CH 100

Chapter 100

A World Brimming With Hope

: The One They Call the God of War 4

Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency, Japan

The Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency is what can be considered to be the forefront of defense equipment in Japan. In a certain room in the agency, Okada and Machikage were talking to each other while on lunch break. The sharp-eyed Machikage asks Okada something.

“Did you hear? The Grade Atlastar from the Gra Valkas Empire is at Kure right now and besides its fire control system and engine, the ship, down to the structure, is basically the Yamato.”

Okada had already heard that it resembled the old Yamato, but his eyes widened at the fact that even the internal structure was dead similar.

“It’s that similar???”

“Well, I don’t know. We’ve just been told that it’s strikingly resemblant of the old Yamato. In the first place, all the data we have on the Yamato has already been lost so no one really knows whether they are basically copies down to the details. However, it seems like there’s a proposal to have it modified and placed alongside the other escort ships in the JMSDF.”

After hearing such a crazy proposal, Okada couldn’t help but feel mad at the blatant waste of taxpayer money.

“Huh??? No matter how much that ship is modified, its layout is ancient! It would be far, far cheaper to manufacture new escort ships than modifying that single ship. Remaking all the destroyed parts on it would also be a money sink! No matter how you look at it, it’s virtually impossible!”

“Yeah but, the government seems to be hellbent on doing so. Since there’s so many conquest-minded countries in this world, they really want to adopt a battleship, the easiest way of communicating power. What’s more is that since it’s strikingly resemblant of the old Yamato, they’re even more intent on putting it out. Since it’s currently useless due to the design being old, the top brass are currently discussing what modifications would make it able to stand its ground in modern warfare. Sooner or later, they’ll drop it on us anyway. God… The work will be horrible… Also…”

Machikage insists that the proposal is impossible.

Okada cuts in.

“Nah nah, it’s just impossible. Our budget is strained as it is. The JMSDF also doesn’t have enough personnel. Isn’t it way cheaper to just make new ones instead of fixing it? As a whole, a battleship does seem easier to project power on these people but once they catch on to us not being able to produce more than one ship we’d be looked down on anyway.”

“Jeez, man. Let me fucking finish. It seems that they’re adding a Special Budget to our current budget. With Japan undergoing an unprecedented economic boom, the government probably has lots of cash to throw our way. The current scheme will be 3 battlesh-no, brand new large escort ships along with the modified Grade Atlastar. They’re striving for a considerable amount of labor saved. Learning the lessons from Parpaldia and now the Gra Valkas Empire invasion, in the event that we make another enemy who has staggering numbers and threatening firepower, the Ministry of Defense has judged that the firepower of the escort ships was lacking. There’s also the insufficiency of personnel. By efficiently making use of the limited JMSDF personnel to achieve maximum efficiency, making ships bigger is inevitable. It’s like we’re told to build a battleship while we half-ass the enlargement of other ships… Like we’re told to allocate the budget for a money-consuming high-capability warship while we have a wartime supplementary budget.”

By summarizing the explanation, these things can be understood:

The government has a plentiful budget.With the Self Defense Forces embroiled in real fighting ever since the transfer, the occupation of being an SDF personnel has become synonymous with fighting actual wars. Since the pay didn’t seem like it was worth the effort to risk one’s life, recruitment hasn’t gone as smooth as imagined and their personnel problem still remains unsolved.In terms of cost, mass-producing escort ships is a far, far better option.However, with insufficient human resources, a mass production of escort ships, coupled with their insufficient firepower against a foe that could field overwhelming numbers of ships, seemed unsatisfactory.They currently have no nuclear weapons. Even if they were able to manufacture them, they have no established means of unleashing them.Since there are still a lot of countries in this world that they’re yet to make contact with, there’s too many uncertainties.With that in mind, it has been decided to thoroughly raise the capabilities of every single ship.Originally, it would have been more efficient to have their ships upgraded and rebuilt to be bigger but since they now have a temporary supplementary budget, plans were made for ultra high-performance ships that could make use of current personnel numbers.Since they’re still in the dark on enlarging ships, budget has been set aside for only 4 of these larger ships.

