Volume 5 Chapter 279: Sky Ark, The Multifunctional Flags.h.i.+p of the Grim Airs.h.i.+p Fleet
Translator: The Light
Edits by Grandia
At a nameless village somewhere close to the Ryder River that ran between Angus City and Kurus City in the central region of the Aldridge Empire.
Bella and the others who had retreated there were currently battling against the combined attack by the Abyssal Army Ants and the Abyssal Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes. At the moment, it seemed as though they were not going to make it.
The first five layers of the Six Layered Defensive Sword Array that Kriss had set up around the village chief’s hut had already been broken through. Although the sixth and final layer of the array was the most powerful one, cracks were already beginning to appear from the impact of the demonic beings’ attacks. There were countless Abyssal Devil-Tooth Fish inside the Ryder River waiting for the girls to fall into the water.
In that moment of crisis, the Grim Airs.h.i.+p Fleet from the Sarnia Duchy arrived in the nick of time. The frenzied attacks by the Abyssal Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes were suppressed by the cannons on the Grim Airs.h.i.+p. The mosquitoes gathered all their forces and attempted to attack the formation’s flags.h.i.+p, the “Sky Ark”. However, the Grim Airs.h.i.+p Fleet was relentless and refused to budge from their formation, preventing any of their enemies from breaking through their four layers of defenses.
When the other reinforcement airs.h.i.+ps finally arrived, the commander of the Grim Airs.h.i.+p Fleet, Princess Annie, heaved a sigh of relief. More than eighty airs.h.i.+ps had joined the main formation that had been hovering above the nameless village. With the onslaught of cannon attacks from hundreds of airs.h.i.+ps, the angry swarms of Abyssal Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes eventually dispersed and buzzed around indignantly in the skies.
“What a majestic fleet. Bella, your Sarnia Duchy’s strength... isn’t it a little... it’s practically almost...”
Looking at the giant airs.h.i.+ps in the air, it took Princess Effie’s breath away. Even her own home nation, the Aldridge Empire, also known as the Nation of Arcana, might have some trouble trying to gather such immense forces. Each Grim Airs.h.i.+p had the Sarnia Duchy’s mark placed prominently on it and was especially striking as it caught the light.
For a moment, Princess Effie had the impression that the Sarnia Duchy should actually be called the Sarnia Empire instead. The fleet of Grim Airs.h.i.+ps alone would be enough to level the playing field with the other Human empires.
As they were currently in the central region of the Aldridge Empire, it was too far away from the coastline. Otherwise, Bella would have summoned her demonic navy for a.s.sistance. The moment she sent out the communication demonic being to President Caroline, she recalled that the other girl was practically useless in combat. In the end, she had no choice but to send for backup from her own empire instead.
“Princess Effie, you must be joking. Come, I’ll escort you onto the airs.h.i.+p. Lisha, Kriss, keep an eye on the last layer of the Defensive Sword Array. The three of us will be the last to leave...”
“Alright, Older Sister Bella.”
“Mmm, Bella, you must move quickly. I don’t think that my defensive array can last much longer.”
While Lisha and Kriss returned to guard the sixth layer of the Defensive Sword Array, Bella was responsible for transporting the other girls from the three academies safely onto the Grim Airs.h.i.+p Fleet’s flags.h.i.+p, the “Sky Ark”.
Earlier on, ghosts had tugged and pulled at the girls’ legs, including Princess Effie’s, causing them to be severely weakened. Because of this, they were unable to board the “Sky Ark” by climbing up the soft floating ladder that was attached to the airs.h.i.+p. Bella had no other choice but to work together with President Dinah and Vice-President Anya who were already on the airs.h.i.+p. They had arranged with the other student a.s.sa.s.sins from the Alessandra Academy to toss the a.s.sa.s.sin’s grappling hook down to the girls and pull them up into the “Sky Ark”.
Princess Effie was the first to be carried out. After all, this was the Aldridge Empire’s territory. The fleet of military airs.h.i.+ps from Bella’s Sarnia Duchy had entered the central region of the Aldridge Empire without obtaining prior permission. Without Princess Effie, Bella’s actions could potentially be perceived as an act of war. To prevent any unnecessary complications, protecting Princess Effie was of utmost importance. As she was a member of the Aldridge Empire’s royal family, having her approval would mean that Bella’s earlier actions would not be taken as a call for war.
