The Emergence Of Tanks!

It became the year 1914 in the World Era.

As always, Ian thought to himself — though it felt like many things had happened, it also seemed that the year had passed far too quickly.

Still, if he were to list everything he had done in condensed form, he had gone on an inspection trip to the Marin Archipelago, secretly investigated ancient ruins there, and ultimately absorbed the treasure that had been autonomously guarding itself. As a result, his third psychic power awakened, greatly enhancing his abilities.

On top of that, though it had been a false engagement, his engagement to Princess Adrina allowed him to avoid his mother and younger sister’s nagging. Meanwhile, their nation’s fighter aircraft had finally been sold to foreign buyers.

Looking back, he couldn’t help but think it had been a good year for him. There had been other incidents, of course, but overall, it had been another busy year as usual. He wondered how quickly this new year would pass.

And so, while spending another hectic January — holding a party to celebrate the new year and managing endless affairs — he finally received word that their Dragan fighter aircraft had seen actual combat. It was a tense moment; he worried that its performance might turn out to be disappointing.

The combat ratio came out as 2:1. In other words, for every two of their aircraft destroyed, at least one enemy plane went down. It was unfortunate that the speed difference was unavoidable — their fighters were slightly slower than those of the major empires.

Hearing this, they concluded that the result wasn’t too bad. After all, they had feared a disastrous 5:1 ratio.

Given that their engines and cooling systems were still inferior to the empires’ models, such performance gaps were inevitable. Naturally, from the perspective of those empires, the aircraft were considered “usable, but not exceptional.”

Still, something was better than nothing. Before long, a second order had arrived — this time for one hundred units — and production facilities for fighter manufacturing were expanded accordingly.

While exports of rifles and cannons also resumed, allowing January to pass uneventfully, a shocking report struck the royal palace as February began. A new weapon had appeared on the battlefield — one capable of breaking through trench warfare.

This new weapon had emerged from the Doicheun Empire. Having long prepared in secret, the empire unveiled it on the frontlines and immediately launched an offensive to pierce through entrenched defenses.

Eastern Border of the Leman Federation

The border itself had lost meaning — the entire front was filled with endless trenches, a wasteland stinking of death. The scent of decaying corpses mingled with the acrid reek of gunpowder that had soaked into the earth.

The battlefield stretched nearly 400 kilometers from north to south, with soldiers packed into every trench. Some carried supplies, others fired endlessly toward the enemy lines.

Boom! Boom-boom! Boom-boom-boom!

Shells constantly rained down, explosions killing someone each time. It was now the third year of war, and veterans had long grown numb to the omnipresent death around them.

Tudududududu—!

Machine guns spat fire in every direction. Weapons of every kind filled the battlefield — many of them manufactured by the Polia Kingdom, though numerous Magnia Empire models could also be seen. Most soldiers still relied on arms made by their own nations, but captured or foreign weapons were used as soon as ammunition for domestic ones ran out.

This was the nature of total war — if a weapon existed, it was used. Ironically, the fact that most armies used similar calibers made captured weapons immediately reusable.

At present, the Doicheun Empire was pushing forward again. Though its earlier gas attacks had been matched by the enemy’s retaliation, their latest offensive was once again gaining ground, driving the front deep into the Leman Federation’s former border zones.

After three years, even the Doicheun Empire was beginning to feel the strain. The war’s toll was immense, and though many wished to negotiate peace, they had already lost too much. Now, victory was the only acceptable outcome — the nation’s morale demanded it.

Allied Trenches

“Hey, aren’t the Doicheun bastards unusually quiet today?”

“Yeah, kinda weird.”

Though bullets still whizzed and shells still fell, the intensity seemed oddly subdued. The men felt it in their bones — something was off. Still, they stayed alert.

“Sam! Bring me some water!”

“Sam’s dead, remember? Took a shell two days ago.”

“Ah, right… Then who’s handling supply runs now?”

“That kid, Gran.”

