Declaration Of War By The Magnia Empire

September arrived. It was a globally chaotic political situation. A place called the Republic of Promance had appeared, and with the Magnia Empire announcing that it could not recognize it, it was as if a showdown was one month away.

On October 1, if the Republic of Promance did not declare surrender toward the Magnia Empire by then, the war would begin. Accordingly, the world’s situation was being colored with tension.

Perhaps the Magnia Empire knew that the group called Promance would not surrender, as it was gradually concentrating its forces toward the center of the Ablos Continent. Originally, forces numbering roughly 60,000 were stationed there, but additionally, 50,000 more were being sent from its colonies.

In the midst of this, it was in a situation where it was sending not only troops but also tanks and fighter aircraft from the homeland. It was moving on the assumption of a real war. Meanwhile, there were soldiers who had experienced the Great War and were already gradually returning to the homeland.

As time passed, quite many had returned, but with some still remaining in the places that had been battlefields, soldiers were being moved as if drafted to the Ablos Continent. It was quite unfair, but they had no choice but to comply with the affairs of the nation.

Meanwhile, amid this situation, the suppression of colonial rebels was proceeding steadily. The Polia Kingdom withdrew the troops it had sent to the center of the continent for exploration and focused again on deploying them into suppressing the rebels. With this situation, the Polia Kingdom’s forces stationed on the Ablos Continent had reached 200,000 before long.

As much as that, the colonial rebellion situations that had broken out in each nation had greatly decreased. Predictions were coming out that they might be able to subdue all rebellions within this year. With such results, the Polia Kingdom was gaining enormous rights to reconstruction from the nations for which it had suppressed the rebels.

Meanwhile, time was passing, and around mid-September, brief news came that the Polia Kingdom’s 11th Fleet had arrived at its own island in the Sea of Abundance. There were also proclamations that some fleets of the Magnia Empire had moved to the Sea of Abundance.

Of course, it was no exaggeration to say that each nation’s gaze was gathered more on the center of the Ablos Continent than on the Sea of Abundance. For reference, the joint cooperation for contact with the central civilized society had been broken due to the situation of war.

In this situation, there were nations that took a greedy stance and stood on the Magnia Empire’s side, while there were also quite a few nations that pulled back and decided to watch. In fact, at first most had tried to gain profits by using colonization, but they made the judgment that it could be difficult due to the reality of them that was gradually being revealed.

The representative nation for this was, of course, the Polia Kingdom. They declared neutrality as far as the war was concerned, and accordingly, the Noma Empire and the Moria Empire were also in a situation where they chose to watch.

In this situation, time passed and October 1 arrived. The time declared by the Magnia Empire had finally come. As was natural, the Republic of Promance had no intention of surrendering at all.

Republic of Promance Exit Tunnel.

In this place, occupied with only the Magnia Empire’s forces and soldiers of some kingdoms remaining, tension was present. Today became October 1, and the Magnia Empire’s declaration of war was made.

From the moment there was no reaction from them, they were already in a state of having advanced more than 500 m. The number of troops deployed at this time reached roughly 700. They wanted to utilize far more troops, but they could not mobilize many troops into the unstable battlefield called a tunnel.

For reference, it could be said that the main weapons being used were only rifles. Since it was a tunnel, the use of explosives was restricted. Though it was not mutually agreed upon, the Republic of Promance’s soldiers likewise did not have any kind of explosive weapon.

Before they knew it, they were in a situation of facing each other with cover between them. Even the distance they looked at each other from was so close that it was only about 50 m at most. It was a fight that would break out anytime someone pulled the trigger, and in this situation, the place that moved first was the Magnia Empire’s side.

Step, step, step!

Dozens were clumping together and advancing forward. In their hands were fairly thick shields. That was right. They were armored soldiers made with this situation assumed. Of course, this was a method used in the past Great War when they used the biological weapon Grow.

However, since those creatures still could not be controlled, they deliberately selected somewhat large soldiers, had them wear armor, and even had them hold shields. Perhaps because they had trained in the meantime, they sought to advance in one go while thrusting forward shields that would cover their entire bodies.

“All, rapid advance forward!”

