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Chapter 78
The Great Empire Wavers 2
: The Great Empire Wavers 1
The airport, Leifor sector, Gra Valkas Empire
After the Gra Valkas Empire subjugated Leifor, they built an airport at the capital. At that same airport, a medium-sized piston engine aircraft landed at the runway.
Outside, it looked like a regular aircraft, but the interior was brimming with luxurious and magnificent ornaments. The piston engine aircraft slowly moved towards the apron from the runway and eventually came to a halt.
A metal staircase was then installed on the aircraft’s doorway.
Spread out beyond the staircase was a red carpet from which beyond stood the executives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the military. Kneeling on one of their knees behind them were 3000 elite Imperial Army soldiers. It was a superbly magnificent sight. The military’s band played elegant music.
The plane’s door slowly opened and a man stepped outside. His eyes were sharp and his build was bigger than that of the average citizen, standing at more than 185cm tall. The man, out of all the members of the dignified and glorious imperial family of the Gra Valkas Empire, held the position of being next in line to the throne. His name is Gra Cabal. No one in the empire doubted that he would later become the king of the world. The Imperial Army soldiers were deeply moved by the fact that the man standing in front of them was the Crown Prince, a figure that held so much power and authority, and some of them even shed tears due to their overwhelming joy.
“Thank you for coming to welcome me!”
After the Crown Prince said some words, he began to descend down the stairs towards the carpet. He walked down the carpet and entered the luxury car prepared for him.
“Alright
 Let’s go!”
The car transporting Gra Cabal heads for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building. It was scheduled that after receiving explanations at the Foreign Affairs building, he would set out for one of the second-line bases and from there head for the former Mu town of Alue before heading for Valkyries base. There are oppositions to him visiting Alue due to how close it is to enemy bases, but the plan was carried out nonetheless due to the Crown Prince’s stubborn insistence.
・・・
Mu capital Otaheit
At a certain tavern, an official of Mu’s military was talking to a female reporter.
“I’m telling you, Kanny, Otaheit is a dangerous place to be in!”
“Really now, General Lakul? That’s so scary! What do you mean by dangerous, by the way?”
Due to numerous visits by Kanny, a reporter from one of the big newspaper companies that cover the military, to build human relations with those in the military, General Lakul was talking to her in a close manner.
“The military will soon be announcing something.”
“Really~? Tell me now! You got me interested!”
Kanny asks him in an alluring voice. As he slowly chugged down on alcohol, Lakul lost his usual presence of mind as a military official.
2 hours later

“Right, right. By the way, General Lakal, I wanna hear more about that stuff that you said about how Otaheit is dangerous!”
“Reaaallyyy
”
“It’ll be announced later on anyway, right~? I won’t tell anyone so go on! You and I are close, right?”
“Yeah
 Kanny, don’t tell anyone, okaaaay~?”
Breaking military regulations, Lakul leaks out information.
・・・
The next day, Leiforia, Gra Valkas Empire
The airplane carrying the Crown Prince takes off from the airport. Off to send him away were the executives of the military. Foreign Affairs’ Cielia and Dallas, suffering no setbacks accommodating the Crown Prince and seeing his plane take off, breathed out sighs of relief. They took a car back to the Foreign Affairs building to finish any remaining work. Upon arriving, they immediately went to their offices.
“It’s already noon?”
With noon approaching, everyone opened their packed lunches and began eating lunch. Someone turns on the TV.
“Tune in to Mu’s channel.”
At Cielia’s orders, a staff member sets the TV to the radio waves coming from Mu. Understanding Leifor’s situation well, it has become a daily routine to tune into Mu’s television channel at lunch to get more information on their enemies. The noon news was starting.
“Today, we have a special news report, so we will be extending our time allotment!”
A serious expression appears on the usually relaxed newscaster as they begin to speak. A beautiful woman next to them nods in agreement.
“I will repeat the contents published on the front page of our newspapers!”
The unfolding dialogue by the two newscasters was easy to understand.
