The Kingdom of Selarong, in the ocean about 30km west of Sulbar, 27th January 1524 / 225

The Papaldia Empire’s Dragon Carriers belong to the Imperial Army were arranged in a perfect line. To facilitate the arrival and departure of the wyvern lords on dragon carriers that were twice as large as ships-of-the-line. The empire advanced its shipbuilding technology in secret, so it was the only country capable of building dragon carriers. Vice Admiral Armas nodded contentedly to himself when he surveyed the fleet of dragon carriers, their very presence giving off a sense of might.

“Dragon Knight-Captain!” he said to the man standing next to him.

“Yes, sir!”

“The imperial army is strong!!!”

“Yes, I am aware.”

“Why do you think we are strong?”

“Because of our comprehensive strength, sir.”

“You’re exactly right! However, the reason to have pride in our power, even more than our ships-of-the-line, the true core of our strength, is our dragon carriers. Dragon carriers allow us to outrange any opponent far beyond the capability of any cannon. Captain, total control of the air means total control of both sea and land. That is what I believe.”

“Indeed, sir! That is a very enlightened perspective!”

“The Papaldia Empire is invincible on the sea because of our dragon carrier fleet! As long as we have them, the imperial army will carve a path for our empire to rule supreme! And look! Leading that fleet is our newest, most advanced flagship, the Miles! How spectacular. It overflows with functional beauty, enough to match its size.”

The Miles was built with much more antimagic steel plating than usual, and thus it was the strongest, largest, and most beautiful ship in the fleet.

Bwooooh—!!!

Their chat was interrupted by the alarm sounding from the foremost escort ship. Vice Admiral Armas looked ahead cautiously.

“?! What’s that?!?”

It was very hard to see, but one large arrow painted blue flew at the flagship Miles at an astounding speed.

“What… what speed!!!”

Those “things” skated just above the ocean, sharply turned upwards right before it disperses into eight small missiles, and goes to four targets with Miles as one of the targets. Finally, two of the eight smaller missiles plunged right into the ship at a diagonal angle from above. The two missiles that came from the dispersion of SD-8 missile projectiles, traveling at 1200 km/h, scored direct hits on the dragon carrier fleet’s flagship, the Miles.

Ksha!!!

There was a violent flash, and the Miles was engulfed in light.

Bom… BAAAAA-BAAAAAAM!!!

The giant flagship becomes wrapped in an even more massive explosion, accompanied by the roaring sound of destruction. Right before Armas’s eyes, the submunition dispenser missiles, which the combined power is enough to destroy two modern Aircraft Carrier, erased the flagship Miles from existence, along with its crew and wyvern lords. The leftover noise from the blast echoed across the water. The same explosion also engulfed three other ships.

“Wha… wha… what the hell?! What just happened?!”

Distress ensued.

“Numerous flying objects are incoming!!!”

“We’ve lost Reni, Plite, and Gatar!!”

The fleet broke formation, each ship starting to move on its own without orders.

“Aaahh!!!”

Another flash… and another roar…

“The Finsennus has been lost!!!”

The Papaldia Empire’s cutting-edge 100-gun ship-of-the-line Finsennus, sporting the most advanced antimagic steel plating, was the pride of the empire, and it disintegrated into dust after a single attack. Flashes and roars erupted one after another.

“Dragon carrier Gasum, lost!!! Dragon carrier Matabre, lost!!!”

Tragic reports kept coming in as the mysterious objects kept, without missing even once, blowing up dragon carriers.

“This… this is impossible! The empire’s peerless dragon carrier fleet was, in such a… impossible!!!”

Vice Admiral Armas worked his brain at full capacity, trying desperately to identify anything in his life experience that could explain what was going on. Nothing from any of his battles was able to help him make sense of what he saw before his eyes.

“Could… could it be…? Are these the ancient sorcerers’ magic bombs of light?!”

“One’s coming for our ship!!!” the lookout shrieked.

The crew screamed. The vice admiral’s flash of insight never went anywhere.

Celestina Imperial Space Command Special Team Crowz and their barrage of anti-ship missiles sank all thirty ships in the Papaldia Empire’s dragon carrier fleet and its gunboat escorts.

The Main Fleet of the Papaldia’s great fleet was stationed offshore of the Kingdom of Selarong’s town of Sulbar. On the deck of the flagship, the Papaldia Empire’s 120-gun super-F class ship-of-the-line Pull (“super-F” meaning “super-Finsennus,” in the way that a battleship higher than a dreadnought is called a “super-dreadnought”), General Cius of the imperial army was looking out to the west. Because this planet was more massive than Earth, the horizon was much further away. The overseer saw several explosions before the ship vanished from the surface of the ocean.

