Chapter 143: West Gate City
On that day, the embassy of the Country of Wheat (Weizenland) was in a state of utter chaos.
“We’re completely surrounded!”
“What is that gigantic monster…?!”
A horde of enormous spider-like creatures had suddenly appeared. They completely encircled the city, easily destroying the hastily closed gates and invading the streets.
“Ambassador, to the back room!”
“We will hold them off!”
“Count on us!”
With nothing but their lives at stake, they fled. The situation was deteriorating rapidly, and there was no doubt about it.
“Daddy!”
“Oh, you…!”
As they descended to the first floor, the ambassador found his wife and daughter standing frozen with their guards. He rushed to his daughter, lifting her into his arms, and urged his wife to follow.
“We’re escaping through the back. Honestly, I have no idea what’s happening. You, lead the way!”
“Yes! We must leave at once; those monsters are approaching us!”
“Right!”
The ambassador’s family and their guards escaped through the back door of the embassy. The streets were in disarray, with no room for a carriage to pass, forcing them to move on foot.
“Ah!”
A loud crash echoed, causing the ambassador’s wife to cling to him in fear.
“They’re not coming this way! Now, over there!”
“Please, hurry…!”
With his daughter cradled in his left arm and his right hand supporting his wife’s shoulder, the ambassador followed the guards.
“Even if we escape the city, I don’t believe we’ll be safe! For now, let’s aim for the safe house!”
“Agreed! We can’t do anything without our equipment!”
Just then, as they burst out of an alleyway, a deafening explosion erupted, and the ground shattered beneath them. The ambassador instinctively turned his back to shield his wife and daughter, pressing against the wall of a building.
“Ambassador, are you alright?!!”
“Yes! Damn it, what on earth is happening?!”
The guards formed a protective perimeter around the ambassador’s family.
“What… what is that thing?!”
And just before them, hovering slightly above the ground, something made a sound like the wind howling.
“Target identified: the ambassador of the Country of Wheat.”
“The Local Strategy AI is attempting to capture them.”
“The Communicator Android units are en route to the scene.”
“Anti-Personnel Drones are tracking from above.”
In contrast to the nearly subdued Great Horse Town, the operation had now shifted to West Gate City. Here, the Multi-legged Tanks and Multi-legged Ground Mother Units were encircling the area, breaching the gates to establish control. Unlike Great Horse Town, this was a densely populated regional city, making the disarmament process far from straightforward.
“This is going to take some time.”
“Yes, Ma’am. While the disarmament of public forces will proceed as planned, securing all residents will be challenging.”
Thus, the immediate goal was to neutralize the organized armed groups, such as the standing army and guards, to paralyze government functions. Simultaneously, capturing the ambassadors of various nations, along with their families and staff, was also part of the operation.
“The Communicator Androids have engaged. Target visual confirmed.”
Six Communicator Androids armed with electromagnetic batons stood in the way of the fleeing ambassador’s party. Behind them, two Anti-Personnel Drones hovered, with a Multi-legged Tank advancing from the rear.
For them, it was a dire situation. If there was any chance of escape, it would likely be through the Communicator Androids in front of them.
“Contact with the target confirmed. Neutralization of the guards successful.”
“Proceeding to secure the ambassador, wife, and daughter.”
The Communicator Androids swiftly incapacitated the guards and seamlessly restrained the ambassador’s family. They seemed to be shouting something, but unfortunately, Commander Eve could not understand the language of the Country of Wheat.
“It seems the embassies of other nations are barricading themselves.”
“Oh? Are they planning to keep them under house arrest?”
“Yes, Ma’am. We will call for their surrender, and if they comply, we will proceed as such. If they resist, we will force our way in.”
“Hmm. Well, it seems things are going smoothly for now.”
The displayed map of Great Horse Town was entirely marked in yellow, indicating complete control. Thorough searches would follow, transitioning from yellow to green for completed searches and blue for finalized information verification. Meanwhile, West Gate City, where sporadic fighting still occurred, remained marked in red, indicating it was not yet under control.