“On the 7th day of the 2nd month of Central Calendar Year 1643, immediately after the Great Naval Battle at Baltica, where the World Union Fleet and the Gra Valkas Imperial Navy clashed, we have ascertained that a 8-ship fleet from the Gra Valkas Empire was deployed to destroy the capital Otaheit. At the same time, a detachment aircraft carrier task force was sent to bathe the economic city of Mykal in flames!”
Dallas, who was just listening to the news, spits out the coffee he was just drinking. An attack on Mu’s east coast at the same time as the battle at Baltica
 When he reported back to the homeland, he suggested the idea to the Foreign Affairs Minister when they met and talked over at the mess room. What he said was just idle talk. Dallas eagerly concentrated his attention on the TV.
“That was this morning’s article, right? How did Mu manage to eliminate the threat posed by the empire?”
“Ah, yes! Do you know the La Kasami?”
“Yes! It’s the symbolic ship of Mu and it can be said to be its strongest! It was reported back then that it had undergone modifications in Japan before being returned to Mu!”
“Well actually, it was the Capital Defense Fleet that sallied out to defend Otaheit. Due to resupply delays, the La Kasami Kai came to the defense a bit later on!”
“Then, was it the Capital Defense Fleet that saved Otaheit from the Gra Valkas Empire’s attack?”
“No. The Capital Defense Fleet suffered catastrophic damages due to air attacks from the Gra Valkas Empire fleet. However, the La Kasami Kai managed to reach the battlefield due to their help!”
“Really? What happened next?”
“The La Kasami Kai’s anti-air capabilities were greatly increased, allowing it to easily shoot down the Gra Valkas Empire aircraft that came for it! After that, it faced the 8 Gra Valkas Empire ships alone in a decisive battle!”
“Woah! Really?!”
“The Gra Valkas Empire’s super battleships possessed power equal to those of the Holy Mirishial Empire’s Mithril-class magic battleships! La Kasami Kai fought in a struggle to the death against the 8 ships, including one of those super battleships!
“What happened?”
“Actually, we have partial tape recordings from the bridge itself that our company has acquired from relevant parties. Let’s listen to them!”
“Alright!”
The government’s classified information that was exposed on Mu’s morning publications was originally planned to be made public when the time came, but since it was already reported en masse on the morning publications, the government intentionally released some tapes to the mass communication companies.
The tape then plays.
“Enemy ships are firing!!”
“Report on their trajectories and evade them!! Their calibers are more than 35cm!! We take one hit and we’re done for!!”
“Yes, sir!! The enemy shells are heading straight for us!!”
“Hard to port!!!”
Thunderous sounds that sound like something was hitting the water played over their recorded voices.
“Enemy destroyers are closing in at 25km!! Enemy cruisers at 28km!! We’ll soon enter their range!!”
“They’re fast
 Looks like they’re not holding back
”
“If we get too close, we’ll be overwhelmed by the density of their bombardment!! Their firepower is too great. If we take even a single hit, we’re
 No! If we lose here, the capital will be razed!! Ready the new weapons!!!”
“Ah. The tape was cut here! The continuation seems to take place shortly afterwards!”
“Shit!! They’re a hard nut to crack!!”
Thunderous noises ring out over the tape.
“The bow is hit!!!”
“The bow main guns are bent!! They’re unusable!!!”
“Keep the stern rapid-fire gun firing!!!”
Sounds of explosions followed by the sound of metal hitting against metal played over the tape.
“Stern turret disabled!!!”
“What?!”
“Don’t give up now! Even if it’s hopeless, we mustn’t give up! We
 are the defenders of Mu!!!”
“That was all of the tape recordings we managed to acquire!”
“That
 was intense! While we were enjoying our peaceful lives here, those men were out there putting their lives on the line!”
“According to our sources in the government, after that, the La Kasami Kai used new weapons granted by Japan, sinking several enemy battleships and cruisers. After that, it seems that airpower gathered from within the continent conducted the largest air attack in our history, sinking the enemy off Otaheit. Our navy lost 10 ships from the Capital Defense Fleet, annihilating them completely, while the La Kasami Kai was badly damaged and is at the docks for repairs!”