“Bella, isn’t this rope enough? Why do you have so much more of those red ropes in your hands?”
“Well, Princess Effie, please place your hands behind your back. Mhmm, just like that... those a.s.sa.s.sin’s ropes aren’t very stable. I just need to place a few knots on you to stabilize everything, that’s all.”
Bella cradled Princess Effie in her arms and walked into the backyard. When they arrived, she saw a large bundle of red ropes fall from the skies. Naturally, the princess would feel curious and ask Bella about them. While no one was paying attention, Bella had secretly sent a signal to Princess Annie, who was on the “Sky Ark”, to toss these ropes down to her.
Upon hearing Bella’s explanation, Princess Effie was not suspicious at all. Instead, she obediently placed her hands behind her back, as per Bella’s request. Bella picked up the red ropes and tied Princess Effie up with the same humiliating methods that she had seen on the island nations in her previous world.
“Bella, you... these knots are too strange. I can’t even move my hands and feet at all. Bella, could you have...”
“It’s no problem. Alright, we’re good to go.”
Princess Effie, who was still in the dark about the truth, had been tied up in a humiliating manner, attached to the ropes and was pulled up to the “Sky Ark”. She had no clue that she had unknowingly boarded Bella’s “pirate s.h.i.+p”. As Lisha and Kris were busy standing guard over their last line of defence, they did not realize that Bella had used saving the girls as an excuse to revert to her old ways.
When Princess Effie arrived aboard the “Sky Ark”, she was welcomed by President Caroline, Vice-President Anya, and President Dinah. Her face was slightly flushed. It was too embarra.s.sing for her to be carried, practically naked, up to the airs.h.i.+p while she was wrapped up in ropes like this.
However, Princess Effie did not expect that the girls on this airs.h.i.+p were in the same position. Every single one of them were completely naked. Since the students from the Alexis a.s.sa.s.sins Academy and the Frederica Academy did not encounter any attacks from the abyss demonic beings, there was no reason to think that they would remove their clothes like that as well.
Other than being completely naked, President Dinah and the other girls all had a red leather collar around their necks that was securely fastened by a delicate little lock. When she caught sight of Princess Effie, President Dinah approached her with a smile on her face and a similar red leather collar in her hand.
“President Dinah, President Caroline, why are you in this state... where are your clothes? Wait, don’t get too close, you look too...”
“Princess Effie, from now on, we are all sisters. Don’t be shy. If you are, the only position you can be in over here is to be pinned underneath someone...”
“Wait, I’m not going to wear anything! Where’s Bella? I’m getting off, I’m not going to allow this airs.h.i.+p...”
“Be quiet, Princess Effie. You’re already up here and you can’t get down... stay with us!”
Princess Effie was being held down by President Dinah and President Caroline as they placed a red collar on her slender neck. As she was trapped in her restraints, Princess Effie could not put up any resistance at all. She could only watch as her last semblance of modesty, the two band-aids in her chest, was taken away from her by Vice-President Anya.
Princess Effie’s attempt to speak came too late. President Dinah had taken out a small ball and stuffed it into the princess’s dainty little mouth. She was then transferred further into the “Sky Ark”. They had to clean off all the grime and dirt from their bodies first.
Every girl who boarded the “Sky Ark” met the same fate as Princess Effie. All of them had the last band-aids on their chests removed, had a red collar placed around their necks and a ball gag stuffed inside their mouths. Then, they were moved further inside the “Sky Ark”. President Angelia, President Alephia, and President Gladdis, had the same confused looks on their faces.
It was one thing for Bella to take advantage of them, it’s another for President Dinah and President Caroline to follow in her footsteps.
Bella had specifically tied up those three Mages in the most erotic and sensual way possible. If they were to struggle, the strategically placed knots and the thin red ropes would rub against their most sensitive areas, arousing them. Only the creme de la creme of dominants would be able to come up with such an evil method of bondage.
