Nihonkoku Shoukan Chapter 38

Actual humor, in my Summoning j.a.pan?!

Deer A: actual humor in the last section of the chapter
Deer B: More than just Papaldia being hilarious as usual? ?
Deer A: I said actual humor.

This took longer than I was hoping, it was… just… so long…

Chapter 38 - The Empire's Crisis

Holy Miris.h.i.+al Empire, port town Cartalpas, a certain bar

The drunks were once again chatting, as usual.

"Hey, hey, did you hear?! Papaldia, in the Third Civilization, their main navy got wrecked by j.a.pan!!!" a drunk yelled loudly with astonishment.

"Ahh, I did. Man, I couldn't believe it when I first heard. A country outside the civilized areas has never beaten a superpower before, let alone completely crus.h.i.+ng one of their strongest forces. And talking about the empire's navy, they were the most powerful fleet in the Third Civilization."

"But hey, I hear j.a.pan was making aircraft too. You think Mu is pulling their strings or something?"

"Nah, I think the aircraft j.a.pan had were way more effective than Mu's. Papaldia was also investing in some method to improve their wyvern lords, but even they couldn't scratch these flying machines, I hear."

The bar began to get noisy.

"So what the h.e.l.l is with this j.a.pan country anyway? They keep doing all these impossible things one after another…… For that matter, I wonder what's gonna happen to the empire."

"The empire's the one who called for genocide, but now they're the ones who are gonna be wiped out. I bet most of their people are gonna get enslaved… something like that."

"But now, j.a.pan's definitely going to become one of the five big superpowers, and whatever they is gonna change the world. I gotta figure out how to cash in on that."

The drunks kept on chatting.

Holy Miris.h.i.+al Empire, imperial capital Runepolis

Information Director Arneus fell deep into thought after receiving a report from one of his subordinates. Even though the star of the Third Civilization, the Papaldia Empire, sent out the entirety of its main navy, a small piece of j.a.pan's naval power completely crushed them and didn't even get a b.l.o.o.d.y nose. It was undeniable that j.a.pan had at least enough national power to be counted as a superpower. The fact that superpower countries suddenly came out of nowhere, not only from the west but also from the east, made his head throb in pain.

"Rydorka, what is your a.s.sessment of j.a.pan?" Arneus asked the information officer who had observed the battle in the Topa Kingdom between the remnants of the ancient sorcerous empire and j.a.pan.

"The one thing I can say for sure is that their military technology is unparalleled. As the report released the other day said, their firepower isn't obscenely high, but they have practical man-portable light magic homing missiles. In addition, their magic tanks, the weapon they used to defeat the demon lord, are a worrisome threat.

"When the Papaldian ground army fought with j.a.pan in the Kingdom of Fenn, the empire's magic cannons scored many direct hits on these tanks, but destroyed none. On the other hand, the tanks had extremely powerful and accurate magic cannons of their own; they easily eliminated all of the empire's land dragons, and they have an unG.o.dly reloading speed.

"There are still far too many unknowns concerning that country; in order to avoid being caught unawares like in the two losses the Papaldia Empire took, I believe we must be careful and meticulous in our foreign relations."

"……You're right, of course. The scale of the country of j.a.pan is still unknown, but, if we only consider their extreme level of technology, then, even more than the Gra Valkas Empire, we do not want to antagonize them. With regards to the Third Civilization, in all likelihood, the Papaldia Empire will fall from being a superpower, and j.a.pan will become the new stewards of the Third Civilization."

He sighed.

"What a headache. Trying to persuade those prideful diplomats and politicians is a discouraging thought, but we need to avoid provoking j.a.pan if there's no need to, so we need to report this information up. At the same time, we should suggest sending an exploratory delegation before beginning diplomatic talks. We'll have you join that delegation, Rydorka."

"Yes sir!"

The information office continued to a.n.a.lyze information about j.a.pan.

