AN: Shoutout to Commandergenerals and WinterOfWar for another Favs. And we've surpassed 900 views. This will be the final operation of Rodenius War along with the few next chapters before Historia Alliance establish their position in the New World.
Historia Shoukan Chapter 7
Operation Trident Fall Part 1
Date: May 3rd, HS 2069/CC 1639
Location: Inner Perimeter of Lourian Border
Place: Louria Kingdom Eastern Subjugation Army HQ
Deputy General Adem was irritated.
"What the hell is happening!"
His men broke out a cold sweat at his angry shouting. The wyvern scout's last message was a frantic yelling before the communication was lost. The Main Force had fallen into chaos by the repeated front line units disappearance. What does he mean by, "A guided flame blast is following me!"?
"We are in the middle of investigating it, but there is still too little information..."
"Just in what way do you investigate this!"
"We will send cavalrymen to visit and investigate the area. In addition, we will organize a wyvern reconnaissance team again. The preparation will soon be completed..."
"You useless numbskull!"
Adem screamed at his subordinates and the place fell into a silence. Pandour, one of Lourian Three Great Generals, spoke up to calm Adem down.
"Well, there's no helping it, right? Just let them do what they can. What about the main army's escort?"
"We can use all of the remaining wyverns to immediately launch for another investigation."
"Then what about the Southern Army? Is there any news from them?"
"The last news is they garrisoned themselves south of our position to anticipate the possibility of a pincer attack. Since the advance main army had disappeared, we've to assume that the enemy have supernatural powers. If we can prevent any flanking attempt from the enemy, we can continue with the invasion."
"I see..."
But Adem hits the table hard.
"We've lost contact with 200,000 personnel near Gim! Around 420 wyverns are captured or dead! If we got no news from the recon team, then it became 430! Is that not enough? We've taken too many losses already!"
Suddenly, they received communications from the Southern Army.
"Someone, please respond! This is the Southern Army!"
"Southern Army, this is the Subjugation Army. What is going on?! Report!"
"M-monsters! Help us! They've started moving and we can't stop them!"
"What the hell is actually going on right there?!"
"Retreat! All units, retreat to the capital! We've lost all of our wyverns! All units, retreat! AAAHHHH!"
"What is going on?! Hey! Respond!"
The room fell silence as the contact with the Southern Army are cut off.
"Impossible..."
Both Adem and Pandour are clenching their fist. Who in the world actually attacked Louria? The Southern Army was numbered 100,000 supported by 100 wyverns and there's no way they can be annihilated like that. They finally managed to establish communications with central and rear soldiers after losing contact with the front.
"The flying soldiers are here! They've just destroyed the front line!"
"How did they get here?! It's impossible!"
"That thing is huge and fast! It's coming this way!"
"Monsters! Get away from me!"
"I surrender! I surrender!"
Then, they intercepted communications from what seems to be an intact manacomm that Scarlet Army personnel are using to broadcast it.
"Those who choose to surrender, raise the white flag, drop your weapons, and raise your hands. Those who choose to resist will not be spared."
This is a nightmare for them. 100,000 soldiers and 100 wyverns should be enough to stop any pincer attack attempts. The enemy this time... What kind of weapon did they possess...? How did the Southern Army got annihilated in such short time?
"General, I plan to present myself to the Hark Castle and try to give a report on the war status."
Adem didn't hide his irritation even when speaking to someone ranked above him.
"I understand, in this case, the task is too heavy for just a messenger soldier. Adem, can I trust you with this matter?"
"As you wish."
Adem spurred his horse and departed immediately. The expression of bitterness never left from his face. Deep down, however, he was scared to the point that he'd rather save himself.
'It's impossible! This can't be happening! I must contact that person immediately!
The invasion of Qua-Toyne Principality has failed. And all of that because Historia Shoukan Dominion decided to honor the military alliance with them and Quila Kingdom by immediately reinforcing the border perimeter. Pandour doesn't want to think about it further.
It's because he had been suffering from a sense of uneasiness that he couldn't shake off. He sighed so that the nearby soldiers wouldn't perceive it. His sense of uneasiness... Appeared as a nightmare.
Out of nowhere, 5 wyverns flying above the base were suddenly enveloped by smoke and torn into pieces. Then on the next moment, an additional 5 wyverns, were struck by some unseen object and was similarly swallowed by an explosion.
"What the-!? What in the world just happened?"
Soon, in the eastern sky, there were five black dots that were approaching silently.
The 5 objects were flying without flapping any wings and each of them released 2 sparkling light shots. The light shots flew at an ultra fast speed, chased the wyverns who were taking evasive action, and struck them. The body of the 10 wyverns ripped open, and they fell as their four limbs were literally scattered into four directions.
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"Impossible... This is impossible!"
The soldiers on the ground, who saw the falling wyverns, were stricken with fear and fell on their knees. The number of wyverns is the criteria for measuring an army's power. The very definition of power, the absolute ruler of the sky, had been swatted from the air without even able to do anything.
The objects that had shot down the wyverns passed the base at an incredible speed. It was spearhead-shaped and grey-colored. It passed in an instant while spewing out two flames from its rear. A moment later, a thunderous roar echoed over the entire battlefield that instilled terror inside the heart of Lourian Subjugation Army.
The shock-waves assailed them.
What the Lourian soldiers saw was the sight of five F-15 Eagles flying over them at supersonic speed.
"Wh-... Th-... too fast!"
"Those are not wyverns! What the hell are those!"
The nightmare didn't end at that point. The iron dragons that had flown away returned. And all of a sudden, explosions happen right at the main camp. Turns out, those explosions are caused by five Tomahawk LAM Launchers deployed by Historia. The wyverns are felled down before they can warn the base about the incoming attack.
It was generally believed that an army's strength is equivalent to how many wyverns it had. The number of wyverns that Louria deployed might even able to beat a Flame Divine Dragon.
But this situation ── as if it was a tabletop game where the result of the war had been decided, they were crushed lopsidedly. The destroyed wyvern's blood and flesh became a rain that drizzled over the battlefield.
"It... can't be..."
Pandour stood dumbfounded as he was bathed by the rain of blood.
The wyvern squadron was now completely wiped out and his men are in total disarray. When the rain of blood ceased, this time there were several large-sized iron dragons approached from the eastern sky. The iron dragon's belly opened and then dropped a large amount of tube-like thing. Accompanying them was a huge swarm of flying soldiers.
The disappearance of the advance force suddenly flashed across Pandour's mind.
A fireball dropped right at his feet.
── What's those?! ── They dropped something‼
Someone yelled.
Slowly-
His life-
See the end-
Death is approaching-
The light ──
The ground was assaulted by the incandescence of hellfire.
It happened instantly.
General Pandour was eaten by the light and left this earthly world.
Magus Trio forces reaches the Subjugation Army's base as the surviving Lourian soldiers waving a huge white flag and dropping their weapons. The joint forces accepted the gesture and they immediately urged the rest to do the same. It's fortunate that the preparation phase for Operation Trident Fall didn't result in a total wipe out like what happened during the execution of Operation Tremor Barrage.
"Drop your weapons and raise your hands, now!"
The near-simultaneous attack initiated by Historia Alliance results in 60,000 Lourians being captured as POWs with 40,000 from Subjugation Army and 20,000 from Southern Army.
Muller was flying to Gim while taking a detour to the south. He had underestimated Qua-Toyne as just a backward rural nation. However, what he had seen in the area west of Gim was the tragic sight of the advance force's fate.
'Have a Demon Lord appeared in Qua-Toyne Principality? Or... can it be... the Ancient Sorcerous Empire? Have their Time of Return mentioned in the legends had arrived?'
Muller recalled the fairy tale which could be said as known to everyone in this world.
XXXXXXXXXXX
── In the times of the old, the one who ruled the world, was the Sorcerous Empire.
Its name was Ravernal Empire. They possessed tremendous power and ruled over every race.
