When I was working as a civil servant, I was found out to be a muscle-brained knight by the princess knight and got sent to the front lines - Episode 182

Episode 182

Jumping from the ground and punching in mid-air—if you put it into words, it sounds like child’s play. But when the strongest man in humanity does it, everything changes.

Gerald, in his natural and effortless manner, leaped from the ground to a height of 1,000 meters. With a single strike, he shattered the multi-layered defensive barrier protecting the Skybound Ark–Mandjet/Mesektet, even in the air where he shouldn’t have had any leverage. The ship was blown away by the force of Gerald’s punch, but it managed to regain its posture. It narrowly avoided a direct hit.

Just before the attack, Victor had gathered magic power at the spot where Gerald was aiming and hastily deployed five layers of defensive barriers. However, every single one of them was shattered. If even one barrier had been missing, the ship’s fate would have been unthinkable… or perhaps, Jez couldn’t help but consider the unsettling possibility that Gerald had held back just enough to break all the barriers. But for now, Jez and the others decided not to dwell on that.

The defensive barriers shattered with a deafening crash, as if two massive objects had collided at high speed. Gerald began to descend back to the ground, buying Jez and the others some time—or so they thought.

“No way! Seriously?” 

Victor shouted, eyes gleaming with excitement. In front of him, Gerald was using the shards of the shattered barrier as footholds to run through the air. He attempted to approach the Sky bound Ark–Mandjet/Mesektet once again.

The ship’s alarm blared, and many of the crew inside had lost their balance from the earlier shock. Realizing the danger of allowing Gerald to get closer, Jez was just about to react when the ship’s port side suddenly deployed its cannons and unleashed a barrage of attacks. Apparently, Victor had taken control of the ship. Even Gerald had to give up on approaching in the face of such overwhelming firepower, but he continued to maneuver through the air, using the barrage itself as footholds.

As everyone’s attention was focused on Gerald, another attack came from below.

A dull thud shook the ship from the bottom, followed by a series of explosions. It seemed they were under concentrated fire from the regiment of 1,500 soldiers on the ground. Distracted by Gerald’s overwhelming presence, Jez and the others had momentarily forgotten. Even without Gerald, the 2nd Legion was the most elite force of the Tashman Kingdom. They were still a formidable opponent that couldn’t be ignored.

The attacks from the ground were varied, including magic strikes and even the hurling of massive boulders. Jamil and the Al-Faz unit averted their eyes when they noticed several soldiers casually tossing boulders. Despite everything, the ship’s hastily restructured defensive barriers managed to fend off all the attacks, but they wouldn’t last forever.

Gerald was closing in from the air, while the 2nd Legion on the ground was bombarding the ship with overwhelming firepower. Jez found himself in a bit of denial, thinking, “Wasn’t this supposed to be about my 11th Legion dominating the battlefield with our airship?” 

But the situation was far from that; the airship was on the verge of being sunk, even though this was supposed to be a mock battle. Realizing he needed to get serious, Jez steeled himself.

“Everyone!! Don’t be overwhelmed by the 2nd Legion’s power!! We knew they were strong, so let’s turn this around from here!!!”

The 11th Legion responded to Jez’s rallying cry with a roar of determination. Hearing the shouts carried on the wind from the Skybound Ark–Mandjet/Mesektet, Gerald’s expression softened. He had thought the battle would be over in an instant, but it seemed their spirits were unbroken. He was glad to see Jez was doing well. Now, how would they recover from this? Gerald was genuinely excited as he prepared to approach the ship once more.

Gerald Norman, Commander of the 2nd Legion… Please, stop casually engaging in aerial combat without any equipment.

・　・　・

This mock battle was primarily for those who would be participating in the expedition to the Divina Papal State. Therefore, René, Erin, and Lilly, who were still on board, were observing from the bridge this time.

All three had seen Gerald fight in public matches before, but they were still stunned by his overwhelming power. Lilly, though maintaining a serious expression as she quietly observed the battle, was inwardly panicking: “What? This is way too much, right? This has to be cheating,” she thought. She was genuinely terrified by Gerald’s overwhelming strength.

Even for those who had seen Gerald several times, this situation was overwhelming. As for the members of the Al-Faz unit, who were seeing Gerald Norman for the first time, it was easy to imagine how they must have felt.

Gerald’s name and martial prowess were well-known throughout the Tashman Kingdom. However, the Al-Faz unit was mostly composed of southern-born members. They had assumed that some of the stories about Gerald were likely exaggerated. But after witnessing the recent clash, they realized the truth: if anything, the rumors had been understated. It was probably because the unembellished truth would have been too unbelievable for anyone to accept.

The 11th Legion had been completely outmaneuvered by Gerald and the 2nd Legion, and they were at a severe disadvantage. It wouldn’t have been surprising if the battle had ended with them unable to do anything.

“Damn it, guess I have no choice!!!”

Just as the atmosphere on the bridge was about to turn heavy, Jez suddenly raised his voice as if he had come to a bold decision. His expression shone like that of a mischievous child.

“Victor!! We’re going all out!! I need your help!!”

“I’ve been waiting for you to say that, partner!!”

Once known as the most fearsome duo of the Royal Academy, and now the young geniuses destined to lead the future of the Tashman Kingdom, the two exchanged a high-five on the bridge.

“I’ll hold off Commander Gerald! Victor and Lucretia, take care of the ship. Archbishop Edelmar and Jamil, handle the ground forces!”

Jez quickly gave out orders, and everyone responded and sprang into action. As Jez made his way from the bridge to the outer deck of the ship, he exchanged a glance with Erin and nodded.

“I’m off.”  

“Good luck.”

With those brief words, he leaped out into the open sky. His official uniform fluttered in the wind as he plummeted toward the ground.

“Come forth! Civilian Control – Enlightenment Leviathan – Chaos Gate!!!!”

In a flash of light, his uniform transformed. Massive gauntlets appeared on his hands, and what seemed like large rocket engines were mounted on his back.

As Gerald spotted Jez leaping from the ship, his face broke into his biggest smile of the day. He rushed forward, winding up his fist with all his might.

“Jez!!! You look well!!! Your father is so happy!!!!”

In the sky, the civil servant and the strongest human finally clashed.