Remille’s Mansion, 2nd August 1524 / 225 night

“U-Ugh! No! Stop! Stooooop!!!”

Remille woke up. She was in her room, her breathing ragged, her entire body covered in sweat. After that meeting with Mu’s ambassador, she had seen the same nightmare countless times, the one where Celestina’s army ran roughshod all over the empire. They had the faces of the Celestinian people she had executed, the ones who had died by her order in the Kingdom of Selarong.

“Tch!”

Remille collapsed into her bed again, lying face down. She had really screwed this one up. She thought it was for the sake of the empire, so she had put everything into her work and pushed forward rashly. However, the result of that was… the empire’s survival, barely hanging on by a thread.

Based on what Mu’s ambassador said:

Celestina Empire is far stronger than Mu. They surpass the Holy Milishial Empire There is a possibility that the Celestina Empire will destroy the entire capital. Celestina’s fighter is faster than the speed of sound.

She couldn’t believe it! No matter what, she just couldn’t believe any of it. But since they had already suffered devastating losses twice to Celestina, it… was probably true. Combat aircraft that could surpass the speed of sound almost sounded like something from the ancient sorcerous empire… If they had equipment comparable to that mythical country, then, realistically, Papaldia had no chance of victory. Remille thought hard about a possible way to avoid battle, muttering to herself.

“We could gift them land or divide up territory with them… does Celestina want anything? Ah!!!”

She looks at the scroll left by Jacob and Rho as she remembers their last word upon leaving a scroll for them. She just remembers it once the stress on the 1st Foreign Affairs Department takes over that memory.

“Alright, then. This is our new list of demands. This scroll was sealed with special magic and will only open when you are in complete despair and wanting to save your Empire from destruction. You will need it. I’m sure of it.”

She was in despair, wanting her Empire to be saved from destruction before the Celestina Empire can land on her homeland. At first, she hesitates to open it, but once Remille gathers enough courage, slowly the seal starts to broke and the scroll opens.

“I-I did it!”

Once the scroll is open, she starts to read it. At first, she examines the contents of the scroll that later she starts to sweat when she looks at the Celestina Empire's demands. The more demand the Celestina Empire listed, she trembles further in fear. However, when she finds the word of ‘This matters can be negotiated once the Papaldia Empire surrenders to the Celestina Empire,’ relief her. However, as she thought she was the one that will be in charge of the negotiation, there is a note.

“I must report to… Kyeos? The head of the 3rd Department of Foreign Affairs?”

Does this mean she needs to report to Kyeos for this matter? And the Celestina Empire has selected Kyeos as the Chief of the Negotiator when she declares war on the Celestina Empire? Also, some rules written on the scroll are she’s not allowed to summon him, meaning she has to visit him, and there is one member from the Celestina Empire that will facilitate the negotiation.

Since Kyeos already makes contact with the Celestina Empire, she wants to place her bet on him. But right now, with her current stress, she will need to find a time to meet with Kyeos in person.

“But why him?”

Remille needs to investigate why the Main Council selected Kyeos as the Chief of Negotiations between the Celestina Empire and the Papaldia Empire. There must be a reason why the Celestina Empire wants Kyeos to be the head of the Negotiation instead of a royal family member like her.

Imperial Capital Esthirant, Imperial Palace, a day before the Celestina Empire assaults the capital

Emperor Ludius received a report from the 1st Foreign Affairs Department Head Elto.

“According to what Mu’s ambassador told us, it’s clear that the aircraft from the reports were developed in the Celestina Empire. That concludes my report on Celestina; we wish to ask for Your Grace’s guidance on what should happen next.”

Emperor Ludius stayed silent for a time. To Elto, having to wait quietly for this long was unbearable.

“Elto.”

“Yes, Your Grace!”

“Do you fear Celestina?”

“N…No, of course not! It’s simply that, I am overwhelmed by this report.”

“Elto, you have forgotten three things.”

“What… May I ask what those are?”

“First, a defensive position is much easier to maintain than an offensive one. In the previous two battles, we were the attackers in the first, and we were completely unprepared in the second. The empire itself is fully prepared, and surprise attacks will not work.”

“Of course, Your Grace!”

“Second, Celestina only spends about forty percent of their gross national income on their adventurers. Even if they were a large country, they could not support a large army with only that much investment since they mainly invest in developing adventurers. In all likelihood, even if their weapons are high-quality, they will not have very many of them.”

“I… I believe your reasoning to be sound on that topic.”

Even still, our military suffered two enormous defeats to Celestina! Elto wanted to shout, but he swallowed his words.

“Third, even if our enemy were the Holy Milishial Empire, we simply have no choice but to prevail. Our empire is meant to rule over the world, and this is our divine trial. In this battle with Celestina, even if their main force is their navy, our ground forces are strong: they are equipped with the newest weaponry, they are well-trained, and they are at full strength! In addition, our new wyvern overlords have yet to see the battle. What we sent to Verlaine was our main navy. Even in the one-in-a-million chance, they are defeated; no country in this world can best our defending ground army.”

“Ooh!”

