PSA: -Someone mentioned Gantz. I had a look and while the concept is interesting it would probably be better for a separate story.
-In case anyone was wondering, the gate in the new world is located just south of the Azerlisia mountains in the Tob forest.
-Also in case anyone was wondering, as of the end of this chapter it is currently day 27.
Steel and Sorcerers - Chapter 21
Ainz sat upon the Throne of Kings, the NPCs arrayed throughout the room before him, Demiurge and Albedo standing on either side.
Narberal and himself had returned to Nazarick earlier that day. He had brought back with him a cheap computer and solar charger he had bought with their salary, as well as a number of hard-drives containing information he had gathered on Earth. They were now holding a meeting to discuss the JSDF's alliance with the Dwarf kingdom.
Demiurge looked to Ainz, seeking permission to begin the discussion. Ainz nodded to give his approval.
"As some of you may know, the humans coming from the other world known as 'Earth', who we will refer to as the 'JSDF', have recently began increasing their relations with the Dwarf kingdom, which borders to our north. Such a development is detrimental to the security of Nazarick, thus we must take actions to prevent their relationship from developing further. Ainz-sama in his great wisdom has already foreseen such an event, and had travelled to Earth to gather information personally. The knowledge that he gathered there will no doubt be of utmost importance leading up to and including the final phase of his plans."
"Huh? My plans?" thought Ainz, looking to the NPCs to see their reactions. They simply beamed back at him, as if this was all expected to them.
"Now, Ainz-sama" said Demiurge with a smile, turning to face him. "Please enlighten us as to how we should deal with this situation."
Ainz wracked his brain for a moment, trying to come up with something. To be honest, he had only received the full report about what was going on in the Dwarf kingdom earlier that day, and thus still hadn't read it yet let alone formulated a plan of action.
"Ahem… Demiurge, before that, I would like to hear your proposal on how we should proceed."
Demiurge's crystalline eyes widened. "To think you would be so considerate as to listen to my own meagre proposal. Would it really be alright?"
"Yes, of course. Please continue."
"Understood. The JSDF intend to help the dwarves reclaim their lost cities from the Quagoa and frost dragons. Based on Ainz-sama's reports, I predict that they will be able to recapture the city of Feo Raizo in the south, and the ruins of Feo Teiwaz in the west, within a month. Given enough time, they may even be able to conquer Feo Berkana, the capital, which contains the majority of the Quagoa as well as being home to several frost dragons. Now, for the first phase of our plans, we would simply observe, and allow them to capture Feo Raizo and Feo Teiwaz. Once they were on their way to attacking the capital however, we would intervene, assuming leadership over the dragons and Quagoa, and driving the dwarves and JSDF all the way back to Feo Jera where they began. From there, we would then be able to move onto Phase 2."
"Hmm, I see" said Ainz.
Waiting for the Dwarves and JSDF to gain ground would enable the study of their tactics, and may cause them to over-extend, making a counter-attack far more lethal. In addition, when Nazarick assumes control over the dragons and Quagoa they could change up their pattern of attacks, catching the Dwarves and JSDF off guard. He wasn't sure about some details though, but maybe those were covered in Phase 2.
"That sounds similar to what I had come up with" he lied.
Demiurge grinned, "To think I would be able to grasp even a fraction of your plans!"
Aura suddenly spoke up. "Sorry, but I don't get why we have to wait for the dwarves and whoever to recapture some of their cities. Why don't we just crush them all now?"
Ainz suddenly felt as if a fist was clenching his stomach. She had a point. With Nazarick's resources, pushing the JSDF out of the Dwarf kingdom should be a trivial task, even if done covertly.
"The answer is simple," replied Demiurge with a sadistic smile. "Twice the pride, double the fall."
'Wait, so he wants to demoralise them?' thought Ainz.
"I still don't get it" said Aura.
Demiurge sighed, shaking his head with an amused smile. "We want to inflict maximum casualties on both the Dwarves and the JSDF, both physically and psychologically. Allowing them to grasp at victory will only serve to deepen their despair when we thoroughly extinguish that flame of hope. This way the dwarves will be increasingly desperate for help, but turn away from their previous allies to seek a potential new benefactor. The JSDF on the other hand will suffer a major blow to their morale, and operations in this world, which may have additional consequences for them back on Earth."
"Ohh, that makes sense" said Aura.
Ainz still had one question though. "Who will be responsible for this operation?" he asked.