As a superior race of humanity, each individual had mana far higher than any human, with advanced knowledge and supremely high level of civilization, the other races feared them.
Not to mention the human, demihuman, or elves, not even the dragonfolk could match their power.
Their reign was harsh as they treated races other than themselves as livestock.
Many rebellions blazed, and numerous wars that decided a nation's fate raged, but each of these was subdued before the Empire's overwhelming power.
Their civilization continued to grow until they became arrogant and turned their bows towards the Gods.
The anger of the Gods manifested in the form of a falling star, which will fall into the Latistoa Continent where the Magi-Empire is located.
The Empire judged that they couldn't prevent the falling star and established a barrier that enveloped the entire Latistoa Continent, before they activated a magic that transcended the time over the entire continent and transferred them into the future.
Only an indestructible stone tablet remained, where this message was inscribed: "At the Time of Our Return, the World will once more prostrate underneath us"...
The small survivor of the Sorcerous Empire outside of the Latisfor Continent were then overwhelmed, absorbed, and extinguished by the humanity, and thus the country that was recognized as the strongest in the world, the Holy Milishial Empire of the Central Area, was established.
Therefore, the Holy Milishial Empire was said to be afraid of the Return of the Ancient Sorcerous Empire ──
Historia Alliance have confirmed that Ravernal Empire was able to reach space after seeing their Mystar Satellite System, and if what the legend said is true, then their empire is an Inter-Dimensional Powerhouse. Obviously, they're nowhere near the level of Gensokyo Union Fighters and United Nations Military, Historia's two leading Superpowers. But the Alliance didn't want to take any risks, and they start establishing a new bloc led by Historia Shoukan Dominion to prepare for the Return of the Ravernals. So far, this new bloc includes Qua-Toyne Principality, Quila Kingdom, Fenn Kingdom, and Gahara Thearchy.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Muller began to think that perhaps the enemy that they was fighting right now is the Ancient Sorcerous Empire. The complete annihilation of a 200,000 strong army, and the pursuing guided flame blast, were beyond normal reasoning. The wind began to turn cold. Since he was helpless against the enemy flying soldiers' attack, he was making an ultra low altitude flight barely above the ground surface, while his body assailed by fatigue.
When he approached the Subjugation Army position, he felt shock-waves and loud noises.
"Wh-... What's that?"
A muffled sound can be heard intermittently. In front of him, his destination, was a violent blaze as if a volcano had erupted.
"No... It can't be happening... that location..."
When he finally reached the Subjugation Army's headquarters, he experienced the greatest sense of loss of the day. His comrades surrendered to the enemy, waving white flags one after another. They're being cuffed by some soldiers and being taken as POWs.
Some of the flying soldiers that noticed Muller prepared to fire their guns, but the magician in black told them to lower it. Muller recognized said magician as the one who fired the guided flame blast at him. Looking at the white flags, he recognized the meaning and lands before then surrendering as well. He didn't attack and neither does Magus Trio forces. As he dismounts, he raises his hands while his wyvern partner bends down as well.
"We surrender."
Then, the aforementioned magician takes her hat off, and Muller is shocked when he saw the one who almost killed him was a woman. His shock didn't end there, however.
"You're really good back there. The name's Marisa Kirisame."
Without waiting for his reply, Marisa then tells Alice and Patchouli about her plan.
"You two can go and detain the Lourians here and give them to the UN guys for them to handle. However, as one of the Vanguards, I'll bring this guy (points at Muller) and his wyvern back to the Union. I'm pretty sure the Guardians and Sages will notice his riding skills, considering that he managed to avoid death when running away from me."
Needless to say, Alice and Patchouli look at each other, seemingly confused, before then letting Marisa do her own thing. What made Muller stunned, however, is what the latter said next.
"Go on, follow me. And don't even try anything funny. I've got few choppers with me."
Muller is clearly confused and wanted to ask what the hell is a 'chopper', but a single glance at the sky answers his question. Wordlessly, he mounts his wyvern and follows Marisa, who flies in her broom. The choppers that escorted the wyvern rider are in fact Taboo Choppers from Scarlet Defense Army that Patchouli brought with her.
Date: May 5th, HS 2069/CC 1639
Location: Outer Space, near the newly christened "Selene" and "Ares" natural satellites
Place: Historia Space Citadel "Genjitsuka" (幻地月火)
(AN: ISS is already launched from Earth before the Millennium Dawn, so I don't see why Historia Alliance couldn't transfer Genjitsuka into the space region of the New World, considered that they managed to transfer an entire continent to an empty ocean region in the first place. Before MDF joined the Alliance, this Space Citadel was known as "Genjigetsu". It was built in HS 2050 and completed in HS 2055, right before Clash of Gensokyos happened.)
Yorihime watches as the first two batches of Space Corvettes from "Sinus Program" transferred to the newly christened "Shoukan Dimension". Said batches, "Fidei" and "Honoris" squadrons, are now patrolling the surrounding space of Selene and Ares. Compared to Moon, Mars only joined the Alliance in 2064, thus LCF have already integrated UNM's construction technology, accelerating the space fleet creation.
With nothing else in mind, the middle Watatsuki decided to ask her Martian counterpart, Hiroko.
(AN: In my head canon, there is a third Watatsuki, and her name is Itsuhime. She's originated from Glory of Deep Skies, a Touhou fangame.)
"I take that MDF decided to focus on completing the military colony on Ares."
"Correct. And you Moon dwellers already decided to bring in a fragment of your space fleet here."
"The Alliance already confirmed beforehand that there is a precursor Superpower in this world, evidenced by their 'Mystar Satellite System'. That alone shows a potential space faring capabilities, and us Lunarians won't risk another defeat by underestimating the Ravernals."
"I see..."
Report from the planet says that GUF managed to beat two Lourian armies near-simultaneously at the inner perimeter of Louria Kingdom in Rodenius Continent. Previously, the Union managed to cripple Lourian air power by capturing 400 wyverns on two separate missions under Operation Dragon Subjugation. During the first day of May, Lourian advance force were annihilated when Operation Tremor Barrage is executed. At the very least, Vice Admiral Sharkun was wise enough to surrender to UNM Navy as he realized that Louria is horribly outmatched and they can't hope to win the naval battle.
All in all, the Alliance is grateful since despite have to annihilate the entirety of Lourian advance force, they managed to secure 20,000 POWs at minimum. If not, many Lourian families will undoubtedly mourn in grief upon hearing the death of their relatives. Scarlet Defense Army even managed to show restrain when noticing the surrender of Lourian Southern Army, and they promptly captured them as POWs.
If there's one thing that made UNM more willing to handle the Lourian POWs, it's because the latter recognized that they've been bested, unlike the Saderans, who can't accept their defeat after provoking Earth more than 20 years ago. Since the Lourians are much more compliant, UNM also treated them better than the Saderans as well. And unknown to them, the captured ships and wyverns will be returned to Louria once they settled their internal matters after the war ends. After all, Historia Alliance need as many allies as possible in this world if they wish to defeat Ravernal Empire.
Seeing that there won't be any urgent matter in the space region anytime soon, Yorihime decided to depart.
"Looks like we won't have to worry about a potential space battles for the time being. I'm going to return to the Home Dimension to check the progress of the space fleet building. Call me when there's an emergency, Amagai."
"Got it, Watatsuki,"
Location: South Meikai, Outer Meikai Territory, Meikai Region, Historia Shoukan Dominion
Vice Admiral Sharkun saw the news alongside his subordinates after their defeat at Rodenius Sea. None of these news shows Lourian victory, since as soon as the calendar enters the 5th month, Louria suffers defeat after defeat. This makes him realize that his country provoked an emerging Superpower. (AN: They're a Hyperpower, actually.)
"Just how strong is Historia...?"
(AN: Far stronger than Milishial, Mu, Emor, Gra Valkas, and Japan from the original Nihonkoku Shoukan combined, that's for sure.)
