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

12. Axis 9 - Gra Valkas Empire Part 1

Summoning the Greater Axis Pact

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Axis 9 - Gra Valkas Empire Part 1

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One year after the Holy Mirishial Empire visited the Axis—

Second Civilization, Superpower Mu, Eastern Port City Maikal

The sky was clear, the weather wasn't too hot, wasn't too cold, and the smell of the sea was pleasant. Sea birds cried off in the distance. An old man sat watching the port from his chair.

"Maikal sure has changed over the last year," he remarked to the woman next to him.

There were a couple ships anchored at the port: a large tanker flying a white flag with a red sun and a RORO ship. After the renovations finished about half a year ago, the port was now deep enough to support large ships like that tanker. Up on land, there were numerous huge, cylindrical oil tanks standing in rows. On the south side of Maikal, a petrochemical plant had been constructed. Until recently, a plant of that size would have been completely impossible for Mu, but it had just started operations last month.

Now that they knew how to build this kind of state-of-the-art plant, Mu's major corporations had expanded into Maikal and begun widespread construction. Capital investment in Mu was the highest it had ever been, and the unprecedented construction rush continued on without end.

"Isn't that the truth. It's like they're chasing after the Axis; everywhere you look, the scenery's changing. The month after next, apparently the sky will be opening up to private citizens, too."

In order to accommodate the Axis' jumbo jets, the airports that Mu had built in various countries had to have their air traffic control functions overhauled and their sturdy runways further improved and elongated.

"That reminds me, lately you see a lot of Axis cars on the roads."

"They're the best you can get right now, after all."

Mu didn't adopt any protectionist policies, so Axis-national cars were selling like hotcakes to the wealthy. Between the quickly-growing Protected Principality of Qua Toine, the Reichskommissariat Neue-Deutschland that was currently upgrading its infrastructure, and the unending demand for Axis cars in the Third Civilization, Axis factories were at full capacity day in and day out. They couldn't even come close to supplying enough to meet demand, but after the reindustrialization program in which every Axis nation and by that EVERY nation had begun to put out more factories after the fact that the atmosphere had been more...cleaner and with Neue Deutschland being planted with lots of trees. They now don't need to worry about not enough oxygen with more trees and cleaner atmosphere.

Finally, because of the New World Technology Technology Restriction Act, goods could only be made domestically, so capital investment in the Axis was also through the roof.

Every country also had their eyes on Axis' video and telecommunications technology, yearning to set up a government-managed television network and constructing radio towers to help realize that ambition. However, very few countries were equipped to generate electricity, so there were just as many orders for power plants, which also couldn't be fulfilled quickly, resulting in many screams of despair. On top of that, countries in the Third Civilization passed various governmental bill in order to provide support for Axis mobile phones, and many city centers had already begun turning on their networks. Unfortunately, since Axis factories were already operating at maximum capacity, this led to a new, strange fad of deaths due to overwork cropping up all over the country.

That wasn't the end of the construction woes. Port renovation requests were also endless and could not all be fulfilled. In the shipbuilding industry, there were floods of orders for tankers, generating a ten-year waiting list. Even the clothing industry was affected; cloth was being exported in bulk, and both sewing technology and Axis fashion were very popular, so they were the busiest they had ever been in history.

Between the Technology Outflow Ban and their enormous lead in technological advancement, Axis' economy was booming. Their market had made a sharp recovery, stock prices were soaring, and everyone gossiped that all signs pointed towards the current economy easily outstripping the last bubble.

But this also meant that they could spare more money into Military Equipment, Germany had already begun prioritization of the ten Light Cruisers.

---

Gra Valkas Empire, Imperial Capital Ragna

The empire was having an important meeting in order to determine the future of the country.

"We will now commence the imperial audience."

As the announcer declared, the meeting began. All the attendees were already informed of the plan, so this meeting was a final confirmation of everyone's assent.

"Kaisar, Myrkaenes, the international leadership conference will start soon, how are the preparations progressing?"

Emperor Gra Lukas directed this inquiry at the imperial navy eastern fleet commander, Kaisar, and the judgment army commander, Myrkaenes.

""Yes, Your Excellency, all preparations are complete,"" the two answered simultaneously.

"Excellency, with this plan, the native peoples… no, the entire world will be laid low at our feet," praised Chief Mobarl from the Foreign Affairs Bureau with confidence.

"Surely this won't cause us to fall behind the Holy Mirishial Empire, would it? They are purportedly the 'strongest country in the world,' after all."

"It's out of the question for us to fall behind any of these natives. Once you see their weapon design philosophy, you'll understand why that country's been headed in the wrong direction. Nothing in this world can stop us."

"I see. In that case, I approve this endeavor. We're counting on you all!"

The imperial audience ended.

---

Holy Mirishial Empire, Port Town Cartalpas

Cartalpas had extensive port facilities. That was the reason it was chosen to be the location of the 11-country international leadership conference; it could easily accommodate each country's ambassador and their military escorts. The port authorities were keeping tallies on each country as they arrived.

"First Civilization, Torquia Kingdom is arriving! Seven ships-of-the-line and one delegation boat, eight in all!"

"Got it, have Eriahe from the First Civilization greet them."

The ships arriving at the port were assigned an appropriate guide.

"First Civilization, nation of Agarta is nearly here, convoy of six magic ships and two civilian ships."

"Got it."

The port manager, Bronze, loved the leadership conference. All the countries used "escorting our diplomats" as an excuse to roll out their latest warships in a show of strength. To a military fanatic like him, working this event was basically like being at a festival.

"None of them are as impressive as the ships in the zeroth magic fleet, but I digress."

Normally, the only time he would get to see a bunch of warships was when the 0th fleet, which were maintained at a nearby base, assembled each year for a customary, yearly joint training event with some western island countries. And so, Bronze waited with bated breath. For this year's conference, he was most excited to see the ships brought by two countries in particular. One was the militaristic country that took down the western superpower Leifor in the blink of an eye: the Gra Valkas Empire. The other forced the Third Civilization superpower, the Papaldia Empire, to break up into 74 separate countries: the Axis. What kind of ships did they have? He simply couldn't calm his rapidly-beating heart.

That was when the lookouts began causing a ruckus. A gigantic ship, almost as big as a castle, could be seen on the horizon. It only grew in size as it came closer. Even Bronze, who was intimately familiar with the sight of Mirishial's magic ships, could only stare speechlessly, captivated by the majesty of such a beautiful, powerful warship approaching the port.

"The Gra Valkas Empire is arriving, only one ship!"

"Ooh!"

Every person who saw the ship was astonished. It was the pride of Gra Valkas, the world's largest, most powerful warship.

Length: 263.4 meters

Width: 38.9 meters

Displacement: 72,800 tonnes

Propulsion: 150,000 horsepower

The residents of Cartalpas were all completely overwhelmed by the stunning sight.

"The cannons that thing is packing are huge!"

There were three of the 45 caliber, 46 centimeter-barrel triple-gun turrets, the largest cannons in the world, proudly pointing at the horizon. The Gra Valkas Empire's super-dreadnought Grade Atlastar was docking at the Holy Mirishial Empire's Cartalpas port. The enormous warship was so large, so intense that the nearby First Civilization ships, Torquia's ships-of-the-line and Agarta's convoy, looked like toys in comparison. Bronze could only stand there, staring in mute amazement.

"…f! Chief Bronze!"

Having been thoroughly mesmerized by the Eighth Empire's warship, it took the shouts from Bronze's subordinates to bring him to his senses.

"Ah, um, what is it?!"

"The Axis has arrived! They have two cruisers and a passenger ship, three in total!"

The two ships that were sent were basically the German's older Admiral Hipper Class Armored Cruiser and the old P-Class Armored Cruiser, the KMS Admiral Hipper and the KMS Roon that would be paired with her sister of the same namesake. But these two merely packed upgraded 283mm cannons in the place of their former 203mm cannons. The ships were colored in grey with a bit of stripes, but apparently it was still boring. Bronze quickly lost interest in the Axis and turned around to admire Gra Valkas's warship again.

The Axis had no intentions of bringing a full fleet in a look that would seem like it was an invasion, so they just said, "Why bring all ships instead of two that are capable of possibly running away while escorting our passenger ship if the Yamato is closing in? We're not here for war, so we just need to make them think we are weaker than Gra Valkas, boosting the latter's ego and then destroy that ego by crushing that measly ship of theirs?" That mentality was backed up with the fact that they had issued 200 ships to ready

"Hmm, so that's the Grade Atlastar..." Aleksander muttered to himself. "...Lesser than what I initially thought..." But then, they were most technologically advanced compared to Japan, they were still five years from reaching their technical superiority in making Autoloaders into Auto Reloaders, in which they can simply put more shells than a manual, but between clips, the shells can be reloaded to replenish the clip instead of changing the entire clip.

---

Holy Mirishial Empire, Port Town Cartalpas, Imperial Cultural Center

The Imperial Cultural Center was a symbol of prosperity; it was luxurious, gorgeous, and exuded dignity. Aleksander and Wilhelm from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were walking into that very same cultural center, the venue for the international conference. After confirming the location of their seats, they went out to the lobby to drink some tea from their canteens while waiting for the conference to begin. This year's conference would start with a working-level diplomatic meeting. After that, the latter half would be meetings and decision-making between all the foreign affairs leaders.

This would be Germany's first formal appearance on the international stage since being transferred, and there was no doubt this conference would go down in Axis history, so the two men were understandably nervous.

"It'll be starting soon… I wonder if it's going to be like our conferences," Aleksander said to his subordinate Wilhelm.

"I know. This'll be the first time we'll have gone into an international conference without first seeding the bed. Do you think it'll go well, even though we're mostly blind?"

"All we know is that the people who are coming here could have the power to move an entire country."

While they chatted, a group of three people walked up to them. They had rather unique outfits, and they stopped before Aleksander.

"Are you gentlemen perhaps… German?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"I am from the Central World's nation of Agarta, Maggi from the Office of Foreign Affairs. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

He held out his right hand.

"German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Aleksander. It's very nice to meet you."

Aleksander took the outstretched hand and shook it firmly. Maggi grinned amicably.

"Mister Aleksander, it is my honor to meet you. Rumors of the Axis' battle prowess have spread all the way to the Central World. In this world of magic, you have progressed with only the power of science. Even though your country is in the far eastern reaches, outside the civilized areas, you challenged and crushed the Papaldia Empire; truly a land of valiant peoples. Even the superpower Mu, who prioritizes scientific technology, still relies on magic to some extent. However, I have heard that Germany is a curious country that uses science for nearly everything. Based on our perception of life until now, without the use of magic, it is impossible to build up a proper civilization; it may be unjust, but the prejudice of applying a label of 'barbaric' is very strong. However, even without magic, we have heard that Germany is very sophisticated. My nation of Agarta has become extremely interested in your country. We would love to arrange a visit, if that is at all possible."

