Episode 92: Dream in the game becomes reality

25. Put on a pair (1)

In the war between the Brigham Empire and the Prius Republic, the position the Republic should take is to drag the Imperial Army down and bide its time.

There are various factors that determine the victory or defeat of a war, such as weapons, manpower, and the capabilities of commanders, but the most important is definitely money.

The main battlefield of this war is the home ground of the Prius Republic, and the Brigham Empire is in a position to go on an expedition.

Therefore, it was best for the Prius Republic to resolve this situation politically by dragging out the war and putting a burden on the Brigham Empire.

However, no matter how they did it, the unexpected victory of the Republic of Prius ended up being the worst handshake that completely blocked the possibility of a political solution.

As a result, the Brigham Empire had passed the stage of rationally tapping the calculator and weighing the pros and cons of whether continuing the war was necessary.

The pride of the great empire and the antipathy toward the Prius Republic will turn into blind hostility and burn them to the ground.

"What is the difference in power between the Prius Republic and the Brigham Empire?"

While I was talking with Intelligence Chief Pessius and his son and deputy, Grant, in the office of the Marquis of Lawrence's castle, I first wanted to check the difference in military power between the two countries.

I understand that the total military power of the Brigham Empire revealed on the surface is about five times that of the Prius Republic, but it is not possible to take all that power and go on an expedition across the sea to another continent.

"First of all, the Brigham Empire's losses due to this major defeat are 92 Sky Fortresses and 2,300 Vanguards. Half of the initially mobilized power was lost in an instant. The Republic also suffered heavy damage, but it was only 20% of the damage suffered by the Empire."

"The soldiers of the Prius Republic are better than I thought. "No, should we consider Marshal Ansen, the commander of the National Guard, as a man as great as his reputation?"

Who would have predicted that the day would come when the Brigham Empire would suffer a crushing defeat in war?

Although this was certainly a great achievement, the opponent was too powerful and large to be just happy about it.

"Yes, that's right. However, Marshal Ansen originally only wanted to drag out the war and keep the wasting of his troops to a minimum. "It seems that the reason he came up with the extreme plan of encircling and annihilating the entire army was because of the government's instructions with the election in mind."

"Such idiot… … … Are you saying that preserving their own status takes priority over the security of the country?"

It's so pathetic that all I can say is cursing.

As the only democratic republic in the world, the existence that should lead the enlightenment of other countries is showing all kinds of evils.

As a person from a district where feudalism had fallen and republicanism had become the mainstream, it was an image that I could not help but feel bitter about.

"Currently, the Brigham Empire's strength heading to the Prius Republic is three times that of the first dispatched army, consisting of 600 Sky Fortresses and 15,000 Vanguards."

A number that takes your breath away.

Considering that the total number of sky fortresses held by the kingdom army and territory army in Reinharts was a little over 300, the scale itself was different.

Just looking at the six sky fortresses deployed in my territory makes me feel like I own the world.

'Even if the war options in this world are either Sky Fortress or Vanguard, this is too much.'

No matter how advanced the magic engineering technology was, I felt that it was too much for ground troops who had not even entered space.

Well, it's not that we don't go into space, it's that we can't, but the clear difference in national power was just perplexing.

"Combined with the remaining troops, there are 708 Sky Fortresses alone… … . "If we gather all of the Prius Republic's sky fortresses, there will be 500 of them?"

"There are about 460 planes."

Although that was a great number, it was nothing compared to the Brigham Empire, which mobilized its troops with determination.

Unlike the Brigham Empire Expeditionary Force, which was dispatched solely to deal with the Prius Republic, the Republic's 460th unit was not a force solely for the invasion force.

This number was the sum of the border guards' forces to prevent the second and third invasions, as well as the forces to defend each city and other major bases.

The Republic of Prius is now unable to deploy reserve forces to prevent further invasions by other countries targeting the Congo.

"It's over."

If the conflict continues like this, the Prius Republic will disappear from the map.

'I'm going crazy and jumping around.'

Aren't I the one who can be said to be the planner of this war?

No matter how much it was for my own safety, the wrong choice put the survival of 500 million people in the Republic at risk.

After biting my nails and organizing my thoughts, I sighed.

I had no choice.

'I need to help the revolutionary army more actively.'

It's a bit dangerous, but it can't be helped.

If something goes wrong, shouldn't I be the one to clean up after it?

"May I ask you one question, my lord?"

At that time, Pessius' son Grant, who was not participating in the conversation, asked a question.

I nodded without thinking, but Grant's question was something I couldn't ignore.

"May I ask the identity of the organization that has cooperated with our intelligence department?"

"What's wrong?"

"no. That's not it. However, like a magic lamp, they quickly provide the information they want, and their response based on this is often faster than that of the royal informants."

"So you're saying you're so good that you become wary?"

"That's right."

It has to be that way.

Because the organization that is currently cooperating with and providing support to our intelligence department is none other than Blue Moon.

Of course, it is the intelligence group under Blue Moon that is directly related, but in the end, that is it.

I soothed my aching chest with tea.

"I will tell you someday, but now is not the time. However, since it is a trustworthy organization, you do not have to worry about being stabbed. "I guarantee that."

Grant may not be satisfied, but he had no choice.

"All right. "I'm looking forward to that time."