Sharkun have a feeling that Historia will give a massive contribution to the development of this world. He noted that every Lourian POWs including himself are treated better than what most countries did to their prisoners, to the point that the prison complex in Meikai Region can be considered as luxurious when compared to the underground dungeons back in Louria. Not only that, they're given other skill trainings so they can fend for themselves should they're released from the prison.
Most of Sharkun's subordinates are still traumatized by what happened at Rodenius Sea last month. He can tell because he also experienced it. The best he can do now is to comfort them.
Date: May 6th, HS 2069/CC 1639
Location: Rairekishigaku, Hakurei Territory, Togoku Region, Historia Shoukan Dominion
Place: Dominion Headquarters, Meeting Room
"Well, let's see the planned roster for the upcoming Operation Trident Fall."
A group of Outsiders led by Lucy Thesda were informed about the plan to capture the king of Louria. The one who spoke just now is one of the veterans from Ansatsu Dimension, Nagisa Shiota.
"I don't think the rosters are finalized yet, Shiota-kun."
"Oh. Guess that explains why only the Outsiders who joined before 2032 that are being called, then."
"That might be the case."
The group then enters the meeting room. There, they noticed that they're not the only one, since the Resolvers have the exact same idea, and they're led by Marisa, who have returned from the Lourian front line alongside Sakuya, Alice, and Patchouli.
And as it stands, the respective leaders of Outsiders and Resolvers, Yasei and Reimu, are already there, and they're currently discussing about said plan.
"Both Scarlet Defense Army and Magus Trio Joint Forces are currently holding their position until we gave them the signal. Their combined military power should be enough to deter the Lourians from leaving Jin-Hark from the east. UNM also prepared their own invasion forces. All that remains is to create a strike group that will infiltrate the castle and capture their king."
"I see... I actually planned to do so, but I heard that Gensokyo planned to do the same. Guess that means this will be like back in the Home Dimension, Reimu."
He then looks at the assembled Outsiders and Resolvers.
"Looks like we already got the required numbers, then."
Needless to say, it confuses Lucy and Marisa, who are both members of GUF Vanguards.
"... Are you for real, Wild-kun...? Never mind, let's just get this over with."
"Sorry about that, Lucy. Now that everyone is here, we can start the discussion."
The gathered Fighters then start discussing many potential strike group rosters, and they even created many simulations to see the expected course of actions. It seems the main expectations for everyone gathered here is to assault Hark Castle and eliminate all the guards before then capturing Hark Louria XXXIV.
Both Yasei and Reimu analyzes every single simulations that are being shown. They soon made their decision.
"Alright, I want everyone gathered here to prepare for the Assault of Hark Castle in 3 days."
That shocked everyone present.
"Wha-? All of us, Wild-kun? Don't you think this is a bit... Overkill?"
"If we're using our full strength, then yes. Which is why we can only use non-lethal means to do so. We must only use our full strength whenever the Home Dimension is threatened. Besides, the objective this time is the capture of a high-profile target."
There are multiple secondary targets that are considered valuable for Louria. Best case scenario is when all secondary targets are neutralized (without killing them). Reimu then nudges Yasei to continue.
"Go on, don't leave us hanging like that."
"Ah, right. This restriction mostly apply to us Outsiders, for obvious reasons. Gensokyo already have a means to enforce a non-lethal combat, so I'm not worried about that."
"Fair enough."
The Nachtjäger sisters, Akame and Kurome, couldn't deny that their Teigus are indeed overkill. Both Murasame and Yatsufusa are considered cursed blades because of their association with death. And that's not mentioning Akame's first weapon, a Shingu called Kiriichimonji that can inflict permanent wounds, in which only Master-level Healers that can erase them.
Marisa then gives the update regarding the movement of both Magus Trio Joint Forces and Scarlet Defense Army.
"Both me and Sakuya agreed to advance our respective forces until we're 5 km near Jin-Hark. We should be able to do it in less than 2 days. And good news for us, Sonia decided to lend two Flüsterer Hubschraubers for this specific mission."
Reimu nods and then looks at Iseya, who is also one of the Outsiders.
"What kind of force that UNM will deploy for the naval invasion?"
"This might seem to be overkill, but we already decided to send 2 Enterprise Aircraft Carriers, 4 Trident Battleships, 8 Aegis Cruisers, 16 Horizon Destroyers, and 30 Siren Frigates to secure naval superiority on Rodenius Sea. Dwight Douglas will be the one in charge of this Task Force. After that, several waves of amphibious assaults carried by Voyager Transports will be initiated. Since the remaining Lourian ships are medieval-level at best, we're not worried about losing the transports, since the Voyagers are armed with missiles for self-defense against both ground and aerial threats. And a large wave of them will be enough to overwhelm Lourian coastal defenses. All in all, there will be 100 Voyager Transports that will be deployed, separated in three waves."
Many fell in silence for few seconds and realized the reason why UNM is the military powerhouse of Historia Alliance. This force composition further proves their capability.
"Okay, you guys know what to do. We'll forward this plan to the rest of the Guardians."
"Got it."
Later, the forwarded plan is approved, and Operation Trident Fall will commence in 3 days.
Location: Nankaigan, Higan Territory, Chigoku Region, Historia Shoukan Dominion
Place: Dragon Research Building, Dragon Forces Training Complex
"Hmm..."
Kasen, Asia, and Ingvild alongside few zoologists are currently examining few wyvern corpses that was sent to them following the defeat of Lourian Subjugation Army and Southern Army two days prior. The Alliance already gathered plenty data about New World wyverns based from Qua-Toyne wyvern riders that participated in the joint exercises. There is a possibility of cross-breeding between Alliance wyverns and New World wyverns. If it is successful, a new type of wyvern could be born.
Comparing the captured Lourian wyverns with Qua-Toyne wyverns, it's clear that the former are slightly stronger, reinforcing a crucial intel from KVL which states that Parpaldia Empire gave military aid to Louria Kingdom. In spite of this, it's clear that Alliance wyverns are stronger when compared with both New World wyverns. And that's not mentioning the difference between the living and dead Lourian wyverns.
"Their muscle density isn't trained well. The skin is also an inch less thick compared to our wyverns. In addition, due to the lack of flight courses and proper treatment, they can only operate for one hour. In comparison, ours can operate for 6 hours after enhanced by bio-technologies we possess."
"Their combat abilities are also lacking, especially in close range. It's telling that the wyverns we captured from Louria showed improvements in less than a month after facing our wyverns. Their carrying capabilities are severely behind that of what our wyverns can do."
While Kasen is slightly disappointed with how Lourians treat their wyverns, the fact that the one captured by the Alliance showed improvements after receiving proper treatment and actual flight course shows that there is still hope. In fact, there is a Lourian who can make his wyvern do VTOL maneuvers, and he's currently under GUF custody because of it.
"I see... How about a particular POW that caught the Union's interest?"
"The performance he showed opens an opportunity to see if other wyverns from this world showed same VTOL maneuver capabilities or not."
"Aside from that potential, I guess we should just be glad that we can improve this world wyvern's overall strengths at all. With the bio-technologies we have, I can say for sure that our wyverns can carry up to 1 ton payload. The most pressing matter currently should be how to increase their carrying capabilities. 100 kg is honestly too little."
Asia and Ingvild then offers their own suggestions as Dragon Experts from Draconic Deus.
"If we're going to return the wyverns we captured from Louria, I'd like to suggest checking the compatibility between the wyvern and a potential rider. Muller already showed high compatibility with his wyvern, so that should be the parameter used when rebuilding Louria's wyvern force."
"I think I might be able to use my Longinus, Nereid Kyrie, to determine the strength of each wyverns that we and our allies possessed in order to increase the quality of our forces. Of course, this also shows which wyvern that benefit the most from our bio-technologies."
Kasen took a moment to think about their suggestions before nodding in agreement.
"Very well. The war should be over soon, so the first priority is to check whether the wyverns we captured can be improved or not. We won't return them immediately, since I suspect that there will be a period of unrest once the war ends. We'll only return them after we confirmed that there's no longer an unrest."
