The Louria Kingdom, Wyvern Base

Four hundred wyverns are sortied to deal with the enemy’s fleet. Three hours after their last known contact with the base, some are screaming while some report that their wyverns have been captured. Silence fills the Headquarters. Why no one tries to re-establish the connection again? Furthermore, why no dragon rider manages to return? Everyone becomes impatient while they are also feels nervous.

“So, where are they?”

No one can give the exact answer about it.

It is unthinkable, but… Did it really happen that they have been defeated?

As far as the Louria history goes, the wyverns is the strongest creature. But, they are also a rare and precious species as it takes a lot of effort to collect such numbers. The uproar of Louria by assembling seven hundred wyverns comes from building the forces for eight years and receiving help from the Papaldia Empire, with the condition they were used to conquer Rodenius Continent. Sending four hundred dragon rider to face the enemy forces, this elite squadron is supposed to be able to make a performance worth written in the history book before heading back to the base.

The fact is, nobody has ever returned, not even one. It really hurts to think about it, but there is a possibility that they are, indeed, have been defeated. In normal conditions, even facing the large fleet that much, it shouldn’t be possible to defeat all of the four hundred dragon riders.

Is the enemy probably serving the legendary dragon Bahamut? No one even knows how to report this to the Louria King. They even do now know that Celestina possesses some dragons that were used as a mount by riders. Shiela is the only person known to use an ancient legendary dragon, Kagefumi Entranger.

“…inform the advance force that, with emergency discretion, half of the dragon riders from the advance army must return to the capital immediately.”

Central Calendar, the year 1523, April 26th, Qua-Toyne Principality, Government Meeting

“This concludes the report of the great battle of Rodenius Sea and the current situation in Gim right now.”

Two days after the naval battle, General Nou and Admiral Breweye were summoned to the council meeting as the witness and as references. All of those who are present also receive the report, and the atmosphere inside the meeting was filled with silence.

“So. What kind of report is this actually? Celestina only deploy eight ships, challenged the Louria Fleet that numbered five thousand, and sunk two thousand with addition of capturing another two thousand? Furthermore, they also deploy 150 wyverns to fight 400 wyverns and they manage to bring back 200 enemy wyverns without giving air support like that? Much to add, from eight ships itself, there are no casualties? In this report was written ‘dead casualty: zero’ and ‘wounded casualty: ten.’ Nobody dies!? And I need to add again that our troops literally did not do anything at all!?

I do not want to receive a fantasy-based report like this! I did not want to accuse our Navy and Army to come to this government meeting and saying this like that out of the blue. But, at least we have to know that this fact really has to be a fact!”

Everyone there thinks about the same thing, but different from those who already visited Celestina before.

“Isn’t that time they already said that they will only deploy eight ships for this during the meeting with the Main Council on Celestina?”

They were supposed to be celebrating for the victory on Naval Battle. Besides, they manage to stop the Louria Fleet attack and prevent the national crisis, but this report just makes them fear because of the power of the Celestina Empire.

Prime Minister Tanaka raises his hand, signaling them to silence and talks. “Which means, the naval invasion can be stopped this time. Even they still have one thousand ships, even in that time the reinforcements consist of eight warships is destroyed, at least we can earn more time before we start to put our attention to the next Navy attack. Then, do we have a report from the Minister of Military regarding Gim?”

Minister of Military only sighs when he read out the report, “Report from Captain Temuji stationed there, the invading troops are now increased to seventy thousand and they keep bothering us all day long. When he was about to sortie his men, they were stopped by 1st and 2nd Royal Defender Battalion under the command of Grand Duchess Sofya Viltaria. They stated that they will begin the bombardment once the invading troops reach two hundred thousand.”

“So, they wait until the number is reached. Hmm… Any words from our observer on the 4th Artillery Regiment Headquarters?”

“As scheduled. General Nou will be dispatched to Gim to add more observer there. Admiral Breweye also wants to take part in this ‘slaughter’. Additionally, Celestina brings more reinforcements of 30 Kodiak, 20 105mm Pounder, and 20 Juggernaut Artillery to conduct heavy suppression in the west of Gim.”

They immediately protest for what Celestina doing, relaxing and waiting for the Louria troops to pile up. But, they understand that they cannot defeat Louria without Celestina’s assistance. If Celestina betrays them, they can’t imagine about every worst scenario but right now they got no choice but to entrust it to Celestina.

Louria Kingdom, Capital City Jin-Hark, Yar Castle

The 21st King of Louria, Hark Louria aged 31 years old, shivering inside the bed.

