Magnia Empire Enters The War, And Then A Plague?!

Meanwhile, elsewhere, there were others keeping a close eye on this affair: the leadership of the organization that had targeted the royal palace of the Polia Kingdom.

They sat, about a dozen of them, around a circular table. Most of them were smoking cigars, and the room was filled with smoke, yet not one of them seemed bothered by it.

“Two failures. And now the king of the Polia Kingdom is issuing a strong warning against us.”

At these words, they showed a variety of reactions. Some let out deep groans, others clicked their tongues. One or two simply snorted in derision. Amid these mixed reactions, one of them delivered a piece of news.

“One of our primary assets, Camyu, is dead. You all know very well how great a blow his death is to us.”

“Mm, it’s not easy to keep a mana user on our side.”

“Are you certain he’s dead?”

“Our judgment is that he is definitely dead. From the information we gathered, it seems that in his final moments, while trying to escape, he was unlucky enough to be struck by lightning. There is more than one eyewitness who claims to have seen it.”

“Lightning? How is that possible? Are you sure it wasn’t magic?”

“It does not appear to have been magic. It seems he was literally struck by a bolt that fell from the sky.”

“Heh, could someone really be that unlucky?”

“Doesn’t it strike you as suspicious? Is that kind of ‘luck’ really something that just happens so easily?”

At the word “suspicious,” the others could not help but feel it even more keenly. At the same time, with two failures already behind them and even their secretly hidden base having been blown up, they could not help but feel that things were going increasingly wrong.

“What matters now is what we do next. We have to decide whether to target the royal castle of the Polia Kingdom again, or give up as we are.”

“Give up? Can you honestly say that? We’ve lost too many assets already. And besides, we have to obtain that thing!”

“But we no longer have any solid proof that it’s even there. Under those circumstances, I don’t think we can afford to keep losing our forces.”

“So you’re saying we’re going to admit defeat?”

“No, I’m saying we can’t keep throwing away our strength when we aren’t completely sure. And besides, there is no longer any route for us to infiltrate the royal castle. Under those conditions, what exactly are we supposed to do?”

“Even so, we must proceed. We absolutely must lay our hands on it.”

“That’s exactly my point. Are we really going to keep burning through our forces like this when we’re not even certain the thing is there? We saw it in this latest affair: the latent power the Polia Kingdom possesses is no joke. We should wait, watch a while longer, and only move when the moment comes that we can be sure!”

“Given the situation, it’s obvious that they’re the ones who have it!”

Those insisting they had to see this through to the end and those arguing that they should stop, regroup, and only move again once they were sure, clashed head-on. Naturally, the rest of the faces around the table were split between the two sides. In the midst of this, a voice rang out across the room, trying to rein them in.

“Everyone, calm yourselves. What is certain is that we have no way at all to infiltrate the royal castle. And launching a frontal assault is too dangerous. Yet it would also be difficult to give up as we are. We absolutely must take that thing.”

At these words, the others looked at the speaker with expressions asking, Then what are you suggesting we do? Meeting their gazes, he put more force into his voice as he spoke.

“That is why we must sap the strength of the Polia Kingdom. The more power they lose, the easier it will be for us to reach our goal.”

“And how exactly do you propose we drain the Polia Kingdom’s strength?”

“Are you saying we should drag them into the war? They are loudly proclaiming their neutrality. Forcing such a nation into the war would be extremely difficult.”

“That’s right. Short of something extreme, it will be hard to make them join the war. Instead, we will weaken them by other means.”

“And what means would that be?”

“A pathogen. We will release one of the pathogens we have developed and stockpiled inside the Polia royal palace.”

“You’re saying we should wage germ warfare now?”

At the suggestion that they release a pathogen, a biological weapon, the room buzzed with murmurs. It was not an easy decision. At the same time, however, they also thought it might be a very effective method.

“Indeed, with that method, we can inflict huge damage on the Polia Kingdom. And we won’t even have to expend our own forces.”

“Heh, but isn’t there a risk that it won’t remain just the Polia Kingdom’s problem? With their active trade, the pathogen will certainly spread in all directions. We could end up being hit by it ourselves.”