“A fleet from the Gra Valkas Empire which was hard to deal with for even the Holy Mirishial Empire was blocked by a single ship and later annihilated by Mu’s air attacks. Am I right?”
“Yes!”
“Well then, what about the enemy force attacking Mykal? What happened to them?”
“It seems that the Gra Valkas Empire intended the attack on Mykal to be the primary objective, so the fleet that was sent there was larger in scale than the one sent to Otaheit. According to summaries in the morning publications, the enemy fleet made contact with the 4th Escort Flotilla of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and was annihilated. The reason for their forces being here was to accompany the La Kasami Kai so that it can be safely delivered to Mu in our current state of war. There’s information that when Japan and the enemy fleet made contact, they carried out an attack using anti-ship guided munitions!”
“What kind of attack is it?”
“The details are currently unclear. We will broadcast a special feature on this in the evening! It won’t be in time for the noon broadcast, but for the special feature, we will have someone employed by the military that’s good with Japan’s military speak!”
“Alright then! What about the casualties suffered by Japan’s Self-Defense Force?”
“The casualties they suffered are
 huh? None?!”
“What?! Even the Holy Mirishial Empire suffered a great deal of casualties in the last naval battle, with the enemy having lost a similar number of ships! For Japan not to have suffered casualties, it is a bit unbelievable!”
“According to the morning publication articles on this matter, the Mu government will hold a press conference with reports at 3:00pm! There, the authenticity of the article will be verified!
I will repeat once more.
On the 7th Day of the 2nd Month, the Mu National Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyed the Gra Valkas Empire fleets attacking the capital Otaheit and Mykal. According to our sources, these fleets were deployed from their mainland. The two countries’ fleets managed to achieve something spectacular that not even the World Union Fleet could do!”
The TV was blaring out news that none of them have ever heard of before. The suddenness and unexpected nature of the information felt deceiving. And yet

Everyone stopped partway through their meals due to the shocking information and simply stared at the TV. The dumbfounded Cielia and Dallas were frozen from the shock.
The shock was too great. The silence seemed to just continue on.
“N-n-no way
 Could this be the information that congressman Guinea stumbled upon?”
“B-bullshit! I call bullshit on this! Isn’t this just the common deceptive information prevalent in wartime?!”
No one replied to Dallas’s question or self-talk and the silence continues.
First, there was the provision of information on Japan’s technologies. Next was the info on how their “Coast Guard personnel” aren’t military personnel, which they’ve been told countless times. Finally, there was the information that came from Mu’s news.
If all these were true, then Japan is undoubtedly powerful.
Furthermore, they also just received information from Imperial Army Officer Ramball the other day of how the Navy was afraid, which raises the credibility of the news information. However, up to this point, it was common sense that the empire is undefeated, and with the reality that Japan doesn’t control the countries surrounding it, let alone the Parpaldia Empire that had pulled Japan into a war, which is contradictory to the empire’s common sense, they could only take it as Mu’s mass communications spreading deceptive information.
If this was true, then there’s a possibility that they pose a threat to the Crown Prince. They must bypass the Imperial Family Affairs Office and report this directly to the Emperor. However, in the event that this is indeed deceptive information, they’d be labeled as incompetents that can easily be swayed. They process what information they had in their minds.
“We first need to verify the situation.”
Cielia’s voice trembled, likely due to the immense shock.
“Uhh
 I will inquire with the mainland regarding the information just now.”
Dallas, who paid attention to the details, tells Cielia as he stands from his seat.
The two were dumbfounded by what they had heard.
・・・
Roughly 500km west of the Mu continent was an island the size of Hokkaido. The land was once called the Irnetia Kingdom.
The Irnetia Kingdom was invaded by the Gra Valkas Empire and was subsequently toppled.
