Previous Chapter: The Hinomawari Kingdom 2
Kaboom!!!
“Aaahhh!!!”
A building east from where Dallas was blew up in flames and collapsed. The dormitory where the soldiers that the Subjugation Authority employs to rule over the Hinomawari Kingdom was engulfed in explosive flames. Hundreds of soldiers perished in their sleep.
Flashes of light and explosions occur in quick succession.
The city was drowned in screams as people tried to run for cover not knowing where to go. However, Dallas knew where not to go. He also knew where to go.
“Shit! You gotta be shitting me! You gotta be shitting me! You gotta be shitting meee!!!”
Searchlights were turned on and began to scan the skies as anti-aircraft guns began firing. Sounds of gunfire occurred in tempo with bullets of light soaring across the dark, night skies. Had their foes been wyverns, the primary aerial unit of the Second Civilization Area, their searchlights would have already spotted them and their anti-aircraft guns would have easily obliterated them out of the sky. However, it was clear as day that they could not even spot their enemies.
The terrifying destructive power of the enemy’s bombings immediately silenced the anti-aircraft guns, destroying them and the buildings in which they were established. Sounds of explosions rang out one after the other.
No matter how bright the moon may be, it is absolutely impossible to distinguish targets from high altitudes with the naked eye during night. It is dead impossible to precisely target just buildings from ultra-high altitudes in pitch-black darkness. It should have been impossible.
However, Japan has things called flying, guided bombs.
Even with the empire’s latest radar and infrared (still in the theoretical stage), guidance should only be limited to use in the air or at sea. If they were to use it against ground targets, it would only be effective when there were no other buildings around. In the end, they still wouldn’t be able to see and with many more similar-looking buildings all around their targets, yet they were still able to distinguish them. Knowledge he read from books and heard from technologists ran around his mind.
Since sky-based radar and night vision devices were far outside Dallas’s expectations, he couldn’t grasp how they were able to do it.
Boom!!!
“Kyaaaa!!!”
“Aaaaahhh!!!”
While he rummaged through his thoughts, destruction continued unabated as the city was engulfed in terror.
One after another, their important installations were destroyed with pinpoint accuracy, almost as if bombs were planted on them in advance.
“Hah… Hah… Hah… Hah…”
He didn’t even know where he was running off to. The only thing he felt was fear. The Japanese Army possessed weapons far outside his understanding. It was nothing short of terrifying.
A new door in the bottom of his heart opened, unleashing a feeling of dread he never knew he had.
It was unimaginably far more horrifying than facing death at the hands of someone pointing a gun at him.
It was possible they may be aiming their attacks only against Gra Valkas Empire people. If anything, they may be aiming at him right now.
As his heart beated like it was going to burst, drool ran down his mouth as he gasped for air at every step. The face of the Japanese diplomat, Asada, appears in his mind.
There’s a 70 year disparity in the civilization between our countries.
Their recent successive defeats speak for themselves. Japan’s military power was far, far ahead of theirs. He pondered about those words so lightheartedly.
If we were to enter the war, you would lose repeatedly and helplessly to the Self Defense Force!!!
His irritating face kept on popping up in his head as his fears were justified by his words.
“Shut up!!! Get out!!! Get out of my head!!!!!”
Shaking off those thoughts, he continued to run.
Afraid… Terrified… Scared… He couldn’t feel anything but fear.
His shoes got caught on a pebble and he fell in an unsightly fashion. His body complained about wanting to rest and just stay fallen but his fears forced his body to go beyond its limits. Clad in dirt as blood flowed from wounds on his forehead and nose, he ran towards the direction of the forest to escape from the attacks.
・・・
Army underground command room, Subjugation Authority, Hinomawari Kingdom
“The Subjugation Authority building has been destroyed.”
“AA guns 1 through 18 have all been silenced. We have lost all anti-air measures.”
“The barracks have been completely destroyed by the bombing! Casualties in the thousands!!!”
“Grr!!! Why now of all times…”
The Subjugation Authority’s on-duty chief, Olle Butz, who was in the emergency underground command room, felt his heart freeze. The officer’s barracks had already been bombed and destroyed and they couldn’t contact the Subjugation Authority’s supervisor. Their anti-aircraft guns have all been silenced and most of their important installations have all been destroyed in an extremely short amount of time. They were going to ask for support but even the radio tower wasn’t spared from the bombing. In this first attack, they have lost almost all their soldiers. The soldiers that they could currently mobilize were 230 lucky souls who had noticed the bombings first and were able to run out of their barracks as well as 50 men from the units used for assassinations. All in all, they only had 280 men who were ready to fight.