Kingdom of Fenn, capital city Amanoki

"In summary, the Papaldia Empire's main naval forces were destroyed by j.a.pan's escort fleet, and they also lost two-thirds of their war potential on the ground after j.a.pan's a.s.sault," reported Swordmaster Motam to Sword King s.h.i.+han.

"In other words…"

"Yes, it is now impossible for the empire to try to invade our country again. We are now safe. The empire will be crippled once the rebel armies are through with them."

Sword King s.h.i.+han looked up at the sky. From the very beginning, when the empire demanded a gift of land, the Kingdom of Fenn had refused. It was seen as a courageous decision, but Fenn had historically always been an independent country. Even if they were to make an enemy of a superpower, they would never allow themselves to be beholden to a master.

The empire sent their oversight army, and Fenn's navy went to intercept them. They were ma.s.sacred. The difference in scale between Papaldia and Fenn was too large, and the difference in military technology was hopeless; the gap between a superpower and a country outside the civilized areas was far wider than Sword King s.h.i.+han could ever imagine. By all rights, they should have been simply obliterated.

Then, the sun rose over their dark future.

The country flying the flag of the sun, j.a.pan, drove off the Papaldia Empire's oversight fleet and wiped out the imperial army. Now, in their most recent battle, they routed the empire's main naval force.

"They've saved us again…"

Sword King s.h.i.+han felt relieved that the Kingdom of Fenn was now secure and decided to place more importance on their diplomatic relations with j.a.pan in the future.

Papaldia Empire, imperial capital Esthirant

Supreme Commander Arde sat in his office, holding his head in his hands. He first heard about this emerging country j.a.pan after it was reported that they had defeated the Kingdom of Rowlia. Since they were outside the civilized areas, they were of no consequence. They would be crushed by even a weaker country in the civilized areas, let alone the strongest Third Civilization country, the superpower Papaldia Empire. If they ever fought j.a.pan, they should trample them with ease. There was no value in a.n.a.lyzing a fight between barbarians, so he quickly forgot about them.

The next time he heard the name "j.a.pan" was when the oversight army had been chased off by the allied forces of j.a.pan and the Kingdom of Fenn. Even though the oversight army only had outdated s.h.i.+ps, there were many of them. Any deficiencies in performance could be covered with numbers, or so they had believed. Still, even if it was only temporary, they were able to force the empire back yet again, a surprising outcome.

After that, the imperial army was crushed, the navy was decimated, and two of their three largest military bases were destroyed, which was how things currently stood.

(The oversight army is an embarra.s.sment to the empire!!!)

He remembered those haughty words he had fired at Kyeos. Drowning in hopelessness and disgrace, he slammed on his desk with force, the violent sound echoing in the office.

"I've horribly… misread j.a.pan!!!"

Never before in all of history has a country outside the civilized areas ever beaten a superpower. It should never have happened… But this was reality.

They did not hold back on their expenditures, installing the newest antimagic steel armor on their s.h.i.+ps-of-the-line and the main navy's dragon carriers, and they had also begun investing in breeding wyvern overlords, which were comparable to Mu's latest aircraft, the Marin. This resulted in the strongest military force in the empire's history and one of the most powerful armies of war in the entire world.

However, they were unable to sink even a single one of j.a.pan's s.h.i.+ps, or inflict a single casualty… there were zero. Furthermore, the j.a.panese aircraft had easily broken through their patrol network of wyvern overlords in the skies over the capital and dropped an unimaginable number of bombs on them. That was how one of their largest bases was wiped off the face of the planet.

He was somehow able to project the appearance of composure in front of the emperor, but he had absolutely no idea how they could fight back. Arde was now at what he believed to be the nadir of despair.

Knock knock. Someone was at the door.

"Enter!"

One of his subordinates ran in, sweating.

Aahh…… What is it this time? What horrible news is there to throw in my face now?

"Reporting! Fifteen of our territories have now fallen, and the fires of rebellion continue to spread!"

The messenger paused.

