And this counted as "limited range and little threat to the Knowledge Seeker"?!
The Hunters fell speechless as two incandescent crimson beams swept past the ship's railings and lit up the sky.
"We have enough altitude. Circle above and behind its head. That's its visual blind spot. Keep the flight path unpredictable, and don't let it lock on."
Once the Airship had evaded Nakarkos's first counterattack under his direction, the Professor's voice calmed somewhat. He gave the helmsman a few more instructions, then turned to the Hunters.
"Don't look so alarmed. Those Dragon Element energy beams are powerful, but Nakarkos itself has poor eyesight. It cannot see targets clearly beyond a short distance, and the upper rear of its body is a blind spot created by its anatomy. As long as we position ourselves properly and keep two to three hundred meters away, it will struggle to lock onto the ship."
Altaïr still looked concerned. "But its tentacle arms are very flexible. From farther away, the beams can sweep across a much wider arc. If it gets angry and fires wildly, we could still be hit, couldn't we?"
"I'm surprised you thought of that." The Professor gave him an approving glance. "That's precisely why I ordered the Airship into its rear sector. It's not only a visual blind spot; the movement of its tentacle arms is restricted there as well. Even if we are hit... the Knowledge Seeker is not some fragile little Airship. At this distance, the energy beam disperses and loses power sharply. The Knowledge Seeker can withstand it."
Altaïr nodded in understanding.
If the Professor had considered the details this thoroughly, there was indeed no need for him to worry any further.
The destructive power of heavy weapons such as Cannons and Rapid-fire Cannons was far beyond anything a Hunter could achieve with a blade. After several rounds of concentrated bombardment, Nakarkos was badly wounded.
Most of the bony armor covering its two skeletal dragon-shaped tentacle arms had been blasted away, exposing the indigo skin beneath.
Had it not kept its main body beneath the surface, using the seawater to absorb much of the heavy weapons' force, its injuries would have been even worse.
The Gunners with the best aim temporarily stopped targeting the submerged main body. They redirected the Rapid-fire Cannons and Cannons toward the unprotected sections of the tentacle arms, hoping to sever Nakarkos's two most powerful weapons.
Realizing what they intended, Nakarkos grew even more enraged.
Although it resembled a giant squid, scholars classified it as an Elder Dragon, so its intelligence naturally far exceeded that of an ordinary mollusk.
After two successive counterattacks with sweeping Dragon Element energy beams failed, Nakarkos still inferred from the direction of the incoming fire that the Knowledge Seeker was above and behind it, despite its poor eyesight.
It accelerated and began to turn, trying to bring the Knowledge Seeker back within its attack range.
The Knowledge Seeker was enormous, but as humanity's most advanced large Airship, it was surprisingly nimble when turning. Under the Professor's command, it kept circling Nakarkos below, never allowing the creature to lock on.
Infuriated, Nakarkos flailed its bloodstained tentacle arms and unleashed another wild, indiscriminate barrage.
Crimson energy beams lit up the sky.
When the barrage ended, however, the Knowledge Seeker remained steady in the air, circling as it continued to pour down fire.
Nakarkos realized that shooting down the "flying Monster" in the sky, a creature even larger than itself, would not be easy.
There was no point continuing a battle in which it could only take hits. Nakarkos withdrew its two bone-dragon tentacle arms, badly battered by the bombardment, then dove into the sea and vanished.
The Knowledge Seeker's guns fell silent as well.
"It should have returned to its nest. Shall we head straight to the atoll and begin the next phase of the battle?" Olivia asked the Professor.
The Gunners had just enjoyed a turn on the heavy weapons, and the Blademasters were itching to get involved after watching from the sidelines.
"No." The Professor shook his head. "It probably hasn't returned yet. Right now, it's likely hiding just beneath the surface and watching what we do.
We'll turn away and climb first, making it think we've left."
"Will that make Nakarkos return to its nest?" There were plenty of clever people around, and Isis had no desire to waste extra energy thinking, so she simply asked Altaïr.
Altaïr glanced at her. "From Nakarkos's perspective, the Knowledge Seeker is a huge, flying, highly aggressive Monster that it has no good way to counter.
Conflicts between Large Monsters generally happen for one of two reasons: predation or territory.
It won't be too worried about the Knowledge Seeker preying on it. After all, once it dives to the seabed, the Knowledge Seeker can do nothing to it.
But if we head straight for the nest now, it will assume we've come to seize its territory. Then it will most likely abandon both the nest and the surrounding territory.
After all, the ocean is vast. With its strength, where couldn't it carve out a territory?
Besides, it has already eaten most of the Sea Beasts in the area. It may have been considering a move anyway.
If it dives to the seabed and simply leaves, it won't be easy for us to find it again."
"Exactly." The Professor smiled. "If we choose to leave, it will probably conclude that the Knowledge Seeker is merely some powerful predator passing through.
Once it confirms the Knowledge Seeker is gone, it can return to its nest, rebuild its bone armor, and recover from its wounds."
Isis clenched her fist. "Then we can go straight to its doorstep and block the exit!"
"Precisely. You'll enter the nest ahead of us and pin it down so it has no chance to escape. Then the Knowledge Seeker will turn back and support you with heavy firepower, allowing us to finish the battle in one stroke."
"Sounds great!"
The Hunters rubbed their hands together, eager to begin.
During the battle between Nakarkos and the Knowledge Seeker, the small Airship had withdrawn safely with Serl, the gravely wounded survivor, aboard.
Sajji, Clawdia, and Athos, who intended to join the fighting, had remained inside Nakarkos's nest to hide and keep watch.
—--
The giant squid proved unexpectedly cautious.
It stayed hidden on the seabed for several hours, from afternoon until late at night. Just as the Hunters were beginning to suspect that it had abandoned its nest and left, it finally surfaced and returned to its nest on the atoll.
Sajji had planned to use a mirror to reflect sunlight as a signal, but nightfall forced him to risk deploying his glider. Riding the wind upward, he reached the small Airship hovering nearly a thousand meters above the atoll.
The four Blademasters had been waiting there for a long time.
The Gunners, including Francesca, were hiding aboard the Knowledge Seeker several thousand meters above the atoll, beyond the high cloud layer, as they waited for the best moment to join the battle.
"It's back, meow!" Sajji said excitedly as he landed on the deck of the small Airship. "It went straight to sleep when it returned, meow! Looks like it's exhausted too, meow."
"What are the lighting conditions inside the nest? Is there enough light for us to fight?" Dylan asked urgently.
The target was exhausted after a major battle and half a day hiding on the seabed. This was the ideal time to attack.
"Should be fine, meow!" Sajji nodded firmly. "The moon's hidden by clouds, but the nest is dotted with tiny specks of fluorescent light, meow. That creature's secretions probably produce the glow, meow!"
The Blademasters exchanged glances and quickly reached a consensus.
They checked their equipment and items one last time as quickly as possible, and the Airship began a rapid descent.
The pilot had remarkable nerve as well. Within minutes, the small Airship had dropped to an altitude of thirty or forty meters above the nest. The sleeping giant squid glowed faintly all over, making its outline clearly visible.
"Fast-rope down!" Dylan barked. The Blademasters threw down their ropes and slid rapidly toward the ground.
Isis did not even bother with a rope. She jumped straight from the Airship and used shelling in midair to accelerate even further, hurtling downward with her shield like a meteor toward the softly glowing head of the sleeping Nakarkos.
Finally, it's my turn to wake it up!
"Super Full Burst!"
* * *
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