“Fuck.”
Not even the most elite of troops in the Gra Valkas Empire’s homeland could pull off a defense against an invading enemy army with just 280 men. There is no doubt that the enemy is powerful.
As of now, he is the highest-ranked person in charge and as the one in authority, he needs to overcome this situation.
Olle Butz is a despicable, foul, and cowardly man. He fulfilled his duties accordingly, cleverly using the status of the imperial soldiers to rip off wealth from the natives of various countries and fulfilling his desires using their women. After he had grown tired of wealth, he used women to curry favor with his bosses, knocking down his opponents and climbing up the ranks while he used his subordinates as means to an end. He rose to a rank where he was left with the responsibility of chief during this period of time.
In reality, he had no abilities to perform such duties.
“Our fatalities are still currently growing. Those that are able have prepared for battle and are currently on standby for orders.”
A subordinate reports in.
“How come we didn’t detect them prior to this?! How do you intend to face their fighters with our infantrymen?! Planes can’t be brought down with rifles, bear in mind!!! Who’s the one responsible for the radar?!”
The radar tower had already been destroyed too. Blaming the dead wasn’t worth the time but as someone who was not of caliber to deal with the situation, he can’t help but pin the blame on someone else. The people around him were astonished at their superior getting mad and dodging responsibility.
Olle Butz pondered.
Their anti-aircraft weaponry had already been silenced and the Subjugation Authority building had also been destroyed. They only have 230 soldiers and 50 soldiers from the assassination units. All of them wielded only rifles. There was no way they could defend against an air attack. The underground command room may be able to withstand the airstrikes. With their forces having been virtually annihilated, the enemy was unbelievably powerful. His instincts tell him that they may be far, far more powerful than the Kain Divine Kingdom.
The fear of death then came to haunt him. Desperate, he racked his brain for ideas.
Oh!
An idea came to mind.
“Due to the bombings, our ability to counter attacks from the sky has been lost. However, we absolutely cannot let go of our dominion over the Hinomawari Kingdom! It is anticipated that an incursion by their ground forces is next. Plant explosives on all the 14 bridges that cross over the Hardall River and prepare for a ground invasion! As for the assassination units, prepare for an invasion from the enemy’s special forces!!!”
“Yes, sir!!!”
As the personnel felt shock after hearing baffinfly sound orders from Olle Butz, they promptly carried them out. Then…
“What did you say?!”
The comms officer suddenly shouted. He desperately wrote down what he heard from the apparatus used for communication with the surface.
“What’s wrong?!”
“We’ve verified star signal bombs from the skies to the east. They’ve spotted 5 of them.”
“What?!”
The room froze with dread.
“5?! There were 5 of those star signal bombs?!”
“Yes! That is certain!”
Star signal bombs let out an explosive sound along with a fierce, shining, light. They are used as an emergency method for when communications systems are down. The bombs are shot up from the vicinity of the border in visual range, allowing signals to be transmitted visually from each base. Eventually, the signals were shot up from a place close to the command room where they could see it clearly.
It was the signal for a large-scale enemy ground invasion.
Their positions and overall scale aren’t known due to radio communication being cut off. In such a dire situation where they don’t know a lot, their anxiety only worsened.
“Y-You gotta be shitting me! It’s still too early!!! Did they march in sync, no, before the bombing happened?! That shouldn’t have been the case!!!”
Despite the disparity in combat capabilities being clear, he couldn’t make sense of the enemy march. Since bombings were inaccurate, there was a possibility some enemies would survive, so ground forces don’t march in until its clear. However, the enemy ground forces moved in as if they were really confident in their bombings having neutralized their targets.
Fuck… We’re done for…
Out of options, he felt the reality that his life was in danger. Olle Butz then decided.
“At this rate, we won’t be able to hold out against a large-scale invasion by the enemy. Since the radio tower has been destroyed, someone has to directly go to ask for reinforcements. Fortunately, our emergency runway, which was camouflaged, and an emergency plane were spared from destruction. Since we’d need a considerable number of reinforcements against a large-scale invasion, someone with a certain level of authority has to go, so… I’ll go.”
“?!?!”
The faces of his subordinates twitched.
Despite Olle Butz being the highest-ranked person of authority, he was trying to escape from the battle.
“Soon, the empire’s proud fighters will fill the skies and expel the enemy.”
“!!!”
