Summoning the Greater Axis Pact

by God90zilla

In another Universe where Winston Churchill died, a few unknown figures appearing, the World had gone to an Axis Victory, mid-war however, the assassination of the Fuhrer takes Germany to a morally better route, but now, the Alliance had been thrown off into a planet, ten times larger than Earth, this is the story of they who conquered and punished those who opposed the Alliance

6. Axis 4 - Papaldian Empire Part Two

Summoning the Greater Axis Pact

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Axis 3 - Papaldian Empire Part 2

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Holy Mirishial Empire, Port Town Cartalpas, a certain bar

Everyone in the Central World considered the Holy Mirishial Empire the strongest country in the entire world. The port town Cartalpas, the center of trade here, was where merchants from many different countries gathered and spoke candidly about the goings-on in their countries. It was also an extremely important information hub, given how each country also mixed spies in with their merchants.

Within the civilized areas, the Holy Mirishial Empire was known for its excellence in the development of magic technology. Just by walking in the streets, a visitor could see magic streetlamps and other examples of sophisticated magical tools in use.

At a certain bar, drunk merchants were exchanging information. A man who looked like a beer barrel with a white beard started gossiping excitedly.

"The craziest story in recent times has gotta be the how the Eighth Empire, that emerging country, destroyed the Second Civilization superpower Leifor. Who here knows anything about the Eighth Empire?"

A man in a robe with his face hidden responded.

"'The Eighth Empire' is just what they were called in the rumors, their actual name is the Gra Valkas Empire or something like that. I was in Leifor's capital Leiforia selling spices when it happened, but I'll never forget it. They had suddenly ramped up security in the capital; before, they just had the one magic cannon battery, but one day a huge number of technicians came to install a second one in just a few hours. Not only that, wyvern lords from all over the country were recalled to the capital. There were a lot of rumors being thrown around among the merchants about what was going on. Even if you asked a soldier about it, they'd just say 'we can't talk about that now,' so naturally a lot of people assumed the Eighth Empire was gonna come knocking. But, even though people may have thought that, at the same time they also believed Leifor would never lose, so no one was actually worried.

"Everything changed one night. Earlier that day around noon, all the wyvern lords formed up into squadrons and flew off towards the sea… and they didn't come back. Thinking back on it now, this was when we should have realized something weird was going on.

"A huge warship came. It was like a small mountain, and it had gigantic cannons that were so big we could see them from the city. I'd never seen a boat as big as that one in my entire life. This ship was off the coast about six kilometers, completely out of range of the cannon batteries. Then, the cannon fire started.

"There was only one ship, so we didn't think much of it, but the firepower of that thing, it was so destructive we thought that even a god of fire couldn't make something as strong as this. The cannon batteries were demolished in a single volley. Then they just randomly bombed the entire city, it was terrifying. We ran and ran and ran. Those guys were just way too strong. They laid waste to the capital of a superpower with just one ship! I bet even Mu would lose them. The world belongs to Gra Valkas now, if you ask me."

"Wait a minute. Obviously, if they beat Leifor, that means they're strong, but they've got nothing on Mirishial's super-advanced magic. They're just on completely different levels."

"Mu, the land of machines, also isn't too far behind Mirishial. I don't think they'd stand a chance against Mu either. No matter what you say, Mu wouldn't lose to some barbarian country outside the civilized areas."

"Leifor just lost to one of those barbarian countries, you know."

"As one of the superpowers, Leifor was, you know… I feel bad saying it, but they were the weakest one, weren't they? Sure, they were really strong compared to other countries, but if you only look at the other superpowers, they don't really measure up…"

"You all don't know how scary the Gra Valkas Empire is, so you shouldn't make assumptions."

The drunks kept on chatting.

"By the way, there was a Kingdom of Rowlia, wasn't there?"

"That eastern barbarian country? The one with at least a population on par with the superpowers?"

"Ah, when I was there for a trade deal, they started a war with their neighbor, Qua Toine because they wanted to eradicate all the demihumans."

"Eradicate demihumans?! What a waste of time. Just like barbarians to do something so pointless!"

"Then, this country called Germany joined the war, and they lost. I guess Germany was way stronger than them. Rowlia didn't even manage to kill a single man of theirs, and their fleet of forty-four hundred ships got decimated by just forty nine of Germany's ships. Germany's another country that'll be making waves in the future!"

"They couldn't even kill a single person, and their forty-four hundred ships were taken out by just forty nine ships? No matter how you slice it, that's just propaganda. Way too unrealistic."

"Rowlia lost? If it were a superpower or one of the civilized countries, I could understand it, but to a barbarian country?! Unbelievable."

"Well, no matter how strong Gra Valkas or Germany are, compared to Mirishial, they're not even worth spit. They couldn't possibly beat them. In the end, the Central World will always be stable! At least until the ancient sorcerous empire returns."

The drunkards' fun night wore on.

---

Second Civilization's Strongest Country, Superpower Mu, Supervising Army, Communications – Information Analysis Division

The information analysis division was the country's intelligence agency, it analyzed information gathered on various countries. The general impression of soldiers in the army about this branch was:

I don't really get what they do. Their work probably has no value.

Because of this discrimination, their understanding of information technology was very poor. Technical Officer Myrus broke out into a cold sweat while analyzing the magic photographs of the attack on Leiforia conducted by the Gra Valkas Empire's super-dreadnought Grade Atlastar.

"This is bad…"

The Empire of Mu was only average in the world in terms of magic technology; they had come to discover the wonders of science, so they focused more on machinery and scientific advancement. That was why his position existed, but… Shockingly, he felt that the Gra Valkas Empire might be more scientifically advanced than Mu was. He wasn't sure if the military or the politicians would believe him since they were so hard-headed, and he heard they also tended to be cowardly as well. Frankly, his analysis of the reports made his stomach churn.

Mu's latest battleship, the La Kasami, was equipped with a state-of-the-art rotating turret that allowed them to overcome the size limits for mounted guns on ships-of-the-line. It now had a giant 30.5cm cannon, capable of bombardments far more destructive than their previous ships-of-the-line. Because the cannon barrel was long, its accuracy also improved dramatically. It also operated on burning heavy oil to move, abandoning the convention of using Tears of the Wind God to power sails.

Displacement: 15,140 tonnes
Length: 131.7 meters
Width: 23.2 meters
Installed power: 15,000 horsepower
Speed: 18 knots
Armaments:
Main guns: 2x twin 30.5 cm
Secondary guns: 14x 15.2 cm

These specifications even gave it the potential to compete with the Holy Mirishial Empire's magic-powered boats. It went without saying that it was far superior to the sail-powered ships used in Leifor and the Papaldia Empire. The mechanically-advanced Mu was special; it was the only country that could come close to Mirishial's level. But…

Myrus scratched his head. Gra Valkas's super-dreadnought Grade Atlastar, according to their reports, could reach a speed of around 30 knots. Looking at its size, it probably had a displacement of around 70,000 tonnes, and it was equipped with 38cm cannons, or were they even 40cm? For something that big to move at 30 knots, what kind of power did it need…? Wouldn't it be around 70,000 horsepower?

It was also loaded with many more cannons. Firepower increases proportionally to the cube of the caliber. In simple terms, if Mu's new battleship La Kasami fought this dreadnought, it would almost certainly lose. Unless there was a miracle, it would be annihilated. Considering this ship's level of sophistication, it was probably also more accurate.

"Just by looking at these pictures, I can tell we'd lose… This is… technology we'd need another fifty years to develop!"

Technical Officer Myrus groaned, lamenting Mu's uncertain future.

Then, there was this other picture of another country's warship, though they were very far from Mu and shouldn't have any direct impact on them. East of the civilized areas, there was a war between the Kingdom of Rowlia and the Principality of Kua Toine. Anyone would have guessed that Rowlia would win by a huge margin, but this ship belonged to the country that completely turned that prediction on its head. According to the informant who provided this photograph, this was the ship AZ-121 from the country of Germany…

"Yeeaahh… I just don't get it at all."

While this ship was also enormous, it only had one cannon. Maybe it was capable of rapid-fire, or maybe it was incredibly precise… Either way, even giving it just another cannon should be better than only one; the cannons would both have the same firepower, and they probably wouldn't lose much accuracy. He just couldn't comprehend the design philosophy at all. Was the cannon so expensive that they could only afford one? There were other design peculiarities he couldn't understand as well. Simply, he just didn't get how this ship had any actual utility.

"And this completely incomprehensible country also suddenly appeared…"

There was no end to Myrus's anguish.

---

Kingdom of Altarus, Royal Capital Le Brias

In western Fillades, a bit separate from the civilized area, there was a kingdom, Altarus. With a population of 15 million, it was considered large in terms of both national power and population for a country outside the civilized areas. It had a warm climate. The architecture in the royal capital was based on circles, with all of its buildings built to be round. The country was rich from exports since it had magic gem mines, and the 500,000 people living in the capital Le Brias were all very lively. In contrast to those spirited people, there was one person in the royal castle who was holding his head in his hands.

King Taara the 14th was very distressed.

"Are they… insane?"

The documents he looked over were full of nonsense. It was a formal request from the Papaldia Empire, one that came every year, although it was a "request" in name only. In practical terms, it was an order. He read it over and over again.

"This just can't be…"

After the previous emperor passed away, the current emperor, Ludius, came into power. He had heard that Emperor Ludius wanted to expand his territory to increase their national power, so he was pressuring countries to gift the empire some of their land. There were many cases where the land requested was completely unused, so it turned into a profitable arrangement for both parties. However! In the case of his country, there were no benefits for them at all!

The Kingdom of Altarus will present the Siltras magic gem mine to the Papaldia Empire. Altarus's Princess Lumiess will be sent to the Papaldia Empire as a slave.

Please complete these 2 requests within 2 weeks. We would like to avoid using armed force if possible.

The Siltras mine was Altarus's largest mine; its production formed the core of their economy, and it was one of the five largest mines in the world. Without it, the country would lose a huge amount of national power. Furthermore, obtaining the princess as a slave did not benefit Papaldia in any way, it was simply to insult Altarus.

He could only see this as a provocation to war. But why! They had already suffered endless humiliation when completing Papaldia's requests until now, so why did they suddenly overstep so far? It was utterly incomprehensible.

The king decided to go down to the 3rd foreign affairs department's branch in Le Brias to see if there was a mistake.

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Papaldia Empire, 3rd Foreign Affairs Department, Altarus Branch Office

"I've been waitin' for you, Altarus King!" called the Papaldian ambassador, his legs crossed as he sat lazily on a chair. The king had to just stand there since there wasn't another chair.

'How rude…'

"I've come to confirm your country's intentions regarding the formal request," King Taara the 14th announced.

"Huh? Just like it says."

"The Siltras mine is my country's most important asset."

"So what? You've got other mines. Or… Huuuh? Are you going against Emperor Ludius?!"

"Of course not, I wouldn't dream of opposing him… but, can we not negotiate a change in the request?"

"No waaay!"

"… Uh, well, about my daughter, the princess's enslavement, what is the purpose behind that?"

"Oh, that. Princess Lumiess is quite the looker, ain't she? I wanted to give her a go."

"…What?"

"I wanted to screw her. Once I get tired of her, I'll sell her to some brothel."

"…Is that… also the will of Emperor Ludius?"