“The option for arsenal ships (ships armed with large amounts of missiles) are also on the table.”

“Well, those kinds of ships are defensively weak. We’ve had so many instances of being attacked while we’re still gauging whether they’re friendly or not. Whatever the case may be, the fact remains that there’s a lot of hostiles in this world. We can’t rule out the chance that we could just send a single ship. There’s defensive merit in that. With that, we just have to build the largest and strongest ship there is.”

“I feel like that’s just the opposite of cost-efficiency…”

“Not even. If we could manage to make other countries afraid of Japan and steer clear of conflict, the economic savings of managing to avoid war would stave off the economic burden of maintaining a few battleships. Due to the economic boom, we have truckloads of cash but since the recruitment of the JMSDF is not as booming, human resources are much more important. Since there are all kinds of proposals coming left and right, no one knows what kind of ship it will be in the end. The idea of enlarging ships is still in the dark so there’s some connotation of experimentation there. Sure, it’s already certain that there will be 4 ships but I don’t know how those will turn out.”

“With that said, it being the strongest ship would be great…”

“Yeah. By the way, it seems that those 3 brand new ships will be the YAMATO-class escort ships. Yeah, they’re written like that in all caps. As for the modified Grade Atlastar, I don’t know what name they’ll give it. It’s currently planned that they’ll put one YAMATO-class in each escort flotilla. Still, with plans to integrate aircraft carriers in the long term, there’s no telling whether they’ll stick to just having 4 escort flotillas. Since intimidation is also a factor, they’re putting emphasis on appearance in line with stealth and other factors. They’re also studying the possibility of mounting 46cm linear railguns on these brand new escort ships.”

“L-linear railguns?! If the range is too far, those things will never hit… Still, wow, they’re going all out, huh?… Won’t those things be a drain on electricity?”

“Their ammunition will be guided, winged rounds. If they’re using conventional power, then their electrical output won’t be enough for linear railguns while the ship still consumes fuel. With that in mind and also considering the objective of being able to freely reach anywhere on this planet, they’re studying the feasibility of nuclear power.”

“And it’s anti-air capabilities?”

“It’s also planned to be mounted with laser weapons so those ships will be filled to the brim with today’s cutting edge tech. What a dream…

Regardless, our work will be piling up! Those things will be deployed far into the future anyway.”

Okada’s contradictory feelings disappeared.

The completion of their development was still far off but after learning that they’re part of the development of such futuristic weapons, the two burned with passion in trying to create the strongest ship.

・・・

A certain tavern, Cartalpas, Holy Mirishial Empire, Central World

Just like any other day, drunkards got together in this tavern to drink alcohol after a long tiring day. A man that looked like a dwarf heartily gulped down a mug of beer before speaking up.

“Phew! That was terrific!!! Alcohol after a long day’s work just hits the spot!”

Ice-cold Japanese beer after work was exceptional.

“Ah right, y’all remember that massive Gra Valkas Empire fleet headed for Japan? Wonder what happened to that…”

“You still haven’t heard??? A ginormous battle had erupted the other day! The government’s about to make an announcement about it today!”

“Oh? So that’s why there’s so many people here today.”

Cartalpas is the base of the world’s commerce and is where info on events happening all around the world is gathered. At this tavern, which has video-receiving magic monitors (TVs, if you will), many info-hungry merchants, persons concerned with every nation, and local workers gathered.

“Oi, oi! It’s here!”

After the beautiful elf newscaster bowed, the news program started.

“Good day! On this day, the Holy Mirishial Empire’s Public Relations Department has issued an important announcement via writing. We will be telling you all about this announcement on today’s news.”

The drunkards all turned their focus on the monitors.