The emergency plane, the Starcloud, boasts a top speed of 695km/h, which is considerably fast even in the Gra Valkas Empire. They estimated that the plane may be able to escape the wrath of the incoming destruction. Everyone held back their feelings of objections as they continued to follow the orders of their scummy ‘commander’.
Olle Butz silently left the room.
・・・
“Those were some signal bombs…”
“I just hope that they were misled to think that a large-scale invasion is coming…”
“What’s the point of misleading them?”
“Hmm… Japan also has its ground forces ready but their main objective seems to be to drag the enemy’s airpower into the vicinity of the Hinomawari Kingdom.”
“Still, once they manage to destroy the Gra Valkas Empire’s flying iron dragons, they still have… Uh… Radio, was it? Could they also neutralize that? They may not be able to notice that something happened.”
“Hmm, well, won’t it be nice if the empire gets crushed while they don’t know what’s going on? In the end, we still managed to do our jobs properly anyway.”
The special task force units of the Second Civilization Union Army are lined up in a single, thin line from a position within view of the watchtowers along the border with the Hinomawari Kingdom. Hundreds of flags and banners were lined up and unmanned torches were lit. Behind them, horses frantically dragged withered grass along the ground, kicking up clouds of dust which, coupled with the torches, make them visible in the night. Normally, if they were viewed from the sky, the operation would end in failure. However, due to Japan’s intervention, their enemies lost their means of doing so.
Seeing fierce clouds of dust and hundreds of torches lined up from far away, the Gra Valkas Empire lookouts were deceived into assuming that a large-scale ground invasion was coming. The 1st stage of the diversion by the special task forces of the Second Civilization Union Army is a success.
・・・
Army underground command room, Subjugation Authority, Hinomawari Kingdom
Silence enveloped the command room. There is a chance that the enemy will invade in massive numbers. The number of troops they had left was frustratingly little.
“Fucking Olle Butz!!!”
Vice chief Jagner spat out right after Olle Butz vacated the room.
“Are the soldiers in position?”
“They’re en route to the bridges with explosives. We can place barricades along the bridge and then make it look like they’ve been broken through. Once the enemy has advanced towards the center of the bridge, we blow it up and bring them down with it. Will that be alright?”
Before orders were issued, they were already thinking of the most optimal solutions they could come up with. Jagner felt blessed to have such superb subordinates.
“Yes, push through with that. How’s Sheen’s assassination units?”
Prefixed with their commander’s name, Sheen, the assassination units enjoyed an extremely high success rate and was very much valued even in the homeland. They close in into their targets without emitting a single sound and assassinate them. They can even be given command of heavy weaponry to ensure the annihilation of their enemies. While the name is straight-forward, they are a unit that generally conducts special operations in the Hinomawari Kingdom, and their men possess greater physique and more tenacious mental rigidity than their regular counterparts.
“In the event the enemy sends in their special forces, the only place from where they could come from is the east gate, which is lightly defended. Due to this, we’ve strengthened surveillance of the vicinity around the east gate. We’ve already removed all the inhabitants in the buildings surrounding the gate as well as placed explosives in buildings where the enemy could hide.”
Since civilians would just run around in the event of an attack, they were nothing more than a nuisance on the battlefield. The Gra Valkas Empire has then removed all civilians from areas which they deem could become a battlefield.
“Won’t it be possible that they could come from the sky just like our own special forces?”
“If they were to directly insert into the city from the sky, they’d be limited to landing on runways and open spaces, which are susceptible to attacks from snipers. If they were to come from the east gate, which has a lot of houses around it, the chance of them slipping into them is high.”
Anticipating an invasion from the east, the assassination unit had set up heavy machineguns, mortars, and grenade launchers (weapons which launch explosives like hand grenades far away) in every building they could. It’s certain that not only special forces but also the large-scale invasion could come from the east. Their armaments should be useful in eliminating their enemies.
“Alright… The enemy was able to pinpoint our important buildings. Info must have leaked to them in advance. Even with that, their bombings were awfully accurate… Those bastards are powerful!”
“Yes, sir! Considering the possibility that the enemy was able to ascertain our important installations, the assassination unit has commandeered civilian houses and have applied camo to their positions. They will never be seen by aircraft flying at high altitudes!”
“Good! Let’s hold our ground until reinforcements come! Even if the enemy is massive, they’re still this world’s so-called barbarians. We will show them our individual strength and the impenetrable wall formed by our unity!!!”
Seeing a faint ray of hope from vice chief Jagner’s commands, the other personnel frantically moved to try and survive.
