Promance Republic’s Counterattack

Before long, as it turned into February, the fighting between the Magnia Empire and the Republic of Promance was growing even fiercer. Once again gathering its air power, the Magnia Empire this time continued its move of launching no fewer than one hundred fighter aircraft at once.

All of them were fighters that had undergone modifications, and in the midst of this, because so many were crossing the mountain range, even more aircraft ended up crashing from non-combat losses. Even so, around eighty aircraft made it through safely, and that soon led to a large-scale air battle.

Rat-tat-tat-tat-!

Amid flashes of fire, torrents of bullets were relentlessly aiming for one another’s wings and fuselages. Fighter planes hit by bullets were trailing smoke as they crashed toward the ground one after another, and the sight of the aircraft tangling as they tore across the sky was, quite literally, enough to call an utter mess.

[They’re on my tail! Help me!]

[Damn it! There are too many of them!]

[Do we really have to keep fighting like this? There are too many!]

[Behind me again.. Ack!]

The voices heard through the radios seemed full of urgency. The reason that was so striking was because those voices belonged to none other than pilots of the Magnia Empire Air Force. Although they had lost many numbers to the mountain range’s fierce winds, they had still been confident when considering their remaining air power.

But they had no choice but to recoil in horror at the enemy force that was soon revealed. What poured down upon them, though they numbered only around eighty aircraft, was an attack from no fewer than three hundred fighters. Faced with an enemy outnumbering them by more than three to one, they could only be mercilessly overwhelmed.

They somehow tried to counterattack through skill, but the enemy aircraft quickly latched onto their tails and sprayed machine-gun fire, leaving them no choice but to be struck down and crash. To state the conclusion, it was a sight that made the defeat of the Magnia Empire Air Force certain.

The battle lasted only thirty minutes, and the number of Magnia Empire aircraft that returned alive was only around twenty. They had lost no fewer than sixty fighters. The hearts of the pilots who returned were filled with bitterness.

They believed that if they had not been the ones crossing the mountain range to attack, they could have won easily with numerical superiority. They believed they had been defeated because they had been outnumbered. In the first place, the number of fighters that had already crossed into the Colonial Continent and were waiting to be modified amounted to no fewer than five hundred.

When the Air Force command heard the results from the fighters that returned in defeat, they could only let out sighs. Through a reckless attack, they had ended up losing highly skilled pilots. With pressure coming down from above, it had been an operation they could not help but force forward once again.

Would it not have been better if they had prepared a much larger number of fighters before carrying out the operation? They could not help feeling such regret, but even the Air Force leadership was in a position where they had no choice but to carry out a reckless operation because of the continued urging coming from the imperial palace.

Thus, the Air Force leadership made plans to gather its strength once more through further modifications, and in the midst of this, modifications were continuously being carried out at the modification facilities. Even now, aircraft modified in the homeland, along with ones completed and ones not yet completed, were constantly crossing over to the continent.

Had roughly another ten days passed since the failure of that operation? Suddenly, the Magnia Empire military faced a situation it had never anticipated at all. Among the many temporary air bases built outside the mountain range, one was carrying on with life no different from usual.

“There are no problems today either, right?”

“Of course not.”

“Then have the morning drills finished?”

At those words from the control tower chief, who was speaking while holding a coffee cup, the staff member nodded. Already, as many as thirty fighters had taken off and returned in the morning for training. All of those aircraft were fighters that had not yet undergone modification.

“Yes, the drills are over. I heard there will be more drills again later at 2 p.m.”

“They are all working hard.”

“They are all dreaming of revenge.”

Everyone was burning with thoughts of revenge because the friendly aircraft that had attacked earlier had been beaten. Faced with that fact, the chief could only click his tongue. Truly, he could only think why such a group had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and created this sort of situation.

‘I thought that once the Great War ended, there would be no war for quite some time, but now another war like this has broken out. Just how long is this kind of war going to continue?’

The chief held a deeply skeptical view of war. Just as he was thinking that, one man who had been observing the surroundings through binoculars from one side let out an “Uh?” Showing a somehow flustered look, he urgently reported to the chief.

“A, a group of unidentified flying objects approaching from the one o’clock direction!”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Th, there is a large group of aircraft approaching over there!”