"Your words are too kind. Indeed, we welcome visitors from Agarta at any time. In addition, this is Germany's first time experiencing this kind of international conference. We will be relying on your lead here," Aleksander replied smilingly.

The eleven-country leadership conference will begin momentarily. We ask all attendees to please find their seats.

At this announcement, Aleksander and Wilhelm went to find their seats.

Fifteen minutes later~

The eleven-country leadership conference will now commence.

In the Imperial Cultural Center's meeting hall, the announcer declared the kickoff of the conference. This would be where the direction of the world would be decided (or at least the area considered to be "the world" by these countries), and this conference included nearly every country currently receiving attention and scrutiny around the world. The conference was scheduled to last for about a week. It was a great honor to be invited to participate, and all participating countries, except one, would become known as powerful, world-influencing forces.

Germany was attending this time, but they were not yet a yearly participant. Both they and the Gra Valkas Empire would need to be approved at this conference in order to become regular attendees. The Papaldia Empire lost an enormous amount of national power, and Leifor was nearly erased from existence, so, the only regular attendees were currently the following:

The magic-based Holy Mirishial Empire (Central World) The land of dragonfolk, the Eimor Kingdom (Central World) Mu, the nation of science (Second Civilization)

Alongside these three countries, the other attendees at this year's conference were:

Gra Valkas Empire (outside civilized areas, west of Second Civilization)

Germany (outside civilized areas, east of Third Civilization, Axis Alliance)

Torquia Kingdom (Central World)

Nation of Agarta (Central World)

Magycaraihi Collective (Second Civilization)

Nigrado Union (Second Civilization)

The Great Magic Duchy of Pandora (Third Civilization)

The Empire of Anionnrial (outside civilized areas, southern regions)

Only the most powerful countries had been gathered, so once the conference began, the atmosphere in the meeting hall became tense.

Aleksander looked around. There were many representatives of other races aside from humans, so he keenly felt that this really was another world.

An emissary from Eimor raised his hand. The coordinator called on him, granting him permission to speak. Even though they only had a population of a million, the dragonfolk country still carried the title of world superpower. The Eimorsh emissary stood up. He boasted a height of two meters, red hair, red eyes, and two horns growing from his head.

"I am Moriaul from the Eimor Kingdom. I have a message to convey to you all. This is a very grave matter, so please, listen well."

The hall quieted down.

"Recently, we conducted a divination of space."

Eimor's space divination was known to be extremely accurate, so all the representatives were eager to listen.

"What we have learned is… the resurrection of the ancient sorcerous empire, the Empire of Ravannar, will soon be upon us."

!

The temperature in the room instantly dropped.

"How… How could this be!"

"If the legends are all true, then we have no means to resist them!"

The hall erupted in panicked chatter. Moriaul continued speaking.

"Because of a distortion in space, we don't have precise information on when or where it will be, but, from our calculations, we predict that they will reappear somewhere in the world sometime between four to seventeen years from now. How much we are able to resist them, how true the legends are, both are unknown. However, we do know, from the tales that have been passed down and from their ruins that have been excavated, that their civilization is advanced beyond imagination. We implore all countries here not to engage in needless conflict, strengthen your militaries, and for the world to unite in order to prepare for the return of the Empire of Ravannar."

Whispered discussions broke out throughout the hall, and various ambassadors were nodding their heads fervently. The sound of laughter suddenly rose up from among the crowd, and it came from a single woman in her late twenties.

"Heheheh… Haaaahahaha!"

Many of the people in the hall looked at her with accusing eyes.

"Oh my, that was rude of me. I'm from the Gra Valkas Empire's Foreign Affairs Bureau, the eastern otherworld division chief Cielia. I don't know anything about a 'sorcery empire' or whatever, but the fact that you natives are all scared of some old fossils just amazes me. In the first place, you put together this huge international conference, and the first thing we hear is some fortune telling? And the one saying it is what this world considers a 'superpower' country? Gimme a break. Our empire stomped all over Leifor and, as weak as they were, they also had this 'superpower' title, I hear. 'International conference' my ass…"

"How dare you! You're just a newcomer! You speak above your station!" the ambassador of Torquia, Eimor's close ally, shouted.

'Hmm, a grave news? Perhaps...but if what we found is true...' Ravernal was not by any means invincible nor hard to defeat, a few well put Nuclear Strike would mean the end for them, so...it was of no big consequence for them to even hold more of their Military Strength.

Moriaul did not look perturbed in the least. "So you are from the new country, the Gra Valkas Empire, huh. If I recall correctly, yours is a nation of humans who know not of magic. Humans with low magical power certainly enjoy vomiting out meaningless words. We hold no expectations for those of your ilk."

"Subhumans like you don't even understand the true power of science… Our empire has no use for your palm readings."

"You call us subhuman, below humans?! We are a nation of dragonfolk, you churl!"

The venue dissolved into mayhem while the coordinator tried to calm things down.

"This is a pretty crazy conference, unlike ours," Aleksander remarked to Wilhelm.

"You said it. Compared the Axis, it's unbelievable how little progress has been made since it started."

The two men from Germany simply observed the chaos in mild amusement. Once the hall finally quieted down, Mu was given the floor.

"My country of Mu has submitted a statement of censure against the Gra Valkas Empire here at the international leadership conference. We would like to enforce two years of economic sanctions against them for their large-scale invasion of the Irnatea Kingdom's capital city of Kirkuls. While the two countries were indeed at war, in this case, their actions were clearly excessive. If we do not curb their behavior, it is very possible that the entire world order will crumble."

Next, the Holy Mirishial Empire requested the floor.

"Indeed, the Gra Valkas Empire's actions are eroding the balance of the world. If they continue their conquest across the Second Civilization, the Holy Mirishial Empire will have no choice but to intervene. We agree with Mu's proposal and further request that the Gra Valkas Empire immediately withdraw from all Second Civilization lands."

When the country recognized as strongest in the world threatened to step in, the people there to hear it found themselves shuddered violently, more than willing to bend to Mirishial's will. Everyone turned to catch the response from the beautiful Gra Valkan diplomat, Cielia. She seemed unfazed.

"First of all, I have only one thing to say. Our empire did not come to this conference to contribute an opinion or anything. This was a gathering of the most influential countries in this region, so we came to make an announcement. In the name of Emperor Gra Lukas of the Gra Valkas Empire, we hereby declare to all you bastards: obey us. To those who pledge loyalty to our empire, we promise eternal prosperity. However, those who do not obey will be shown no mercy. Silence will be taken as dissent. So now, let me ask. Right here, right now, will any country swear loyalty?"

For a second, there was only silence.

"Is this woman delusional?"

"What garbage!"

"Stupid barbarian, babbling like a fool."

Her sudden, nonsensical ultimatum was met with a storm of harsh retorts. As the room filled up with clamor, the angry shouts started to mix into wordless aggression.

"As we thought, no one's gonna submit right now. Well, of course you wouldn't. The emperor is generous, though. If you must wait to first witness our might, he does not mind. When the time comes, visit my bureau in Leifor. Heh, your countries might be nursing some broken bones by that point, though. Well then, you filthy natives, you've certainly gotten our message!"

In the middle of the international leadership conference, the ambassador from the Gra Valkas Empire exited the room. As she left the port entirely, the first day of the conference ended.

Days left in the conference: 6.

---

Holy Mirishial Empire, western islands

Mirishial's 0th magic fleet was currently out training in the islands. In some parts of these waters, visibility was very bad. There were three magic warships, two armored cruisers, three magic gunboats, and eight other accompanying ships, a fleet of sixteen. This was the grand fleet said to have no equal in this world, and they made great efforts to maintain their high standards through training exercises that closely resembled live combat.

"Huh?"

The observer watching the magic detector noticed numerous human-level signals coming from the ocean and quickly closing in on their location.

"These… These must be—!"

If these were Mu's mechanical ships, that would explain why stronger signals didn't appear on the magic detector. With all those people gathered together moving at high speeds, he was convinced that this was some kind of attack. He quickly called it in to his superiors.

"Objects on the detector! From the north, closing in fast, I think they're Mu's mechanical ships! Twenty-seven knots, sixty kilometers away, my guess based on the signals is two warships, three heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, five smaller ships, total twelve enemy ships approaching our fleet! Ah, now they've accelerated to twenty-nine knots!"

"What did you say?! Twenty-nine knots?! Mu shouldn't be able to reach that speed… meaning… is it Gra Valkas? All hands, man battle stations! All hands, battle stations! Unknown fleet approaching! This is not a drill! I repeat: This is NOT a drill!"

The Holy Mirishial Empire's 0th magic fleet, lauded as the strongest fleet in the world, hurried to prepare for hostilities with an unknown group.

---

Central World, Holy Mirishial Empire, western islands, 0th Magic Fleet

Above decks, the warning alarm wailed in the middle of the fleet's training. They had detected an unknown fleet closing in on their position, so everyone hurried to prepare for combat.

"The unknown fleet is accelerating, they're now traveling at 30.5 knots."

"No magic power detected in the sky."

"Support has been requested from our air force currently stationed in the islands. We can only rely on forces already here, so just twenty-five friendly aircraft. They'll arrive over the fleet in fifteen minutes."

Reports came in one after another to Fleet Commander Ultema on board the 0th Fleet's flagship, the Mithril-class battleship Eckes. He turned to speak to the ship's captain, Infere, standing next to him.

"What do you think?"

It was a curt question, which held the meaning just give it to me straight.

"Yes, sir. We believe that this fleet of unknown origins belongs to the Gra Valkas Empire. While there are only two warships, they're traveling at 30.5 knots, a speed we had trouble believing from the report. Clearly, they are much stronger than Mu. On our side, we have three newly-produced warships, ones that are not at all worse than Mu's mechanically-driven ships. If there is one point of concern, it's that if the enemy also has mechanical aircraft, then a vehicle like that with only a single person on board will not appear on the magic detector until it gets very close, which is troubling. We are at a disadvantage when the enemy's planes can easily communicate with their fleet."

On the horizon (unlike Earth's, the distance to the horizon was greater than 19 km), they could already see clouds of smoke coming from the enemy's ships.

"Look at them, spewing all that garbage into the air; not even a speck of elegance. How pitiful. Those barbarians from outside the civilized areas defeated Leifor, and now they've grown overconfident. It's one thing to beat their chests in front of other countries in a show of strength, it's another to launch a surprise attack on the strongest country in the world, the Holy Mirishial Empire… not only that, but they're attacking the Zeroth Magic Fleet, where we have all the most advanced ships; they're really asking for it. We may even trounce them untouched. Sink all of their ships, they can all be shark bait!"

Fleet Commander Ultema blazed with determination to face the unknown fleet.