"Yeah! What's with you and gettin' all smart with me?! As the empire's ambassador, my will is the emperor's will! You fucking barbarians! Who the fuck do you think you're talking to?!"

King Taara the 14th silently turned around.

"Hey! We're not done here!"

He ignored him and left the room.

"Don't you ignore me, fucking barbarian king!"

The king left the branch office.

---

Altarus Royal Castle—

"That fucking ambassador can go fuck himself back to Papaldia! I refuse their request, I'll send them a letter severing our diplomatic ties, and at the same time I'll freeze all of Papaldia's assets in Altarus!" the king bellowed. "Assemble the army, tighten up defenses in the capital! Call up all our reserve troops! The oversight army is coming! We'll show the Papaldia Empire that we still have our pride!"

If he rolled over and acquiesced to their demands, he might as well just surrender the entire kingdom to them. They had to attack the oversight army first and try to end things quickly, otherwise there was no way the kingdom could survive. Because of how wealthy they were, their military's strength was in line with countries in the civilized areas. Even against the Papaldia Empire, they should be able to put up a fight against the slightly old-fashioned oversight army.

The king hardened his resolve to fight the empire as he watched the setting sun.

---

Papaldia Empire, Imperial Capital Esthirant

The Papaldia Empire was the only superpower from the Third Civilization. Emperor Ludius's imperial palace had rows of pillars with such detailed, extravagant carvings on them that they awed visitors. There was a breathtaking garden that evoked the image of this world's idea of heaven. The interior of the palace was gorgeous and dazzling, with treasures from all over the world on display.

This was what every ambassador and king thought when they visited: "They brought craftsmen from far-off lands to make those pillars. They can maintain this heavenly garden in pursuit of true beauty. They have the ability to decorate the palace with all these riches from around the world… Their national power must be tremendous."

Esthirant was undoubtedly the most prosperous city in the eastern civilized area, area of the Third Civilization. Merchants and commonfolk visiting the city definitely thought "What an enormous city. How rich are the people here? It's so beautiful."

Inside the palace, there was a man kneeling.

"Raise your head."

3rd foreign affairs department head Kyeos, with beads of sweat trickling down the sides of his head, looked up. Before him was Emperor Ludius, who carried himself with such dignity that it was almost unimaginable for him to be only 27 years old.

"The oversight army was sent to punish the Kingdom of Fenn… where is the preliminary report?"

"Y-Yes! Please accept my deepest apologies for failing to receive approval to dispatch the oversight army—"

"Imbecile!"

"…!"

"We do not care that you failed to seek approval. We recognize the authority of the 3rd foreign affairs department. If we had to authorize invasions for each and every barbarian country, we would be forced spend all day, from morning to night, doing so. That is of no consequence, but what is concerning… is the matter of their defeat."

Kyeos felt like there was a waterfall of sweating pouring from his face.

"How were they defeated? It could not possibly have been by the hand of the Kingdom of Fenn, could it?"

"Y-Yes! We are currently using all our resources to determine which country is responsible for this heinous action. From our investigations so far, we believe they are from outside the civilized area, since we have not obtained any more definitive information. We do not know enough to submit a formal report just yet…"

"You still do not know…" the emperor growled, his face screwed up in anger. "While that fleet consists of only old warships, for an uncivilized country to dare oppose us… That country must be held responsible for its impropriety. Be sure to thoroughly instruct them on the consequences of opposing our empire."

"Y-Yes, sir!"

Kyeos bowed very deeply.

"We will give all those other countries the privilege of watching the empire extinguish the Kingdom of Fenn. Once you discover which country defied the empire, we shall send the imperial army to destroy them along with Fenn."

"I-I understand!" Kyeos licked his lips, then nervously opened his mouth again. "Your Grace, I have one other report to make."

"What now?!"

"Regarding the request sent to the Kingdom of Altarus, they have refused to hand over the Siltras mine, as planned."

"Oh, did they?" replied Emperor Ludius, a smile playing at his lips.

"Furthermore, they have frozen all our assets in their country and cut all ties with us."

"How bold… to rebel so openly against us… This matter has indeed gone as planned, but for them to go this far, it appears we have underestimated them. Do not send the oversight army, send the imperial army to crush them. How soon can they be ready?"

The emperor posed this question to the man in military dress standing beside him.

"We are always ready to execute the emperor's will. At your word, we will depart immediately, decimate the Kingdom of Altarus, and seize all of their mines in your name."

"Is that so… then this matter shall be left in your care. You may do as you wish with the citizens of Altarus."

"Understood!"

That day, the superpower Papaldia Empire declared war on the Kingdom of Altarus.

---

Kingdom of Altarus, Royal Capital Le Brias, Royal Castle

King Taara the 14th was speaking with his daughter, Princess Lumiess.

"Lumiess, all the arrangements are in place. Escape from the kingdom immediately," the King pleaded impatiently and desperately.

"Why must I, father?"

"The Papaldia Empire has declared war on us… You understand what this means, yes? They aren't sending the oversight army, but instead the imperial army."

"For me alone to abandon the people and escape… I cannot allow it! I cannot abandon you!"

"Given the differences in our national powers, our kingdom will likely lose a drawn-out war. The entire royal family will be executed. Lumiess, my daughter. The only thing left for you here is tragedy and pain. Please, just run."

"But…"

"I am a failure of a king, allowing only my own family to leave… But, as a parent, I simply want my daughter to be safe. Lumiess. I beg you, do as I say."

"I… I understand…"

"Your vessel, disguised as a merchant ship, will leave the capital before the war starts. Of course, attendants will be going with you. You will ride the southern currents and go to Rodenius. If the opportunity arises, seek protection from the country that defeated Rowlia, Germany. From what I've heard, the people of Germany are all very kind."

"…Yes, father."

That night, Princess Lumiess boarded what looked like a merchant ship and left the capital.

---

A coast about 130 km northeast of the Kingdom of Altarus, offshore

It was a sunny, warm day with no wind and great, billowy clouds like those commonly seen in southern countries. The ocean was calm, with seabirds nonchalantly floating on the surface of the water. A huge number of ships left streaks of white in their wakes as they headed southwest. In total, there were 324 ships. This was the Papaldia Empire's imperial army. There were 211 100-gun ships-of-the-line and other gunboats, 12 dragon carriers, and 101 attack transports carrying land dragons, horses, and ground troops. East of the Central World, as far as the Third Civilization was concerned, they were so dominant a force that their opponents would never have any choice but to surrender.

The imperial army was heading southwest to eradicate the Kingdom of Altarus. General Cius was watching the peaceful ocean. He was a strategist, and known by his men for being cold-blooded and merciless.

"We will soon be within range of the Altarus army's wyverns," came the report.

"So they haven't come yet… As soon as there's anything on the anti-air magic detector, send a hundred dragon riders out on alert. Other than that, all other matters are under your command."

The anti-air magic detector was developed to find sources of magic from wyverns outside of visible range. Cius had a squadron of wyvern lords on standby to support the fleet from the air. Each dragon carrier carried 20 wyvern lords.

The Altarus navy was already 50 km from the imperial army; they could see them approaching from the horizon. However, since there was still so much distance between them, it wasn't yet time to begin battle. (Because this planet is bigger than Earth, the distance to the horizon due to the curvature of the planet while on a ship is farther than 19 km.) The enemy didn't have any dragon carriers, so all their wyverns came from land.

His mantra was to inflict minimal damage to apply the maximal effect. General Cius sized up his enemy as he glared at the sea.

---

Kingdom of Altarus, Royal Navy

"They're coming to take over our country… those damn locusts!" yelled Navy Commander Bordo angrily.

On the extremely wide horizon, an endless array of Papaldian ships could be seen crawling forward. In most cases, people could only tremble in fear at this. However… because of the wealth they accumulated with their magic gem mines, even though they were outside the civilized zone, Altarus was able to build up an army on the scale and quality of a strong country in the civilized areas.

This was no easy task. They did not manufacture weapons in Altarus, so they had to deal with weapons exporters from the civilized areas and risk being outsmarted or deceived. They had to export their magic gems to be purified in the civilized areas and import Tears of the Wind God to power their ships. Because of their wealth, they were even able to obtain weapons customized for their country. If they faced any other country from the civilized areas, they would probably be able to defeat them.

"All right, as soon as the enemy fleet enters range of our wyverns, send them in and we'll go on the attack at the same time!" Bordo directed into the magical communication device in his hand. "We will enter combat soon! 1st unit, prepare for battle! Got it?! Drum up your courage! Our country's survival depends on us! Everyone needs to be sharp!"

---

Kingdom of Altarus, dragon rider squadron, Knight-Captain Zaram

The enemy had subjected them to many humiliating requests, which they had to just grin and bear before, but apparently they demanded the Siltras mine and the princess as a slave this time. The princess was beautiful and good-natured and was very popular with the citizens. Everyone also knew that after losing the Siltras mine, the kingdom would no longer be able to sustain itself. After seeing the formal request sent by Papaldia, they were outraged. "Even should our country be destroyed, we need to strike back against those tyrants!" became the overriding public opinion.

The dragon rider squadron, numbering 120, flew in formation to the northeast to strike at the Papaldian imperial army. Zaram gave orders via his magical communication device. Shortly thereafter…

"I see them!"

The Papaldian fleet came into view; its size was unprecedented.

"As planned, spread out! After that, follow the twelve squadron leaders' orders!"

The Altarus dragon riders began to scatter and head for the Papaldian imperial army. Then, Zaram realized.

"! Diagonally behind us! They're attacking with the sun at their backs! Watch out!"

The enemy wyverns came in a line from the direction of the sun. Naturally, the Altarus riders could barely see them at all. Their communications were interrupted, and their formation was broken. The enemies dove rapidly, fired off fire blasts, then continued descending. There were an astounding number of direct hits simply due to how many fire blasts were shot. Over half of the Altarus squadron were killed from this ambush.

"God dammit!"

The Altarus squadron tried to strike back at the wyvern lords, but the difference in speed left them unable to catch up. After escaping out of fire blast range, the enemy squadron once again ascended to an advantageous position high in the sky and fired another volley of fire blasts. There was no escape!

The Altarus dragon rider squadron couldn't even get off a single attack as they were annihilated. Their opponents suffered no injury or loss.

"How fast… they were already taken out…" Navy Commander Bordo wouldn't show his men how anxious he was, but in his mind he was thoroughly shaken.

"Two kilometers from the enemy fleet."

"Maintain course!"

The Papaldian fleet appeared hungry to engage with the Altarus fleet.

"Wait… are we already in their magic cannons' range?!"

Puffs of smoke wrapped around some of the enemy ships. Papapapapapa… a second later, the sound of cannon fire came.

"Oh no!"

Because there were so many enemy ships, only a portion of them could perform a broadside. As time passed, more and more ships would become capable of attacking. The Altarus navy still needed to travel another 1 km to be in magic cannon range, but the Papaldian fleet could position faster than they could travel.

(We'll be wiped out before we can even get in firing range!)

"Hard to starboard! Change our angle of approach to 45 degrees, keep our cannons trained on them! Here comes their cannon fire! Prepare our Bolts of the Wind God!"

The fleet slowly turned. The enemy's cannon shells seemed to fly at them in slow motion. KRESHAWWW KRESHAWWW KRESHAWWW—pillars of water rose up high in the air. The first volley had arrived.

…BOOM.

