The Prelude To The Great War

As December arrived, the final month of the year began. However, the continental situation was flowing into an unpredictable state. The situation escalated due to an incident where Doicheun Empire patrol boats indiscriminately attacked and sank Moria Empire fishing boats.

Hundreds of people died in the incident. And the action taken by the Moria Empire in response to such an act was none other than the unlimited sale of weapons to the Leman Federation. The Moria Empire, which had not sold weapons until now, even because of the Magnia Empire, was now openly selling them.

The Magnia Empire sent a warning not to sell weapons in response to this move, but the Moria Empire did not heed this warning. Instead, they told the Magnia Empire not to interfere in others’ affairs and openly continued to send large quantities of weapons by train towards the border region.

In response to this action, the Doicheun Empire strongly objected, stating that they would not tolerate it if they did not stop immediately. In response, the Moria Empire, acting brazenly, simply continued to send weapons, saying they were merely conducting legitimate trade.

Normally, they would have adjusted appropriately, but having already experienced a bitter taste from the Doicheun Empire, the Moria Empire was determined to fully support the Leman Federation. As the Leman Federation had always been poorly armed amidst constant anxiety, they proceeded with armament, receiving a large quantity of weapons in response to this move.

Ultimately, in response to these developments, the Doicheun Empire decided on December 15th to send large-scale troops back to the border region of the Leman Federation. Not to be outdone by this, the Moria Empire also announced that they would send troops to aid the Leman Federation.

In this situation, the Magnia Empire and the Noma Empire showed signs of bewilderment. They had already reached an agreement and concluded the situation once before, and now it was recurring, which was embarrassing for them.

Especially for the Noma Empire, it was a situation they could not simply stand by and watch. According to the treaty already signed with the Moria Empire, they had no choice but to send troops back to the Leman Federation border. In response to this, the Magnia Empire seemed to be in an ambiguous position to step in again.

Thereupon, Emperor Jedic only issued a statement that mutual restraint was necessary. Many other kingdoms on the continent showed concern. Since each kingdom was deeply intertwined with the empires, they too felt uneasy about being swept into war.

At this time, strong vigilance continued at sea as well. A standoff between fleets was ongoing. The Doicheun Empire had to divide its forces as the Noma Empire was also planning to send fleets down from the north.

In this situation, the border region of the Leman Federation was literally a scene of intense animosity, with strong mutual vigilance. It was now filled with an atmosphere where even a small clash could immediately ignite a full-blown conflict.

December 25th, inside the Pullea Royal Palace of the Polia Kingdom.

“Is the conversion of the munitions factories proceeding?”

“Yes, we are rushing the conversion of large factories into munitions factories first.”

“Hurry it up. It seems a war might break out soon.”

“I will. But, is it alright to convert so many factories into munitions factories? We might produce too many munitions.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be able to sell it all.”

“However, the quantity seems to be too much.”

In reality, what had been produced so far was already piled high in warehouses, and in such a situation, converting large factories into munitions factories by the King’s order naturally led to concerns about overproduction.

Seeing the Prime Minister’s concern, Ian spoke as if even more was lacking.

“No, what we have now won’t be nearly enough. We’ll need more bullets and more shells in the future. And a variety of other weapons will be needed as well.”

“Will they really be used that much?”

As for the Prime Minister, he wondered if the King was overestimating the scale of this war. He also had some idea of the scale of the war that would ensue when the empires clashed. It would probably involve a collision of enormous military forces. This had happened in past history.

‘In the past, millions of troops clashed between empires. This time, it might even be more. But if we just produce without limit like this, it will surely be wasted.’

As expected, there was a significant difference between the number of troops the Prime Minister anticipated and the number Ian had in mind. Therefore, there was bound to be a difference in the scale of preparations. Whatever the case, Ian was the King, and he had to diligently prepare for the war situation according to these orders.

‘It’s really too fast, isn’t it?’

He had expected it to be at least a few years away, but suddenly, the Moria Empire’s fishing boats caused an issue, leading to a clash with the Doicheun Empire, and now they were back in a standoff. The problem was that this time, the situation was flowing into an even more hostile state than before. It wouldn’t be strange if a clash happened at any moment.

“I believe we’ll need so much that we won’t be able to sell it all because we’ll run out of stock.”

