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Chapter 96
The One They Call the God of War 1
: The Sun Sets on the Kingdom of Riem
Runepolis, Holy Mirishial Empire
“Excuse me, Mr. Arneus.”
The Intelligence Bureau was where info vital to the empire’s management was collected. Wearing a tense expression, bureau staff member Lydolka enters the bureau director’s office. Lydolka is the one primarily responsible for the Third Civilization Area and the general part of the world east of the empire. A brilliant staff member with many achievements under his belt, Lydolka was a special case who could directly enter the bureau director’s office which regular staff members don’t have permission to do.
“Is something the matter?”
The Intelligence Bureau is aware that the Gra Valkas Empire has deployed a massive air contingent as part of its attack on Japan. It was about time that the results of the first wave of attack came out. Arneus was pondering on this matter when Lydolka entered the room. With a tense expression, Lydolka handed the details while he gave an oral summary.
“The empire has sent a massive force of over 500 planes to Japan. There are naturally fighters and attack aircraft among the force but noteworthy are 200 or so bombers that are part of the Super Heavy Bombing Unit which had come all the way from their homeland. These super heavy bombers are aircraft which can carry a huge amount of bombs. Since we don’t have any equivalents it is hard to describe this aircraft but it possesses an airframe which allows it to fly at ultra high altitudes. It’s carrying capacity is subject to weight limits brought about by its mechanical nature; in its fully-loaded state, it still doesn’t amount to the firepower of the Pal Chimera.”
“There are over 500 of them, huh? No matter how many high-performance aircraft Japan has, this number more than doubles the amount of fighters they have, no? Also, if our Alpha-3 air superiority fighters engage these things in combat, we will be able to substantially shoot some of them down, right?”
Arneus changes the topic.
“If you’ll allow me to conclude
 Much of the Gra Valkas Empire’s air force was shot down over the Sea of Japan and their base in the Kingdom of Riem was also destroyed. The 50 ships that were deployed towards the mainland of Japan have also been annihilated. They’ve successfully defended themselves. Furthermore, the Parpaldia Empire, which had also been attacked, sent a fleet to the Kingdom of Riem and its capital Hilkiga was completely destroyed by suppressive bombardment from the magic ships of the line.”
“And how much did the Japanese Army
 no, the Self Defense Forces suffer?”
“We are still figuring it out but, we haven’t gotten to the bottom of it yet but some sources say that they suffered
 none
”
“What? Could their strength be far, far more than we expected?”
“We’ve already assessed them to be substantially strong but I think it’s extremely likely that they’re far stronger than what we expected. It’s believed that 440 ships under the Advance Fleet of the Gra Valkas Empire have already clashed with Japan but our patrols haven’t been able to discern the whereabouts of those 440 ships
 It’s unimaginable but I think that
”
“No
 A fleet far larger than the one the World Union Fleet clashed with was annihilated?! Not defeated but a complete wipeout?! It seems that no matter how much we revise our assessment of Japan, they always seem to break it!”
“I’ve also come to that point myself. Another possibility is that they might have slipped out of our patrols. We will gather more info on the matter. There’s two more points. One is that it seems that their 1000-ship fleet has pushed east without resupplying at Newland.”
“1000
 What an unbelievable number
 What’s the last one?”
“It looks like the Pal Chimera aerial battleship commanded by Meteos will soon catch up to them. Their fuel replenishment went smoother than anticipated.”
“Oh? They’re quicker than I thought. If it’s the prudent Meteos commanding the aerial battleship, I’m sure that those bastards will have a bad time.”
The Intelligence Bureau desperately collected more info.
・・・
Flagship Grade Atlastar , Combined Fleet, Gra Valkas Empire
Commander Caesar glared at the sea from the bridge. Standing next to him was Captain Luxtal.
They recently received a message from HQ. It said:
The Super Heavy Bombing Unit and the Imperial Army Air Corps sent from the Kingdom of Riem were annihilated and the airbase was destroyed.It’s extremely likely that the enemy hardly suffered any damage.
As if adding salt on their wounds, the Office of the Sovereign added an order to inflict damage on Japan. The reality remains that they’re far from their home and with a great fleet still in their hands, they’re yet to face the Japanese Army.
They remember the casualties they have suffered up to that point. The Gra Valkas Empire has thrown so many resources and has lost so many men that it was already too late to pull back.
“Do we really have no choice?
”
Silence.
Closing his eyes, he gathered all the mental energy he could muster and then opened his eyes.
“Captain Luxtal!!!”
“Sir!!!”
“Those bastards have annihilated our Advance Fleet and have wiped out the Super Heavy Bombing Unit and the 50 destroyers sent to attack their mainland. I didn’t want it to be true but
 it seems that the worst of the worst of our worst-case scenarios have come true.”