Hearing Emperor Ludius’s explanations, Elto felt enlightened. It was true that their main forces were still hale and hearty, and their ground army had only tangled with Celestina’s army a single time. With the empire’s elite ground force on defense with the advantages of being in their home country, they couldn’t even be outclassed by the Holy Milishial Empire.

“You are absolutely right! Your Grace’s wisdom is unparalleled!!!”

Department Head Elto prostrated himself before Emperor Ludius.

Jill, hearing that, only make a small devilish grin. That’s where the stupidness of the Papaldia Empire came from. The Celestina Empire did invest forty percent of their income to both military and adventurers. However, the military receives around twenty-eight percent of it, while the adventurers receive twelve percent. The Main Council plans to expand the budget to fifty percent to develop the military and the adventurers. In order to prepare for the arrival of the Etanaru Empire, The Main Councils and the Main Advisors are making preparations early enough so the Celestina Empire will be ready when the Seventh Interstellar War arrives on their doorstep.

The composition will be the military receives thirty-two percent while the adventurers will receive eighteen percent from fifty percent. The Celestina Empire plans to bolster its defenses and the training standards for the adventurers. The military will be complemented by additional supplementary training and more War Games aside from adventures.

They plan to increase the budget to sixty percent, but Alicia and the Main Advisors reject it since it can put the economic growth under pressure. They already have a strong foundation in the economy, but as the legacy stated during the Celestina Empire's early times, they have to keep improving.

The Papaldia Empire, 3rd Foreign Affairs Department Office, a day before Operation: Terror Snatcher

“T-they’re going to invade tomorrow morning!?”

“Certainly.”

“B-but, are they going to destroy the entire capital?”

“No, we will only strike the military installations.”

Kyeos only panic when Silvano inform him that the Celestina Empire will invade the capital tomorrow morning. He hoped that Remille already opened the scroll left behind by Jacob and Rho during the last meeting. He already guessed that she would most likely be dumbfounded or insulted since the contents inside the scroll say that Kyeos was the head of the negotiation from the Papaldia Empire’s side, and it’s already ongoing. He was certain that Remille will visit him sooner or later to discuss how to negotiate the terms of surrender. Silvano looks at the notifications, and she grins.

“She has just opened the scroll.”

“Are you sure that Remille has just opened the scroll?”

“Yes. I’ve confirmed it through special magic that was installed inside the scroll.”

Now Remille has opened the scroll; it’s up to her to make sure that she wants to negotiate to save the Papaldia Empire from destruction or leave it be. Kyeos was still angry about her actions, taking over the diplomatic talk with the Celestina Empire, refusing to send any diplomat to the Celestina Empire, and to the point where he was belittled in front of the 1st Foreign Affairs. Now, it was entirely backfired on her, and the trigger point was she blindly declare war on the Celestina Empire without sending a diplomat to make an actual assessment.

“Regal. I will try to find a way to talk with His Grace about this matter. I will inform you when all of the officials will gather to make an emergency meeting.”

“Understood. If the Emperor remains unconvinced, I’m afraid we have to do this our way.”

“Y-y-yes… Understood.”

Kyeos just gulps, hearing her words of the Celestina Empire will take a separate action. He can’t imagine what kind of terror that the Celestina Empire will bring.

The Kingdom of Verlaine, Royal Castle, 3rd August 1524 / 225 4 AM

Shiki, with Rosaria, looked down on the capital from within the castle. No matter how many times Rosaria went over it in her head, the only explanation she could find for this situation was that a miracle occurred. She thought back.

Papaldia’s ambassador had demanded that she would be given over to the Empire as a slave. At the same time, the king, her father, was pressed to transfer the Silitsa Magic Gem Mine's rights, the core of the kingdom’s economy, over to the empire. When the king refused to comply with these demands, the Papaldia Empire, a superpower, started a war with the Kingdom of Verlaine. The Papaldian navy wiped out the Verlainian navy, and, similarly, the elite Verlainian ground army was wiped out by the imperial army.

By the rescue from the Celestina Empire agents that were led by both Fleet Admiral Tohriu Shiki and Captain Zilva Silverain, they evacuate Daara and Rosaria from the kingdom on a disguised merchant ship. When they ran out of food supplies, the pirates attacked them while both Shiki and Zilva displayed their strength by subjugating the pirates. The Celestina ship eventually came to rescue them. The Main Council later sheltered both Rosaria and her father in the Scarlet Palace at the Royal Capital of Celestina, Regnieburg.

Celestina was a wondrous place. There were buildings that rose far into the sky, there was the large-scale transportation and distribution system known as the “railroad,” and there were cities that shined bright through the night. It was like living inside of a fairy tale. Rosaria herself experience it first-hand by how wonderful the planet is when she is taken into the Space Station Moonlight Aura for a night.

There, she finds herself spending her day going on an adventure with Shiki, further closing their bond together, to the point where her father, Daara the 19th, entrusted Shiki to take care of his daughter in the future. Shiki complies, and both he and Rosaria make a promise that they will not be married until Rosaria can earn her Master’s Degree from the Royal Academy of Studia University. Her day in the Celestina Empire earned her an Adventurer Rank of D for a start, but she was able to reach A+ after intense training with Shiki for under six months.

