More than a decade ago, the islands of the Federal States of the Philippines were mysteriously transferred to another world and determined even by most scientists and professionals that there is a supernatural intervention from an intelligent being or God in short.
If not then why the country still exists as a whole?
The modern-day Philippines witnessed the real magic manifestations. There are currently four forces of nature: gravity, electromagnetism, weak and strong nuclear force, and yet the addition of such is still debatable in regards to quantum mechanics and general relativity. The force that can manipulate every force and matter?
Well, let's aside from the introductory part.
The Philippines decided to help the Iclylic Confederation from the clutches of demons and to establish diplomatic ties. For a reason to take advantage of their misery and helplessness.
Once those ties were established, the Iclylic Confederation government which was now transitioned to a democratic republic, changed the most drastically in its entire history.
Philippine President Luna Lo Csia requests a bizarre amount of samples of food, plants, and living beings which are mostly going to be used in studies and experimentations, but the go signal from President Icya during their urgent meeting(?), the New Icya government successfully fulfills those requests in hurry. Given most esteem and importance, after all, Iclylic's agricultural sector grows too fast to the point they can feed their population by several times. All thanks to genetically engineered seeds that can grow in almost kinds of soil coming from their benefactor.
Even the Republic of New Icya, with its barren, unproductive lands due to magical toxic chemicals sprayed by the demons all over the place, was a treasure trove of unknown species and minerals, according to the Philippine exploration team, and the Republic of New Icya began to export to the Philippines as well although, on part of Philippines, their exports aren't for commercial purposes. After all, anything from the outside can probably cause unwanted epidemics and imbalances.
In return for this and strong goodwill, the Philippines began sharing out concepts of modern life towards Iclylcians-for example, telecommunications, gadgets of the 20s, methods for connecting large cities with flat, seamless roads and underground gridlines for electricity; and large-scale distribution systems like boring machine technology, economical trains, and subways in the intention of minimal environmental disruption.
All kinds of modern technologies were requested as well, but the Philippines had passed new bills before then on congress to safeguard their core technologies and national security. The export of weapons also came up, but that was already considered illegal, so nothing could be done. This includes the digital world of the internet.
It was in the intention to not expose the dark sides of modern life and to reduce possible abuses.
After all, giving a grenade to a caveman is not a good idea. So anything that can disturb the equilibrium. For example, what if Iclylicians are exposed to Filipino toxicity or search for inappropriate content on the internet almost all the time? Not to mention the fear that it will bring unwanted laziness throughout the populace.
The technologies that the Philippines did share were mainly conveniences and practicality that fundamentally raised the quality of life in the New Icya Republic.
Flat-screen tv and state-funded news agencies.
Air conditioners, refrigerators, modern furniture, and residential homes.
Smartphones feature only contacts, messaging, and simple day-to-day applications like the calculator, weather, and maps.
Education institutions, infrastructures, piers, and government offices.
Abundant access to clean drinking water, the ability to light up the night as bright as noon, and other applications of electrical power, hand-operated propane gas tanks that could produce fire and heated water on-demand... common life had improved by leaps and bounds across the Central Capital and five provincial islands. (Ducal Islands)
And as for security reasons and memorandums signed by the two countries, the New Icya government controls all businesses and trades both local and international.
Well...
Safe to say, middle-class life back then in the 2010s.
It hadn't even been a year yet, and these modern lifestyles already become commonplace, but the head of President Icya's economic team was said to have seen the samples and been stunned to the point of madness. He was hysterical at the thought of these preposterous developments that were once their beautiful dreams.
"The technology from the Philippines is so wonderful! Has the power to obliterate a mountain and demon clans... they're clearly above the nations we know! We might even have the best living standards next to them!"
However, speaking with his secretary, Vice President Enam was more measured regarding the impact that this country would have on their future.
By the way, he is the captain of the warriors who help Luna from the King's assassination and was forced promoted to the position due to his unwavering contributions and popularity.
"Thankfully... It was truly a relief to find out that they are peace lovers. Even though they have a law prohibiting the use of a standing military force for invasions and only maintain at most for national defense, going against them with their level of advanced technology sounds truly frightening. I wonder how they make those invisible suits as if they hardened themselves with mana"
"I agree. However, it's still a bit depressing that they are unwilling to export quantech weaponry to us. If we had those, we could better mitigate the threat of demons' retaliation."
"We must thank her excellency Princess Icya. She and Foreign Affairs Minister pleaded with a mutual defense treaty proposal and the Philippines approved it!"
"Yeah, I agree Vice-President because of that, we are obligated to..."