Cius simply looked, unmoving. His forehead was drenched in sweat. The sound of numerous explosions had come from that direction. After the sounds stopped, the army could not contact any of the thirty ships in the dragon carrier fleet or its escort. None of their magical communicators were responsive, and, unbelievably enough, even their magical signatures had disappeared entirely. For thirty ships from their unrivaled fleet to be lost in such an insanely short period of time, without even sparing a time to contact the command, Cius couldn’t even imagine what could have happened. The rest of the fleet was already on alert, and four gunboats were sent to their last known location to investigate.

(What if the dragon carrier fleet was destroyed…)

Cius immediately thought of the worst-case scenario. They had already established a base in Sulbar. Their ground forces had already departed for the capital Gowok, and twenty gunboats were also dispatched to serve as support for the ground forces. Things were already in motion; they cannot turn back now. The emperor was very interested in this invasion; even if they faced a strong enemy, he would not forgive either retreat or defeat.

Cius suddenly remembered the oversight army’s report and the laughter that came with it, and his imagination began to go wild.

“Sir! A giant dragon! Above us!”

“Haha… W-what the hell is that!?”

They saw a large dragon is consuming the Wyvern Lords that was on route to Sulbar. The surviving Wyvern Lords were trying to flee, but six of twelve got killed, and the ancient dragon prevents their retreat by having a green flame surrounding them.

“N-n-n-no!! Call the Headquarters!!”

“Sir! We can’t reach it!!”

“What was that!?”

Their magical communications were somehow being disrupted and jammed.

Dragon knight squadron leader Baross saw the disaster beneath him and was speechless. The dragon carriers all spontaneously exploded—that was the only possibility that came to mind. He decided to have his squad of twelve dragon knights land back at Sulbar.

“Unidentified objects at the front!!! They’re coming right for us!!!” yelled his subordinate with the best eyes.

Baross squinted his eyes. “What is that?!”

Something that looked like an arrow was coming towards them. It looked like it would pass away.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Behind him, big bursts of black smoke appeared.

“Huh?!”

Four of the dragon riders in his elite squadron were shredded into pieces, falling out of the sky.

Distress…

He saw four things in front of them.

“They’re… quick!!!”

CHOMP!!

“W-w-what!?”

The ancient dragon Kagefumi Entranger appeared from the active camouflage, feasting on a stripped rider and the wyverns. Not even ten seconds, he moves to the next target, and the flame tears off any equipment the rider wears along with the saddle as well. Because of the rider's magic effect emitted from Shiela, the riders were not able to eject from the dragon as the ancient dragon feasts on the next target.

CRUNCH!! CHOMP!!

BOOM!!

The aircraft passed by them high in the sky, so fast they didn’t even have time to think, and only after they were already gone did the sound come. They turn around and realizing that the green flames trap them.

“N-No!! We’re trapped!!”

CHOMP!! CRUNCH!!

BOOM!!

“No!!! I don’t want to die here!!”

LSFW-3 has shot down six of twelve Wyvern Lords as it heads back to Guardian-class Aircraft Carrier while the last Wyvern Lord rider desperately fires its musket, and the Wyvern Lord also attempts to escape.

BANG!! BANG!!

“Just die!!! No!!”

CHOMP!! CRUNCH!!

The last rider was devoured after he was stripped naked, and the armor fell to the sea. The ancient dragon grins as it looks at the Papaldia Empire's fleet, but it chooses to ignore them and heading to the east.

“You sure have a bottomless stomach for it.”

“I prefer to eat that Wyvern Lord raw since I find them delicious compared to have them cooked. Hmm… much like sushi, when I eat those humans as rice and the Wyvern Lord as meat.”

Shiela smacks his head, irritated.

“Ouch…”

“I have to remind you that you need to have that digestion up and running since we need to eat twelve more of it at the South-West front.”

“Don’t worry. I can eat fourteen more of it.”

“Oh, please…”

Shiela only sighs as they camouflage themselves and head to the next battle.

Celestina Empire, Prison Region of Byade, The Town of Prison Hopri

When they decided to go to war with the Papaldia Empire, all of the Prisoner of War gained from the conflict, where the 1st Expeditionary Fleet sent the imperial oversight eastern army fleet Special Class A Dragon Knight Mizer along with 21 other riders during Punitive Strike of Selarong. He was currently sitting with a Celestinian newspaper in one hand and a Universal-Common Fillades dictionary in the other. Mizer was reading the news one word at a time. The more he read, the more his fingers became wet with sweat. Eventually, his entire body was covered in a cold sweat, and his fingers were trembling.

