CH 24

Chapter 24

Papaldia Empire, imperial capital Esthirant, Emperor Ludius’s private room

All the wealth in the Third Civilization was concentrated in the capital of Papaldia, and the person who embodied all that national power, Emperor Ludius, lived in the imperial palace. He was chatting in his private room with a silver-haired woman.

“Remille, what do you think of the world, and what do you think of the Papaldia Empire?”

“Yes, Your Grace. While everyone else scrambles around in the dirt, the empire stands at the top of the Third Civilization. We exploit fear in order to control other countries, a method I find extremely efficient.”

“Correct. Ruling by fear is necessary in order to expand our national power. The Holy Mirishial Empire and Mu have chosen to live in harmony with their neighbors. It is torturous for our great empire to be ranked below such weak countries. Once we have total control of the Third Civilization, we shall reign supreme as the Great Empire—no, the Eternal Empire of Papaldia. Eventually, we shall bring the First and Second Civilizations under our heel, uniting the entire world under our rule, which will forever eliminate war and bring about true peace. This is what we envision for the people of the world… Do you understand, Remille?”

Remille trembled with emotion. His Grace was truly a magnanimous person.

“Your… Your Grace, you have thought so deeply about all the people of the world… I am truly moved,” Remille choked, tears welling up in her eyes.

“To accomplish this task, there is much blood that must be spilled. It is an unavoidable sacrifice—a small price to achieve great results. Those standing in the empire’s way must be removed.”

“You are absolutely correct!!!”

“By the way, Remille, what became of the incident with the Kingdom of Fenn and Japan? We would like to hear the results directly from your mouth.”

“Yes. As Your Grace commanded, the town of Nishinomiyako in Fenn was captured. At that time, our forces captured two hundred citizens of Japan, who proved to be useful in our meeting with Japan. We gave their diplomats our conditions and they refused to come to an immediate decision, so I used the magic image relay crystal to show them their citizens being executed.”

The emperor smiled faintly.

“Aah… they are surely in a panic right now. As we suggested, simply give them the opportunity to be educated. So, how did they respond?”

“As barbarians do, they became upset and raised their voices. Your Grace, I believe it would be better to simply exterminate trash like that. Why should we waste time attempting to educate them?”

“…We believe that all barbarians should be given an equal chance to avoid oblivion. If they are fools who choose not to take such a chance, then they deserve to be eradicated.”

“I understand. Your Grace, after Amanoki falls and we capture all of the Japanese there, I will open talks with them again. And then, if they continue to refuse our demands, we will execute the prisoners again and likely start a war of genocide. At that time, I will leave everything to Your Grace’s judgment.”

“Is that so… it shall be done.”

Pipipi~ pipipi~…

A bracelet on Remille’s left arm began blinking. Her face twisted in irritation.

“That is for official business, is it not? …We are not discussing any matters of import here, simply having a private conversation. You may answer your magical communications.”

Remille bowed to the emperor then tapped the communicator.

“What is it?”

“Japan’s diplomats have requested an urgent meeting, are you able to receive them?”

“That will be fine. Have them wait,” Remille ordered, then cut off the communication.

“Your Grace, Japan has come again asking to meet. This may be the result of their education, their answer to Your Grace’s mercy. I shall take my leave here.”

“They may be barbarians, but their very existence is being threatened, so they must be desperate now. We hope you will forgive us for taking up your time with idle chatter.”

Remille turned back as she was about to leave the room with a refreshing look on her face.

“Your Grace, do you have any other matters to attend today?”

“None.”

“In that case, once I am done with my duties, may I return here?”

“We shall allow it.”

Remille was smiling brightly as she left.

Second Civilization, superpower Mu

Technical Officer Myrus had been summoned by the upper echelons of the military.

“…so, that means, Technical Officer Myrus, Tactical Officer Lassan, the two of you are being sent to Japan as observers.”

After that declaration, they went over the logistics in more detail.