"The rest of our territories have all revolted. In other words, seventy-two territories are rebelling. Since none of the territories have any standing forces left, we believe it's only a matter of time until they are lost."

Arde was speechless…

"And, there's more."

"What more can there be?!" Arde yelled, burying his face in his hands once again.

"The rebel forces are all in contact with one another; along with Altarus as the seventy-third country, they have formed a coalition army, they call it, and have declared war on the empire. If we send back the troops that were originally in those territories, we can probably take care of them with only those existing forces, even if we leave ourselves open to invasion. Currently, aside from the revolts, there are no other major movements from enemy forces."

"This is absurd! It's an endless parade of bad tidings!!!"

Of the empire's three large bases, only one was still standing, and its a.s.sets couldn't be relocated since it was at an important location. Arde busied himself with the empire's defense.

Imperial capital, Remille's mansion

After receiving the report from her attendant, Remille spiraled down a pitfall of despair. Who was really to blame for this…? She had just acted normally, always thinking of the empire, fulfilling her responsibilities. Throughout its history, the empire had always ruled by fear. For opponents that might become hostile, they would "educate" them using their citizens; it was simply how things were done. In this case, limiting the education to around 200 deaths was extremely lenient.

They would leverage their overwhelming national power to force through their demands in diplomacy. It was the obvious thing to do in this world; there shouldn't have been any problem with it. However, at present, the imperial navy's capabilities were severely diminished, and they had lost a large portion of their elite ground army. On top of that, all of their territories had rebelled. 15 of them were already lost, all they all banded together and declared war. This had escalated into a conflict to decide the very existence of the empire.

Worse yet, j.a.pan was looking for her. They called her a criminal, and they had the gall to judge her. Her, Remille! A leader of a superpower, of the Papaldia Empire, and a member of the imperial family, at that.

She hated j.a.pan.
She was terrified of j.a.pan!

She recalled Amba.s.sador Asada's words from their meeting that day.

"To us, you are the barbarians!"

She had written it off as the cries of a loser, the drivel of the weak. But now, her concept of power had s.h.i.+fted… she realized… she made a mistake.

These thoughts continuously circled around in Remille's head.

Imperial palace

Having been driven this far into a corner by j.a.pan, Emperor Ludius was seeking input from Counselor Lupasa, an imperial politician who boasted enormous influence, outstanding diplomatic ability, and an uncanny ability to predict future outcomes.

"Interesting, so you do not believe j.a.pan will use the attack from the sky that they used on our military base on the capital?"

"Yes, there are many important figures from various countries stationed in the capital, as well as their families. There are also no small number of merchants. Until now, j.a.pan has only ever attacked military installations. Their demands to our country reflect this as well; they only wanted reparations and for the persons responsible for killing their citizens to be handed over."

"Indeed. Regarding that matter, are we, the emperor, in danger?"

"Your Grace was only informed of the killings after the fact, so there should be no problem whatsoever. However, Mistress Remille is another matter. She gave the execution order in front of the j.a.panese amba.s.sador. Of course, this is purely a hypothetical worst-case scenario."

Emperor Ludius became pensive. "If that is what comes to pa.s.s, Remille will have to be discarded. Well then, how do you see the seventy-two rebelling territories? No, if Altarus is included, that makes seventy-three."

"These areas were originally suppressed by the military. Even if they've formed an alliance, they have neither powerful weaponry nor organizational leaders.h.i.+p ability. The empire's cities will not fall."

"In other words, the rebellions are no threat."

"Correct. However, we currently do not have the power to reclaim those countries. Next year's revenue is going to be much, much lower."

"At any rate, if we do not expose ourselves, if we retreat and defend like a turtle, the empire will likely not fall. Ah, also, from now on, there is a need to make sure our military a.s.sets are not concentrated in single large bases."

Emperor and counselor continued their deliberations.