"The war against two empires huh? Sol Messa Empire and Feranda Empire. Frankly, we're merely a burden for them and offer little to no assistance. Swords can't reach nowhere in the oceans after all moreover we only have at least dozens of mages to boot."
With that regretful thought, Enam looked out on the sun at its peak. Reminding himself, that a pen is mightier than a sword... he started to work on the resolutions to be ratified later with a pen in hand.
"Vice President, why not confess your honest feelings to their empress? Shameless you even called yourself a man"
Enam stopped when he heard those words and replied in a serious tone.
"You better clean your neck later"
---
Just five nautical miles before meeting the Philippines, one grandiose huge ship was leading the imperials fleets. Just like most ships have, everything was encased in a translucent spherical barrier that serves as a defense.
One could tell a big bubble enveloping every ship from farther view.
This exceptional warship however was made of lightweight yet strong golden metal and sunlight reflecting on it creates hues of rainbows all over. Over its deck were numerous elite spellcasters who are maneuvering the ship and responsible for powering magical device-like propellers underwater.
By channeling their mana(?) to the big propeller devices, the axial thrust was produced continuously... against the water it acts on the thrust bearings of the intermediate shaft which then transmits the thrust against the ship's structures to move the ship.
There were all spellcaster teams for different functions.
It was at this ship, that an emperor and his powerful imperials supervise everything.
"Your greatness, preparations are complete"
A man in a luxurious knighthood of red and blue knelt in front of the emperor and gave his report. He was a black-bearded man in his thirties and muscled to the point that it was noticeable even through the shape of his armor. This was Admiral Xingqiu.
"Dismiss. Chancellor, what information do we have until now about that new emerging country? The islands are demon-free, with absolute certainty?"
"Relax brother, my intuition tells me a promising journey."
The 102nd emperor of the Sol Messa Empire asked raising his brows, a centennial man Xin Ying Sol and his smiling seducing brother Xua Yang Sol.
After experiencing a humiliating defeat from the Heather Kingdom, knowing how powerful pawns the Heather King has, their Chancellor orders their navies to retreat and prepare for the new invasion to the south.
"Based on my intelligence units, this unnamed country is located about one thousand kilometers to the southeast of the Heather Kingdom. Some witnesses confirmed their existence after encountering their strange ships comparable to us.
This means we can traverse the Coral Ocean with no worries from demons.
Our speculation is of their invasion of those islands after the demons left and making those their own for a long time without notice and further progress.
Because they are so far away, it is inconceivable for them to have any tangible influence, and wanted to be hidden as possible or they spying on us or intervening in politics, there's the possibility of communication when we invade the Heather. Furthermore, they were vigilant of our moves as it appears. So far, they can be considered a contender. To add, those witnesses say there's a huge danger lurking beneath the depths and they forced themselves to leave for some reason, so no one tries to pursue those ships they saw just the same famous phenomenon we know. Other than that your majesties, we have no other relevant information on them."
No mention of their special units. An army with no aerial capabilities, means they are weak. While aerial bombings won't single-handedly defeat a warship, being constantly subjected to the awesome power of dragon fire without viable countermeasures will damage enemy morale. After all, these twin empires were known for their dragon-taming warfare.
"I see... brother Xua, if we happen to know they're affiliated with one empire to the south then should I impregnate every girl we have here? Wahaha!"
Xin Ying bursts into laughter as he groped and grabbed his harem as he can. Besides these men, there were lots of beautiful women all of which are wives of both emperors and share women on beds. Despite their hundreds of years of living, it appears that age doesn't matter to them.
"Hey brother Xin, that black-haired goddess is mine!"
Emperor Xua glares at his younger-looking brother and pouted like a stubborn kid.
"Hehe! Here brother Xua catch her!"
"Yahh!"
The girl moans as she stumbles in mid-air, and Xua jumps immediately and catches her by using the armchair as a pivot.
As the girl and Xua flirt, half-naked women try to separate them. Seeing this den of obscenity, the Chancellor intervenes with the other emperor.
"Your Majesty, invading them may be easy with our numbers but their yummy technologies. Hehehe... we can replicate just a single ship we got from them"
A man robed in black reminded the emperors in a skin-crawling whisper.
"Of course!" they replied naughtily as they savor their women.
Tch. They're just a bunch of imperial blood know nothing but pleasures, better they didn't know what I know everything about this magicless country. Those buildings and their luxuries of living like kings. To think they're far more valuable than I thought. No, such an understatement. Sure I'm going to infiltrate their hierarchy, kill their empress and dominate them. Hehehehe
"May you excuse me, your majesties"
The Chancellor left behind in silence while grinning. A streak of colorful lines was shown through the book he was carrying. Those lines vibrate once he chanted a dark spell on the corner.
