Chapter 236: The Raining Microwaves
“Delivery of support supplies to the Eadia Beastin United Kingdom has been completed!”
“Good work. The transport team will have a break until the fourth bell tomorrow morning. But you will submit your report first.”
“Understood, Captain!”
The support supply transport team from the Kingdom of Reputari arrived safely at the border city and completed the transfer of supplies to the other nation, including ten carts manufactured by Paraiso for weapons and ammunition. With no plans to bring anything back, the personnel were packed into the carts for a quick return.
Despite this, the comfort of the carts had significantly improved, raising the morale of the transport team.
The carts were specifically designed for the transfer of weapons and ammunition. Here in the border city, they would switch out their horses, and from this point onward, the responsibility for transporting the supplies to the front lines would fall to the Eadia Beastin United Kingdom.
Naturally, the Kingdom of Reputari would not be involved in the distribution or usage of the weapons.
“…Well, how they choose to use them is none of our concern…”
The Captain snorted, returning to the assigned quarters to wrap up his final tasks. A meeting with the city’s dignitaries awaited him. Given that this border city was the furthest from the front lines, there was a fundamental lack of urgency. He would likely endure a series of tedious welcoming ceremonies. Despite repeatedly stating that he held no authority, it had little effect.
“Back home, they told me not to worry too much, but…”
Burdensome matters were indeed burdensome. In a country with a lower level of civilization compared to his homeland, even meals were not particularly enjoyable.
With a deep sigh, the transport team captain headed to the bathhouse to wash off the dust.
“Radio communication is operating within sufficient bandwidth. Link levels are above the standard. All devices are functioning normally. Power supply voltage is stable. No environmental impacts have been detected.”
“Commander (Big Sister), we did it…”
The microwave power supply network from satellite orbit, which Olive had been tasked to construct, had successfully completed its operational test.
“Great job, Olive!”
“…Ehehe.”
Olive blushed at the praise from Commander (Eve), who stood up from her command seat.
“We’ll monitor at minimum output for a month. After that, we’ll gradually increase the power supply output. Olive, I leave the fine-tuning of the plan to you.”
“Okay… I’ll take care of it.”
Once energy supply from satellite orbit became possible, the operational range of The Tree would expand dramatically. So far, the demonstration experiment had been progressing without issues.
The chosen location for this experiment was a trading city located on the border between the Eadia Beastin United Kingdom and the Franca Republic. The carts, treated as support supplies from the Kingdom of Reputari, were equipped with microwave receiving devices and reconnaissance bots, allowing for microwave power supply from satellite orbit.
The results were very promising.
The straight-line distance from The Tree was approximately 2,100 km, but the surrounding area was filled with nations lacking diplomatic relations. Even the nearest base within the Afrasia United Kingdom was over 900 km away. Although power supply drones hovering over the Afrasia United Kingdom were barely within range, the fact that The Tree’s forces could operate continuously in that area was significant.
The power supply device in satellite orbit was newly constructed for this experiment. To minimize environmental impact, its directionality was maximized, requiring extremely delicate control for its positioning. After all, the power supply device itself orbited at an altitude of 600 km. The previously used power supply drones operated at an altitude of 20 km, demanding an unprecedented level of control precision.
“For the time being, we plan to supply power through receiving spots in the surrounding area.”
“We still don’t have enough power supply antennas… Without creating a power supply grid in satellite orbit, it’s impossible to supply power to all devices individually…”
“Well, that’s true. Even now, we have a lot of power supply drones deployed.”
While it was manageable around the base where power supply antennas were being set up, the current situation required moving power supply drones in accordance with the dispatched equipment.
This satellite orbit power supply experiment utilized only three satellites. With this limited number, 24-hour power supply was unfeasible. Power could only be supplied to local devices during the few times the satellites passed overhead each day.
“Well, at least securing power at the front lines is a good thing. It should make it easier to operate the bots, right?”