“Forward!”

With these shouts, everyone slowly moved their steps and advanced forward. At their movement, a loud warning shout through a loudspeaker was heard from the front. Naturally, it was speech made in Magnian.

[Warning. Do not approach any further! If you continue to approach, we will fire!]

At the strong warning voice, the expressions of the armored infantry were dyed with tension. Of course, in their expressions, confidence was present. They were confident that the armor and shields they held were made of special alloy crafted with modern technology, and that they could sufficiently defend against bullets.

Of course, they had also seen results that they could defend even against bullets fired from a heavy machine gun. The problem was that a person had to receive this shock directly. What was the use of a shield and armor being hard? The one wearing and holding it had to endure.

[We will give you 10 seconds. If you advance further, we will fire!]

Even with this warning voice, step, step, step—! the armored soldiers’ advance did not stop. From the start, they could not turn back, and it was a situation of only advancing. Toward them, again through the loudspeaker, a voice rang out strongly. It was a voice announcing the remaining 10 seconds.

[The warning is over. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2…1! Do not blame us now.]

With this warning voice, in an instant, dudadadadadadatang—! bullets began flying down the tunnel like beams of light. They were fired from machine guns mounted on cover. The moment they were hit by these bullets, screams could not help but burst from the mouths of the soldiers in the very front row.

Tadadadang! Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!

The shields rang loudly. At the same time, they tried to block while even bracing with their shoulders, but with the destructive power carried by the bullets, they had no choice but to be pushed far back. What would have had the power to tear flesh to shreds if it hit bare bodies was being endured by the shields and armor.

“Aaagh!”

“Argh!”

“Keuk!”

As if being pushed by bullets, bullets also flew into their helmets and armor as they toppled. Accordingly, sparks were flaring on the armor surfaces as if shining red. They could be said to be hard enough to slightly crumple, but it was the bodies of the soldiers wearing them. All of them could not help but vomit screams from the tremendous shock.

Some could not endure the shock and fainted, and some were even vomiting blood. In the case of several, bullets flew through gaps between helmets, and they burst out blood as their brains exploded and they died. Toward them, the Promance soldiers were only continuously spraying machine-gun fire.

Though it was only one machine gun, its destructive power could not help but be tremendous. In addition, when overheating occurred, a new machine gun installed beside it fired, making them continuously spray bullets. In an instant, the front became a grave of fallen armored soldiers.

Of course, not everyone died. The shields and armor were hard, and those who ended up underneath as they piled up were still alive. However, in this situation, it could not help but be a situation where they could not advance at all.

As the Magnia Empire’s forces, they had no choice but to hide their bodies behind cover and watch the situation. With the declaration of war, they tried to advance with the armored infantry they prepared in their own way, but advancing through a limited passage was not an easy thing.

Perhaps this situation might continue from now on. In such a situation, the only certain attack type was a method of crossing the mountain range and attacking using fighter aircraft. The Magnia Empire’s forces were already surrounding the mountain range in the east, west, south, and north directions.

Up to now, forces numbering roughly 170,000 were dispersed and encircled the mountain range, and amid this they had prepared fighters to attack, with runways built in various places.

The Magnia Empire’s fighters at present were fighters named “Pyron” that had been used during the Great War. The problem was that among these fighters, there were not that many that had finished reinforcing the engines and wings.

The period preparing for war was short, and thus they did not have much prepared either. Still, facilities to carry out separate modification work were being made in various places, and mechanics were also crossing over from the homeland in large numbers.

Since the declaration of war was already made, the Magnia Empire’s imperial household wanted an attack, and accordingly the air force was in a situation where it had no choice but to use only the prepared aircraft into the battlefield. The prepared quantity was, at most, only around 30 aircraft.

Moreover, among this quantity, some also included aircraft that had previously crossed the mountain range. As time passed, the number of fighters to be modified would increase, but for now, it was a state where preparations to wage war were not yet perfectly completed.

Vroom— buwoong—!

At the same time as the engines started, fighters numbering around 30 began running along the runways and taking to the sky. These fighters were heading straight toward the great mountain range that filled their view.

