Kingdom of Fenn, the waters off Nishinomiyako, Days 28
The Parpaldia Empire’s imperial navy had 183 ships-of-the-line in their grand fleet of 284 ships. They were getting into combat positions to engage the 16 ships sent by the Soviet Navy. Their 100-gun ships-of-the-line came to the forefront; they were the pinnacle of Parpaldia’s technology and the apotheosis of their pride as a superpower. General Cius observed Soviet fleet from the deck of Parpaldia’s largest, strongest ship, the commander of this enormous fleet, the super-F class ship-of-the-line Pall. This flagship monitored the fleet from its center
Cius: Darda, do you think you’d win?
He asked the captain standing next to him
Darda: With this giant fleet and our latest ships-of-the-line, I don’t think I could even lose against the Holy Mirishial Empire’s famous Zeroth Magic Fleet. Strength in naval combat is based on both the quality and quantity of ships-of-the-line. We have 183 of the best gunboats in the Third Civilization; there does not exist a fleet that can surpass ours. Even if the Soviet Navy’s warships were stronger than ours, they have fewer cannons, and there are only sixteen of them. They’re helpless before our fleet
Captain Darda had absolute confidence
The fleet of ships-of-the-line poured as much magic power as they could into their Tears of the Wind God, filling their sails with wind and tearing forward through the waves. The Soviet Navy advanced with all their ships in strange battle group that they have never seen in their life. General Cius kept constant watch on the Soviet Navy
( A/N: Imagine that this is the ships from Soviet Navy )
He had never seen any ships as big as Soviets. They only had a single cannon, installed in the front of the ship. From the size, the cannon was probably similar to the gun turret found on Mu’s La Kasami. Soviet ships also, just like in the magic pictures he’d seen of the La Kasami in the past, had no sails
He had a bad feeling about them
As far as aggregate firepower, their 100-gun ships-of-the-line had far more
However…
Cius: They’re fast and big
The enemy ships’ size and speed was well beyond their own sense of how fast ships could travel and how big ships the Soviets had. If they were that fast, despite their large size, it would be rather difficult to hit them with their magic cannons
Cius: Well, it’s the same for them…
The Soviet fleet was about ten kilometers away from them. He started to feel tense
Cius: Hm?!
He saw a light, then smoke coming from the mouth of the cannon on the closest Soviet ship
“The enemy ship fired!!!”
Darda: But they’re still about ten kilometers way. Is this some kind of ritual or ceremony?
Cius: Are they trying to intimidate us, maybe?
There was no way the cannon shell could reach this far, so General Cius and Captain Darda hypothesized about what the Soviets were doing
Suddenly, the foremost 100-gun ship-of-the-line in the imperial navy flashed
The first shell fired by the Slava-class guided-missiles cruisers SN Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya’s AK-130 130mm automatic dual barrel naval cannon easily pierced the 100-gun ship-of-the-line’s antimagic steel armor and sparked an explosion in the ship’s magazine. The pressure from the explosion pushed outwards, pulverizing anything made of wood and escaping upwards through the deck. A magnificent pillar of flame blazed upwards, splitting the ship in half and sinking it
“Ship-of-the-line Ropuhle has been sunk!!!”
They were dumbfounded…
Cius: Wha… ho… how did this happen?!”
General Cius and the Pall’s Captain Darda stuttered at what they just witnessed
BAM! BAM! BAM!!! BAM!!!
The rest of 2nd Ulyanovsk Carrier Battle Group also began firing their naval cannon including SN Sovetsky Soyuz Battleships with it's 406mm guns
“Enemy ship has fired consecutive shots!!!”
Cius: How… how can they reload that fast?!
Pillars of fire went up all around the front of the fleet
“Ships-of-the-line Mishra, Lessine, Kusion, Paus have been sunk!!!”
Ships were sinking so quickly that the reports were falling behind. The enemy ship was still way outside the range of the fleet’s magic cannons
“The enemy ship’s course is changing!!!”
Still firing its cannon, the enemy ship was now moving towards the imperial fleet’s center. It was about 6 kilometers away. The other ships behind it joined in, drastically increasing the number of shots fired. Every shot was a direct hit, and a friendly ship sank every time a cannon sounded
Darda: What kind of magic is this, for none of their attacks to miss?!
Cius: This can’t be happening… This can’t really be happening!!!”
