Episode 141: What’s Yours is Mine
Today, a large cargo plane lands at the airfield built in the outskirts of Flattala City.
The cargo planes continue to transport supplies to the Flattala City Outskirts Base day and night.
“Ideally, we’d want to operate large cargo trains, but it’s too early for that,” Eve mused.
“It’s too far to transport by truck, huh? It’s inefficient, but aircraft are the only option.”
These cargo planes are large, electric propeller-driven aircraft capable of flying using microwave power.
Their maximum takeoff weight exceeds 300 tons.
Also, since they don’t need to carry fuel, their payload is far greater than it appears.
Even so, they inevitably pale in comparison to trains and trucks running on the ground.
“They can’t fly outside the microwave power range, and they’re inherently slow. We can only operate them in airspace where we have Airspace Control,” ＜Ringo＞ stated.
“There’s no way we can bring these to the front lines, right? They’d be sitting ducks.”
Commander (Eve) replied while displaying a large cargo plane taking off from the runway of Fortress Two (Black Iron) on the screen.
The takeoff distance when fully loaded is approximately 2,000 meters. Considering it’s a propeller plane, that’s quite a long distance.
The maximum speed is only around 500 km/h, and its maneuverability isn’t great either.
“They’re so-called wartime mass-produced aircraft, so the cost is extremely low,” ＜Ringo＞ added.
“Well, yeah,” Eve agreed.
These large cargo planes can only be used about 5 to 10 times. They aren’t maintained, and if they become unreliable, they’re scrapped. It’s a wasteful way to use them.
However, they were urgently deployed for the rapid construction of forward bases, so it is what it is.
Olive is currently designing aircraft for long-term operation.
And ＜Ringo＞ is designing yet another aircraft.
“In three days, the forward base in the outskirts of Flattala City will be combat-ready. After the surrounding area is pacified, we will begin construction of a direct railway line to Fortress Two (Black Iron),” ＜Ringo＞ reported.
“Surrounding area, huh…? Flattala City, Great Horsetown, and then East Gate City and West Gate City. I don’t want any unnecessary interference, so please be quick,” Eve instructed.
“Yes, Ma’am. Understood,” ＜Ringo＞ replied.
◇◇◇◇
The Afrasia United Kingdom is mostly wilderness.
Therefore, settlements are centered around water sources like oases, and the number of cities is small. From north to south, the following cities exist:
North End City at the northernmost point.
The Afrasia Royal Capital.
The Village of the Playful Knights.
Wheat Hill City.
East Gate City.
Flattala City.
West Gate City.
Great Horsetown.
And Iron Town and Telek Port City, which ＜Paraiso＞ secretly seized.
In addition, small villages were scattered throughout the land, but their number has rapidly decreased in recent years.
Fortunately, Wheat Hill City is steadily producing wheat, supporting the food supply of the major cities.
The city is located near a lake with abundant water, so they have also secured a Protein Source.
Each city is semi-independent, but the Afrasia United Kingdom has somehow maintained its appearance.
However, its unity as a nation has been completely lost.
The ＜The Tree＞ forces are carefully expanding their territory.
They fly High-Altitude Drones overhead, boosting the energy supply network, and simultaneously deploy Spybot.
Currently, they have brought Wheat Hill City under their surveillance.
“The base in Flattala City, which we plan to make Fortress Three, will be completed with the transfer of forces and supplies as of now,” ＜Ringo＞ announced.
The last large cargo plane carrying the planned supplies landed on the runway.
There are still more transport plans in the future, but from this moment on, the Afrasia United Kingdom invasion operation begins.
“Ma’am. The material accumulation plan has been completed without delay. Please give the order to begin the operation,” ＜Ringo＞ requested.
“Here we go,” Eve said.
At Fortress Two and the Flattala City base, large weapons ready for deployment are lined up in neat rows.
The goal of this first invasion operation is the complete subjugation of the southern region of the Afrasia United Kingdom.
There are two target cities:
Great Horsetown and West Gate City.
And there is another important operational objective:
The recapture of territory from Weizenland and other small nations west of the Afrasia United Kingdom.
“Alright, everyone! From this moment on, we will begin Operation ＜What’s yours is mine＞! Fight bravely, each and every one of you!” Eve declared.
“Yes, Ma’am,” ＜Ringo＞ responded.
