“The time has come!”
A solemn voice, amplified by magic, echoed from the terrace of the majestic temple.
“The glory of our Prahva-Bok, the Law God, shall now illuminate the entire land!”
An old man, clad in black robes adorned with lavish embroidery, raised his voice.
“We have endured. Again and again. For years and years!”
Many people had gathered around the towering sanctuary of the temple.
Tens of thousands, a dense throng of humanity.
“We persevered, and we spoke with words. We continued to speak! But—but! To the very end, they did not accept our Salvation! They continued to ignore the words of our God!”
The assembled believers were silent, but listened to his words with an unusual fervor.
“Even our most generous Prahva-Bok has finally made a decision! I hereby declare—Svyataya Voyna!”
A tremor ran through the air.
The believers began to chant Maritova all at once.
Tens of thousands of voices surged through Holy City Staritsa in a great wave.
“Svyashchennik Clerics, advance!”
Even amidst the Maritova, the Pope’s voice remained clear.
“Vanquish our divine enemies, liberate the people, and make known the name of Prahva-Bok!”
““Amin!!””
The response erupted like a thunderclap.
The Svyashchennik Clerics, soldiers of God, were all mages. Their amplified magic formed a response to the Pope.
“Annihilate (Zistalloy)!!”
““Annihilate (Zistalloy)!!””
“Salvation (Spasi-Menya)!!”
““Amin!!””
The great doors of the temple slowly opened, and the Svyashchennik Clerics and fully armed Svyataya Rytsar, lined up in formation, began their march.
Thus, the Prawa Theocracy’s Svyataya Voyna, an external campaign against all surrounding nations, began.
◇◇◇◇
“Is the situation that dire?”
“Yes. They do not accept surrender. The royal family and nobles are all killed, and the surrendered soldiers and citizens are all enslaved. All property is confiscated, and most are taken away as serfs.”
“Those who do not serve their so-called God are all equally enemies of God, and they are saved by spending their lives as slaves in the name of God. Was that the story?”
“Yes. It seems that such notifications have been sent to neighboring countries for about 10 years. An envoy came to our country as well. Well, no ordinary country would accept that. They have been coming every year, but this time it was a final notice, so that’s why.”
“Inexcusable.”
Archduke Amadio Silverhead sighed at the report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“But we cannot overlook it. Can we?”
“Indeed. If their foreign campaign continues as it is, it will eventually reach our country. Having obtained a large number of serfs, their country will greatly increase its national power. Also, unlike an empire, it is a country ruled by Clerics. We cannot expect weakening due to expansion or internal corruption. I don’t know about 50 or 100 years from now, but it won’t waver for at least 10 years.”
“I see.”
Indeed, religion is troublesome.
Especially an exclusive monotheism that blindly believes in justice.
“If we had another five years, we would have been ready.”
The Repuytari Kingdom’s army is currently undergoing major reforms and is generally weakened.
The navy is strong, but the enemy is a continental nation. Although there are cities facing the sea, all major functions are far beyond the mountains. The range of naval Cannons is insufficient and useless.
“The modernization of the army will not be in time. Even if we provide support, will it last a year?”
“It will be impossible for the northern nations. In the first place, the number of soldiers is on a different scale.”
“Clerics who continue their eastward march while devouring food. Like locusts.”
“Yes. Absolutely…”
But even so, we cannot just sit idly by.
We need to take immediate action to slow down their advance.
If we can hold them back even a little, they should dry up in an instant due to lack of supplies.
However.
“However, it is too far away and the number of soldiers is insufficient. Even if we try to attack the rear, it will be ineffective because the enemy has no logistics in the first place. The only option is to sandwich them from the front and back and grind them down…”
Amadio Silverhead stroked his chin and ran his finger across the map.
“In any case, we don’t have enough troops. We have no choice but to buy time somehow.”
Thus, the western part of the Northern Continent would be drawn into a quagmire of war.