However, the Papaldia Empire’s evil influence even extended all the way to this country on the far eastern edge of the world. In the Kingdom of Selarong, the imperial army murdered a number of Celestinian Adventurers and Tourists, unaware that it was the body double made by Celestina.

That was how the Papaldia Empire came to incur Celestina’s wrath, and when she heard that the Celestina Empire was going to play with the Empire, she was eager to learn how the Main Council would execute their plan. She was informed of Operation: Sweet Dreams, which happens a day before the Papaldia Empire launches an invasion of the Kingdom of Selarong, which made the Papaldian Army fell right into the hands of Celestina’s plan.

The empire, which had trampled over the Kingdom of Verlaine, got annihilated by the Celestina Imperial Space Command, the name for their military, and, unbelievably, Celestina didn’t even lose a single soldier in the effort, and they have thousands in custody.

When she heard about this news, she consulted with Shiki about it. She was surprised to see his apologetic reaction that made her guilty. If his team can move faster, they will surely establish a diplomatic relationship, and the Celestina Empire will protect the Verlaine Royals as quickly as possible. But, like the rice becomes a porridge, you can’t undo things that you have done.

Rosaria understood Shiki’s intention, but it made her want Shiki to stay until her Kingdom prospered again. Then, a series of miracles start to happen.

With the arranged marriage between Shiki and Rosaria, strengthened with their bonds of love together, The Main Council and the Main Advisor present them with a Grenadier-class Corvette, the Verlaine Prayer. The starship itself was a gift that both Daara and Rosaria must consider carefully before deciding to accept it. The Celestina Empire also gave her the command of such starship, where she immediately leads the Celestina Imperial Space Command in retaking the Verlaine Kingdom.

“We have four targets this time.”

“What would it be?”

“Capital base, Capital Navy base, Industrial base, and Industrial Districts. We intend to weaken their strength further and show them that we can be anywhere we want. The downfall of the Papaldia Empire begins…”

“It feels incredible to see a lot of them are willing to destroy the Papaldia Empire.”

“That’s why we decide to teach them a lesson with this attack. We will show the Papaldia Empire the terror from the Celestina Empire.”

Shiki and Queen Rosaria looked up. Beautiful, dazzling planes with the winged shield and a staff on a grey field painted on them were flying through the sky. The roars of the aircraft, the loud sound of the jets, the sheer number of them flying around, she could describe it in a single word as “incredible.” The demonic Papaldia Empire and the demon-hunting army of the winged shield: they were finally going to attack the empire itself. They finally enacted the operation known as Operation: Terror Snatcher.

Queen Rosaria, former King Daara the 19th, Crown Prince Shiki, and all Verlaine citizens watched the Celestina Imperial Space Command’s Troop Carriers, Fighters, Interceptors, and Bombers, along with a single Raziel-class Heavy Sniper Frigate, Raziel, with fierce hope in their hearts.

Early Morning, 7 AM

The skies were clear and blue, and a cool wind blew. There was just a little light, and visibility was good.

The lead ship of Raziel-class Heavy Sniper Frigate, Raziel, is in position 550km south of the Papaldia Empire Capital, Esthirant. Around 1km above, a Radar-class Prowler, Arcus, monitors the imperial capital from an incredible distance beyond the human eye’s capabilities. Their sight at the radar was above the Reconnaissance-class Frigate, with twenty-five percent more than the frigates. The sensors can also synchronize up to six Wavecom Datalinks channels and a Holographic Radar Drone Sensor that can immediately project the specific area at the holo-table for strategy discussion in battle. During this operation, the sensors were limited to 1,500km.

“This is Arcus Actual. Be advised; we have twenty Wyvern Overlord flying above the imperial capital, and there are no Celestina agents around it. Whisperer and Supremacy, two CAG-2 fighters will make a wake-up call for a surprise attack and will rejoin the strike force heading for Duro once the wake-up call is complete. Make some room for them to breathe; the main council wants zero collateral damage in civilians. Raziel, you’re clear to make the first shot.”

“Roger that.”

The formation breaks up 300km south of Esthirant, the Strike Force led by Feena will be heading for Duro while Armada and Shiela will commence the assault on the capital, escorted by two CAG-2.

“This is Raziel, firing the cannon. Fire.”

The Raziel unleashes its MAC, and the attack immediately hits 200 meters from the Imperial Capital Base.

On Shiela’s position, two CAG-2 Fighters are looking at Shiela and Armada. The fighters will go ahead to make a wake-up call while Armada and Shiela will assault the Wyvern Overlord before assaulting the base and sealing off the city. Shiela was carrying twenty canisters, with each canister loads a hundred kilograms of chili sauce.

“I never thought you prefer chili over a wasabi.”

“I can’t stand the spiciness.”

“It’s good if you’re eating sushi and have wasabi and soy sauce, you know.”

“Hmph. I still don’t like it.”

“By the way, is being pampered by Sofya good for you?”

“H-how did you know?”