This is the article he read:

The Papaldia Empire mercilessly slaughter the Celestinian Citizens!! Celestina Government: “Our bait has hooked the Papaldia Empire!! Operation: Sweet Dreams was a big success!!” The Government decides to dispatch the special personnel unit to defend the Kingdom of Selarong and expunge the Papaldia Empire out!

By Husrev Aigil

After the Papaldia Empire massacre Celestinian’s adventurers in the Kingdom of Selarong, the Main Council and the Emperor states that Operation: Sweet Dreams was a success!! Not only the Papaldia Empire took the bait, but they also willing to be crushed. To give them a lesson, the Celestina Empire deploys a necessary unit to expunge the Papaldia Empire at Selarong. When the reporter asks about the oddities of the war, the answer they received was. “We will humiliate them, and if the Papaldia Empire officially declares war on us, so do we. We will meticulously teach them a lesson for what it takes to become a Superpower. If they are willing to surrender, they have to yield their status as a Superpower to our nation without any compromise. They have two choices, surrender or we will destroy them.” Celestina has fully prepared for the all-out war, and once the Papaldia Empire declares war on the Celestina Empire, no doubt, the Celestina Empire will crush them.

“So, what will happen to us now?”

Mizer only shakes his head.

“I don’t know, but… at least…”

They are gathering at one of the hanging-out area. Although the prisoners do have access to the necessary things, they are grateful that the Celestina Empire treats them nicely. Usually, a prisoner of war will be treated barbarically to the point where they will send the Prisoner of War to work as slaves or put them on display since they know that their victory is assured.

But now, his homeland had finally tried to push their usual intimidation diplomacy. Because the foreign affairs departments were too large, reports to superiors were often simplified or twisted to fit someone’s agenda. They usually would have already been aware of the danger Celestina posed, but their hubris and passivity as a superpower probably resulted in that information never being appropriately communicated. A war with Celestina Empire was simply unavoidable now.

“I doubt that our homeland will win, not even the slightest doubt that our Empire will lose.”

“How come?”

Some of his comrades are looking at the sky, looking at one Firefly-class Heavy Frigate patrolling the town at the altitude of 4,000 meters that Maya assigned to monitor Hopri.

“Even our Wyverns will not be able to make a dent on that ship despite our superior number, not to mention if the ancient dragon did use, we also won’t stand a chance.”

He knew for himself how much national power Celestina had as their prisoner. However, to think that the Papaldia wage war on this vast land, the empire probably has a chance in an all-out war. …No, if it were just after Celestina was transported here, they could maybe have defeated them. But right now, the Celestina Empire was being supported by the resource-rich Quila, the farming nation of Qua-Toyne, and the clothes from Tibetain.

At the very least, he knew they were going to lose in the Selarong conflict. His homeland was going to have its foundations shaken. Mizer silently grieved over the future of the empire.

“I was thinking that… we could prepare ourselves to receive more of our comrades that were captured during this conflict. Because the warden says that every Prisoner of War on this world will be transported here.”

“R-right…”

The Celestina Empire seems to make the town of prison, Hopri, not for just detainment purposes but also to serve as a Prisoner of War camp. The rumors of having this town’s capacity that can reach five hundred thousand prisoners is clearly not a joke for them.

The Kingdom of Selarong, Capital of Gowok, East Coast, 26th January 1524 / 225

On the Eastern Coast of Gowok, the 300 of 600 members of the Celestina Imperial Space Command 15th Combat Regiment “White Knights” were unloading supplies. The Commanding Officer, Sasha Sylwinder, went to the Drop-class Carrier, Meteor Jumper, to prepare for tomorrow’s attack. The one in charge of this operation while Sasha is not on the scene was the Deputy Commander of the 15th Combat Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Palmyra. The Regiment deployed consists of:

600 personnel 1 Liberator Tank S Variant 1 MCV 15 Olifant Truck

King Dimas was observing the coast, but then he found an exciting scene. The soldiers seem ignorant to saw two destroyers approaching the coastline. He thought that the ship went out of control and will run ashore, but his thought was wrong. The soldiers on the beach make a cheering shout when the vessel enters the coast.

“Assault Destroyer, proud to serve!!”

The tank tracks and wheels are coming out from the side keel of the ship. It moves further to the beach before it stops near the soldiers landing and unloading more troops and supplies, including a Liberator Tank. The tank was sent exclusively by Feena Minazuki on the last second of the shipment. It is going to be operated by two of her adjutants, Yuuna Caskett and Izumi Mahigashi.