Mu was 21,000 km from Japan. This was too far for any single aircraft to fly.That being the case, they would first fly on the passenger plane with the longest range, the reciprocating engine aircraft La Kaosu (cruising speed 280 km/h, cruising distance 7000 km), to the international allied airport, then stop at 3 relay points along the way until they arrived in Japan.They would refuel as quickly as possible at each relay point, but it would still take 5 days in total.After having contacted Japan about it, as soon as they enter Japan’s airspace, they will be escorted by combat aircraft and land at an airport in the western city of Fukuoka.Japan warned that it was possible that they might carry out their rescue operation before the observers even arrived. Mu acknowledged this and decided to send the observers anyway. They determined that there was still a high possibility of being able to observe live combat.

As soon as the meeting concluded, Myrus and Lassan made preparations to leave immediately. Three hours later, they boarded the state-of-the-art aircraft La Kaosu with food and supplies and began the long journey to Japan.

Japan, Ministry of Defense

The prime minister, who had come personally to the Ministry of Defense, was being briefed by the ministers.

“At the moment, the Papaldia Empire is preparing for another offensive in the Fenn town of Nishinomiyako. They have around three thousand ground infantry, and we’ve also confirmed thirty-two ‘ground dragons,’ which are some kind of dragon though we’re unsure how they’re used. Considering these ground forces, we believe they will be ready to depart soon.”

They referred to a detailed map and continued the explanation.

“Regarding their aerial forces, they have twelve dragon carriers supporting twenty wyverns each, meaning they should have about two hundred and forty dragons total for their air force. Since their wyvern lords are currently maintaining control of the airspace throughout Fenn, their primary role is to provide supporting fire for their ground forces.”

“Their naval forces consist of two hundred and eleven gunboats, which are ships with large cannons on them; twelve dragon carriers, as previously mentioned; and a hundred and one attack transports that carried their ground forces there. So their fleet has three hundred and twenty-four ships total, and they are deployed in the waters around Nishinomiyako. Fortunately for us, twenty of their ships, all twelve dragon carriers and eight gunboats, are currently positioned about thirty kilometers west of Nishinomiyako. My guess is that they’re trying to avoid any surprise attacks from enemy ships.”

The prime minister raised a hand.

“So we know the enemy’s positions, but how will we drive them out?”

“Yes sir. First off, we currently have no means to rapidly transport our Ground Self-Defense Forces. Even with three fully operational Oosumi-class LSTs, it would take us numerous days to deploy a full regiment of troops, so, based on the situation, we may need a small group of elites to delay the enemy forces.

“This is just a rough strategy, but first we want to gain control of the airspace by sending waves of F-2s with anti-ship missiles to sink the twenty dragon carriers and gunboats at the location thirty kilometers west of Nishinomiyako. Then, together with F-15J Kais, shoot down all the wyvern lords in the air escorting their fleet. This will neutralize their aerial combat ability.”

“The enemy ground forces are currently concentrated in Nishinomiyako, but we can’t bomb them since it could affect civilians. In that case, since they’re currently preparing to sortie, as mentioned before, we let them advance to some sort of plain or flatland. While they’re doing that, the JGSDF use shuttles from the LSTs to land on the eastern shore of Fenn’s capital, Amanoki. Based on the situation, there may be a need to attack the enemy forces to distract them. Either way, we can then evacuate as many Japanese citizens as possible on those shuttles.”

“Regarding the rest of the enemy’s naval forces, the Maritime Self-Defense Force can handle them. Because there are so many, anti-ship missiles would be inefficient, but we can take them out easily enough with just standard guns.”

The words of the JSDF’s leaders held a lot of weight.

“We will avenge our slaughtered countrymen during this operation. Unless they surrender, no Papaldian soldier will be let off easily.”

“After we wipe out their main ground forces, our forces will shift into a supporting role and help Fenn’s forces reclaim Nishinomiyako.”

“That’s the overview of the plan to expunge the Papaldian army from the Kingdom of Fenn. The plan to attack the Papaldia Empire’s home country is still being formulated and will be discussed at a future date.”

The prime minister nodded in satisfaction.

Papaldia Empire, imperial army

General Cius ordered the empire’s ground forces to be ready to leave Nishinomiyako tomorrow and march 100 km southeast to the capital, Amanoki. Because there were land dragons assigned to each squad, they would be taking a detour around the mountains through the Coate Plains. Lieutenant General Dolbo didn’t doubt that they would emerge victorious, but he still felt an inexplicable anxiety. It wasn’t something he had ever felt before.