“The War Maidens know each other even when they are separated. But no worries, the title ‘Mother of the Empire’ she held is true to her nature. Sometimes we also want her to pamper us. Maybe you should visit Childre sometimes to learn what it likes to pamper a child.”

“Hmph…”

“Oh, if your world can’t handle the orphans, send them to us. Sofya will be love to take care of them.”

“I will consider it…”

Armada, Shiela, and two CAG-2 fighters continue their flight to the capital.

“All, right. Time to draw their attention.”

With a roar from Armada, it immediately brings the entire capital to alert while the fighters use a sonic boom to enhance the tension.

The Papaldia Empire, imperial capital Esthirant, Southern Airspace

Twenty wyvern overlords were on guard in the skies a bit south of the imperial capital Esthirant. They belonged to the 2nd squadron of the 18th dragon knight order. Squadron Leader Derius was talking to Pukrate, a veteran originally from the 1st squadron, via magic communications.

“Let’s monitor that section of the sea over there as well.”

“Sure, sounds good.”

The wyvern overlord formation moved as though it were a single unit, showing off how well-trained they were.

“Squadron leader, about the enemy…”

“What is it?”

“According to the memo we got a few days ago, Celestina would be using Mu’s aircraft to fight us. But, you know, in the last two battles, I feel like our losses were way too high. When I asked the military top brass about it, they wouldn’t give me a straight answer and told me just to refer it to the memo. What are your thoughts, squadron leader?”

The empire’s upper management, afraid of the military’s morale taking a huge dive, decided to limit the distribution of information on Celestina to only some of the military officers.

“It’s true—I’ve heard that the top brass has been really tight-lipped about this war. It’s clear they’re hiding something, but I’m not sure exactly what. However, an enemy stronger than Mu, who else is there?”

“Other than the ancient sorcerous empire or the Holy Milishial Empire, I guess there’s no one else.”

“By the way—”

KABOOM!!

“W-what was that!?

“Huh? What the hell are those?!?!”

GROAARR!!

When they hear the scream of the explosive, and later, a dragon’s shout, the Wyvern Overlords become shrouded in fear. They flew out of control, but they showed no sign of stopping. The citizens, hearing that sound, began to look at where the sound came from while the windows and doors started to open, prompting the citizen's curiosity.

“W-what just happened?”

The wyvern overlord seems in panic, but somehow their mind was not allowing them to retreat.

“C-calm down!”

“T-there’s three objects heading our way!”

“What!?”

The first one, later to be revealed as the ancient dragon, is approaching them. Two other smaller objects fly behind while they haven’t got a clear sight of what kind of object it is due to the size. One of them suddenly got hit by a canister, causing the armor to be stripped off, and he screams in pain.

“Aaahh!! It’s hot!! It’s hot!!”

CHOMP!

Armada quickly devours one of the wyvern overlords and start moving to the next wyvern overlord that was already smeared in chili sauce by Shiela.

“No!! Get away from—”

CRUNCH! CHOMP!

Derius watches the scene in terror while Armada consumed Pukrate and the wyvern he rides. Suddenly, the canister hits him, causing his entire armor to be stripped, and he can feel the taste of chili.

“Uaaah!! No!! It’s too hot!!”

The next second, he was devoured alive by Armada along with his wyvern. All wyverns are eliminated in less than five minutes by both Armada and Shiela. Once the deed is done, Armada roars again, and two CAG-2 flies at low altitude above the Imperial Capital sky.

WHOOOSSSHH!!! GROAAARR!!

The citizens, looking up at the sky, witnessing the terror for the first time. The wyverns belonging to the strongest defense force defending the imperial capital of the Papaldia Empire, a superpower, are consumed by a single dragon. The remains of the knights, such as pendants, guns, stirrups, and armor, are falling to the capital street.

“AAAAAAHHH!!!”

“Run!! It’s a dragon! A dragon devours all of our wyverns!”

Immediately people start running around in panic. To prevent them from escaping the city, Armada unleashes flames that seal off the city. Once his flames seal the capital's access, Armada and Shiela are heading into the Papaldia Empire Imperial Capital base to burn it to dust. The flames will kill anyone who dares to cross it, but they will not consume any oxygen, so people inside the capital will not suffocate.

“No! No! Let me out of here!!”

“We can’t pass through it!! The flame is too hot!”

The Imperial Capital Citizens are trembling in fear watching the dragon goes north.

“Battlefield if yours, Whisperer. We will be rendezvousing with the Assault Unit heading towards the town of Duro.”

“Roger, that. Let’s give the Capital Base a nice and sweet lesson for messing with us. Can you extract the twenty wyvern overlords? Our agent is about to launch soon.”

“No problem. It will be a piece of cake.”

“Good. Now, let’s make sure the Imperial Army learns their lesson.”

Armada and Shiela proceed into the Papaldia Empire Imperial Capital Base, and they watch as the flames seal off all the entrances into the city, effectively isolating them.

-

The Papaldia Empire, Imperial Headquarters

BOOM!! ROARR!!

“What was just happened!?”