General Cius saw a flash of light then stumbled when the Pall shook violently, slamming into a wall
“We’ve been hit on the port side!!!”
A large hole had been blasted open on the port side of the 120-gun ship-of-the-line Pall. Seawater began to flood the ship, destroying its balance and gradually causing its large body to tip to the side, eventually capsizing entirely. The weight of its metal plating slowly caused it to sink into the ocean
General Cius was floating in the water. He hung onto a piece of wood that drifted near him, and he looked at the remains of the imperial navy. In an incredibly short amount of time, the superpower Papaldia Empire, the Third Civilization’s strongest country, lost every single one of its ships, its entire fleet sunk beneath the waves
The Parpaldia Empire’s imperial navy, 284 ships, engaged in combat with the Soviet Navy's 16 ships that constitutes the 2nd Ulyanovsk Carrier Battle Group, and lost 284 ships. They were all destroyed
A short time later, having lost its main force, the remainder of the imperial army surrendered to the Fenn army when they came to take back Nishinomiyako. The battle between a superpower and the Soviet Union ended in the Soviet complete victory
In remembrance of this day, the town of Nishinomiyako in the Kingdom of Fenn now holds an annual festival where bundles of wood are shaped into boats then set on fire, creating great pillars of flames
Parpaldia Empire, Imperial Capital Esthirant
Within the department head’s office in the 1st foreign affairs department, the military’s Supreme Commander Arde was holding a meeting regarding measures that should be taken with the Soviet Union in the future. Normally, for a single barbarian country outside the civilized areas, the Supreme Commander would deal with it himself and someone in the imperial family like Remille wouldn’t interfere. However, because the emperor was interested in them, and because failure was unacceptable, all of the empire’s executives had gathered to contribute
Elto: The imperial ground legion should be conquering Fenn’s capital Amanoki right about now. Miss Remille, what should we do after Fenn fell?
1st Department Head Elto asked
Remille: Yes. After Fenn fall, We will use their people to force the Soviets to surrender. Barbarians need to be thoroughly educated or they’ll never learn. …The Soviets will pay for making fun of me. Arde, make a plan to invade Louria next after Fenn fall
Arde: Yes, I understand
Remille: Then, regarding next steps…
Clack clack.
Someone used the door knocker, interrupting their discussion.
Remille:vCome in!!!
Deputy Head Hans entered the room, sweating bullets
Hans: This has to do with your meeting, so please forgive the interruption, but I have these documents here…
His face was drained of color. Hans thrust the papers at Elto
-Emergency Research Report-
That was the title of the simple, five-page document on Elto’s desk. Deputy Head Hans summarized the report verbally.
Hans: We were concerned about why the Second Civilization superpower Mu sent an observer to Soviet Union for the conflict with Fenn. This is the result of an investigation based on some information we received when the Mu ambassador was questioned about his country’s reasoning
Elto: I see
The 1st Foreign Affairs Department knew that Mu sent an observer to the Soviet Union, so they were trying to figure out exactly why they did so. There was a theory that they were keeping tabs on a new magic spell that the Soviet Union developed. If that were so, then they sent an observer to the Soviet Union who was fully prepared to not make it back alive… But even still, it would be strange not to send an observer to the empire as well, which was why they were puzzled
Hans: To just skip to the conclusion, Mu determined that the Soviet Union would be the victor of the Fenn conflict
““What?!?!””
Elto, Remille, and Arde all exclaimed at the same time
Remille: Hans! What does that mean?!”
Elto: Mu’s analysis on information that they themselves collected concluded that the Soviet Union will defeat our forces
Everyone was stunned silent
Arde: It couldn’t possibly…
Supreme Commander Arde muttered
Arde: What if we considered that, hypothetically, the Soviet Union was aiming for all-out war with the empire? If that were the case, their preparations would be considerably far along by now. Thus, they could predict that we’d send our forces to Fenn and counter with a few thousand warships and a hundred thousand ground troops. Based on the military’s analysis, the Soviet Union has gunboats. We believe that their level of technology is low for an average country inside the civilized areas, but extraordinarily high for one outside the civilized areas..
Supreme Commander Arde continued speaks
Arde: Even if they’re inferior to our country, if faced with a few thousand gunboats, the fleet we committed to Fenn would have a hard time. The biggest problem would be a lack of ammunition for their magic cannons. Our ground legion as well only has 3,000 men; if the enemy ground forces exceed fifty thousand, it would be problematic. At any rate, General Cius is leading them. If he needed more forces, he would simply ask for them. We could send the western fleet. But… what information did Mu have exactly…
Elto: If your scenario were true, could they defeat us?
