Chapter 289: Devious Schemes
After forming an alliance with the Chimiya Family of the Prava Divine Nation, the forces of The Tree rapidly advanced the development of their base.
The Chimiya Family is a group that prioritizes the opening of roads through the Demon Forest. They are willing to ally with any force that offers assistance in the development of the Demon Forest, regardless of their background.
They are a pragmatic group, almost mechanical in their approach, completely devoid of feelings of resentment or bitterness. This could be partly due to their weak sense of belonging to the Prava Divine Nation.
In any case, an agreement was made to actively cooperate with their endeavors. The Tree wasted no time in showcasing its capabilities.
First, they began to gather supplies for their operations. They cleared land in the Demon Forest for development, constructing a storage facility at the entrance.
A massive warehouse was erected, and supplies airlifted by transport aircraft were brought in one after another. A fleet of transport aircraft was mobilized, dropping containers equipped with parachutes, which were then captured by large ground vehicles.
Even the Chimiya Family seemed astonished by the sight.
Using the materials prepared in this manner, roads for ground transportation were constructed. Simultaneously, railways were laid down. The initial focus was on connecting the rear base with the storage facility to establish a supply transport system.
Since supplies were being airlifted for the time being, the Chimiya Family resumed their development work. Troops set out, equipped with food and gear supplied by Paraiso, to reopen abandoned intermediate development sites. Once a certain level of safety was secured, multi-legged machines known as Backpackers could be deployed for material transport.
The Backpacker is a small machine used for transporting supplies over rough terrain, operated in North End City of the Afrasia United Kingdom. It is designed to accompany small human parties and has a proven track record as an excellent transport machine. While its use on the front lines may be challenging, it excels as a transport vehicle along the way.
The deployment of high-attack automated machines like multi-legged tanks was postponed for now. Their sheer size makes them conspicuous, and coordinating with the close-combat-focused Chimiya Family would be difficult.
There was also a proposal to use land battleships (Jotun) for escorting along the way and for base defense. However, it was deemed challenging to work alongside living humans due to the need for filtering out heavy metals and radioactive materials released during operation. Adding filtration devices would limit their carrying capacity, negatively impacting cost performance. Moreover, they faced similar issues as the multi-legged tanks, making cooperation impossible.
For the time being, a cooperative system was envisioned where multi-legged tanks would be sent as fixed artillery for final defense. Paraiso would continue to supply materials.
Once a certain level of development was achieved and the roads were improved, laying down railways would become feasible. This would allow armored trains to run for defense and material transport.
With railways, the driving energy could be supplied externally, significantly reducing harmful emissions.
However, establishing railways deep within the forest would require more time to ensure safety.
Additionally, to operate these automated machines, it was necessary to install energy reactors on-site. For now, nuclear fusion reactors would be used.
Currently, The Tree operates two main types of nuclear fusion reactors.
One is a small nuclear fusion reactor designed for installation on mobile large machines, and the other is a large base-installed nuclear fusion reactor.
The large nuclear fusion reactor also produces tritium, which is extremely difficult to extract from the natural environment.
The small nuclear fusion reactor generates energy through the reaction of deuterium and tritium, but extracting tritium is nearly impossible. While deuterium can be obtained from seawater, tritium is virtually nonexistent. Therefore, it is necessary to operate a large nuclear fusion reactor capable of producing tritium simultaneously.
When deuterium and tritium react, helium and neutrons are produced. These neutrons can activate the reactor walls, but tritium production can be achieved by reacting with lithium.
It is also possible to utilize different fusion reactions, such as using only deuterium or a combination of light hydrogen (ordinary hydrogen) and boron, but the reaction conditions are stringent, making them less efficient compared to the D-T reaction (which uses deuterium and tritium as fuel). For the time being, the production of tritium must continue.
Several large nuclear fusion reactors are currently under construction at the entrance of the Demon Forest. Once operational, the energy loss from microwave power supply will be mitigated, allowing for several times the number of automated machines to operate simultaneously.
This supply depot will expand in scale, becoming a massive base that manages all development in the northern Demon Forest of the Prava Divine Nation. Support for the Chimiya Family and the provision of housing for normal living will also be provided. Additionally, various materials harvested from the Demon Forest will be handled collectively.
If stable collection and supply of materials from the Demon Forest is achieved, this could become the forefront of magic research.
Furthermore, railways will be connected through Yakari Port to various production and storage bases. Once completed, this will become the main artery of the Prava Divine Nation. The expansion of agricultural land will also improve dramatically with the introduction of automated machines. With chemical fertilizers becoming widespread, grain production is expected to increase several dozen times within a few years.
Alongside supplying these vast amounts of materials to the Chimiya Family, exports to other nations will also be initiated. Currently, maritime trade is effectively conducted only with the Kingdom of Reputari, but this will be expanded to neighboring countries.
If food becomes widely available to the populace, the national power of those countries will likely increase. Consequently, mineral resource extraction could also expand, as food can be converted into minerals.
While it may not be the most efficient trade from a purely economic standpoint, it is not a bad trade from a humanitarian perspective.
Moreover, as national power increases, there may be more resources available for exploring the Demon Forest. No matter how many people are available, it is never enough for the exploration of the Demon Forest. Supplying adventure gear produced by Paraiso could spark an adventure fever.
The approach to dealing with human nations will likely remain tentative for the time being. From current observations, the only nation with the potential to pose a threat to The Tree is the Forest Country (Lebresta). That nation remains an enigma.
However, the relationship is not necessarily hostile. Therefore, efforts are made to avoid actions that could tarnish the reputation of Paraiso.
Of course, if the invasion and conquest of the Prava Divine Nation were to be revealed, it could lead to complications. This is something that will be kept under wraps for the time being, so there should be no issues.
In relation to this, some measures will need to be taken regarding the front lines with the Prava Divine Nation that has been invaded. For now, the monk soldiers stationed at the front have been left unattended, but they will soon realize that communication with their homeland has been cut off. If they return for communication, they can be eliminated, but leaving the front lines unguarded is not ideal.
The fact that the Prava Divine Nation has been occupied by Paraiso means that the expanding territory of the Prava Divine Nation now belongs to The Tree.
It would not be favorable to shrink this territory under the pretext of a shortage of monk soldiers.
On the map, the current situation shows that two nations have been entirely invaded, with a neighboring country partially taken as well. It is essential to avoid liberating all that land without receiving any compensation.
In this regard, cooperation with the Kingdom of Reputari will be necessary. It may be possible to dispatch troops in response to a request for assistance, aiming to reclaim the occupied territories.
In any case, this issue has a time constraint, so it is crucial to urgently request assistance from Duke Amagio Silverhead.
It would be ideal to maintain the territory of the Prava Divine Nation as it is. Let us hope for the best from Amagio.