・・・
“Hah… Hah… Hah…”
He is out of breath.
Just how far did I manage to walk???
With the faint glimmers of moonlight shining through the gaps in the trees as his guide, Dallas walked up a mountain road. Brushwood cut through his skin and clothes as he walked further in the dark. Once he’s over these mountains, if he’d continue straight for 250km, he should arrive in a town under the rule of the empire.
I somehow gotta get to the empire’s sphere of influence!!!
He still heard low booms in the distance. Bright flashes of light cut through the dark night. He emerged out onto a clearing from where he could see Harunagakyō.
“What the hell… Is this… the real life???” (TL note: I just had to insert this :P)
The places from where the Subjugation Authority building and their important installations are located are on fire. The light coming from the fires was nothing short of intense as they dyed the dark sky red. He then turned to himself.
His face was dirtied by mud and his clothes were torn in some places. His face was covered in snot and tears. It was exceedingly unsightly for an imperial diplomat, the very synonym of being an elite… All he had done was run away in fear.
“Fucking assholes!!! ASSHOLES!!! You fucking Japanese assholes!!!!!”
Filled with unending rage, he shouted into the dark of night, which loosened some of his fright.
I am an elite, imperial diplomat! Yet here I am, dirtied to the point of unbecoming! Those fucking bastards… I will never forgive you!!!
VWAAAAAAA
“Eeeek!!!”
The sound of an F-2’s afterburner going off echoed. Dallas reflexively let out a pitiful scream.
“Grrr!!!”
Anger and fear intermingled.
He continued to walk towards the direction of the empire’s sphere of influence.
・・・
East gate, Harunagakyō, Hinomawari Kingdom
“Commando unit 1’s ready!!!”
“Heavy machineguns 1 through 15 are deployed!!!”
They had commandeered the houses near the east gate and stationed heavy machineguns on their rooftops. To prevent being spotted by bombers in the sky, the soldiers wore bags and clothing which allowed them to blend into the dark. They also brought out mortars and stationed them in places where they could be efficiently used.
“Go ahead and come, you bastards!!!”
The assassination unit’s vice commander, Fur Hatt, was absolutely confident in his subordinates’ skills. Even though their enemy’s bombings were dead accurate, the number of bombs they dropped was little. Mu is tough but they should be able to hold out even against a large army that consists mostly of barbarians. They’re supposed to be on the lookout for the enemy’s special forces but they prepared themselves with heavy machineguns, mortars, grenade launchers, and planted explosives. Every position near the east gate was covered by their fire. Since they were originally stationed in private houses and not in imperial buildings, the enemy has no prior information on them and so they were not attacked.
They implemented a battle plan that was allegedly used to confine a large army from the Kain Divine Kingdom using only a small number of elite troops.
“Hahaha!!! Our army is perfect!”
What’s worrisome is the enemy bypassing the east gate and bombing them as well as the large-scale appearance of the regular Japanese Army. In such cases, they’d have to blow up their buildings and fall back while preparing for the next battle.
“Vice commander Fur Hatt, isn’t it great that we drove off the civilians to the east beforehand?”
The empire has expelled the Hinomawari Kingdom people from the houses nearby. They fled eastward, far from the Subjugation Authority.
“Those guys are nothing but obstacles in battle. Also, since they’ve submitted themselves to the empire, they have no value as hostages. We also have to preserve our food. Their sole usefulness lies in them running into the enemy towards the front of their special forces or maybe even their army. They might end up being ruthlessly killed by the enemy commanders but that just means that the enemy will waste their munitions. It doesn’t really matter to us how many people of a vassal state die.”
“Hah! Just as expected from vice commander Fur Hart! I didn’t even think of that!”
They’ve never lost; from the assassination of the kingdom’s important people to the commanding of the assassination on Freyja, the 3rd Princess. Them being undefeated added to their confidence.
“The Sheen Assassination Unit will push ever more forward, still undefeated!!!”
Their morale continues to go up to the point where they’re convinced that they’ll never lose.
“Hm? What the hell is that sound???”
Batabatabatabatabatabatabata
They started hearing the sound of the air being hit multiple times from far away.
“It feels like it’s getting louder and louder…”
The unfamiliar sound was then accompanied by the faint, yet more familiar sound of engines.
“This sound…!!! The enemy is coming!!!”
The Sheen Assassination Unit readied themselves for battle.
4 AH-64D attack helicopters from the Japan Ground Self Defense Force closed the distance to the east gate of the Hinomawari Kingdom’s capital, Harunagakyō.