"Got it, Sage Ibaraki."
With clear goals, the zoologist team continue their usual routine as Kasen, Asia, and Ingvild go out to train.
Date: May 7th, HS 2069/CC 1639
Location: Inner Perimeter of Lourian Border
Place: Magus Trio Joint Forces Command HQ
The Elite Outsiders and Resolvers have been gathered for the upcoming Operation Trident Fall. For this particular occasion, commanders from both Magus Trio Joint Forces and Scarlet Defense Army also joined the meeting.
"Everyone, we will begin the briefing of the plan to capture King Louria in Jin-Hark, the capital city of Louria."
The briefing begins.
"For the capture of King Louria, Allied Force from Red Alert Dimension have volunteered to help us arrest him. So a squad of Peacekeepers will participate in this mission. First, let me introduce you to the squad leader, John Burton."
John and the Peacekeepers who were being introduced begin to nod and started to introduce themselves.
"Greetings, my name is John Burton, the leader of Peacekeeper squad from Allied Force. In this mission, we will ride a Combat Chinook provided by UNM. I'm looking forward to work together with the Elites from GUF."
After the greeting was over, John returned to his seat.
The lights on the tent were turned off as a computer-connected projector started to display images on the screen. The screen displayed the operation's map and summary.
"Qua-Toyne Principality have approved our proposal 4 days ago. The objective of this mission is to secure King Louria himself. As soon as King Louria has been secured, we will immediately withdraw from the Kingdom."
The screen displayed an image of King Louria, reproduced from the magical projection provided by Qua-Toyne Principality.
"At the peak of Operation Trident Fall, we will conduct a surprise attack with GUF Strike Group at the castle. Then after we secured King Louria himself, the Peacekeepers will arrest him according to the plan. However, we need to make sure that we arrest King Louria with just one attempt, lest the war between Qua-Toyne Principality and Louria Kingdom last even longer."
The operation images shifted to one another.
"In order to do so, Gensokyo forces and UNM Navy will attack from south and north simultaneously to divert Lourian's attention from the Strike Group. That will mark the start of Operation Trident Fall."
The explanation continued.
"First, UNM Navy's F/A-18E Super Hornets and V-22 Ospreys will destroy the large fleet of wooden warship anchored at Jin-Hark's northern port and deprive Louria of their naval capabilities. At the same time, Gensokyo forces will nail the attention of the forces inside the capital and distract the soldiers. During this time, the units will perform attacks appropriately and grant moderate damage and tension, just before the heliborne mission begins. This time, we won't capture more wyverns."
"So that means they'll be targeted as soon as they entered the range?"
"Yes. In the first phase of Operation Trident Fall, we will bring the enemy air units in the open and render them powerless. It will be pointless to not utilize the Super Hornets to the fullest, so once they detected the enemy air units, they will move to eliminate them."
The screen projection changed once again into Hark Castle's blueprint.
"Once Lourian army's attention is divided, we will initiate the heliborne mission on Hark Castle's plaza. GUF Strike Group will infiltrate the castle and help the Peacekeepers secure the King's himself. Furthermore, if there is a battle with the palace guards, the elimination of the soldiers will be considered as legitimate self-defense. Once we have secured the King, who we think will be probably in the emergency room in the castle interior, all units will withdraw. Since it is imperative that every unit had embarked in the helicopters before the soldiers deployed on the outer walls returned to the castle, we will need to secure the King under 15 minutes after the airborne descend. In case we failed to do so, then the mission will be aborted and all units will withdraw. Are there any questions?"
The tech expert from Kawahara Dimension, Kazuto Narusaka, raises his hand. He's one of veteran Outsiders selected for the mission and he specializes in both computer and VR technologies. The rest of his party members would later ask their questions as well.
"If I remember correctly, KVL Shadow Division is the one who provided us with this blueprint. Am I correct, Captain?"
"Indeed. Prior to the start of this war, the Shadow Division infiltrated Lourian War Council meeting. The black part of the map is considered irrelevant for this mission."
"When securing the King, the Peacekeepers will be needed at the frontline. Will they also fight as well?"
"Yes, the Peacekeepers will fight alongside GUF Strike Group."
"Will all units descend into the castle by parachuting?"
"No, the Peacekeepers are not trained in using parachutes, so they will descend from the Combat Chinook using the rappelling method. As for us, we can simply jump from the Flusterer Hubschraubers and we'll still be fine."
"Will we carry out the assault on Hark Castle on daytime?"
"Yes. Gensokyo forces will draw the enemy's attention from the morning and will increase their attack intensity to some extent. Then the helicopters will be deployed once we confirmed that Jin-Hark is empty. There's a reason the codename of this operation is 'Trident Fall'."
"Are we still going to maintain the link with the battlefield control?"
"Only on limited capacity. The gathered forces have been informed to not breach Jin-Hark. We can't risk civilian casualties, which is why both I and Reimu planned this. If we can capture the king, we can expect Louria to surrender quickly. Any more questions?"
With no further questions, the group then prepare themselves for the most important part of Operation Trident Fall. The gathered Fighters are being deployed under a single group known as GUF Strike Group.
Location: Jin-Hark, Louria Kingdom
Magus Trio Joint Forces and Scarlet Defense Army have consolidated their units and are currently waiting for the signal. Both forces will be put under GUF jurisdiction for better coordination with UNM Navy for Operation Trident Fall.
They're currently camping 5 km adjacent of Jin-Hark. The combined forces consists of 30,000 fairies armed with firearms (mainly from Kirisame Elite Corps), 3 doll legions (numbered 5,000 for each legion) from Alice, golems that Patchouli and Marisa created (1,000 from Patchouli and 500 from Marisa), 200 Scarlet Tanks, and 80 Taboo Choppers. To surprise the Lourians, all lights are turned off intentionally to caught them off-guard in the morning, seeing that they've been surrounded.
Because the entire Magus Trio has been chosen for the castle assault, their respective second-in-commands will take lead of the joint forces for the time being. Narumi Yatadera will lead Kirisame Elite Corps in Marisa's stead. Maybell will take command of Rainbow Dolls Legion in Alice's place. And Koakuma will be in charge of Voile Defense Corps while Patchouli is away.
For the amphibious assault, UNM Navy have arrived at Rodenius Sea and began securing naval superiority. 100 Voyager Transports are being prepared to strike tomorrow while two Enterprise Aircraft Carriers parked themselves 150 km from Lourian Naval Base.
Date: May 6th, HS 2069/CC 1639
Place: Hark Castle
"And that's the end report of the failed invasion of Qua-Toyne..."
The War Council was filled with chatters. Around 100,000 personnel are captured, 550 wyverns are captured or eliminated, and estimated 350,000 personnel are dead, Furthermore, both Subjugation Army and Southern Army have surrendered to Historia Shoukan Dominion.
"General Miminel, the report here states that Historia forces attacked using magic weapons. What are your thoughts about this?"
"Hmm... I'm afraid I don't have such knowledge, Knight General Patagene. Why don't you ask Royal Magician Head Yamirei-dono?"
Yamirei who was examining the documents on his hand opened his eyes wide as if he noticed something.
"No way... It can't be..."
"Yamirei-dono, is something wrong?"
"A pursuing arrow of light... It's just like the guided light magic bullet in the legend! Can it be that they are the Ancient Sorcerous Empire!?"
The deduction surprises everyone present, and Patagene is shocked, knowing it makes sense. However, Miminel have a different thought.
"If they are really the Ancient Sorcerous Empire, they will not attempt to establish a diplomatic relationship with the neighboring countries or even us. Furthermore, doesn't the legend mentioned that 'On the noon of the Return, the whole world will be engulfed by a brief darkness'?"
That kind of phenomenon where the day turned into the night hadn't happened yet. Instead, there was a day when 'the night briefly became as bright as day'. It happened about four months ago, the day Historia Shoukan Dominion was transferred to this world. What follows afterwards is what is best called as 'Week of Skylight'.