In this situation, the pilot named Marcus, who had previously succeeded in reconnaissance, put his mouth to the radio with fairly tense eyes and spoke.

[As explained in advance, everyone must beware of the strong winds that occur at the moment we cross the mountain range. Also beware of the sudden gale as well. And at the moment we pass beyond the strong-wind zone, execute the bombing against the city that will be visible.]

Their mission was none other than to drop the bombs they carried toward an urban area located nearby. As they approached the mountain range, they soon entered a space where strong winds blew.

It was the movement of fighters swaying. There were also fighters that could not adapt to the sudden strong winds and crashed as they were. There were three in total. It could not help but be a painful loss. With the power lost earlier than expected, Marcus had no choice but to bite his lip.

Anyway, amid this situation, the fighters continued advancing, and as a gale suddenly blew, two fighters were swept up, shot up high into the sky, and then their wings broke, and their fragments fell toward the ground as they crashed.

Already, they had lost five out of thirty fighters. The more fighters that were mobilized, the more the number lost could not help but increase. In a way, this place could not help but be the worst terrain for the Magnia Empire air force pilots.

As the fighters that had been reduced to only twenty-five with difficulty entered inside the mountain range, the strong winds that had been blowing until a moment ago vanished and it became quiet. In a situation where only the engine sounds of the fighters were heard, everyone became determined expressions and sought to complete the mission.

But at that moment, machine-gun barrages poured down on them. Papapapap—! aircraft were hit directly in their wings and fuselages and crashed as they were. The fighters that quickly passed by them were seen.

At a glance, fighters numbering over 50 had descended to the ground, and then, through immediate turns, they rose again and sought to continue the attack. At this, with cries of an ambush, they hurriedly moved their control sticks to get out of the range of the attack.

In truth, the Republic of Promance was not only taking hits. There had already been two aerial infiltrations, and in preparation for such a situation, they had stationed sentries throughout the mountain range. They closely observed the situation through binoculars, and amid that, when they saw the fighter formation flying in, they sent communication through telephone lines installed in advance.

Thus, it was an ambush attack, and since nearly half were taken out in the first strike, it could not help but be successful. It was the moment when the aerial attack they executed hoping for success fell through. At this moment, Marcus, who survived by luck, could not help but feel defeat was thick, from the fact that there were not many allied aircraft remaining around him.

He had survived while engaging in aerial battles on many battlefields, but he thought that perhaps this moment could be his last battlefield. But it was not something he could die easily. With outstanding piloting skill as he was, he aimed behind the enemies and fired his machine gun.

Thus, the Magnia Empire’s air force aircraft increasingly continued to crash to the ground. No matter how high their skill and experience were, they could not ignore the aggressiveness that came from numbers. Thus, the war that began with the Magnia Empire’s declaration of war had only just begun.

With the war between the Magnia Empire and some kingdoms, and the Republic of Promance, having raised its curtain, time flowed endlessly.

Even as October passed and it became November before they knew it, the battle could not help but become bogged down. In particular, the battle in the tunnel located within the mountain range—where they did not even know how long the tunnel was—continued in a situation where advancing itself was impossible and they only exchanged bullets.

In this war situation, the Polia Kingdom, having sent the 11th Fleet to the Sea of Abundance, could not help but feel unease at the fact that the kraken was not appearing yet on its own islands and the islands of other nations.

Of course, the leadership including King Ian was already guessing why the kraken was not appearing. Amid previously capturing the sight of the Magnia Empire naval fleets moving to the Sea of Abundance, they captured additional fleets moving again.

This clearly meant that the kraken had appeared around the island where the ruins were located. At the unexpected fact, Ian could not help but feel that it served them right. The situation itself was turning into a situation that was not very good for the Magnia Empire.

Not only was the fighting on the Ablos Continent dragging, but it seemed the situation on the ruins island—where exploration was being conducted in secrecy—was also not very good.

‘I wish the kraken would rampage there even more, though.’

As he spent time inwardly hoping for such a situation, late November arrived. And at this moment, labor pains began in Adrina’s belly, who had been pregnant for a long time. The moment had finally come for Ian’s child to come out into the world.