Demiurge replied, "Since Albedo is preoccupied with administrating Nazarick, I could assume responsibility. Although I currently have my duties in the Re-Estize kingdom, many aspects of this operation will overlap with my work over there. Meanwhile, Shalltear would remain on standby back at Nazarick, and for now Sebas and Pandora's actor would stay in E-Rantel. Although, I'm sure Ainz-sama has other plans regarding that."
'Other plans? Is he talking about how Pandora's actor is currently assuming the role of Momon? Or is he referring to Shalltear?' pondered Ainz.
'Since I don't have much else to do right now I guess I could go switch with Pandora's actor and try to increase Momon's prestige. I hope he hasn't done anything weird to skew peoples' perceptions of me.'
Fluder Paradyne was sitting at his headmaster's desk in the Imperial Magic Academy when he received a knock at his door.
"Come in," he called out.
The person who entered was the vice-headmaster.
"What seems to be the matter?" asked Fluder. He was a busy man who had many responsibilities, not to mention his own research.
"Two representatives from the Far-East Trading Company wish to speak with you."
"What does a Trading Company want with me? Send them away."
"Sir, it's that new company that has their main base of operations in the middle of the Great Forest of Tob."
Fluder paused for a moment. He had heard snippets of information about that organisation, but the only real interesting he had heard about them was that they were based in the forest. He was a little intrigued about why they would choose to base themselves in such a hazardous location, but it didn't really concern him.
"What did they want to speak about?" he asked.
"They said they might have a new kind of magic, although I'm not sure I believe them."
"Hmmm, well, just in case, book them in at the next available timeslot in my schedule. Actually, no, tell them I'll see them tomorrow evening."
It was the following day, and Fluder headed to one of the meeting rooms within the Imperial Ministry of Magic. He didn't anticipate that this trading company would have some revolutionary form of magic, but they apparently came from a far-off land, so they may have some exotic items or spells. He quickly checked his appearance before entering the room.
There were two male individuals sitting at the main table inside. They wore fairly ordinary high-class garments, but had black hair, and features similar to those people seen in the far south. Perhaps that was where their company was from. Not as remote as Fluder had hoped, but they might still have something interesting.
The two individuals stood up and introduced themselves. Their names also sounding similar to those from the far south. Fluder then took a seat at the table. "Let's begin then."
"Well then. Paradyne-dono, what we seek is an exchange of information."
"I see. Well, I can't reveal anything classified, but what would you like to know?"
"There are a couple of things we would like to discuss. Firstly, there are the rumours that some time ago a certain legendary undead was encountered in the Katze Plains."
Fluder's face didn't budge as he responded. "Yes, I am aware of these rumours."
The two representatives waited for Fluder to continue, but he didn't elaborate further.
"Well, we were wondering if you knew anything more specific about its name, appearance or abilities?"
"Hmm, I suppose I could try to find more information about that for you, but what is it that you are offering in exchange? You mentioned a new kind of magic?"
"Indeed. However, we were hoping to discuss that next. What we are offering is information about the individual known as Ainz Ooal Gown. I presume you have heard of his exploits at Carne village?"
"Yes, indeed I have. Are you in contact with him?" asked Fluder, a little excitedly.
"Unfortunately not. It's just that a powerful undead being was reportedly accompanying him while he was there, and we were seeking confirmation of whether it might be the same type as the one encountered in the Katze plains."
"Oh." Fluder's heart sunk. He was already fairly certain that the undead being that accompanied Ainz Ooal Gown was the same as the one encountered in the Katze plains, and now kept beneath the Ministry of Magic. It couldn't hurt to be extra sure though.
"Could you describe it for me?"
The representatives gave their description, which confirmed what Fluder already knew. "Yes, that does seem to match the description" he said.
"Our thanks, Paradyne-dono. Now, we were going to discuss magic."
"Yes, indeed. Please tell me all about it" Said Fluder excitedly.
"Rather than telling you, perhaps it would be easier to show you."
One of the representatives produced a small flat rectangular device from his pocket about the size of his palm. Pressing a button on the side, images accompanied by some kind of foreign text appeared on its surface. Manipulating the device by touching the display with his fingers, he raised it up and pointed it at one of the walls. Lowering the device back down and placing it on the table, the exact likeness of that section of wall was displayed on the surface of the item.
Fluder felt a slight thrill. Although this appeared to be some sort of fairly basic divination magic, he hadn't seen anything like it before. "What is that? How did you do it?" the questions came flooding out.
"Firstly, Paradyne-dono. I must confess something."
"Yes?"