Previous Chapter: The Hinomawari Kingdom 2
Kaboom!!!
“Aaahhh!!!”
A building east from where Dallas was blew up in flames and collapsed. The dormitory where the soldiers that the Subjugation Authority employs to rule over the Hinomawari Kingdom was engulfed in explosive flames. Hundreds of soldiers perished in their sleep.
Flashes of light and explosions occur in quick succession.
The city was drowned in screams as people tried to run for cover not knowing where to go. However, Dallas knew where not to go. He also knew where to go.
“Shit! You gotta be shitting me! You gotta be shitting me! You gotta be shitting meee!!!”
Searchlights were turned on and began to scan the skies as anti-aircraft guns began firing. Sounds of gunfire occurred in tempo with bullets of light soaring across the dark, night skies. Had their foes been wyverns, the primary aerial unit of the Second Civilization Area, their searchlights would have already spotted them and their anti-aircraft guns would have easily obliterated them out of the sky. However, it was clear as day that they could not even spot their enemies.
The terrifying destructive power of the enemy’s bombings immediately silenced the anti-aircraft guns, destroying them and the buildings in which they were established. Sounds of explosions rang out one after the other.
No matter how bright the moon may be, it is absolutely impossible to distinguish targets from high altitudes with the naked eye during night. It is dead impossible to precisely target just buildings from ultra-high altitudes in pitch-black darkness. It should have been impossible.
However, Japan has things called flying, guided bombs.
Even with the empire’s latest radar and infrared (still in the theoretical stage), guidance should only be limited to use in the air or at sea. If they were to use it against ground targets, it would only be effective when there were no other buildings around. In the end, they still wouldn’t be able to see and with many more similar-looking buildings all around their targets, yet they were still able to distinguish them. Knowledge he read from books and heard from technologists ran around his mind.
Since sky-based radar and night vision devices were far outside Dallas’s expectations, he couldn’t grasp how they were able to do it.
Boom!!!
“Kyaaaa!!!”
“Aaaaahhh!!!”
While he rummaged through his thoughts, destruction continued unabated as the city was engulfed in terror.
One after another, their important installations were destroyed with pinpoint accuracy, almost as if bombs were planted on them in advance.
“Hah… Hah… Hah… Hah…”
He didn’t even know where he was running off to. The only thing he felt was fear. The Japanese Army possessed weapons far outside his understanding. It was nothing short of terrifying.
A new door in the bottom of his heart opened, unleashing a feeling of dread he never knew he had.
It was unimaginably far more horrifying than facing death at the hands of someone pointing a gun at him.
It was possible they may be aiming their attacks only against Gra Valkas Empire people. If anything, they may be aiming at him right now.
As his heart beated like it was going to burst, drool ran down his mouth as he gasped for air at every step. The face of the Japanese diplomat, Asada, appears in his mind.
There’s a 70 year disparity in the civilization between our countries.
Their recent successive defeats speak for themselves. Japan’s military power was far, far ahead of theirs. He pondered about those words so lightheartedly.
If we were to enter the war, you would lose repeatedly and helplessly to the Self Defense Force!!!
His irritating face kept on popping up in his head as his fears were justified by his words.
“Shut up!!! Get out!!! Get out of my head!!!!!”
Shaking off those thoughts, he continued to run.
Afraid… Terrified… Scared… He couldn’t feel anything but fear.
His shoes got caught on a pebble and he fell in an unsightly fashion. His body complained about wanting to rest and just stay fallen but his fears forced his body to go beyond its limits. Clad in dirt as blood flowed from wounds on his forehead and nose, he ran towards the direction of the forest to escape from the attacks.
・・・
Army underground command room, Subjugation Authority, Hinomawari Kingdom
“The Subjugation Authority building has been destroyed.”
“AA guns 1 through 18 have all been silenced. We have lost all anti-air measures.”
“The barracks have been completely destroyed by the bombing! Casualties in the thousands!!!”
“Grr!!! Why now of all times…”
The Subjugation Authority’s on-duty chief, Olle Butz, who was in the emergency underground command room, felt his heart freeze. The officer’s barracks had already been bombed and destroyed and they couldn’t contact the Subjugation Authority’s supervisor. Their anti-aircraft guns have all been silenced and most of their important installations have all been destroyed in an extremely short amount of time. They were going to ask for support but even the radio tower wasn’t spared from the bombing. In this first attack, they have lost almost all their soldiers. The soldiers that they could currently mobilize were 230 lucky souls who had noticed the bombings first and were able to run out of their barracks as well as 50 men from the units used for assassinations. All in all, they only had 280 men who were ready to fight.
