Chapter 233: The Girls’ Tea Break
“Now then, let’s begin today’s lesson!”
“Yes!”
Gathered in the recreation room were the elder sister, Eve, along with Ringo and the Five Sisters. Akane, Eve, and Ringo were seated on the sofa in that order, while Ichigo was nestled between Eve’s knees, embraced from behind. Olive had also been captured in a similar manner by Ringo. Utsugi and Erika were both buried in the flexible sofa.
“Today, we’ll be discussing the current situation in the Reidia Kingdom and our future responses. Ringo has gathered some interesting information, so let’s all think about it together.”
As Eve spoke, multiple satellite photos were displayed on the aerial projection display.
“Now, this is the latest satellite imagery of the Reidia Kingdom. The royal capital, Argasta, which has been resisting for quite some time, is in a dire state, as you can see.”
“It started to feel a bit ominous three days ago, but it escalated into this terrible situation all at once.”
The satellite images revealed the fortress city, distorted into a chaotic shape, utterly devastated. Walls had crumbled everywhere, and many charred sections indicated that fires had broken out. The central castle was also in ruins, and black smoke obscured much of the area, suggesting that flames were still raging.
“I believe Argasta was surrounded by the Prava Divine Nation, so does this mean they have been defeated?”
“If that were the case, it would be simple, wouldn’t it?”
Eve chuckled as she gently patted Ichigo’s head, who was looking up at her with wide eyes.
“The forces of the Prava Divine Nation that were besieging Argasta have also been decimated. The location of their main camp has been completely destroyed, and we can even see craters.”
As Ringo zoomed in on the satellite images, the site of the Prava Divine Nation’s main camp was revealed. Tents and supplies lay toppled, and numerous humanoid shapes were scattered across the area. Although the resolution was low, it was evident that there were many corpses.
“Yesterday evening, both Argasta and the Prava Divine Nation’s forces were nearly annihilated at almost the same time. The cause of this was…”
“Another appearance of those large monsters. Um, I mean, threat creatures. The species designation is Fenrir. Additionally, two large individuals have been confirmed: one is named Froze, and the other is Yalun.”
With Eve’s explanation, estimated three-dimensional models of the two Fenrir were added to the display. They were estimated to be about 15 meters in length and 13 meters in height, with the female appearing slightly larger. Nestled close to the female was what seemed to be a juvenile.
“For now, it seems there is at least one juvenile. I’ve named it Hati since we could only confirm one. It appears these three have ventured from the Demon Forest all the way to Argasta.”
While the satellite images left many details unclear, it was unlikely to affect the discussion at hand.
“For some reason, the threat creatures have descended from the Demon Forest, destroying nearby settlements and villages along the way until they reached the royal capital.”
“When phenomena that have never occurred before are suddenly observed, there is a high probability that a clear reason exists. However, with the current information alone, we likely cannot deduce much. Should we focus on planning our response?”
“That’s right. As Akane said, we only have satellite photos for information, so let’s think about what to do next. It would have been great if we could send in a bot, but we’re just too far from the coast.”
Utsugi and Erika began to display a map in the air for confirmation.
“That’s over 700 kilometers in a straight line from the coast.”
“An aircraft could reach it, but would there be any benefits?”
The Reidia Kingdom is one of two nations bordering the eastern side of the Prava Divine Nation. To the north lies the Demon Forest, while to the south, the Lafret Sea is separated by another nation, the Tara Lind Principality. If they were to send a bot by aircraft, they would need to fly over either the Tara Lind Principality or the Prava Divine Nation.
“I think we need a secret base to secure communication routes, but…”
Even if they were to send in a bot, establishing communication would be necessary, as pointed out by Olive.
“At a distance of 700 kilometers, we can’t communicate due to the horizon. Even if we float a communication drone in the air, we would need to enter inland to reach them…”
“That’s true. However, scattering drones over the continent isn’t ideal either…”
As Ringo continued to pet Olive, she pondered deeply.
“Satellite communication could work, but the current bots lack sufficient output…”
“Should we improve the Mother Unit, or perhaps even build a secret base?”
Eve nodded in agreement. The intelligence network being constructed in the Prava Divine Nation was over 1,000 kilometers away from the site, making it useless for the current situation.
“How about sending Gigantia instead?”
“That would be a hassle; let’s just sweep them all away!”
Utsugi and Erika proposed a more aggressive plan.
“If we were to dispatch Gigantia, the issue would be how to navigate the route.”
If they sent Gigantia, it would likely reach the site in a few hours. However, it was currently orbiting over the Afrasia United Kingdom. Four nations lay in between. While a sea route could be considered, the risk of being spotted would be significantly higher due to the lack of obstacles.
“When targeting threat creatures, there are concerns about Gigantia’s defensive capabilities. The distance constraints for aerial backup are also problematic, as it is over 2,000 kilometers from the nearest runway.”
Memories of the incident where a Titan was forced to withdraw from the front lines due to a single breath from a Wyvern resurfaced. The threat creatures’ attack power was evidently too high.
“To respond to the threat creatures from The Tree, dispatching an aircraft carrier strike group would be the most effective. If we stay within 1,000 kilometers from the sea, we can conduct repeated attacks and provide missile support.”
“Have the land battleships not been operationalized yet?”
Akane suggested the deployment of an aircraft carrier fleet as a realistic option, while Ichigo brought up the land battleships.
“The land battleships could be operational if we wanted to. However, deploying them would make concealment extremely difficult.”
Since there was only one aircraft carrier at the moment, Ringo would likely prefer not to dispatch from The Tree. While land battleships were powerful weapons, deploying them into an inland nation would require traversing through another country’s territory, which would increase exposure—something that was not advisable at this time.
“If we were serious about subduing them, sending both the aircraft carrier and land battleships along with Gigantia could be one plan. However, for now, there doesn’t seem to be much benefit in doing so…”
It was uncertain whether those wolf-like threat creatures could be defeated with conventional weapons. However, based on the capabilities of the threat creatures they had fought thus far, there was a high likelihood that they could be overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Moreover, they were accompanied by a juvenile. If they realized that a high-threat entity was nearby, they might return to their original territory.
“The reason why this Fenrir family moved is still unclear. If they lost in the survival competition within the Demon Forest, we must consider the possibility that they might settle here.”
Eve nodded in agreement with Akane’s observation.
“We need to closely monitor the Demon Forest as well. By the way, I believe it was said that threat creatures do not exceed the ecological framework of existing organisms…”
“Yes, Ma’am. However, research on the Worm has stagnated, so we cannot make definitive statements. If they resemble existing organisms in form, it is presumed they share similarities with those organisms.”
“Hmm. Well, let’s assume that’s the case. What do you think they eat?”
The Fenrir were estimated to be 15 meters long, and if we consider their weight to be proportional to the cube of their length, they would weigh around 337 tons. Assuming a wolf requires about 1 to 3 kilograms of food daily, calculations suggest they would need between 3 to 10 tons of food.
“…Do they really need to eat that much?”
“Uncertain, Ma’am. However, it would be challenging to obtain that amount of food daily on land. We should consider the possibility that some unknown factor is reducing their food requirements.”
It was estimated that the Fenrir had already been out of the Demon Forest for three days. This meant they had likely been fasting for that duration.
A human’s weight is typically around 80 kilograms, with even less being edible. No matter how much they preyed upon, it would be impossible to satisfy their hunger. Moreover, there had been no confirmed sightings of them actively preying on humans.
It was reasonable to conclude that some magical influence was solving their food problem.