“In the early morning the other day, the Gra Valkas Empire’s Combined Fleet engaged with the Holy Mirishial Empire’s aerial battleship Pal Chimera, as well as the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force. Several hundred Gra Valkas Empire ships, including the flagship, have been wrecked and sunk, with the remaining enemy ships on the retreat. The forces of the empire and that of Japan have suffered no casualties. I repeat…”

“No casualties??? Did she just say no casualties??? Did I hear that right???”

“What the hell??? Even the World Union Fleet suffered greatly???”

“They beat that Gra Valkas Empire’s main fleet???”

The drunkards all got noisy.

The news broadcast continued.

“The empire’s aerial battleship Pal Chimera, together with the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force, faced off with more than 1000 ships of the Gra Valkas Empire’s main fleet, sinking several hundred ships and forcing the fleet to retreat. The specific figures of the ships sunk in the battle will be announced after more information has been put in order. According to the Public Relations Department, this was the result of good cooperation between the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force and the aerial battleships, which have been used to their effective extent, and they’ve expressed their willingness to coordinate more with every other country moving forward. Furthermore, according to military experts, the naval battle in question being overwhelmingly victorious was due to the imperial military’s careful research and reaction to the Gra Valkas Empire’s weapons and operational methods…”

The newscaster dispassionately read the government announcement. In all technicality, the government didn’t lie about its announcement. The Gra Valkas Empire fleet was virtually crushed by Japan’s forces but the Holy Mirishial Empire made the announcement to exaggerate its own strength and made it look as if the imperial fleet retreated due to them. They even got military experts to announce it for them.

“Woah! Just as you’d expect from the Holy Mirishial Empire, the world’s best!”

“No doubt about it!”

“Hmph. There’s just no way for a magic-less nation to win over our empire which possesses the legacy of the demon emperor’s superweapons.”

A ray of light shines through the gloomy hearts of those that have experienced defeat after defeat. The citizens of the Holy Mirishial Empire, after hearing this news, erupted in delight. All other countries, after hearing of this news, felt terror from the Holy Mirishial Empire’s overwhelming power, which has repelled even the Gra Valkas Empire.

Those who know well of Japan saw through the manipulated info of the broadcast and shook in fear at Japan’s strength.

・・・

Leiforia, Leifor sector, Gra Valkas Empire

It was lunchtime. Dallas was at the cafeteria going through his midday routine. As per usual, he tuned in to the televised broadcast from Mu as part of their information gathering.

After a rhythmic melody, Mu’s broadcast began.

“Good day!”

A handsome man and a beautiful woman bowed before starting their news segment.

“According to the Mu government announcement, they’ve confirmed that, in the early morning the other day, the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force and the Holy Mirishial Empire’s aerial battleship have clashed in a massive battle with the Gra Valkas Empire’s Combined Fleet.”

At that point in time, the military was still yet to issue a special message to Foreign Affairs. The cafeteria got noisy.

After the announcement, a video was played on the screen with the words Acquired by the Government of Mu written underneath. A portion of the video data sent by the Japanese government to Mu was played as part of Mu’s national broadcast. The video was clearly captured from up in the sky, depicting the Gra Valkas Empire’s stained flagship, boasting a thoroughly destroyed superstructure. Hoisted on it was a flag that belonged only to an imperial flagship. Hoisted on the ships towing the wreck of their flagship was the flag of their enemy, Japan.

“N-no fucking way…!!!”

He strenuously lets out his voice.

The ship was the Gra Valkas Empire’s iconic ship. A ship that’s said to even be the largest and strongest in history. The battleship Grade Atlastar had been wrecked to pieces and was terrifyingly painful to look at.

The words Grade Atlastar, Flagship of the Gra Valkas Empire Combined Fleet appeared underneath the video as the cafeteria got even more noisy and confused.

“In the early morning the other day, the Gra Valkas Empire Combined Fleet made contact with the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force and the aerial battleship of the Holy Mirishial Empire in the oceans southwest of the Rodenius continent. The Gra Valkas Empire fleet lost several hundred ships before withdrawing in retreat. I repeat…”

Dallas broke into a run, headed for his office.