"Ship-of-the-line Sittee has been hit!"

The Sittee exploded violently. These were the rumored explosive shells… their range, power, and numbers were better. The vast majority of shells from the first volley hit the waves. The next volley would surely be both more numerous and more accurate.

"Preparations for Bolts of the Wind God complete!"

"Fire Bolts of the Wind God!"

The Bolt of the Wind God was a ballista bolt tipped with an explosive magic gem and fixed with a small sail and a Tear of the Wind God in the middle. The wind from the Tear would blow on the sail, vastly improving the range of the bolt. A weapons merchant would have been appalled at the number of Bolts that were fired one after another. However, because they had 2 km to travel, they were able to build up speed, giving them much more power than normal. If they were fighting any other opponent from the civilized areas, Altarus's ability to outrange their opponent with this tactic would have been a trump card. This was a weapon that could only be developed by a country rich with magic gem mines.

Pheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwww…

Wind blew over the tops of the ships.

Pheewwpheewwpheewwpheeww—

The Bolts of the Wind God were fired one after another at the invaders.

---

Papaldia Empire, Imperial Army

"One enemy ship was hit, it has gone up in flames!"

"Our accuracy was so poor… I suppose that's the best we can do with our first volley."

Because the fleet was so large, the number of ships in position to attack would increase over time. The enemy's firing range was so short and their own ships were fast enough to get in range that this would be like shooting fish in a barrel. The officers were beginning to feel enthusiastic about this battle.

"The enemy fleet's angle of approach is changing."

"I wonder what they're doing?"

"! The enemy ships are firing their ballistae at us!"

"Ballistae?! Those have such short range, what's the point of firing them?!"

The officers were all confused.

"! The bolts are… flying!"

"What?!"

A bolt flew over the 100-gun ship-of-the-line flagship Thirant and landed in the water 50 meters away. The tip of the bolt exploded, causing the water to burst dramatically.

"Based on our analysis, these bolts are probably enchanted with explosion magic and Tears of the Wind God."

"How terrifying… Such a waste of good materials… However, they are nonetheless a threat."

The bolts rained down near the flagship, causing explosions of water all around it. About ten of the Bolts of the Wind God scored direct hits on it.

---

Kingdom of Altarus, Royal Navy

"All one hundred Bolts of the Wind God have been launched, sir!"

"Good, now set a direct course for the enemy fleet! Get within cannon range as soon as possible! …How pathetic… for only ten of our bolts to hit, the royal navy has seen better days…"

They would focus-fire on the flagship, sink it, disrupt the command structure, then attack the rest of the fleet from a distance… or at least, that was the plan. The smoke around the enemy flagship finally cleared. Navy Commander Bordo froze in shock.

"Attack failed! Enemy ship is still afloat!" screamed the communications operator.

In testing, the Bolts inflicted immense damage on their own ships. Ten direct hits should have thoroughly destroyed the enemy flagship. But… while a portion of the deck was destroyed, the ship body was completely undamaged. Unfazed, the ship continued advancing and began to attack them as well. Thanks to the antimagic steel plating, the brunt of the attack was easily mitigated and no one suffered any serious injuries. Compared to the first volley, the empire's second one was many times more destructive.

"Ship-of-the-line Beschial has been sunk! Ships-of-the-line Budehi and Pachera have also been sunk!"

"Ship-of-the-line Osia has been hit by a wyvern lord's fire blast, a fire has broken out!"

Horrifying news kept pouring in.

"Damn… Damn it all!"

Bordo trembled as he watched the Altarus army's main fleet burn. He squeezed his fists so hard his hands dripped blood. The number of attacking enemy ships kept increasing, which increased the number of shells that scored hits on the fleet, until eventually they were constantly, continuously devastated by explosions.

"Ah—!"

BOOM!

Navy Commander Bordo's consciousness cut out when the cannon shell hit his ship.

"Enemy fleet has been eliminated."

"Damage report?"

"Flagship Thirant was directly hit by ten of the enemy's explosive bolts, but the antimagic steel reduced the effects drastically, so it only suffered minor damage."

"What about the dragon rider squadron?"

"No losses reported."

The strongest country in the Third Civilization, the Papaldia Empire, crushed the Kingdom of Altarus's royal navy.

---

Kingdom of Altarus, about 40 km north of Le Brias

On this vast, empty coast in the wilderness, there was no place for people to hide. No fresh water, no resources, just land abandoned by people. However, the coastline was wide, so it was a convenient place for the army to land. After scouting the area carefully with their wyvern lords, the Papaldian army secured the bridgehead and set up an encampment. Their objective: Altarus's capital city, Le Brias.

---

Kingdom of Altarus, Royal Capital Le Brias

King Taara the 14th finished the preparations for his departure. The Altarus royal navy was defeated and the empire had already landed. From careful analysis of the magical communications before the connection was lost, they were completely destroyed without causing much damage. He prayed for the soldiers who died for the kingdom's sake. They must have had families; some may have had parents to nurse, others may have been betrothed. However, they still went to die for their country.

The king contemplated idly: if they were able to push back the enemy this time, he would do something for the families of those soldiers, to honor them… Unfortunately, the empire was heading south for the capital, and they were both powerful and still in nearly perfect condition. Because they were being attacked by a superpower, none of their allies had come to help them.

The king could do nothing else but blindly hope for victory.

---

Altarus Royal Army, about 20,000 troops

The royal army was in position about 10 km north of the royal capital, Le Brias. Their objective was to secure the bridgehead north of the capital and wipe out Papaldia's 3,000 soldiers. Their giant army of 20,000 was assembled to steamroll the landing army's 3,000. Normally, one would consider this arrangement overkill. No strategy could make up for the overwhelming difference in manpower. Furthermore, the enemy troops were simply in formation without any screens or shields.

Against a normal enemy, simply having these numbers meant they had already won. However, they were facing one of the world's five superpowers.

"This should be our victory, but don't let your guard down…"

King Taara the 14th gathered his resolve and determination.

---

Papaldia Empire Army, Ground Force

The imperial army invaded along the southern coast. There were 3,000 elite troops and 32 land dragons.

Land dragons were large lizards said to only live in the Papaldia Empire. Long ago, when the empire was still expanding, they found a way to control these land dragons. Their hard scales repelled both arrows and ballista bolts, so the imperial army easily dominated ground battles. Now, the empire's overwhelming national power placed it in the top three countries in the Third Civilization alongside the high elves. The reason it gained superpower status was due to these land dragons.

Land dragons weren't as mobile as wyverns, but their scales were much harder, and their fire blasts had a short but wide range. Wyverns can't stay in one spot for long periods of time, so land dragons were ideal for defending positions. They were about twice as large as humans, and had fairly round bodies with a triangular head that could extend and retract like a turtle's.

In addition, the Papaldia army had human portable cannons and explosive shells, larger cannons pulled by horse, and flintlock muskets with lead shots. In the sky, there were wyvern lords scouting and sending information to the ground forces.

"The enemy's main force has about twenty thousand men."

"Twenty thousand, huh… They really did some work."

"Yeah… However, if we can overcome that, Altarus is ours."

"Hehehe… That's a lot of responsibility."

Army Captain Bafram smiled nastily.

---

Kingdom of Altarus, Rubyle Plains

No grass grew in the Rubyle plains. It was an open field in the wilderness with great visibility. Here, the Altarus royal army and the Papaldian ground force faced off about 2 km from each other.

King Taara the 14th, only thinking of victory, shouted, "All troops, charge! We'll cut off the empire's greedy hand here!"

"RAAAAAHHHHH!"

Dust was kicked up all over as the Altarus cavalry, armed with spears and bows, led the charge.

That was when…

Pheeeeeeeeeww…

BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!

Explosions went off all over their battle formation.

"Wha—! What's going on?!"

"Are those… magic cannons?! They've made cannons small and light enough for soldiers to carry?!"

The explosions took out thousands of soldiers. However, the Altarus soldiers continued weaving towards the imperial army through the explosions like threading a needle. These were human-wave tactics! They were obstructed by a storm of fire blasts from the wyvern lords up in the air. However, even with continuous cannon fire, against Altarus's wave of people, it was like trying to stop a flood by throwing rocks at it. Even the fire blasts could only take out one soldier at a time.

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

Within huge clouds of dust, the Altarus army closed in on the Papaldia army. The Altarus soldiers saw a line of land dragons guarding the front lines. They were so big… However, there were only 32 of them, and there were 50 meters between each dragon. They didn't think there would be any problem piercing through.

"We have the numbers! Trample them!"

The cavalry took out their bows and aimed at the land dragons.

"Those sure are huge targets…! Take this!"

fwipfwipfwip

The arrows cut through the air and flew at the land dragons.

Click! Clank! Clink!

All the arrows that flew true simply bounced off the land dragons' scales.

"Tch! Leave the dragons, run past them! Chaaaarge!"

There were 50 meters between each dragon, so the defensive line was basically full of holes. After they got past the dragons, there were only 300 meters to get to the enemy soldiers. Ignore those pointless dragons and take down the troops! The army surged towards the dragons.

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

That was when the dragons opened their mouths, light coming from within.

"Watch out! Fire blasts!"

The line of dragons let out their short range, but high-powered, flames. They burned both the ground and their enemies black. The land dragons extended their necks to pan side to side, extending the range of destruction. The Altarus army jumped right into the hellfire.

"GUUUUAAAAAHHHHH!"

Soldiers and horses on fire rolled around on the ground, screaming in pain. Because the fires were too strong and wide, the Altarus army had to stop its advance. The dragons slowly advanced, extending the area of the flames. The vanguard troops, unable to back up because of all the soldiers behind them, were burned to a crisp. However, there were about 300 cavalry who were able to get past the dragons. Those cavalry went straight for the Papaldia soldiers.

POP! POPOP! POPOP! POP!

White smoke rose up from the enemy infantry formation, and the Altarus cavalry fell jumbled to the ground.

"Wh-What's going on?!"

POP! POPOP! POP!

The attacks continued, and soon all the cavalry who had broken through were dead. The Altarus army was completely stopped. Then, fierce explosions went off all over the kingdom's army.

"No!"

The king looked over at the sea. Nearly 100 gunboats had been beached and were providing supporting fire. Including some 100-gun ships-of-the-line, they rained shells down on the Altarus army. Under so much simultaneous, controlled fire, the Altarus army collapsed.

The king was killed in battle and the Kingdom of Altarus fell into the hands of the Papaldia Empire.

Most of the citizens were allowed to live to continue mining magic gems, but the entire royal family, their retainers, and all their relatives, were impaled on spikes and left on display in front of the royal castle.

Princess Lumiess of the Kingdom of Altarus prayed for the safety of her country as the merchant ship swayed on the sea. It rode the southern currents and ended up near the Principality of Qua Toine on Rodenius. The merchant ship was luckily inspected by a white ship with the flag of light blue, black cross in the near middle with a cross that had arms going towards the right with a sun symbol. The merchant ship, having long since run out of food, was taken in by the Argentine Coast Guard, allowing Princess Lumiess to seek the protection of Germany.

---

"Ma'am!" A man quickly came into the office of the Axis , where Victoria Rommel was having black sacks on her eyes. "We have just received report that a...ma'am?"

"Wh-What? Sorry, I had too much work that I can't sleep right." The woman drowsily spoke.

"Sorry to be a bother."

"No worries, what's the report about again?"

