Episode 75: Considering the Main Fleet
East Gate City is a town built for trade with the Forest Country (Lebresta).
It primarily collects taxes from passing caravans, including an entry tax and exit tax levied on everyone entering and leaving, a carriage tax on carriages, and a horse tax on horses. However, the lord is relatively conscientious and possesses a certain degree of economic sense, keeping the taxes themselves low.
Furthermore, the entire town is surrounded by a wall for the purpose of collecting taxes, and camping outside the town is generally not permitted. This is a natural measure to ensure taxes are collected when passing through the gate.
However, the enforcement isn’t strict, and lightly equipped travelers are often overlooked.
Overall, it was a town with decent management.
“Being able to do this properly means the economy is functioning properly, right?”
“Yes, Ma’am. There seems to be a reasonable amount of traffic. I can’t say for sure without seeing it myself, but there seems to be a trade route with Wheat Hill City. Previously, there was only a route through Flattala City, but they seem to have opened a direct route.”
“Hee…”
Certainly, going through Flattala City is a bit of a detour.
Originally, Flattala City, which also traded with West Gate City and Telek Port City, was a logistics hub and a town that merchants would definitely want to pass through.
However, in recent years, Flattala City has lost its power as a trade hub, and it seems that the trade route has been changed to avoid it.
“Business is difficult, isn’t it? But it’s good news that East Gate City and the Forest Country (Lebresta) are maintaining交流. I hope we can have some talks.”
＜The Tree＞ is currently developing the area around Fortress Two, and it is expected that resources can be secured to some extent. However, due to the fact that the target is a lava deposit and, moreover, it is located at the very edge of the lava flow, the reserves cannot be expected to be very large.
Well, if a large lava pool were to be found somewhere, that outlook would change, but it hasn’t been found yet.
Therefore, ＜Ringo＞ is next focusing on land surveys on the Forest Country (Lebresta) side. The Forest Country (Lebresta) seems to have been outside the ancient lava flows, and is a rich forest zone as its name suggests.
The land is also full of undulations, and it is hoped that there are exposed lodes somewhere.
However, it has not been possible to enter the airspace above that country so far. If intrusion from an altitude of 20km can be detected and attacked, it cannot be approached with the current equipment.
Fortunately, it seems that they have a negotiation channel, so they are hoping for that.
“It would be good if we could mine metal resources. Failing that, it would be good if we could trade in metal resources.”
“That’s true. Trade depends on the other country’s power. If they’re relying on manual digging like Iron Town, we can’t expect much quantity.”
As far as I can tell from hearing stories in Telek Port City, the Afrasia United Kingdom seems to have a considerably lower level of technology and culture compared to the surrounding countries.
Kullavia Telek, who has been to other countries, said that there are countries that are building battleships with rotating turrets. The main force is still ships of the line, but technology is advancing day by day.
If the concept of a rotating turret has been born, updates will progress in 10 years.
Of course, ships with performance comparable to the Alpha-Class Destroyer will not appear, but if they are attacked by 50 or 100 ships per ship, for example, there is a possibility that they will be defeated by the violence of numbers. Numbers are power.
Well, the current policy is to promote diplomacy so that we don’t fall into such a situation.
“Speaking of which, we have a decent number of ships now, so should we approach that peninsula nation soon?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Preparations are underway. It’s about time to unlock the Cruiser Tree.”
“Hmm… If we’re going to the peninsula nation, yes. It would be good to have a cruiser as our flagship, certainly.”
The Alpha-Class has a total length of 52m, but the initial ship in the Cruiser Tree is over 100m long.
Given ＜The Tree＞’s current resource balance, building a larger ship would be a burden. However, it is the largest ship observed within the range of reconnaissance, so it would be useful as diplomatic pressure.
“This should be enough to intimidate them.”
“Yes, Ma’am. However, in order to build this ship, we need to build a new main cannon. The current 150mm Smoothbore Cannon has sufficient power, but it lacks a sense of intimidation. To inspire fear, it would be good to attach a larger cannon.”
“Hmm… Should we load the prototype Multi-Stage Electromagnetic Cannon (Coilgun)?”
“Yes, Ma’am. It is possible. We will redesign the cruiser on that premise.”
So, we decided to design ＜The Tree＞’s next main ship. With this, we can at least be crowned the strongest in the Northern Continent.
However, if the hull is large and electromagnetic weapons are loaded, it will be quite a glutton. Moreover, if we were to form a fleet, we would need to consider some kind of response to energy transmission.
“With this size… I wonder if we can somehow load a Fusion Reactor?”
To use the current microwave transmission system, we would probably need to deploy a large antenna. It doesn’t look good, and above all, it’s fragile. In that case, it would be better to have a built-in power source.
“Yes, Ma’am. That’s right. If we’re going to give it the function of a base ship… it will be like this.”
What ＜Ringo＞ displayed was a derivative route from the initial cruiser. The ship’s width is widened, and a power reactor is installed in the center of the ship. Although the speed decreases, it is a big advantage to be able to generate electricity on its own.
This ship can be used as a flagship, and a fleet of escort ships can be operated independently.
If we store a seaplane, we can provide a certain amount of air cover.
By incorporating it into the power supply grid, it is possible to use large amounts of power.
“Oh, that’s good. Then let’s proceed with development in this direction.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
After giving instructions for cruiser development, she returned to the main topic.
“So, we’re almost at East Gate City.”
“Yes, Ma’am. If we continue at this pace, we will arrive around noon tomorrow. However, considering the example of Flattala City, we will first send out scouts.”
＜The Tree＞’s members are able to grasp the situation through aerial reconnaissance. However, that information has not been conveyed to the delegation. There is no particular danger, and it would be awkward to be completely dependent on them, so that is the judgment.
After deciding on a campsite, they will spend the night and send out scouts in the morning.
“This time too, we’ll send the escort and the Communicator Doll.”
“Yes, Ma’am. They are maneuverable and have sufficient ability as scouts. However, this time we will increase the number of escorts and have a Multi-legged Reconnaissance Vehicle and anti-personnel attack Drones on standby nearby. In the event of an emergency, we can immediately snipe with a Multi-legged Tank.”
She gave a half-glance at ＜Ringo＞, who seemed somewhat proud.
“…Sniping… with a Railgun?”
“Yes, Ma’am. We have also completed the calculation of the damage radius, so it is possible to aim in 10cm increments.”
The campsite is 30km away from the town. They can fire a Cannon Shell from a Multi-legged Tank stationed there and snipe in 10cm increments. This is probably a feat made possible by ＜The Core＞’s surplus computing resources.
“…I hope there’s no need for it.”
However, I don’t want to occupy the town any further. Besides, there is an embassy of the Forest Country (Lebresta) in this town. It’s not good to give them a negative impression. I can only hope that things go smoothly.
“In the end, we couldn’t use the tributes in Flattala City, so we’re discussing using them generously.”
While confirming such things, she continued to observe the delegation.
As she had heard from the Communicator Doll, they seem to be camping on the south side of East Gate City, on the shore of a huge freshwater lake. They set up tents and tarps, and set up a stove.
Water can be drawn from the lake, but on this trip, ＜The Tree＞ was providing it. It is one of the trade items, preserved water.
As usual, they set up a campsite, and then it became night.
The incident happened in the middle of the night.