Elto asked and Arde replied with a smile
Arde: Sir Elto, have no fear. While there is some concern that a drawn-out battle could result in a lack of cannon shells, it’s impossible for thousands of ships to use blitzkrieg tactics. Our fleet wouldn’t take any damage. Furthermore, our Tears of the Wind God are the best in the world. With our ships’ speed, once again, we would avoid all damage. Even if this hypothesis were correct, our forces would simply need more time to destroy Fenn. I will check with General Cius later to see if we should send reinforcements. Fenn is close to the empire; even if the enemy attacked with all those forces at once, our reinforcements would arrive well before they ran out of ammunition
The tension in the room finally relaxed
Remille: If it’s true… then those Soviets… those damn barbarians!!!
Remille spat out angrily
Clack clack
???: Excuse me!!!
A young 1st department official entered the room covered in sweat
Elto: What now?!
Young Officials: I have a report from the Kingdom of Fenn. Ships-of-the-line, attack transports, supply ships, dragon carriers, and the ground legion have all been eliminated by the Soviet forces. Our remaining forces garrisoned in Nishinomiyako have surrendered to the Soviet forces and Fenn forces
!!!!!!!!!!!
Elto: What… What did you just say?!
1st department head Elto asked, distressed
Arde: Tha… That’s impossible!!! Are you sure that information is trustworthy?!
Arde cried out, hoping it might have been misinformation
Crash!!!
The sound of porcelain shattering. Everyone in the room turned to look at what made the noise. What they saw was a demon shaped like a woman
Remille: …What was that?! Those piece of shit barbarians, even if it was a local war, they defeated our empire!!! Arde! This is your fault! How did your military fail to assess our enemies?!
The Parpaldian military deployed more than enough fighting power to demolish the Kingdom of Fenn. If the Soviets weren’t there, Fenn wouldn’t have had the ability to repel them
Arde My… My deepest apologies! I will immediately restructure the military. The empire shall never be defeated again!!! Let me excuse myself now to get it done!!!
Supreme Commander Arde left the room in a hurry, as though escaping from the situation
Remille: G-Goddammit!!! Fucking barbarians!!!
Remille’s eyes were completely bloodshot. Word of the empire’s defeat in the Kingdom of Fenn would quickly spread to other countries. Remille was well aware of the meaning and associated danger that this loss would have on the 73 countries the Papaldia Empire had under its thumb. Rule through fear would crumble if the suzerain states perceived their sovereign to be weak. This was the ultimate weakness of using fear as a collar
Remille: We’ll exterminate them! The immaculate Parpaldia Empire has never been played for a fool like this before! The Soviets must be annihilated! Elto!!!
Elto: Yes!!!
Remille: I will inform His Grace and seek his approval. Prepare for a genocide! Tell Arde too!!!
Elto: Y-Yes ma’am!!!
Remille stormed out of the office
Altarus, capital Le Brias, underground organization, Day 30
Resistance movements continued while the Kingdom of Altarus functioned under the Papaldia Empire’s control. However, the strength of a superpower was immense; even if they somehow disposed of all the empire’s people from the country, the empire would simply send another army to enforce their rule. The underground organizations felt like they were fighting a battle they could never win
Regardless, they would never think of stopping
As per usual, Captain Rial was monitoring the empire’s movements. At the very least, if anyone from the royal family were still alive, by establishing them as the leader of the resistance, the citizens would endorse their activities. However, the king had died in battle and nearly everyone else in the royal family had either been executed by the empire or was currently missing
Rial: Damn!
Rial cursed, exploding from stress as he thought things over
???: Captain! Captain!!!
All of a sudden, the door to the room slammed open. The operator in charge of intercepting magical communications from other countries rushed in
Rial's mind: (He didn’t even knock… what a rude guy)
Operators: Captain! Come to the comms room, now!!!
Rial: What’s going on?!
Operators: Just come on, hurry up! Hurry!!!
The operator grabbed him by the hand and pulled him out the door. In the communications room, among the many magical communication devices, one receiver was faintly glowing green
Operators: I’ve tapped into the Mauze Kingdom’s communications, a Third Civilization country! This is Mauze’s news!!!