When the empire’s threat loomed over the kingdom, Bealey, lord of the royal capital, and Prince Aethes embarked on a diplomatic journey to save the kingdom. They actively seeked action from Mu and the Holy Mirishial Empire, leading to the resolution of the international community at the 11 country conference that condemns the Gra Valkas Empire. It can be said that the 11 country conference’s condemnation resolution brought about by the nudging of a country from outside the civilized areas was a diplomatic success, but by the time the resolution was made, the kingdom had already been toppled over.
A certain tavern, port city Cartalpas, Holy Mirishial Empire
The port city of Cartalpas was the place where information from across the world was gathered. In the midst of the city was a famous tavern where info from various countries intertwined with one another. At that tavern were drunkards talking to one another.
Talking in disappointment at one of the corners were Aethes, the prince of the now defunct Irnetia Kingdom, and lord of the royal capital, Bealey.
“Okay, so the World Union Fleet
 and the Holy Mirishial Empire, the champion of the world, threw in their first-of-the-line warships and even some superweapons from the ancient sorcerous empire. Despite all that, the battle still ended in a draw with both sides having suffered a great deal of damage?”
“Yeah. The Gra Valkas Empire being that strong is nothing more than just unexpected. I used to think that maybe the superpower Mu could at least emerge victorious.”
For the Irnetia Kingdom, a country outside the civilized areas, countries within the civilized areas were unbelievably strong with the superpower Mu being a country way above their reaches. As for the Holy Mirishial Empire, which is said to possess power similar to the ancient sorcerous empire, they are the sole country that could fight against the revived sorcerous empire. They believed that their strength was simply divine.
Despite them putting all of their divine strength into the fight, the reality is that the battle ended in a draw. They may be able to impede the Gra Valkas Empire from world domination, but taking back the Irnetia Kingdom is now just a dream within a dream.
The two fell to the very depths of their disappointment.
“Here! Your beer!”
“Ah, thanks.”
A lively young lady brought over beer and delicious-looking food.
“Let’s eat first.”
Even in this tavern, they couldn’t help talking about their kingdom. They even heard that the Gra Valkas Empire commenced their ground invasion into Mu. The more info they hear regarding the empire, the grimmer their hopes for their kingdom’s liberation become. The two, who had always abstained from alcohol, came to the tavern on this day to try to drown their feelings for the moment.
When they were about to dig in on the delicious beer and food

“Hey hey!! It’s starting!!”
A dwarf with a large build loudly pointed to the video playing on the screen.
The two, having their attention caught, looked at the direction of the screen. The news was starting. Like always, the magical technology that processes tons of information like video via magical communications impressed them. Since their arrival at the Holy Mirishial Empire, they’ve been used to seeing the news, but it seems that it was different this time.
“We’re here to report to you extraordinary news!!”
A beautiful elf newscaster was speaking as she faced towards the direction of the screen with a serious expression.
“According to an announcement made by the government of Mu, on the 6th Day of the 2nd Month of Central Calendar Year 1643, the Mu National Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force made contact with the Gra Valkas Empire’s Home Fleet off the east coast of the Mu continent and completely annihilated them!! An aircraft carrier task force from the Gra Valkas Imperial Navy’s Home Fleet attempted to attack the Mu capital of Otaheit and the economic city of Mykal, but
”
The tavern immediately exploded in chatter. The shocking news continued.
“Hey hey!! Are they for real?!”
“An aircraft carrier task force was annihilated?! That’s something that even the Holy Mirishial Empire couldn’t do! How much strength did they put into the fight? Mu’s battleships alone aren’t exactly a big deal, but maybe they put it in a lot of them?”
“U-unbelievable!! Just as you’d expect from the second strongest superpower!!”
“Shh!!! Shh!!! I can’t hear the news lady!!!”
The drunkards were glued to the broadcast as they each offered their own impressions. The news went on as tapes the Mu government made public were played. The outline of the naval battle, the casualties of the enemy, and the damage suffered by Mu were all broadcasted.
