CH 91

Chapter 91

Super Sky Fortress 1

: Clash with the Imperial Navy 2

“Destroyers Tsurugi, Meiro, and Mellos have all been sunk!!! Cruisers Vest and Drip have also been sunk!!!”

Looking up to the sky from the fleet, intense anti-aircraft gunfire swept over the unending darkness. The anti-aircraft guns of the Gra Valkas Empire, which had unsparingly obliterated their foes back in Yggdra, the dragon knights of this world, and even the floating ships of the heavens of the Holy Mirishial Empire, couldn’t score a single hit on the enemy rockets that hounded on them like they were prey. Multiple ships within the fleet were hit by the missiles as fireballs emerged from the dark. Their ships have been sinking at a rate so fast that reports couldn’t catch up as the entire situation degraded into tragedy.

Screams of anger, which could no longer be discerned as to whether they’re reports or just hopelessness, filled their communications network.

“A-are we done for???”

Mirkenses finally realized how powerless she was to try to bridge the absurd disparity in their combat capacity. At the moment she tried to issue an order, an anti-ship guided missile struck the bow of the battleship. A dazzling light appeared, followed by a thunderous sound as the ship violently rocked.

“Kya!”

She screams.

“L-Lady Mirkenses!!!”

The explosion violently shook the ship and destroyed parts of the bridge’s structure, throwing Mirkenses off the ship and into the ocean.

It was cold.

It was dark.

Having been thrown into the ocean, seawater rushed into her mouth.

She struggled, not knowing which way was up or down.

It was cold.

She couldn’t breathe.

She panicked as she struggled for air.

Finally reaching the ocean surface, she gasped for air as she clung for dear life on a piece of ship blown off by the blast.

“Everyone… I was… powerless… I’m sorry…”

Right in front of her eyes was the flagship Valcer, wrecked and burning in flames from successive direct hits by anti-ship guided missiles.

・・・

Flagship Grade Atlastar , Combined Fleet, Gra Valkas Empire

“Excuse me.”

Knocking on the door to a meeting room, a military official comes in.

“Do we have the info?”

The highest positioned of the Three Great Generals, the God of War Caesar, glared at the official.

“Yes!”

“So?”

Before the report was made on paper, the information was swiftly transmitted to the officials.

“This evening, the 1st Advance Fleet and the 2nd Advance Fleet were attacked by the Japanese military. The attack was made from a range where they weren’t able to determine where they were being attacked from. The enemy made use of… guided bombs. They said that the bombs were guided onto its target, whether they’re aircraft or ship, and hit firmly and reliably… Furthermore, the deception apparatuses developed by the Advanced Technologies Laboratory had no effect on the Japanese guided bombs. The 2nd Advance Fleet was annihilated and the 1st Advance Fleet, save for 9 destroyers, was also annihilated. Mirkenses’s fate remains unknown.”

“What?!”

“The advance fleets, combined or on their own, were massive! Are you telling me they were all wiped out?! Impossible!”

“There must be something wrong!”

The room erupted in shouts. Caesar continued to think in absolute silence. They were a large force, second only to the main fleet. The fact remains that a 440-ship fleet, which included carriers and battleships, was annihilated. HQ’s worst assumptions were actually true. The enemy possessed and used guided bombs which boasted a near-perfect hit rate.

Unless they malfunctioned, these bombs hit their target.

Creating 100 of these bombs, while pricey, was naturally much cheaper than creating 100 cruisers or destroyers. The enemy’s position also remains unknown. With that said, the enemy possessed far superior eyes and ears, supplemented by weapons which allowed them to target and attack from afar.

Caesar wanted to withdraw from the operation immediately, but the punishment of Japan is an order from the Office of the Sovereign.

It meant that the order was basically the Emperor’s will and so retreating wasn’t an option, even if it meant saving much of their main force. The men of that office aren’t military men. If they retreat and preserve a big chunk of the great fleet, which they’ve poured so much effort into building up, then they’d brand every single military official as criminals.

In the end, they had no choice but to move forward. Everyone understood that.

The meeting continued.

“It is now understood that the enemy attack can’t be stopped. Is there a possibility they’ll run out of ammunition?”

“That’s hard to know for certain.”

“We are a massive force but I don’t think it’s impossible for the enemy to prepare a thousand of those guided bombs. If we don’t even know where they are then we have no way of fighting at all. At this rate, our great imperial fleet… Our glorious navy will be helplessly… slaughtered!”

“Do we at least know where the enemy bases are?”

“A-about that!”

The man who came to report a while ago speaks up. Since he was cut off by an officer a while ago, he waited for an opportunity to speak up.

“We received a transmission from home. They received reports from local intelligence operatives that the enemy took off from bases in the Rodenius continent, particularly Louria, Quila, and the Nahanath Kingdom.”

“So that means…”

A light appears in Caesar’s eyes.