---

Gra Valkas Empire, Imperial Judgment Force

In order to launch an attack on the self-proclaimed "strongest in the world," the Holy Mirishial Empire's 0th Magic Fleet, the Gra Valkas Empire's judgment force traveled south. Having cut the distance to the enemy fleet down to 50 km, morale was flying high. There were two high-speed battleships, three heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and five destroyers, a total of twelve ships ripping through the seas, swaths of dark black smoke belching out of their funnels, aiming straight for their victims. As a group, they blew through the water at 30.5 knots (56 km/h), an incredible speed that would floor any native resident of this world.

Within the flagship, the galaxy-class battleship Betel, Fleet Commander Artemis and Captain Beegel stood side by side, conversing.

"The enemy severely outnumbers us. Can we win?"

"We're picking a fight with the so-called 'strongest fleet in the world.' Based on our intel, our ships will not fall behind in terms of firepower. With only this much military strength, after we crush them, there will be nothing else in this world that could possibly match up to us. Despite them being our first opponents here, and knowing I have no basis for such a statement, that is still how I truly feel."

"You may be right; the Grade Atlastar, though it may be our empire's greatest warship, was able to single-handedly demolish an entire enemy country, one known as a 'superpower' in this world. Lightning could strike again with us. Well, we also shouldn't let our guards down, but…"

"Report!" the radar operator called out, ending the discussion. "Anti-air radar has detected enemy aircraft coming from the islands, twenty-five total! They're heading for our fleet. They'll be arriving in the fleet's airspace in seventeen minutes!"

"Prepare for anti-air combat! All destroyers are to take the lead! Launch torpedoes at the enemy fleet!"

The destroyers began to generate even more thick smoke as they raced to the front of the formation. On the previously-quiet ocean, the surroundings underwent a complete change as the Gra Valkan ships raced across the surface, black smoke trailing and engines roaring. The judgment force charged forward like raging bulls, aiming right at Mirishial's 0th Fleet.

---

Underneath the clear blue sky, three of Mirishial's elegant, beautiful warships cut through the waves as they moved forward. They each sported three pairs of magic cannons in the front, all proudly pointed at the distant horizon. These ships' bridges jutted out into the sky, showing off their design projecting beauty and strength.

"Our air force, the Beta-2s, will arrive in the enemy's airspace soon. Furthermore, they have not detected any enemy aircraft. As soon as they're in position, we will commence attack."

---

Squad Captain Omega, on board a multipurpose aircraft, was nervous. The prevailing mindset in the Holy Mirishial Empire was that anti-ship warfare was to be conducted primarily with large cannons, so they'd been taught that they could not engage warships or attempt to sink them while piloting aircraft. There had never been a case in all of history where an aircraft successfully sank a magic ship (although there were examples in the past of ships-of-the-line without anti-air measures being sunk by aircraft); at best, all their attacks could do was provide ancillary support—that was what Omega believed. Therefore, he focused solely on getting off a single attack on the enemy's ships.

The multipurpose Beta-2s stationed on the islands suddenly dropped from the air to begin their bombing run. For the Holy Mirishial Empire, who had no rivals on their level, they believed this would be enough to repulse them.

"Take this! You'll regret picking a fight with the Holy Mirishial Empire!" Omega bellowed.

The Beta-2's magical light discharge-type compressed air engine let out a shrill noise as it soared in the skies over the enemy fleet at 410 km/h before, at once, all twenty-five planes turned then dove at a 50° angle, their bellies holding 520 kg of magic explosives ready to fall on their targets.

"Huh?"

Beads of light began flying up into the air from the enemy ships.

"Anti-air bullets of light, huh."

The number of light bullets steadily increased until they could no longer be considered harmless. Suddenly, a burst of black smoke blossomed from the plane diving right in front of him.

"It exploded?!"

He passed the friendly aircraft, which was riddled with holes, its wings in tatters. It went into a tailspin. From what he could make out from the fuselage as it fell, the cockpit was dyed completely red.

"That's impossible! Those bullets can cause explosions just by touching us!"

The sheer number of light bullets had grown mercilessly, and they rushed at the Beta-2s all at once. They weren't closing in on the enemy fleet at all; those ships, right before their eyes, felt so, so far away. A friendly plane fell, then another.

"Dammit! There's too many light bullets!"

They were being assaulted by a rain of light. The number of planes decreased; 80% of them made it through to the bombing point. Finally, they were at the right altitude to release their bombs.

"Drop!"

They aimed for the largest target, an enemy warship, and let go of their explosive cargo. Somehow completing their mission, the surviving planes' noses abruptly pulled up and they withdrew from the battlefield.

HYUUUuuu…!

The whistle of the bombs pierced through the stage of war, falling right at the ship below. The Gra Valkan warship turned to its left and attempted to evade. The bombs hit the surface of the ocean, letting out their destructive force underwater. The pressure broke through to the air, creating gigantic pillars of water. Black smoke also began spilling from the enemy ship.

"Bombing report. One enemy ship hit, five planes lost."

The enemy ship continued to advance despite being on fire.

"It does not appear to have been damaged enough to be incapacitated."

"As we thought, aircraft cannot sink warships," the fleet commander muttered to himself, eyeing the Gra Valkan fleet suspiciously. "Captain, they've put their smaller ships in front, what are they playing at? Smaller ships naturally only get smaller caliber cannons, what could they possibly do?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe they're trying to draw our fire."

"The enemy will be in firing range momentarily."

The cannons on the Mirishial battleships Eckes, Gulliver, and Variant, all pointed diagonally upwards, began to move. The main guns rotated solemnly, aiming at the enemy ships, locking in place once they were in position.

"Distance to enemy ships: thirty-four kilometers. They are within maximum range of the main guns."

"Begin simultaneous firing once they're within thirty kilometers."

"Yes, sir!"

The naval battle between the 0th Magic Fleet and the fleet belonging to the Gra Valkas Empire's Judgment Force was about to kick off.

---

Gra Valkas Empire, Imperial Judgment Force

Fleet Commander Artemis glared out at the ocean. The enemy force's bombing attack had hit their flagship, dampening the soldiers' spirits. The good news was that they hit the hardest part of the ship and only the uppermost structure was destroyed, which was considered minor damage. Its combat capabilities would not be affected.

"First off, let's show off the range of the empire's weapons. Ready the main guns! Begin firing in sequence once they're in range!"

The battleship Betel had a 45 caliber, 35.6 cm-barrel double-gun installed in the front of the ship, which boasted a maximum range of 35,450 meters. It was raised to the highest possible firing angle of 43°.

"FIRE—!"

The battleships Betel and Geas began firing. Giant clouds of black smoke formed as giant cannonballs launched into the air, the recoil causing the ships to rock on the water.

"Impact in one minute and thirteen seconds!" the ship's observer called out. "…Five, four, three, two, one… now!"

Four massive columns of water sprouted into the air near a Mirishial warship.

"No direct hits, adjusting angle of fire."

The imperial judgment force had fired its first salvo on the Holy Mirishial Empire.

---

0th Magic Fleet

Out of nowhere, the light of ignition sparked from the enemy ships, evidence that they had fired their main guns. They were still 32 kilometers away.

"Wh—! What the hell! They're firing at this distance?!"

"They're still out of range of our furthest-reaching cannons!"

"Magic support! Reinforce armor!"

The warship was enveloped in a faint light. About 100 meters away from the ship, they saw gigantic pillars of water grow from the sea. The size of the pillars spoke to the destructive power of the cannonfire. However, the points of impact appeared to be quite scattered.

"Their aim's pretty rough. Release the reinforcement! Ready the main guns!"

"Yes sir! Prepping main guns!"

"Begin fueling—seventy-two percent explosive, twenty-eight percent fire. Start up the shell's magic circuit."

"Magic circuit activation complete."

"The spell circuit is currently filling at a ratio of eighty-two to sixteen, explosive to fire. Magic power fueling at seventy, eighty, ninety, one hundred percent. Shell fueling is complete."

"Main gun fuse circuit, initiating fueling… seventy, eighty, ninety, one hundred percent. Main gun fuse circuit fueling complete."

"Main gun, firing preparations complete. Range calculations based on the magic detector complete. Setting angle of elevation at thirty-one degrees, adjusting left to twenty-two degrees. Probability of a direct hit on the first volley with three targets, twenty-three percent between eighteen shells. Ten seconds before firing, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, fire!"

The three most advanced Mirishial warships fired their shells accompanied by thunderous explosions. These shells, bestowed with explosive magic, boasted the most firepower in the world. Cloaked in blue light, they jetted up into the sky like rockets. Drawing a smooth parabola in the air, they flew forward 30 kilometers to bring destruction down on their target. The enemy attempted evasive maneuvers.

"Eight seconds to impact, six, five, four, three, two, one, now!"

The detonation spell activated, releasing all that stored magic power; they could feel the shockwave. A pillar of water rose up near the enemy ships.

"No direct hits, lowering angle of elevation four degrees, readjusting left to twenty-seven degrees. Magic power fueling for the next shell is complete. Main gun fuse circuit fueling at eighty, ninety, one hundred percent. Main gun fuse circuit fueling complete. Probability of a direct hit has increased by forty-two percent, seven seconds until firing, five, four, three, two, one, fire!"

Having finished reloading faster than the enemy, Mirishial's magic ships fired their main guns again.

"How do you like that?!"

Fleet Commander Ultema stared, unblinking, at the ocean, his heart in his mouth. While the magic shells were still in the air, the enemy's ships let off puffs of smoke. It appeared their mechanical ships had just fired their main guns as well.

"Enemy fire incoming!"

"Damn! Magic support! Reinforce armor again!"

The warship was once again covered with a pale light.

"Miss!" Ultema cried, almost like a prayer.

The waters near the enemy ships once again exploded in violent splashes. Following the shockwave from a hit from one of the shells, flames lit up one of the ships.

"We have a direct hit!"

"Ooh!"

The enemy ship that was hit let off a big explosion, then quickly began to lose speed.

"Their engines must have taken damage. After their shells fly past us, we're pursuing them!"

They believed that cannon shells weren't liable to hit them so easily, but no one ever knew what would happen on the battlefield, so the mood was still fraught with nervous tension. Suddenly, 500 meters to their left, a giant column of water appeared near the Gold-class battleshield Variant, and along with it there was a fierce fire and black smoke mixed in.

"Battleship Variant has been hit! We think they were damaged near their waterline!"

The Variant was taking on a lot of water from the hole in its side and its speed began to flag.

"Dammit! Even with their armor reinforced, they still took damage! The enemy's firepower is even on par with our most advanced magic cannon firepower, it seems."

The two fleets were now only ten kilometers apart.

"The enemy's small ships are changing direction! They seem to be withdrawing."

"What?! Those little ships may not be useful in battle, but why are they changing course now? Weren't they supposed to draw our fire?" Ultema asked Captain Infere.

"I have no idea, I really cannot think of any explanation for their actions."

"Well, whatever. Focus our attacks on that slow ship! Finish it off!"

Mirishial's 0th Magic Fleet kept up the pressure on the damaged ship from Gra Valkas's judgment force, the battleship Geas. The two fleets' shooting match continued. After taking twelve hits from battleship guns and seven from heavy cruiser guns, the Geas sank with a flashy explosion.