That was the issue. Biological weapons could easily harm the enemy, but there was always a risk that they themselves might suffer as well. The pathogen could easily spread to the very places they lived.

“You need not worry about that. We have already developed a vaccine to prevent it.”

“A vaccine, hm. That is reassuring, but..”

“Is this vaccine something we absolutely have to take?”

Some were relieved at the existence of a vaccine, while others found it hard to trust. Amid that, there were even those quietly planning to snap up shares in pharmaceutical-related companies. If things played out well, they saw it as a chance to make a fortune.

In the end, to skip straight to the conclusion, their final decision was to proceed with spreading the pathogen, as proposed.

August 28th.

Time passed quickly, and it was now approaching two months since the second intrusion into the palace. Ian was still continuing his work as king, and at the moment he was in deep discussion over two major issues.

In the great council chamber of the palace, the kingdom’s top leadership was assembled. With all of them seated before him, Ian spoke with a grave expression.

“First, we must devise countermeasures regarding the Magnia Empire’s entry into the war.”

Indeed. The Magnia Empire, which had so far been content to quietly sell munitions, had finally lost patience with the Doicheun Empire’s indiscriminate submarine attacks and, issuing an ultimatum, had declared that it would enter the war.

Naturally, from the standpoint of the Doicheun Empire, now facing a 3:1 lineup, the situation could not help but become extremely difficult. They had pushed things too far. However, the Magnia Empire had also clearly been deliberately maneuvering to join the war, sending out their own cargo ships loaded with strategic materials as tempting targets.

“The Magnia Empire must have taken steps with the express goal of entering this war.”

“Indeed. They forced their shipping companies to accept freight contracts even while knowing their vessels would be hit by torpedoes. Fortunately, our side did not suffer significant losses in the process.”

“They’ve chosen this timing to finally cash in everything they’ve been building up.”

“From the Magnia Empire’s perspective, the Doicheun Empire’s rampage must have been intolerable. And they must have judged that if the war’s outcome tipped that way, it would endanger them as well.”

“Now that the Magnia Empire has joined the war, they will inevitably shift their forces sharply toward the three empires’ front.”

“Even so, I doubt the Doicheun Empire will fall easily. As you all know, the Doicheun Empire’s military capability is extremely strong. If they commit themselves to the defense, they will hold out for quite some time.”

Even before this, people had recognized the Doicheun Empire as powerful, but this great war had cemented that perception even more strongly. Their tactics were almost mechanical, yet innovative at the same time.

Given their conduct, Ian could only feel it was a blessing that their lands did not share a common border. It was truly fortunate that the previous war had taken place only at sea.

“In my view, the war has intensified and will not end easily. But the Doicheun Empire will not be able to endure forever.”

Once the Magnia Empire fully entered the war and began conscripting and deploying troops in earnest, tens of millions of soldiers would likely surge westward. Against such forces, the Doicheun Empire’s military operations would inevitably be severely constrained.

He was sure they would fight well, but realistically, they had no chance of winning. Such was the scale of the Magnia Empire’s population and industrial capacity that it could be called the greatest in the world. Just thinking of the sheer volume of matériel they would pour out made him dizzy.

‘Won’t this war likely reach its conclusion next year, or the year after that?’

Thinking that, Ian soon presented a clear conclusion.

“We will continue to maintain our neutrality. Even if the course of the war becomes favorable, I have no intention of sacrificing our troops simply to seize spoils.”

At his words, quite a few of the ministers could not hide their disappointment. If they entered the war and distinguished themselves, the spoils would no doubt be enormous. The reparations they would receive afterward would also bring tremendous benefits to the kingdom.

‘But we have far too much to lose by doing that.’

Even if the Doicheun Empire lost, they would not be destroyed. With their underlying strength, they would recover, and in light of their future relationship, it would be best to remain where they were now—gaining an appropriate amount of profit while continuing to maintain ties.

“More importantly, the greatest problem we currently face is not the war, but the outbreak of an epidemic.”