They had executed a bunch of citizens from Japan, a barbarian country outside the civilized areas. There was a chance that Japan would fly into a rage and come attack them. If it were any other country that did so, they would simply wipe them out and everything would be fine.

However…

When Dolbo saw what those Japanese were wearing, he suddenly became worried. He held in his hand a self-winding wristwatch.

There were watches in the Papaldia Empire as well, but they were all enormous and could only be hung up on walls. When he saw the souvenirs his wealthy friends had brought back from the superpower Mu, he had been amazed at their tiny, manually-wound wristwatches. He remembered feeling moved—this was truly a wonderful invention, devised in the most advanced mechanical country in the world, the superpower Mu!

But then… what exactly was he looking at right now?! Everything about it was better than Mu’s wristwatches: weight, design, texture, intricacy. And it wasn’t like there were only one or two people with these wristwatches; the vast majority of those Japanese had one. Furthermore, more than half of the wristwatches… had second hands that all moved at the same time.

Just remembering it made him shudder.

Lieutenant General Dolbo made his preparations while mulling over his uneasiness.

It was a long flight. Definitely not a flight that could be made on wyvern.

On the fifth morning after leaving Mu, the reciprocating engine passenger aircraft La Kaosu was finally nearing Japan. They would soon enter Japan’s “air defense identification zone” at which point Japan’s combat aircraft should arrive to escort them.

“I wonder what kind of combat aircraft will come?”

Technical Officer Myrus had heard last time that Japan had a propulsion method other than the reciprocating engine, so he couldn’t wait to find out what it was. In contrast to Myrus, Tactical Officer Lassan was much more reserved.

“It won’t be very impressive either way.”

The moment he said that—

There were two booms of thunder that could be clearly heard even from inside their plane. They both involuntarily turned their necks to look out the window.

A combat aircraft shaped like an arrowhead with no propellers passed by them. The machine made a sharp turn, came up next to them, then slowed down to match their speed.

“It’s… so fast!!!”

The two officers were stunned.

“It doesn’t have any propellers!!!” Lassan shouted, shivering.

Mu’s passenger aircraft was guided by the F-15J Kai into Japan.

After some time, they finally entered Japan’s airspace, near Fukuoka Airport. They saw Japan for the first time from the skies. Before their eyes was an advanced city with a population of 1.5 million people. Eventually, they landed on a pristine runway, the likes of which they had never seen before. The passenger aircraft they were riding was… the apex of the superpower Mu’s technology, and it looked like a toy compared to the numerous, giant, beautiful machines parked in a line at the airport.

“We’ve come to an unbelievable country…”

Myrus shuddered when he thought of the importance of their assignment.

Papaldia Empire, imperial capital Esthirant, 1st foreign affairs department

Asada and Shinohara from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign affairs were once again at the Papaldia Empire’s 1st foreign affairs department. They were meeting with Remille.

“You’re back already. Well, the fate of your country does hang in the balance. I should not be too insensitive,” Remille gloated with a twisted smile on her face. “Our empire is very generous. Even though you did not have an appointment, considering your situation, we will be forgiving this time. Now then… last time, the empire presented you with a list of conditions. Please tell me the result of your deliberations.”

Asada began to speak evenly, without sounding rushed.

“What I am about to tell you is the official response from the Japanese government.”

“Oho, so you finally recognize the empire’s power.”

(So they’re delaying their surrender by coming to negotiate… How sly.)

“First, let me pass along this proposal to you, the Papaldia Empire.”

Asada handed an official document to Remille.

Immediately withdraw all armed forces currently in the Kingdom of Fenn.Offer an official apology and reparations to the Kingdom of Fenn for damages incurred. For building damages, the amount of reparations will be 20 times the amount inflicted.Offer an official apology and reparations for the murder of Japanese citizens. The amount of reparations will be 100 million pasos (the empire’s currency) per capita to the surviving families.Japan demands the extradition of all personnel involved in the massacre of Japanese citizens, to be prosecuted under Japanese law.

“!!! What is the meaning of this?!”

“Unless these conditions are fulfilled, Japan will expunge the imperial army from the Kingdom of Fenn by force. Of course, that will not be all. You yourself are naturally included in the list of criminal offenders, and the emperor of Papaldia is also under suspicion of enabling the massacre and is an important witness, so we request that you turn yourselves in.”