“Since Your Highness thinks so, I understand.”

Seeing the Prime Minister’s resigned acceptance, Ian thought that they would surely understand later if they just waited and saw. Then, he felt that if even a slight clash occurred now, it would be the start of the war. Would it begin at sea first? Or on land?

“The Magnia Empire will quietly observe.”

“From their perspective, it would be ambiguous to step in again. Last time, the Doicheun Empire initiated the conflict, making the situation bad, but this time, the Moria Empire started it.”

“I suddenly feel like the Moria side has become the villain.”

“Villain, you say?”

“Isn’t that right? From our perspective, the Moria Empire’s fishing boats entered our waters and fished freely, didn’t they?”

A demand for rectification had already been made regarding this. Due to a previous incident, a treaty had even been signed stating that they would not enter the Polia Kingdom’s waters to fish again, so rectification was demanded based on that treaty. The Moria Empire side had already apologized for this.

‘Their apology must mean they don’t want to drag us in when they’re already preoccupied with the Doicheun Empire.’

“That’s true. It seems correct that the Moria Empire is the villain.”

“Perhaps the Magnia Empire will not intervene further in this matter.”

They would not intervene for now. The situation could change rapidly depending on how the war between the empires unfolds. Thinking so, Ian couldn’t help but feel that the Magnia Empire would also gain immense profit from behind the scenes.

‘Hmm, what a pity. I wished we could monopolize the profits.’

This thought was merely a regret from the position of a king leading a nation. The unavoidable war supply business would generate enormous wealth. Considering that, he couldn’t help but feel a deep regret about the flow of wealth that would go to the Magnia Empire.

Only if they too were caught in the vortex of war would the flow of wealth come entirely to the Polia Kingdom. Of course, if he set his mind to it, he could make that happen. What if he ordered the creation of something like Doicheun Empire submarines and targeted only the Magnia Empire’s supply ships? They would then be forced to participate in the war.

In that case, the Doicheun Empire would be fighting three empires. However, if that happened, the war would likely end quickly. With many factories converted into munitions factories, if the munitions could not be sold, the Polia Kingdom could incur immense losses beyond what was anticipated.

‘Just let it flow naturally.’

Like this current situation, it’s impossible to know how things would change. His job as the king of this nation was to do what would bring the most benefit. Of course, he knew how terrible and wrong it was to make money from war.

However, he had no intention of acting like a saint and thinking ‘this is wrong!’ thereby preventing himself from gaining what could be gained.

‘Will it start next year?’

With only a short time left until the end of the year, it wouldn’t be strange if shots were fired and war broke out at any moment. With these thoughts of Ian, the Polia Kingdom was thoroughly preparing for a world-war-level conflict under the King’s leadership.

December 28th.

The capital of the Doicheun Empire, ‘Jemir,’ was a massive city with a population of 5 million. In fact, it boasts the second-largest scale after Noah, the capital of the Magnia Empire. Inside the imperial palace, located a little distance from this urban center, a meeting was currently underway.

Many individuals were seated inside the large and spacious conference hall. All of them were ministers and generals who formed the core of the Doicheun Empire. And the person who commanded all their attention was none other than the Emperor of the Doicheun Empire, Rednix di Doicheun.

He was in his early 40s with red hair, a strong impression, and a robust physique, and he was an object of respect and awe within the Doicheun Empire. As if to demonstrate what iron-fisted rule meant, he had decisively dealt with his brothers even as a crown prince, fully inheriting the throne.

He was, quite literally, a figure who showed what an Emperor truly was, embodying that very essence. His ambition was to significantly expand the size of the empire beyond its current state. Naturally, his primary target was the Leman Federation.

Conquering that region would provide the Doicheun Empire with a foothold to expand across the continent, making it a long-cherished desire for the imperial family. In fact, successive emperors had made many efforts to secure that territory.

However, they had always failed due to the intervention of the two empires. Emperor Rednix, the current emperor, was determined to conquer it this time.

“The time has come.”

All eyes were focused as the Emperor’s heavy voice resonated. Emperor Rednix, after surveying his ministers, continued, his eyes gleaming.

“The Moria Empire’s actions, ignoring our warnings and supplying weapons to the Leman Federation, are sufficient to give us a casus belli (reason to attack).”