“Fuck.”
Not even the most elite of troops in the Gra Valkas Empire’s homeland could pull off a defense against an invading enemy army with just 280 men. There is no doubt that the enemy is powerful.
As of now, he is the highest-ranked person in charge and as the one in authority, he needs to overcome this situation.
Olle Butz is a despicable, foul, and cowardly man. He fulfilled his duties accordingly, cleverly using the status of the imperial soldiers to rip off wealth from the natives of various countries and fulfilling his desires using their women. After he had grown tired of wealth, he used women to curry favor with his bosses, knocking down his opponents and climbing up the ranks while he used his subordinates as means to an end. He rose to a rank where he was left with the responsibility of chief during this period of time.
In reality, he had no abilities to perform such duties.
“Our fatalities are still currently growing. Those that are able have prepared for battle and are currently on standby for orders.”
A subordinate reports in.
“How come we didn’t detect them prior to this?! How do you intend to face their fighters with our infantrymen?! Planes can’t be brought down with rifles, bear in mind!!! Who’s the one responsible for the radar?!”
The radar tower had already been destroyed too. Blaming the dead wasn’t worth the time but as someone who was not of caliber to deal with the situation, he can’t help but pin the blame on someone else. The people around him were astonished at their superior getting mad and dodging responsibility.
Olle Butz pondered.
Their anti-aircraft weaponry had already been silenced and the Subjugation Authority building had also been destroyed. They only have 230 soldiers and 50 soldiers from the assassination units. All of them wielded only rifles. There was no way they could defend against an air attack. The underground command room may be able to withstand the airstrikes. With their forces having been virtually annihilated, the enemy was unbelievably powerful. His instincts tell him that they may be far, far more powerful than the Kain Divine Kingdom.
The fear of death then came to haunt him. Desperate, he racked his brain for ideas.
Oh!
An idea came to mind.
“Due to the bombings, our ability to counter attacks from the sky has been lost. However, we absolutely cannot let go of our dominion over the Hinomawari Kingdom! It is anticipated that an incursion by their ground forces is next. Plant explosives on all the 14 bridges that cross over the Hardall River and prepare for a ground invasion! As for the assassination units, prepare for an invasion from the enemy’s special forces!!!”
“Yes, sir!!!”
As the personnel felt shock after hearing baffinfly sound orders from Olle Butz, they promptly carried them out. Then…
“What did you say?!”
The comms officer suddenly shouted. He desperately wrote down what he heard from the apparatus used for communication with the surface.
“What’s wrong?!”
“We’ve verified star signal bombs from the skies to the east. They’ve spotted 5 of them.”
“What?!”
The room froze with dread.
“5?! There were 5 of those star signal bombs?!”
“Yes! That is certain!”
Star signal bombs let out an explosive sound along with a fierce, shining, light. They are used as an emergency method for when communications systems are down. The bombs are shot up from the vicinity of the border in visual range, allowing signals to be transmitted visually from each base. Eventually, the signals were shot up from a place close to the command room where they could see it clearly.
It was the signal for a large-scale enemy ground invasion.
Their positions and overall scale aren’t known due to radio communication being cut off. In such a dire situation where they don’t know a lot, their anxiety only worsened.
“Y-You gotta be shitting me! It’s still too early!!! Did they march in sync, no, before the bombing happened?! That shouldn’t have been the case!!!”
Despite the disparity in combat capabilities being clear, he couldn’t make sense of the enemy march. Since bombings were inaccurate, there was a possibility some enemies would survive, so ground forces don’t march in until its clear. However, the enemy ground forces moved in as if they were really confident in their bombings having neutralized their targets.
Fuck… We’re done for…
Out of options, he felt the reality that his life was in danger. Olle Butz then decided.
“At this rate, we won’t be able to hold out against a large-scale invasion by the enemy. Since the radio tower has been destroyed, someone has to directly go to ask for reinforcements. Fortunately, our emergency runway, which was camouflaged, and an emergency plane were spared from destruction. Since we’d need a considerable number of reinforcements against a large-scale invasion, someone with a certain level of authority has to go, so… I’ll go.”
“?!?!”
The faces of his subordinates twitched.
Despite Olle Butz being the highest-ranked person of authority, he was trying to escape from the battle.
“Soon, the empire’s proud fighters will fill the skies and expel the enemy.”
“!!!”
