Chapter 259: Stage Up
The second ship of the Gigantia Class aircraft carrier, Agrios, took off.
Utilizing the immense energy generated by its three nuclear fusion reactors without reservation, twenty-four plasma jet engines and six jet engines propelled its massive frame into the sky. With the added thrust from the solid fuel rocket motors installed for takeoff, the 4,500-ton vessel slowly ascended.
‘…I can’t believe they managed to create such a dreamlike marvel…’
“It wasn’t something that could be easily made back in the game era,” Eve replied.
Eve and Amagio were both watching the takeoff footage of Agrios. This Gigantia Class vessel was being dispatched over the skies of the Prava Divine Nation for familiarization flights, intended for use in subjugating the nation.
“I’ll assign the Titan Class ships five through eight for escort. Ship five, Hyperion; ship six, Iapetus; ship seven, Chronos; and ship eight, Theia. Hm, this should be more than enough firepower against a human nation.”
‘It’s hard to believe that these five ships would be overwhelmed in the Demon Forest… I had my suspicions, but this planet is truly dangerous.’
“Right? If it were a normal planet without magic, we could have already taken full control of it…”
Eve sighed. Indeed, with the technological prowess of The Tree, subjugating an undeveloped planet should have been a piece of cake. The fact that it had been stalled for years indicated just how significant the influence of magic was.
“By the way, Amagio, haven’t you been researching magic or anything?”
‘Huh? Ah… I can’t use it myself, you know. Honestly, I haven’t done much. In our country, magic is treated as a shadowy technology. Though, seeing the Prava Divine Nation’s offensive, I do wonder if we’ve misstepped in our technological direction.’
“I see… Well, it seems that magic currently depends on individual capabilities, which doesn’t mesh well with military modernization.”
Military forces based on scientific civilization seek uniform quality and easy procurement. Troops like magic users, whose effectiveness can vary greatly from individual to individual, are difficult to manage. That said, the Kingdom of Repuitari wasn’t entirely ignoring magic. They had managed to utilize the technology of messenger birds through some mysterious magical power and had even created devices akin to flamethrowers.
‘That area, I haven’t been too involved in. I did allocate a budget for it. Well, I’ll have them report the research results, so make good use of it.’
“Oh, thank you. As for compensation… perhaps we could expand our trading quota for Redstone?”
‘How pragmatic. I was concerned about being held hostage over energy resources, so I’ve been making some moves behind the scenes. With this, those efforts seem pointless. Alright, let’s go ahead with it.’
While engaging in such lighthearted conversation, they confirmed that Agrios had joined up with the escorting Titan Class ships.
“Now then. From here on, I’ll be flying Agrios thoroughly over the skies of the Prava Divine Nation. We plan to deploy drones equipped with subsurface exploration radar to search for mineral veins.”
‘Oh? Is it possible to discern anything from above?’
“Yes… I’m not an expert, but Ichigo, can you explain?”
“Yes, older sister. With electromagnetic waves in the 1GHz band, we can conduct subsurface exploration. This is known as the L-band of radio waves. We’ll form a squadron of drones equipped with radar in this frequency range and operate synthetic aperture radar. Using Agrios as a platform, we’ll conduct as much land exploration as possible. Ground forces will be dispatched to promising locations for detailed investigations.”
While it was a queenly move to have Ichigo explain, the resemblance between them made it endearing. Amagio chose not to comment, merely nodding in agreement.
“If mineral veins are close to the surface, we should be able to detect them with this, and if we can identify cracks or underground water, it will provide leads for exploration. Ideally, it would be best to operate this with satellites, though.”
‘And while we’re at it, we’ll take down towns and villages.’
“Exactly. There are still small agricultural villages and untouched areas. Honestly, I wish those religious zealots would just give up. They refuse to listen to reason.”
Eve didn’t believe that all enemies should be exterminated. Ideally, she wanted them to surrender without bloodshed.
However, the monk soldiers, who were the main fighting force of the Prava Divine Nation, refused to heed the enemy’s words. While there might be some rational individuals willing to negotiate, many could simply be lying and waiting for an opportunity. It was difficult to discern.
Thus, she had resolved to accept the necessary sacrifices and eliminate all the monk soldiers.
‘Well, it can’t be helped. I still can’t believe that the root of this is an independent entity belonging to us.’
“To establish an independent nation and fabricate a religion, they must have been an exceptional AI. I know there are supposed to be relics, but I wonder if any remain…”
‘Honestly, I’m not expecting much. It’s true that we sent out multiple reconnaissance units, but none of them returned. They were mass-produced units that only stored information in their memory. They were more disposable than anything else.’
“Is that so? Well, if we were to create them with our technology, that would still be more than enough to be considered divine. I hope we can recover them after the occupation.”
After finishing their heartwarming banter, Amagio straightened his posture.
‘Now then. Setting aside the Prava Divine Nation, let’s talk about the future of the Kingdom of Repuitari.’
“…Right. Let’s discuss that as well.”
From here, the top-level meeting of both factions began in earnest. The issue was that the hierarchy had already been established.
‘First, let’s talk about the situation at Moar Port. This is based on my understanding. You probably have a grasp of it from an objective standpoint, but you’d want the local perspective too, right?’
“Do you think your impressions through Amagio align with the local perspective?”
‘Well, they’re probably closer than yours. But it’s fine, isn’t it?’
Eve’s perfectly reasonable interjection drew a wry smile from Amagio. Indeed, given Amagio’s position, he wouldn’t be able to hear direct opinions from the common folk. It would be more effective to have Ixia, who resembled a human, walk through the streets to gather information.
That said, hearing the candid opinions of the upper echelons was a rare opportunity. In the future, they would be able to obtain such insights almost in real-time.
‘For now, the invasion from the Divine Nation has been largely contained. They occasionally manage to strike, but the defensive positions are strong. It seems that heavy machine guns can repel them. However, that’s only for defense. It’s still difficult to push them back and reclaim territory; do you understand that?’
“Yes. I suspect that if we supply them with too powerful weaponry, it might lead to internal strife. What do you think?”
‘I agree. From our perspective, they seem like primitives. They’re quick to try and line their own pockets. It seems we’ve had too peaceful an era.’
The Kingdom of Repuitari was a relatively new nation reborn after a civil war, and its upper echelons were quite competent. However, surrounding nations had enjoyed over fifty years without conflict, leading to a rather complacent upper class. This lack of crisis awareness had allowed the Prava Divine Nation to easily conquer two countries.
“The basic strategy is to form a grand alliance centered around the Kingdom of Repuitari. We’ll concentrate political and technological power in the Kingdom, while surrounding nations will be transformed into resource-producing countries.”
‘That sounds good. After we take down the Prava Divine Nation, we’ll redraw the borders based on the front lines at that time. Negotiations between nations will primarily be handled by us. There may be some uproar over reparations, but we can suppress that with force.’
“Leave the export of weaponry to me!”
‘You’re truly reassuring…’
The Kingdom of Repuitari is moving on to the next stage. Unbeknownst to them, they are being guided by overwhelming civilization.