Papaldia Empire, territorial governing board forces, temporary base

After the Imperial Capital Defense military base was destroyed by j.a.pan, a new base was established in the plains north of the capital. Calling it a "base" was giving it too much credit, though, since it just consisted of rows of tents. Now that the elite Imperial Capital Defense Army was gone, the ones to take up the role of defending the capital were the governing board forces recalled from the territories.

Inside a certain tent, soldiers were chatting with each other.

"Sir! Did you see the place where the Imperial Capital Defense base used to be?"

The lance corporal, stroking his long white beard with his left hand, looked up. "No… Why do you ask?"

"I saw it earlier. There are signs of tremendous explosions all over, that much I can tell. Sir!!! This war, all I can see is the empire blindly marching into ruin."

The lance corporal had an astonished expression on his face.

"You doubt the emperor's will?"

"No… That's not… All right, sir, let's talk real here. This war has right shaken up all of us regular soldiers, you know! They keep trying to force their own orders on us without actually a.n.a.lyzing the enemy's capabilities. That's why so many soldiers have died already! We're all ready to throw our lives away for the people of the empire, but we don't want to die for no reason! We all have families too. We haven't even killed a single one of them in this war, you know! Whatever the higher-ups are thinking, you can be sure that every man here has some doubts."

The lance corporal's mouth curled up into a smirk.

"That sure was some real talk you gave out there. All right, my turn to give it out straight. Right now, I hear the emperor has gone a bit crazy. You know Kyeos, the Third Foreign Affairs Department head?"

"Just the name."

"Kyeos has opened an independent communications pipeline to j.a.pan. If things keep going the way they've been going, our country's going to get destroyed. For the sake of our empire, he needs everyone's help. When the time comes, Kyeos and I would like you all to come under our wing."

Everyone was stunned silent.

"Are… Are you serious?"

"Ahh, you don't need to answer right now. However, think carefully about the offer."

As dissatisfaction continued to smolder in the army, the number of people aligning themselves with Kyeos grew.

Papaldia Empire, northern region, city of Arunie

After the rebel armies took the territory of Caus, stemming from the declaration of war from the 73-country alliance, the front lines of the war had now come to the northern region of the empire, near Arunie. The northern military ground base was filled with people running around in a fl.u.s.ter. There was a situation report screamed from one of the magical communicators.

>

"Understood, we're sending twenty-one dragon knights."

>

Commander Staf, the man in charge of the defense of Arunie, carefully monitored the progress of the battle.

A little bit ago…

Papaldia Empire, northern region, national border near Arunie

They first noticed that morning. The dragon knights on patrol spotted over 5,000 soldiers gathering near Uett Hill, one of the holy sites in the Caus territory. It was a mystery how they managed to a.s.semble such a large force in just a single night. Papaldia's dragon knights considered launching an attack at them from the air, but since they were near the holy site, they decided to instead meet them in the plains. The clouds hung low due to the rain that fell last night, so between the unstable, muddy ground and the dampness from the rain, the enemy soldiers were probably tired and subdued.

On the nameless plains north of Arunie, 2,000 Papaldian soldiers were spread out in waiting. Situated before them were land dragons flanked by soldiers wielding guns. In the back, there were soldiers manning magic cannons s.p.a.ced at regular intervals. This formation was their pride, one known to be invincible, having never suffered a defeat until they fought j.a.pan. Captain Rieska was completely confident in their prospects for this battle as well.

"Captain, no matter how many barbarians there are, in the end they're only barbarians. There's no way the empire would lose to some rabble of people. Why can't they understand something so obvious?" asked an aide.

"It's because j.a.pan was able to steal a victory in a local battle. Now they think they can also win just as easily."

The air was cold, and the falling rain cooled down Rieska's body. Based on the scouting team's reports, the enemy would arrive at any moment.

Boom, boom, boom!!!

They could hear the sound of drums coming from far away.

Yaaaaaaahhh!!!

The enthusiastic shouts coming from a large ma.s.s of people shook the air, breaking the silence in the plains. Enemy cavalry, infantry, and archers came charging into view in that order. Their formation was very disordered—these soldiers seemed to lack discipline. There were around 300 hors.e.m.e.n; they were fast, but not a threat.