The Imperial Headquarters become alerted following the initial attack of the Raziel and roar from Armada. Realizing they are being attacked, the military personnel stationed inside the base immediately prepare for battle. The Zealot Strike Force from Lyrallei’s team immediately gears themselves up for the launch.

On the first floor of an elaborate stone building, magical technician Lotte was tracking signals emitted by a wyvern overlord on the magic detector. Wyverns were the only flying creatures with high magic power; they were basically overflowing with magic compared to humans. The military created the magic detector to track magic power for anti-air defense purposes. The detector could also be used by the personnel for ground monitoring as well.

Currently, the detector only displayed friendly forces in the sky; there were no other creatures in the vicinity with high magic power.

“Hm? Did something just happen?”

Lotte noticed that the friendly wyverns, which were previously flying in perfect lines, began to scatter in a disorderly fashion. Right when she was about to report the oddity to her boss, the twenty dots on the screen suddenly brightened, then disappeared one by one as one dot approaches and takes them one by one. There was no other explanation for that phenomenon…… They had been killed!!! Lotte immediately grabbed the magical communicator next to her and screamed into it.

“Emergency, emergency! A patrol of twenty dragon knights from the eighteenth dragon knight order, second squadron, in the southern skies over the capital have all disappeared from the detector by one unknown threat! There is a high chance that this dot defeats all of it! The third squadron on standby, you’re cleared for urgent launch, go check the southern skies! Furthermore, there is only one enemy on the detector; there’s a high chance they’re using a magical aircraft!!!”

Right after Lotte’s order went out, the military ground base became lively with the sound of crashing and clamor. The ruckus immediately alerted everyone to the abnormal situation.

ROARR!!

They heard another roar again; this means an unknown attack has annihilated the defense unit.

“All twenty signals are gone?!” Lotte’s boss exclaimed, his face changing color before her eyes as he stared at the detector screen.

“Yes, sir; in a very short amount of time, each signal blinked out one after the other once a dot is coming in.”

“Twenty! There were twenty of them up there! That’s a sizable patrol squadron, and they were all the strongest dragons in the world, wyvern overlords!!! How could they be done in so quickly by just one enemy?!”

“But it’s true! They all disappeared in the space of five minutes!!!”

“Are you sure it’s not some kind of device malfunction?!”

“That’s out of the question!!!”

“Kh! What the hell are we fighting?!”

While the two were bickering in the communications room, the 3rd squadron was getting ready to take off, having received their orders. However, twenty wyvern overlords are already prepared for launch, unaware that the Zealot Strike Force is now commencing the final phase of Operation: Scale Heist.

“Hey!! Who’s that!? Tell them to get back on the squadron!”

“B-but, sir! They are going ahead to investigate!”

“Grrr.. fine!”

With wings spread wide, the wyvern overlords began running, preparing to launch themselves into the air. Because this was an emergency situation, all the wyverns ran together in a single file. Once the wyverns are in flight, the next wave is preparing for lunch, but soon, they found out that Armada and Shiela have already arrived at the location.

“Enemy detected!!!” someone yelled into their magic communicator. The dragon knights all looked up into the sky.

“Wha—!!!”

“W-What the hell is that!?”

“It’s an ancient dragon!!”

“Quickly!! Launch every wyvern!!”

But, before the other wyverns can take-off, they have been burnt to ashes by Armada’s fire breath.

After hearing the strange noise, Imperial Capital Defense Army General Carlene looked out the window. At that moment, one of his men stumbled into the room without knocking.

“Lieutenant General Carlene! All signals have been lost for the eighteenth dragon knight order, second squadron! Please come to the war room at once!!!”

“I’ll be right there.”

Carlene quickly walked over to the war room next door. As soon as he entered, he received a report.

“Just now, we lost the signals from the second squadron, which was patrolling the southern skies over Esthirant, on the magic detector. On that detector, right before the signals disappeared, a large light appeared chasing one after another, so the probability that they were shot down or killed is very high. Right now, the third squadron is preparing for emergency deployment and some riders already depart earlier to investigate.”

The subordinate pointed out the window. As ordered earlier, the 3rd squadron’s wyvern overlords were on the runway, just about ready to start their takeoff run. The twenty wyvern overlords from mixed squadrons, the Celestina Zealot Strike Force, are already taking off to escape Armada’s wrath and for immediate extraction.

“These enemies… how strong are they…?” Carlene mumbled.

“What are those?!” someone yelled suddenly.

“Aaaah!! It’s an ancient dragon!”

Seconds later, there is a light coming towards the wyverns on the runway. The light hit each member of the 3rd squadron, turning them into a lifeless crisp before Carlene’s eyes.

“W-w-what!?”

He was so surprised he couldn’t find his voice, but then some kind of dragon flew above the base, bursting the flames around the base, driving the entire soldiers into a panic.

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU—!!!

The base’s emergency alarm began to howl, stirring the people in the base who began running about frantically.

“Everyone, hurry and get ready for combat!!! All dragon knight squadrons, anyone who can launch, launch!!!” General Carlene roared.

“Everything is according to the plan.”

“W-we’re ready for extraction, Ma’am! The wyverns are getting uneasy.”

