Japan, Enemy of the New World

Chapter 23 - The Pride of the Special Forces Unit (Part 1)

As feedback from everyone over the past few chapters:

- Backup is necessary for special operations.

- They need a diversion.

- Bombing Area 48 in the first place would be quicker.

These are opinions that I received, so I'll address them all in this story. Since the operation will be divided into two parts, this chapter will be a bit shorter.

- Sōsaku-ka ZERO rei

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Off the coast of Vaneta District, Holy Mirishial Empire

JMSDF Nuclear Submarine San Francisco

It was in the deep waters slightly offshore, away from the coast. The captain and officers of the former US Navy nuclear submarine San Francisco waited for the moment to initiate the attack, checking their radio watches wrapped around their wrists.

"Two minutes to go..."

In the quiet interior of the submarine, far quieter than on the surface ships, the XO murmured. The clock, just synchronized on land before the operation, indicated 00:58 in the morning. It was late at night, and the surface would likely be asleep by now. In the midst of that night, a top-secret operation led by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces was underway. Approximately twenty hours had passed since the landing of the Special Operations Group last night. According to the plan, they should have arrived in Area 48 by now.

"One minute left..."

"...Open upper launch tubes."

During this operation, the San Francisco was scheduled to launch cruise missiles toward Area 48 from vertical launch tubes installed on top of the boat. Of course, this was to support the operation conducted by the Special Operations Group. It was what they called a diversionary tactic. According to Japanese intelligence, Mirishial seemed unaware of submarines. In fact, they hadn't encountered any enemy submarines or patrol planes until they arrived in this area. To such an unsuspecting opponent, the idea of rockets fired from underwater monsters would be unimaginable. The opponent, unaware of being attacked by Japan, would be caught in the explosion. There was absolutely no suspicion of the operation being compromised.

"Three... Two... One... Operation time."

The XO announced the operation time. The captain's watch also matched the time exactly.

"Initiate the Tomahawk launch!"

"Roger! Initiating the Tomahawk launch!"

With the signal to start the launch, rockets burst out forcefully from the upper launch tubes of the San Francisco, which had been waiting underwater. A continuous trail of smoke was ejected from the submarine, launching a total of twelve Tomahawk cruise missiles into the water. The clusters of Tomahawks, now airborne, began their high-speed flight toward their respective targets.

First, the missiles from the first wave struck the magic electromagnetic detector of the 19th Mana Detector Group directly. It was Mirishial's newly developed detector revealed in the previous reconnaissance. However, even with its capabilities, it couldn't detect Tomahawks flying just above the sea surface, resulting in a sudden attack. Two Tomahawks hit the base of the gigantic magic electromagnetic detector at subsonic speeds. With the explosion of their explosives, the detector's base was torn apart and collapsed, rendering it non-functional.

Another Tomahawk hit the shortwave device, causing the 19th Mana Detector Group to lose functionality without even detecting the presence of the Tomahawks. The remaining Tomahawks continued their flight toward the facilities around Area 48.