"Yes, you're right..."
Pategene himself almost believed that it was the Return of the Sorecerous Empire, as he loudly cleared his throat.
"Hrumph. If that is the case, then we must consider the possibility of Historia forces attacking the Capital. I would like to hear everyone's opinion on how we strengthen our defense from now on."
"General, I have an idea about this matter."
The strategy officer of the Defense Knight Order raised their hands.
"As you gentlemen already knew, Jin-Hark possessed three walls that needed to be breached through before reaching the inner city. Furthermore, these walls were constructed in such a way that it will be difficult to be conquered from the outside. It can be called as an impregnable iron wall… No, an impregnable godly wall. The plains outside the city also provided an excellent field of view, so it will be easy to detect the enemy early. So I propose to establish a continuous 24 hours surveillance system, by increasing the guard shift."
It would take time for the enemy units to arrange their formation. With a 24-hour early warning system, even when the enemy approached and established their campsite in the night, they would be able to send troops ahead to disturb them. Or so what the strategy officer's plan will be.
The military arguments seemed to be correct, and every military staff was relieved to some extent. No matter how powerful Historia forces will be, they believed that with its strengthened defensive position the capital city of the Kingdom of Louria won't fall.
Based from the report of the surrender of Subjugation Army and Southern Army, it's very likely that Historia forces will march towards the capital from the south. Patagene immediately mobilize the Defense Knights Order to prepare for the incoming attack from Historia Shoukan Dominion.
Due to their expertise in land warfare, they believe that they can repel Historia forces.
Unknown to them, this is exactly what Historia Alliance wanted in order to divert their attention from the impending castle assault. Furthermore, Adem also reported to the Parpaldia envoy that the invasion failed, and thus Parpaldia Empire cut any support to Louria Kingdom.
Date: May 8th, HS 2069/CC 1639
Location: Jin-Hark, Louria Kingdom
The watchtowers along the walls, under the jurisdiction of the Capital Defense Knights, have seen an increase in 24-hour lookout personnel. Usually for nighttime security, lookouts would take shifts and skip some towers, but since the invasion of Qua-Toyne failed due to Historia forces' presence, the watch has been tightened. To ensure early detection of enemy forces, one or more lookouts have been assigned to every single watchtower for 24 hours.
With his shift coming up, watcher Malpaneus left the break room and headed for the southern watchtower along the outermost section of the walls.
*yawn* "I still wanna sleep..."
The horizon to the east was starting to brighten. The time had come for buildings, structures, and walls to cast their dark shadows. It was still too early for birds to sing their songs.
Looking at his surroundings, he could see the silhouette of towns perched atop hills but the area along the flat sections of the ramparts were enveloped in fog.
"Visibility is bad today..."
As a watcher, the emergence of fog obscuring his sight was the epitome of a bad day.
This fog is a phenomenon brought about by the sudden cooling of the air to a point that its temperature got lower than that of the river flowing below, causing the river water to moisturize. Once the sun comes out and warms up the air, the fog will naturally disperse, but for about 2 or 3 hours the status quo will remain.
For some reason, Malpaneus felt like something bad was about to happen.
"Ah! It's almost time! Gotta hurry or my senior will get mad."
He hurriedly jogged to the top of the watchtower.
Upon reaching the top, he switched places with his senior and surveyed the prairie. Since he was appointed as a lookout due to having good eyesight, he was confident in his ability to spot things. Since the enemy is especially anticipated to come from the south, Malpaneus was not in the least discouraged.
A gentle breeze had finally started coming in to sweep away the air dampened by the fog when…
"Hm?!"
For a moment, he saw something dark. The color blended into the prairie, making it hard to spot, but he was certain that he saw something which felt out of place. He focused his attention in the direction in which he saw that something.
It's likely to be 5 km out. The strange-looking something finally appeared in his sights.
It had an angular body and was sporting horns. The horseless carriage looking thing was accompanied by countless more and were all facing the capital. They were lined up in an orderly fashion and are spaced apart equally.
"I-is this it?! Shit!"
The defeat and surrender of the Eastern Subjugation Army and Southern Army following the failed invasion, not to mention the huge loss of ships and wyverns comes to his mind.
Pressing the switch on his manacomm with force, Malpaneus barked into its microphone.
"Watchtower 17 to Capital Defense HQ! Several unidentified objects have been spotted in the fields around 5 km from Southern Rampart 1! I repeat…"
Hearing the report, the Communications officer in Capital Defense HQ suddenly woke up from his half-asleep state. He woke up the on-duty commander and ordered all the barracks to prepare for dispatch.
The combined forces of Magus Trio and Scarlet Army have deployed around 5 km from the southern walls of the capital.
"Well... Looks like we managed to caught their attention. Still, I can't help but be reminded about the medieval army of the past, not to mention the Saderans..."
Remilia watches Lourian forces' movement from inside the Mobile HQ alongside Flandre.
"I'm with you there, big sis. Had this been back on Gensokyo or Earth, this distance would've been too close for comfort."
"Either unrestricted danmaku warfare or mortar will be the least of our worries there. So, how about we hit a watchtower to lure them to us?"
Remilia pointed to a tower jutting out from the outer walls.
"We don't know the strength of those stone walls. From our line of sight, if we fire a tank round on that tower at this angle, there's a possibility the shot could damage the city behind it once the round punched through the wall. If the fairies were to fly and fire the heavy weapons from above, I think we may be able to destroy only the tower and not the city."
"The Alliance already made it clear that our objective is to stay outside the city perimeter and draw their attention while the Strike Group will be send to capture their king, Hark Louria XXXIV. Generally speaking, we can use everything in our arsenals, but doing so would be overkill."
The Scarlet sisters immediately reminded about the Third Great War that happened from 2061 to 2062, and they shuddered at the thought.
"I don't know why Abendrot decided to adopt Wolfenstein Germany technologies, but I suppose that's their preference. At least they also add some vehicles of their own after acquiring some blueprints from UNM. That aside, we should let the Lourians attack us. That way the path to the castle will be clear and the Strike Group can move. Flan, take a Scarlet Tank with you. Drive it close to the walls and let it receive some damage. This should work as a diversion while a fairy will fire a single shot from the heavy weapons to destroy one of the towers."
"Got it, big sis."
Due to their multiple war experiences, Gensokyo forces decided to not half-assing this. It certainly helps that Flandre states that the Union will have their hides if they screwed up here. The combined forces then prepare their formation for possible Lourian retaliation while Flandre rides a single Scarlet Tank to the walls.
Malpaneus, continuing to watch over the enemies from his watchtower, noticed one of the enemy things approaching the walls as it howled. Looking closely, it had a rod jotting out of its body which looked like a battering ram used on siege engines to destroy castle gates and walls. The rod looked extremely thin for a battering ram and it felt out of place.
Seeing the situation unfold, Malpaneus reported back to HQ.
"What did he say?! One of the enemy objects which he thinks are siege engines has started to move?! How many soldiers are accompanying it?"
The on-duty commander asks through the comms officer. It has only been a while since the enemies were sighted so they still haven't heard from the officers of the knights. The personnel were still currently being woken up so it would be some time before a certain amount of soldiers would be ready to fight.
In the midst of preparations, a report suddenly comes in that one of the siege engine-like things has begun to move. The on-duty commander felt extremely impatient.
"According to Watchtowers 17, 16, and 18, there doesn't seem to be any soldiers escorting the siege engine. They also said that only a single engine is approaching us."
"H-huh?"
The on-duty commander let out a fed-up voice. The battering ram is Louria Kingdom's primary siege engine and it requires an escort of soldiers else it will easily get run down. Sending only a single engine is an amateur move, operationally speaking. The commander was perplexed by the enemy's manner of operating siege engines.
"I'm pretty sure that the southern walls have ballista, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"Destroy the engine once it gets close."
"Right away."
