Episode 295: The Great Eastern Front Reorganization Operation
While the forward base for the Demon Forest development was being rapidly prepared, the reorganization of the Prawa Theocracy’s Eastern Front began.
To quickly eliminate any concerns, ＜Paraiso＞ would be responsible for transporting the Chimyera Clan. Although the Chimyera Clan possessed the physical ability to run on the ground at 80 km/h, they were no match for Tiltrotor Aircraft capable of moving through the air at over 600 km/h.
With the deployment of multiple personnel, all the Warrior Monks could be brought under control within a few days.
The Chimyera Clan also had no objections, as it meant their miscellaneous tasks would be taken care of quickly.
Thus, the hastily deployed Tiltrotor Aircraft ＜Seahawk＞ took off one after another towards the Eastern Front.
The ＜Seahawk＞ operated unmanned, but it was impressive to see the Chimyera Clan, who acted without question when ordered, boarding without complaint.
“I wonder if this will solve the Eastern Front situation.”
“Yes, Ma’am. We will also improve the supply outposts. Fortunately, the Principality of Kati Andal Ritin, in the southwestern part of the front, has a port town. It can be developed as a landing port to supply goods to the front.”
Currently, the Eastern Front units were being maintained by consuming local supplies. Due to the small number of personnel in the units, this was not a problem in the short term. However, if left unattended, various supplies would become scarce as the seasons changed.
Therefore, it was necessary to start supplying military goods as soon as possible.
“For the time being, air transport, and in the long term, a railway. In the medium term, maybe large trucks. Extending the railway to the northern part of the front would be quite a challenge.”
“The north-south distance is nearly 1,000 km. There are many undulations, and there are untouched forests in between, so it will not be easy to connect them. There are roads, but only small powered vehicles can travel on them. It might be better to develop an airport somewhere.”
The river that continued from the Demon Forest was also an important piece of infrastructure. In fact, inland countries had cities spreading mainly along rivers. Although it was not possible to have very large ships traveling due to the width of the river, it could be considered as a means of transportation for the time being.
“I want to find a lode too, and I want to create a major artery. The area has been pacified, so we can proceed with a large-scale exploration, right?”
“Yes, Ma’am. However, if we do that, what needs to be addressed urgently is…”
“＜Fenrir＞, Onee-sama!”
That was right.
The ＜Fenrir＞ Clan, which had been left untouched without any action, was honestly a huge nuisance.
＜Froz＞, ＜Yarun＞, and ＜Hati＞ seemed to have completely taken over a part of the Reidia Kingdom as their territory. Without any external enemies, they were freely roaming their territory within the kingdom.
“Fortunately, they don’t seem to have any intention of expanding their territory any further, so that’s reassuring. However, a vast area, about one-sixth of the Reidia Kingdom, is unusable! Even though there is still plenty of land left, it’s not fun to have it occupied by outsiders!”
“Because those Threat Creatures are an uncertain factor, we haven’t been able to make any plans for the use of about half of the Reidia Kingdom’s land. Moreover, if we leave it as it is, it will be increasingly encroached upon by the forest. If that happens, it will be even more difficult to use in the future.”
The land territorialized by ＜Fenrir＞ was currently being rapidly covered in greenery.
Something was overflowing from multiple Mana Hotspots, and the vegetation was expanding at a visible rate.
If left unattended, it would soon be absorbed into the Demon Forest.
“I see… If we don’t take action soon, it will become more troublesome. If it becomes a Demon Forest, there’s a possibility that other Threat Creatures and Monsters will increase.”
“That would be an important research subject, but that’s not the research we should be doing now! The Reidia Kingdom is between the Eastern Front and the Prawa Theocracy, and it’s in a situation where a part of it is blocked! We should quickly pacify it and build a supply route!”
Asahi wanted an environment where she could calmly conduct research.
The ＜Fenrir＞’s territory would be a valuable research subject, but it was vast. Observing all of it would be very difficult, and the difficulty would increase as time passed.
Above all, the Reidia Kingdom’s land had also been incorporated into ＜The Tree＞.
Asahi’s hope was to quickly liberate it and make effective use of it.
“So, are we going to drive away or subjugate those ＜Fenrir＞?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Originally, the ＜Fenrir＞’s territory was only in the forest. The reason they hadn’t advanced into the country before may have been because they had fought with humans in the past. They recognized some kind of threat, but something triggered them to recognize that pacification was possible. That’s probably it.”
“After all, they suddenly appeared! As far as we can tell from observing the Demon Forest from the outside, there doesn’t seem to have been any major change! There may have been a territorial dispute that we couldn’t see, but as far as we can track ＜Fenrir＞, they seem to have a large territory inside the Demon Forest as well, so that’s unlikely!”
Because of their huge size, it was possible to track the ＜Fenrir＞ even in the forest if one wanted to. However, unless one was paying attention, they seemed to have excellent stealth capabilities, to the point where even ＜The Tree＞’s excellent analysis program couldn’t find them.
“They are raising their young. If we show them a threat, there is a possibility that they will return to their original territory, so we are proceeding with the formulation of a plan to try a hit and see how it goes.”
“I see. Hmm, should we use a Land Battleship (Jötunn)? But I think it breathed some kind of incredible Fire, right?”
The basic policy was to use large weapons against large Threat Creatures. However, from past recorded images, it was predicted that this Threat Creature called ＜Fenrir＞ had the power to burn down cities. The capital of the Reidia Kingdom had been burned and completely destroyed to an extent that could not be attributed to a simple fire.
There was no doubt that this was done by this Monster species called ＜Fenrir＞.
“Based on our past experience, Threat Creatures of exceptional size are thought to have correspondingly strong Magic Barriers.”
“Multi-legged Tanks are not strong enough against Magic Barriers! We need the striking power of a Jötunn-class! We could use Gigantia or Titan, but they have weak defenses! Maybe we should just use them as missile platforms!”
“Mass projectile Hypersonic Missiles for anti-Magic Barrier use are also ready.”
The conclusion was that, ultimately, the most effective countermeasure against Magic Barriers was a strike based on simple mass and velocity. This meant either bombardment with a large Multi-Stage Electromagnetic Cannon (Coil Cannon) or continuously launching Hypersonic Missiles.
It was assumed that ＜Fenrir＞ had the mobility to move freely across the ground. It was difficult to predict their destination, making long-range bombardment difficult.
Therefore, autonomous guided missiles were expected to be effective.
“A distance of a few kilometers is not enough! Considering that we want to keep a distance of several tens of kilometers, even with an 8,000 m/s Cannon Shell, it will take several seconds to reach the target. It’s not very meaningful unless we hit it directly, so we still need Hypersonic Missiles!”
“The warhead is 4 tons, and the total weight is 15 tons… Isn’t that too heavy?”
“Yes, it’s too heavy, Onee-sama! The number that can be mounted on Gigantia is limited! Basically, it’s intended to be launched from the ground, but the disadvantage is that it can’t accelerate to maximum speed without a Electromagnetic Catapult!”
The anti-Magic Barrier missile was intended to be launched either from an aircraft in subsonic flight in the air, or by accelerating it to supersonic speed on the ground with an Electromagnetic Catapult.
Otherwise, it would not accelerate enough with just the built-in rocket engine and would not be an effective hit.
In other words, it required considerable launching equipment. Even if it was made mobile, it would require a very large vehicle.
Mass… Mass warheads solve everything…
Since ancient times, weight has been the key to strength.