The emergency plane, the Starcloud, boasts a top speed of 695km/h, which is considerably fast even in the Gra Valkas Empire. They estimated that the plane may be able to escape the wrath of the incoming destruction. Everyone held back their feelings of objections as they continued to follow the orders of their scummy ‘commander’.
Olle Butz silently left the room.
・・・
“Those were some signal bombs…”
“I just hope that they were misled to think that a large-scale invasion is coming…”
“What’s the point of misleading them?”
“Hmm… Japan also has its ground forces ready but their main objective seems to be to drag the enemy’s airpower into the vicinity of the Hinomawari Kingdom.”
“Still, once they manage to destroy the Gra Valkas Empire’s flying iron dragons, they still have… Uh… Radio, was it? Could they also neutralize that? They may not be able to notice that something happened.”
“Hmm, well, won’t it be nice if the empire gets crushed while they don’t know what’s going on? In the end, we still managed to do our jobs properly anyway.”
The special task force units of the Second Civilization Union Army are lined up in a single, thin line from a position within view of the watchtowers along the border with the Hinomawari Kingdom. Hundreds of flags and banners were lined up and unmanned torches were lit. Behind them, horses frantically dragged withered grass along the ground, kicking up clouds of dust which, coupled with the torches, make them visible in the night. Normally, if they were viewed from the sky, the operation would end in failure. However, due to Japan’s intervention, their enemies lost their means of doing so.
Seeing fierce clouds of dust and hundreds of torches lined up from far away, the Gra Valkas Empire lookouts were deceived into assuming that a large-scale ground invasion was coming. The 1st stage of the diversion by the special task forces of the Second Civilization Union Army is a success.
・・・
Army underground command room, Subjugation Authority, Hinomawari Kingdom
Silence enveloped the command room. There is a chance that the enemy will invade in massive numbers. The number of troops they had left was frustratingly little.
“Fucking Olle Butz!!!”
Vice chief Jagner spat out right after Olle Butz vacated the room.
“Are the soldiers in position?”
“They’re en route to the bridges with explosives. We can place barricades along the bridge and then make it look like they’ve been broken through. Once the enemy has advanced towards the center of the bridge, we blow it up and bring them down with it. Will that be alright?”
Before orders were issued, they were already thinking of the most optimal solutions they could come up with. Jagner felt blessed to have such superb subordinates.
“Yes, push through with that. How’s Sheen’s assassination units?”
Prefixed with their commander’s name, Sheen, the assassination units enjoyed an extremely high success rate and was very much valued even in the homeland. They close in into their targets without emitting a single sound and assassinate them. They can even be given command of heavy weaponry to ensure the annihilation of their enemies. While the name is straight-forward, they are a unit that generally conducts special operations in the Hinomawari Kingdom, and their men possess greater physique and more tenacious mental rigidity than their regular counterparts.
“In the event the enemy sends in their special forces, the only place from where they could come from is the east gate, which is lightly defended. Due to this, we’ve strengthened surveillance of the vicinity around the east gate. We’ve already removed all the inhabitants in the buildings surrounding the gate as well as placed explosives in buildings where the enemy could hide.”
Since civilians would just run around in the event of an attack, they were nothing more than a nuisance on the battlefield. The Gra Valkas Empire has then removed all civilians from areas which they deem could become a battlefield.
“Won’t it be possible that they could come from the sky just like our own special forces?”
“If they were to directly insert into the city from the sky, they’d be limited to landing on runways and open spaces, which are susceptible to attacks from snipers. If they were to come from the east gate, which has a lot of houses around it, the chance of them slipping into them is high.”
Anticipating an invasion from the east, the assassination unit had set up heavy machineguns, mortars, and grenade launchers (weapons which launch explosives like hand grenades far away) in every building they could. It’s certain that not only special forces but also the large-scale invasion could come from the east. Their armaments should be useful in eliminating their enemies.
“Alright… The enemy was able to pinpoint our important buildings. Info must have leaked to them in advance. Even with that, their bombings were awfully accurate… Those bastards are powerful!”
“Yes, sir! Considering the possibility that the enemy was able to ascertain our important installations, the assassination unit has commandeered civilian houses and have applied camo to their positions. They will never be seen by aircraft flying at high altitudes!”
“Good! Let’s hold our ground until reinforcements come! Even if the enemy is massive, they’re still this world’s so-called barbarians. We will show them our individual strength and the impenetrable wall formed by our unity!!!”
Seeing a faint ray of hope from vice chief Jagner’s commands, the other personnel frantically moved to try and survive.
