Japan, Enemy of the New World

Chapter 18 - Pervasive Threat

Again, I went over 4.000 words (OG 10.000 characters).

- Sōsaku-ka ZERO rei

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Tokyo, Japan

Ministry of Defense Conference Room, Ichigaya

The weather in Tokyo, the capital of Japan, was clear and relatively warm for autumn. Although it was about to enter October, the temperature in Tokyo still felt more like summer.

Now, things were a bit busier at the Ministry of Defense following the success of the recent operation to reconnoiter the Mirishial mainland. After the Global Hawk returned, various sensor information such as footage and photographs were extracted from the recorder, and the information was scrutinized primarily by the Air Self-Defense Force's Air Intelligence Wing.

"Now, let me present the initial report on the reconnaissance operation."

About three days after the operation, the information to be presented at this meeting had been compiled. The same senior members as the previous meeting were gathered to receive the report.

"We have numerous data from the Global Hawk that returned this time, so I will explain them sequentially. First, let's start with the on-site information in the Mirishial mainland."

An officer fiddled with a terminal, displaying numerous reconnaissance images on the front monitor, primarily containing information about terrain, vegetation, and the structure of residential houses.

"The structure of the residential houses seems to be designed with steep angles, possibly indicating snowy regions. Despite the absence of chimneys on the buildings, they seem to have effective heating. It is likely that they are using a magical heating system."

The officer turned to the next page.

"As for vegetation, we are still not entirely certain, but it mostly resembles the coloration commonly seen in Earth's environment. Regarding terrain, we are creating detailed topographic maps based on the data obtained."

"Hmm..."

The officer continued to operate the terminal, flipping to the next page.

"And through this reconnaissance, we have gained detailed information about the equipment and response systems of the Mirishial Imperial Air Force. Please have a look at this."

The officer presented reconnaissance photographs depicting the coastline of the Mirishial mainland. In the photos, there were golden objects resembling art installations placed on top of cliffs near the sea, arranged facing towards the coastline.

"It seems to be a magical power detection radar owned by the Imperial Air Force. However, it appears that it lacks the ability to detect and track our Global Hawk, as the Global Hawk successfully penetrated this surveillance network and entered the inland."

"What, it managed to bypass their radar network?"

"As expected, it's just as bad as I thought it would be..."

While the senior officers chuckled, the officer proceeded with additional explanations.

"It seems that the magical power detection radar is designed solely to detect the opponent's magical power... It seems impossible to track aircraft flying without magic. Therefore..."

"So, unmanned aircraft that neither has the aircraft nor the pilot's magical power accurately exploited this gap?"

As a senior officer familiar with aircraft operations remarked, the officer nodded in agreement.