Chapter 120: Chapter 120: Wavering Pride

Ragna, Gra Valkas Empire

Hues of blue began to overtake the orange sunset above the skyline of Ragna as night fell on the city. Over a week had passed since Emperor Gra Lux’s announcement and already the celebratory atmosphere of the government had died out. In contrast to the proud citizens on the streets below, those in the Imperial Palace found themselves sulking over the string of incredible defeats that they had been dealt with.

Carefully suppressing leaks, they maintained their outward appearance of confidence, proclaiming to the city that their unstoppable blitzkrieg had begun to topple enemy bases and cities. However, behind closed doors, they frantically panicked over their current situation. Emperor Gra Lux himself was no exception to the rule, and he joined his advisors in a desperate meeting to resolve the issues that had sprung up.

Although he felt fear, he was careful not to show it as he listened to the various reports summarized by Chief Xand Pastall, the head of the Gra Valkan military.

The chief’s bald head lost its shine, as if reflecting his dark emotions. At Gra Lux’s signal, he began his presentation. He spoke, using a strategy board and moving pieces around to conceptualize the state of the war, “Despite the presence of jamming across all our major forces, our joint first strike was still carried out on time and simultaneously, as expected. Unfortunately, our successes ended there.”

Pastall removed a large amount of blue and red pieces from the coast of Otaheit. “The First Conquest Fleet encountered a joint EDI defense fleet near Otaheit. Having expected jamming to occur, they used manacomms acquired from Leifor and other conquered territories to communicate with each other.”

“Are we not going to confront the Americans about this?” one officer asked. “Their interference should be considered an act of war!”

Pastall shrugged. “The Americans continue to maintain that they know nothing of the events, suggesting that they are magnetic anomalies that occur in the Mu continent. Anyway, our forces were attacked by a variety of enemy units, who employed varying tactics and weapons. The enemy used a limited number of missiles, which were used to quickly sink important assets like carriers and battleships. Unfortunately, our forces could not defend against such attacks.”

The men in the room looked at each other with expressions ranging from concern to disbelief. Those who were familiar with the Mirishial weapons test during the World Leadership Conference seemed as if their worst nightmares had come true, while those who weren’t familiar continued to doubt that these weapons even existed in the first place. Some even called into question the reliability of information.

“It’s impossible for these lowly primitives to have weapons like this! We are barely on the verge of modifying Angreifer units for naval use, and they somehow have the ability to not only use ship-launched missiles, but also sink carriers with a single hit?!” Someone from the research and development division yelled out.

There was a time in his past when Pastall would’ve made such a complaint himself, but dedicated research on the magic of this world and the science of the Americans had turned him into an open-minded leader. “I understand your feelings, Doctor, but there is a mountain of evidence pointing to American aid. Those missiles are either American in origin, or designed by the Americans. In essence, they’re already fighting in the war; they just haven’t deployed any troops yet.”

“Or their lackeys are doing so well that they don’t need to deploy troops,” Gesta commented.

Everyone reflected on Gesta’s words. It was clear they had to revise their thoughts on the conflict; they couldn’t just anticipate the enemy to be of equal strength to the Gra Valkas Empire anymore. Fighting against the EDI as if they were fighting the Divine Kingdom of Kane would be a folly.

“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.”

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“How did the Second Conquest Fleet fare?” Gra Lux asked.

Pastall shook his head, his solemn expression revealing the answer before he uttered a single word. “They lost 238 ships.”

Everyone in the room reflected on this grim statistic. Of the 400-strong Second Conquest Fleet, only 40% managed to withdraw from the battlefield. Such a harrowing defeat was unheard of in Gra Valkan history. Even in the most disadvantageous naval battles on Yggdra, the Gra Valkas Empire had never lost more than 20% of their forces. The news traumatized the men in the room, who had been hit with terrifying firsts. The great Admiral Caesar’s first defeat, the near-annihilation of a dedicated Gra Valkan Conquest Fleet; both were nightmarish events that completely turned their perspectives of the world upside-down.

Pastall explained further, “The Second Conquest Fleet encountered 2 Pal Chimerae, but were unable to land a single hit on them. Unlike the Battle of Otaheit, these saucers maintained their distance from our ships. Admiral Alexander managed to demolish the EDI naval assets assigned to Mykal, but in doing so fell victim to the saucers’ attacks. After his ship was sunk, his forces retreated. His ship’s bridge was mostly intact when the ship went down, so he is currently listed as missing in action.”

