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Nihonkoku Shoukan (WN) - Chapter 67

Published at 3rd of September 2021 12:05:35 PM


Chapter 67

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The Looming Flames of War 1

 

The ocean east of the continent of Mu, Second Civilization Area

The skies above are clear and sunny and waves gently billowed across the sea. Looking down on the beautiful ocean from above, a single beautiful line ran across it.

Yamaguchi, captain of the Ikai Cruiser, a Japanese flagged automobile freighter, was looking out towards the sea from the bridge. With the horizon so far away, the ocean felt much wider than back on earth.

“We will soon reach Mu, huh…”

The Ikai Cruiser is cruising about 300km east of the continent of Mu. Filled to the brim with Japan-made automobiles and autobikes, their destination is the country of Mu.

“The world has been reeking of war these days… It’d be nice if nothing happens… Hm?”

A small grain of something was visible over the sky.

“Maybe an aircraft from Mu?”

The grain-like aircraft gradually became bigger and then it flew past the ship. If a Japanese person were to look at it, they’d think of it as some old-fashioned, retro plane.

“What’s that?”

“A Zero? Wait, it has floats attached to it! Wonder what it is…”

The crew carefreely talked amongst themselves.

The captain, upon seeing the aircraft, sweated profusely.

“That’s not one of Mu’s!!! Get the radio!! Get me the radio, quick!!!” 

Captain Yamaguchi couldn’t afford to remain calm. There was the obvious fact that there weren’t any Self Defense Forces nearby and that the Mu homeland was 300km away. Furthermore, from what he had heard, Mu’s military couldn’t win a single battle over the Gra Valkas Empire.

The cargo ship sends out a distress signal.

A prototype floatplane fighter from the submarine E-400 24, 2nd Submarine Fleet, Gra Valkas Empire

The plane is a prototype fighter based on the Antares carrier-based fighter that has foldable wings and buoyant floats to allow it to float on the ocean. Stored away in the hangar of a giant E-400 submarine, it unfolded its wings over the ocean and flew off to scout for targets. If a Japanese person that is slightly knowledgeable of the old army sees it, it would look similar to a Type 2 floatplane fighter. (However, the original Type 2 didn’t have a mechanism that allows it to fold its wings)

“Hehehe… Gotcha!!”

The pilot, Astor, licked his lips. He remembers the past. Aiming for the Imperial Air Corps, he was proud of the day when he passed the examination to become a pilot. He thought that surely they would assign him to the aircraft carrier squadrons, allowing him to freely move about in the skies of the other world and become a soaring soldier for the empire’s grand global conquest.

However, he was assigned to pilot a prototype floatplane fighter that was slower than an Antares. What’s worse was that he had to search for enemies for the submarine to target: a boring, mediocre job. He was stressed and hungry for a chance to fight with the enemy. There was no doubt that the ship bearing a white flag with a red circle on it was a ship of the enemy, Japan.

He promptly reported his position back to the mothership and went for the attack. He felt a blood-seething arousal from finally experiencing his first combat action.

“It’s so big…”

The enemy merchant ship was significantly bigger than the empire’s merchant ships, appearing quite advanced. Usually, there would be many people who are opposed to conducting attacks against merchant ships. However, he was too thrilled to think about it deeply and proceeded to attack.

Zooom!!

A high-pitched sound reverberates throughout the vicinity. To those inside the ship, the sound would have been even higher due to the Doppler effect.

Cutting through the wind, the aircraft dove. Facing towards the ocean at a steep angle, he drops two 60kg bombs attached to the aircraft’s fuselage. With the fruits of countless practices being made into reality, the two bombs beelined for the merchant ship in straight lines.

The two bombs dropped by the prototype floatplane fighter pierced the roof, releasing its power inside the ship, sending cars and other equipment flying, and setting the gasoline within their tanks on fire. The fire spread onto one car after the other, engulfing the ship in smoke within a short matter of time

Onboard the automobile freighter

“Is this it for us?! All personnel, abandon ship!!!”

Each car had a certain amount of gasoline, causing the fire to spread quicker and enveloping the entire ship in intense smoke. They obviously didn’t carry any weapons, and with a slow, lumbering merchant ship, there was no way they could fight off or escape from attacking aircraft. It seems that Mu has already sent fighters to assist but they will never make it in time.

“Fuck! Why are they attacking non-combatants?! Fucking lowlifes!!”

Some personnel hurled curses at the enemy flying in the sky.

“Quit your yapping!! Ready the lifeboats!!”

The personnel who were cursing jumped into a frenzy. The captain was suddenly beset by an uneasy feeling.

They won’t attack lifeboats, right???

This isn’t Earth. It is a different world swept up in war… 

The Parpaldia Empire mercilessly murdered Japanese tourists at the Kingdom of Fenn. It isn’t a place where their common sense worked. Furthermore, the Gra Valkas Empire had declared war upon them.

