The members of the Southern Continent survey team enjoyed their week-long vacation and set sail again for their homeland.
This time, it was a familiar route, heading towards their mother country. Many had families waiting for them, and morale was naturally high.
It wasn’t exactly a trade route, so there were hardly any other ships passing by, but it was still within the Repuytari Kingdom’s sphere of influence. Vigilance became lax, and the captain didn’t reprimand them for it.
Supplies had been fully replenished at the Stepping Fortress, so the chef had plenty of reason to show off his skills. He served elaborate dishes every day.
“The Bird Star is out again today…”
“Yeah, that means the weather’s good. It’s a shame about the chef’s food, but we’ll be back home soon, isn’t that great?”
The Bird Star, a star that shines brightly during the day, had become a common sight in the past year or two.
Perhaps the islanders, before the Stepping Fortress was built, were the first to notice this star. Eve had once overheard islanders, who were being used as slaves, talking about it.
On clear days, a star that shines in the distant sky appears in the morning or evening.
Unlike the stars in the night sky, its movement can be clearly observed, so navigators and other knowledgeable people seemed to think it was something moving high in the sky, not a star.
At the time, it was only observed in the southern sky from the fortress, but recently it had been seen in various places.
“I wish the guys on the 2nd ship (Glory Deban) could have tasted this too…”
“None of that, brother. Save the sentimentality for after it’s all over. Come on, it’s almost mealtime!”
It was a comfortable return journey, unlike any voyage they had taken before. The weather remained calm, and there was no urgent work to be done.
Everyone finished their work as they pleased, indulging in poker or fishing, spending their time as they liked.
“That’s the situation.”
“Amazing. It’s a complete leak.”
The bots that had infiltrated the fleet were skillfully hiding in the shadows, monitoring the situation inside the ships in real-time.
The reception of electromagnetic waves was being handled by a high-altitude drone hovering in the upper rear.
Originally, it would be difficult to pick up weak electromagnetic waves from hundreds of kilometers away, but on this planet, where there were no other electromagnetic wave sources, it was possible to collect long-distance electromagnetic waves with practical accuracy.
“If things go smoothly from here, we should arrive at the capital of the Repuytari Kingdom in 10 days.
Although the possibility is low, we are assuming the existence of an underwater patrol network and have created a plan accordingly.
Basically, we will have a Submersible (Orca) accompany us directly beneath the fleet flagship.
Once the safety of the route is confirmed, we can send in the submersible fleet.”
“An underwater patrol network, huh…”
“Yes, Ma’am.
There is a possibility that they have some kind of function to detect intrusions, either through scientific or non-scientific means.
Judging from their technological level, the possibility of scientific means is virtually zero, but we cannot even speculate about fantasy (non-scientific) means.
Therefore, we will only have the Submersible (Orca) accompany us and check for any reactions.”
If they had a function to detect something that didn’t belong to their forces, the presence of the Orca might also be detected.
That would still be useful information for us, and besides, since it’s a ship returning from overseas, it might be overlooked.
If we can infiltrate, we can scatter Spybot groups and have them infiltrate the decision-making bodies, making it easier to respond in the future.
“There’s also the possibility that they have an advanced counterintelligence organization…”
“Yes, Ma’am.
At least, as far as we investigated the fortress, their civilization level is immature.
Even if they have specialized fields, it is unlikely that they have the accumulation and aptitude to handle them fully.
Even if they have an excellent detection function and notice our intrusion, comprehensive experience and accumulation are essential to accurately infer what the intruding entity is, how to deal with it, and whether or not they can launch a counterattack.
We possess this in the form of a knowledge library.”
“They don’t have that historical accumulation, huh?
Right, it seems like they’re still a young nation, and they’ve only just started industrializing.
If the worst comes to the worst and the Orca is dealt with, we can try a saturation bombardment next…”
“Yes, Ma’am. As many Spybots as you need.”
＜The Tree＞ had completed a system for continuously collecting resources. And there was also the prospect of a significant increase in production.
They had secured the resources to send in 1000 units if 10 units weren’t enough, and 1000 units if 100 units weren’t enough.
Fortress Two was also steadily expanding its functions.
It was expanding the scale of underground resource mining, and the production facilities were being expanded as well.
Large-scale chemical plants used petroleum and natural gas as raw materials.
The belt conveyors for transporting minerals stretched out like a network under automatic control.
In addition, they were building closed-type plant production plants using the large amount of silicon compounds generated daily as building materials. This was a test building to establish a method for efficiently cultivating plants in order to secure a large amount of Cellulose.
Incidentally, it was also part of the search for ways to use silicon compounds. By the way, most of the current uses are processing them into blocks and using them as a base for land preparation and reclamation.
And about 12 days later.
Although there were some accidents, such as stopping at a fishing village due to rough seas along the way, the fleet safely entered the port of Moor, the capital of the Repuytari Kingdom.
Directly beneath it, accompanied by infiltration machines made by ＜The Tree＞.
Commander (Eve) sighed as she looked at the steadily updated map of the Repuytari Kingdom.
“Somehow, it’s… well, it’s more… the level is low, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Ma’am. I expected as much. Since the Afrasia United Kingdom has a low level of civilization, I was able to estimate the level of civilization of this entire continent to some extent.”
She had expected it.
However, because of the series of unreasonable (fantasy) events, she had no choice but to lower the accuracy of her predictions.
“I wonder if magic technology is not very developed.”
“So far, we haven’t found anything that poses a threat. Everything is at a level where ＜The Tree＞’s technology can reproduce the equivalent. In that sense, the Repuytari Kingdom is not a force worth being wary of.”
“At least call it a nation.”
The Submersible (Orca), which infiltrated at the same time as the survey fleet, took advantage of the darkness of the night to deploy Spybots in the port. It laid bare everything from its base capabilities to its command structure.
What was revealed as a result were various distortions accompanying rapid industrialization, a military organization that could hardly be called sophisticated, and various political constraints, corruption, and a proliferation of government agencies.
“Compared to historical situations, it seems to be considerably better.
Although the history of the Repuytari Kingdom is still under investigation, it seems that there was a major political upheaval within the past few decades.
The vested interests of the aristocratic class do not seem to be that problematic, but corruption among civilians is conspicuous.
It is assumed that disparities are occurring at a level that cannot be ignored due to rapid economic development.”
In the end, it was found that the patrol network they had been wary of did not exist at all, so a large number of Submersibles (Orca) rushed into the coastline throughout the Repuytari Kingdom that day.
A large number of Spybots were scattered around the ports in various locations.
Along the diffusion routes that had already been formulated from the acquired aerial photographs, the Spybot groups were infiltrating throughout the kingdom.
In addition, the bot groups are being organically controlled by special submersibles equipped with Strategic AI that were rushed in and installed on the seabed, and are rapidly building an intelligence network.
“At this rate, the national center of the Repuytari Kingdom will also be…”
“We have already built an intelligence network in the royal palace, each parliament, and the residences of major dignitaries.”
“Oh, is that so…”
The increasing number of eyewitness accounts of the Bird Star.
Complaints that large winged insects had suddenly increased, even though it wasn’t the breeding season.
Well, of course, both were the result of ＜The Tree＞’s intervention, but they probably couldn’t have imagined that it was part of an infiltration operation from another force.
“I’m starting to feel sorry for them.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”