"Ah right, we just received a merchant ship coming from Altarus."

"A-Altarus? The kingdom that was wiped out by the Papaldians?"

"Yes, on board in the sole living member of the Royal Family, Princess Lumiess, she requested an audience with the Germans."

"...Fetch me a cup of coffee, I will be present."

"Understood, ma'am."

---

Great Eastern Conference—

A conference was convened to discuss the major events occurring around the world. The participants were all countries outside the civilized areas. Since the one proposing the conference was a "barbarian country," the superpower Papaldia Empire and the other countries in the Third Civilization chose not to attend, labeling the conference unnecessary and meaningless. Because of the lack of representation from the civilized areas, the participating countries talked relatively openly about their intentions, unlike previous conferences of this nature. Normally, the main topics of discussion all centered around the Papaldia Empire, but this time was different; the focus was on the sudden rise of the new country "Argentina."

"We shall now begin the Great Eastern Conference."

Representatives from each country contributed any information they had about the Axis Alliance with Argentina and Germany being the main focus. These were the main points of interest:

- The Axis Alliance is an emerging country and emerging Alliance that suddenly appeared in the Great East. By their own admission, they were suddenly transported to this world from a different world. However, there are no historical examples of this happening, only myths and legends.

- They were first encountered by a Rodenian farming nation, the Principality of Qua Toine, when one of their dragon riders spotted a Argentine Black Bird.

- The Axis Alliance requested an enormous amount of food and offered to export national infrastructure improvements to Qua Toine in exchange.

- At that time, Rodenius's strongest country, the Kingdom of Rowlia, declared war on Qua Toine.

- Argentina and a nation from Alliance, Germany joined Qua Toine and fought against Rowlia. In all likelihood, the impetus behind this decision was their food trade with Qua Toine and their 'independence'.

- In the Great Naval Battle of Rodenius, the German Kriegsmarine only sent 48 and an additional 1, making it into 49 ships, but they repelled Rowlia's fleet of 4,400 ships in addition to eliminating a large wing of wyverns.

- In the ground war, there was a battle west of the Qua Toinan castle town of Ejey where German and Argentine's forces pushed towards Gim and annihilated them, which essentially decided the war. According to many Qua Toinan garrisons in Gim who witnessed the aftermath, their fearsome explosive magic caused a 'Volcanic Blast' on Gim, burning the town into ashes.

- During the incident at the Kingdom of Fenn's Military Festival, Argentina eliminated a squadron of wyvern lords sent by the Papaldian imperial oversight army's eastern fleet with 'Iron Wyverns' and a 'Rain of Light'.

By the time this information was compiled, the heroic stories of this Axis Alliance's feats were gradually becoming acknowledged as fact and not just hearsay.

"Because there are so many countries in attendance that have already formed diplomatic ties with Argentina, we believe we have established a common perception that the country of Argentina is tremendously strong."

"We would now like to confirm each country's views on the topic."

A representative from the Mao Kingdom raised his hand to speak. "My country has not opened diplomatic relations with Argentina, but we believe this country is a threat. It is a fact that they defeated the Kingdom of Rowlia. Not only that, but it was an overwhelming victory; they wiped out Rowlia's main forces in a single battle. We have no idea when this destructive force will be turned towards our own countries. That makes them incredibly dangerous."

"I am from the Topa Kingdom. We do not believe Argentina or the Alliance itself is dangerous. If their people are not harmed, they do not seek to fight. Furthermore, books about their advanced technology are sold in their country in normal bookstores, and they do not prevent us from purchasing them. Simply by associating with Argentina, one can easily raise the level of their country's technology and open diplomatic talks with the Axis' Superpower's Germany, Italy and Japan. They are even more advanced than the Papaldia Empire."

"I represent the Scios Kingdom. We agree with the Topa Kingdom. We have not attacked them, and they in kind have not attacked us. Unlike the Papaldia Empire, they do not lock their technology behind gifts of slaves or land. As for the case with the Kingdom of Rowlia, we believe it to be an exceptional case, since their people would have starved if food exports from Qua Toine were to have stopped.

"The other day, one of our diplomats was perusing an Argentine bookstore and found a book called 'The History of Weapons.' I would like to submit it for reference. In it, there are detailed descriptions of the 'flintlock musket' that is a cutting-edge weapon in the Papaldia Empire. The book says that this was developed over three hundred years ago and is now considered an antique in Argentine, whose nation is still a bit slow at technology compared to Germany, Italy and Japan. While I do not know the current structure of Argentine's military force, if we only look at military technology, if the superpowers' newest weapons are considered hundreds of years old to them, they are terribly advanced."

The talks continued.

"…even so… I'll just say it. They can take down a superpower's wyvern lords. If they decided to attack us, we would have no choice but to fold. Even if we all banded together, we would still be weaker than Rowlia, and Rowlia was defeated without inflicting even a single casualty against two nations of the Alliance. It would be best to just get along with the Alliance."

"I'm from the Principality of Qua Toine, but right now we are in the state of integration to a 'Third World Country'. We have been receiving infrastructure improvements from them, and our standards of living have already improved dramatically. We also believe that they should be welcomed as a friendly country."

"This is the Awan Kingdom. We believe that us eastern countries should approach this more practically. Make use of the Alliance if possible, but instead focus on the threat of Papaldia running rampant. Over the last ten years or so, their actions have gone too far."

The main takeaways from the conference were:

- Do not be hostile with the Alliance.

- Watch the Papaldia Empire carefully as circumstances develop.

---

After the Great Eastern Conference was over, the ambassador from the Topa Kingdom remembered the report to the king given by that military officer the previous month.

"Hohoho… Remembering it now still makes me laugh."

Last month's incident—

"Here is the battle report! The wyvern lords sent by the Papaldian oversight army's eastern fleet were shot out of the sky at Fenn's capital Amanoki by Argentine's magic ships and Iron Wyverns!"

"Are you making sport of me?! Do you understand how ridiculous that is, for someone to kill a superpower's wyvern lords?! For our country's entire army to take out even one wyvern lord is a feat deserving of a medal! And you're saying a no-name emerging country took out twenty-two of them…? Hahaha, you must've been reading too many fantasy stories. Are you overworked? You can take a vacation if you need."

No one believed the officer's report. In the end, they had to compare reports with other countries before finally realizing that this stunning event actually occurred. No one had believed the story in any of those other countries either. That was how crazy it was for a superpower to pay for their actions. They knew how advanced Argentina's technology was, but they had no idea how large of a military presence they had. Should Papaldia decide to seriously attack them, could they actually fight back against them? It was necessary to determine this for sure.

"The world… may be starting to change now," the ambassador mused to himself.

---

Papaldia Empire, Imperial Oversight Army Eastern Fleet, Special Class A Dragon Knight Reckmeyer

Reckmeyer was puzzled.

During the failed punitive strike on the Kingdom of Fenn, he fell off his wyvern into the ocean then was taken into custody by the Argentine Coast Guard's patrol ship La Argentine. Afterwards, he was brought to one of their giant ships and interrogated. He wasn't sure how it happened, but he was the only one who survived, all of his comrades got killed.

The interrogation officer wore bland clothes and just listened to him dispassionately. Damn barbarians. He tried to promote the empire's wonderful technology and convince them how much more advanced they were than the other civilized countries. Not to mention, for countries outside the civilized areas, their level of technology and the might of their military was simply incomparable, and the empire could easily support it all with its national power. Sometimes, emerging countries did not know the ways of the world, so telling them all this could improve the way they treated him. However, Argentina's interrogation officer did nothing differently and just continued to listen with a blank face. He just didn't understand the compassion he was being shown from an educated imperial elite to a clueless barbarian soldier.

His attitude towards the Argentine began to change as they got closer to the country of Argentina. The first surprise was when he watched the iron dragon take off from atop one of the giant ships. Rather than wyverns, they had iron dragons on their dragon carriers. It was surprising to see a non-civilized country with a dragon carrier, but… while the iron dragons were slower than wyvern lords, a lot of people could ride in one at once. If they controlled the airspace, these vehicles would be very useful. However, since they were so slow, in combat against the empire's wyvern lords, the empire would undoubtedly win. Once they conquered Argentina, this iron dragon technology would be very important for the advancement of his country.

He was transferred to Argentina's capital, Bueno Aires. He saw all kinds of unbelievable things here. Gigantic buildings that towered into the sky, iron land dragons crawling throughout the city, flying iron dragons that were faster and larger than wyvern lords. The scale of the technology here far surpassed that of the Papaldian capital, Esthirant.

"This country… is dangerous."

His opinion of Argentina had completely reversed. How a country like this could suddenly emerge was a complete mystery, but, if the foreign affairs department approached them in their routine manner, they would find offense in some contrivance, declare that "the barbarians must be destroyed," and declare war. In this case, the oversight army's dragon rider squadron was eliminated, so there was no way that the prideful empire would stay quiet about it. He could easily imagine someone from foreign affairs screaming contemptuously at an Argentine diplomat.

If the empire declared war with this country, they would suffer no small amount of losses. It could even be devastating enough to lose their status as a superpower. Dragon rider Reckmeyer feared for the future of his country.

---

"What is going on with this planet?!"

Professor Welkin ruffled his hair in frustration. After making contact with the Principality of Kua Toine, the Alliance found out that magic existed in this world. Casting magic required using a source of magic, "mana," it seemed. Magic gems and magic tools could provide mana. But the scientific basis of mana was completely unknown. How was it detected? How did it activate? They knew nothing about it. It's not like it just came from nothing, so it probably adhered to some kind of natural logic, but…

In any case, there were just as many unknowns surrounding this planet. Based on the distance to the horizon, the planet had a radius of about 100,000 km. However, the acceleration due to gravity was still 9.8065 m/s², about the same as Earth's, even though its gravitational force should be much greater. What was this planet made of? Could it be hollow?

Atmospheric pressure was also about 1015 hPa; the concentration of oxygen was a little bit higher, but overall it was the same as Earth's. The length of one day was still 24 hours, but one year was 365.5 days, so its revolution around the sun was a little longer. The distance from the sun was about 150 million km, also about the same as Earth's.

The Deutsch-Weltraumforschung Unbegrenzt was launching a satellite soon, so they would finally be able to map the planet as a whole, but, for now, the only thing they knew was east of Japan was just… more ocean. The Deutsch-Kriegsmarine accompanied a replenishment oiler as they explored the eastern sea, but they traveled about 10,000 km and still found nothing.

Another surprising discovery was the existence of a wide variety of humanoid races.

Goblins had low intelligence and could only communicate with one another. However, they were quite feral and behaved more like wild animals. The Ministry of Justice was unsure whether they should have basic human rights.

Dwarves were short, but very strong. They appeared to like creating things, but… the other day, a dwarf faced off in a sumo wrestling match with a yokozuna, and apparently the yokozuna was completely powerless.

Then, there were the elves, a very long-lived race. Perhaps if the Axis could analyze their genetics, this could unlock a method to increase human longevity as well.

In some senses, this is a very interesting planet, thought Welkin.

---

Second Civilization, Superpower Mu

It was another sunny day with clear skies, few clouds, and good visibility. This time of year, the temperature rose day by day, birds sang gaily, and butterflies lazily danced through the air. Technical Officer Myrus was surprised to receive an urgent call from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs telling him to go to the Ainank Airport.