“Were there any fighters supposed to be coming to our side?”

“Huh? No, there were not…”

At those words, the chief set down his coffee cup, quickly picked up the binoculars hanging around his neck, and turned his gaze toward the indicated direction. Then he saw a large formation of fighters approaching like dots in the distance. At that sight, he tilted his head and muttered as if something was strange.

“That is odd. Was there a friendly base in that direction?”

Because it seemed to align with the direction of the mountain range, he felt something strange. As time passed, however, he had to feel his heart pounding harder and harder. His skin too was breaking out in goosebumps. Feeling such a reaction in his body, he became more and more convinced.

“….The enemy.”

“What?”

“It is the enemy! Sound the alarm at once!”

At that cry, the control tower became noisy in an instant. Then the emergency siren began to ring out, Eeeeeeeng-! The mechanics maintaining the aircraft that had finished training, and the pilots resting after training, all turned pale in confusion at this emergency.

At that very moment, the fighter formation that had finally approached began dropping bombs directly toward the ground. The number of those fighters alone reached no fewer than one hundred.

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

Together with the thunderous explosions, the runways were destroyed, and even the hangar buildings housing the fighters began to be engulfed in explosions. Because of that, many people had no choice but to scream and scatter in panic. In the midst of this, some could be seen attempting to retaliate by taking up rifles and firing them.

It would have been good if there had at least been machine guns for anti-air fire, but because they had never imagined they would be attacked, they had not been prepared for anti-air defense at all.

Vwoong- Vwoong- Vwoong-

Many fighters passed over the base while dropping the bombs they carried, and because of those bombs, the base had no choice but to become a sea of flames. In the first place, even the fighters that should have launched for a counterattack were all shattered or burning from the effects of the explosions, so even if there were surviving pilots, there was nothing they could do.

After consuming their bombs like that, the fighters then seemed determined to finish the job, pouring machine-gun fire toward the ground and targeting even the survivors.

Papapak! Pak-pak! Papapapak!

“Aaagh!”

“Urgh!”

“S, save..”

The sight continued of soldiers dying in bloody heaps under the machine-gun bullets. This attack continued for as long as fifteen minutes, and in the end, perhaps because they had expended all their bombs, the fighter formation simply turned its direction and flew toward the mountain range.

What was important was that such an attack had not happened in just one or two places. It had taken place in at least around ten locations, and the number of Republic of Promance fighters mobilized at that time reached no fewer than one thousand. What this made certain was that the Republic of Promance was not a place that would simply sit there and take blows forever.

In any case, the Magnia Empire, having suffered such attacks, had no choice but to be greatly shocked. Of course, it was also something that would deliver quite a substantial shock to the other countries as well.

Polia Kingdom, inside the royal castle.

“So the Magnia Empire got properly hit this time.”

“Indeed. It is estimated that this attack caused losses of at least over five hundred fighters. Because of this, operations for additional attacks will likely be delayed by several months or more.”

At the Chancellor’s words, Ian thought that the military strength of the Republic of Promance had strayed far beyond expectations. At the same time, he inwardly admired the boldness they possessed. Who would have thought that anyone would attempt an attack against the Magnia Empire?

‘As expected, the weight of the name Magnia Empire really means nothing at all to them.’

The fact that they had gone that far made him think their confidence in their own military strength might truly be tremendous. At the same time, he felt fortunate that they had managed to form a good relationship with them.

“From now on, because they can launch attacks outside the mountain range whenever they wish, the Magnia Empire’s movements will be considerably restricted.”

“That is likely. And it is said that all of the air bases that were not attacked are now being pulled to the rear.”

As Ian listened to Viscount Rubingston’s report, he inwardly felt amused. They had been so confident, only to be struck properly in one blow. Lately, he found himself thinking why so many satisfying things kept happening to Emperor Jedic. He thought that Emperor Jedic’s expression must be quite something right now.

“At this rate, that enraged Emperor Jedic may even try to use bioweapons.”

“There is every possibility of that. In particular, in order to break through the tunnel area, there is a high chance he will commit large numbers of bioweapons whose loss would not matter.”

“Even if they are bioweapons, in the end they die if they are hit by bullets, so nothing has really changed.”