The Zealots are getting uneasy with Armada’s appearance, although they know this operation is a cakewalk. Calming down the wyvern overlord they ride on is another issue as they are panicking, and they have to calm it down at all times.

“Let’s bring them out of here before we continue smashing their base.”

“A request from Alicia, hmm? Alright…”

When Armada is opening the portal, the Wyvern Overlords mounted by the Zealots are throwing some magic grenade to make them look like they disappeared and were killed by Armada. The deceit works well as Lotte reads the Wyvern Overlord that was sent to investigate earlier are annihilated by a single attack.

Once the wyverns are successfully extracted out from the battlefield, Shiela looks down on the base.

“Alright. Let’s resume the party.”

With no friendlies remains, Armada began to go a rampage around the Imperial Capital base.

Imperial Capital Esthirant

“All of the entrances are sealed! We can’t get out of here!”

“Noooo!!! Let me out of this city!!”

“Water ball!”

Some mages tried to extinguish the fire using a water ball spell, but it was futile as the flame kept burning the ground without any effect. The people are in panic even though Armada has gone to the Imperial Capital base to destroy it.

“We can’t get out of the city!!”

“Somebody help!! Please!! Help us!”

The widespread panic across the capital has brought the entire capital activity into lockdown. The naval base was untouched, but the access to the town was also closed by Armada’s flame. The Papaldia Empire officials are also thrown into chaos after witnessing the Celestina Empire’s attack using two Fighters and one ancient dragon to demolish the Imperial Capital Base.

The zealots, including Silvano and Jill, are watching while the capital went into a panic, amused by what Armada did to the Imperial Capital.

“Found the agent from Gra Valkas and Annonrial Empire.”

“Put them to sleep and erase their memories about Lord Armada’s appearance.”

“Roger.”

Silvano and Jill are doing their job to put down Gra Valkas agents into sleep, including spies from the Annonrial Empire. They request Maya’s unit to alter their memory, and once done; they will leave them be at the alley.

Even when the civilians are trying to use the wagon to shield the flame, the wagon immediately perish. Civilians, merchants, and officials did not know what to do. They just run around the town in panic, sealing all the doors and windows for safety.

“Uwaah!! Run for your lives!!!”

“I don’t want to die here!”

All the seasoned and trained soldiers of the proud Papaldia Empire are now becoming a wimp who wants to run away for their lives.

“The runway has been destroyed! Our wyverns are grounded!”

“That’s impossible!!”

The light attack made by Armada demolishes the runway, forcing the wyverns to stay on the ground. The other Papaldian soldiers desperately fire their musket towards Armada, flying above their base, but their attempts were futile. The bullets did not reach him, and Armada continues demolishing the Imperial Capital base.

“Dammit! Can’t we try to fight it back for some reason?”

“We can’t, sir! He’s just too high for us to reach!”

“GYAAA!!!”

KA-BOOM!!

The dragon's light breath emits again as it strikes the headquarters, and the attack destroys the communications room. The strategy room shakes violently as the explosion comes close to him and his aides, shattering the glass.

“Uwaaah!!!”

“T-the communications room has been destroyed! We were unable to report more of the findings to the Palace!”

“No! This is impossible!!”

A single ancient dragon is rampaging through the base unopposed. General Carlene was terrified to witness the power of the ancient dragon itself. The banner held by Shiela soon makes him realizes that it was the Celestina Empire that attacked them.

“T-that’s impossible…!! Does Celestina possess an ancient dragon as a battle unit?”

No country has ever witnessed the ancient dragon being used by any country as a battle unit. The Ravernal Empire once tried to control the ancient dragon, but they failed in attempting to do so. Much to the horror of any country, those who possess an ancient dragon were worth being thousands of the wyvern overlords and can be called a superpower by the civilization country.

“So this is…. The power of the Celestina Empire?”

When the light beam reaches the headquarters, General Carlene, along with the officials, perish.

The soldiers, wyverns, and every inch of their equipment, none were spared from the destruction. The survivors are very few, only around five people, including a girl named Lotte that was trapped beneath the rubble of the communications building.

“Looks like we have done our job here. Let’s go home.”

With the destruction complete, Armada leaves the destroyed Imperial Capital base.

(It’s so dark… my whole body hurts… What happened to me…?)

Imperial Capital Defense Army magical technician Lotte regained consciousness. She was a bit alarmed at how much pain her body was in, but she thought hard, grasping at the threads of her memory. After they had heard the roar from the dragon, the light beam hit the building as she was thrown away from her post, hitting someone else, then she blacked out. Then she remembered hearing what sounded like the building collapsing. The Imperial Capital Defense Army’s base had been attacked by Celestina.

“Light!”

When she looked up, she saw a bit of light shining down. Her body hurt, but it could also move. She didn’t think any bones were broken.

“All right!”

She concentrated, then tried to put some strength into lifting the rubble on top of her. It moved a little!!!

“Someone, help!”

There should still be a lot of people in the base… so if she yelled, someone should come running… however, no one responded. The other four survivors are just lamenting and unable to get any strength. They fell into despair after Armada demolished it. The wyvern overlords are burned to crisp, buildings destroyed, and the flames dissipate as Armada leaves the base.