As ordered by the commander, troops have already gathered at the ramparts. The ballista were readied as mounds of ballista bolts were transported to the ramparts. Since the enemy was also anticipated to scale the walls, massive stones for dropping on ladders and engines were also readied.
Hearing that only a single siege engine was approaching, the baffled soldiers wondered why as they got to their positions. Normally, several siege engines would approach the walls at the same time to increase the chances a hole could be forced open in the walls. Without the presence of escort soldiers, the approaching siege engine hardly felt threatening.
However, nervousness ran through the soldiers watching from the walls as the thing approached them.
The unknown object bellowed a deep growl as it neared the walls. It was far faster than the siege engines they knew and no matter where they looked, the engine was covered completely in metal. The lone siege engine's growl eerily echoed in the silent, noiseless morning.
"Ballista 18 to 22 are ready to launch!"
The already loaded ballista lined up on top of the walls turned their bolts towards the enemy. The enemy had already come as close as 100m away from the walls and was already well within their effective range.
"Fire!"
With loud swooshes, 5 massive bolts were launched, flying towards a Scarlet Tank from Scarlet Defense Army. The bolts fired from the walls pierced through the ground, ending their usefulness.
"What the fuck are you all doing?! All of it missed!"
The garrison commander barked.
"The enemy is too fast! Landing a ballista bolt on that thing is too much to ask for, yeah?"
One of the gunners let out a sharp remark. The archers listening next to them agreed in unison.
"Fine, whatever! Let's see how hard that thing is! Ready your bows!"
The archers simultaneously pulled back their bowstrings.
"Fire!"
50 arrows were launched from the top of the walls. The swooshes, much sharper than the ones before, came in quick succession as multiple arrows landed on the thing. However, the arrows were disappointingly deflected by the metal covering the siege engine as light thumps reverberated nearby.
Immediately afterwards, the siege engine swiftly reversed and accelerated outside of the range of their bows.
"It started… running away? Wait, is that thing alive?"
"The arrows must've hurt it. Still, look at how fast it is!"
The Lourian soldiers didn't know whether it was a living thing or a siege engine, but the thing returned to join the others at a speed which defied their common sense.
The fairies from Kirisame Elite Corps already took their position in the sky above Gensokyo forces. Few of them in particular brought special weapons that Marisa created back in 2020, which are Hakkero Drones.
Currently, they've received their orders from acting commander Narumi.
"Scarlet Defense Army have confirmed an attack from Lourian forces. Prime a Hakkero Drone and direct it to target a tower from the outer wall."
Letting out a small grin at the order, one of KEC fairy commander issued the order to fire to one of the drone operators.
The core of the Hakkero Drone slowly brightens as it moves to Lourian walls' direction.
"Target on sight... Fire!"
The Hakkero Drone lights up, then immediately shoots out a large bullet of light dubbed "Spark Round" as it exited the core.
The round, possessing the speed of a Magic Missile and power of a Master Spark, is more than enough to pulverize the tower that links the outer wall of Jin-Hark. In fact, many would consider this as overkill.
Malpaneus of Watchtower 17 suddenly felt alarm bells ringing from his instincts. A premonition of certain death.
However, he cannot just ditch his responsibility as a lookout and run away because of some hunch. Just as he was questioning why he was feeling that way, he felt like his body was being pressed.
Malpaneus of the Louria Kingdom's Capital Defense Knights was hit directly by a Spark Round fired from Kirisame Elite Corps, one of Magus Trio forces. He was killed instantly as the spark hit, forever robbing his consciousness from this world.
As the round punched deeper into the castle walls, it unleashed its explosive power within. In a momentary flash of light, the reliably built stone walls were easily pulverized by the resulting explosion. Only Watchtower 17 of the first wall and its surroundings were destroyed by the blast.
The gale from the explosion looked for a way out, forcing its way upwards. The thunderous sound of the walls crumbling was accompanied by clouds of smoke jutting from the debris.
The explosive sound of the bombardment reverberated all throughout the capital, Jin-Hark, signalling the proximity of danger and waking up the citizens. The sound of bells ringing around the city propagated the emergence of a threat as people began running out into the streets plunging the city into panic.
"What the?! What's going on?!"
General Patagene of the Capital Defense Knights was awoken from his sleep as soon as he heard an explosion and rushed to the hallway still in sleepwear. Malpaneus's report still hasn't reached him. The battalion commanders and everyone below them didn't know whether the report was enough to wake up their commanders who had retired for the night.
Knowing absolutely nothing of what's going on, Patagene ran down the hallway leading south to the sound of the explosion. Emerging out onto a balcony, he was astonished by the sight he immediately found himself looking at.
"What the..."
Dense clouds of smoke rose from a section of the outermost walls.
"The capital is under attack?! How is it possible?!"
The sound of bells signalling the Defense Knights are about to enter war reached the royal castle.
Patagene quickly changed into his military apparel and wore the yellow suit of armor bestowed upon him by the king. Upon finishing his preparations, he ran straight for the emergency operations room.
Upon opening the doors to the room, he saw that the officers from all around had already gathered inside.
Everyone was uniformly rushing around, taking reports from the walls through the manacomm officer and trying to summon the lords from every domain.
"Sir Patagene!"
A young officer, taking command on-site from the on-duty commander, ran over to Patagene as soon as he saw him.
"What's the situation?!"
"Y-yes! Today at early dawn, Watchtower 17 has sighted enemy vehicles deployed in the fields south of the walls. Since there was fog last night..."
Listening to the report, Patagene made a puzzled expression as to the baffling behavior of these mysterious siege engines.
The young officer continues.
"Watchtower 17 has been completely destroyed. The section of the walls next to the tower have also crumbled. Based on the scale of the explosion, they seem to possess power on the same level as a company of mages using magic typically deployed in sieges."
"What?! So now there's a massive hole in a section of the walls?!"
"Unfortunately, yes… Due to the attack, that particular wall could no longer be reliably defended."
It was expected, sure, but Patagene bit his lips at the gravity of this single attack.
"How many soldiers could we send out right now?"
"We are still in the process of summoning infantrymen so it will be some time before they're ready. However, we have 400 on-duty rapid reaction knights on standby and are ready to sortie as soon as commanded."
"I want to know how strong the enemy is. It's certainly possible with 400 highly mobile horsemen... Alright! Have these knights sortie out and wreak havoc among their ranks! I'll leave their method of fighting to them. Find out how strong the enemy is! Still, with only 400 knights, tell them not to overdo it! After some skirmishes, have them fall back! Get our tacticians up to the walls so they can burn the sight into the back of their heads! We mustn't let our horsemen's efforts be in vain! Tell them to watch the enemy closely and search for any weak points!"
"Yes, sir!"
400 knights of the Capital Defense Knight's 32nd Troop are preparing to sally out. The troop, consisting only of mounted knights, excelled in utilizing their horses' mobility to harass and wreak havoc among their enemies' ranks.
Troop commander Hiz lamented that the attack fell on the day in which he was on duty but he nevertheless gave encouragement to his fellow soldiers.
"We, the 32nd Troop, have been given the honor to be the first to attack the enemy. Our objective is to simply grasp the enemy's strength, so after fighting them for some time, we will turn back and flee! Alright! Sally out!"
The horses neighed as the southern gate opened, letting the 400 horsemen out of the walls. The horses' hooves kicked up a cloud of dust as the troop began to march at full speed. The distance to the enemy was 4km so the first thing that they'd do is to probe how the enemy will set out to meet them by provoking them with their arrows. Everyone took an arrow from their quivers on their back.
At a distance of 4 km, they'd be upon the enemy entrenchments in 5 to 6 minutes. Hiz, followed by his comrades, advanced while performing a zigzag to try and not get caught in the long range attack which destroyed the walls. As they crossed the 2 km mark, they picked up the pace.
"Hm?"
The box-shaped objects lined up entrenched 2 km away from them suddenly let out several bullets of light, visibly flying towards them.