"Enemy ship sunk!"

Cheers went up at the announcement.

"The enemy fleet is turning around! They seem to be withdrawing."

"Well done, it's our victory! But, we didn't get off scot free…"

Fleet Commander Ultema wanted a damage report. A win was a win, but their pride as the strongest in the world was shattered from that scuffle.

Enemy ships sunk: battleship – 1, heavy cruiser – 1, small ship – 1 Heavy damage: heavy cruiser – 1 Moderate damage: light cruiser – 1 Minor damage: numerous Holy Mirishial Empire Ships sunk: auxiliary ship (small) – 1 Heavy damage: battleship – 1, heavy cruiser – 1, magic ship – 1 Moderate damage: magic ship – 1 Minor damage: numerous

"For our elite fleet to have taken this much damage… the Gra Valkas Empire is not to be underestimated."

Seeing these results after facing off against a country from outside the civilized areas, the only way to word it was: a complete disgrace.

"! We've detected an abnormality over the ocean! Something is coming towards us!"

At the observer's frantic yell, everyone turned their heads to look out to sea. There were a bunch of white streaks churning through the water, heading straight for the heavily-damaged battleship Variant.

"Oh… Oh no!"

The streaks plunged straight into the Variant, and a huge explosion of water went up at its side. The torpedoes launched by the Gra Valkas Empire's destroyers all hit the Variant, blowing holes into the bottom of the ship, quickly consigning it to the ocean floor.

"Those… Those bastards!"

Fleet Commander Ultema's record was now stained with the humiliation of losing a ship.

"They'll… They'll pay for this!"

"! We're detecting something else! Numerous machine-type aircraft are converging on the fleet! There… are… two hundred of them! They're already only fifty kilometers away!"

They looked up to the sky. They could see black dots peppering the blue sky, slowly going up in number.

"Prepare anti-air measures! Shoot them down!"

The Holy Mirishial Empire's 0th Magic Fleet hurriedly readied their anti-air weaponry.

---

Gra Valkas Empire, Imperial Judgment Force

"They were just supposed to be reconnaissance in force, but they sure got their asses handed to them. When we get back, I'll have a hell of a report to write up," Fleet Commander Artemis grimaced.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, but, even knowing this is another world, the one who ordered us to face off with the strongest force in the world with only this much was Commander Myrkaenes. Furthermore, we were ordered to use these outdated warships. Everyone was against it, but the commander wanted to know what we could do even with this handicap. He was repeatedly advised that we would not have sufficient military strength. Fleet Commander, none of the fault lies with you."

"Hmm, you're right, my apologies Captain. Next, the Imperial Navy Eastern Fleet will be sending out their carriers to engage. If what we saw was the extent of their capabilities, that Mirishial fleet won't stand a chance."

Flying in from the north, the Gra Valkas Empire Imperial Navy Eastern Fleet sent their carriers' primary attack squadron of 200 combat aircraft to eliminate the Holy Mirishial Empire's 0th Magic Fleet.

---

Holy Mirishial Empire, 0th Magic Fleet

Upon hearing the lookout's report, Fleet Commander Ultema looked up. It was a pleasant, clear sky; it'd be ideal if it weren't for the tiny speckles invading the picture, like a beautiful painting with flecks of black ink dropped onto it. Those gnats gradually grew, both in number and in size.

"There sure are a lot of 'em… what do we have for air cover?"

"…Eleven aircraft. This is a pretty remote area, so there are only Beta-2s out here."

The anti-ship, anti-ground, air supremacy multipurpose Beta-2 was considered a powerful combat aircraft in this world. Although its superior performance outstripped all other contenders, because they were now facing the Gra Valkas Empire's aircraft, who appeared to have comparable military strength, it was hard not to be worried. Since these islands were quite remote, there's no way they would have access to the combat-focused version of the Floating Ship of the Heavens.

"If only we had some of our latest planes, the Alpha-3, here…"

Going up against so many enemy aircraft, he couldn't help worrying over how few friendly aircraft they had.

"Commander, we still haven't lost any warships to the enemy. You needn't be so worried."

"Thank you for the reminder."

Fleet Commander Ultema pushed away his anxiety and continued watching the sky.

—

---

Holy Mirishial Empire, airspace above the 0th Magic Fleet

The high-pitched trill of the magical light discharge-type compressed air engine reverberated inside the aircraft. His breathing was raspy, a reminder that he was nervous.

In the naval skirmish earlier, unbelievably, the empire's ships had taken damage. In recent years, no country had been able to even set foot on the empire's soil, and the world's number two, their ally Mu, would never betray them.

Squad Captain Omega, a Beta-2 pilot, found sweat dripping down his face when he imagined facing a powerful enemy the likes of which they had never seen. His heart was beating like a drum.

They had no idea what strategy this enemy would employ. Hypothetically, if they were facing Mu, military leadership had determined that the best course of action would be to leverage their superior speed and adopt guerrilla hit-and-run tactics; Omega himself agreed with this assessment. Considering it again, regardless of how powerful their enemy was, the hit-and-run maneuvers they'd practiced countless times would be the best choice here.

The eleven Beta-2s, led by Squad Captain Omega, began to climb. It appeared that some of the enemy aircraft were also turning in order to rise.

"Wh…What?!"

About forty enemy aircraft had left their formation, flown out well in front of the air fleet, then also ascended in turn. Their speed far surpassed the Beta-2, Mirishial's multipurpose combat version of the Floating Ship of the Heavens.

"It can't be… Their movement capabilities surpass ours?!"

With his exceptional eyesight, he noticed that those forty planes had a different shape than the rest of the enemy fleet.

"Are those… aircraft specialized for air superiority?!"

They probably were, which meant that the remaining planes were most likely meant for anti-ship combat. Given the number of planes for each task, and granted their outstanding performance specs, he lost all hope of returning alive.

"At the very least, we can take some out and lighten the load on our allies!"

He flipped on the switch for his magic communicator.

"Ignore those forty planes that flew out front! Keep climbing until we're twenty kilometers from the enemy, then fall on their main air fleet with hit-and-run attacks. We're gonna swoop down right into their formation!"

""Roger!""

The squadron of eleven kept flying higher as they closed in on the enemy. Aiming to bomb their formation, as soon as they were 20 km away, they dived sharply from their extremely-high altitude. Their magic engines left blinding blue light in their wakes as they were pushed to their limits. Inside, the only things the pilots could hear were the sound of the plane slicing through the air and the high-pitched whine of the engine.

"Tch! Here they come!"

The enemy's air superiority combat aircraft swarmed towards them, shortening the distance between them swiftly.

"Sorry friends, while you're coming after us, those bombers you should be protecting are wide open!"

Squad Captain Omega glared at them.

"Wh—?!"

The enemy's bombers had also begun to dive. They should have noticed that we were aiming for them… But they're completely ignoring us!

The Beta-2's top speed was 410 km/h, and by adding in acceleration due to gravity it could go even faster. Even if it was an older model, the multipurpose Beta-2 would of course easily be able to catch up to the enemy's aircraft, which all still carried their explosive payloads.

"Huh?!"

The distance to the enemy bombers just wasn't shrinking at all.

"This… This can't be happening!"

The seventy Sirius-class carrier-based bombers belonging to the Gra Valkas Empire's Eastern Fleet dove straight for Mirishial's 0th Magic Fleet right below them.

---

Holy Mirishial Empire, 0th Magic Fleet, Mithril-class battleship Eckes

"Anti-air magic light cannon automatic spellchant complete, fueling at seventy, eighty, ninety, one hundred percent, rapid-fire configuration complete! Spell composition is fourteen explosive, sixty-five wind, twenty-one fire. Anti-air magic light cannon firing preparations are complete!"

A number of cylindrical objects were pointing up into the air on the Mithril-class battleship Eckes. Their mouths glowed a faint red from the little spherical grains that were being sucked up into the barrels.

"Commence anti-air attacks!"

"Fire anti-air cannons!"

Every ship in the 0th Magic Fleet began firing small, fast balls of light into the air. A glowing carpet of light rose up to meet the Gra Valkas Empire's diving bombers. However, while it may have looked like an extraordinary counterattack, because the diving planes were so fast, not many of them were actually hitting.

"It doesn't appear to be very effective."

Fleet Commander Ultema observed the barrage impatiently. The noise from the Gra Valkan dive bombers' engines and propellers merged to create an extreme, high-pitched Doppler sound effect, which inspired an involuntary fear.

"Incoming enemy fire!"

Streams of tracer ammunition flowed from the falling aircraft at the battleship. The sound of metal on metal permeated the air as the machine gun bullets bounced off the ship's thick armor.

HYUUUuuu…

"They're bombing us! We're right under them!"

"Hard to starboard!"

The battleship's course slowly changed. It looked like they would avoid a direct hit.

HYUUUuuu…

HYUUUuuu…

HYUUUuuu…

More bombs fell.

"They're still bombing! We can't avoid this one! It's gonna hit us!" the lookout reported with a shriek.

"All hands, brace for impact!"

There was a blinding flash on top of the Eckes. The bomb unleashed all of its compressed firepower, a violent explosion of searing flame, causing the surrounding sea to shake from sheer force. The large battleship rocked back and forth.

"Damage in the rear! A fire has broken out!"

"Put out that fire!"

The Eckes's bulky armor on the rear end of the ship caused the 250 kg Gra Valkan explosive to erupt on contact. The shockwave swept violently across the top of the ship, causing damage to its superstructure.

"The anti-air magic light cannons in the rear have taken heavy damage! The barrels on our secondary armaments are bent, they're unusable!"

Another bomb that landed in the water nearby exploded, causing an enormous pillar of water to erupt into the air.

"Two enemy aircraft were shot down!"

Hearing that so few planes were destroyed, Fleet Commander Ultema ground his teeth in frustration as sweat kept beading on his forehead.

—

---

Mithril-class battleship Eckes, on deck

"Dammit! Their planes are way faster than we thought!"

Ashiant, an anti-air gunner, watched the unbelievable enemy planes in panic. The number of light pellets they launched into the air was tremendous—it was almost like rain falling up—barely any hit the enemy planes. Bombs kept dropping one after another, and the damage to their fleet steadily accumulated as they did.

"No way in hell I'm gonna die here!"

The Holy Mirishial Empire was often called the world's strongest, and he was on board a cutting-edge Mithril-class battleship. It wouldn't do for the flagship Eckes, reputed to be unsinkable, to find itself in an inferior position.

While a cacophony of explosions burst all around him, he carefully aimed an anti-air cannon at an enemy plane and fired. The magic bullet he let loose hit the wing of the plane, blasting it right off.

"Yes! Take that!"

The plane then released its bomb.

"Look out!" someone yelled.