The superpower Mu had a private airport. They could only fly the wealthy, and only when the sun was bright and the weather was good, but they did indeed have a private airline. As far as he knew, private transportation by air was still limited to the highest ranking countries of the Holy Mirishial Empire and Mu, so it served as proof of their status.

Technical Officer Myrus used a vehicle with an internal combustion engine developed in Mu called a "car" to travel to the Ainank Airport air force base. But why was he being urgently summoned there in the first place? After idling in the waiting room for twenty minutes, clack… Two members of the military and a pair of diplomats entered the room.

"This is Technical Officer Myrus," the military staff introduced to the diplomats. "He is a technical officer in our army, and, although he is young, his mechanical skills are well-respected."

"Technical Officer Myrus, at your service," Myrus offered, smiling amiably at the diplomats.

"We apologize for the inconvenience."

Everyone sat down.

"How should we explain this… We called you to request an investigation of an unknown country and their technology."

"Are you talking about the Gra Valkas Empire?"

They gave an unexpected answer.

"No no, not them. They're a newly-emerged country. Earlier today, a white boat appeared in the ocean east of Mu. The navy was sent to receive it, and it appears there was a special envoy from the Greater Empire of Japan aboard requesting to open diplomatic relations with our country. While there is nothing rare about a country wanting to form ties with us, the concern was… their ship did not have any sails."

"Are you saying…"

"The magical detectors detected nothing, so it's not a magic-powered ship. We believe it's a ship powered by machinery."

"That was also I first thought…"

"It gets better. We requested a rendez-vous at our Ainank Airport, in order to show off our technology to them, and they requested permission to fly there as well. When we asked whether they would arrive on wyvern, in hopes of perhaps gleaning some information about the geography of their country, they responded that, if it was acceptable, they would come by aircraft."

"!"

"According to our aircraft in the lead, Japan's vehicle was traveling at 160 kilometers per hour, and it was too late for us to adjust our speed to match. I asked an air force pilot, hypothetically, what would happen if combat broke out with that machine, and he replied that our aircraft would certainly not lose to it. Well, either way, the simple fact that they have working aircraft is reason enough to be wary."

"However, their method of flight differs from ours. We've never seen a flying vehicle like it. So, Officer Myrus, that's where you come in."

"According to what they tell us, Japan is outside the civilized area, very far east of the Third Civilization's continent Fillades, trusting their knowledge. But their aircraft's technology far surpasses what the Papaldia Empire has. Our diplomatic conference will be in one week, so you have been assigned to take care of them, bring them sightseeing and such. During that time, show them our level of technology, but also try to determine their level as well."

"Understood."

Technical Officer Myrus felt his machinist soul flare up for the first time in a long while. What exactly was this unknown flying machine? The diplomat who had made to leave suddenly turned around.

"Oh, right! I almost forgot, Japan's vehicle is currently parked on the east side of the airport, you should go take a look at it."

---

Five minutes later—

Myrus stood dumbfounded in front of the parked aircraft that the people from Japan rode… There was a propeller on top of it. Spinning it seemed to make it fly, but… Taking closer look, the propeller itself looked like a cross of airplane wings. When air hits the front of the "wing," it breaks apart to travel over and under the wing before joining together again. Since the top of the wing bulges out, the air on top has to travel a longer distance in the same amount of time as the bottom of the wing, meaning the flow of air is faster on top. This creates an air pressure difference between the top and bottom of the wing, generating lift.

However… for this machine to fly, it would need an extremely powerful engine. In addition to that, when the propeller spins, they needed to address how the vehicle body tries to spin in the opposite direction. Maybe that is counteracted by the small propeller attached in the rear, but it should require a lot of fine output adjustments to reach equilibrium. All in all, this was a very complicated vehicle to construct.

"This technology is amazing!"

Myrus simply stared up, stock-still, at the helicopter in a cold sweat.

---

On his way to the reception area, Myrus's steps were heavy. Mu's engines weren't powerful enough for them to attempt to build Japan's flying machine, what was called a "helicopter." At the very least, he had to admit that Japan's engines were superior to theirs. But! Mu did have super tall 100-meter buildings, aircraft that could fly at 380 km/h, and many highly-skilled pilots. Not to mention their state-of-the-art warship, La Kasami.

"I wonder how this is going to go…" Myrus wondered as he reached the envoys' room and knocked on the door.

"Please come in."

He slowly opened the door. There were two men sitting on the sofa.

"Hello, I will be showing you around Mu for the next week until the conference. My name is Myrus."

The envoys stood up to greet him.

"I am Misono from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Thank you very much for taking care of us while we are in the country of Mu. We really appreciate it. This is my assistant, Saeki."

They were very polite. The diplomat was already prepared to leave.

"Well, the tour will begin tomorrow, since I am sure you are tired from your long journey. I will quickly show you around this airport then bring you to a hotel in the metropolitan area."

Myrus took the envoys to the airport's hangar. Inside the hangar, there was a biplane painted white with a blue stripe sporting two machine guns, fixed wheels, and a cover to reduce air resistance. From how shiny and polished it was, it was clear that this was a well-loved and maintained machine. Myrus launched into an explanation.

"This iron dragon is a flying vehicle that we call an 'aircraft.' It is our latest combat model, the Marin. It's faster than a wyvern lord at three hundred and eighty kilometers per hour, it has machine guns installed in front… umm, those are weapons that shoot metal using explosions of gunpowder. This plane can be operated by a single person. It has many other advantages over wyvern lords, you don't have to worry about flying while it's stressed, and no worry about feces or food expenses when they aren't being used. It's also more powerful than wyvern lords in aerial combat."

He was very confident in his explanation. The Japanese could only dumbly utter words of wonder. They must be completely taken aback!

"Hmm… so that's a biplane…" the diplomat Misono murmured in surprise.

"Wow, it's got a reciprocating engine… Those kinds of retro things are really neat."

The man named Saeki looked at the state-of-the-art combat plane and called it "retro." Myrus wondered what that meant.

"Is there any other option for an internal combustion engine other than the reciprocating engine? The steam engine is also a type of reciprocating engine, correct? Well, steam engines are too heavy and weak to power flying vehicles."

"In Japan, we have a compact, high-powered engine called a 'jet engine.' …Of course, the reciprocating engine is also a fine choice," Saeki answered.

Japan really did have a high-performance engine! His investigation efforts were already paying off.

"Really… So Japan has a different type of engine suitable for aircraft? I would love to hear more about that."

"The design and principles are quite simple. If our countries form ties, you'll be able to purchase all the information you need from our bookstores. However, because of our New World Technology Export Restriction Act, the method to create materials to withstand the combustion temperature required for a high-powered engine cannot be publicized nor can they be exported…"

"But the simple designs can still be obtained. How interesting! I personally hope that our countries can indeed become allies."

It appeared that Japan may have aircraft technology that far surpassed Mu's. Myrus continued prodding to confirm whether this was the case.

"How fast are Japan's aircraft able to go?"

The speed of an aircraft was of utmost importance. The faster the vehicle, the easier it was to attack and withdraw before being attacked back, so speed granted an overwhelming advantage. Misono and Saeki whispered between themselves.

'W-Well, contemporary warfare isn't concerned with speed at all, and the specs of various planes like the Ki-352 are widely available in our marketing materials. If we become allies, they'll find out about it anyway, so there's no need to hide it…'

"If you're asking about combat aircraft, the IJAF's main fighter plane is the Ki-352, which can reach speeds of Mach two-point-five, or two and half times the speed of sound. For passenger aircraft, their cruising speed is about eight hundred and fifty kilometers an hour."

"!"

He was speechless… They… they… they can break the speed of sound?! Th-th-th-… that's impossible!

"Ha-ha-ha… I would sure love to see that… All right, here we are…"

Myrus led the envoys out of the airport. He was going to boast about Mu's cars, but he felt like that might just make him more depressed. There was a car parked outside of the airport waiting for the Japanese envoys. This vehicle, which used oil to power a miniaturized internal combustion engine, was the pinnacle of Mu's technology. The envoys simply got into the car without making any kind of fuss. The car started and began to move. They didn't seem particularly surprised or bothered at all. That confirmed it…

"Does… Japan also have cars?" asked Myrus.

"Yes; we last collected data three years ago, but back then there were about fifty-four million passenger cars in active use in Japan."

"T… that many? Your roads must be completely clogged with cars…"

"In our previous world, there is what's called a 'traffic signal system'… If we establish relations with Mu, we would love to export the knowledge for that system."

Myrus was completely exhausted, mentally. They drove on the flat road and eventually reached a luxury hotel. The car stopped at the hotel entrance and everyone went inside.

"Tomorrow, I will go over my country's history then show you a part of our navy. I hope you have a good rest today," Myrus told the envoys before he left.

---

The next day

The Japanese envoys were brought to the Mu Museum of History. Myrus began to lecture them smoothly.

"Let me give you a brief overview of our history. First, while other countries do not believe this, our ancestors are not originally inhabitants of this planet."

"Huh?!"

The envoys both jumped and stared at him with their jaws hanging open. Myrus kept explaining.

"This happened twelve thousand years, when a phenomenon we now call the Great Continental Transference occurred. At that time, most of what is now known as the continent of Mu was transported to this world. We know this from the official records left by the monarchy that ruled back then. This is what our former planet looked like."

Myrus pointed to a world globe. Misono gasped at the familiar geographic patterns.

"Wha… wha… wha… this… this is…!"

Heheh, these Japanese, surprised over how our old planet was round.

"Our old world was round. This planet as well, even though the distance to the horizon is twice as long, it is also round."

"This is Earth!"

"What?"

"This is… is the axis slightly off? But… these land masses are definitely Earth's. Hmm? If Antarctica is here, then it must not have been covered in ice…"

'For some reason, the Japanese were pointing at a continent and acting surprised. I suppose I can explain.' Myrus thought as he soon coughed to get their attention.

"That continent there was called Atlantis, after the country that ruled it, and they had enough power to control half of the world, with Mu dominating the other half. Now that Mu is no longer there, they probably rule the entire world. By the way…"

Myrus pointed to four large islands that were gathered near the supercontinent of Eurasia.

"This country here, Yamuto, was one of our former allies. However, after the Great Transference, they would have been torn apart by the event, so they were probably taken over by Atlantis…"

"Excuse me, if I may?" Misono cut in forcefully.

"Go ahead."

"I think it would be best if we explained Japan's circumstances first."

"Oh?"

"Japan and her Allies was also transported here. While it's possible we came from… a different dimension, we think we also came from your former planet. The four islands you pointed to are actually… our country. Furthermore…"

Misono reached into his bag and pulled out a couple maps.

"This is a current map of Japan in this world, and this is a map of the world we came from."

Myrus was shown a map of Japan and a Mercator projection map of Earth. The projection map certainly looked similar to the globe, a map of their former world without the Mu continent on it. He was stunned… Misono continued speaking.

"In our old world, there was a legend of a continent that sank into the ocean twelve thousand years ago. The continent that you called 'Atlantis' appears to have become what we call Antarctica. Could this have happened because the axis of the planet shifted?"

"Hahaha… I doubt we just happened to stumble across a monumental historical discovery. I would certainly love to be on good terms with Japan, though. We can't… possibly have… I will make sure to inform my superiors later."