“Contact HQ and have the fleet stationed in Riem to promptly sortie and attack Japan! As for the Imperial Army Air Corps stationed there, have them conduct bombing runs on the Japanese mainland. Riem’s naval force isn’t much but have them sortie out as well since there’s significance in numbers. Lastly, tell HQ I’m requesting for the deployment of the Super Heavy Bombing Unit to conduct their own bombing run in sync with the Riem forces. As for us, we will head out for Nahanath and attack the Japanese base there!”

“But if we don’t resupply at Qaiz and Groot, we won’t be able to reach the Japanese mainland!”

“I know. If the Imperial Navy and the Imperial Army Air Corps from Riem as well as the super heavy bombing unit were to all attack them at once, they’d have no choice but to prioritize the defense of their mainland. So that no more attacks would come, if their ammunition is limited, all of them would be allocated to their mainland. If we resupply at Qaiz and Groot and set out, we would have given those bastards time to regroup and resupply.

The enemy is studying us, you see. Those bastards naturally have expected us to come after them once we resupply and have built their operation around this expectation. With that in mind, we don’t play by their expectations so that they won’t have time to resupply. By letting the force in Riem attack first, we throw a wrench into their concentration of force while we sneak up on their frontline base in Nahanath with our massive fleet and strike them. If this doesn’t work, then nothing will as long as we are technologically disadvantaged. We will resupply at Qaiz and Groot after attacking Nahanath and plan out where we go from there.”

“Are you saying that the attack from Riem and the Super Heavy Bombing Unit is… a decoy?”

“If we’re talking about the Super Heavy Bombing Unit, there’s a chance that the Japanese weapons wouldn’t be able to reach their altitude. In addition, I’m interested in whether Japan will attack Riem’s homeland. It will serve as a reference for the future.”

“There’s no way a country will not attack another country that has sent an attack force to attack them.”

“That is the case, usually. According to scraps of info I got from the Intelligence Bureau, those guys are peculiar. Up to this point, we have underestimated Japan due to their unique diplomatic movements but… whatever. Let’s not go down without having given those bastards some bruises!”

Commander of the Gra Valkas Imperial Navy’s Combined Fleet, Caesar, has decided to press forward to Nahanath without stopping for resupply.

・・・

Hilkiga, Kingdom of Riem, Third Civilization Area

Kirtana, a lord of the royal capital, who was entrusted with general affairs, was sweating profusely. Sitting cross-legged in front of him was Beidart Sval from the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the Gra Valkas Empire.

“W-what is this? What does this mean?”

“It’s as it says on the document. The destroyer squadron we lent to the Kingdom of Riem will leave the port of Xenia at once and anchor at Hilkiga by tonight. Tomorrow morning, they will be returned to the empire and will commence an attack on the Japanese mainland. Furthermore, the Imperial Army Air Corps stationed in the airbase on the outskirts of the capital will sortie with them at the same time. Strictly speaking there are others but that’s none of your concern.”

“That I understand. The King agrees with those terms. However, we have a problem with the last term. It says here that our navy in its entirety must also commence an attack on Japan, including the wyverns at our disposal. This isn’t part of the stipulation at all and our wyverns can’t even reach the Japanese mainland in the first place.”

“Can’t you understand from the context?… Goodness, this world is full of barbarians.”

“What?”

“Do you understand the position in which you are right now? In the blink of an eye, we can annihilate you, yeah? We will commence a large-scale attack. For that, you guys will be coming to support us. Is there something wrong with that? Are you perhaps thinking of saying, on the off-chance the empire loses, that it’s the empire’s fault and that you have nothing to do with it? Do you think you can receive all these benefits without participating with us in the attack?”

Beidart Sval gets to the heart of the matter.

“I know that the wyvern’s cruising range isn’t enough, but don’t you have several dragon carriers? Just stack as many wyverns as you can on them and send as many ships as you can. There will still be a large portion of wyverns left, but you can use them to attack Japanese merchant ships anchored in neighboring countries. There’s a town called Duro in the east of the Parpaldia Empire, correct? Attack their merchant ships and their consulate there with your wyverns.”

“Huh??? W-wait!”

Royal lord Kirtana desperately chased after Beidart Sval.

“The Parpaldia Empire, despite being largely weakened since their war with Japan, is still a former superpower. Their dragon knights possess wyvern lords which are far more powerful than our wyverns. If we actually carry this out, it will be the same as declaring war on both Japan and the Parpaldia Empire! We will be crushed! Please reconsider these terms!”

“If you follow our orders, your country won’t be crushed. The ones that will be crushed are Japan. I can’t say the details but with this coming attack, we will be bringing a force at a scale that will crush your country tenfold. With this, there’s no need to be wary of a country like Parpaldia. They’re no match for us.

This is an order, so go tell your king. The coming operation is an order from the empire’s Office of the Sovereign itself. Once the empire puts its back into something, the world we envision has no need for fools who don’t listen to us. Choose: You come with us or your country goes down.”

“…”

Royal lord Kirtana goes on to tell the King of Beidart Sval’s statement. On the same day, at a conference with the king, the Kingdom of Riem decided to abide by the empire’s will.