"Fire——!!!"

At the same time the command was bellowed, the magic cannons flashed, and the sound of detonations echoed throughout the battlefield.

The multinational alliance forged to defy the empire surged forward like an avalanche. Sh.e.l.ls from the empire's magic cannons exploded in the middle of the infantry, sending soldiers flying everywhere, but the rate of fire was erratic and could not stop the momentum of the invading army.

Of the 350 hors.e.m.e.n from the coalition army, about 50 emerged unscathed, firing arrows at the land dragons when they were about 350 meters away. The volley of arrows tore through the sky, letting off a shrill sound as they cut through the wind. Compared to standard bows and arrows seen in this world, they were incredibly fast.

"Idiots! They're too far away to hit with bows! Besides, arrows have no effect on land dragons!!!"

Land dragons had harder scales than wyverns, so they shouldn't have anything to fear from arrows. Captain Rieska pitied these incompetent enemies. But just then, the arrows shot by the coalition soldiers sunk deep into the land dragons' heads, and they fell over one after another in death throes.

"What's going on?! That's impossible!!!"

That wasn't the end of the horror show; arrows were also raining down on the gun-wielding infantry.

"Arrows are coming at us! But they're over five hundred meters away! How the h.e.l.l are they doing it!!!"

The infantry panicked. Their formation began to crumble, which triggered Captain Rieska calling the base to request air support from the dragon knights.

While the Papaldia Empire ground force's vaunted land dragons were lying face down on the ground, crying painfully in death, two men spoke to each other while enjoying the sight.

"Hohoho… These arrows really worked quite well. Our plan is progressing smoothly too."

"However… The way things are going, the empire's dragon knight squadron will be coming next. We have nothing here that can be used against them, will that really be all right?"

"Yeah, they probably only have about twenty wyvern lords on standby up here. If it's only that many, the Kingdom of Rheem's dragon knights should be able to handle them. We have a hundred geared up for the real battle."

"That will really help, but… will that be okay? Rheem is part of the Third Civilization, are you sure you want to betray the Papaldia Empire, a superpower?"

The emissary from the Kingdom of Rheem smiled crookedly.

"Hmph… either way, Papaldia has already fallen from grace. It would be better to side with j.a.pan while we have the chance and improve our diplomatic standing."

"But man, these bows and arrows you gave us are so powerful. So much that I can't believe an arrow could do that."

"Don't forget, you don't get to keep them. Those weapons were lent to the Anti-Papaldia Coalition, not given away. We actually wanted to import even more weapons; unfortunately, j.a.pan's regulations are too strict so it was impossible. That said, even these bows are this amazing… j.a.pan really is a scary place."

j.a.pan's New World Technology Outflow Prevention Act, along with newer laws that prohibited the exportation of advanced weapons, imposed severe limitations on what other countries could import from j.a.pan. However, since bows were already in common use in this world, they were not included in the regulations. In the minds of the lawmakers, they had definitely thought "eh, they're just bows," and hadn't considered the ramifications of instantly advancing the technological progress of bows and arrows forward by several decades.

The Kingdom of Rheem had imported these bows for recreational purposes, then tried to replicate them after realizing their astounding power. However, they lacked the materials to make them, so they imported those as well and finally succeeded in producing the bows. These bows, known as "compound bows" in j.a.pan, had pulleys installed at both ends and boasted an effective range of 500 meters. When fired at close range, the arrows would pierce clean through a deer and embed themselves deep into the earth.

These modern bows were first developed in the late 1960s. Their power was beyond comprehension for a bow in this world, and they easily overwhelmed the Third Civilization superpower, the Papaldia Empire. With their land dragons felled and their musketmen being outranged by these bows, the empire's numbers quickly dwindled.