“…You really are just barbarians in the end. You simply don’t comprehend His Grace’s benevolence… So you want war, and for your entire population to be slaughtered?”

“Of course not. We are a peace-loving country. However, our honest citizens who were living in peace were ruthlessly murdered. We are simply treating criminals as they should be treated.”

“…You barbarians… such impudence…!”

“Our meeting now to demand the delivery of those criminals is for the sake of your empire’s citizens. If things continue to escalate, we will soon have all-out war. We would like to avoid involving regular people in an attack on your country.”

“…What a farce. Your country may have some standing among the countries outside the civilized areas, but you don’t even understand the fundamental difference in strength between a superpower and an uncivilized country.

“It matters not. It appears you still have need of education. When Amanoki falls, any Japanese citizens found there will be captured. When that happens, you will only have your own powerlessness to blame for being unable to stop it. I look forward to meeting with you again after that. We’ll have to arrange another special show via the magic image relay crystal as we once again execute your Japanese people for suspicion of espionage.

“Do not forget that you are only allowed to keep your worthless lives due to His Grace’s generosity. If His Grace so desires, might this become a genocidal war? I hope the possibility of that reality, where every single one of your citizens is massacred, sinks in.”

“Well then, we also have a prediction for you. Your imperial army will be eradicated from the Kingdom of Fenn using our full strength. After that happens, let us meet again. The Japanese government will not give up on the extradition of the criminals from your empire. Please understand that the will of Japan is unyielding.

“Oh, one more thing: if you decide to surrender, please use a simple white flag.”

The meeting ended with Japan clearly conveying its intention to fight back.

Papaldia Empire, imperial capital Esthirant, 1st foreign affairs department, inner office

Remille was reading over a summary report that she dictated to one of the secretaries. Next to her was the Department Head Elto, reading over her shoulder.

“‘The barbarians… wish for their own destruction…’ Huh… ‘Their leaders are so stupid it’s almost unbelievable. For Japan to feel no sense of crisis over the extermination of their people is something that I cannot understand.’”

Elto felt a little sympathy for Remille. The empire had completely destroyed many other countries. This would just be yet another. The peaceful image of executed barbarians rose unbidden in his mind.

Knock knock.

“Enter.”

Deputy Head Hans ran in holding various documents. His face was pale and he looked extremely nervous.

“What is it?” Elto asked.

“Regarding our conflict with the Kingdom of Fenn, we have been closely monitoring any requests for observers from the other superpowers.”

“If you’re referring to the Holy Mirishial Empire, they have already informed us that they do not intend to send an observer.”

“Yes, as always. So, when will Mu’s observer be arriving?”

Hans’s face scrunched up.

“That’s, um… Mu has declared that they will not be sending an observer to the empire.”

“Hoh, how sad, for them not to send an observer. Have they gotten over their obsession with collecting combat data?”

“………”

Hans appeared conflicted.

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“We’ve discovered that… Mu has sent observers to Japan instead.”

“……HUH?!?!”

They zoomed over the ocean, just above the water. There were ten of them, painted blue to blend in with the color of the sea; they were nearly invisible when looking down from the sky. The ten F-2 multirole combat aircraft were flying about 20 meters above sea level at Mach 0.9, subsonic. Their main wings were equipped with four anti-ship missiles each. Their objective was to destroy the dragon carriers currently 30 km west of Nishinomiyako. Since there were twenty ships in the area, ten fighters were dispatched in case they all needed to be sunk.

Between the ten planes, there were forty anti-ship missiles, which was clearly overkill, but they approved the redundancy to ensure they would sink the carriers without fail. An E-767 AWACS was flying in the sky above and behind them and had already identified about twelve enemy units in the sky above the fleet. Those twelve enemy units would be taken care of by the F-15 Kais.

The anti-ship F-2s continued advancing at subsonic speed. Their distance to the enemy fleet quickly shrank, and they had already entered missile range. When they got within 100 km of the fleet, they received the order over the radio from command.

“Fire at will.”

The squadron of ten planes fired a total of forty air-launched anti-ship missiles, which blasted towards the Papaldia Empire’s fleet of dragon carriers.

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