Right… We are currently at war…

He had heard that this was far outside the Gra Valkas Empire’s sphere of influence so it was deemed safe. Safer than the SDF’s non-combatant zones, it was also a domain designated safe by the government so they thought that there weren’t any problems whatsoever.

But now look what happened!!

They were clearly being attacked. If they don’t escape in lifeboats soon, they’ll die from being engulfed in smoke.

There was no time to think. Using several lifeboats, they attempted to escape.

・・・

Astor was looking at the ship that was engulfed in flames within a short span of time.

“What an interesting ship… Hm?!”

Small, bright boats emerged from the burning ship. People boarded onto them and the boats fell into the ocean. It seems that the ship’s crew were attempting to escape from the ship with their escape boats.

“Hahahaha! Trying to run now, huh? I won’t let you get away… The penalty for desertion under enemy fire is death!!”

Since they weren’t military personnel, they weren’t liable for escaping from enemy fire. However, Astor didn’t mind the particulars and began diving once again. He lined his sights against one of the bright-colored targets. With one swerve of his finger, many lives were taken.

“Hehehe!!!”

He mercilessly pulled the trigger as he laughed like a madman.

Ratatatatat…

The rounds fired from his 7.7mm machine gun had tracers mixed in, drawing straight lines into the lifeboats. At the same time they found their marks on the lifeboats, the sea became dyed in red.

“HAHAHAHAHA!! YES, YES!! HOW HILARIOUS!!”

He climbed back up to the sky. Expressions of terror looked up towards him from the other lifeboats. Diving back once again, he attacked a lifeboat, and then another.

The lifeboats were being dyed red one after the other.

“Hm?!”

There were some that jumped out of the lifeboats, trying to swim away. He knew that they were frantically swimming away due to their movements.

“You think you could run away from me?!”

Rising up into the air once again, he strafed down into the sea, dying the sea around those trying to swim away red.

“Hahaha!! I pity you all for being born into a weak country!!… Ah, it seems that Mu has come…”

He verified several small grainy dots on the sky ahead. Running low on ammunition, Astor turns around, pulling out ahead of the Mu fighters.

On this day, an automobile freighter was set ablaze by a fighter of the Gra Valkas Empire.

・・・

The prime minister’s official residence, Tokyo, Japan

Ministers and executives from the other ministries and agencies were gathered in the prime minister’s official residence for an emergency strategy meeting. The presider of the meeting begins to explain the outline of the matter at hand.

“Stated are the currently verified damage situations on both sides at the sea battle off Baltica.”

The ministers’ faces grew pale after seeing the material and human losses on both sides. In the off chance that the Self Defense Force’s ships suffered losses in the same manner as these countries, the nationwide backlash would be unfathomable. The deployment and subsequent sinking of the Holy Mirishial Empire’s sci-fi-esque aerial battleship has caused enormous agitation within the ministers ill-informed in military affairs. 

“These are currently what’s verified to be left of the Gra Valkas Imperial Navy…”

The presider straightforwardly reads out the verified number of ships, the estimated combined tonnage, and how many aircraft are operational. There was still a surprising difference in strength in the simple term of numbers and so the commotion was once again great.

“Defense Minister, if the Gra Valkas Empire does indeed come to attack Japan, can we completely defend ourselves?”

Unable to hold his question in any longer, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries cuts into the explanation.

“For… For the time being, if the Gra Valkas Empire were to attack… The question of whether we will be able to defend Japan… With enough leeway, I can assert that we are able to safeguard the country.

However, if we are to estimate based on the developmental history back on earth, the question of whether we will be able to keep them out after 40 or 50 years becomes harder to conclude… Based on their numbers, we will be forced to fight a crippling battle.”

A slight sense of relief sweeps across the place. At any rate, the war with the Gra Valkas Empire must be settled as soon as possible.

After the general explanation of the Baltica naval battle, they tackled Mu’s request next and the reports on their recent situation.

“The Gra Valkas Imperial Army is currently amassing 25km west of the border town of Alue, situated on Mu’s northwest corner. However, the Ministry of Defense’s analysis rules out a subsequent invasion, but rather concludes that this buildup is for the construction of a base for a later land and air invasion.

Based on the assumption that they are of World War 2 level as well as predictions from data gathered, they are far too few for an invasion of Mu. However, since their position allows their artillery to reach Alue while leaving Mu’s artillery unable to counter them, there exists a possibility that, if given time, Alue will be taken with the few soldiers that they have gathered.”

“Mu perceives this as preparations for an actual invasion, so they have requested the Japanese government for military aid to expel the Gra Valkas Empire from the Second Civilization Area.”

The Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry raises their hand and asks a question.

“Is it possible for Mu to defend itself with their own strength? As Defense Minister, what do you think?”