It might have been annoying to express his dissatisfaction, but the smart Grant didn't dig deeper than necessary.

"We are not sure whether the Saint Maid Contest will proceed as is or whether it will be put on temporary hold, but someone may take advantage of the confusion and come up with different ideas."

"Yes, I will pay special attention to Everil's surroundings."

It's really easy to understand if you pretend.

I was smiling at Pessius and Grant, but the expression disappeared from my face as soon as they left the office.

* * *

The place where you can most clearly feel that times have changed is the battlefield.

There are no longer wars that started with people and ended with people like in the past.

In national wars, the Aura Master, who was called a one-man army, could no longer turn the tide of the war alone, and the Archmage was no longer seen on the battlefield due to the advancement of weapons.

Now, war is not about how many Aura Masters and Archmages you have, but who can produce more efficient Vanguards and Sky Fortresses with high defense. Thanks to this, military power is applied in proportion to the economic power of the country. there is.

Fortunately, the gaps between countries in Rondel's countries are not as large as those on Earth.

While there are countries on Earth that fly nearly 100 fighter jets on aircraft carriers across the world's waters, there are also countries where people starve to death without even water.

In comparison, in Rondel, even the countries of the Triton continent, which had weak national power, had 50 sky fortresses and 1,000 vanguards as standard.

This means that the overall level has been leveled upward.

In any case, it is difficult to see Aura Masters and Archmages as main forces in war anymore.

But still, they are treated in every country around the world.

It can be said that being an archmage is essential to being a defense researcher, but why is that so?

The reason is simple.

Although it is not a one-man army that can turn the tide of battle by killing enemies, its value is still useful.

An Auror Master wearing Vanguard equipment is like a condensation of defense power into defense power, attack power into attack power, and a sky fortress in human form.

"W-Who are you?"

"hi?"

"marquis? Why you?"

"I'm sorry, but I have to die."

-Paaah!

If an Aura Master-level Vanguard decides to charge, there is no choice but to allow it to break through unless it hits the wall with the same Aura Master or Vanguard.

A clear example of this can be seen as the high-ranking official of the Prius Republic who was beheaded while allowing Arcia access to the mansion.

"Does it make sense for a public official to amass such wealth?"

I left the corpse behind and clicked my tongue as I looked around the office filled with expensive art.

The high-ranking official of the Republic who just met his end was State Affairs Commission Chairman Garcia, whom we had seen before.

He was the third-highest-ranking person within the government of the Republic of Prius, and was eliminated while the country was in chaos due to the invasion of the Brigham Empire.

"What will the rest of the family do?"

"Leave it alone."

"All right."

I took out the artwork that decorated my office and the contents of the secret safe and stuffed them into subspace.

"An intruder appeared in the State Affairs Chairman's residence!"

"Put up the barricade!"

"What is the magic circle that hinders space movement?"

"It is said that the State Affairs Chairman's mansion is always empty!"

And when things started to get noisy outside the mansion, he escaped with Arsia.

The police officers who surrounded the mansion tried hard to catch us escaping, but they had no luck.

It may be a fight, but hundreds of Vanguards would have to be mobilized to catch us whose only goal is to escape.

-Quaaang!

But then.

Attacks rained down from the sky.

As if they didn't care about civilian damage, the sky fortress that protects the city attacked us.

However, as if I had expected it, I deployed the Great Shield to defend against it.

The reason wizards were unable to play an active role on the battlefield was because of the attacks of Vanguard and Sky Fortress, which were faster than their casting speed, and not because they lacked their own defense and attack power.

That's how we got through the Force baptism and arrived at the area where space travel is possible.

"Bye Bye."

He then used teleportation while waving his hand at the police officers who had become dogs chasing chickens.

We kept moving, trying to track the teleportation coordinates to no avail, and after a while, we arrived at an underground city in the Republic of Prius.

"Did you succeed?"

"It's easy."

"Huh, that's amazing."

This was the headquarters of the Prius Republic Revolutionary Army.

Equipped with self-sufficient food production facilities, a market, and various entertainment facilities, the Revolutionary Army Headquarters, with a population of 50,000, is literally a city.

At the center of the Revolutionary Army Headquarters, Vanguard force equipment was being produced diligently.

When Arcia and I showed up, those who were waiting for the results with extremely nervous expressions had bright smiles on their faces, and when we unpacked the loot we had brought as gifts, they shook their heads.

"Here's the loot."

"Well, a lot has been embezzled."

"You can't steal real estate, so the scale is actually much larger."

What we are doing now is not a simple game of phantom thief.

It is one of the options to help the revolutionary army of the Prius Republic and end the war with the Brigham Empire early, and is the final solution that has been put off until the end.

Assassination of a factor.

Although it was a radical method that would not be well-received by citizens, it was the most effective and immediate response they could do at the moment.

It was bittersweet to know that someone's death was helpful, but the fact that the other person was a corrupt politician eased the guilt.

"Do you think it would do really well if you two start an assassination guild?"

"It's a combination of Archmage and Auror Master, so of course."

"No, even if I, the Archmage, and the leader of the strike team, the Auror Master, work together, we won't be able to achieve results this easily."

The reason we are able to carry out the assassination perfectly is because we have Blue Moon's backup.

However, those who did not know it could not help but be surprised.

I shrugged and walked over to the strategy table.