldiers are equipped with low to mid-grade Mortal Rank artifacts. However, three hundred of them are Elite Knights and equal to 2nd-Class Arcanists.

nThey weren’t just Gram’s soldiers but part of the Kingdom’s elite force!

n“No need. They need to preserve their strength. Continue with the bombardment and destroy their barrier. Once they arrive, tell them to surround the castle. Don’t let anyone from that castle escape!” Commander Gram instructed.

n“Yes, Commander!”

nThe bombardment persisted, yet even after expending more than half of their ammunition, not a single crack appeared in the castle’s defenses.

n“Hmph! Let’s see how long they can last! Continue!” Gram Cromwell announced. 𝒆𝓪.𝙘

nHowever, at that moment, the inhabitants of the castle took action!

nHundreds of Vengeful Spirits emerged, poised to attack the Airships!

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