Chapter 16 — Imperial Army

In the Capital of the Elsass Empire, the emperor summoned Daiki to the throne room. Currently, Daiki was standing sloppily in front of the emperor, with two beauties in his arms. The emperor strictly informed Daiki.

[Grand Mage Daiki, I have received news that the 4th field army of the Imperial Army has been wiped out by the Canary Kingdom]

[What? That weak kingdom? How is that even possible? My Imperial Army is invincible!]

[The facts have proved that we have lost 1000 ships and 5 fortresses! Your Imperial Army never had such a big loss before. Explain!]

[Haha, I get it. This must be a boss for me to defeat! Call back the entire Imperial Army. I shall personally lead it and defeat the boss!]

Daiki was excited to learn that there was a strong enemy to fight. All the current enemy countries were too weak, and the emperor didn't let him attack any of the other powerful kingdoms!

[In that case, take an order of Spectre Knights with you to protect your safety]

The Spectre Knights were the most powerful and loyal Knights of the Elsass Empire. Each knight was a one-in-a-thousand talented warrior, nurtured with precious elixirs and going through decades of training. Their armour was the crystallisation of Elsass Empire technology and their fighting style focused on power, agility and blinding the opponent.

Daiki arrogantly waved his hands and then raised his arms into the sky.

[No need! I already have a trump card. Come forth, Skelbreaker! I summon you to my side! Together, we will destroy the enemy!]

A giant skeleton dragon emerged from the clouds, broke through the roof of the throne room with a giant crash and landed behind Daiki. It towered over him, and its empty eye sockets glowed with a purple blaze.

Alarm bells immediately went off. Countless Elite Royal Guards ran into the throne room. Secret doors opened, revealing dozens of powerful cannons. Hatches on the floor opened, and hundreds of musketeers emerged. Spectre Knights hiding in the rafters shot down, creating clouds of dust as they surrounded Daiki. A button popped up on the throne of the emperor. If pressed, it would instantly drop the emperor down a secret passage leading to the barracks of the Elsass Empire.

[Haha emperor, there's no need to make a fuss. This is the bone dragon that I personally built! You sure are protected, aren't you? But what sort of enemy could ever make it to the throne room in the capital of the Elsass Empire?]

Daiki did not realise that all those preparations were for him.

[Master, you're so great!]

[Master, with this powerful dragon, none can stand in your way!]

The beauties around Daiki started to coquettishly praise him. Daiki was delighted and grabbed them harder.

[This is only the tip of the iceberg! Your master will become a god in the future! Gather the Imperial Army! I shall lead it to victory!]

With them in his arms, Daiki jumped a dozen of metres onto the back of Skelbreaker and flew off into the sky.

Back in the throne room, the emperor took a breath and waved his hand, ordering the soldiers to return. Slowly, an extremely old man who looked like he was on his last breath materialised behind the emperor.

[What do you think of this, Ancestor?]

The old man opened his mouth and spoke in a low, grating voice.

[That kid is becoming even more unfathomable. I would find it challenging to defeat that dragon in my current state]

The emperor nodded his head and the old man continued.

[I have found that the kid has created a new spell he seems pretty proud of that he calls "Dual Cultivation". It allows him to increase his power and share it with his partner while having sex. Honestly, I don't see the point. It is horribly inefficient, and his improvement would be infinitely faster if he simply trained in seclusion]

The emperor sighed helplessly.

[In the last two months, he has been spending even less time training. Instead of increasing his own power, he is wasting his time on useless things! I even suspect that he built the dragon to fly above the city and show off how great he is. Actually, what's impressive is that he only took a week to turn the dragon skeleton I gave him into a bone dragon]

[It looks like there will be no problem sending Daiki with the army. Maybe he will be pressured to improve himself]

[Let's wait for their victory]

Canariel, the Third Reich.

Konrad walked to his one-way bulletproof window and looked down at the city below solemnly. He looked silently at the bright moon and the celebrations that went into the night. The soldiers of the People's Army were treated like heroes upon their return. Every person knew of their deeds and the whole country rejoiced.

Celebrations had been going on for the past few days, with the soldiers getting drunk and forgetting about their worries. Konrad personally didn't approve of alcohol, but that was a plan for the future.

This wave of nationalism, and the news of a bigger enemy army coming, had caused an explosive increase in productivity and volunteers looking to join the army. Along with vigorous recruitment campaigns, the numbers of the People's Army exploded to over 100,000 strong.

An army of this size would be simply unimaginable in feudal times, but with the supplies salvaged from the Imperial Army, and the increased productivity of advanced agricultural equipment, an army of this size could be sustained. Due to a lack of manpower, most soldiers were sent to work in factories and attended regular military training.

Konrad had been notified that the entire Imperial Army was being called back to the Capital of the Elsass Empire. The entire Imperial Army would then be led by Grand Royal Supreme Ancestral Wizard Archmage Daiki in a crusade against the Third Reich.

[It looks like the otherworlder intends to lead the army himself]

Konrad estimated that he had about a month before the Imperial Army was on his doorstep. In that time, he would have to prepare. Konrad knew the importance of logistics in an army. He remembered a quote from a light novel he read on Earth, "Logistics is the difference between arming every man with a rifle, and arming every man with a multiple launch rocket system".

With Konrad's orders, numerous projects were pushed out to an enthusiastic population, including reforms to all farms and mines, the building of more factories and the shift of the largely agricultural society into an industrial society. The Third Reich had also attempted to make contact with other countries, but not even the enemies of the Elsass Empire wanted to have anything to do with him. Every country was convinced that the Third Reich could not defeat the Elsass Empire and was more than happy to watch them weaken the Imperial Army. The most these countries did was send some resources, hoping to strengthen the Third Reich and let them consume some more of the Imperial Army's strength.

When he heard of this, Konrad instantly saw through their intentions. He sneered and accepted the resources, then directly started a list of countries to conquer after defeating the Imperial Army. His confidence didn't come from arrogance, but from carefully calculated results which showed that he had a 70% chance of defeating the Imperial Army.

The 30% volitivity came from the existence of Daiki. However, if nuclear weapons were used, the chances would increase to 100%. Although Konrad didn't want to reveal the existence of nuclear weapons, he wouldn't shy away from using them if the time called for it.