That night

“GAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!”

A strange voice echoes all throughout the royal castle.

“Your Majesty! What’s wrong?!”

“ARGHH!!!”

King Banks, who was crying, screaming, and clawing on his face, was throwing the flower vases in his vicinity and breaking them.

“No!!! Don’t do anything rash!!!”

“If only those bastards weren’t strong!!! Fuck!!! We’re done for!!! We’re fucking done for!!!”

The aide realized what the king was talking about.

“Your Majesty!!! Couldn’t we just say our hand is forced by the empire?”

“Our foes are not only Japan, but the Parpaldia Empire and… and… and the Holy Mirishial Empire! Fuck! It’s no use! We’re fucking done for!!!”

King Banks’s wails echoed throughout the royal castle all night.

・・・

Special Annihilation Division, Ragna, Gra Valkas Empire

“General Caesar has personally requested for the Super Heavy Bombing Unit’s dispatch.”

A staff member reports to Division Chief Arley Tolliger.

“Oh? Why now of all times…”

Having no combat history to date, the Super Heavy Bombing Unit was new, only being established right after their transfer to the New World. Their task was to bomb enemy territory from super high altitudes which cannot be reached by enemy fighters. Since they scatter a large amount of unguided bombs, they are better suited for city-wide destruction bombing than bombing strategic targets. In short, they were meant for large-scale indiscriminate bombing. At the heart of their unit is their latest super heavy bomber, the Guti Maun, which uses the empire’s latest mass produced engines. If a Japanese person who is a little knowledgeable about the old army looks at the Guti Maun, it would probably remind them of the Nakajima G10N Fugaku1, the envisioned super heavy bomber of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second World War.

It is equipped with superchargers which forcibly sends air into the engines, allowing it to preserve engine power output at higher altitudes where combustion is poor. This allows it to cruise way above regular fighters. Affixed with six massive engines, the huge bulletproofed bomber was meant to fly at altitudes where even the empire’s fighters couldn’t reach and unleash a rain of bombs on the enemy. Its cruise range was also exceedingly far, earning the name Sky Fortress within the empire. Since it could carry out destructive bombing from super high altitudes, it was also considered as a countermeasure against the aerial battleships of the Holy Mirishial Empire. These new, heavy bombers are only deployed at the behest of the Special Annihilation Division.

Lately, the empire was gripped with the previously unheard-of situation that Japan, an enemy country, had taken prisoner their Crown Prince, Gra Cabal. Initially, the suggestion of reducing one of their cities to ash with the Super Heavy Bombing Unit ahead of the Combined Fleet deployment came up. However, at the time, they didn’t know of the airfield and other fuel maintenance facilities in the Kingdom of Riem and once they actually did, they thought that a bombing run by the Imperial Army Air Corps was enough. They also considered the overwhelming effect their battleships possessed and so the suggestion was snuffed out with the reason that they shouldn’t risk sending out their trump card.

“What do you think, chief?”

Since it was proposed by General Caesar and forwarded through the Navy Headquarters, he has no choice but to hear them out. However, part of the report states that Japan uses guided bombs and that they should take sufficient caution in combat.

“Just how many casualties did the fleet suffer?”

“Since the operation is still ongoing, it is currently military info and so we don’t know that yet.”

“Hmm… What is the cruise range of these guided bombs and what is their maximum altitude, propulsion, and guidance system? This thing is just riddled with unknowns…”

“Indeed…”

“Are they launched from visible range or are they launched far from visible range? If we have any info on that, then we are set. Go and find out more. Hah… We will be representing the empire with this operation. We can’t just afford to stand by!”

“Of course! The Super Heavy Bombing Unit, even if we were back in Yggdra, is unreachable! This time as well, it will brilliantly annihilate any Japanese city! According to the operation, the unit will set out and resupply at Dalmira, Leifor, and Qaiz before reaching Riem. Once there, they will attack together with the Imperial Army Air Corps, 53 destroyers from the Imperial Navy, and 82 magic ships of the line from Riem. The Super Heavy Bombing Unit’s target will be a Japanese city called Nagoya.”

“Oh? They’re not asking for the capital?”

“Yes. Since the air defenses around the capital will be strong, they opted instead for Nagoya, which is their technological capital, so the damage will be ginormous. Most of all, bombings are generally less accurate than naval bombardment.”

“Hmm. If the Special Annihilation Division accidentally harms His Highness, we will really be in hot water. This plan is sound.”

The Gra Valkas Empire’s Special Annihilation Division decides to participate in the attack on Japan and deploys the Super Heavy Bombing Unit.

・・・

Early morning, the next day

At four of the airports among several within the empire, destruction was about to take off. Boasting an immense size, these things can project a great amount of firepower from altitudes no one can grasp. It was the empire’s own God of Destruction… the super heavy bomber Guti Maun.

A large formation of over 200 aircraft took off from these four airports. Setting out into the azure sky, their objective: to turn Nagoya into a sea of ash.

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