“Celestina Empire really is an incredible country. Their ship can even sails on the land.” The King said to Captain Johann, who was standing beside him.

Assault-class Transport Destroyer, or being known as “Assault Destroyer,” was a ship designed to conduct an amphibious assault. The warship has been upgraded to be superior in amphibious combat, practically during Beach Assault. Armed with 120mm Rifled Heavy Tungsten, 4 Flak 88R, and 4 x 2 Bofors 50mm for self-defense, the ship itself was granted the ability to transport and disembark troops faster than the original Attack and Landing Transport ship. However, the Main Council already decided that they won’t use this to directly battle the Papaldia Empire due to not being worthy of deploying this ship into the front line.

“They are the country full of surprises. So for the Celestina Empire to be assisting in our conflict is something that I can only see as ordained by the Gods,” Johann replied.

The Celestina personnel are gathered in one place, and one giant-sized MCV (Mobile Construction Vehicle) with a height of ten meters and a length of nearly thirty meters goes to the shore from the beach. Many Selarong citizens gathered to get a glance at them. Once the MCV arrived at the designated position, it suddenly transforms into a building in fifteen seconds. The citizens are amazed by the Celestina Empire to have a vehicle that can transform into a building with just a short amount of time.

“They even have a vehicle that can transform into a building…”

“I cannot deny it. Their country really is full of surprises…”

Some of the citizens went to the Celestina military personnel to greet them. Palmyra is ordering their personnel to greet them warmly with care since they are here to help them.

“I heard Celestina had magic boats, so I came to check them out; look, they’re sailing on land! They really are magical! With their help, the Kingdom of Selarong will be saved!!!”

“The superpowers, too, they can’t possibly be prepared to deal with what Celestina brought here. I’ve seen it myself, and I still can’t believe it.”

“We’re so thankful, we’re so, so thankful…”

The people of Selarong had high expectations for Celestina. The Celestinian troops continued making preparations on the beach while some occupied the civilians with a greet and talked so the civilians won’t interrupt the process.

On the sea itself, Ishiene deploys 200 personnel from the 2nd Division “Ocean Crystal.” They will be led by Ishiene’s right hand, First Lieutenant Lapis, while Ishiene will catch up with them later. Their objective is to rig the Papaldia Empire warship’s keel with explosives. The primary purpose is to capture as many personnel as they could.

On the military itself, it was an unorthodox method to win the battle. Usually, the military will inflict as many casualties as they could. But, in Celestina’s perspective, they will try to save as many enemies as possible since they are also concerned about their own family who wishes for them to return.

The Papaldia Empire, Imperial Army, Ground Legion

Lieutenant General Dolbo led the ground legion out of Sulbar, and it’s on a march towards the capital of Selarong, Gowok. There were 3,000 soldiers in all while the other 450 will stay at Sulbar as a base guard. The main force included 32 of the empire’s pride land dragons as the primary battle unit and twelve wyvern lords for reconnaissance. The wyvern lords were being towed in flatbeds pulled by the land dragons; they had not been marked as targets for the Prowler Arcus because they were kept on the ground.

They were currently in the middle of the detour to avoid the mountains, taking a one-hour break in a magical dead zone where they were out of contact with the fleet’s flagship. They had already sent a team of three wyvern lords scouting ahead for hidden ambushes; if there were enemies, the wyvern lords could shoot fire blasts at them while the soldiers used their muskets. They had already foiled three ambushes by Fenn forces.

“Once we reach the Stetsel Plains, this war is as good as won!” Lieutenant General Dolbo called to the Tactical Officer Mush.

“Yes… if we make it to the Stetsel Plains, we’ll be able to make full use of our strengths. We haven’t lost even a single battle after we’ve gotten into our unique battle formation. Furthermore… this time we have the benefit of combat support from twenty gunboats as well. In the Kingdom of Verlaine, our forces achieved complete victory while outnumbered seven to one. Even though Verlaine was outside the civilized areas, they were a strong opponent… and we decimated them. An opponent on the level of Selarong… wait, there is a possibility that the Celestina Empire will also join the fight, but even the two of them combined won’t measure up to Verlaine.”

Hank remembers the Celestinians wristwatches. He felt vaguely anxious and swallowed his words. He couldn’t stop the operation now. They had no idea what kind of weapons Celestina would employ; they could be powerful; they could be weak. They didn’t even know how many there were. However, the empire was strong, and this was an undeniable truth. Hank buried his worries deep in his heart and killed them off. But a word from the AI on the watch makes him thinking all the time.