In the Great Naval Battle of Rodenius couple days ago, the developed country call themselves Celestina joins the fight and annihilate the Louria Navy, 200 Wyverns Captured, 200 Wyvern dead, 2000 warships sunk, and 2000 warships are captured. Furthermore, reports given by the Louria Military indicate that Celestina does not have any casualties, even the damage report also indicates that Celestina did not suffer any damages.

There are a lot of things that doesn’t make sense inside that report. The wyverns aren’t supposed to be killed with just one hit. To make matter worse, half of the wyverns are willing to follow the enemy’s wyverns. When escaping, the speed also did not make sense and furthermore, 200 wyverns are being shot down by something. What do they mean by “Something”!?

Additionally, magic to sunk a warship in one hit that can fire without a pause, and also the fireballs that can even vaporize the warship instantly. He can’t imagine the amount of magic needed to achieve it. Did they find something related to the ancient magic from the mythical Empire or others? He can’t imagine what kind of opponent he really face at.

The Louria population is big, but their average life standards are below average. In eight years of preparation, they can ignore the bad quality with the overwhelming number. But, they realize that their quality is not enough. Dogfight and Naval fight entirely depends on the ships quality and the wyverns along with its gear, but land battle depends on number. Receiving reports that his troops start to gather in the west of Gim, he hopes that his ground army manages to pull it off.

The king went through the sleepless night.

The Third Civilization, the Papaldia Empire

In a dimmed room, a light spirit inside the glass ball shines the surrounding room with a light of orange. Two persons discussed the fate of their nation.

“Celestina…? The name sounds foreign to us…”

“They are the country of a contingent in the North-East of Rodenius.”

“We have read the report, and we know, but does a country really exist there? What we’ve been talking about is, they are supposed to be around a thousand and two hundred kilometers from Rodenius, but we can’t imagine in our history, no one has ever realized there was a country that exists there.”

“That part of the sea was very dangerous, especially due to the unpredictable sea and wind, and it’s difficult to navigate using a ship. Without thoroughly investigate that area, do we actually miss it?”

“Maybe, but that land is uncivilized. Even the Louria can conduct a primitive naval warfare, for eight enemy ship that was capable of sinking two thousand ships, does that really makes sense to you? Additionally, their cannons always score a hit every time they fire it. Probably our barbarian observer has clouded his mental way of thinking. We need to consider installing a new observer.”

“Please, consider it, your Highness. Our new ship, 120 gun ships-of-the-line Fissures, can even face the Louria fleet and defend without any damage. We can even sink the Louria ship from two kilometers without requiring our cannon to pause even for a momentary, so that achievement is not impossible. Maybe, I do not know if Celestina could actually send hundreds of warships for this, but at least we know that their civilization is advanced enough to create a cannon.”

“That damn barbarian is making a cannon now… the fact is they have yet to invade Louria, probably we can reconsider that their technology probably can only be made to create cannons.”

“Oh, by the way, the Louria will not fall, right? If it does, it will cause our strategy regarding national resources becomes a burden to carry on.”

“Compared to the battle of the sea, the ground battle can be determined by numbers. If there is anything else, the Louria has a large population, so they won’t lose to such a barbarian nation that only has a primitive cannon.”

“Right, this report also concluded that we cannot accept this. For the next one, I will not be bringing this report to Your Majesty until I can get more information about this matter. Please entrust me with this task.”

“I will approve it. Do your job wisely.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Celestina Empire, Gim City, 30th April 1523, 1st and 2nd Royal Defender Battalion Command Headquarters

Sofya is reading a report about the movements of the Louria Army. Before the Louria Army has a chance to scout so they can circle around the barrier to flank Gim, she already ordered all of the personnel to raise the barrier all the way to where the Louria Army won’t even send their men there.

“Is our patrol doing well?”

“Yes, Ma’am. Everything is according to the plan.”

“Excellent. We need to bottleneck them so Feena can defeat them with one attack.”

“But, isn’t that too much?”

“I, too, can feel it. But, we will give them warnings before we can launch the attack.”

“….”

The Commanding Officer of the 1st Royal Defender Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Gus Amuera feels uneasy. He, too, wishes to avoid this, but the Louria Army seems determined to eradicate demi-human people like him. He was a Rabbit Beastman and based on the reports from Celestina Intelligence, the demi-humans were prosecuted even the moment before invasion starts, dozens of Qua-Toyne elf farmers are captured and branded as slaves.

“Could we try to negotiate it in a more diplomatic way, Your Majesty?”