Ashiant craned his neck to look even higher up in the sky. It looked like there were black dots just hovering up there. What were those? If he remembered correctly… it was mentioned in class… He kept trying to think of it. While the bombs fell onto the fleet, he thought back to what he had learned in those tactics lessons, about those black things high up in the air…

"Oh, shit!"

He suddenly came to his senses and frantically ran for cover. Unfortunately, a Gra Valkan 250 kg bomb hit the deck of the battleship Eckes just then, and the gunner Ashiant was sent off to the afterlife in a burst of brilliant light.

—

---

Mithril-class battleship Eckes, bridge

A column of flame flared up over the ocean along with the resounding boom of an explosion. Inside the ship, reports on the fleet's status and damage to their own ship continued pouring in.

"The port side anti-air cannon has been damaged! The distance measurement device is broken!"

"Battleship Culliver has been hit, a fire has broken out!"

"Light cruiser Silver has been hit, they've been severely damaged!"

For Fleet Commander Ultema, all the reports pointed at the 0th Magic Fleet's situation worsening minute by minute.

"…This is not good."

Ultema turned to speak to Captain Infere. "Some of our ships have taken too much damage. While none of the battleships have been sunk yet, I cannot say our current situation is promising. Regardless of the fact that these are not Mirishial's waters, our biggest problem is that we cannot request air cover. The Fourth and Fifth Fleets are already on their way here, but there's no way they'll make it in time for the real fight."

"How do we hold out longer…"

"Sir!" A magic detector technician cried in alarm, interrupting their talk. "Magic power detected at extremely low altitudes! Port 35 degrees! Fo… Forty-five kilometers out! Eighty-two of them!"

"What?! They're already so close! All hands, anti-air battle stations!"

Ultema carefully scanned the skies off the port side.

—

---

The Gra Valkas Empire's Rigel torpedo bombers skimmed a tight 20 meters above sea level at a speed of 370 km/h. The 82 aircraft each carried an 800 kg torpedo. Their mission was to annihilate the fleet extolled as the world's strongest, the Holy Mirishial Empire's 0th Magic Fleet. High up in the sky, the Antares carrier-based fighter planes had already shot down all of the enemy planes, and the enemy fleet was already smoking from the multiple bombings. While it was possible to drop the torpedoes outside the range of the enemy battleships' anti-air coverage, in order to guarantee they hit, it was necessary to be much closer, so everyone in the wing was quite nervous.

"Thirty seconds until we reach the torpedo drop point!"

The enemy anti-air fire was now going to be aimed at them; they could tell, since the ship started to turn. Fear and death were inextricably connected, and Squad Leader Paschim was determined to return alive. Inside the plane, the star-shaped engine roared, making it vibrate so hard that anyone calling it a smooth ride would immediately be called a liar.

"Twenty seconds!"

Anti-air projectiles were now flying towards them. There was a lot of it, especially considering that there were no tracers, but it appeared they wouldn't explode after missing their targets like Gra Valkan proximity fuzes did either. However, they did burst on contact, and one plane had already been shot down.

The fact that this world had a country capable of shooting down one of the Imperial Navy's aircraft actually startled him immensely, but when it came to the actual battle, the difference between the two countries' military capabilities was just too much, and Gra Valkas had the upper hand.

They were constantly being fed instructions via radio. "…Four, three, two, one, drop!"

Forty of the Rigel torpedo bombers successfully dropped their payloads. Because the wing was so large, that turned into an amazing number of torpedo trails. Having lost its 800 kg cargo, the plane suddenly felt a lot lighter. Squad Leader Paschim was able to escape Mirishial's anti-air net and retreat out of their range.

—

---

Holy Mirishial Empire, 0th Magic Fleet flagship, battleship Eckes

The anti-air magic light cannons kept firing into the distance, but they weren't very successful in hitting the low-flying enemy aircraft. However, while they looked like they were going on a bombing run, they ended up abandoning their payloads into the sea before they got in range then withdrew.

"What the hell did they want to do?" Cait muttered to himself while keeping watch from the upper decks.

There were a lot of enemy planes. Mirishial's light cannons could certainly shoot out a staggering number of bullets, but when thinking of the destructive potential of bombs, for the enemy to simply throw them away and flee felt like something else must be going on.

"Did they just wimp out, I guess?"

With that doubt gnawing at his mind while he basked in the excited battlefield atmosphere, he looked out at the sea and noticed something, something that made him look again in panic.

"What? What are those?!"

Dozens of "somethings" were zooming in the ocean, leaving trails of white in their wakes.

"That's… impossible!"

He suddenly remembered the Gold-class battleship Variant and the last attack that had hit it. A second later, he hurriedly shouted into his magic communicator.

—

---

Bridge—

"A bunch of somethings are coming right at us! They look just like whatever sunk the Variant! Thirty-seven degrees off the left side, a thousand meters away!"

They could be seen clearly from the bridge—the lines of bubbles left behind as the torpedoes sped toward the flagship Eckes. There were so many of them that whether they accelerated or decelerated, steered to starboard or to port, some number of them would definitely hit.

The Eckes's captain, Infere, yelled out urgently, "They're gonna hit! Magic response! Reinforce armor!"

"Magic circuits to maximum! Focus all magic power to port! Eighteen seconds until reinforcement is complete!"

The Eckes was wrapped in a faint blue light. With all the magic power being poured into the reinforcement, the shield rang like an alloy, becoming as hard as metal.

"Armor reinforcement complete! Enemy's underwater attack will hit in twelve seconds!"

Sweat surfaced on Captain Infere's forehead. The Gold-class battleship Variant sank from this underwater attack. Its firepower was immense, dealing far greater damage to a ship's body than their magic cannons could. He wondered how much punishment the armor reinforcement could withstand.

In the ocean, the arrow-like objects surged forward, directly for them.

"All hands, brace for impact!" Infere bellowed.

Seconds later, the giant battleship shook, and seven columns of water violently blasted into the sky from the port side of the ship. Infere's head slammed into a wall, cutting open his forehead from which blood streamed into his face.

"Gh! Quickly, damage report!"

Within the ship, various alarms were now wailing.

"The port side has been breached in seven places! We're now taking on water!"

With the ship being flooded with so much seawater, the battleship Eckes's large frame began to list to port.

"Activating the starboard-side anti-flooding system! Beginning to flood the starboard side… It's no use! We're going to pass the flood limit soon!"

For the listing battleship, voluntarily flooding the starboard side helped them regain balance for a short time, but once the flooding tanks were full, the ship would immediately begin to fall over again. The ship was already leaning 30 degrees to port, with no sign of stabilizing.

"This… This can't be happening! Not like… Not like this! It isn't possible for our latest battleship to be taken down by just a few planes, while we're combat-ready no less!"

While all this was happening, Fleet Commander Ultema was looking around in a dazed state.

"Commander! Give the order! All hands, abandon ship! Abandon ship!"

The ship's personnel began to jump off the ship. The angle of the ship was now at 50 degrees and continuing to exacerbate.

"Captain! If this continues, our explosive magic circuit cartridges inside the ship are going to break open!"

"As if this isn't enough of an emergency! We need to hurry with the evacuation! You too, don't worry about us, just abandon ship, quickly!"

"Captain, you have to evacuate with us too!"

With enemy planes swarming the skies over them, other battleships and light cruisers were continually under assault, and the fleet was already all but destroyed. The battlefield was filled with the sounds of thundering explosions.

"I… must take responsibility for this situation. It's fine, you all just go!"

The battleship Eckes kept tilting further, resulting in it capsizing. Within the ship, the sensitive cartridge-style explosive magic circuits tumbled to the floor, releasing all of the firepower they contained. The enormous pressure pushed out in all directions, splitting the ship in half, and the resulting explosion was so large that it formed a mushroom cloud. The battleship Eckes sunk down into the ocean, dragging with it the fleet commander, captain, and any crew members who were too slow to evacuate.

The Holy Mirishial Empire's Zeroth Magic Fleet, praised as the strongest force in the world, was destroyed by the western uncivilized country, the Gra Valkas Empire, when its Eastern Fleet sortied its aircraft carriers and conducted a single attack; not a single ship was left afloat.

—

---

Holy Mirishial Empire, Imperial Capital Runepolis

Riage, the Head of Foreign Affairs, was baffled. The 11-country leadership conference had kicked off in the port town of Cartalpas, and it would last for a number of days. To start, there would be working-level diplomatic meetings for a few days, then the various foreign affairs leaders would formally act upon the results of those meetings at a high-level assembly that would take up the final two days. On the first day, the person representing the Gra Valkas Empire arrogantly provoked all the other attendees and delivered an outrageous ultimatum before retiring.

However, the next day and the day after, they hadn't sent anyone to attend the all-important conference, and now even Mirishial's top foreign affairs official had received orders to return to the Imperial Capital Runepolis for an urgent meeting. There must have been a topic of paramount importance to convene an emergency meeting at this time. He nervously opened the door to the appointed meeting room.

He saw the leadership of the Foreign Affairs Office, the leadership of the military, and even the Director of Imperial Defense, Agra, inside. Though he knew nothing about this meeting's purpose, with these people all attending, he was now sure something drastic had occurred.

"With Riage's arrival, we shall start the emergency meeting," the head of the military said.

Each person was given a handout, and a projector-like device was turned on. Upon receiving the handout, Riage glanced through it, his eyes widening at one of the unbelievable things mentioned within. The person operating the projector began to speak.

"I shall provide an overview. Early this morning, the Zeroth Magic Fleet, which was out training near the western islands of Karralice, communicated that it was being attacked by a naval and air fleet of unknown origins. We then lost all contact with them. In addition, an air force base on those same islands also reported that it was under attack before all contact was lost. Only a detachment of the army acting as a defense force for the islands remained, and they reported that, to our disbelief, the Zeroth Magic Fleet was eradicated by a combined enemy naval and aerial assault, and the air base was destroyed by an aerial assault. Upon analyzing the enemy force's flag, we have judged that this act was perpetrated by the Gra Valkas Empire."

Everyone in attendance was silent, in shock.

"Hold on a minute, you're saying the Zeroth Magic Fleet was eradicated? While their numbers may have been few, they should have been made up of only elites. When fighting against equal numbers, they are the best in the world. No matter how powerful the Gra Valkas Empire is, no matter how massive their forces, to say they were 'eradicated'… Can this really be true?"

Lacking any outside information, Riage cut off the explanation with a question. As someone who always listened until the very end of what anyone had to say, the fact that he actually interrupted someone to make an inquiry spoke to how very unbelievable this report was.

"This is most likely all true. The most plausible explanation for our loss is that the enemy vastly outnumbered us, and, because this battle took place near the western islands, the fleet lacked air support. Those are the possibilities being investigated, but that is not a topic of discussion for this meeting. Based on the army detachment's report, after they took out our fleet, they attacked our air base with cannon fire, destroyed it, then headed east."

"East! East, you say?! They… They wouldn't!"

"Yes, as you've surmised, they're either heading for our capital of Runepolis, or for the leadership conference in Cartalpas."