The bullets of light fired from the hillside entrenchments hit the knights and their horses, tearing both to shreds. Hiz, who was in front of the troop, immediately hid to escape the danger but the knights who were next to and following from behind him were all torn apart to shreds.
Even the knights who advanced with iron shields at the ready were easily peppered by the bullets and kicked off from their horses.
The steady march of the bullets of light seemingly drew red lines through the air as they easily pierced through the armor of the cavalrymen, raising up clouds of pulverized rock as they hit the ground.
"Damn! What a powerful attack!"
In just a short amount of time, they lost more than 100 men to the unending hail of light.
In front of Hiz's eyes was a comrade who was overjoyed at the birth of their child the other day... A comrade who couldn't help but grin all day because he was getting married... He spilled sweat and tears with them. They were all killed without even being given a chance to display the tactics they have cultivated together.
"Bastards!"
Burning with rage, troop commander Hiz immediately ran for the closest entrenchment. In the next moment, he was beset upon by more bullets of light.
"Huh?"
As the bullets peppered his body, sprays of blood flowered from behind him as he fell on his back.
That was the last thing he saw in this world.
In just two charges, the 32nd Troop had already lost 300 men. Losing their commander, the surviving horsemen, too afraid of the overwhelmingly powerful attack, routed completely as each man ran back towards the walls.
The Scarlet Tanks from Scarlet Defense Army simultaneously fired their Red Spear placements and Demon Fork placements at the approaching 32nd Troop of the Louria Kingdom's Capital Defense Knights. Having lost more than 300 cavalrymen, the troop was virtually annihilated.
Patagene and the rest of the tacticians watched the scene unfold in total shock.
By the time the fortunate surviving cavalrymen returned inside the walls, they finally started saying something.
"Are those... magical beasts of legend...? What powerful breath attacks... I can't believe it!"
"The knights were supposed to wreak havoc on them but they were instead left to cope with an intense volley of magic..."
"I know we've already called them monsters but... There's simply no way we could fight against that..."
"Considering the amount of magic they unleashed, if we send out a massive force utilizing human-wave tactics, the enemy may run out of magic. Still... that would be extremely costly for us."
"If we want them to exhaust their magic using human-wave tactics, then utilizing densely packed formations would be extremely perilous. Those bullets of light could easily mow down anything within their trajectory. The more we pack soldiers densely, the more our casualties will mount."
"But if we spread out the infantry... won't they just be mowed down individually?"
"There's only a few enemies. Spreading out to get closer will bear fruit."
"Surely the shields of heavy infantry would repel their bullets of light…"
"I don't think the shields of heavy infantry will be useful against magic which pierced through the shields of heavy cavalrymen..."
"It's bound to be effective. Mounted knights are lightly equipped and their horses didn't have any barding..."
"Whichever is the case, only heavy infantry could fill that role because their specialty lies in dense formations. They will close the distance to the enemy while other infantrymen spread out and approach the enemy from all directions before they attack."
The tacticians continued their discussion.
While Patagene was listening to their discussion, he mutters to himself.
"Shit... Is the enemy aiming to take the capital? I'll give them an all-out war if they do!"
As the tacticians tried to rack their heads for ideas, Knight General Patagene felt the severe burden that is the kingdom's fate on his shoulders.
Location: Lourian Northern Port
Vice-Admiral Hoyle took a gaze at the port. Even though as the commander of these fleet, his eyes had often seen the sight of 1,600 warships organized orderly, it was still so spectacular that his breath could still be stolen away. Just by one glance of a fleet this large, anyone will be filled with a surge of confidence that this fleet won't lose to any enemies.
'However...'
He remembered the Rodenius Grand Naval Battle.
'That was not a battle. It was just a slaughter...'
The humiliation from being crushed lopsidedly from a distance where their own attacks couldn't reach the enemy at all. It was an utterly tragic defeat, just like when a well-trained adult fight against a newborn baby.
'Perhaps, if we withdraw like what Historia Navy had instructed at that time, will the situation be different?'
His superior, former Vice-Admiral Sharkun, had also disappeared into the sea due to the battle with Historia Navy. Actually, Sharkun was still alive, but since Hoyle was withdrawing at that time, he didn't know about this.
Despite having a powerful fleet of the remaining 1,600 ships with 100,000 soldiers garrisoning the port, Hoyle, who became the new Naval Commander after the authority handover, didn't think that he could win against Historia in any way.
"Just how can we beat those monsters...?"
He thought over it deeply.
While he was in the middle of his thoughts, Hoyle suddenly became clear-headed and raised his gaze from the surface of the seas below him to look up. Somehow, he tasted the foreboding taste in the air.
"What's this feeling?"
Just the moment he muttered these words, several warships that were lined up in the port suddenly pulverized into scattering wood splinters and fragments, as a thunderous noise and blinding flash of an explosion sent its flame blazing.
The nearby people, who saw the fragments of the pulverized warships and the pieces of the unfortunate sailors flew around the port, immediately gripped by fear and panic.
It was just one explosion, but it was powerful enough to render several warships into useless junks. And now, that explosion rocked the port one after another.
"What the hell is happening!"
Hoyle yelled loudly.
A large number of bombs dropped from the "F/A-18E" fighters had accurately impacted the warships and exploded in succession.
A sailor had his shoulder pierced by a large wood splinter and moaned from intense pain.
"Guaghhhhhhh... My shoulder! My shoulder!"
Another sailor was in a panic over the occurring disaster.
The next moment, something passed through the sky at an extreme speed, and the port was swept over by a raging wind.
It was passing at a much greater speed than a wyvern, it turned around and then poured a rain of explosions over the anchored warship. It wasn't possible to evacuate the ships, and so the damage was so extensive, it would be unbearable.
── CLANG-CLANG
The bells signaling an attack rang and the sailors began moving hurriedly to protect the ships and equipment.
"Capital Defense HQ! This is Naval HQ! We are currently under attack! We can't cope with the aerial attack, we request aerial support from the Dragon Knights! We repeat ──"
After receiving the support request from the Naval HQ through the manacomm, Capital Defense HQ issued an emergency sortie to the Dragon Knights. The loud chime of bells resounded all over the Kingdom of Louria, and the tension was rising.
"1st Dragon Knights, this is Capital Defense HQ. Naval HQ are currently under aerial attack. Every standing-by Dragons are to perform emergency sortie and support Naval HQ. Next, for the 2nd and 3rd Dragon Knights, there is a possibility that the enemy will attack the Capital. Every standing-by Dragons are to perform emergency sortie and be on aerial guard over the Capital. I repeat ──"
The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Dragon Knights, who had received their commands, quickly changed their clothes and begin to run towards the Dragon Roost.
The newcomer of the 2nd Dragon Knights, Thanakane, also ended his rest after receiving the emergency order and prepared for the sortie. He checked his lifeline rope, sheathed a sword, and then put a leather helmet on his head.
He ran through an unpaved road towards the Dragon Roost.
A large number of wyverns were stationed in the Dragon Roost, and when Thanakane approached his partner's chamber, the opened the door.
── kun, kunkun.
His partner wyvern made a coddling sound. Though it had a scary face, his partner was actually a pampered boy. Thanakane opened his hand and rubbed the wyvern's nose.
"I'll be counting on you, partner."
He put the reins and fastened it on the wyvern's head. He placed the saddle, that will prevent him from falling even when diving from high altitude, and checked the fastener condition.
The wyverns of his seniors were in the holding position over the runway and starting to take off.
"Whoops... We were late."
He placed his feet on the wyvern's thighs and then mount it on its back. He is a Dragon Knight. Guardians of the Kingdom, and its Sword ── His heart is filled with strong emotions since he will protect this country.
He couldn't suppress the joyous thrill before his first actual battle.
Since a common soldier on the end of the command won't know about the progress of the battle, his seniors, including Thanakane, thought that the current attack on the port was just enemies arriving from the sky and did a surprise attack. Thanakane was full of confidence that he and his trusted partner could easily defeat the enemy.
