Arms Deal In Motion

One month after the outbreak of war.

BOOM! BOOM-BOOM! BOOM-BOOM—!

Amid continuous explosions, the Doicheun Imperial Army pressed their attack on the soldiers hiding in trenches. With each sharp whistle blast—peep-peep-peep—they charged forward. But as bullets rained down on them, they collapsed where they stood.

Even if the Doicheun troops were elite, no superhuman could survive a hail of stray bullets. Masses of them were struck down, and the furthest they could advance was barely ten meters.

Imperial soldiers, now prone behind cover they had hastily found, could do nothing but stare into the void with hopeless eyes. All around them lay the bodies of comrades shot dead, and the realization that they would likely meet the same fate filled them with dread.

RATATATATATAT! TATATATATA—!

The roar of machine guns in their ears sounded like a cursed melody. And then came the thunder of artillery shells—their ears rang with pain. But what terrified them most was the continuing whistle blasts from behind.

That was the signal: more waves of troops were being sent in to seize a few extra meters of ground—because so few from the previous wave had survived.

“This is hell!”

“I want to live!”

“I don’t want to die… sob…”

They had arrived on the battlefield proudly, with high spirits. But that spirit had long vanished. The Doicheun Empire may have held the upper hand and superior forces as they struck the Leman Federation, but beneath the surface, they were paying for every inch with blood.

It had only been one month. Yet the death toll for the Empire had reached around 100,000. That meant over 30% of their 300,000-strong force was already gone. And so, trains filled with replacement troops continued arriving via rail.

Despite their losses, the total force had grown to 400,000 with reinforcements. But that only meant the casualties to come would be even greater.

The initial blitzkrieg, where they’d pushed deep into Leman Federation territory, had now stalled. Only a month in, but massed manpower had already enabled rapid trench construction.

And they weren’t just fighting the Leman Federation anymore. Reinforcements from both the Moria and Noma Empires had arrived. Naturally, the overwhelming artillery advantage the Doicheun Empire enjoyed at the outset had also diminished.

Then, a strange sound began to rise from the sky. Soldiers instinctively looked up—dozens, no, over a hundred aircraft appeared overhead.

Vroooom—

Even the faces of the prone Imperial troops lit up slightly. The proud Doicheun Imperial Air Wing was entering the fray. Soon, bombs began to rain down from the aircraft.

BOOM! BOOM-BOOM! BOOM-BOOM! BOOM-BOOM! BOOM—!

High-explosive bombs landed on the trenches. Though they didn’t deal massive damage, such saturation bombing was enough to inflict considerable casualties. The trenches responded with return fire.

Countless bullets tore into the sky, targeting the Doicheun planes. Streams of tracer fire filled the air, and some rounds found their mark. Wings shattered, and several planes tumbled from the sky.

Even with high-speed flight, when hundreds of machine guns pointed skyward, there was no escaping the hail of bullets. And before long, fighter planes from the Leman side began to appear.

Fighters from the Moria and Noma Empires streaked through the sky. With that, the skies above the battlefield turned into a dogfight of planes unleashing machine gun fire upon one another.

Aircraft spiraled downward in flames and crashed into the ground, exploding on impact. Below them, the Empire’s troops kept advancing, and with each push came more and more bodies.

As attackers, such losses were inevitable. The Imperial officers realized that no tactic could break through the entrenched defensive lines. Their only option was to send wave after wave of troops to seize a few meters at a time.

Meanwhile, the Allied forces were focused solely on defense. It was still early in the war, and so no major counteroffensive had been planned—just holding the line. But perhaps a day would come when they, too, would be drawn into such reckless battles.

At any rate, the war was still in its infancy. So far, only “small” battles were taking place on land. At sea, there had yet to be any direct conflict—only cautious maneuvering and stand-offs.

Neither the Moria Empire nor the Noma Empire intended to confront the Doicheun Navy head-on. Their objective was merely to prevent the Doicheun Empire from annexing the Leman Federation.

No one had yet committed to this being a total war. But as time passed, the situation would inevitably spiral out of control. Like a runaway train, they would soon reach a point where stopping was no longer possible.

And when that time came, the seas, too, would become a battlefield drenched in blood.

World Era 1912, April 8.

Three months had passed since the war began, and yet the Polia Kingdom remained utterly calm. Newspapers that once breathlessly covered war updates now printed brief, routine reports.

To the people of Polia, the war raging across the continent was merely someone else’s problem. They continued their lives as usual. But now, imperial ambassadors were beginning to make their moves.

After three months of war, the consumption of weapons and military supplies was soaring. Stockpiled munitions had been heavily depleted. While the empires continued running their own military factories, the sheer number of soldiers being mobilized kept rising.

At some point, the total number of deployed troops on both sides had exceeded 2 million. It wouldn’t be long before it reached 3 million.

That meant every day, 2 million soldiers were exchanging bullets and shells. Naturally, the consumption of military supplies was skyrocketing. The time had come for the empires to begin securing external stockpiles.

Though for now they claimed to have enough, the prevailing opinion was that they needed to think ahead—prompting several empires to begin sourcing supplies. The Polia Kingdom, however, was still far down the list.

There were many other kingdoms across the continent, and the empires had already started resorting to threats to seize their stockpiles. One by one, their munitions were being stripped away.