Following that interruption, Myrus finished summarizing Mu's history. The confusion after being transported, conflict with neighboring countries, the discovery that they were inferior in magical capabilities, their decision to pursue machinery over magic, and finally becoming the second-most powerful country in the world. While it sounded like Mu suffered a lot after transferring, it was still amazing for a single country to independently develop cars and aircraft.

After the history lesson was over, the Japanese envoys were taken to one of the navy's bases. They were intent on showing off their power as a world superpower and as the strongest or second-strongest navy. Myrus remembered Germany's warship that was magically photographed in the Kingdom of Rowlia. Although its length was greater than Mu's newest battleship La Kasami, it was only equipped with a single rotary cannon that was only about 12 or 13 centimeters in caliber. In comparison, the La Kasami had two pairs of 30.5cm cannons. The firepower of a cannon was proportional to the cube of the caliber; if the two ships fought each other, it was clear which one would emerge victorious. Myrus was positive that the tour this time would go well.

The Mu navy's new battleship La Kasami was visible, anchored at the port.

"Mr. Misono, look over there! It's a battleship! Battleships truly are a man's romance, aren't they?!" Saeki exclaimed excitedly.

Odd—he understood the words Saeki was saying, but "battleships truly are a man's romance," what exactly did that… wait, hm? He knows what a battleship is?

"Mr. Saeki, you are far too excited right now. Except, that does look exactly like the memorialized battleship Mikasa…"

And now, Misono said it looked exactly like something else. There was no way… did Japan also have battleships? If that was the case, then why did their warship only have one cannon equipped on it? Myrus decided to try probing for the answer.

"So Japan also has battleships?"

"Ah, yes. We do have battleships, although after a World War we began producing less…"

That explained it; it must've been because of a certain element that they began to produce less, but what was that element?

"Now that you have transferred to a new world, does Japan have any plans to launch any battleships in the future?"

The diplomat Misono let out a cough, answering, "What? Battleships? No no, we have no plans to launch any right now, perhaps in the future, but definitely not now."

They had no plans… so that means they weren't capable of building them, he supposed?

"This world operates on the tenets of 'survival of the fittest;' is there a reason not to build new battleships?"

"Hmm, I don't belong to the Ministry of Defense, so I cannot answer your question. Please forgive me."

"I see… by the way, you mentioned something about how this ship looked familiar, does Japan maybe have a similar-looking ship?"

"Ah, yes indeed, Japan had a battleship called the Mikasa. About a hundred and ten years ago, when Japan was known as the 'Empire of Japan,' the Mikasa was the flagship of the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy. That ship anchored there looks exactly like it…"

The battleship Mikasa was launched in 1900 and became the flagship of the Combined Fleet in 1903. In 1904, it joined the Russo-Japanese War, participating in the Battle of Port Arthur and the blockade of Port Arthur, as well as the Battle of the Yellow River. In 1905, in the famous Battle of Tsushima, it was a legendary ship that engaged with the Russian Navy's Baltic fleet, which was said to be the strongest in the world at the time.

"I see… a ship from a hundred and ten years ago…"

If Mu kept working on this ship for another one hundred and ten years, it would certainly undergo a dramatic evolution. He was loath to admit it, but Japan's technology was considerably more advanced than Mu's.

However, at this time, Japan had some battleships, but he didn't think that they would have more than four. He also didn't believe that the German ship of who Japan allied with with only one gun was stronger than the battleship. He was convinced they came from a peaceful world where there was no need for moneysinks like battleships. Iterative success was necessary for the advancement of technology. If they haven't made much for seventy years, in all likelihood battleships could be considered perhaps, preposterously 'Outdated' for them. It was really hard for him to say whether or not that was the case however.

After Myrus finished showing off Mu's technology, he submitted a report to his superiors. While there were many details that were hard to swallow, overall the evaluation was that Japan was not hostile, and they had access to advanced technology. Because of the imminent threat of the Gra Valkas Empire, they had no reason to refuse Japan's request for friendship, so it was decided that Mu would open diplomatic relations with Japan.

---

Papaldia Empire, Imperial Capital Esthirant

The 1st foreign affairs department was in complete disarray over the recent events in western Central World. This was because the Second Civilization's western superpower, Leifor, had lost to the unknown country known as the Gra Valkas Empire. While the Papaldia Empire was much stronger than Leifor, their navies were very close in power (Papaldia's Tears of the Wind God were capable of better acceleration than Leifor's).

Even more unbelievable, Gra Valkas's super-dreadnought, the Grade Atlastar, single-handedly wiped out Leifor's entire navy, repelled their waves of wyvern lords, and decimated Leifor's capital city Leiforia, all that by itself. A ludicrously powerful country just appeared out of nowhere from the western ends of the world. The 1st department's head, Elto, did not like these findings. The 3rd department also recently sent the oversight army east on a failed punitive strike against the Kingdom of Fenn. If… Gra Valkas also had a hand in that, this would become a huge deal…

"In any case, gather more information!" Elto had ordered his men. Amidst that, a certain report reached him. "What is this…?"

As he read the report, Elto's wide-open eyes somehow strained open even wider. It was a letter from an observer, Varhal, who was sent to the Kingdom of Rowlia by the strategy team. His letter postulated that the oversight army's defeat was at the hands of a country called "Germany" that had participated in the Great Naval Battle of Rodenius. He wrote desperately that he only told them what he observed, yet the strategy team did not believe his battle report at all.

"Find out everything you can about this country called 'Germany'!"

The Papaldia Empire had finally begun to take the Axis Alliance seriously.

---

Reichskommissariat Neue-Deutschland

Temporary Higher Meeting Room

"Please have a seat, Princess, make yourself comfortable." General Victoria requested the princess to be relaxed as the pressure on meeting about many of the Axis Alliance's Highest Seating, the German, the Italian, the Russian, the Indian, the Argentine, the Japanese and the American were about to participate. There were monitors that looked newer than before, since they were given early access to far more sophisticated technology that they required.

"This meeting shall begin." A soldier spoke as the screens went on and came alive as of each country were two Representative. The Germans having Adler and Chancellor Victoria, the Italian, their Head of Security and Military, Aran Romano, Giovanni Balbo, the current Il Duce, the Russian, the Head of Aviation and an Ace Pilot, Alexei Naydenov, and their current Premier, Premier and Tsar-in-name only, Aleksander Romanova, the Japanese, an Admiral and Head of the Navy, Ryusei Yamamoto, the Emperor, Mirai Hirohito, the American General and Head of Security, Marshal Wesley D. Morgan, the current President, Adrian G. Dowler.

The Indians were represented by their President, Arya Agroha, the Marshal, Karna Dasgupta, the Argentine represented by the Vice Admiral as the Admiral of the Navy was in Fenn, going by the name of Georgio Antonius Fernandez and finally was the Head Council of the Axis Alliance.

"Greetings, Head of the Axis Alliance as well as to all of the Generals, Admirals, Marshals and Leaders of their respective nations." Rommel spoke with a respectful tone.

Princess Lumiess was immediately shocked and surprised on how they communicated when she had heard how they were not acquainted to magic.

"Yes, greetings, General Rommel." Chancellor Victoria greeted the woman, who smiled at her. "I heard that the Kingdom of Altarus had been subjugated, I am very sorry for your loss, Princess." The woman bowed a bit.

"I...thank you for your gesture, Chancellor." The woman on the screen can only look upset on herself. The Princess can only touch her right side of her chest with her left hand and shut her eyes as a gesture of thanks.

"Yes, we were supposed to be contacting your Kingdom but it seems like that...we were too late." The Argentine Vice Admiral gritted his teeth. "But it appears that Papaldia has gone too far with its subjugation."

"Agreed. Even if I am Anti-War, I can't say that I can allow them to continue with their campaign of blood. I have a proposal that you might find...beneficial." The Head Council of the AA spoke. "When we declare war on them, I would like you on behalf of the Axis Pact's members to declare yourself Royal Princess of the Kingdom of Altarus as the Leader of a legitimate government in exile. As natural, every member in the Axis shall recognize your claim, will you accept?"

She didn't hope for this. She didn't want to be given hope. But here, every member of the Axis Pact? Truly, the Axis Pact was more civilized than some Superpowers. "I didn't dare hope, but I thank you all...I thank you all for this proposal."

"Well then, Superpowers?"

"I as the Chancellor and on behalf of the German people and his colonies shall see Royal Princess, Princess Lumiess from Altarus as the legitimate leader of the Kingdom of Altarus." Victoria spoke first.

"Oh well, we of the Italian people and as the Il Duce, shall see Royal Princess Lumiess from Altarus as the legitimate leader of the Kingdom of Altarus." The others soon followed with their own oaths.

"With that settled, upon the time of war, you shall be seen as the legitimate leader of the Kingdom of Altarus in exile. We shall discuss of this further however."

"Yes...but while you were to do so, the Papaldia Empire might see it as a territorial rebellion with the potential to shake their national foundations and begin a war of extermination against Japan. It could subject your country to much sorrow. Would you still be willing to support my kingdom?"

"Princess...forgive me, but I can call that bull, you have not seen our capabilities, but to assure you." Adler pulled out a report. "As the Head of Security of both the Greater German Reich, the Head of Security of the entire Axis Alliance and Head of the RSS, the German Reich has attained 2 million troops in active-duty in Germany, 4 million in reserve, the RSS has now numbered in about 750 thousand troops across the Alliance as Anti-Insurgency and as Paramilitary Forces with volunteers being trained as of now, the entire Axis Alliance combined would also add up to about a 78 million active troops ready for war with necessary training." Princess Lumiess can only gawk upon the numbers.

A 500,000 men army was nothing to scoff at, but Germany had around 6 million men ready for war. Not to mention that the 78 million was only for those active, not including the reserved manpower. "Our fleet had mobilized about 75 warships alongside a hundred frigates and corvettes, the fleet had also mobilized their newly commissioned ships. I believe if you were to doubt us, that would be an insult for us." They were not just some random nation that appeared out of nowhere, if Mu's legend is true than they were already a nation built from scratch and built to the peak before being transported into this world.

"I...apologize for doubting you, but all of the nations I have seen and heard in my life, none were as powerful as the Papaldian Empire, but here, I will believe that this Alliance is more than capable of handling this world on its own." The men and women chuckled at her words.

"Apology accepted, but after the declaration of war to Fenn, I believe that when we enter, we will extend invitations to both of your kingdoms to the Pact." The Axis' Head Council spoke with a smile.

"Ah...do I have to be wedded to someone in the Alliance?"

"...We...Well, we did forget to mention that we don't have that kind of tradition anymore, so no, you need not marry someone from our Alliance, even if there is someone single." Some of the screens held their laughter and the others just groaned.

"No, just no. This is supposed to be a formal meeting." Alexei sighed at the state of the Council.

"...Moving on, we can agree that if Papaldia enters the state of Total War we can just lift the 'ban'. Correct?"

"Absolutely. Princess, I think you will enjoy your stay in Deutschland if you wish to come." Chancellor Victoria beamed.

"I...I would be honored."

"Shall we toast?"

"I don't have beer..." Adler muttered as he took out a glass of iced tea he had been drinking from. "Damn this..."

"Well, Rommel, you have a beer bottle?"

"Got it with me this whole time, Friedrich." The two similarly named women soon shared a grin. While the others just sighed in amusement, besides Adler who was still drinking from his iced tea with a frown on his face. "For the Axis Pact."