"I know the outcome of this war, hehe. I can't wait"
Meanwhile, back to the emperors' cabin.
"I can't recall. Admiral, outline our strategy."
"As you command, your majesty! Our total army from both empires is three hundred thousand men strong and twenty thousand ships. For this invasion, we send one hundred thousand for this occasion while the rest defend our seas.
First, we set up a negotiation table and ask them for a will of annexation and let their territory be ours so we can save resources.
But if they are not willing... force invasion will be the option.
We discover their ships' structure beforehand, and we determined their wealth. We will find the nearest island where all their supplies are stocked. We shall bombard their ships first through our dragon units and then invade the point of the target island. Demons dislike what we consume so there are likely fields and animals everywhere on the islands, so we will procure all our supplies locally.
Just recently, our surveillance unit discovered their fleets waiting for us, we suppress it with our numerical advantage and win. Unlike our country, we didn't detect any irregularities in skies until this time, so we assume do not have anything dragon riders. Their strangeness catches our interest, their ships are almost black, and they might be thinking to imitate gigantic deep-sea monsters.
At best, they might have a main warship that controls everything. If we just lay our bombs on it, their chain of command will be shattered. If by chance... their air force can easily be countered with our world-class superior dragons.
At the same time, we will mobilize our fleet of ten-thousand ships, we will secure a landing point, and invade smaller islands one by one.
Next, concerning Heather's forces that maybe they're allied with, they have at most one-hundred thousand soldiers, but they can only mobilize about ten thousand quickly on seas at most. Any clever plans they think up would simply be crushed by our overwhelming numbers.
Soon, since this is composed of islands, we will win no matter what!"
"Is that so... hehe, hah hah hah, AAAHAHAHAH!!! This is another greatest day in my life! The world shall apprehend the might of Sol Fermessa Great Empire!"
"Brother, I will set aside my status as emperor and become your liege as a king and then reunite our broken empire into one great empire that was once divided by our parents!"
"Oh oh oh yeah! Thank you Brother Xua! hey get out here and you, get my favorite special liquors and brought them here!
The half-naked women left one by one and go through their private rooms.
The butlers in waiting, adhered to their emperors' requests professionally.
Cheers rang out. The most extravagant warship of all became filled with boisterous celebrations.
---
"Please, excuse my rudeness, your excellence"
"Yes?"
"What do you think of their ships, Ms. President?"
Sherhimia asked worriedly as she view the imperial fleets with the President and on the cruise ship's deck alongside crew members who were responsible for the ship's security.
"Congratulations I would say Sherhimia becoming a full-fledged national translator is a great achievement. What news about your son's education?"
"Poma is doing well at his academics, Ms. President"
Luna nodded and watch a show where a small island was created between her fleets and the imperials. Quite a show for magicians but true magicians. Since the aunt's question is harmless, Luna answered barely as needed.
"One of my team researched the chemical composition of their ships, which shocked me a little and satisfied. Titanium gold is four times stronger than pure titanium. I want to seize that valuable limited resource. Subjectively speaking, instead of dragons, treasures come to my presence"
Luna said cheerfully and smiled which shook the whole crew members. Sherhimia felt strange suddenly and her nephew just popped out in their front!
After confirming the crew members left including Sherhimia, Xylma lowered her head and knelt in front of Luna.
"Ms. President, agent 33-1S at your service. I successfully managed to bind the mage guy we GPS tracked a few days ago with my spells. He is a well-known sorcerer so I cut his tongue to avoid future recuperation."
Luna upon hearing it grinned and lowered her gaze to meet hers.
"Another card to our side. Well done"
"Glad to be of service, Miss President"
Xylma smiled as she stand up and step backward in courtesy. Dragons and their riders were seen dominating the skies. For everybody, Xylma has expressed her worries.
"Miss President, want they want is a meeting between rulers of countries and this island they created seems to be the venue. If feasible, I would like to accompany you, Miss President"
"Why still doubting, Xylma?"
Xylma in her navy blue uniform lowered herself, trying to cover her mouth, and cried. Upon seeing her, Luna sighed and helped her to stand up.
"You are an important and special individual to me. Besides, you're far more knowledgeable about these things..."
"M-miss President..."
Luna grabbed her handkerchief from her pocket and swept Xylma's teary eyes with it.
"As expected of an ousted princess. Stop being a crybaby, understood?"
"Forgive me for showing such unforgivable behavior, Miss President."
Xylma redrew herself and move behind while covering her reddened face.
Miss President, you didn't know that you are the first person who appreciates me. I can't help but cry every time you praise me.
You gave me reasons to live and I can't thank you enough.
So pathetic