Eventually, time ran its course—and the empires came knocking on Polia’s door as well.

Unlike with the others, however, this approach involved no threats. Instead, formal negotiations were initiated.

Polia Kingdom Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“We would like to purchase all the weapons and military supplies your country has in stock.”

After hearing the Doicheun Empire ambassador’s proposal, Count Mongble, head of the Polia Kingdom’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. He thought about the vast amount of military supplies they had produced and stored—and about His Highness’s foresight, which had once again proven itself.

‘So it does sell in the end.’

Back in January, the ever-growing stockpile of military goods had sparked concerns among many ministers. Yet only the King had confidently claimed they would sell. And now, here it was. In fact, considering His Highness had predicted a one-year wait, the outcome was arriving even sooner than expected.

“Do you say that while knowing just how much weaponry and supplies we’ve amassed?”

“We don’t know the exact figures, but we’ve estimated as best we could.”

“Estimated, is it? We have enough to fully arm at least three million men.”

“Is that so? Wonderful! Sell them all to us!”

The ambassador’s eyes gleamed. Compared to the quantities they’d secured from other countries—enough to arm about one million—being able to acquire this much from one place was a dream. At the same time, Count Mongble got a sense of the Doicheun Empire’s wealth.

To react so casually to weapons for several million troops—it was a display of confidence and financial might. Still, having received direct instructions from the King, Mongble shook his head and replied,

“We cannot sell everything. At most, we can supply arms for two million men.”

“What? Why won’t you sell them all?!”

“We cannot monopolize our exports to a single buyer.”

“You mean to tell me you’ll sell to our enemies too?!”

The ambassador erupted in anger. In the past, such a reaction might have unnerved him, but Count Mongble remained calm and replied unapologetically.

“As a neutral country, we will trade with all nations. What’s wrong with that? Is the Doicheun Empire telling us we cannot sell weapons freely?”

“…Ahem!”

The ambassador’s expression soured, but knowing that offending Polia might backfire, he cleared his throat and sat back down. Mongble allowed himself a silent chuckle.

‘As His Highness said, they can’t afford to antagonize us so easily.’

Just as the King had predicted—they couldn’t behave as they had before the war. Now feeling fully confident, Mongble pressed further.

“So, will you be buying or not?”

“…We’ll buy.”

They had no choice. Weapons like these needed to be secured at all costs. And getting two-thirds of the three million supply wasn’t a bad deal at all for the Doicheun Empire.

“Oh, and would you also like to purchase ammunition and shells?”

“How much do you have?”

“We currently have 200 million rounds of ammunition and 15 million artillery shells ready.”

“Will those be split up too?”

“No. Those can be sold in full.”

He meant there was more, but that only these would be released for now. Seeing the ambassador accept even that offer, Count Mongble couldn’t help but smile. His head swirled with thoughts of just how much money this all would bring in. This was likely the largest arms sale in the kingdom’s history.

‘Even in the imperial wars decades ago, they didn’t sell this much at once.’

Once again, it was all thanks to His Highness, who had pushed for early factory conversions and stockpiling. And this wouldn’t be the last deal either. Who knew how much more they would end up buying?

‘We’ll be able to pay off all our old war debts—and then some.’

“Oh, and as for payment: let’s say 10% in goods up front, and the rest paid in installments over 20 years. That shouldn’t be too heavy a burden for your empire, right?”

“Ahem! Of course we can pay! Do you think we don’t have the money?!”

“Excellent. That works well for us.”

‘To pay in goods upfront… Truly, they are an empire.’

Of course, such confidence was only possible because the war was still less than six months old. Next time, even delivering goods might be difficult.

Regardless, the deal was struck, and the two shook hands to seal it.

“A good deal. I look forward to the next one. Haha.”

“…Likewise.”

Thus concluded the deal. Soon after, the ambassador from the Moria Empire also arrived seeking arms and supplies. They secured enough to arm one million men. Though he was disappointed to learn that more had been sold to Doicheun, he understood—it was simply a matter of timing.

They had arrived later, after scrambling for supplies from other kingdoms. Next time, they’d likely move faster. And with these deals, the Polia Kingdom had finally sold off all the weaponry and goods that had once been viewed as useless surplus.

Naturally, word of this reached Ian. During a convened council with his ministers, Ian smiled and said,

“So all that stock is finally sold, huh? What a relief.”

“And they’re even paying in goods up front. This will immediately stabilize the kingdom’s finances.”

“Then our war debts are effectively gone.”

“Indeed, Your Highness. Hahaha!”

“Your foresight has made this success possible.”

Every minister looked at Ian with awe and admiration. Under such gazes, Ian felt a bit awkward. Honestly, he’d just gone along with what he figured might happen—and it happened to work out.

‘No more debt, huh? That’s a load off my mind.’

It’s rare for a country to be debt-free. Most operated on massive loans by default. But now, even more funds would start flowing in. Soon, they’d be able to pay off every last domestic debt as well.

‘Even more funds will come, and with that, we’ll build major infrastructure to boost both our industry and our military.’

With this in mind, Ian was determined to make the Polia Kingdom stronger and greater than ever. He had no intention of simply stockpiling wealth. Money left sitting only decayed. He would keep it circulating across all sectors of society and use it to supercharge the economy.