President Angelia and the others tried to struggle. However, the arousal that shot through their body as the ropes rubbed against their bodies were too much. In the end, they gave up struggling and resisting. If they were to continue putting up resistance, Angelia was worried that they might end up feeling even weirder. Giving up was a much better option.
As Bella had saved them before, President Angelia and the others inexplicably had the wool pulled over their eyes and never suspected a thing when Bella had been tying them up. All the girls from the three academies had been “wiped out” and abducted them onto this special “air pirate s.h.i.+p”.
Fortunately for them, their captors were familiar faces. They were the beauties from the Alexis Academy and Frederica Academy. After putting up a show of a struggle, the female students from the magical faculty were resigned to their fate. Since there were no males around, this “Sky Ark” was technically the safest place they could be in. Everything else was simply a prank.
Bella had been afraid that Princess Effie and the other girls would make a fuss or have an extreme reaction when they saw the Skeleton soldiers on the “Sky Ark”. Thus she came up with the idea to use the thin red ropes to tie them up. Little did she know that President Dinah and the rest would misunderstand that she had naughty plans in store for them and helped her out instead.
By the time Bella came aboard, Princess Effie and the other girls had already been bound and held captive at the rest area inside the “Sky Ark”. This time, Bella managed to get a really good bargain.
Once Bells tied up the last girl with the red ropes and attached her to the hook, she immediately went back to the front yard. In that same moment, the last layer of Kriss’ Sword Defensive Barrier was destroyed by the Abyssal Army Ants.
“Let’s go, Kriss, Lisha, it’s been hard on you!”
“Phew, Bella, if you were any later, you wouldn’t be able to see me anymore... stop pinching, I was wrong...”
“Kriss, I will not allow you to say depressing things like this. I’ve said this before, I will leave no girl behind and will take every single one of you along with me, no matter what happens.”
Bella picked up her younger sister Lisha’s pet.i.te body in one hand and dragged Kriss behind her as they ran for their lives. She already had a piece of rope attached to her waist. The moment Bella successfully grabbed on to both girls, those on the “Sky Ark” immediately pulled them up along with the soft ladder. Since the Abyssal Army Ants could not fly, they could only watch furiously as the girls were lifted off the ground.
When Bella, Kriss, and Lisha arrived safely on the “Sky Ark”, the Grim Airs.h.i.+p Fleet began to climb to a higher alt.i.tude. Before the fleet left, hundreds of exploding barrels were tossed down from each airs.h.i.+p, setting the area ablaze. Like most abyss demonic beings, the Abyssal Army Ants had a strong resistance to magic but were completely useless against biological attacks and perished in the explosions.
After the Grim Airs.h.i.+p fleet of more than one hundred airs.h.i.+ps had risen more than five hundred meters in the air, they began to move towards Kurus City. If they traveled along the Ryder River, the fleet would arrive in Kurus City very soon. However, the Abyssal Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes continued to follow the fleet. Due to the abyss demonic beings’ innate bloodthirsty instincts, they were extremely determined to capture their prey, especially the ones that barely slipped past them.
The swarm of Abyssal Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes wanted to attack the fleet’s flags.h.i.+p, the “Sky Ark”. However, it was flanked and surrounded by more than a hundred Grim Airs.h.i.+ps, covering it from all directions. As the Abyssal Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes knew that they were up against a concentrated nine layers of cannon defenses, they could only observe from afar and did not dare to approach it at all.
Inside the “Sky Ark”, Bella sent Lisha and Kriss to the shower room before making an excuse to leave. The commander’s airs.h.i.+p was suitable for both military and civilian use. Except for wartime, the design of the airs.h.i.+p’s interior was the same as the high cla.s.s suites inside the Human’s luxury hotels.
During peacetime, the airs.h.i.+p “Sky Ark” was basically a giant floating hotel. It was extremely satisfying to enjoy fine wine and delicious cuisine with beautiful ladies at your side. As the “Sky Ark” was the Demon King Bella’s personal airs.h.i.+p, it was not open to the public and only those on Bella’s side would be able to enjoy all those benefits.
Other than one hundred and fifty Skeleton soldiers, there were also more than eighty kemonomimi servants aboard the “Sky Ark”. These were girls that Bella had recruited from the third of the Beastmen continent that had been invaded by the Darkness Sacred Region. Those servants consisted of around twenty girls from each of the various Beastmen clans – the Fox, Cat, Wolf and Rabbit.