From the start, between the few enemy musketmen and their own infantry all carrying s.h.i.+elds, the coalition army was putting their own numbers to use by quickly closing in on the empire's forces in order to overrun them. The magic cannons kept on firing, blowing away coalition soldiers, s.h.i.+elds included. As the rebel army continued streaming forward like an avalanche, the infantry finally came in range of the empire's guns.

"Ready——!!!"

At that command, the musketmen aimed at the infantry. Even on that battlefield under a rain of arrows, the soldiers crisply, simultaneously readied their guns, the results of their strict training showing through.

"Fire——!!!"

Great plumes of smoke rose out of the empire's guns. Judging just from the flashy display, it appeared as though they were so much more powerful than modern guns. Even though all that smoke was pointless, the psychological effect on the soldiers was undeniable. After having taken out the land dragons, the coalition's cavalry had retreated at some point, so the empire's soldiers were aiming at the coalition's infantry, intent on showing off their power.

"Fools! Those s.h.i.+elds only work against arrows, we'll blow right through them!!!"

However, none of the coalition soldiers took any damage. The Kingdom of Rheem had debuted a new invention in this battle, a composite s.h.i.+eld made of two thin layers of metal between which they inserted another material imported from j.a.pan: Kevlar fabric. These s.h.i.+elds were capable of defending against Papaldia's bullets. Now that the new s.h.i.+elds were clearly shown to be able to repel a superpower's weapons, the coalition army's morale skyrocketed.

"Crush Papaldia! Knock them right off their high horses!!!"

"YEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHH!!!"

Because of their great number, the soldiers' spirited rallying cry even caused the ground to vibrate. Right when coalition army's morale peaked, they appeared.

"GROOOOAAARRR!!!"

The savage, b.e.s.t.i.a.l roars that reverberated over the battlefield caused the coalition soldiers to instinctively stiffen in fear. The imperial soldiers let out cries of joy and looked up at the sky.

"Reinforcements! The dragon knights came!!!"

Spread out in the air were the empire's aerial guardians, 21 wyvern lords. They descended on the enemy soldiers and released numerous fire blasts, burning soldiers to death. The coalition army's ranks crumpled.

"Kh! At this rate, the coalition army will be defeated! Where are Rheem's dragon knights?!"

"Stay calm, they'll be here soon."

"But, the empire's dragon knights aren't fl.u.s.tered at all. They have magic detectors, don't they? Yet they still act as if they're the only aerial force in this battle. Are your wyverns really coming?"

The Rheem emissary was silent for a moment.

"Tell me, why do think my country chose this specific location to engage with the empire?"

"Heh, so you don't know? …The holy land of Uett is overflowing with magical power. Near areas of high magic power radiation, magic detectors are useless. The reason the empire has no interest in the skies is because they think the rebels have no wyverns. Time for our army to 'educate' the empire!!! Look, they're here!"

The emissary pointed to the northern skies. From within the low-hanging clouds, wyverns came diving out of the sky. There were a hundred of them, all with fire blasts already prepared to fire.

"Hey, in the sky!!!"

Some of the more vigilant imperial soldiers were paying attention to the surroundings and realized that there were enemies coming out of the clouds.

"Look out!!!"

The dragon knight order from the Kingdom of Rheem let out a storm of fire blasts that ravaged the imperial forces. Their surprise attack shot down 12 wyvern lords from the empire's dragon knight squadron. With so many fire blasts being aimed at the empire's dragon knights, many of them were off target, and those stray shots. .h.i.t the coalition army, burning many of the infantry to a crisp.

Flashes of light—
Explosions—
Cries of death—

"Ahhh! Our soldiers! What the h.e.l.l are you doing?!"

"Calm down, we took out twelve of the wyvern lords. If our dragon knights weren't here, your entire army would have been wiped out. This is war; sacrifices are unavoidable."

"Gh!!!"

The Rheem emissary scowled at the coalition army commander, whose expression betrayed a readiness to snap again in frustration.

"Dissatisfied? I think you should be grateful we're cooperating with you at all."