“No…!!! This isn’t happening! This isn’t happening! This isn’t happening! This isn’t happening! This isn’t happening!!!”

Entering his office, he quickly picked up his phone and tried to contact the military.

“Excuse me! We’ve received an emergency message from the military!”

His brilliant subordinate, while he was on break, had already decrypted the encoded message and had put it into paper. He took the document from his subordinate.

“Wha… Wha… What the hell?! Is this even…?!”

What was written on the document was more than enough to shock the diplomat Dallas.

Tracing the words with his finger as he read the document, he tried to verify countless times whether what he was reading was true. He subconsciously wanted to be wrong but the document didn’t change. At that point, he was welling up with despair.

As his finger began to tremble while tracing, drops of sweat dropped onto the paper.

Written on the document was the progress of the fight between the Combined Fleet and Japan.

230 ships of the 1st Advance Fleet and 210 ships of the 2nd Advance Fleet have all been annihilated.The Combined Fleet made contact with the enemy west of the Nahanath Kingdom and are currently in retreat. Casualties are massive. Details are currently being investigated.The Grade Atlastar made contact with the enemy fleet west of the Nahanath Kingdom. Despite withstanding more than 100 direct hits, the Grade Atlastar was captured by the enemy.The Imperial Army’s airbase in the Kingdom of Riem was destroyed.The whereabouts of the Super Heavy Bombing Unit remain unknown. (they never came back)The whereabouts of the Imperial Navy’s submarine fleets remain unknown. (they never came back)The whereabouts of the Imperial Army’s Special Operations Group remain unknown. (communication lost)

They’ve suffered enormous casualties and yet they weren’t able to verify having sunk or shot down a single enemy ship or plane. The document basically said that they were lopsidedly destroyed without even seeing their enemy.

Sweat drenched his back as his feet began to tremble.

“No… No…!!!”

Dallas’s eyes widened.

He remembered hearing the words of a Japanese diplomat that once Japan enters the war, the Gra Valkas Empire will be helplessly defeated; that there exists a 70 year gap between their technology.

“So what he said… So what that bastard said is… is… t-true?!”

When Valkyries fell, he thought that they fell due to being attacked by a sufficiently large force. The defeat of the Home Fleet off the coast of Mu was surprising but the number of ships deployed with the fleet was far too few for assaulting a major nation’s capital. They may have been defeated due to sheer numbers but the possibility of having made a strategic military blunder couldn’t be ruled out.

However, this time, the empire was serious. Everyone could see that.

With that came the reality that they’ve been beaten back helplessly. While it seems like the Holy Mirishial Empire’s aerial battleships have entered the fight, the fact that they haven’t been able to verify having damaged a single enemy felt impossible.

“Ah fuck!!! Fuck fuck fuck… Fuck!!!”

Up to that point, the barbarians of this new world have been crushed with extreme ease. What made this possible was the staggering disparity between their civilization and military tech.

There was only one reason which allowed Japan to achieve such an overwhelming tactical and strategic victory: their military tech was so much more advanced.

The empire is strong. That in itself was an undeniable truth. However, there was absolutely no way that this result was achieved by mere fluke or coincidence. The enemy’s strength was already more than apparent and the defeat was more than enough to force him to stop believing in the empire’s strength.

At this rate, they will be crushed as easily as they have crushed the barbarians of this new world.

The glorious Gra Valkas Empire… the historically proud Gra Valkas Empire…

“No… I can’t let it come to that!!!”

He immediately thought of the things he could do.

“We could enact an assimilation policy, or…”

He thought of ways they could use the countries they’ve subjugated which up to that point were only considered to be more land. Dallas continued to move for the future of the Gra Valkas Empire.

・・・

Night, Ragna, Gra Valkas Empire

A low pressure area completely enveloped the imperial capital. Clouds hung low as torrential rains unrelentlessly poured down on the industrial city. At a room in the mansion where the Emperor Gralux lives, an emergency meeting was taking place.