"The Axis Pact." The glasses clashed with the screen slowly, just to make sure they weren't damaged.

Informalities aside, Princess Lumiess had underestimated how powerful the Pact could be and was glad that they were willing to give her asylum. What she wonders is how such an Alliance can be defeated.

---

Kingdom of Fenn

The Sword King had watched as the Argentine's Ally, Germany came into contact with him to request for access to the Kingdom's waters. After answering with a yes, why wouldn't he, he was seriously underplaying how powerful the Alliance could be. There, the Warships of Old ones that were deemed far too old to continue service came, the term of 'Battleships' were unheard of.

They were ships that put all of his to shame, the former pride of the Kriegsmarine, the Bismarck was far more glamorous than his current pride of the Navy. The ship had been armed with massive cannons numbering to eight, the Japanese had also sent their member of the Big Seven, the IJN Nagato. Armed with bigger guns and twelve of them, the Bismarck was apparently a trial Battleship to be tried for effectiveness, and she had proven herself so.

The fleet didn't end there as smaller ships of similar shapes followed suite. Truly.

They were a force to be reckoned with, and they weren't supposed to be angered. He had mistaken them as newly risen nations and had the guts to proclaim a Greater Alliance. He was wrong.

They were an Alliance of immeasurable strength. Perhaps stronger than the Holy Mirishial Empire and that was saying something. The three Superpowers proclaiming to be the Greater Empires of Germany, Italy and Japan had not proclaimed this out of power, but from the truth.

'With them on our side, we won't lose. We can't lose.' The Sword King grinned at the near future waiting for him.

---

Papaldia Empire, Imperial Capital Esthirant, 1st foreign affairs department

A lot of information was gathered on Argentina after Department Head Elto's gave the orders.

First, they concluded that the Gra Valkas Empire was uninvolved. The country that drove away the oversight army flew a white flag with a black cross, a circle in the middle of it with a black eagle, on the left top side were black, red and yellow stripes placed on top of each other on top of it was a black cross with a silver border, which more or less confirmed that Germany was the culprit. It was still unclear why the oversight army's wyvern lord squadron didn't return, though.

They knew that the enemy ship only had one cannon, but they didn't know why; maybe it was because it had such high accuracy? Still, they didn't think it could overcome the pure brute force of a 100-gun ship-of-the-line. It seemed clear that single ship was very advanced, but was that enough to cause such a devastating rout? They just couldn't believe it was possible.

There was the extreme case of the Gra Valkas magic ship, the Grade Atlastar, taking down Leiforia all by itself, but they were certain that there was some mistake in the intelligence; that information had to have been exaggerated to some degree. However, it was still true that Gra Valkas had the power to defeat Leifor, so they would have to be careful with them in the future.

In Admiral Poquetoire's report, he described a cannon that fired 100 times and hit 100 times. They asked a military research group about this and were told "Even if we had another hundred years, it would be impossible for us to achieve that." So, they concluded that it was unrealistic for a country outside the civilized areas to be more than 100 years more advanced than the empire. There was also Varhal's fantastical report about the war between Rowlia and Germany, but when he returned he was diagnosed with a mental illness, so everyone agreed that his report was not trustworthy.

They gathered some interesting information about Germany from countries in the Third Civilization's sphere of influence. Apparently, Germany spends about 30% of its wealth on armaments. Knowing that, even if they had some equipment that was superior, they would quickly fall behind another strong country in the long term.

The 1st foreign affairs department thus came to two conclusions: first, while Germany should not be underestimated, at the same time they should not be feared; and second, they should attack them soon, before they have time to accrue more armaments.

---

Papaldia Empire, Imperial Capital Esthirant, Imperial Palace

The Empire's statesmen lay prostrated on the floor, the air in the room strained. The most important meeting in the country, with Emperor Ludius in attendance, was about to begin.

"The Emperor's Assembly shall now commence," declared the chairman.

"Are we in control of Altarus?" The emperor suddenly asked the army's Supreme Commander Arde.

"Yes, the Kingdom of Altarus has been completely subdued. The main army is currently preparing to withdraw."

"What should we have them do now… 2nd Foreign Affairs department head Rius, do you have any suggestions?"

"Yes sir! They could head north to eradicate some barbarians and acquire new resources—"

"Rejected," the Emperor interrupted to dismiss the idea.

"Y… I understand, sir!

"We… are upset," the emperor articulated slowly.

No one else dared to speak.

"Our oversight army was repulsed by a conceited barbarian country to the east…"

Silence…

"We believe it was… Germany? Hmph… send them to destroy the Kingdom of Fenn, who has good relations with Germany. They have always been quite brazen. Show the other countries what happens to someone who takes Germany as an ally. Geographically, Fenn is closer to us, so it would not be profitable to attack Germany first… Are there any objections?"

There were none. Emperor Ludius turned to face the Supreme Commander.

"Is this acceptable, Arde?"

"Of course, Your Grace."

"This Germany who pushed back our oversight army may make an appearance as well."

"We'll simply destroy them as well. Though they are a weak army with old equipment, they still belong to the glorious empire, so to lose to a country outside the civilized areas… the 3rd foreign affairs department and the oversight army both bring shame on the empire."

Rrrgh! The face of 3rd department head Kyeos distorted into a grimace. Arde resumed speaking.

"Your Grace, what should we do with the Holy Land of Gahara, situated just next to Fenn?"

"We do not mind Gahara's people. There are still many unknowns concerning that country, but if they somehow become involved, then there is nothing to be done; your opponents will simply increase, but your victory is still assured. If possible, though, that situation should be avoided. We do not want to have exceptions during our generation… it is simply that… the first emperor took care of them."

"Will Your Grace allow me to take care of the strategy and finer details of the mission?"

"Indeed, do as you wish. Let us think… after the war, you may also do as you wish with the people and land in Fenn."

"Your Grace is too kind!"

The emperor had just granted an entire country and its people to a single organization. Being able to divide all of that up among the army would cause morale to skyrocket. Arde prostrated himself before the emperor.

"We… we… we are eternally grateful for Your Grace's magnanimity!"

The Kingdom of Fenn had a population of five million and vast lands. There was enough to make every soldier a noble even if they distributed it evenly. Arde's loyalty towards the emperor only grew stronger.

Little do they know, they were going to wake up a pack of bloodthirsty wolves and they...saying they were a deer was too good, they were only a rabbit, a helpless baby at that.

---

Kingdom of Fenn

The Kingdom of Fenn was 210 km east of the Papaldia Empire, a country in Fillades. East of Fenn was the Holy Land of Gahara, and 500 km east of Gahara was the continent of South America. Because they were situated between South America and the continent, it was very important to Argentina to be friendly with Fenn.

The entire kingdom was so safe that it resembled the Greater Empire of Japan in times past. After the two sides formed a diplomatic relationship, there were now regular high-speed ferry services that traveled to the capital city Amanoki as well as to a town on the west end of Fenn called Nishinomiyako that brought in droves of Axis tourists for sightseeing. Compared to tourists from other countries, Axis tourists were plentiful, well-behaved, and loose with their wallets, so the citizens of Fenn gladly welcomed them.

In addition, it was common knowledge that the Argentine army drove off Papaldia's oversight army, so the people of Fenn were extremely hospitable to the Axis tourists. For example, it was very common for tourists trying to pay for local baskets to be told "I cannot take money from our benefactors" and have their payment refused.

Tenth Private Ain was assigned to guard Nishinomiyako. However, because of Fenn's outstanding public safety, Ain's job basically boiled down to staying on top of current affairs and guiding lost tourists, who were usually citizens of the Axis.

"So peaceful… it would be great if this went on forever…"

The empire had a lot of pride. He didn't think chasing off the oversight army would be enough to make them give up. If, by chance, the empire decided to seriously invade them, this town of Nishinomiyako would most likely be the first place they'd attack. He began considering evacuation procedures and what measures should specifically be taken to protect the residents.

Suddenly, something came to mind. Did the Axis people coming to sightsee understand Fenn's current situation? They played around and explored as though peace were eternal. At present, there were almost 1,000 Axis tourists staying in Nishinomiyako, while there were nearly 3,000 in the Capital City, Amanoki. The people who came to visit Fenn did not seem to be particularly rich, so the Axis as an Alliance had to be unimaginably wealthy if it was so easy to go overseas. It would be best if the empire didn't come, but…

Ain shivered at the thought of the empire's long shadow.

---

Papaldia Empire, imperial capital Esthirant, 3rd foreign affairs department

The clerk Raita was manning the reception window as usual. It was really tiring to have to deal with so many barbarian countries. He had lost a lot of weight from all the stress. He thought that Argentina was just one of those barbarian countries, so even though it was bad that the department manager hadn't come back yet, Raita still stopped the Argentine envoys at the door. Normally it wouldn't matter since Papaldia was always right, but in this case they had been defeated, of all things. The emperor was extremely furious about it.

"Aah… shit! Why was I the only person to draw the short stick?!"

There was a huge storm over his report. He had been aiming for a promotion, but all chances of that were now gone with the wind.

"Ah man… dammit…"

He had gone and made himself depressed again. Just then…

"Hello, we are with the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We apologize for bothering you so often, but has the department manager's schedule been finalized yet?" someone called out blithely. Raita looked up to see the Argentine diplomat responsible for torpedoing his career.

'Ah, this isn't fair… why did you come to my window?! Isn't the window next to mine open too?! With this timing too… are you trying to make me write more reports? Do you want me to die from overwork or something?'

Raita wanted to cry, but he swallowed his tears. They were just another customer. This time, he would simply escalate them to his bosses immediately.

"Please wait for a moment… I will go check now."

These were the crooks who caused the emperor's trust in the 3rd foreign affairs department in drop to rock bottom, so his report quickly made it up the chain of the command to the department head. An hour later…

"I apologize for the wait. The 3rd foreign affairs department head Kyeos can see you now. Please come this way."

The Argentine diplomats exchanged glances. To suddenly be taken to the department head was unexpected. The diplomats from other countries all looked up at the Argentine diplomats in shock. This would normally never happen. The Argentine diplomats were brought to a separate building with a window. The building was primarily white, with numerous columns covered in delicate carved art. The ceiling was ornamented with sculptures made of pure gold, showing off their national power. This display was certainly meant to intimidate representatives from other countries, but the representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs just made idle chat in a waiting room.

"This waiting room reminds me of this castle in Venice I can't remember the name of, when I went to Italy on vacation once."

"Ooh, I think I know what you're talking about… umm, what was the name of it…"

While they were chatting, there came a knock on the door, then the clerk Raita entered.

"Department head Kyeos is ready to see you. Please come with me."

They through the building, turning several times before arriving at a stately door. Raita took a breath, then… knock, knock.

"You may enter," came a voice from inside.

"Excuse us," Raita announced as he led the diplomats inside. "This way, please."

The diplomats entered after Raita, then introduced themselves. "My name is Leone, I am an ambassador from Argentina's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is my assistant, Williams." Leone was a rather handsome man, while Williams looked a bit chubby but still confident as he made a bow.

"Please, take a seat," a man in the room offered, so they did so.

'This kind of feels more like an interview than a meeting.'

These people were all representing the Papaldia Empire. Apparently, all of these diplomatic officials had a fair amount of power concerning foreign affairs. Leone could sense their authority as they introduced themselves.