The battle continued. The surviving imperial dragon knights were trying to regroup and sent a report back to base via their magic comms.

"Home base! Home base! We, we were ambushed by enemy wyverns! There are about a hundred of them! We've already lost twelve dragon knights! We only have nine left to deal with them! Now confirming their allegiance! The enemies are… from Rheem's regular army!!!"

>

"There's no mistaking it! d.a.m.n it! There are too many of them!!!"

Fire blasts spiraled through the air, and dragon knights dodged them. The quant.i.ty of wyverns versus the quality of wyvern lords: a battle between dragon and dragon was unfolding high up in the sky.

"d.a.m.n! They dodged yet again! They're so fast!!! We're falling behind! Guaaaah!!!"

Unable to hit the empire's dragon knights, the Rheem dragon knight order steadily decreased in number. However, in the end, Rheem's numbers proved too great to overcome for the prideful Papaldia Empire's dragon knights. After all of the imperial dragon knights had fallen from the sky, Rheem's dragon knight order only had 50 remaining.

"Those… Those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!!! Even though there were only nine of them against a hundred, they still took out fifty of ours!!!" the Rheem emissary spat darkly.

Having lost their aerial support, the imperial forces continued to lose ground to the coalition army before finally being wiped out. That afternoon, the northern city of Arunie in the Papaldia Empire surrendered to the 73-country Anti-Papaldia Coalition.

Papaldia Empire, imperial capital Esthirant, Supreme Commander Arde's office

Bam bam bam bam!

Someone was banging on the door to the office.

"Ahh… not again. What could it be now…? Enter!!!"

He wondered how many times someone had beat on that door today. It was probably another urgent issue. Arde suppressed the feeling that a hole had opened up in his intestines and waited for the person to enter the room.

"I have a report! The northern city of Arunie was attacked by the seventy-three country coalition army and has surrendered!!!"

Arde felt a sharp pain a.s.saulting his stomach.

"What?! That's impossible! The rebel army shouldn't have the war power to take Arunie! Wait! It can't be… Was it j.a.pan again?!"

"No, the enemy army employed new weapons that overwhelmed us at first. Twenty-one dragon knights were dispatched to provide a.s.sistance, and our forces regained superiority for a time, but dragon knights from the Kingdom of Rheem's regular army joined the battle; one hundred wyverns executed a surprise attack on our forces. Due to that, our forces were annihilated."

"The Kingdom of Rheem…? The civilized country that's northeast of the empire, that Rheem?" Arde asked, his face a blend of rage and shock.

"Yes sir! There is no mistake, the Kingdom of Rheem fought against us in the battle!"

"f.u.c.k! Those f.u.c.king hyenas!!! That means the coalition army has access to weapons from the civilized areas!!!"

"Yes, that seems to be the case."

"Even civilized countries are fighting us…"

Arde's anguish did not abate.

Imperial capital Esthirant, Kyeos's mansion

3rd Foreign Affairs Department Head Kyeos made his decision and pushed down hard on the b.u.t.ton to the communication device he received from j.a.pan to activate it.

"A rebellion… The only way to save the empire is to become a traitor to the empire… How ironic."

Silence.

"Huh?"

The j.a.panese communication device didn't respond at all.

"N-No, don't tell me!!!"

Was it broken?!

"You… You've gotta be s.h.i.+tting me!!! How could—! How could this end up being the reason the empire dies!!!"

The device did not respond.

"This can't be happening! The empire is going to be destroyed… because of this…?!"

Tears welled up in Kyeos's eyes. After some time, all the while hearing nothing from the communication device, Kyeos, mentally exhausted, finally let go of the 'Push to Talk' b.u.t.ton.

>

"Wha—?!"

Suddenly, he recalled the explanation for how to use the device.

"This is a two-way radio, hold down the 'Push to Talk' b.u.t.ton to speak, then let go of it to listen."

Kyeos, red-faced and teary-eyed, finally began talks with j.a.pan via radio.

 —  — Chapter 39