“……Ah, I see.”

She didn’t hear anything as the base went quiet. Are they abandoning their post, or maybe they are preparing for battle on the other side of the base.

“Ur… gh!!!”

Lotte put as much strength as she could into her entire body. There had to be a crack or a hole somewhere that she could use to get outside. With a ripping noise, her clothes rubbed against the bricks, tearing in various places. Once she got out, she’d probably draw looks from everyone and get embarrassed, but her life was paramount.

“Just a bit mo… yes!!!”

She got out! Then she looked around.

“N-No way!”

All she saw was the destroyed wreckage of buildings, the ruins of what once used to be a military base. Nothing else moved aside from her point of view.

“How did… How did this…”

The superpower Papaldia Empire’s strongest fortification, with its dominant ground army, its proud land dragons with their unparalleled offensive power, its magic cannon squad capable of suppressing entire countries, its wyvern overlords that ruled the skies… it was all gone, vanished without a trace.

She didn’t know what could possibly have done this such a sturdy, reinforced base. Magical technician Lotte could only stand there, shocked silent, as she took in the horrifying scene.

“S-survivors!”

She met with other survivors, but they had lost their will to fight, let alone remain in military service, much to her horror. Lotte is the only survivor who does not witness the Primordial dragon's wrath, Armada, directly.

The Papaldia Empire, Imperial Capital Esthirant

“Hey! Look!!!”

Some agitated residents were pointing to the north. But, with no prompting needed, the people were already looking in the direction of the massive explosions. Enormous, never-before-seen billows of flame were blossoming over the military ground base as the dragon demolishes it. No words were said; they all just stood there sweating. Some women and children were crying at sight. Unfortunately, when Armada completes his job, he makes his way through the Imperial Capital once again.

“AH—!!!”

“The dragon is coming this way!!”

“NOOOOOO!!!”

The dragon's appearance and how it was able to terrorize the capital delivers an untold dread in the citizens of Papaldia. Once the dragon stares at them, it just simply flies away, and the flame around the city dissipates.

The Papaldia Empire, Imperial Capital Esthirant, Remille’s Mansion

Remille was lying on her back on the bed in her room, her comforter wrapped over her body. She remembered what happened earlier.

She had woken up from a horrible dream. That had put her in a bad mood, so, to change things up, she had gone out onto the balcony to get fresh air. The sky was a clear blue, the morning breeze felt a bit chilly against her skin, and little birds were warbling. She took a deep breath… it felt extraordinarily good. When she looked to the south, she saw the Imperial Capital Defense Army’s wyvern overlords flying in formation, monitoring the skies over the capital. They looked so powerful, so proud, that she couldn’t help thinking how fitting of the Papaldia Empire’s, a superpower’s, main forces.

“Maybe I was overthinking things…”

Perhaps she allowed herself to be swayed by the words of Mu’s ambassador. There were no shortcomings with regards to the wyvern overlord’s aerial combat capabilities; they could even defend against Mu’s latest weapons. No matter who their enemies were, even if they came from another world, the empire wouldn’t be destroyed so easily.

Those were Remille’s thoughts as she gazed at those majestic wyvern overlords.

“Hm?”

All of a sudden, the bird flies away as she can feel a tremor, later, a roar, and the dragon knight formation broke up, each one speeding up and spreading out in a different direction.

“Are they doing some kind of training exercise?”

The dispersed dragon suddenly got devoured by one ancient dragon. One by one, the wyvern overlords got consumed by Armada.

“Ahhh!!!”

Letting out a rather feminine scream, Remille leaned forward, her eyes glued to the sky. She couldn’t tear herself away from the sight of the devoured dragon knight order, with only pieces of armor falling.

“Is it Celestina?! Is Celestina attacking?!”

Sweat poured out of every pore in her body. Then she realized.

(It can’t be! Am I… quivering? Me?!)

Her hands, clutching the balcony’s banister, were shaking; she looked down, and her legs were clearly trembling as well. Then, arrow-shaped somethings flew by at tremendous speed. She had never seen anything move so fast in her life, and the baseless confidence she had built up earlier, the thought that “Our dragon knight order couldn’t possibly lose,” was smashed into pieces.

Shortly afterward, the sound from the shockwaves reached her, as well as the sight of the arrow-shaped object flying around the town before turning back, clearing the path for the ancient dragon to advance.

“N-n-no!!”

Then, she saw it. The Celestina Empire's emblem on the arrow-shaped object's body as it is clear that the Celestina Empire is attacking. The dragon breathes fire around the capital, sealing off the entire gate and trapping all civilians inside the capital.

“T-that’s impossible!”

The dragon roars again as it is heading into the Capital Defense Army’s base. It starts to attack the Imperial base mercilessly while Remille trembles in fear.

“No, that’s the Imperial Capital Defense Army’s base!!!”

After the sound of the enormous explosions passed, the ground base’s highest level alarm began to sound. Remille realized that the imperial capital had just been attacked and intended to make her way to the 1st foreign affairs department, but her legs were shaking so much that she couldn’t even move.

