Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

Chapter 166 Establishing an Air Force in a Fantasy World

"Nothing's decided yet, but considering the importance of mobility, it might be better for Nathan to keep using the flute. The wyvern may have more attack power, but it's slower. The pegasus is better suited for escaping quickly."

"What? So Nathan is going to keep both?"

"No, he might transfer the wyvern instead of the flute."

"...?"

Rachel tilted her head in confusion. How could Nathan transfer the wyvern, a tamed monster, to someone else? It's not like it was an item. Ethan smirked and explained.

"A Tamer can transfer ownership of a monster they've tamed to another person."

"...!"

Rachel's eyes widened in shock. That statement implied two things. One, that as long as there was a Tamer, there was no need to covet flying items. And two, that with enough time and resources, it was possible to create an entire flying division. The latter was especially significant—it hinted at the creation of a strategic weapon capable of changing the entire course of the war.

As if she were silently asking if it was really possible, Rachel stared at me, and I smiled back.

"There's no rule saying you can't create an air force in a fantasy world, right?" I said, recalling how I had done that in World Rebuild.

It was truly an ambitious plan. So ambitious that, for now, all they could manage was just taking the first step.

"Well, even if we talk about an air force, it's going to be a long time before it becomes a reality. We don't even have a proper mount for the ground yet, so going off to find flying monsters right away doesn't make sense." Justin stated, looking over his companions.

"Ah... now that I think about it, you're right," replied one of them.

The beginning would have to be something simpler—taming regular monsters to use as shields. From there, once they found suitable creatures to serve as mounts, they could establish a cavalry unit. Only after gaining enough experience from running a cavalry could they even think about an air force. As it stood, they hadn't even found proper ground mounts, so it was still a distant dream.

'But even the fact that we can run test flights before that distant future comes is a promising achievement,' Justin thought, although he tried to sound humble to temper expectations. It was hard, though, to suppress the smile creeping onto his face.

For now, he couldn't fully control the creatures, but that wouldn't take much longer. As long as Nathan continued to level up, full taming would soon be within their grasp.

"Kreee!" came a screech from nearby.

"Yeah, yeah, I haven't forgotten about you. Don't worry," Justin said, turning his attention to the wyvern with a satisfied smile. Next to him, the dragon Fafnir let out a jealous roar, clearly feeling left out.

With a chuckle, Justin patted Fafnir on the head. "So, when are you going to grow up, huh? I'd like to ride you through the skies one day too."

"No matter how much you wish for it, I think you're being a bit greedy," Zachary said with a wry smile.

"Isn't a fully grown dragon something that rivals a level-90 boss? If the system is logical, it won't let you grow it that quickly," he continued.

"That's true," Justin nodded in agreement, though another possibility crossed his mind. Fafnir could already use a weakened version of a skill reserved for full-grown dragons. So unlike in games, where growth happens after a set number of turns, perhaps Fafnir could grow gradually. Even if he didn't become as powerful as a full-grown dragon, it would be amazing if he could grow enough to be used as a mount.

With that thought, Justin's eyes glimmered with excitement as he continued to stroke Fafnir, imagining the future.

The first to speak was Abraxas, the Duke of Deception.

『Have you decided which of us will receive your blessing?』

"Hm."

Jumping straight to the point, huh? Justin noted their impatience, observing their nervous expressions.

"I'm still thinking about it," Justin said, pretending to be deep in thought as he casually scanned the four grand figures before him. His actions were deliberate, more to toy with them than anything else. But then, something caught his eye.

While the other grand dukes were clearly tense, Kargaron was looking at him with eager anticipation.

'What's his deal?'

Kargaron, the Duke of Violence and Bloodshed, had been the one to forcibly summon Justin in the past, trying to manipulate him. He was the only duke who had failed to grasp the power on display during the trial of authority. Of all the dukes, Justin had the most reason to despise Kargaron.

'He should be the one sweating bullets right now. So why...?'

As the thought crossed his mind, Justin came up with a hypothesis. To test it, he muttered softly under his breath.

"Physical stats...."

『...!』

『...!』

With just those two words, the atmosphere among the dukes shifted drastically. The other three stared at him in shock, while Kargaron broke into a wide grin.

That was all the confirmation Justin needed. His hypothesis had been correct.

With a short laugh, Justin glared at the grand dukes. "You guys... you can monitor what we pioneers are doing, can't you?"

『Th-there's no way! What kind of nonsense is that?!』

『You fool!』

Kargaron's fierce denial was followed by Abraxas's panicked reaction. They were caught.

If Justin had been wrong, they would have reacted with confusion, not anger. The fact that they lashed out in denial only confirmed the truth.

"So that's how it is." Justin's lips curled into a cold smile.

Now that he knew the truth, there was no need to continue playing games with them. He wouldn't bother with long explanations or try to draw things out.

Justin sat down on a nearby fallen rock, exuding arrogance as he spoke, "Hand over the Apostle of Eternity. Or die trying."