“They can’t. Their level of technology is too far apart.”

“Th… that’s outrageous!!! Our current boom is nothing more than the wealth Mu gathered from other countries which they then use to buy Japanese products to enhance their development!

Leveraging the immense difference in technology, they buy them at the products’ asking price. Furthermore, they let us use the airports they have set up in other countries at a very low price! 

It’s needless to say that they even go as far as to freely provide us the service for the expansion of those airports to allow jetliners to use them! Mu is one of our most important allies!!!

If we lose Mu now, a great depression and a state of financial confusion similar to after we immediately transferred will happen! We must make haste!! We must send the Self Defense Forces to help Mu!!”

“Don’t say it so easily!!! The legislation still hasn’t caught up… What’s more is that while the Self Defense Force’s equipment is strong against attacks, they are weak when carrying one out! We cannot fight without supplies!

How do you propose we set up more 20,000km away, let alone kick out the Imperial Army from their country? Airstrikes may be effective, but they’re insufficient in expelling the Imperial Army out.

One assumption is that we could order them on the plan that the SDF is deploying to simply remove the Gra Valkas Imperial Army from Mu, but I think that that is still too impossible to carry out immediately considering our current equipment.”

“But… carrying it out is a plus for us!!! At any rate, when Mu does fall, the Gra Valkas Empire will have the entire continent! With their increased national power, they will then challenge the Holy Mirishial Empire to a fight, which if they win will put Japan in serious threat!”

A slight difference in material resources can be covered by superiority in technology. However, an overwhelming difference will definitely be overwhelming despite the gap in technology unless nuclear weapons are brought into the fight.

“Please understand that there are things we can and cannot do!!! Reality doesn’t go as well as stories!!!”

The discussion becomes heated and the place becomes noisy. The prime minister raises his hand, silencing the room.

“Defense Minister, I will not insist you to do something unreasonable. However, the Gra Valkas Empire has not only declared war on Mu but on our country as well.

Even if it is at present only a threat to our economy, if they’re left alone it will certainly balloon into a great threat. I want you to cooperate with the other countries and… think of a solution.”

“…Understood.”

“However, there will certainly be a lot of people who will oppose an overseas deployment.”

“After the war with the Parpaldia Empire, public opinion has shown a lot of understanding on the overseas deployment, but since there is still the possibility of putting Self Defense Forces personnel’s lives at risk, we would need a clear reason for this deployment.”

Slam!

A junior Foreign Affairs personnel opens the door strongly and comes in. It was simple to imagine that there would be more headache-inducing matters coming onto the table.

“Apologies for interrupting the meeting!!! According to information we have just received, contact was lost with a Japanese flagged freighter on transit 300km east of Mu! Just before contact was lost, we intercepted a distress signal and a transmission saying they were being attacked by a fighter! We are currently verifying the details!”

“Damn!!”

“How could this have happened?!”

“Ahh crap… they just won’t let us rest, huh… We will hold a press conference once more detailed information comes in.

Defense Minister!! Please hurry up on the matter we just talked about!”

“Understood.”

The sparks of the flames of war are starting to spread… The Japanese government has started to function to its fullest in order to protect the country and its citizens.

・・・

Ministry of Defense, Tokyo, Japan

Days of continuous hard work has worn down the nerves of the executives of the Ministry of Defense. And yet despite the fatigue on their souls and minds, they continue to have heated discussions to dispel the threat on Japan.

“It’s impossible… The sea lanes are too long!!! Completely dispelling the threat of enemy submarines between Mu and Japan is virtually impossible!!!”

“Nevertheless, we must still take measures! Couldn’t we have the destroyers escort them on their round trips like an armed convoy?”

“The business community won’t accept that!!!”

“But they must accept it!!! It’s better than dying to an enemy submarine attack!!!”

“Wait, wait! Setting the matter that we must finish this aside, if this goes on like this where we don’t know how long they will keep this up, the number of troops and ships we could spare won’t be enough!! We must also take into consideration that we have to patrol the seas around Japan!!!”

Everyone in the room racks their brain for what can be done for the sake of Japan.

“Please wait a moment!! Everyone, please calm down! Everyone has been wrapped up so much on defense that we don’t have a coherent grand scheme.”

A junior defense executive, Mitsugi, points out from the sidelines. A man with a slender build, he usually irritates someone by making a statement without reading the atmosphere, but he also has extremely rare moments where he says something appropriate. He continues.

“This requires cooperation from the JGSDF, JMSDF, JASDF, and the government, but hear me out… 

What we need to do is expel the Gra Valkas Empire from the Second Civilization Area, yes? Everyone, we are focusing too much on defending ourselves. I think that kicking them out is comparatively easier to do.”

Everyone looks at him with anticipation. After a short pause, Mitsugi then slowly forms his opinion.





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