“
”
“Not only that but it looks like we hardly even inflicted a single hit on them
”
Silence enveloped the bridge. The message from HQ was so shocking that it could no longer be explained by a fluke or an accidentally miraculous victory for the enemy. Even the commanders of the fleet were shocked. At that point, no one looked down on Japan any longer.
“We are Yggdra’s strongest country!!! We are the Gra Valkas Empire!!! Those beasts!!! We will not let them screw us over without letting them feel our sting!!!”
Military men are faithful to their orders. If the Office of the Sovereign tells them to die they will die. If they’re told to do it, they will do it, regardless of any hardship. When the other officers looked at the God of War, Caesar, who seemed hardly fazed by despair, a flame of hope lit up in their hearts.
Caesar turned to Captain Luxtal and whispered to him.
“Captain Luxtal, laying waste to Nahanath, which has taken the side of Japan, means little militarily but its political implications are massive.”
“Indeed. By showing them that they will be reduced to ashes if they turn to Japan and point a blade at the empire, there will be less countries that will want to side with Japan in the future.”
“We will strike Nahanath with full force. It is no longer realistic to strike Japan’s mainland.”
“The enemy is powerful. It may be different from what the Office of the Sovereign expects but there’s little we could do about it realistically.”
“Captain, this upcoming battlefield might be our
 no, our fleet’s final resting place. I’m sorry.”
“Ever since I joined the military, I’ve been prepared to face it.”
The battlefield continues to develop.
・・・
Command Room, JSDF base, Nahanath Kingdom
“F-15s from the 9th Air Wing will soon be arriving from the southwest.”
“The 4th Escort Flotilla will be able to make it in time for coastal defense.”
“The stationing of the GSDF’s anti-ship missile regiment is complete.”
Commander Yagami of the ASDF felt his stomach grumble in pain.
As per the Ministry of Defense, since there were many possible invasion routes the Gra Valkas Empire could take, a considerable amount of fuel and ammunition was stationed here in Nahanath to the south. However, while they mounted a large air attack on the Japanese mainland, at the same time, the enemy main fleet pushed eastwards without refueling. They initially assumed that it would take the enemy some time to replenish supplies, enough to redirect their resources from the mainland to their position, but reality didn’t go as assumed. The ministry designated Nahanath as the most possible target of their attack. Their aircraft would soon arrive as they continued to steadily ready their defenses but unfortunately, there were simply too many enemies.
It’s an incredibly rare case in modern warfare but if their enemy comes at them, ignoring their casualties and prepared to die, they won’t be able to stop them. That was just how many enemies there were this time. While he worried his guts out and his stomach continued to grumble, a report came in.
“Commander! An aerial battleship from the Holy Mirishial Empire is heading this way. At this rate, it will enter the battlefield in time!”
“What?! That slow, low-flying ship is coming here? What if we accidentally do a blue on blue
”
“We won’t! The ammunition we currently have here is from before they upgraded them with airborne targeting programming so we might not hit!”
“But anti-air missiles can still hit! Can you say ‘they might not hit’ there? They’re more or less friendlies! If we accidentally hit them and bring it down, it will turn into a diplomatic shitstorm. Still, if they’re here to support us
 then what a godsend they are. How bothersome
 Can we contact them?”
“Yes. We’ve been able to contact them using analog radio. They’re currently flying northwest of Rodenius. I think if we have the GSDF convert and relay to us the signals, we can talk to them.”
“Have them prepare the necessary stuff now. I want to talk to them so they won’t be a nuisance on the battlefield.”
“Won’t it turn into a diplomatic problem if you tell them that directly?”
“It’ll take a lot of time if we contact them through Foreign Affairs. Naturally, I’ll be cautious in my choice of words. Heh, who the hell do you think I am?”
Yagami decided to communicate with the aerial battleship Pal Chimera through radio.
・・・
Bridge of the aerial battleship Pal Chimera , the skies above the Rodenius continent
The scene on the ground below the aerial battleship was displayed on the floor of the bridge beneath the crew members. On the ceiling, the map of the Rodenius continent, their current position, and the position of the Gra Valkas Empire fleet was displayed.
As the masked Meteos looked at the ground, he took a wine glass with his right hand.
“Hmph. What an easygoing trip.”
They’ve received orders from His Excellency not to force themselves so as to not lose another aerial battleship. Still, the enemy fleet sailed with a particularly annoying ship: the supposedly world’s strongest battleship, the Grade Atlastar, which Meteos desperately wanted to sink.
However, it has already shot down a Pal Chimera. It was clear that it was powerful.