“You will have two choices later once you arrived at Stetsel plains. Figure it out by yourself.”

The Papaldia ground legion came across a village along the way, which they attacked and looted. Strangely, no one was there, and there was no sign of counter-attack either. They were on schedule to reach the plains with one more break along the way. The soldiers were given free rein to do whatever they wanted with the people and things of the Selarong village. The right to do as they wished with barbarians was necessary to keep troop morale high during wars. He wondered what happened to the village they across before.

“Could it be the Celestina Empire already arrived ahead of us?”

Following their next march, the Papaldia ground legion arrived at the Stetsel Plains.

The Celestina Empire, 15th Combat Regiment “White Knights,” Stetsel Plains

Celestina units are in the position. Palmyra equips the Éclair Units with Railgun Rifle to finish off the land dragons. The 15th Combat Regiment vice-commander, Palmyra, may look like a thirteen-year-old child, but her actual age was already twenty-four as her origin was a half spirit and a half-elf. She, too, was equipped with a Railgun Rifle as she also aims for a kill. Next to her is Feena’s adjutants, Yuuna Caskett and Izumi Mahigashi. They are making final adjustments for the Liberator Tank S Variant (Smoothbore Variant). Palmyra wears a Battle Priestess Officer Uniform, a suit made by her homeland with Sage Ore augmentation. They also got access to 6 LTC-F2 armed with Grenade Launchers to box them up.

“The ancient dragon and the extraction aircraft are in position. Once the Land Dragon is secured, let Yuuna and Izumi score a kill first, then we finish the rest.”

“Yes, Ma’am!”

The Battle of Stetsel Plains itself will determine multiple sides, such as the Papaldia Empire’s Foreign Affairs, the citizens at the Capital of Selarong, Gowok, and Celestina Empire’s next move.

“Sasha is in position. We will start our launch shortly.”

“Copy that, Meteor Jumper.”

At the Low Orbit, a Drop-class Carrier Meteor Jumper is preparing to drop Sasha into the battlefield. She will use a Meteor Pod, the pod that was used exclusively only for those with strong legs like Sasha.

Papaldia Empire, Imperial Capital Esthirant, Second Civilian Superpower, Mu Embassy

Nisol, a staff member from the 1st foreign affairs department, visited the Mu embassy to speak with Mu’s Ambassador, Nigel.

“And what exactly did you need to discuss so urgently today?” Nigel asked Nisol.

“The Papaldia Empire has entered into hostilities with the Kingdom of Selarong, as I believe you are aware. There is also a possibility of the Empire of Celestina joining the conflict.”

“Yes, I was aware of that. I have also heard that the empire massacred two hundred and fifty Celestinian citizens that were visiting Selarong for leisure. My country is watching this conflict closely and with great interest.”

“Yes, that is correct. We would like to inquire about a rumor that Mu sent an observer to Celestina.”

“We did send an observer to Celestina. This is the truth.”

Even though he had heard the report beforehand, Nisol was still shocked to hear it come straight from the ambassador’s mouth.

Nisol took a breath. “I would ask if you could share the reason, if possible.”

“I am not a military expert, so I am unclear on the specifics, but this decision came from our military. I believe they made the appropriate considerations when coming to that decision.”

“In all cases in the past, your country has only ever sent an observer to the victor’s side. Is the fact that you chose to send an observer to Celestina this time because your analysis has concluded that the empire will lose?”

“I’m afraid that’s confidential information, and I am not allowed to speak about it. However, I would like to stress that Mu does not see the Papaldia Empire as an enemy. We hope you understand that.”

“I do.”

“One more thing, and this is not as an ambassador, but just a personal comment; is that acceptable?”

“Please, go ahead.”

“If I’m not mistaken, the Papaldia Empire has researched Celestina and concluded that, after killing those tourists and adventurers, you would be able to shrug off Celestina’s wrath and emerge as a victor. I believe that is how my country would have simulated your thought process. However, based on our own analysis, if Mu were in your shoes… we do not believe that to be the case for us. Mu has judged that it does not have sufficient national power to be hostile with Celestina, not to mention that Mu has admitted Celestina as one of the Superpower. I apologize for repeating myself so often, but this is not a formal message from Mu. It is simply my personal opinion. I would simply like to pay tribute to the valor of your country.”

“Wha—!!!”

Nisol felt his back break out into a cold sweat. After the impromptu meeting ended, he immediately returned to his office and began writing an emergency research report.