Summoning America

Chapter 120: Wavering Pride

"Indeed," Pastall said, "The enemy is making excellent use of their current assets and are holding us back well enough that the Americans don't feel the need to intervene. We must throw away our preconceptions of the enemy and fight as if we are at a disadvantage."

A prideful admiral expressed his outrage over Pastall's words, "With all due respect, sir, how could we be at a disadvantage? All reports from regions that haven't been jammed show overwhelming success. Conquest Fleets 3, 4, and 5 reported the complete annihilation of the enemy, while dozens of other battlegroups have taken EDI outposts and smaller bases without a single casualty."

Pastall addressed the admiral's words. "It is true, our standard forces far outpower standard EDI units. A Gold-class battleship is the bare minimum required to compete against our navy, and there is nothing that the wooden ships of the other EDI members can do to our vessels, aside from chipping the paint. No, these inferior units are obviously of no concern, admiral. What we are concerned about are the hyper-advanced weapons at their disposal, like the one that single-handedly pushed back our First and Second Conquest Fleets."

The atmosphere in the room lost all of its warmth. The once prideful admiral could only shiver at Pastall's dire words, wondering what could have possibly happened. "Single-handedly? No... These were our largest fleets, with a thousand combat vessels between the two!"

Although most of their enemies possessed subpar technology and training, the gap was rapidly closing. On top of weapon shipments from the United States, the enemy also possessed superweapons beyond their understanding. With the flow of information constrained by interference covering the major theaters, it was only natural that not many knew of Admiral Caesar's first defeat.

"These weapons I speak of are the same fortresses seen in this American tabloid," Pastall tossed a small magazine onto the table, showing the page that detailed the Pal Chimera. "These tabloids are very similar to the ones we know of: they're present in supermarkets and generally have overly sensational topics involving celebrities or exaggerated current events. In general, they're not worth looking at for news and simply exist for entertainment. Seeing this Pal Chimera for the first time, our analysts thought it to be another facet of American science-fiction culture. It turns out, however, that these Pal Chimerae actually exist."

A wave of gasps swept the room. The revelation was so shocking that even Emperor Gra Lux leaned in closer, curious to hear more.

Pastall continued, "The First Conquest Fleet had no issue fighting the EDI's naval forces. Despite the Orichalcum-class battleships outperforming even the Grade Atlastar, they only had two and would have been overrun eventually. Just looking at the naval aspect of the battle, our ships had a 4 to 1 kill ratio, even with the initial missile strike. Our aircraft also performed exceedingly well, knocking down enemy planes and wyverns with minimal casualties. Taking all these factors into consideration, the Battle of Otaheit should have been an easy victory. However, the tide turned when enemy Pal Chimerae made their appearance. They used rapid-fire magic guns to track and destroy our planes with ease, larger magic guns to sink our ships, and something akin to lasers to cut through battleship armor. They bombarded our ships from afar, out of the range of our ships' naval guns. The fleet's surviving aircraft attempted to attack one of the Pal Chimerae, but it was defended by some sort of transparent shield."

After hearing the report, even the hardiest and most arrogant of officers in the room began to falter. If not for the fact that their commanding officer was giving this information, they would have dismissed the tale as EDI propaganda. With the truth made clear, they had to rethink their offensive strategies.

"A tactical retreat was only made possible when the Mirishial saucers pushed too aggressively. Their hubris brought them into the range of the Grade Atlastar's guns and they managed to severely damage one Pal Chimera. Afterward, the battle entered a stalemate with Admiral Caesar's forces unable to push forward and the enemy forces unable to leave their defensive alcove. It was then that Admiral Caesar ordered a retreat. Overall, the First Conquest Fleet suffered a loss of 183 ships."