The ancient dragon is rampaging around the base, destroying anything that can be seen at the military base. The people witnessing it are terrified, to the point where the town guard prevents them from leaving the city, or they will be burned into a crisp by Armada’s flame.

There were more explosions, and then smoke started to surge up from the military base—another large explosion. There would probably be many casualties. The dragon keeps demolishing the imperial base, without giving the garrison inside a break or chance to fight back.

“Gh! What am I supposed to do!!!”

The terror of the dragon brought Remille down and hugged her knees. She couldn’t stop shaking because of fear.

She was in a position of responsibility; she had to get to the 1st foreign affairs department as soon as possible. But the Celestinian army had just dealt out an act of crushing violence on the empire, and, in truth, she herself had caused it.

(Celestina… Celestina is furious; they must be trying to kill all of us…)

The more that thought revolved in her head, the more fear-stricken she became, and the less she could move. The city was filled with unsettling clamor, and she could hear angry and cries from people all over. Remille somehow crawled back to her room and dragged herself into her bed.

“Mistress Remille! Mistress Remille!!!”

Someone banged on the door calling for her, knocking her out of her reverie.

“Mistress Remille!!!”

There’s no way she could allow the family maid to see her like this.

“I’m coming!!!”

Remille steeled herself mentally and stood up. Still shaking profusely, she came to stand in front of the door.

“What is it!!!” she asked through the door.

“An urgent request has come for you to contact the first foreign affairs department.”

“I understand. I will head out as soon as I’ve changed!”

Remille was looking at the scroll. Her best choice now is to make contact with Kyeos as soon as possible.

The Papaldia Empire, Imperial Capital Esthirant, Kyeos’s Mansion

Kyeos only trembles in fear when he hears the Celestina Empire is using the ancient dragon to invade the capital. Two fighters, described by Silvano, was only served as an opening to the attack.

“Oh no…”

The people are crying, angry, even to the point where some are fallen into despair. Kyeos witness the terror made by the Celestina Empire first-hand. Some of the senates and nobles went into his mansion, asking if the Celestina Empire did attack them.

“M-my lord. Is this the work of the Celestina Empire?”

With a small nod, the senates and nobles become fearful of their lives. They knew Kyeos’s connection to the merchant, let alone he’s the only one that houses most information from the Celestina Empire. The senates and nobles are being watched closely by the Zealot Strike Force. Any spilled information can make their heads hanging.

“P-please. We want to surrender to the Celestina Empire.”

“I-I can’t promise you that… The 1st Foreign Affairs Department is the one who did this…”

“Can’t you do something…?”

“I can… But it needs The Emperor’s authorization to do so.”

To make an emergency meeting, Emperor Ludius is the only one that can issue it. The condition was that the Empire was either in a critical state or desperately needed something beyond everyone’s capabilities.

“I-I will try to convince him.”

A senate volunteers to convince the Emperor to make an emergency meeting. Before the meeting can happen, all papers related to the Celestina Empire must be gathered by each department.

“It seems the despair has caught the nobles.”

Silvano, wearing violet assassin gear with a mask, walks out from Kyeos’s mansion. The Celestina Empire's emblem at the scabbard of her dagger indicates that she was from the Celestina Empire.

“H-hiii! Spare us!!”

“Don’t worry. I have no reason to kill you today. Instead, you guys got a job to do.”

“P-please!! Tell us anything, a-and… we will comply!!”

“Good. Then count every asset you have seized from the colonies. I will not tolerate any embezzlement since the zealots are always watching you. Count everything, such as precious metals and assets, then report it back to Kyeos or me.”

“Y-y-yes, Ma’am!!”

The senates and nobles quickly scram to do their job once Armada and Shiela leave the capital after they destroy the imperial capital base.

The Papaldia Empire, Navy Headquarters

The cornerstone of the imperial capital’s defense was the naval base on the south side of Esthirant. That same base was currently crowded with ships-of-the-line, which could be considered the navy’s main force. The Papaldia Empire imperial navy headquarters were located in this base, and there were many there who would describe the sight of all those ships-of-the-line arrayed in the water as stunning; there were even some who would find the sight emotional.

Vice-Admiral Balus was in his office looking out the window.

Upon hearing the report that the ground base had been assaulted, he immediately commanded all ships to set sail. The ships-of-the-line expedited their preparations as soon as they received the emergency order.

A third of the fleet was already in formation, ready to intercept enemies. Having learned from the previous battles where they tried to lean on their numbers, this time, a new strategy was applied by spreading out each ship from any other to counter long-ranged attacks. Balus and the empire’s greatest mind, Matal, were confident in this strategy.

Ship after the ship left the port, each one of them far stronger, far bigger, and far faster than the average ship in this world. The strongest navy in the Third Civilization, the superpower Papaldia Empire’s main fleet, was departing to defend against Celestina’s navy's probable attack. They were prepared to destroy them.

Little to their knowledge, the Undines are placing bombs on the selected warships, as they intend to make a game for the Celestina Empire's citizens.