Eventually

“Due to the concentration of forces at the capital, the city of Mykal was left short-handed. The Gra Valkas Empire exploited this and concentrated their main forces on the fleet deployed to Mykal. The country of Japan, in order to protect the citizens of other countries as well as their own, ordered their Maritime Self-Defense Force that had come to visit Mykal to destroy the Gra Valkas Empire fleet that was sent there. It seems that Japan’s navy engaged with the Gra Valkas Empire’s Home Fleet alone in a decisive battle.”
The newscaster’s expression was firm, transmitting an aura of nervousness to those who were watching.
“Furthermore, the damage suffered by the escort ships of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force is
 Huh? Is this number here, true?”
The newscaster suddenly lost their presence of mind. Those who were watching the TV focused their attention on the screen.
“There’s really no mistake with this?
 Okay. Yes, please excuse my actions. Let me report again. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force made contact with the Gra Valkas Empire’s Home Fleet off the coast of Mykal. The Gra Valkas Empire fleet that was sent there was completely annihilated. All ships were sunk. On the other hand, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force suffered NO casualties. They destroyed the Gra Valkas Empire fleet without losing a single ship or receiving a single hit. According to Mr. Taiga, a military expert from the Imperial University, this is an unbelievable result and that
”
Princes Aethes of the Irnetia Kingdom trembled as he watched the news. With Japan’s power, they may be able to save their kingdom which is currently under a violating and humiliating governance.
“L-Lord Bealey!!!”
“Yeah! The first thing we’ll do tomorrow morning is visit the Japanese embassy to the Holy Mirishial Empire and immediately take a floating ship of the heavens to Japan! Looks like things will get busy from now on!”
“Yes!! That doesn’t matter! We will give our body and spirit for the citizens of the kingdom!!”
The two reached out for their food. A ray of hope shined on the horizon. The cold beer burned a faint flame of hope for the liberation of their kingdom. The alcohol, which they’ve never had in a long time, was devilishly satisfying to the worn down men.
・・・
Leifor Naval Base, Gra Valkas Empire
“Why have you kept mum about this until now?! The rapid sharing of information is fundamental in war!! Are you fools looking down on me?!”
The anger of Caesar, commander of the Imperial Navy’s Eastern Fleet, reverberated across the executive room. The Navy officials all froze in terror, but the ones that froze in terror the most were those who were sent from the Ministry of the Navy, as they were the ones who took on his full wrath.
“Since the contents of the reports seemed too nonsensical, we thought that
”
The personnel sent from the Ministry, on the tail end of the wrath of Caesar, the God of War, didn’t feel good to be alive at that point.
The 52nd Regional Fleet, codenamed Ishtam, of the Gra Valkas Imperial Navy’s Home Fleet, was sent as a detached force to attack the Mu capital of Otaheit and the economic city of Mykal at the same time as the decisive battle with the World Union Fleet at Baltica. The end result was that they were annihilated after making contact with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
Initially, the Imperial Navy went out in full force to investigate whether or not they were attacked by an aerial battleship from the Holy Mirishial Empire due to the ships not returning to port yet. They eventually ascertained from spies sent to Mu that they were all wiped out by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
Shock ran through the upper brass of the Navy working at the Ministry. However, upon verification of the source of the information, they learned that it came from only a single VIP, so they pointed out the possibility that it could be wrong. Just as they were about to collect more information for scrutiny, a submarine sent to Mu’s east coast discovered several crew members on an adrift emergency escape apparatus.
The crew were all terribly weakened. The information they gave out while they waited for treatment matched the information they got from the spy. They were all terribly shocked.
It was only after they had somewhat scrutinized the information on the weapons their enemy used and then thought of countermeasures did they think of reporting to the Eastern Fleet commander. However, before they could report to him, information from Mu’s TVs reached Caesar, letting him know of the reason behind the Home Fleet’s destruction.
Further aggravating their bad luck, not only did the Navy HQ know of the possibility that Japan was the one behind Ishtam’s destruction, but they also let Caesar recognize that they have been keeping information from him.
Caesar knew that for some reason, the Home Fleet had been wiped out. However, he couldn’t contain his anger at the fact that they did even let him know of such a possibility.
After his rage swept across the room like a raging fire, the place started to calm down.
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