Chapter 37 – Up the Sky (2)

The balloon floated near the warship. It brushed through the clouds, making a trail that made the balloon appear. The soldiers on the deck of the warship glanced at the balloon with their eyes glaring red. They run near the railing of the warship. They pointed at the air balloon while keeping their eye on the balloon, ready to shoot anytime. It was eerie quiet, only the blowing wind and constant booms down below was there.

A soldier looked up. Then, he saw a muzzle aimed at them. He tried to open his mouth, only to feel his front burning as he gets blown back away. What happened next were three figures vaulting out of the wicker basket of the air balloon. The one leading them shot his rifle at the soldiers. They thought he had to reload but they were surprised how he was able to shot the rifle again.

The air balloon behind them floated up, a person, no, a werecat appeared and pointed the barrel the hand cannon at them. They scattered, but they were blown away by the blast. The explosion and the gunfire made everyone aboard completely alert. The air balloon that carried the three floated just up the deck of the warship, supporting the three by the use of hand cannon.

“Go! Go! Go!” shouted Archie. He slid towards cover and fired the rifle that Joshua lent to him. It was useless to him with how he was using the air balloon to glide and help them.

“Shit!” shouted Cassia, hugging a crate. “This is crazy! A fucking army! We are outnumbered here!”

“No shit!” he shouted, taking a round bomb from his pocket, lighting it, throwing it at the enemy. The bomb exploded as the soldiers taking cover was then blown away.

“Nice!” shouted Archie. He stood up and pointed his rifle, continuously firing it until he reached another cover. He spotted a soldier that was lighting a fuse, but the air balloon up above them shoots out a shot and killed the thrower. Leiko, who was eyeing the deck, gave Archie a nod as she targets the others that tried to flank them or chase them away from cover.

Cassia sprinted and slid through cover. She reloaded her rifle masterly and shot it at the enemies. Cassia hugged the cover as ten she peered up, only for a bullet to almost hit her head. “Shit!” she shouted, trembling slightly.

He like the two of them sprinted to another cover. The armies of soldiers coming at them looked like ants from Leiko’s view. Leiko saw him avoiding the cover, she supported him while Joshua steers the air balloon using the green runes blowing wind. The deck exploded into loud firefights, and only through the support of the air balloon that they manage to somehow stay alive through all these hail of bullet fire. Leiko was a brilliant shot with the hand cannon, she made sure to time her every shot when they were reloading. She did not give any of the enemy soldier’s leeway to pin them down. Of course, the three on the board maneuvered through these pillars. They also made use of the crates and explosives to fend the enemy soldiers.

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Cassia was not able to fire repeatedly like Archie. But she instead made use of the rifles around the ship and shoot them instead of hers. He who was following them use the bombs, he acted like as his their covering fire if Leiko was busy priming her hand cannon. Occasionally, Joshua would go near the balloons keeping the warship afloat. He would use the rune stones that acted as a burner to burn them.

The warship was already half tilted. It was blowing smoke and this made the three fighting on the deck release the canisters given by Joshua. The canisters produced yellow smoke. This smoke scattered through the wind, enveloping the whole army. Joshua steered to see what happened. To his disappointment, he could only see that the smoke bombs only weakened the enemy. He did not have time to worry about his failure. Instead, he steered and assisted the three on the deck.

On top of the deck, three were pinned down by a group of soldiers. Leiko tried to aim but her werecat form vanished. She returned to her normal form and using her demi form weakened her too much. She wasn’t able to support the three and because of that, Cassia got her left shoulder pierced by a stray bullet. She shouted and cried loudly as she touches her wound in agony. Archie who was fighting saw Cassia go down. He roared, he slid near where she was and tightly wrapped her wound with a piece of cloth. Thankfully, he who was behind Archie and Cassia managed to somehow give them cover, giving Leiko enough time to prime her cannon and shoot the group of soldiers.

The floating warships give this eerie sound. The planks below the ship caught fire. There were explosions inside as the barrels exploded when it made contact with the fire. The floating warship rumbled as it then shook the three below who noticed how fast the fire scattered. It was getting hellish down there, Joshua steered near them but the fire pushed the air balloon way.

“Try and reach the other side of the ship!” shouted Joshua. “I can’t get close to the fire! I’ll try to catch you guys! Go!”

“Come on Cassia,” Archie hung Joshua’s rifle on his back and carried Cassia. She protested. “Just run without me...I’ll just hold you two back.”

“No! Fuck that! We are leaving! This ship’s going down and I am not leaving you here!”

“But...”

“No buts!”

“I’ll protect you two,” He said sternly. “I’ll cover your backs! So let’s run!”

“Thanks, buddy!” said Archie. “What was your name? Shit, I am sorry I didn’t ask till now!”

He smiled. He wanted to answer but a pillar where a rope was tied to, got loose. The balloon popped and burned, it fell as the three then started sliding down the ship’s deck. Archie cursed, making use of his and Cassia’s weight to steer clear of the bodies and obstacles. There were still soldiers, and luckily for Archie and Cassia, he was there to cover their backs.