Once again, the room was stunned silent.

"What defensive measures do we have in place?"

"The Fourth and Fifth Fleets had been heading out to supplement the defense of the western islands, but we've recalled them to defend the capital. That means we have the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Fleets for capital defense, which should essentially be impregnable. The problem is the port town of Cartalpas; right now, the First, Second, and Third Fleets have been deployed to the east, arranged around Cartalpas, but… considering how close the western islands are, it's very possible that the enemy could reach Cartalpas before our forces do. Right now, the only protection the port has is eight local light cruiser-class ships. We can send the combat version of the Floating Ship of the Heavens in advance, but the fleets may not make it in time. Because the leadership conference is currently in progress there, we would like to call on the Head of Foreign Affairs and ask for his opinion."

There was a short pause.

"Stop… Stop joking around! We are the Holy Mirishial Empire, the world's strongest—there are no enemies worth our attention! We are staking our pride on the defense of the leadership conference while it's in session; even if we're being attacked by barbarians and may not make it in time, there's no way we can say to the guests 'Oh, you'd better evacuate'! If we were to do that, it would ruin our image, both for other superpowers, and in the eyes of the countries outside the civilized areas; they would lose all respect for us! For the sake of maintaining our imperial identity and prosperity, we always need to project strength! If we want to inform the other countries about what happened, then just tell them we were ambushed by a large fleet and incurred losses. Learning this information would align them all against the Gra Valkas Empire. Leave out how we attacked them and suffered losses; that would just make us seem weaker than Gra Valkas."

The Director of Imperial Defense raised his hand.

"Mister Riage, you are correct, our Zeroth Magic Fleet being destroyed was outside of our imagination and is an embarrassment. However, Gra Valkas is powerful. Though they are barbarians, they are also an opponent that I fully recognize cannot be underestimated. The way things are developing, there is a very high chance that the leadership conference will be disrupted. In the worst case, if all of the foreign affairs ministers were to be killed, those countries will lose all trust in our capabilities as soon as they ask why we were unable to foresee an attack until after they had gotten so close. In short, everyone believes that with our power, there's no possible way we couldn't detect such an attack. They would more likely believe that we purposely allowed the attack to occur. To be quite honest, I believe we should postpone the conference and urge all attendees to escape immediately."

"You are being too naïve, Mister Director. If we were to do that, we would immediately lose all credibility. If the fleets won't be in time, what about that ancient weapon, the Naval Fortress Parcaon? If we used that, no matter how big a fleet Gra Valkas throws at us, we'll easily wipe them all out, right?"

The head of national defense stayed silent, sweat forming on his forehead.

"The Ancient Weapon Parcaon is one-of-a-kind, a superweapon from the ancient sorcerous empire that's only to be used when there is a crisis threatening the existence of the empire. However, we've only been able to verify about half of its functions; there are still many weapons in it that we know nothing about. In other words, we're unable to release its full power. That said, if it's something on the level of the Gra Valkas Empire's fleet, it should still be able to obliterate them. We need His Excellency's approval, though; we cannot override protocol for something on this level. Parcaon is our only trump card against the ancient sorcerous empire. If we were to activate it now and it got damaged, we wouldn't be able to repair it."

The meeting continued into the night. The next evening, the countries attending the leadership conference were relayed the following information:

A large fleet from the Gra Valkas Empire was en route to the conference. Because this was a surprise attack, based on where Mirishial's forces were currently located, there was a chance that some of the enemy's fleet could slip through unimpeded. To prevent the worst case scenario from occurring, all countries are invited to temporarily evacuate from the port town of Cartalpas to the eastern city of Kan Braun.

---

Reichskommissariat Geneva, Geneva, War Room

"That...was very much underwhelming, I thought they were around Post-ZWK era or something."

"To be bested by ZWK ships no less, and by considering everything they were at least older than the Holy Mirishial's." The Officers can only give out some honest words that sounded so much like a matter of fact that they sounded like insults.

"Bah! This shit's just insane, they just got demolished by older ships of the ZWK era! Our ships would at least be ready and put up some better fights!"

"Come! For now, we will remain victorious!" Upon the screen, by Holy Mirishial Empire's territory, a few kilometers away, the 1st Main Battle Fleet, 2nd Main Carrier Fleet and 3rd Main Escort Fleet were already sortied. 200 ships, 25 Escorts, 75 Ships in the Carrier Fleet including 25 Carriers and 100 Capital and Screen Ships for the Battle Fleet. The Battle will begin and it will be swift.

---

Holy Mirishial Empire, Port Town Cartalpas, Imperial Cultural Center

For today's working-level diplomatic meeting, the Holy Mirishial Empire notified every participant that they had an urgent announcement to make.

Having just arrived at the cultural center, the German delegation ran into the Empire of Anionnrial's delegation. Based on the documents they had received in advance, they knew that Anionnrial was a magic-based nation that was in charge of the southern countries outside the civilized areas, and that they have attended every leadership conference to date. They themselves were an island nation outside the civilized areas, and they effectively had full control of the two large continents in the southern part of the world. No one ever sets foot on their homeland; foreign relations were limited to a single northern island about half the size of Shikoku called "Bushpaka Latan." In terms a Japanese person might understand, they had enacted "sakoku."

Because everyone thought of them as a country outside the civilized areas, no one was interested in them at the conference. They were only invited as barbarians that "just happened" to control a huge amount of land. Their people were not humans; they had wings growing from their backs—one white, one black.

However, they were very much a country of interest for the German government. Based on satellite imagery, Bushpaka Latan, their sole window to the outside world, was completely dark at night. In contrast, looking instead at their mainland, the amount of artificial lighting they had rivaled that of the Holy Mirishial Empire and the Gra Valkas Empire, and photographs revealed that their capital was very advanced.

The boats the Empire of Anionnrial used to travel to Cartalpas were a fleet of old-fashioned sailboats, something clearly less advanced than what other countries used. The German government had already discerned that the ships being serviced at their home country's ports were as sophisticated as the Holy Mirishial Empire's magic ships, though.

Aleksander had received a directive from the German government to look into this empire if he had the chance, so he called out to their delegation. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. You are from the Empire of Anionnrial, correct?"

"Ah…"

Though this person's face was emotionless, their eyes betrayed a lack of interest in addition to obvious scorn.

"My name is Aleksander, and I am a diplomat from the country of Germany. My government is very interested in your country. If we seek to establish diplomatic relations with you in the future, I hope you'll remember that we are very much hoping to associate with you and treat us well."

"Is that so? You may already know this, but our country only deals with foreign affairs from our northern island of Bushpaka Latan. If you would like to open negotiations, please travel there. In addition, be aware that trade with the southern countries under our control is strictly prohibited, so please send any requests for cultural exchange to said island as well."

While the words spoken were courteous, it was clear as day that they had zero interest in Germany. Or really, looking back over the past few days of the conference, they had never shown any interest in anyone period.

"By the way, does your country limit relations with every other country to this northern island?"

"Yes, this was decreed by our homeland; any visitations from other countries is expressly forbidden."

"Is it possible to fully experience your culture when visiting the island?"

"Yes, Bushpaka Latan may be the gate to all of the southern countries, but it is also still part of our country. Of course, its culture is the same. But why would you ask such a thing?"

After a momentary pause, Aleksander responded, "Oh, no particular reason, it's just that your home country appears to be far more developed than the gate island, so I had some doubts…"

The eyes of every member in the Anionnrial delegation lit up.

The working-level meeting for the eleven-country leadership conference will begin momentarily. We ask all attendees to please find their seats.

The broadcast from the Imperial Cultural Center cut the conversation short.

"I guess it's time. I'll introduce myself again at another time, so I shall be in your care then as well."

Aleksander and his colleagues stood up and left for the meeting room, leaving the Anionnrial delegation behind. After they were alone, they muttered among themselves, "Lowly humans… Who the hell is this 'Germany'?"

The Anionnrial delegation soon followed after and entered the meeting room.

---

"At this time, the working-level meeting for the eleven-country leadership conference will now commence."

At the coordinator's words, the meeting began.

"Today, I have an announcement for all present from the host of the conference, the Holy Mirishial Empire. The other day, the Gra Valkas Empire executed a surprise attack on our western islands and defeated our land forces there."

In order to protect their image, Mirishial decided to conceal the fact that their 0th Magic Fleet was annihilated and instead delivered a fake story where they were ambushed. Regardless of the claim that it was their land forces instead, the news that one of the Holy Mirishial Empire's forces lost shook the venue.

"Cartalpas has been assigned eight light cruisers to defend against terrorism, and our air force can mobilize from the airport in order to provide cover, so we do not foresee any problems. However, in consideration of the extreme unlikelihood that Gra Valkas's forces reach our soil and perpetrate an attack, in order to ensure that nothing unpredictable occurs, we request that all fleets prepare to depart this evening to relocate the conference east to Kan Braun. While this is a different location from where we had announced previously, please indulge us with your understanding and cooperation."

After a moment of silence, the ambassador from the First Civilization superpower Eimor Kingdom (the land of dragonfolk) burst out in anger.

"Those newcomers first insulted us, then they make to attack this conference gathering the most powerful nations in the world, and you expect us to just tuck our tails between our legs and flee? Let them come; we have no need to run. My country may have come by land, but the other guests here have all brought fleets of varying size, have they not? They came to protect their foreign affairs ministers, did they not? Our opponent only has magically weak humans, and they do not belong to any civilized area; for the numerous world powers in attendance here, I say it would be shameful to run away without fighting. While we did not bring our navy, we do not mind lending out our twenty-two wind dragons."

""Ooh…!""

Eimor Kingdom's Order of Wind Dragon Knights: wind dragons evolved with smaller wings to reduce the effects of wind pressure, allowing them to fly at speeds of 500 km/h. Humans cannot handle that velocity, but dragonfolk and their hardier bodies have no such problems. These knights could rival the Holy Mirishial Empire's air superiority-type Floating Ship of the Heavens, the Alpha-3, so the hall settled down as every country kept an eye on Eimor and their declaration to send their elite squadron.

"We… We would be happy to lend a hand in exterminating those rude Gra Valkans with our seven ships-of-the-line! Indeed, only with a surprise attack could a noncivilized force have caused any damage to the Holy Mirishial Empire; if not for that, our Central World nations could run circles around them!"

The Central World's Torquia Kingdom also voiced their discontent with moving the conference.

"The Gra Valkas Empire has been running roughshod all over the Second Civilization. If the Central World intends to oppose them, then our fleet too shall join."

The Second Civilization's Magycaraihi Collective declared their intent to fight, and the other Second Civilization countries soon followed.

Sitting next to the German delegation, the only Third Civilization country, the Great Magic Duchy of Pandora, looked over at them with sparkling, expectant eyes. "We've heard numerous tales of your war against the Papaldia Empire. What does Germany intend to do?"

...