“Roger!” the six sisters echoed.
Commander (Eve)’s command was followed by ＜Ringo＞ and the six sisters.
Asahi is currently dispatched to the Telek Port City base, so she is participating via monitor. She is mainly in charge of dispatching forces from Telek Port City and managing resources.
“Fortress Two, begin launching Airspace Control fighters,” Olive announced.
“Flattala City base, begin launching Airspace Control Drones,” Ringo added.
“Likewise, begin moving the suppression units.”
“High-Altitude Power Supply Platform, no abnormalities. Power supply to mobile units, all green,” one of the sisters reported.
“Link with Supersonic High-Altitude Reconnaissance Aircraft LRF-1 (Vulture) is normal. Entering the operational airspace,” another sister confirmed.
The various invasion weapons manufactured by ＜The Tree＞, prepared for this moment, began to move all at once.
Multi-legged suppression units moving on the ground are being dispatched to West Gate City, which is approximately 100 km from Flattala City.
Airborne troops launched from Fortress Two are assigned to Great Horsetown, located on the opposite side of the lake.
These two operational groups are scheduled to begin their suppression operations almost simultaneously in about two hours.
The most important thing to be careful about at this time is preventing information from leaking to Weizenland and other nations.
To secure the border, it will be necessary to dispatch more forces after the two cities are captured.
Since we don’t have enough forces for border suppression at the moment, we don’t want to unnecessarily alert the other countries.
“Begin aerial photography of the operational area. Confirm a large number of merchant caravans on the trade route to West Gate City,” one of the sisters reported.
“Mark the targets. Airborne troops are at risk of being spotted, so ground units will detain them. Setting the movement route,” another sister added.
Therefore, all caravans that could potentially witness the suppression operation will be detained.
It will only be necessary to block information for a few weeks until the forces for border suppression are deployed.
“Confirm multiple unknown forces within the suppression target area,” one of the sisters reported.
“Analyzing the footage… Result: Estimated to be a Burnstone mining group. Simple bases can also be confirmed,” another sister added.
“Propose suppression by airborne troops. Judgment: Probability of information leakage, less than 1%. Assigning the 16th Airborne Squad,” one of the sisters suggested.
The operation map is constantly being updated. Real-time footage from the reconnaissance aircraft (Vulture), analysis information from the High-Altitude Platform that has begun to advance.
And information from pre-positioned, concealed fixed information collectors. These were initially buried underground and exposed to the surface at the start of the operation.
“The start is going smoothly,” Eve commented.
“Yes, Ma’am,” ＜Ringo＞ replied.
“Even with advance information from Spybot, no forces that would be obstacles have been confirmed.
Asahi has also thoroughly conducted Magic (Fantasy) analysis.
Even in the direction of the Afrasia Royal Capital, there is almost no possibility of threatening groups or individuals existing in the southern cities.”
In particular, the area south of Flattala City is considered a remote area from the perspective of the Royal Capital and is not considered important.
Although East Gate City and West Gate City were thriving as trade hubs, their influence within the country was limited due to the Afrasia United Kingdom’s lack of resources.
Perhaps, if it weren’t for the Civil War in the Afrasia United Kingdom, these two cities might have become the two major cities within the United Kingdom.
From the perspective of the Royal Capital, Wheat Hill City, a food production base, is the only major city, and everything south of it is treated as a frontier.
Therefore, ＜The Tree＞ can leisurely suppress the southern cities.
“The airborne descent to Great Horsetown will begin in 114 minutes. At the same time, the deployed ground units will begin their invasion of West Gate City. The disarmament of each city is scheduled for 6 hours later,” one of the sisters reported.
“You can do it in 6 hours, huh…” Eve muttered.
The cities will be completely surrounded by Multi-legged Tanks. From there, they will invade with Multi-legged Tanks and ground infantry, neutralizing the armed forces.
In addition, Multi-legged Ground Carriers will be used, and many anti-personnel Drones will be deployed.
Air power will generally not participate in ground attacks. Bombing and shooting are too powerful, and it is believed that the damage would unnecessarily escalate.
As a precaution, they will only remain in the air to escort the cargo planes.
Also, there is an analysis result that the intimidation effect is limited because the other side has no understanding of aircraft.
The most effective method is overwhelming destruction by Multi-legged Tanks.