“How is the situation on the border fronts?” Gra Lux asked, referring to the simultaneous invasions along the Muan border.

Pastall released a defeated sigh, ashamed that he had no good news to present to the emperor. “The 11th Air Wing suffered complete annihilation in the Northgard Front. Our forward outposts and artillery units near the front lines have also been destroyed. Nevertheless, General Oswald decided to continue with his mission, since our artillery was able to destroy a significant number of Muan defensive installations before they themselves were destroyed.”

Defeat after defeat did not bode well for the outlook of the war. Wondering if there was only bad news to receive, Gesta asked, “Is there any good news at all?”

“Well, General Flats has so far seen success during his push toward Alue. He’s encountered very little resistance thus far, and is expected to begin his attack on the city tomorrow.”

“Very little resistance?” Gra Lux caught on to these words, his tone conveying his suspicions.

Pastall recognized the uneasiness in the emperor’s voice and attempted to reassure him, “Yes. Scout planes show no activity in the city, which seems to be completely abandoned. It’s likely that the Muans evacuated this region completely to defend the mountain range to the northeast.”

“Hm,” Gra Lux brought his hand to his chin, “So the Muans have decided to fortify the closest route to their capital. Could we divert more aircraft to this front and clear a path for General Flats?”

“Yes, Your Excellency. This can be done after the bombing campaigns in the Oster Plains have concluded,” Pastall said.

“How are our forces doing in that region?”

“It’s brutal, but our tanks have been able to push through the Muan defenses. The enemy managed to wipe out numerous platoons with American-bought artillery. However, our expectations were correct: the Muans do not have many of these American weapons – not enough to hold back thousands of tanks on the open plains.”

Gra Lux lowered his head in thought, contemplating his next move. It was only the first day of the war, and despite various successes here and there, his forces were suffering many more losses than expected. If he couldn’t find a way to negate the enemy’s advantages, such as the untouchable Pal Chimera or their constant stream of American weapons, then he was at risk of losing. Careful not to let his emotions get the best of him, he calmly reviewed the current situation. 

With regards to naval battles, Admiral Caesar and other strategists agreed on splitting up their forces to take advantage of the small number of Pal Chimerae. After the spectacular defeats at Otaheit and Mykal, they had deemed direct engagements with these superweapons to be futile. Developing countermeasures would take time, so the Navy planned to keep busy by supporting ground forces near coastlines and by harassing reinforcements coming from the Mirishient continent.

As for the border fronts, Gra Lux decided to double down. American interference has thus far been limited to shipments of basic weapons, with a few mercenaries deployed in defensive positions. Convinced that they would directly intervene if the EDI began to suffer incredible defeats, he decided to focus his nation’s military might on taking Mu and ending the war before American forces could reach the continent.

He made up his mind, committed to his strategy. “Pastall, deploy more troops: Conquest Fleets Six through Eight to keep the Mirishials busy on their own continent; Armies 13 through 20 to blitz through Mu as quickly as possible; and Air Forces 4 through 6. Also give the Haruna Launch Platform orders to launch a saturation strike on Otaheit. Time this strike with our offensive through the Malmund Mountains.”

The men in the room found their eyes widening and jaws dropping at Emperor Gra Lux’s resolve. Gra Lux recognized that the only way to avoid battle with the Americans and bring victory to the Gra Valkas Empire at the same time was to completely subjugate Mu and agree to peace before the US could arrive. To do this, he committed an overwhelming portion of the Gra Valkan Military to this war, bringing their involvement from 40% of their entire military to almost 80%. By adding a million more men to the war, it was clear that Gra Lux’s determination to win was unwavering.

Pastall felt uneasy at Gra Lux’s decision, knowing that such an increase in aggressiveness would not be overlooked by the Americans. “Are you certain about deploying the Angreifer, Your Excellency?”

Emperor Gra Lux answered with absolute certainty, “Yes. Spies from the United States have already determined that their public is overwhelmingly in favor of war. It’s only a matter of time before they intervene, so we need to press the advantage. Mu will fall by the end of October!”

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