Well, if the marine fortress Pal Cowne were to be deployed to face the enemy fleet, it’s possible that it would sink every single ship.
As Meteos felt troubled trying to contain his desires, he faithfully fulfilled his duties.
“Captain! We’ve received a transmission from Japan’s Self Defense Force commander based in Nahanath!”
“Oh? That’s surprising. To think that their radio waves could reach all the way out here, right?”
Reaching the conclusion that it’s possible they reached them all the way out here by relaying a transmission from the base, Meteos let out a surprised tone.
Snap!
With a snap of his finger, the transmission was accepted and they were now able to talk.
“I am Meteos, the captain of the aerial battleship Pal Chimera. To think your tech allowed you to broadcast all the way out here, how surprising.”
At first glance, it seems like Meteos was being cocky but he had no ill intent. He was actually astonished that their transmission could reach them. Coming from a long history, the Holy Mirishial Empire has been the strongest. With that ingrained in mind and being the captain of one of the strongest ancient superweapons, Meteos looked down on the militaries of other countries.
To Meteos, Japan was merely a highly technological country that adequately and faultlessly emerged, unlike the Gra Valkas Empire which clashed against the entirety of the world.
“I am Yagami, commander of the Japan Self Defense Force’s Nahanath air base. I am grateful for your expedition to come to the defense of Japan.”
They receive a diplomatically acceptable compliment from Yagami.
“Haha, whaaat? This is simply because we are ordered to do so by His Excellency, the Emperor. This ship is the historic aerial battleship Pal Chimera, made by the ancient sorcerous empire, the Ravernal Empire. You may not have any flying battleships so please, don’t fire at us, if you can.”
“I’ve come to talk about precisely that. Our attacks can reach areas beyond visible range. Just in case, to prevent any unwanted collateral damage, I would like our country to be the first to fight, would that be okay?”
The Holy Mirishial Empire’s magic battleships have guns that can reach up to 30km. Surely they must be the same. They must not actually have anything that can reach beyond visual range. Meteos thought that this Japanese military man’s words have some emotion behind them. The man may have meant what he said.
“Are you sure? Your foe is that Gra Valkas Empire and their 1000 ships. Did you actually mean it? In the last naval battle, Mu suffered casualties nearing annihilation. To be up to a fight where your chances of victory are nil is nothing more than recklessness.”
“I did. We have our own way of fighting. In this incursion, the enemy’s target is us, therefore, I want our military to challenge them first. I’ve heard that your aerial battleships are your valued weapons
 Your trump card, If I must say so. I am thankful to your country for bringing them out to help us, but if it’s alright with you, I would like you to observe our fight and at the critical moment when it counts, your prized aerial battleships will come to play.”
Hmph
 His Excellency did tell me to observe and confirm how Japan fights if possible. In any case, they can’t stop a thousand ships. Once I’ve seen how they fight, we will come out and fight them when it finally counts. What a favorable suggestion.
“How far do you want us to be?”
“200km. Please take up position 200km from the battle.”
With a distance as far as 200km, they were basically being asked not to watch their battle. That was what Meteos thought yet

“Alright. Guess we will take your suggestion.”
Their transmission ended. An officer standing next to Meteos talks to him.
“Captain, they’re basically telling us they don’t want us to see the fight.”
“On point. However, we have magic-based long range visual apparatuses. 200km is pushing its limit but we should still be able to see their fight.”
Genuinely not wanting to misidentify the Pal Chimera as a target, the JSDF asked them to keep their distance but the Holy Mirishial Empire had its own broad interpretation of the JSDF’s intentions.
・・・
Night, south of the Rodenius continent
In the dead of night, 22 BP3-Cs of the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force have flown out of the Mu airfield on the Rodenius continent. Since aircraft from the Second World War, whether from the United States or Japan, didn’t have the capabilities to attack over the ocean at night, their operation is to sink as many enemy ships as they can at night to deal damage against the enemy’s will to fight.
Their enemy shouldn’t have any capabilities of intercepting them. They are to throw everything they got and immediately return to base to rearm and refuel and then repeat. Limited in its numbers, Japan, through its repeated attacks, was throwing everything it could to stop the incursion.
“Commence attack!!! Commence attack!!! Any enemy left floating will kill our friends!!! Let’s sink as many as we can!!!”
The air-to-ship guided missiles (ASM-2) mounted onto the BP3-Cs airframe launched one by one to destroy the Gra Valkas Empire fleet. The 88 anti-ship guided missiles launched from 22 BP3-Cs began to fly towards the imperial fleet.
The battle, which has brought about the birth of the world’s strongest weapons and is later regarded as the turning point in history, has begun.
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