◇◇◇◇
“So, what’s the situation, in the end?”
“It’s a large-scale war of aggression by the Prawa Theocracy in the western part of the continent. The surrounding small nations are being swallowed up one after another. The Repuytari Kingdom is close, but fortunately separated by the sea. Their naval power seems to be almost non-existent, so there should be no impact for a while.”
A large-scale military invasion occurred on the Northern Continent, as revealed by satellite photo analysis.
The Prawa Theocracy is subduing the surrounding countries at a considerable pace, and the countries are not able to respond to its lightning-fast advance at all.
“Onee-sama, should we advance the submarine base for information gathering?”
“Hmm, I guess so.”
The submarine base for the Repuytari Kingdom is in operation, and we have accumulated enough know-how.
If it is the airspace above the Repuytari Kingdom, we can keep the Drones in the air without hesitation, so there will be no problem with the communication range.
However, the opponent is a land-based nation.
An approach from the sea is somewhat inefficient.
“＜Ringo＞, do you have any plans?”
“Yes, Ma’am. It would be good to have underground bases on mountaintops. If it is a mountain far from human habitation, there is almost no possibility of exposure.”
Even if we build a normal base instead of an underground base, it will hardly be exposed.
It would be great if we could find a lode, but it won’t be that convenient.
“Hmm, I guess so. Let’s go with that for the time being.”
We will secretly build underground bases and construct an intelligence network centered there.
If we can gather information, we can build more underground bases.
“There are several candidate locations, but first, we will start with a submarine base. If we can turn it into a base, we will first advance to the coastal area from there.”
“Hey, Onee-chan. Wouldn’t it be good to build a base in the Repuytari Kingdom?”
“It’s an allied country, so I think it’s totally possible~”
Commander (Eve) pondered Utsugi and Erika’s proposal.
Well, honestly, it’s not like I haven’t considered that option.
“It feels a bit premature… I feel like it’s a bit much to demand that much from a sovereign nation.”
The Repuytari Kingdom is ruled by that former player, Amadio Salmon.
No, he’s just one of the nobles, not ruling the country.
To build a military base in such a country that threatens its sovereignty is, to be honest, something I hesitate to do.
“Considering their national power, if we build one forward base, we could conquer the entire country…”
In the Repuytari Kingdom, where there are few irrational (fantasy) elements, ＜Ringo＞’s simulations can make accurate predictions.
The prediction result was that if a standard ＜The Tree＞ forward base was built in that country, it would be easy to seize the territory.
“Besides, do we even need to get involved in this war in the first place?”
“The imbalance of power in the surrounding countries, not just the Repuytari Kingdom, will lead to overall economic deterioration. If possible, I would like to maintain a tense situation where pressure is evenly checked.”
Eve nodded in agreement with Akane’s opinion.
We are still trading with the Repuytari Kingdom.
At the very least, I don’t want the situation to interfere with securing those imported items.
“Hmm. Direct intervention is not a good idea. I wonder if there is a more peaceful way to intervene.”
“Providing aid to the Repuytari Kingdom is the most peaceful way to participate.”
For example, if we fired a wide-area annihilation weapon with a ballistic missile, the foreign campaign would be thwarted.
However, ＜The Tree＞ has no particular reason to go that far. It’s just a massacre.
It’s a matter between nations. An outsider should not intervene so cleverly. We are not aiming to conquer the world.
“I understand a little how a time traveler feels when they struggle with whether to intervene in history.”
“…Onee-sama, I think it’s probably completely different.”
“Is that so?”
However.
We may as well provide aid to the Repuytari Kingdom, which we have a connection with.
It will probably be a considerable national crisis.
And how will that country respond?
If she (Eve) could honestly ask for help, ＜The Tree＞ would extend a hand.
But that would be the same as accepting control by a super AI.
Can Amadio Salmon allow that?
――――――――――――――――――――――――
Chapter 7: The Kingdom of God has begun.
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