“After neutralizing the target forces, we will begin the installation of fixed reconnaissance devices. The area is densely built, making it impossible to fully assess with the sensors mounted on the Multi-legged Tanks and Drones. Specialized devices can expose a radius of about 100 meters, which we will use for maintaining public order.”
As the forces of Paraiso, it was essential to ensure law and order after the occupation. This not only meant protecting the residents from wrongdoers but also aimed at identifying terrorists and resistance fighters.
While it would be difficult to implement this in a true metropolis, in a city like West Gate, the capabilities of the deployed Strategic AI would be sufficient to grasp the details.
“Well, Terek Port Town will be directly governed, Iron Town will maintain autonomy, and Flatara City will have the former lord manage it while we point out any issues. Will Great Horse Town and West Gate City also be under direct governance?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Although it differs from Terek Port Town, we plan for complete governance by The Tree. As for Great Horse Town, we will transition to a similar structure as Flatara City when the time is right, but since West Gate City serves as a point of contact with other nations, we believe it is best to maintain 100% control.”
West Gate City would operate as the closest city to the western border. If it were to be autonomous, it could invite undesirable rulers, making direct control by Paraiso preferable. This was the conclusion reached by Ringo.
Thus, it was imperative to keep the governing structure entirely under control.
“The lord has been successfully restrained. All guards, except those off-duty, have also been secured.”
“Confirmation of the neutralization of primary targets. We will now begin the installation of reconnaissance devices.”
The invasion of the Afrasia United Kingdom by The Tree, externally known as Paraiso, had commenced.
Within 3 hours and 56 minutes of the invasion’s start, Great Horse Town was disarmed and placed under Paraiso’s occupation. After 7 hours and 13 minutes, the organizational resistance of West Gate City was completely dismantled. All standing armies and guards under the lord were restrained, and the embassies of various nations were completely surrounded, effectively placing them under house arrest.
The invasion operation against these two cities, which began just before noon, achieved all its objectives before nightfall.
At this point, the five cities, including Flatara City, located in the southern part of the Afrasia United Kingdom, were all under Paraiso’s control. The previously nearly nonexistent trade network would now be entirely under Paraiso’s authority.
Now, all that remained was to continue the information blockade until preparations were complete for the occupation of the northern cities. Fortunately, interactions with Wheat Hill City were minimal, and since Flatara City could now import food through Paraiso, it had effectively ceased negotiations.
The forces deployed for this operation were as follows:
Common Forces
– 2 Reconnaissance Aircraft (Supersonic High-altitude Reconnaissance Aircraft)
Great Horse Town
– 32 Air Superiority Fighters
– 39 Transport Aircraft: Group A 12, Group B 12, Group C 12, Group D 3
– 24 Escort Fighters
– 10 Ground Attack Aircraft (standing by in the air)
– 96 Multi-legged Tanks: Group A 48 (Transport Aircraft Group A), Group B 48 (Transport Aircraft Group C)
– 12 Multi-legged Ground Mother Units (Transport Aircraft Group B)
– 72 Anti-Personnel Drones
– 72 Communicator Androids
West Gate City
– 24 Air Superiority Fighters
– 10 Transport Aircraft
– 6 Escort Fighters
– 16 Ground Attack Aircraft (standing by in the air)
– 160 Multi-legged Tanks: 68 for encirclement, 92 for assault
– 18 Multi-legged Ground Mother Units
– 108 Anti-Personnel Drones
– 8 Multi-legged Transport Vehicles
– 192 Communicator Androids
Reserve Forces (Information Blockade Unit)
– 320 Surveillance Drones
– 100 Multi-legged Tanks
– 16 Ground Mother Units
– 32 Ground Attack Drones
– 80 Anti-Personnel Drones
– 16 Anti-Aircraft Attack Drones
– 32 Communicator Androids
In total, 356 Multi-legged Tanks, 46 Multi-legged Ground Mother Units, and 296 Communicator Androids were deployed, amounting to about one-third of The Tree’s current strength.
Having achieved their objectives through a blitzkrieg, it was now time for reinforcements. With the need to conceal drones and aircraft diminished, resource exploration units had already been dispatched in various directions.
From this point on, the power balance among the nations in the southern part of the Northern Continent would undergo significant changes.