3rd Foreign Affairs Department Head Chief of Eastern Affairs Manager of the Eastern Islands Assistant Manager of the Northeastern Islands Head of the Island Groups

They were arrayed from the highest position on down.

Department Head Kyeos asked, "So you are the Argentine envoys… You have become quite infamous recently… Now, what is the purpose of your visit to the empire?"

"Yes; we believe we have engaged in an unfortunate misunderstanding with your country. Thus, we are hoping to repair our relationship and find out if there is still any possibility of establishing diplomatic ties."

The Manager of the Eastern Islands suddenly stood up. "What?! An 'unfortunate misunderstanding'?! You used some kind of trick to attack our oversight army, but you're just sitting there talking as though it was just a trivial matter! Don't think you'll be forgiven just with that!"

The manager spoke to the Argentine envoys in the same manner he would with any other country outside the civilized areas. However, Leone did not back down.

"No, it was your troops who in fact attacked us first. We simply retaliated before they can cause any more harm."

"Are you calling our magnificent oversight army nothing more than cinders?!"

The manager's eyes looked like they were about to explode out from his head. Department head Kyeos stopped him with a hand and bade him to sit back down.

"I see… you wish to restore relations with us…" Kyeos thought for a moment. "Well… myself included, I am afraid that no one in the Papaldia Empire knows anything about your country of Argentina. First, I would like you to teach us more about yourselves. I want to know whether your country deserves to be associated with the empire."

The Argentine envoys smiled brightly, though they were already reaching boiling point, this was the Empire they were going to meet? Really? They really drew the short stick on this.

"We have papers for that purpose, and there are pictures included as well. This is the resumé we created to introduce our country."

Williams handed out a packet of materials to each Papaldian present. They each looked at the documents in their hands curiously. The information was clearly written in the common language of Fillades.

"Wh…at…?"

The Chief of Eastern Affairs looked up. They didn't expect this much land; it was a medium-sized continent. However, their population of 140 million was twice as large as the empire's 70 million. Even though they were outside the civilized areas, just like the Kingdom of Rowlia, their population was worthy of attention. However, the surprising thing wasn't the population in and of itself, but rather the fact that they were this close to the empire yet no one ever realized that there was such a populous country there. He kept reading.

"They're from another world?!"

A bit before the war between the Kingdom of Rowlia and the Principality of Qua Toine began, Central Calendar year 1639, they claimed that the entire country of Argentina and his allies were transported to this world from another world. If that was truly the case, it could explain why the empire had never encountered them in all their history. But… aside from Mu's myths, as well as the legend of the ancient sorcerous empire's transference, there were no other stories of entire countries being moved around. As far as the 3rd foreign affairs department was concerned, they were simply delusional.

"How ridiculous! This, country transference, is complete nonsense! Are you treating us like fools?!" the Chief of Eastern Affairs yelled.

"Regarding the transference, our country still does not understand how it happened. We are still in the midst of investigating, so this is all the information we have available… We do have a request… we believe it would be best for a special envoy to be dispatched at least once to the country of Argentina. We would like a Papaldian ambassador to experience Argentina with her or his own eyes."

The information they gave to the Papaldia Empire this time did not include Argentina's military capabilities, their absolute technological superiority, the number of passenger vehicles in use, images of the capital, or anything like that. They only put in innocuous stuff like their location, their population, local specialties, etc. Because they had heard that the empire was dangerous and prideful, they felt it would be better for an ambassador, one of their own people, to bring back that information based on her or his own first-hand experience. If the empire were a country that refused to send a special envoy, then there would be no possibility of a normal state relationship; that was the conclusion Argentina had reached.

The Chief of Eastern Affairs chuckled. "Hahaha! You want the strongest country in the Third Civilization, and one of the world's five superpowers, to send an envoy to some country outside the civilized areas full of barbarians?! Your army seems to be somewhat decent, but you only fought against our reserve forces who have outdated equipment! If we sent our main forces, things would not have gone so well for you!"

Department head Kyeos glared at the chief. "Calm down. You're going too far. Do not forget that the emperor has the last word on our relationship with Argentina."

"Y—You're right, I'm s-sorry!" the chief stammered, sitting back down.

"By the way, visitors from Argentina, our country rules over five countries within the civilized areas, and sixty-seven countries outside the civilized areas. Their sizes may vary, but overall we have colonized seventy-two countries. Recently, we also took over the Kingdom of Altarus, so now it has risen to seventy-three. How many countries does Argentina rule?"

"'Rule'… Hmm, Argentina is a slight major power compared to the three Superpowers, a secondary power, we currently control six nations of Chile, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Uruguay."

"Hohohohoho…"

"Ahahahaha…"

"Nufufufufu…"

All the Papaldian representatives broke out into laughter.

"Stop that, you're being rude to our visitors. Just because a country has only conquered six nations is no reason to laugh at them. We are in the middle of a diplomatic negotiation," chided Kyeos. "Please excuse us… Moving on, regarding your request to send our people to Argentina, would you be able to wait for about two months? There are various circumstances on our side, so… May I ask you to return again in two months? We will arrange lodging for you."

"Yes, that sounds acceptable."

"Good… then we shall meet again in two months."

An odd smile surfaced on Kyeos's face. This was the first discussion between Argentina and Papaldia. After the meeting…

"Sir Kyeos, why were you so placid with them? The emperor's orders were to 'meticulously educate Argentina.' I thought that we should have ignored Argentina's peculiarities and simply threatened them with the emperor's will…"

"Heheheh… this outcome was fine as well. I am, after all, the lead official with regards to Argentina. This is only a small opportunity, but I had an idea."

"An idea?"

"Indeed, but I would advise you not to pry."

"Yes sir! Please excuse my impropriety!"

"Heheheh… Argentina, huh… I hope their national power is high enough to meet our expectations. But, they're still just barbarians, so they'll simply be defeated when the time comes."

That unsettling smile once again showed up on Kyeos's face.

---

Two weeks later, about 200 km west of the Kingdom of Fenn in the sea

A fleet that could strike fear into the hearts of any observers was on its way east. This was the Papaldia Empire's imperial army. 211 100-gun ships-of-the-line and other gunboats, 12 dragon carriers, and 101 attack transports; 324 ships overall. Their destination: the Kingdom of Fenn. After rejecting the empire's demand for land, they had driven off the oversight army with Argentina's assistance. The imperial army was not going to Fenn to punish them this time, but rather to destroy them. The oversight army's defeat opened the door for General Cius to display his might.

"Make sure to stay vigilant," he warned.

Fenn would become the imperial army's second consecutive victory after the Kingdom of Altarus.

---

Axis Headquarters, Geneva

Staff members bustled around as lawmakers read reports with serious looks on their faces. Based on information from the Head of Security, Adler, the Papaldia Empire sent troops in force to the east. Coordinating with the input of other countries, it was determined that they were heading for the Kingdom of Fenn.

"Argentina had opened a channel for us to talk, but with an attack like this, should we even consider attacking?"

"If we do not, it would seem like the governments won't care, Adler had been pushing us to open fire when they attempt to make landfall, many others were on his side. Negotiations would probably not work."

"Then why are the Argentines doing that!?"

"Because who would know if it actually works!? Germany has gone softer with the lack of the Fuhrer, but that was a good thing, considering what he was about to commit!" The Head Council sighed as he rubbed his head. "And we've already told Princess Lumiess that by the time the Empire declares war on Fenn, we will join ASAP."

"Ugh, this is getting nowhere, sir. No offense, but this is not going anywhere we want it to."

"Patience...although time is the essence, it will be useless if our head is not calm and collected."

"I...understood." The two men breathed slowly. "What are we to do?"

"Contact the Military and the RSS, order Adler to mobilize the RSS and garrison the Kingdom of Fenn, order all citizens to return at once via the Advance Fleet's Destroyers and Cruisers, the Dreadnoughts shall provide firing support."

"Understood, sir." The Head Council, a former General of the Skandinavien Schutz-Staffel, Richter Gustavus, an heir to the Famous Adolphus Gustavus, King of Sweden had made his decision. To war is to make peace. In order for peace to ensue, war must come first. "Bless us, oh God Almighty if you are there."

---

Kingdom of Fenn

There was a rumor that the Germans had been very queasy, or as they say really uncomfortable and unsafe with the fact that they were in the brink of war. They were rumored to have brought some people in to ensure the people's safety, saying that the people won't even realize that there were guardians near them. Guardians who shed blood to save lives. They were called Angels, but with the bloodshed they had fallen from grace.

The purest of lives, came to an abrupt halt and took a dark turn for the better of their people. They said that they were called Fallen Angels. But legends of this had started in 1940s or sixty years ago according to Germany. All of those soldiers had been Angels who had taken fall to shield those who are innocent, willing to shed blood that was sixty years ago. And that tradition has continued its course, none of those Angels had risen back as they continued to serve in the guise of a demon.

The Sword King had watched as death tolls on rapists began to increase suddenly. The victims calling their saviors, Angels. He had heard of this and had questioned Germany, who had no idea what to expect. They told them that it wasn't their idea to bring in some paramilitary force or any military force asides the Navy and some Elitists. The Korp, the Wiking and the Das Reich as they called themselves had not moved from their camp.

The King had dug information about history but what really frightened him was that a lone book in the shelf written by a man that was not named that has served inside a Unit of Angels who had fallen from grace. He called them Fallen Angels, but they were more akin to using the premise of...

Schwarz Engel

And so the Black Angels had arrived and they are not too keen on letting rapists loose on the streets of Fenn.

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Paramilitary Forces of the RSS:

Schwarz Engel - A Rumor spread in the German Lands in 1940, rumors began in the Capital of Berlin before moving to England. Schwarz Engel is a highly versatile group of Paramilitary Forces, will be further explained later. Also inspired the name of the Fa283 or UH-60 Counterpart.

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That's one day and I got another chapter out. Well, to be honest, that's just Copy & Paste, edit things, make them aligned, check for problems and just publish. I'll admit that I also make some scenes out of scratch. Add some exposition, change some scenes with more relevant one like the one where Japan's Prime Minister talks about the Papaldian Empire against the Kingdom of Fenn, that I changed so that the Axis High Council gets some idea of what was going on.

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Reviews:

Stylus Opium:

For the Main Characters, I don't think it would go a bit personal in this story, but I'd just give a separate chapter on how life goes for the characters, since Summoning Japan doesn't revolve around Main Characters and basically focuses on the nation, the military and politics.

But to fully answer the Main Characters. I don't think there will be an MC, since that character who makes contact is stuck with who they came into contact with. The closest I can give is Adler Reichs von Rhine, but he himself won't be meeting that much character, so he's out of the question. I think the actual answer is that there won't be an MC in meeting other people.

UN Peacekeeper:

That's...yeah, that's what going to happen to Papaldia in a nutshell.

Alberto:

(Taken from Google Translate) Gracias amigo. Para responder a su pregunta, probablemente use ambos, considerando que el tamaño de la Armada del Imperio Gra Valkas no se muestra tanto.

Captain Vietnam:

Well, guess Papaldia's gonna be someone's bitch. Also, thanks.

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Next Chapter I think would be the Interlude to the Demon Lord, although...considering Topa is a bit far away, I think that some other nations should have a shot on this Demon Lord instead of Argentina or Germany, probably I'll take a shot on India, although I'm not too familiar on their names, I'll just work a bit slower...