The German Ambassador, Aleksander breathed in. "We shall discuss this matter with the Head of Security and Admirals. We are in no position of making a move on our own." The other nations just waved them off as cowardice barbarians, but some of the Mu Ambassadors knew that their wisdom are highly remarkable, they were drawing a draft in their mind, they are assessing the situation thoroughly and did not act brashly in the news of an attack.

The ambassador from the Empire of Anionnrial raised his hand, and the coordinator allowed him to speak.

"Our country is outside the civilized areas. If you suddenly tell us to move to your eastern city, we cannot respond to that. If following you would result in us becoming an obstacle during your battles, we would rather just excuse ourselves from this year's conference."

The southern countries were known to be lacking in economy, technology, and military, and Anionnrial was only invited as per custom, so their presence wasn't particularly needed or desired and they were allowed to leave.

---

Holy Mirishial Empire, Port Town Cartalpas

Cartalpas is in the south of the Holy Mirishial Empire. On the eastern and western parts of the city, land stretches down creating a 60km-wide bay. At the very end of the bay, after passing through a small 14km strait, the open sea stretches out endlessly. Unlike on the open sea, even stormy days in the bay are relatively calm, so Cartalpas developed into a prosperous place of cultural exchange between the three civilizations.

In the section of the port town hosting the international leadership conference, said conference was currently in disarray.

"Please, we are only thinking of everyone's safety in the worst case, please comply and evacuate now! If Cartalpas really is going to be attacked, then there's no time! We cannot continue simply sitting here and having this debate!"

Four hours had already passed since the Empire of Anionnrial left. Even though there was a short recess, the fact that there was still no resolution stretched credulity.

It was dangerous here, so without the presence of a large military force, it would be better to evacuate. Aleksander was having a hard time understanding why the other countries could not realize something so simple.

However, the countries opposed to evacuating also had their own circumstances to consider. That was why Germany had brought Fast Heavy Cruisers that were meant for Hit and Run missions(In theory at least), and the fact that their passenger ship is also fast to keep up with them despite its smaller engine.

All of these considerations caused the meeting to go round and round in circles.

"…Ambassador Aleksander!"

Wilhelm was trying to get his attention.

"What is it?"

"Message from home. We have ASAP orders to evacuate from Cartalpas after notifying the host country. The Minister has already been informed and is currently being ferried back to the patrol boat, it'd be a problem if we're not waiting there when it's back."

"Very well."

Aleksander stood up and raised his hand in order to let the host know that they were evacuating. Unexpectedly, the coordinator's face warped in anguish at that moment.

"Everyone, quiet down! Quiet down! I have urgent news to announce!"

The hall immediately fell silent.

"Just now, one of our patrol planes spotted a Gra Valkan battleship about a hundred and fifty kilometers south of Cartalpas, heading north. We have yet to locate their carrier. We are mobilizing our air force to attack, but at this rate, they will arrive at the strait first. Considering the speed of Gra Valkas's ships and our distance from the strait, evacuation is no longer possible. As you have all suggested, we shall organize an allied force and head out to repel them. However, regarding the safety of the diplomats and ministers, our country shall take responsibility and secure them to the best of our ability. Please board the train as soon as possible and you shall be evacuated north."

Aleksander couldn't help, but grunt in complete annoyance.

All countries except Germany had agreed to cooperate for self-defense purposes and intercept the Gra Valkas Empire. The Holy Mirishial Empire will evacuate all ministers and diplomats, except for Germany's as they had quickly began evacuation via the German Escort.

With things turning out the way they did, Germany recognized its delegation's right to self-defense and authorized the use of military force, but for now they flee, they do not wish to fight now in a disadvantageous battle against ZWK Light Cruisers and other warships even if theirs were upgraded Post-ZWK ships. The ships had a speed of over 70km/hour after their retrofits, with that their passenger ship was actually a converted Fast Corvette, with less armor and no gun, it could keep up no problem even if its engine were smaller.

---

Port Town Cartalpas

The port manager, Bronze, was assaulted by both fear and excitement simultaneously. He heard rumors that the country in control of those giant ships he had never seen before had attacked the world's strongest country, the Holy Mirishial Empire. When he had looked up earlier, he saw a number of his country's multipurpose combat fighters, Beta-2s, fly off to the south in formation before disappearing from view.

Those rumors were probably true. However, despite the ongoing crisis, he felt very calm. He simply remarked in his head how it wasn't terrorists but an actual fleet coming to attack, and how this was so far removed from reality. His attention was then drawn to the port, where the fleets from the strongest countries in the world were setting off in droves.

"Magycaraihi Collective, armored ships-of-the-line, setting sail!"

The most bellicose member of the Second Civilization, the Magycaraihi Collective's ships-of-the-line raised their sails. Compared to the former Second Civilization superpower Leifor, the Magycaraihi Collective was inferior in size and scale, but in terms of warship technology alone, they were above Leifor. A miraculous blend of Mu's machinery and the wonders of magic, the strength of these armored ships-of-the-line were exceptionally noteworthy within the Second Civilization.

"Nation of Agarta, magic convoy, setting sail!"

From the Central World, Agarta's convoy of six ships left port.

"Nigrado Union, dragon carrier fleet, setting sail!"

The Second Civilization's Nigrado Union had a fleet of four ships-of-the-line and four dragon carriers. Each dragon carrier housed twelve wyvern lords, so with four carriers there were 48 in all, and they were in high spirits.

"Mu, mechanical fleet, setting sail!"

The superpower of the Second Civilization, Mu's fleet had two battleships, four armored cruisers, eight light cruisers, and two aircraft carriers. As a superpower's fleet, and widely considered the strongest fleet to have been deployed to the conference this time, all other countries had high expectations for them.

"Germany, Heavy Escort Cruisers, setting sail!" The converted-Corvette and two Heavy Cruisers had quickly began to perform a retreat with the fact that its propulsion of 70km/hour quickly made it faster than any ships despite their size.

"Remember, we only escort the passenger ships and let the Main Battle Fleet take care of those bastards!" The Captain of the Admiral Hipper yelled as Roon's Captain voiced his affirmative.

---

The following is a summary of the ships being dispatched:

Mu (Second Civilization) 2 battleships, 4 armored cruisers, 8 light cruisers, 2 aircraft carriers

Torquia Kingdom (Central World) 7 ships-of-the-line

Nation of Agarta (Central World) 6 magic ships

Magycaraihi Collective (Second Civilization) 7 armored ships-of-the-line

Nigrado Union (Second Civilization) 4 ships-of-the-line, 4 dragon carriers

The Great Magic Duchy of Pandora (Third Civilization) 8 magic ships

---

Altogether a grand fleet of 52 ships, and providing additional firepower were 22 dragon knights from the Central World superpower Eimor Kingdom's Order of Wind Dragon Knights, as well as the Holy Mirishial Empire's eight light cruisers. In other words, this was a melded fleet of 60 ships that represented every civilization, as well as air cover being provided by the Eimor Kingdom and the Holy Mirishial Empire. The representatives from each country felt very confident about the upcoming battle.

---

Captain Miles Edelgard had his eyes squinted as the Joint melded fleet bravely and foolishly approached the Fleet. "They shall serve well as distractions." He spoke, commanding the Admiral Hipper Zwei, he had his suspicions that the Gra Valkans would no doubt outnumber them with quality ships lesser than the Admiral Hipper. The two Heavy Cruisers are incapable of fighting back against such force without losing all hands before all enemies can be sunk.

Hipper was no brawler, that was a fact, she was never intended as such and thus, preserving their ships was the right call. Even with upgraded AA outfits, chances of getting bombed was still relatively high, not to mention Torpedo Bombers, which their only known solution were Torpedo Belts, decoys and Anti-Torpedo Bulge. Without any of these knowledge, it doesn't take a genius to say that the fleet will be decimated.

With some kills, but definitely, the whole fleet will be sunk, the German Heavy Cruisers and ex-Corvette had quickly got away far enough from the scene. "I salute you, mad lads." The Captain simply saluted as he looked towards the shrinking forms of the ships.

---

One after another as each ship of the World's strongest nations left port, a total number of 60 ships with the Holy Mirishial's 8 Light Cruisers had reassured the people of each country in the port, but the weirdest and bizarre thing was that Germany had left with all his citizens.

Citizens above Combat they say. How can they keep them safe if they are on a ship and it needed only one shell to blow it up, many kingdoms were already despising Germany except Mu who had been told to not underestimate the Germans.

They might look weak, but their actual power is terrifying as hell itself.

Commander Brendas of Mu's proud twin Battleships, four Armored Cruisers, eight Cruisers and two Aircraft Carriers, counting a great sixteen fleet in total. The La Kasami, their iconic Battleship went forth with burning confidence, confident in facing of Gra Valkas Empire's ships.

Unlike the minds of the ships, the engineers who calmly analyze the technological gap and how advanced each opponent is, Commander Brendas had absolute confidence in victory. He simply glanced and spoke to the Captain of the La Kasami.

"The size of the enemy fleet is completely unknown except for the fact that they had lost few ships, but I wish to know what your thoughts are on the situation."

"Hmm, troublesome." The overweight Captain spoke, Captain Miniral had some thoughts he had to banished, but he responded in kind. "The scale of the enemy is unknown, but the enemy's purpose is to perhaps humiliate the minister's escort fleet and I believe that it is to destroy the Holy Mirishial Empire's face and reputation by making a single strike on the Port Town of Cartalpas. But considering the distance from their own Empire, it is impossible to send such a large fleet, but on the other hand, although this is a hybrid fleet, we are of many numbers. But being aware of rudeness, a normal civilized foreign ship would be a good bomb to be used against them."

The conversation continued.

"We estimate that the amount of opponents is not many, the enemy Battleship seems to be quite large from the Port City, so it shouldn't be that fast...if it is, it will be possible to use a bullet shield as a shield and close the distance."

The Commander soon thought about them, the nation stronger than Japan both tactically and strategically.

"What are your thoughts on Germany?" Miniral's face came to a frown.

"Their ships...those cannons...I can safely say that they were no fools, they were well over the 250mm caliber but below 300mm...if I have to guess, it would be around 275mm, and they had nine on each ship and while similar they are both of different classes. Their size and shapes...they are simply no barbarians...they are much like us and if what they are doing is true, then perhaps we are against something greater to stir something within them."

"But how would they know?"

"Do not forget about what the Ambassadors told us when we asked about them. They are a Nation of Advanced Technology, one that surpasses us with better tactics and strategies...perhaps it is wrong for us to even set sail. If they turned their backs now, then there might be no chance for us to face the Gra Valkas."

"Captain, this is not like you at all..." Brendas widened his eyes at the Captain, who was painstakingly looking very paranoid. "They are outside the ci-"

"Does that matter when you see their technology? Sophisticated engines, reciprocating engines can't even compare to what they are using, Jet Engines they call them...the era of propellers came to a stop for them." The photos of those Japanese Aircrafts can obviously say that they were advanced, and they say Germany was far more advanced than them...