“You mean that fifteen-year-old?”

Ordinarily, boys that young wouldn’t be here, but due to clerical mistakes, even children and men over fifty were being sent to the front.

Just as one soldier was about to call for the supply boy, a strange sound reached his ears — something alien to this battlefield. Instinctively, he ducked into the trench and whispered to his comrades.

“Hey… you hear that?”

“Yeah. What the hell is that noise?”

“Never heard anything like it. What are the Doicheun bastards up to now?”

“This doesn’t feel right.”

Then, suddenly, someone yelled while diving for cover.

“Something’s coming from their side!”

“What’s coming?”

“What do you mean?”

They couldn’t risk peeking over the trench — snipers were everywhere, and anyone who exposed their head often died instantly.

Still, curiosity won out for a few. They took quick glances, ducked back down, and shouted in disbelief.

“What the hell is that!?”

“What is it!?”

“I don’t know — some kind of iron monster rolling this way!”

“Iron… monster?”

The ground trembled. A low, grinding roar grew louder — krkrkrkrk! — the sound of engines. The “monster” crushed barbed wire as it advanced relentlessly.

The soldiers’ faces turned pale as shadows fell over the trench. Then they saw it — the source of the noise.

“That… that thing… what the—!?”

“Holy hell!”

“Aaagh!”

Terror consumed them. A colossal iron beast crawled over their trench, tearing through it as it moved forward. It was the tank — a new weapon of war, covered in thick armor and long enough to easily span the width of a trench.

It had a wedge-shaped front and massive caterpillar tracks on both sides. It wasn’t fast, but neither was it slow — fast enough to crush through defenses.

In this world, technology had advanced beyond Earth’s early 20th century due to enormous populations and vast resources. Thus, the first tanks here were far larger and faster than those of Earth’s own World War I.

Tudududududu—!

Four machine guns fired in unison — two at the front, two on the sides — mowing down Allied troops in a storm of bullets.

Worse yet, two 50mm cannons mounted on each side blasted explosive shells into the trenches, sending bodies flying through the air. Around one hundred tanks had appeared along the central front.

The Doicheun Empire had gone all in — unleashing these machines to break through the entrenched defenses that had stalemated the war for years.

Bullets were useless against the thick armor. Artillery was fired in desperation, but striking a moving target was difficult, and dedicated anti-tank guns didn’t yet exist.

Still, a few lucky hits destroyed about three tanks — proof that they weren’t invincible. But the battlefield had already changed forever.

In just two years, this new weapon had reshaped warfare. Trenches could no longer guarantee safety.

Unlike Earth’s early tanks, which often broke down mid-battle, these ones worked reliably — thanks to magic. The engines were magically reinforced, reducing malfunctions, though not eliminating them entirely.

With these tanks, the Doicheun Empire finally conquered all of the Leman Federation’s territory. Though peace negotiations could have ended the war, greed and hatred drove the empire to press onward.

“This is it! We’re winning! We can win this war!”

Drunk on victory, the Doicheun Empire erased any thoughts of truce and began its march toward the Moria and Noma Empires. The fall of Leman opened the road straight into their lands.

Caught off guard, the two empires scrambled for countermeasures. Developing their own tanks would take at least a year — far too late. Even air raids were thwarted by the Doicheun Empire’s superior fighter escorts.

All they could do was dig traps and obstacles to slow the tanks — a temporary measure at best. Meanwhile, the empire’s factories churned out more tanks with alarming speed, having prepared their production lines long ago.

Within a month, the Doicheun Empire had advanced hundreds of kilometers into enemy territory, achieving in weeks what once took years of bloody attrition.

Now, for the first time, the Moria and Noma Empires suffered direct attacks on their homelands — industrial cities burned, crops destroyed.

Defeat seemed inevitable. Many believed the war would end within the year. But just then, unexpected news reached both sides.

“The Polia Kingdom has tanks!”

The message spread like wildfire — shocking both the Doicheun Empire and the Allied forces alike.