"I'm not actually a mage. I can't use magic."
"Oh... So it is the item itself that holds the power then. What kind of spell is it enchanted with?"
"You misunderstand. This item isn't actually magical. It was created through the power of technology."
"Technology?" Fluder was familiar with the concept, but generally it was looked upon with doubt since magic was almost always far more effective. Based on what he had heard, something as complex as this shouldn't be possible.
"Do you mind if I check?" he asked.
"Not at all."
Fluder cast the spell [Detect Enchant] on the device, getting no result. It seemed they were telling the truth. To be honest though, although this was potentially revolutionary, Fluder was only really interested in magic.
"Indeed, the item doesn't appear to be enchanted in any way. However, why did you come to me specifically about this? Surely any other high-ranking official would do."
"Well, in return for technologies such as this, we were hoping to gain insights about your own magical research, as well as perhaps recruit some members of your academy in a sort of exchange program."
"Ah, I see... That may be possible, although I will need to consult other parties as well about this decision. We shall discuss this further once I've done that then."
Major Haruto Watanabe began running through his pre-flight checklist as the auxiliary power unit on his newly refurbished F-4EJ Kai whirred to life. Glancing outside he could see the ground crews working busily around the aircraft on the freshly paved black tarmac. He would have the privilege of being one of four jets involved in the first attack mission flown in the special region.
He gave the ground crews a thumbs-up as his second engine came online. He had to make sure he was slow and methodical to ensure nothing was missed. It had been a couple of years since he had last flown the F-4, and these aircraft had only recently been brought out of retirement, so the chance for error was high. Still, the thought of being able to fly his old plane again invigorated him, despite the risks involved.
In spite of the hasty refurbishments, the F-4EJ Kai aircraft lacked many capabilities essential for this mission, so a Mitsubishi F-2A and an F/A-18E Super Hornet had been brought in instead to provide cover and support.
After performing more checks, Watanabe was satisfied that everything was properly configured for launch. An order came crackling through his radio. "Hammer Four-One, fly runway heading, quick climb to one-eight thousand approved, cleared for take-off, change to departure."
After giving his confirmation, and waiting for the ground crew to clear, Watanabe pushed the throttle forward to select full-afterburner, and began to speed down the runway. Within seconds he was airborne, and he raised his landing gear and flaps to prepare for the climb to altitude. Looking in one of his rear-view mirrors he could see his wingman in the other F-4 taking off behind him.
"Hammer Four-One, vector zero-one-zero," came the voice of the controller through his radio again.
Watanabe turned his aircraft north towards the target vector, his wingman in the other F-4 around a hundred feet off on his left wing, and the F-2 and F/A-18 at a higher altitude trailing about half a mile behind them. They were currently cruising at 200 knots, 30,000 feet in the air to avoid hitting the mountains. Since they didn't have GPS, they instead received positional updates from the F-2, which used its inertial reference system to guide them to their target location.
They would be striking various reported monster nests in the Azerlisia mountains region which were near the route to the Dwarf kingdom. Since the targets were less than 100km away, they had had to make a number of turns while they were gaining altitude to avoid overflying any of the surrounding nations.
While the F-2 was mostly configured in an air-to-air loadout, the two F-4EJ Kai's were each equipped with 18 GBU-12 laser-guided bombs. The F/A-18 also carried a number of laser-guided bombs, along with an AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR targeting pod. This pod was essential because the F-4EJs lacked ground-attack capability. With it, along with a datalink transceiver, the F/A-18 would be able to guide the bombs in for them.
They were approaching the first target now, and the F/A-18 pilot used his targeting pod on infra-red mode to inspect the location, making out several heat signatures. "Hammer Four-Three to Hammer Four-One, tally target, visual enemies. You are cleared hot" he announced over the radio.
At this, Major Watanabe initiated the bomb release on one of his GBU-12's, feeling a slight jolt and loss of weight as it separated from the aircraft. A few moments later he received another transmission from the F/A-18. "Good hit! Enemies neutralised. Standby for next target."
It continued like this over the next few hours, moving from target to target, dropping a bomb on each one. They were high up enough that the few airborne monsters they spotted didn't even see them, although they could presumably hear the distant rumble of their engines, and looked around confusedly trying to see them.
This would hopefully alleviate some pressure on the personnel transporting troops and supplies to the Dwarf kingdom, although it was likely this mission would have to be repeated several times as the monsters moved back into new areas. There were reports that frost dragons were present in the mountain range, although the area they were operating in luckily didn't seem to have any.