“He may perhaps deploy a new type of bioweapon.”

“A new weapon? Is there some sort of information about that?”

“There was some information near the end of the last Great War that there were bioweapons with hardened armor. Perhaps they were deployed on an experimental basis. That is only a guess, but by now, I believe they may have been improved.”

“If that happens, then the Republic of Promance could be pushed back?”

“In the worst-case scenario, if they continue to be pushed back, there is also the possibility that they may blow up the tunnel. Rather than allow an invasion, they could choose isolation instead.”

“That could happen.”

Thinking that, he felt this war truly had a strange form. In any case, the fact remained that Emperor Jedic would be furious to the top of his head because of what had happened this time, and that he would launch a counterattack. Most likely, bioweapons would be committed.

‘Come to think of it, I have not heard a report lately about how far our own research on the White Crystal has progressed.’

What he had seen when he had gone directly to the research laboratory earlier had indeed been quite shocking. Since they had begun late, the completion of their own research into bioweapons had no choice but to lag behind. Thinking that he should hear a report on it at least once, Ian then remembered that there was one more matter to be reported and asked,

“Come to think of it, did you not say there was more to report?”

“Ah, that is correct.”

Even as he spoke, Viscount Rubingston seemed somehow reluctant. Seeing that, Ian wondered what sort of report it was and asked again.

“What report is it? Has something unpleasant happened?”

“It concerns information regarding rebels.”

“Rebels? Are you saying there are rebels in our kingdom?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Hm? Where is this?”

He asked, thinking where on earth rebels could have appeared, and at that, the place in question came from Viscount Rubingston’s mouth.

“It is Dairam Island, located fifty kilometers southwest of the mainland.”

“Dairam? Were they not natives by any chance?”

Back when he had received education at school, there had been natives called the “Dairam.” They had originally been a peaceful tribal people living on the mainland island where the Polia Kingdom now stood, and they had also been a tribe that had been all but annihilated and defeated by the founding king, Prince Alex, when he came over at the time.

The educational texts said that they had been persuaded through words, but in truth, there had been acts in which their land was taken through conquest by force and many of them were killed. In any case, the final refuge of those who had been driven back almost to extermination was the island now called “Dairam,” fifty kilometers from the mainland.

Having lived there for hundreds of years like that, the place now existed as an island territory of the Polia Kingdom. With an administrative institution established there, it could be said that the Polia Kingdom ruled it. In addition, with more than three million people living there, it was currently also a place where 90% were natives and 10% were mainlanders.

‘They are the problem?’

Since rebels had emerged from such a place, he could only wonder what exactly the problem was. Just like other places, taxes there too would have been reduced, while support would have been provided in its own way.

“That place is where the natives called the Dairam live closely bound together. They are generally exclusive and highly independent, so they have always held many complaints about the kingdom’s rule.”

“And everyone simply left such a place alone?”

“They are people with quite a vicious streak, you see. So unless it was something major, we did not go out of our way to touch them.”

“Are they really that vicious?”

“Yes, very much so. In the past, there was an occasion when taxes there were raised sharply, and when dissatisfaction erupted, there were many clashes. They even went so far as to commit acts of terror in various parts of the kingdom.”

“They even carried out terror attacks?”

“That is correct. They even formed armed retaliation organizations themselves. So that if the island was attacked, they would be able to immediately strike the mainland with preparations they had already made.”

Hearing Viscount Rubingston’s explanation, Ian found himself wondering why he had not known about such an organization until now. If they had committed terror attacks in the past, he should have known long ago.

“Why is it that I did not know until now that they had committed terror attacks?”

“Because it is a shameful history. So the king before the previous king thoroughly blocked it from being recorded in the history books.”

“Hmm, since Grandfather made that decision, that is why I knew nothing at all about the natives called the Dairam?”

“Yes. And on top of that, since they lived thoroughly only on that island, there would have been no way for you to know.”

“And now you are saying that those people are directing their dissatisfaction toward me?”

“That is correct. It is said that recently they have been showing suspicious movements. In truth, with movements like these, it is certain that someone is stepping forward as a representative and gathering their opinions together.”

At Viscount Rubingston’s explanation, Ian thought that this seemed likely to become quite a serious matter.