Everyone’s face at the meeting was gloomy, particularly the upper brass of the military, who only had anguish and distress written all across their faces.

The meeting consisted of Emperor Gralux at the center, Secretary of the Office of the Sovereign, Kurtz, his undersecretary, Oldeika, the secretaries and undersecretaries of every other ministry, and officers from the military HQ. Included in the military was Xand Pastall, the director-general of HQ, and the sole surviving member of the Three Great Generals, Siegs, the commanding officer of the Imperial Capital Defense Forces.

“Seems like we’ve finally been done for, Xand Pastall. Tell us what you plan to do moving forward.”

Sweat flowed from Xand Pastall’s forehead like a waterfall.

“Y-yes… For the rebuilding of our Home Fleet, we’ve currently issued orders for the mass production of weapons from Karslein, Do Dekateon, Guells, and Verdienche.”

Xand Pastall’s voice trembled as he replied.

“And?”

“Yes! We will expand our manpower and…”

“That’s not what I want to hear.”

“…”

Xand Pastall couldn’t reply so Siegs began to speak.

“This time, the Imperial Navy made contact with Japan’s forces and suffered enormous casualties in terms of manpower and ships. Furthermore, we haven’t been able to deal any damage to the enemy. If anything, it’s not an exaggeration to say that we have only dealt them economic damage in the form of fuel and ammo costs. Based on our experience, we’ve judged Japan to be moderately strong. However, the reality is that they are far stronger than we have anticipated. The preposterous reports we received from the frontlines turned out to be mostly true. We’ve assumed them to be a fairly strong country and even then we were still proven wrong…”

Just as Siegs was about to continue, Secretary Kurtz howled at them.

“Fucking idiots!!! We were proven wrong isn’t enough!!! Don’t you realize that we have declared war on the entire world?! With the enemy being far stronger than anticipated, do you think that they’d be content with just Oh, we’re sorry?! And then there’s still the matter of His Highness, the Crown Prince, Gra Cabal! Is the military slacking or what?!”

“The military isn’t slacking off. As for His Highness, Gra Cabal, the military has voiced its opposition to the plan but we’ve received word that the Office of the Sovereign demanded otherwise.”

“Tsk!!! Tell us what you mean to do from now on?!”

“For the meantime, we will continue our efforts to strengthen our armaments. We will have to fall back to a defensive posture. It is much simpler than going on the offensive. With that, we will only have to look at how the enemy will attack us and respond in kind.”

“What?!?! The Gra Valkas Empire, on the defensive?!?!”

Shouts of anger were exchanged in the meeting. At the raise of his hand, Gralux silenced everyone.

“So it has come to that point… What about Japan?”

“…Yes, Your Highness…”

“Good. I leave the defense of our home to you, Siegs. What do you think will happen?”

“Japan’s weapons possess capabilities that far surpass our assumptions. As proven by the naval battle, we didn’t even manage to ascertain where they were firing their weapons from. They could also render radar unusable. Therefore, to fight Japan, we won’t be relying too much on radar. Large swaths of airspace will be patrolled by numerous patrol aircraft and once we’ve lost contact with them, we will send out our airpower in force to crush them with overwhelming numbers. Since they could also render our radios unusable, for patrols, we’d have to rely on a large number of aircraft doing visual confirmation and using light signals for communication. We are currently researching ways to effectively implement these new tactics.”

He continued.

“The enemy may likely mount an attack on Leifor. Since the enemy army’s manpower is insufficient for a large-scale ground assault, the attack will most likely be spearheaded by Mu with Japan as the support. Considering Japan’s tactics up to this point, I believe that they will first neutralize the Imperial Navy deployed off Leifor and weaken the Imperial Army with airstrikes while they starve them out before Mu’s forces come in for the final attack. However, Mu’s closest base is at least 800km from Leifor’s coastline. We are still investigating the operational range of Japan’s fighters but if they can reach more than 800km, they present a threat. In the event that they carry out starvation tactics against our soldiers on the ground, the Imperial Navy will be our main force. To help buy more time, a large number of mines will be deployed in the sea to the north to block any maritime advances.”