They focused on the device
zzz…KSHSHzzzzz…
It appeared to have a poor connection
“zzz… zzKSHzzz… -rades, I am the former princess of the Kingdom of Altarus, Lumiess”
Rial’s entire body convulsed, like he had just been punched in the stomach
Operator: Princess… Princess Lumiess, you’re alive…!!!
Rial: Shh! Quiet! You’re not listening!!!
“…know, our comrades is currently being unjustly occupied by the Parpaldia Empire. Therefore, we have established a new and more stronger government within the country of Soviet Union with myself, General Secretary Lumiess, as the head, which I hereby declare the legitimate government of Socialist People's Republic of Altarus. The old kingdom is no more, the working class in Altarus shall break the chains of imperalism and oppression! The Socialist People's Republic of Altarus and the Soviet Union have finished a talks about us entering the New Comintern Pact, economic and military pact made by our comrades in the Soviet Union, Qua-Toyne and Quilla, and soon we will join our comrades in the NCP"
"To the Parpaldia Empire: withdraw from our beloved Altarus at once. If you do, there will be no needless loss of life. People and Workers of Altarus! If you can hear my voice, then prepare yourselves for ‘that time’! Let all the people in our kingdom know that ‘that time’ has come! To those currently living under Parpaldia’s rule, to all peoples across the world who are suffering! 2 days ago, the forces of Papaldia were driven out of the Kingdom of Fenn by the Soviet Military! The Socialism has showed itself to be winning against the oppression of the imperialist Parpaldians!"
“The Parpaldia Empire, a superpower, is truly strong. However, they are not invincible!!! We will not lose!!! When the time comes, we will have need of all of your strength! But for now, wait and prepare!!! Workers of Altarus and the World, Unite!”
“As you’ve just heard, General Secretary Lumiess of Socialist People's Republic of Altarus has just formally announced the establishment of the legitimate government of Altarus. The Soviet government and the NCP has recognized the former princess’s claim, as well as her announcement that they are in the same alliance. They are also urging other countries to recognize the government in exile"
“…Uhh, we’ve just received breaking news. This concerns the comment she made earlier about how the Papaldia Empire was defeated in the Kingdom of Fenn. 2 days ago, Papaldia’s military, which had invaded the Kingdom of Fenn, was defeated by the Soviet military"
“Huh?! …Hey you, are these numbers right?
“…I apologize for the interruption.
“In the previously-mentioned battle, the Papaldia Empire lost over 300 warships. This is… they were almost completely wiped out, the Papaldian Navy suffered enough damage to almost completely incapacitate them"
(whisper whisper whisper)
“Ehh, the Parpaldian navy’s dragon carriers, their main force, were also lost, all of their dragon carriers were also lost"
“What do you… I’m just reading the script, I can’t believe it either!"
“And now, for our next story. The mage Candee has developed a new spell to to help make your skin healthier and more beautiful……!”
( A/N: Even in another world, The Ads are still trash )
The broadcast ended, the room was totally silent and everyone was quietly trembling with smiles on their faces
Altarusnese 1: The Parpaldia Empire was completely routed in Fenn!!!
Altarusnese 5: Princess Lumiess is still alive!!!
Altarusnese 2: All right, until the time comes, we’ll keep giving our all!!!
Altarusnese 3: Wait, What is Socialism?!
Altarusnese 4: I don't know, but if the Princess is the believer of Socialism, so am I too
Morale in the underground resistance soared, and many began to think about "Socialism" and what it means
Parpaldia Empire, Imperial Capital Esthirant, 1st Foreign Affairs Department
Remille: What the hell was that magic broadcast just now?!”
The recording that the Soviet Union sent to various countries was intercepted by the empire. An angry roar echoed throughout the building. The empire’s vassal countries were starting to declare their independence. Not only that, they were encouraging others to stand up to the empire as well
This was an erosion of the very foundations of the empire
Executives: Um… Miss Remille, about your request to meet with His Grace regarding a war of genocide, I believe you missed his response. His Grace has approved it
Remille: The Soviet barbarians has done something very stupid. We’ll soon engrave the true terror of a superpower on all of their bodies
( A/N: want to feel the Soviet nukes? )
The executives continued talking in the office. Then, one of the window clerks burst into the room
Remille: What is it this time?!
Clerk: Two envoys from Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs are here. They said they already sent word in advance that they would be coming for a meeting with the department leadership…