“No. They already send back our diplomats several times, stating that they won’t open the country's diplomatic door that forms a diplomatic relationship with the demi-human nation. Let alone our country also have equal rights for both demi-human and human alike.”

“I still don’t get it…”

“Amuera. This world is new for us and we also lack intelligence about how this world run and works. For now, we just need to deal with it appropriately, protecting countries that form a diplomatic relationship with us from possible threats. You do remember about the Celestina Campaign Protocol – Article 15, right?”

“Yes. It’s about protecting the allied country from possible threats that can jeopardize the trading routes from Celestina to the allied country. If we’re on the different world and does not have a grasp on it, we will make a standard procedure by deploying a necessary strike force until the formal protocol of this world is made.”

“I’m glad you remember about it.” Sofya sips her tea, sighing a bit. “Still, they seem not too cared much about the children. If they do care about the kids they raised, I think defeating a hundred thousand should convince them enough to surrender.”

“You mean like… We’re going to make a psychological attack?”

“Precisely. I wish to avoid as many casualties as possible. But, with our limited number of personnel, it will be difficult. Especially should they won’t budge.”

“I understand. I will take my leave then.”

Once Gus Amuera leaves the office, Sofya takes a look at a holo table featuring the battlefield. The numbers just keep increasing and she was hoping that the Louria Army can back off and re-evaluate themselves before waging war.

Celestina Campaign Protocol Article 15 writes about the procedure of protecting the allied country from the threats that can jeopardize the relationship and the trading route in an unknown world. Celestina will deploy a necessary minimum amount of personnel, and the command will send more personnel as the base evaluation of the possible threats technology and advancement way is completed. Should the country refuses to reconcile, Celestina will take necessary action until they request a reconciliation.

In this case, the Louria Kingdom turned Celestina’s diplomats back several times without opening the door to the diplomatic talk. Additionally, with the information of Qua-Toyne Principality, Tibetain Principality, and Quila Kingdom are under threat of the Louria Kingdom, it gives Celestina enough reason to send their military force to suppress Louria.

“It’s always been painful to see it like this…”

Sighing once again, Sofya decides to go to the orphanage to take care of the orphaned kids.

Celestina / Central Calendar, 224 / 1523, 7th May, 7 Kilometers East of Gim, the 4th Artillery Regiment Command Headquarters

Feena, the girl with short white hair wearing a cap, a white short tank top that was close enough to look like a bra, and a short jeans, is looking at the situation on Gim from the camera provided by a Prowler that was flying at 40.000 meters. The citizens are getting restless as the Louria Army keeps bothering them all day long and the soldiers just keep added every day.

Their numbers are now reaching 190.000 personnel, and once reaching 200.000 personnel, she will send them a warning before launching an attack.

Captain Temuji remains paranoid because of this, but every time he tries to send his men to attack, Sofya’s Honor Guard stops them from advancing. Additionally, General Nou and Admiral Breweye arrives on the base to observe the battle. He doesn’t want to let them down.

“Hoo… So this is their artillery.”

“Hmm… This number I say, is still not enough.”

“Probably, yes. But, we have seen what happened on the Sea of Rodenius, right?”

“Gentlemen. Welcome to the Command Headquarters of the 4th Artillery Regiment.”

Feena Minazuki, Grand Duchess of Mechania and the one who lead the Operation: Defense of the Three Kingdoms comes to greet them.

“Ah. Thank you for allowing us to participate in this matter, Admiral Minazuki.”

“No problem. If this goes on prediction, we will launch the attack next afternoon.”

The military higher-ups want to see how Celestina will face them.

Louria Kingdom, Capital Jin-Hark, Military Headquarters

“Sir. We’ve spotted at least 25,000 personnel are gathered at the border of the Louria Kingdom Quila Kingdom, and Tibetain Principality.”

Receiving a report, the Generals wondered if they plan to attack Louria. It seems they are also well-equipped based on the spies infiltrated on them.

“Is the Wyverns from the Eastern Front have been recalled?”

“Yes, sir. One hundred of them had already arrived in the capital two days ago.”

“Deploy fifty of them to the south along with 150,000 personnel. Keep them in check and make sure we hold them enough until the invasion on Qua-Toyne is completed.”

“Yes, sir.”

The military higher-ups on the Louria Kingdom may not realize that Celestina’s Army, Tibetain Army, and Quila Army have gathered to draw some of the Louria personnel to them. The thinner the capital defenses are, the better. Right now, there are 400,000 personnel stationed on the capital as 10,000 of them are scheduled to be arrived at West of Gim by tomorrow. Reducing the personnel to 250.000 guarding the capital shouldn’t be a problem.