“If we completely block off the north with mines, won’t we have a hard time if we decide to assault the Holy Mirishial Empire?”

“I don’t think that’s the case as of now. As the commander of the Imperial Capital Defense Forces, we only need to defend the imperial heartland from the enemy invasion. To do that, I want to avoid Leifor from falling into enemy hands. Once we stave off the threat of enemy invasion from Leifor, I can say with confidence that the imperial capital is safe.”

Everyone shuddered as soon as they heard from the mouth of the Imperial Capital Defense Forces’ commander that the imperial city could be in danger. Up to that point, the Gra Valkas Empire enjoyed victory after victory. Even the militarily ignorant ministers who desired for conquest couldn’t help but be silent at the results of their attempted subjugation of Japan. Everyone in the meeting understood that world conquest and even simple territorial expansion is now faced with danger.

A military official hurriedly entered the room and whispered something to Xand Pastall and Siegs. Xand Pastall’s face immediately went pale.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Noticing Xand Pastall’s face, the Emperor asked him.

“U-Uh… About that…”

Seeing Xand Pastall struggle to reply, Siegs stepped up.

“We’ve just learned that 12 ships from the Central 2nd Fleet, including the battleship Rigel II, deployed off the Irnetia sector were attacked by torpedoes. Other ships currently moored are also being attacked!!! A tanker from Karslein Co. was also attacked! The enemy may be submarines but so far we haven’t been able to confirm!”

“They managed to reach… this close…?”

Irnetia is an island situated west of the Leifor sector on the western side of the Mu continent. The island used to be home to the eponymous Irnetia Kingdom but has since then been militarily subjugated by the empire. Since Irnetia lay west of Leifor, the enemy has now clearly projected its power deep within the empire’s sphere of influence.

Since the enemy had freely penetrated deep within the empire’s sphere of influence, it was now well understood that even the imperial heartland wasn’t safe. A chill ran down their spines at the reality that they may have nowhere to run and are subject to attacks themselves. The people who made other people ride on horseback and controlled who died and didn’t and saw the dead as none other than statistics now trembled at the reality that they could become a mere number in the statistics they once dismissed. They who had ordered people to be crushed were now about to be crushed themselves.

Everyone froze in fear of the possibility of death being so close by.

“So even this place is no longer safe…”

Emperor Gralux closes his eyes.

“…From this point forward, all meetings will be held at the wartime meeting room.”

Having been attacked deep within the empire’s sphere of influence, there was now the possibility that the enemy would come for the imperial capital. The fact that they had to escape the imperial capital was in itself humiliating. They started to immediately proceed to the underground wartime meeting room.

After refueling at Mu, the Jinryū, Shōryū, Makishio, and Isoshio of the Kure-based 1st Submarine Squadron, 1st Submarine Flotilla of the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force commenced a torpedo attack on the Gra Valkas Empire fleet deployed off the coast of the former Irnetia Kingdom, sinking 12 ships, including a battleship.

The light from the bright, burning flames emanating from the fleet served as a ray of hope for others and as a sign of the empire’s fate for the empire’s citizens.

The burning flames dyed the cloud-ridden night skies of the empire red.

・・・

Tokyo, Japan

“Ngh?! What the-?! Excuse me! Can you please get me the person in charge of Japan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry!!!”

The news of the crushing defeat of the Imperial Navy’s Combined Fleet reached the Crown Prince, Gra Cabal. In his life in Japan, he understood firsthand that the empire cannot win due to their superior military tech.

“At this rate… my beloved imperial citizens will be greeted with sorrow and disaster!!! For me to be here must be divine intervention!!! The gods must have placed me here to save the Gra Valkas Empire!!!”

Beset with fierce, yet misplaced impressions, Crown Prince Gra Cabal began to move to save the empire in his own way.

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