"Go‼"
The Dragon Knight Thanakane began to take off. The wyvern made a powerful kick off on the dirt runway.
While starting to run with its wings spread out, the wyverns reached the speed it could take off, as its giant body rose from the surface. Then they flew towards the clear blue sky.
Location: UNM Naval Assault Task Force
As UNM Navy's "F/A-18E" fighters from Enterprise Aircraft Carriers attacked Louria's port, the battlefield control system detected approaching aerial units. One-third of those blips went to the port while the other two-third seemed to be guarding Jin-Hark's airspace.
The number of bright blips on the radar was 150, which was such an overwhelming number. However, although their number was large, their speed was only about 230 km per hour, and so it can be guessed that these wyverns have fighting capabilities equal to wyverns that GUF had captured during Operation Dragon Subjugation. So their threat was basically: Nothing.
Since the distance from Jin-Hark to the port was only about 40 km, both Enterprise Aircraft Carriers must have already detected them, but just in case, they notified their respective "F/A-18E Super Hornet" squadrons that were currently flying in the sky to prepare for an aerial fight.
All 40 UNM "F/A-18E" fighters were flying above the port. Their objective was to eliminate Lourian aerial units that have been sortied to the port and secure air supremacy above the Capital's airspace with one squadron even volunteering to help Gensokyo forces divert Lourian forces' attention from GUF Strike Group and Allied Peacekeepers once the approaching wyverns has been eliminated.
The squadrons of "F/A-18E" had already detected a large number of air units deployed above Jin-Hark and the Port slightly away from the city. The pilots followed the standard operating procedure in a swift and precise manner and prepared to engage the targets.
Their distance to the targets was already less than 100 km and inside the missiles' effective range.
From the radio communicators, a clear order was stated.
"Open fire!"
The solid fuel on the missiles equipped by "F/A-18E" fighters began to ablaze.
From both hardpoints under the wings of the "F/A-18E", the 160 km medium-range AIM-120D missiles were launched and then immediately flying at the Mach 4 speed. With a thunderous roar, they zoomed over the sky to destroy the wyverns that were flying above the Kingdom of Louria.
Location: Jin-Hark Airspace, Louria Kingdom
The 2nd and 3rd Dragon Knights were flying in a circle to guard over the royal capital. The scene of 100 wyverns flying together was magnificent and the citizen of the Capital had overflowed into the streets to have a glance of their gallant figures.
Thanakane was also there, guarding over the capital together with his seniors.
"Hmm?"
He seemed to take a glimpse of something moving really fast.
Immediately after he moved his line of sight, the senior wyvern, who was flying in front of him, exploded into pieces. The scattered remnants of former human and wyvern fell down, pulled down by gravity.
"Wha-!"
Thanakane yelled his surprise. But that surprise didn't end just yet.
"H-... hey!"
Suddenly, the wyvern he rode with started to dive down.
"Hey! Hey! Don't move on your own."
He had a great skill to maneuver his trusted partner as if they were one body, but he's still very inexperienced in dealing with a wyvern's instinctive fear during a battle. Ironically, said inexperience saved him.
"Kugh... ! How can the King of the Sky be frightened like this!?"
Without minding Thanakane's scolding, the wyvern swooped through the air. When it almost reached the ground, it immediately changed its orientation and killed its speed just before it would crash, but ended up awkwardly landed while tumbling hiddenly under the Third Wall surrounding the Capital.
"Gugh!"
Thanakane, still tethered to his lifeline, had fallen from the wyvern and rolled on the ground. Dust was on his mouth and eyes.
"Ouch, ouch... Da-damn! Hey partner, just what on earth..."
He approached his partner, but the wyvern was looking on the sky while shivering in fear. Thanakane also followed it gaze direction and looked at the sky, where a disastrous scene was in play.
"What... the...!?"
Just beyond their point of view, there were figures of his friends exploded one after another by some sort of attack. The wyverns, previously numbered 100, has been rapidly reduced, with only 10 remaining.
The explosion, the cracking noise, and a shower of blood and flesh. An obviously bizarre scene unfolded in the sky, as the eerie demonic scream of death reverberated in Jin-Hark.
The people living in Jin-Hark had no idea what had happened for a moment, and everyone doubted their own eyes. The moment the cracking boom resounded, when they looked up, there was a rain of dark red.
"Whaaaa! What! What is going on!"
"Noooooooo!"
A merchant was in a panic at the blood bathing them. A woman lost her calm at the ghastly sight and screamed. It didn't take long until the whole Capital was wrapped in chaos and the Capital Defense Knights realized that something had gone wrong, terribly wrong.
Thanakane tried to encourage his wyvern partner to take flight again, but his partner didn't respond at all. In the meantime, some arrowhead-shaped object flew at an ultrafast speed while shooting light bullets which reaped the lives of the remaining Dragoons. With a thunderous roar, 'it' climbed and then disappeared into the distant sky. Thanakane was familiar with the speed of wyvern, but he never saw, no… not only him, but every citizen in the Kingdom has never seen something moved this fast.
"No... This can't be happening...! ...If this is a dream, please wake me up..."
Friendly wyverns were shot down one after another. In just under the timespan of few minutes, all wyverns had disappeared from the sky of the Capital Jin-Hark.
Hark Castle was in great turmoil like a disturbed beehive, The Royal Chief Magician Yamirei was running with 100 Royal Magicians following him. The first line of defense – beyond the bows and arrows range – was the duty of the magicians. They couldn't see any signs of the enemy on the plains. Since elevation and fire rate of the attack were the maximum priority, they climbed the stairway leading the top of the inner walls.
"Huff...! Huff...! Huff...!"
The magicians were running out of breath.
Finally, they reached the top and looked up. There couldn't see any figure of their allies anymore, only the enemy flying around at great speed.
"Curses─── Don't just act like you own the damn place! Everyone, let's show them the power of the Royal Magicians!"
They lined up side-by-side and raised their canes in unison. They began recited their spells, and flame bullets formed at the tip of their cane.
It was aimed at the enemies in the sky.
"Take this! Fireball."
On Yamirei's signal, fireballs comparable to a wyvern's boosted flame shot were launched towards the sky one after another with a speed similar to a baseball thrown by a professional pitcher (~150 km/h).
One hundred people released one shot every 30 seconds. The 200 fireballs per minute that were continuously fired looked like the tracers of an antiaircraft gun.
At first glance, it looked like a powerful anti-air counterattack ───
But their magic, which was far slower than a fighter's speed, never managed to land a single hit.
Location: GUF Strike Group
Both Yasei and Iseya received reports from their respective sides.
"Lourian 2nd and 3rd Dragon Knights are virtually annihilated, Grand Marshal. As of now, we're currently sinking down their warships." (Dwight Douglas)
"We managed to lure and decimate a detachment from their garrison. We'll hold the position while you guys strike down their king." (Remilia Scarlet)
After confirming the reports via battlefield control, they both decided to board one of the Flusterer Hubschraubers with the Outsiders. At the same time, Gensokyo group did the same. Lastly, the Peacekeepers enters the Combat Chinook. Surprisingly, Muller volunteers to escort the group after being told about Operation Trident Fall.
Soon after, GUF Strike Group takes off and headed towards Hark Castle.
"The middle teeth of the Trident is ready. Louria will fall today."
Introduced units
Scarlet Tank: Main Battle Tank of Scarlet Defense Army. It's known to be the fastest tank in Gensokyo.
Users: Gensokyo Union Fighters, Historia Shoukan Dominion
Origin: Touhou und Panzer Projekt by Pompmaker1
F/A-18E Super Hornet: A versatile carrier-based fighter capable of providing support for aircraft, ground forces, and ships. With better maneuverability at medium speeds than high-speed fighters, it is effective in air raids.
Users: Gensokyo Union Fighters (Air Force), United Nations Military (Strangereal/Armed Forces), Historia Shoukan Dominion
Origin: Real-life