The kemonomimi servants had very clear roles. The Wolf girls were responsible for maintaining order within the activity areas while the Skeleton soldiers would take care of the combat areas. The gentle Rabbit girls were given the role of maids who would escort and accompany the gusts from the restaurant to their rooms. Cat girls were only tasked to send food and drinks and the Fox girls focused on performing. The latter two were not required to perform any special bedside services for guests.
Regardless of the clan that the kemonomimi servant belonged to, every single one of them was completely naked. Each girl had a black collar around their necks as an indicator of their status.
These kemonomimi were specially selected young maidens who were inexperienced and still had pure bodies. The four kemonomimi princesses were the head servants on the “Sky Ark” and were technically servants here as well. However, they did not join the journey this time. Otherwise, they would have made an appearance to personally welcome Bella.
Of course, to this hidden mastermind, rules did not exist. As long as Bella liked the girl, she could take the servant back to her bedroom and it did not matter which clan she belonged to.
The optimal capacity for the “Sky Ark” was approximately two hundred and fifty people. There were slightly more than one hundred female students from the five academies. With the addition of nearly ninety kemonomimi servants, there were just over two hundred of them. The other Skeleton soldiers on board were extremely light. It would take five Skeleton soldiers to make up the weight of an average human male. Since they would only take up the weight of thirty men, they would not cause the s.h.i.+p to exceed its maximum weight limit.
The other regular Grim Airs.h.i.+ps around the “Sky Ark” had a maximum capacity of around one hundred people. These were purely made for combat and could carry more than five hundred Skeleton artillery soldiers. In total, the airs.h.i.+ps carried more than fifty thousand Skeleton soldiers, which technically was a rather large army.
Bella looked around as she walked along the wooden floors on the “Sky Ark”. This was her first time here. However, she had seen it a few times when the Darkness Sacred Region was still building this super airs.h.i.+p. She felt as though she was walking on the deck of a large sailboat. Bella decided to go with the flow and took off her band-aid style undergarments and walked around the super airs.h.i.+p barefoot.
The unspoken rule that one must be naked on board was not set simply because of the Demon King Bella’s poor taste. The main reason was that the “Sky Ark” was powered by burning magical ingredients and thus generated a lot of heat as it moved. Although most of it was channeled out of the airs.h.i.+p by the exhaust system, the remaining heat would cause the “Sky Ark” to have significantly higher interior temperatures.
The best way to beat the sweltering heat on the super airs.h.i.+p, the “Sky Ark”, was to be completely naked. Only women were allowed to board this super airs.h.i.+p. Even if they were to bare themselves, it would not be too shameful as they were all of the same gender.
In the beginning, some of the kemonomimi had chosen to wear sheer undergarments to maintain some semblance of modesty. However, after much persuasion from their peers, they finally gave in and walked around naked like everyone else. By now, the kemonomimi servants had already gotten used to working like this and were not too resistant when Bella and the other human beauties boarded the airs.h.i.+p for the first time.
“If only we were on vacation. What a waste to be here on business! The view here is fine...”
When Bella arrived at the commander’s control room, she was met with her personal servant, Princess Annie. Consciously, she stood at the position of Vice-Commander and left the position for Commander-in-Chief for Bella.
The Grim Airs.h.i.+p Fleet was approaching Kurus City. Even from a distance, Bella could see the flames as they blazed throughout the city. She knew that the lord of Kurus City, Earl Kirk the Sixth, was a good-for-nothing n.o.bleman. However, he had been far too casual when dealing with this crisis and caused the downfall of one of the Aldridge Empire’s most famous cities.
“Earl Kirk the Sixth is too useless. He barely made it past half a day before falling to the enemy. Where did the one hundred thousand imperial soldiers go...”
“Mistress Bella, when I picked up President Caroline and President Dinah earlier, Kurus City was already showing signs of being broken through. The soldiers from the Aldridge Empire had all been sent to guard the city walls when the Abyss Demonic Insects infiltrated the city from underneath the ground.
“Seriously... there’s someone there... it’s...”