Chapter 166: Do Not Waste Mana

"Hoo loo loo..."

A red-eyed Gnome who was corrupted by the Ancient Gods charged at Peasant, who was guarding the door.

A few large Kite Shields and Winterfell Standard Square Shields were braced in front of the Control Room. The Gnomes were behind the shields wielding Short Swords. They closed their eyes and stabbed outside using the gaps between the shields.

The gamers' tactic worked out. After ten minutes, the monsters weren't able to get past them.

In the Control Room, a Gnome was gaping at Hemp Rope Technology, who was using the tools to adjust the machine. Then Hemp Rope Technology kicked at the machine and used the tools to hammer the machine.

"Great!"

After a series of strange adjustments to the machine, Hemp Rope Technology threw the tool aside and said, "D*mn, I thought it was an engine, but the difference is huge. I'll research this later. Let's see if this works."

The Gnome was looking at Hemp Rope Technology as though he were a fool, but he had no other choice except to infuse Mana into the Magical Core and machine.

"Hum—!"

The Magical Core was ignited by Mana and emitted droning sounds like a motor engine.

The Mana provided by the Magical Core made the large machine hum to life.

The large machine started vibrating.

"Success... it works?"

The Gnome looked in disbelief at the machine and then Hemp Rope Technology.

"What do we do next? Can it fly?"

NotWearingPants had just finished asking when the Airship started quaking violently. The gamers were thrown off balance and fell to the ground.

The braced shields also collapsed.

The attacking monsters outside the Control Room also lost their balance due to the sudden jerking of the Airship.

The Airship lifted unsteadily as it roared to life. As the propulsion of the Airship was activated, the Trident was also lifted, and the gray Mana mist dissipated.

It was like a flying device breaking out of the clouds. The Airship was a prominent object in the sky above the battlefield.

Thunderous cheers erupted below the Airship.

"Let's go! Warriors! You've completed an impossible mission! Let's return to the deck and control the Magic Cannons!" the Gnome shouted.

"Wait, what about the rewards?"

NotWearingPants tugged at the Gnome.

"When the battle ends, you'll have your well-deserved rewards. Warriors, the Merchant Alliance will not treat you unfairly." the Gnome said solemnly.

"How do we get out?"

Peasant looked tired as he gazed at the newly corrupted monsters that were advancing. Though the number was less than the monsters below, there were at least a hundred monsters, while there were only eleven of them. Twelve if the NPC Gnome was included.

To defeat them and access the deck was a challenging task.

The Gnome NPC took out a metal stick and ignited it using Mana. Then he put it in his mouth and took out a hand-held Magic Machine Gun. He puffed out a mushroom cloud and said with determination, "Follow me, warriors. I hope the damaged Airship is able to hold."

...

Dragonborn received a hero's cheering, but only for a while. When the Airship was shot by the Trident and crashed with a gray Mana mist, he realized that victory was slipping away.

Their trump card, which was the Airship, was shot down by a gigantic Trident. The ensuing battle depended on the gamers and the NPCs. It would be extremely difficult for them to win if there were no changes to the Plot.

The battle had to continue.

Without the suppressive fire from the Airship, the strength of the Ancient Gods army swelled quickly. Dragonborn and SealHeadLingChong were taken unaware by the flood of red-skinned monsters. Fortunately, the Eternal Fire troops had reformed their formation after the Ancient Giant was defeated.

Dragonborn and SealHeadLingChong followed this troop formation in the battle. They were occasionally protected by the formation. Some NPCs even spoke to them.

"Take care, hero. Don't die here."

"This is the first time I saw a creature kill an Ancient Giant single-handedly."

"You're a powerful Gnome!"

And other similar compliments.

The battle became more intense. Dragonborn could no longer see the gamers' formation.

As the Eternal Fire troop formation was stuck in a quagmire, and in a precarious situation, a roaring noise filled the battlefield.

Miraculously, the crashed Airship was airborne again. It broke through the thick gray Mana mist.

Everyone around Dragonborn was cheering.

The slipping morale was uplifted by the airborne Airship. The passionate war cries filled Dragonborn with adrenaline.

Before long, small scale explosions appeared within the cabins of the wobbling Airship.

Dragonborn was worried, hoping that everything was fine...

...

Within the Airship cabins, the Magic Machine Gun fired small-scale gun shells that ripped through the wooden deck and sent tens of the Ancient Gods monsters flying with limited explosions.

The gaping holes caused by the explosions created strong turbulence, making the gamers have to squint their eyes.

The Black Armored Arthur slashed with his Short Sword at a charging corrupted Gnome who collapsed to the ground. With a shield bash, he knocked another corrupted Gnome to the ground. NotWearingPants finished them off with his Short Sword.

"The deck is just in front! There shouldn't be many foes up there! We have to use the Magic Cannons to kill the Ancient Gods commander before the Airship crashes!" the Gnome yelled in the howling wind.

"What? Before the Airship crashes?"

Peasant thought he had heard wrong. Then he noticed the gaping hole in the ship's body and the cabins, which were peppered with damage from the Magic Machine Gun.

"Gosh, this is getting exciting. We are helping to turn the tide while the Airship is about to crash. We are like the lead characters in a movie," BurningChestHair grasped his dagger and said excitedly. Then, he asked bewilderedly, "Wait, if you defeat all of them using Magic Cannons, what about me, the critical strike warrior? There's no chance for me to be a hero!"

"Forget it. In this kind of a battle scene, there will be various huge killing weapons appearing to fulfill the scene requirements. A warrior like you is responsible for clearing the small monsters, and the rest will be killed according to Plot!" NotWearingPants said.

"Warriors! Follow me!" the Gnome shouted to the gamers as he carried the Magic Machine Gun and dashed to the deck.

The other gamers followed closely behind. There was no time for salvaging equipment.

When they arrived on the deck and surveyed the battlefield below, they saw the densely packed Ancient Gods army surrounding the diminished Eternal Fire troops that were still holding strong.

The Eternal Kingdom troops were scattered all over the place.

The Gnome NPC pointed to the two rows of huge Magic Cannons and shouted, "Quick! You'll take control of the Magic Cannons! I'll control the helm!"

A new mission appeared before the gamers' eyes:

[Hidden Mission: Use the Magic Cannons to kill the Ancient Gods commander.

Note: Aim accurately. Do not waste Mana!]