Indeed. While the news of the Magnia Empire entering the war was major, the fire that had fallen right at their feet was the epidemic. People had started collapsing a short while ago, and now there were repeated incidents of people dropping in groups. It was clearly a sign that a contagious disease was raging.

‘Is this a plague born from the aftermath of the war?’

Even with tanks on the field, the vast battlefronts were still maintained largely by trench lines. In such harsh conditions, it would have been stranger if disease had not broken out. Ian thought it highly likely that such an epidemic had spread rapidly and reached their kingdom.

“Viscount Rubingston.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Have you finished investigating where the external inflow of this epidemic began?”

“We have, but..”

“Hm? Is there some problem?”

“It’s not that, it’s just—the route of the epidemic’s introduction seems strange.”

“Strange? In what way? Speak.”

“It appears that the disease did not come in from outside at all. The various nations are currently trying to determine where the epidemic began, but there have been no reports of outbreaks anywhere else.”

“Couldn’t that simply be the result of information control on their part?”

“If that were the case, things would not be this quiet. Rather than quiet, they are doing nothing but focusing on the war.”

Hearing this, Ian also found it odd and could not help tilting his head. No outbreaks anywhere else? That meant the epidemic had originated in their own country. Given that, and the fact that it had emerged in conditions that should not have favored its appearance, he could not help finding it suspicious.

‘We’ve already cleaned up the trash piling up in the city and greatly improved the urban environment. Under those conditions, an epidemic spreads? It really is too strange.’

Something about it gnawed at him. Thinking that, he first decided he had to stop the spread of the disease and spoke.

“How is the quarantine being enforced?”

“Large-scale quarantines are underway in the districts of the capital where the epidemic has spread. We have also ordered everyone to wear masks over their mouths.”

“The quarantines must be enforced even more strictly. If anyone attempts to leave the quarantine zone without permission, authorize immediate use of live fire.”

The reason he spoke so harshly was that any holes in quarantine measures would only produce even greater damage. He did not want to see a single vector slipping through. Faced with Ian’s firm will and tone, everyone present could only nod.

“Order the factories producing masks to expand their operations. This will not be over in the short term. Everyone must be able to wear a mask. Understood?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. We will issue orders to the companies already producing masks.”

“The state will purchase the entire mask supply. And we must hurry to develop a vaccine and treatment for this disease.”

“We have already collected samples of the pathogen and sent them to the medical research institute. They are currently under examination, and we will order them to expedite development of therapeutics and a vaccine.”

At the minister’s reply, Ian could not help wondering whether it would really be possible in the short term. Given that medical technology was not yet well developed, the chances of success were inevitably low. Thinking of that, he could not help but be worried.

“If it is confirmed that the epidemic has spread to other regions, I will immediately declare a national state of emergency.”

“Y-Your Majesty, is that truly necessary?”

“That’s right, it is only an epidemic.”

“Such complacent thinking is exactly what will lead to massive casualties! I intend to go as far as locking down the capital itself—consider yourselves informed!”

Startled by this rare display of steel in the king’s voice, they all flinched. To think he was even considering a lockdown of the capital—none of them had expected that, and their faces showed it. Yet even seeing their expressions, Ian had no intention of withdrawing his words.

If they approached the epidemic halfheartedly, the situation would spiral out of control from that very moment. Knowing this, he was determined to take the hardest line possible.

“Only thorough control and quarantine can stop the spread of an epidemic. If there is any fortunate point, it is that in this country my orders are absolute.”

Ian planned to strongly recommend that everyone boil their water and, at the same time, to provide coal and oil free of charge for that purpose. He even intended to establish a dedicated organization to deliver food free of charge to people’s doorsteps, so that those confined to their homes would at least be able to survive.

Some might say he was being overly generous, but he believed that by doing this, they could minimize the damage that would otherwise come later. To his mind, it would actually be cheaper in the long run. With that conviction, Ian resolved to face this epidemic with utmost seriousness.

Meanwhile, this epidemic had in fact not remained confined to the Polia Kingdom. Some people had already left the country while infected, and naturally, through them, the disease was now spreading across the world.

In a sense, this reality was preparing to strike the world with something far more deadly than even the great war.