At these words, the ministers reacted vehemently.

“Indeed, Your Majesty. Now we have an opportunity to attack whenever we wish.”

“If Your Majesty commands, we will invade the Leman Federation immediately and occupy it in just three days!”

“We have already dispatched 100,000 troops to the border region. And we have completed preparations to send another 200,000 troops at any time.”

A total of 300,000 troops were ready. Everyone believed that this many troops would be sufficient to conquer a country like the Leman Federation in one swift strike. Of course, there were variables. The Leman Federation was currently preparing strong defenses, digging trenches and deploying machine guns and field artillery.

In fact, some held concerns about these facts. They already knew how formidable trench defenses were from their experience in the previous war with the Polia Kingdom. They also knew that immense sacrifices would be unavoidable to conquer that area.

However, no one present dared to mention this to the Emperor. He disliked any show of weakness, so no one spoke of the difficulties. They merely displayed confident expressions, declaring their intent to surely seize the Leman Federation.

“In the past, the Noma Empire and the Moria Empire collaborated to halt our advance. I am confident that this time, we will not repeat the results of the past. Can I trust this?”

“Trust us, Your Majesty! 2.8 million regular troops await your command.”

The Doicheun Empire had cultivated a regular army with an unprecedented number of soldiers compared to the past. As such, the army was full of confidence. They believed it would be unthinkable not to seize a mere handful of land when mobilizing such a vast force.

The outcome was already clear. Everyone thought so. Emperor Rednix, satisfied with their words, then thought of the fleet at sea and spoke.

“Blockade the sea. Under no circumstances should the Noma Empire’s fleet be allowed to come south, and the Moria Empire must not be allowed to come to the western sea.”

“Of course, Your Majesty!”

“Leave it to us, the navy.”

From the confident expressions of the naval admirals, Emperor Rednix’s gaze naturally turned to one spot. There sat Marquis Bodhia von Dimitria, who had experienced a bitter defeat in the past.

He had led the colonial fleet and had been thoroughly defeated by Admiral Nudelria and Ian of the Polia Kingdom’s 9th Fleet at that time.

“Marquis Dimitria, I will trust you again this time. You must certainly redeem past mistakes.”

“I pledge my everything to bring victory to Your Majesty.”

Marquis Dimitria was filled with determination to surely do so. Seeing this, Emperor Rednix nodded, then recalled something and spoke.

“Is the Polia Kingdom still maintaining neutrality?”

“Yes, they say so. They stated they would not participate in any war, no matter the circumstances.”

“Is that so…”

For Emperor Rednix, the Polia Kingdom was honestly a very troublesome entity. Deep down, he felt they should have been decisively dealt with in the last war. If so, he wouldn’t be watching them with such a bothersome feeling now.

It felt like a blade was at his throat. He thought that if the Polia Kingdom suddenly sided with the Moria Empire and the Noma Empire, they could fall into a very difficult situation. He might even have to split his naval power into three. As he considered this, the head of intelligence cautiously raised his hand.

“Do you have something to say?”

“I have additional information to report, Your Majesty.”

“Additional information? What is it?”

“That is, the Polia Kingdom is converting many factories into munitions factories.”

“Isn’t that something we already knew?”

He already knew of such movements beforehand, so it wasn’t surprising. Traditionally, if a war breaks out, neighboring countries profit by selling munitions. Although he was displeased by this fact, there was no justification for sanctions, so he could only watch.

“However, the extent of it is too extreme. They are converting and operating many factories as munitions factories.”

“Does that mean they are preparing for war?”

“It doesn’t seem to be the case. While they are recruiting new troops, their number is only about 100,000.”

“100,000, that’s too few for war.”

Furthermore, the King, named Ian, had personally announced that while they were restoring their existing battleship power, they would not construct any more battleships for a while after just three more. Considering that, it certainly didn’t look like they were initiating a war.

‘But then, why are they building so many munitions factories?’

Emperor Rednix did not realize how vast the amount of munitions consumed would be in this war. He couldn’t even guess that an unimaginably massive quantity would be needed, and that it would cost an enormous amount of money.

The conclusion was to raise the alert level for the Polia Kingdom. There was no other conclusion but that they were preparing for war.