"Reporting!" An operator raised his voice on the bridge. "There was a contact from the Holy Mirishial Empire, two hundred aircrafts are approaching, they seem to be from the Gra Valkas Empire from the Southwest, heading towards Cartalpas."

"T-Two hundred!?" The two Higher ups looked aghast.

"There is no doubt that the Holy Mirishial Empire is in contact with two hundred aircraft! The enemy's model is unknown and now 42 Alpha-3 Air Superiority Fighters have taken off from the Air Force Base of Cartalpas for the attack..."

"Alpha-3s...the newest model of the Holy Mirishial Empire's Air Force for Air Superiority...but there are a lot of enemies...how many bombing types are included? Do we know of their aircraft carrier task force's location?"

"E-Enemy aircraft carrier task force's location is unknown..."

"Send the planes! All the aircrafts that can be sent!"

"What about the type of bombs?"

"Fleet Defense is prioritized, raise everything and cover the fleet without exploding! Don't leave the fleet so you are not confused by the Mirishial Empire's!"

"Roger that!"

The Marin Biplane fighters began to launch one by one from Mu's aircraft carrier, capturing the wind at low speeds and taking off. Many white beautiful aircrafts soared the clear blue sky, the people of each country were reassured by the guardians of the sky and were convinced of victory.

---

1st Kriegsmarine Fleet 'Das Pakt'(50 Warships), Part of the 1st Main Battle Fleet, KMS Reichsdrachen

The phone rang as the Grand Admiral of the Fleet, Grand Admiral Wilbur von Bayern took it up. "This is the KMS Reichsdrachen, over."

"This is KMS Admiral Hipper, we will route with you, is the 3rd Main Escort Fleet, present, over?"

"KMS Admiral Hipper, copy, the 3rd Escort is present over, you can hand the passengers to them, you joining us? Over."

"Ja, Grand Admiral, we are joining you over and out." The German soon saw the three ships, the passenger corvette and two Heavy Cruisers. The two Heavy Cruisers had begun turning as the corvette continued its movement through the water. The formation of basically 200 ships continued as 25 Escorts detached 5 Destroyers to accompany the Corvette towards the Axis Waters. The remaining 197 ships joined by the two Heavy Cruisers made their way towards the Holy Mirishial Territory.

"Hmm, this might be an interesting battle. Missile Destroyers, you are permitted the use of missiles against Capital Ships, avoid use against screen ships. Carriers, you are permitted to send out the birds." The German, Japanese and Axis Carriers soon sent out their aircrafts, both attackers and air superiority fighters.

"Sir, what are your thoughts on the Joint Fleet that will confront Gra Valkas?"

"...They're foolish...but I'll give them the courage and bravery, I commend them for those, but they will die from their stupidity. Those fools." The man narrowed his eyes. The Jet Fighters, the Wyverns, Fenrirs, Nachtzehrers, A36Ms, D35As, Ba.92s, G.155, etc Fighters and Strike Fighters quickly flew above.

---

Holy Mirishial Empire, 7th Air Combat Corp

42 Holy Mirishial Empire's 7th Air Combat Corps flew away from Cartalpas Air Force Base, the Alpha-3. the most advanced air superiority fighters of the Holy Mirishial Empire flew in a formation.

42 brave flying warriors flew in order in the clear blue sky.

The amount of discipline and high standard of training could be seen from the movement of their formation, the crafts had been sharpened like swords, a view that gives an impression of absolute confidence.

Within the quiet sky, the high pitch sounds of the magic light-squeezed air compression radiant engines filled the empty sky.

Despite all this, the 7th Air Combat Team Leader Silver was nervous before the first battle between high-performance aircraft as it now seems that it might get overtaken by the foreign Gra Valkan aircrafts.

"Raise all aircrafts to an altitude of 5500 meters." His order was responded with a bunch of affirms. Considering the case of Mu's flying machine and Emor's Wind Dragon, against Mu, there is a difference in performance of the aircraft in the first place, for a single hit is effective in knocking it out. The battle doesn't need to necessarily lower the speed of a craft had been made effective as allowing a Wind Dragon Knight cannot be tolerated due to their performance.

Thinking that this was a battle against other flying machines, this tactic would be effective against their opponent. From the Cartalpas Air Base, Mashin comes in.

"You men will soon engage with about 200 Gra Valkas aircraft. You have few, but do not hesitate, you are elites fighting in the latest aircraft of the strongest country in the central world against Gra Valkas, an emerging kingdom, we are looking forward to your success as it will be the first battle of the latest aircraft of the Gra Valkas Empire. Magic engines can't keep up with machine powered aircrafts. It is no exaggeration to say that our pride depends on you to prove that wrong. To all of you, may the God of War guide you."

Mashin's communication soon cut off.

"Enemy aircraft! Lower left! 30 45!" A pilot quickly reported the sighting.

"No! That...can't be!" From the looks of the enemy formation that is moving towards Cartalpas, they weren't lying. "There are...so many of them..."

Commander Silver looked at them closely, but can't distinguish between air superiority and bombers. "It's...like a sharp version of Mu's flying machine..."

Having low wings and a large propeller on the nose unlike Mu's double wings and smaller propellers, the speed and size, the Commander can clearly say that they were stronger than Mu's flying machine. He decides to make the first move. "I'll hit the top group! All attack! After attacking from above their formation! I'll pass their rear side!"

"Roger that!" The high pitch sounds of the magic engines, the aircrafts became far more vibrant as they sped up. "Wha-!" A slight sense of incongruity, he looked towards the source of it, the sun. The rays hurt his eyes, but narrowing it he could see. "No!" Many faint black spots that blocked the light. "The enemy is attacking! Above us! They're coming from the sun!"

Machine guns were fired from the attacking forces. Light bullets constantly ran from the upper side to the lower side of the machine, the sounds of the ripping guns came late, big holes quickly opened up on the Alpha-3s, each of them falling, explosions or wings blown into pieces before sinking into the sea of clouds. From above, 30 enemy aircrafts fire through the friendly formation and then slip diagonally downward.

Propellers roared in a high pitch due to the Doppler Effect. "Wha…" The Commander was astonished that five of his men were quickly lost in the first wave, soon his astonishment turned to anger and rage, all of them towards the Gra Valkan pilots. The Alpha Type 3s of the 7th Air Combat Corp of the Holy Mirishial Empire spread themselves thin and lead towards a battle against the Antares-type fighters of the Gra Valkas Empire.

Even with these odds, the numbers in comparison, Silver was convinced that they will be victorious by the end of the day. But...

"Ah! Damn it! I can't shake them off!" A friendly Alpha-3 had its engine broke down and disappeared into the sea of clouds, on fire.

"Th-I can't get behind it! Their turning ability is insane!" Another one.

"I-I-I can't win this even with the ability to climb!" One by one, a plane after another, the planes fell, shot down by the Gra Valkas' Antares fighters.

Silver was being constantly assaulted by emotions, despair, hopelessness, fear while he manned the aircraft, even with Holy Mirishial Empire's cutting edge, Alpha-3, obviously, the enemies had overwhelmed and destroyed their formation. Analyzing the technique of the Ancient Sorcerous Empire, strengthening the armament, to be ready to fight against them when the time comes, to shield all races, warriors all around the country ad hoped. The fact that they were being destroyed and pummeled against the foreigners.

'Even if I understand it in my head, I cannot accept this!' As he tried to get behind an enemy, said enemy had quickly got behind him. But that quickly changed when the plane quickly got turned into a fireball and dropped into the sea. "Wha-?" Booms quickly came into his ears as Steel Arrows flew with a thunderous boom with fire coming out of its end. "Wha...What is that?" On the wings as it turned vertically, it could be seen.

A black cross bordered by white. "Germans!?" The Arrow quickly dove back and quickly fired light bullets towards any Gra Valkan aircraft. There were many of them, easily around three dozens of them. Each one of them taking out the Gra Valkas Empire's Antares Fighter with ease.

Then a sight came to him as a German aircraft quickly got behind a Gra Valkan fighter and shot out a Magic Homing Missile at it! "I-Isn't that the Ancient Sorcerous Empire's Magic Homing Missile!?" With that, the aircrafts easily downed any incoming Antares Fighter that came upon them, putting their Corp into shame.

"All this time...we have never been the most powerful nation..." Silver can only doubt himself.

---

"This is Golgotha to friendlies, enemy aircrafts downed to forty five. Keep the work up!" An Me666 AWACS came into their ears as Wyverns quickly maneuver and outclass the Gra Valkas' ancient Zero in every possible way.

"Haha! Sayonara!" 25mm cannons quickly turned the aircrafts into swiss cheese before each targeted a new opponent.

"This is Golgotha, enemy aircrafts has begun attacking friendly ships, we lost a few."

"This is Gelb Leader, copy that. We're disengaging, over." The Gelb Squadron, a Squadron of five elite members in the Me377 Wyvern with Gelb Leader having the Me375 Fenrir as his preferred choice of aircraft. "Gelb Squadron with me!"

"Aye aye!" The four other members quickly followed.

"Ah crap! This is Kai Squadron! Permission to disengage and assist Gelb?"

"Permission granted, Kai Squadron. Kick their asses." The Leader smirked dangerously as she soon answered back.

"Hai! Minna(Everyone) with me!" The six membered squadron of A36Ms and two A37Ms quickly dove into the clouds below. The aircrafts soon followed as others continued their fighting.

---

Trivia:

A37M: VF-19A Excalibur

D35A: VF-11C Super Thunderbolt

---

Right, errr...due to circumstances, I am not able to respond to reviews, but that's alright...this is the start for the Gra Valkas Empire Arc, which would mean that I would have to manually interpret each and every sentence there is and try to play them as well as possible via Google Translate and not Copy and Paste due to the amount of fucking inaccuracies...

But yes, I'll just post regardless of the fact that Mob of Deer has not finished their next chapter, which would mean not much more Japan here and there, but also the fact that I'll have to type these in!

Manually!

For once in my life!

Okay, back on track. We got a year to pass, Italy's still Italy, I think I need more aircrafts, despite not being able to see reviews, you can still PM me to suggest aircrafts they can use, since I can't just give them Ace Combat or Macross-influenced aircrafts anymore. I mean...

Germany = America/Ace Combat

Japan = Macross

Italy =...Well...OTL Aircrafts, but no, not for long maybe.

If you guys do have a suggestion either review or PM me, since I can still see either through gmail and gmail/FFN PM inbox respectively. I would be happy to receive any form of criticism and forms of suggestions. Either way...

Nukes are going to be at Ravernal Empire's uprising and maybe I can do some spin off with other continents...

Mainly Fire Emblem...

Since yeah...medieval and stuff, plus, you don't get a lotta guns in those fics. They'd be either there and not continued(Like my old cringey one), so yeah. Leave suggestions for Italy's aircrafts and I don't know where to continue after their C1 Ariete tank, because they have no real projects that can be predicted.

Anyways, see you guys in the next chapter!