“Yes, Ma’am. The deployment bots are already loaded onto the carts. We plan to deploy them sequentially at suitable locations.”
“Sounds good, everything is going smoothly.”
Thus, the intelligence network of The Tree would continue to expand over an even broader area.
From the rocket launch site, a long rocket roared into the sky.
The Tree had launched an early warning reconnaissance satellite. A three-stage rocket was set to deploy three reconnaissance satellites at an altitude of 400 km.
Both the first and second stages were designed to return to the ground automatically for reuse. The plan was to launch a total of nine reconnaissance satellites using these rockets, also serving as a test for the reusable rocket’s operation.
The third stage rocket, after placing the satellites into orbit, would enter the atmosphere without recovery. Due to its extremely high speed, retrieval was challenging, and since it was a low-functionality rocket, it was more efficient to dispose of it.
The Tree’s rockets had already successfully placed satellites into orbit multiple times. Even though it was a new model, it was a product meticulously simulated by Ringo, ensuring that all missions were completed without a hitch.
As The Tree’s operational range expanded, its surveillance line grew significantly longer. It was impractical to station security machines at every point. Therefore, increasing the number of monitoring eyes from satellites became essential. With aerial surveillance, they could almost completely grasp anything visible.
The satellites themselves were equipped with simple AI, alleviating concerns about overloading ground processing capabilities. The Tree was steadily expanding its sphere of influence.
However.
The area under The Tree’s control was still just a tiny fraction of this vast planet.
“All reconnaissance satellites have been deployed. Each unit is entering operational testing.”
“Telemetry is receiving normally. Automatic analysis has begun. Communication links have been established. Calibration is starting.”
Listening to the reports from Ichigo and Ringo, Eve gazed absently at the world map.
Covering an entire wall was a rectangular map of the planet displayed in Mercator projection. The terrain data had been surveyed, and the coastlines of each continent were confirmed. However, the altitude data was only approximate. Ideally, they wanted to obtain accurate topographic maps through laser surveys, but transmitting lasers from satellite orbit was prohibited.
This was due to concerns that it could be interpreted as an attack, leading to the satellites being shot down from the ground. It was not something to laugh off as excessive caution. Even the human race, deemed fragile compared to monsters, could launch arrows up to 20 km into the sky. It would not be surprising if powerful monster species could launch some form of attack even at satellite orbit.
“All functions are receiving normal signals. Adjustments for each device have been authorized.”
The reconnaissance satellite group began to operate autonomously. While they did not possess the self-awareness of a Brain Unit, they were granted enough authority for a degree of self-judgment. However, their primary function remained ground surveillance, with capabilities limited to debris detection and minor orbital adjustments.
“After confirming the satellite functions, we plan to focus on observing that specific location.”
“That specific location?”
“The site where electromagnetic wave reflection phenomena were detected.”
“Oh, that place.”
The increase in reconnaissance satellites was partly to enhance monitoring but primarily aimed at observing the area within the Demon Forest.
From the visuals, it appeared to be an unremarkable, green-covered rocky mountain. Compared to the surroundings, there were fewer trees, but due to the rocky terrain, it was not unusual for large trees to struggle to grow.
However, electromagnetic wave emissions had been detected from that location, prompting The Tree to heighten its vigilance.
That said, the detected emissions were merely reflections. The radar waves emitted by The Tree’s flying machines had simply returned intact. If that were all, it could be attributed to some buried electromagnetic wave-reflecting material.
“Electromagnetic waves were emitted 0.3 seconds later than expected. If it were merely a reflection, there would be no reason for a delay in the arrival of the waves.”
“That’s unsettling… It’s a delay that can hardly be dismissed as an error…”
In the realm of electromagnetic waves, a 0.3-second delay in arrival, even with identical waveforms, necessitated the assumption of a different source of emission. However, the location was relatively deep within the Demon Forest, making it somewhat too distant to deploy investigation equipment.