・・・
“Hah… Hah… Hah…”
He is out of breath.
Just how far did I manage to walk???
With the faint glimmers of moonlight shining through the gaps in the trees as his guide, Dallas walked up a mountain road. Brushwood cut through his skin and clothes as he walked further in the dark. Once he’s over these mountains, if he’d continue straight for 250km, he should arrive in a town under the rule of the empire.
I somehow gotta get to the empire’s sphere of influence!!!
He still heard low booms in the distance. Bright flashes of light cut through the dark night. He emerged out onto a clearing from where he could see Harunagakyō.
“What the hell… Is this… the real life???” (TL note: I just had to insert this :P)
The places from where the Subjugation Authority building and their important installations are located are on fire. The light coming from the fires was nothing short of intense as they dyed the dark sky red. He then turned to himself.
His face was dirtied by mud and his clothes were torn in some places. His face was covered in snot and tears. It was exceedingly unsightly for an imperial diplomat, the very synonym of being an elite… All he had done was run away in fear.
“Fucking assholes!!! ASSHOLES!!! You fucking Japanese assholes!!!!!”
Filled with unending rage, he shouted into the dark of night, which loosened some of his fright.
I am an elite, imperial diplomat! Yet here I am, dirtied to the point of unbecoming! Those fucking bastards… I will never forgive you!!!
VWAAAAAAA
“Eeeek!!!”
The sound of an F-2’s afterburner going off echoed. Dallas reflexively let out a pitiful scream.
“Grrr!!!”
Anger and fear intermingled.
He continued to walk towards the direction of the empire’s sphere of influence.
・・・
East gate, Harunagakyō, Hinomawari Kingdom
“Commando unit 1’s ready!!!”
“Heavy machineguns 1 through 15 are deployed!!!”
They had commandeered the houses near the east gate and stationed heavy machineguns on their rooftops. To prevent being spotted by bombers in the sky, the soldiers wore bags and clothing which allowed them to blend into the dark. They also brought out mortars and stationed them in places where they could be efficiently used.
“Go ahead and come, you bastards!!!”
The assassination unit’s vice commander, Fur Hatt, was absolutely confident in his subordinates’ skills. Even though their enemy’s bombings were dead accurate, the number of bombs they dropped was little. Mu is tough but they should be able to hold out even against a large army that consists mostly of barbarians. They’re supposed to be on the lookout for the enemy’s special forces but they prepared themselves with heavy machineguns, mortars, grenade launchers, and planted explosives. Every position near the east gate was covered by their fire. Since they were originally stationed in private houses and not in imperial buildings, the enemy has no prior information on them and so they were not attacked.
They implemented a battle plan that was allegedly used to confine a large army from the Kain Divine Kingdom using only a small number of elite troops.
“Hahaha!!! Our army is perfect!”
What’s worrisome is the enemy bypassing the east gate and bombing them as well as the large-scale appearance of the regular Japanese Army. In such cases, they’d have to blow up their buildings and fall back while preparing for the next battle.
“Vice commander Fur Hatt, isn’t it great that we drove off the civilians to the east beforehand?”
The empire has expelled the Hinomawari Kingdom people from the houses nearby. They fled eastward, far from the Subjugation Authority.
“Those guys are nothing but obstacles in battle. Also, since they’ve submitted themselves to the empire, they have no value as hostages. We also have to preserve our food. Their sole usefulness lies in them running into the enemy towards the front of their special forces or maybe even their army. They might end up being ruthlessly killed by the enemy commanders but that just means that the enemy will waste their munitions. It doesn’t really matter to us how many people of a vassal state die.”
“Hah! Just as expected from vice commander Fur Hart! I didn’t even think of that!”
They’ve never lost; from the assassination of the kingdom’s important people to the commanding of the assassination on Freyja, the 3rd Princess. Them being undefeated added to their confidence.
“The Sheen Assassination Unit will push ever more forward, still undefeated!!!”
Their morale continues to go up to the point where they’re convinced that they’ll never lose.
“Hm? What the hell is that sound???”
Batabatabatabatabatabatabata
They started hearing the sound of the air being hit multiple times from far away.
“It feels like it’s getting louder and louder…”
The unfamiliar sound was then accompanied by the faint, yet more familiar sound of engines.
“This sound…!!! The enemy is coming!!!”
The Sheen Assassination Unit readied themselves for battle.
4 AH-64D attack helicopters from the Japan Ground Self Defense Force closed the distance to the east gate of the Hinomawari Kingdom’s capital, Harunagakyō.
