Episode 149: Dream in the game becomes reality

36. Skirmish (4)

"Why not just buy it, use it in this war, and then sell it as used?"

The Marquis of Trenton suggested this as if he still had some regrets.

Not a bad idea.

But I shook my head.

"The reason the Brigham Empire is able to offer this price despite the age of the items is that they are new and have never been used. If we use it and it becomes truly used... … ."

"It means that second-hand sales prices are bound to plummet."

"is it so. And if the volume is released in large quantities, the drop will be even greater."

Even if you roughly calculate it, about 300 trillion will just evaporate in an instant.

It was too much money to be thrown into the air.

"But as long as we win the war, isn't this a business that will remain? "I think it is necessary to accept some loss if it can increase the odds of winning the war even a little."

Certainly, a 25% increase in military power is too sweet a figure to reject as a waste of money.

Seeing the Marquis of Trenton's inability to give up easily, I pointed out one thing he should not forget.

"If we accept their offer, we will not be able to refuse the demands of the Brigham Empire after winning the war."

"What does that mean?"

"It will be said that the Brigham Empire won the war thanks to them."

"yes? "You're just agreeing to a deal, aren't you?"

It was King Michael, not me, who answered the Marquis of Trenton's question.

"The Duke of Lawrence is right. He can never be said to have no credit for the Bringham Empire. Selling large quantities of weapons at low prices just before the war was no different from a form of support."

As if his thoughts had not reached that point, the Marquis of Trenton let out a small sigh.

"They can kill two birds with one stone because they can clear out their inventory of old equipment and take out debt as a bonus."

The expressions on the faces of the people who had been reminded of the Brigham Empire's proposal turned cold.

Isn't that the way it is with transactions between countries?

There is no such thing as unconditional goodwill.

"Well, they probably think it's a bet that they have taken some losses on. Of course, we plan to win the war without their help."

Everyone closed their mouths and pondered.

Now it is time for the King to reach a conclusion.

"Of the items they offer to sell, let's only purchase 5,000 pieces of Vanguard equipment. In addition, let us clearly state that since this is a simple transaction and has nothing to do with the direction of the war, the Brigham Empire cannot claim any rights based on victory."

If 900 trillion of the 1,100 trillion won in arms deal they proposed is for the sky fortress, then Vanguard equipment is worth 200 trillion won.

In addition, Vanguard equipment is easier to trade used than for the Sky Fortress, and it is not a bad choice as it is a force that can be put into battle right away.

"Will the Brigham Empire agree to a deal?"

It was not the deal they wanted, but when asked if they would agree, King Michael burst into laughter.

"Instead, we should say that we will purchase weapons at a reasonable price without installments."

It just means that there is no need for good intentions or anything, so let's just deal based on each person's own interests.

In my opinion, that was the best.

"What happens if the Sky Fortress inventory that the Brigham Empire failed to sell is handed over to the Croesen Empire?"

Seeing Marquis Otis worrying about the worst, King Michael and I looked at each other and then shrugged our shoulders.

"You won't do that, right?"

"Those two countries hate each other as much as our country."

The Four Great Empires of Rondel.

To be exact, among the four major powers, the Second Empire, the First Republic, and the First Allied Powers, only the Brigham Empire and the Creusen Empire belong to the same continent.

The two empires could not get along well as they were staring at each other across the Kingdom of Lucias on land and Brave Bay on the sea.

And unlike the Brigham Empire, which was growing in size day by day, the Croesen Empire was gradually declining, causing a significant sense of inferiority.

Two such countries joining hands?

Although there are no absolutes in the international community, it was an unimaginable scenario unless we were in a desperate crisis.

"It's a deal that can only be concluded at the very end."

"By then, the outcome of the war will have already been decided."

Marquis Otis nodded that he understood.

"It looks like the conclusion has been reached."

Afterwards, no one voted against King Michael's decision, and our opinion was conveyed to the Brigham Empire.

* * *

"Look at these?"

When an unexpected answer came back to their proposal, the emperor and major ministers of the Brigham Empire reacted with outrage.

However, only Duke Francis and the head of intelligence, Count Elfrid, nodded as if they had expected it.

"You have a lot of confidence."

"That's right. Although His Majesty has been generous... … ."

Reinharts Kingdom's response was no different from an expression of confidence that they could win the war without their help.

Thanks to this, a mysterious smile appeared on Emperor Edward's face.

"Is this also Duke Lawrence's work?"

"The suggestion may have been made by Duke Lawrence, but in the end, it was the new King who made the decision."

"Right. As Count Elfrid said, the new king is also an unusual person."

"What are you going to do? "The original plan and direction have changed."

In response to Count Elfrid's question, Emperor Edward briefly clicked his tongue.

"I accept it. "It's definitely not a bad offer to buy it at full price without installments when you've decided to clear out your inventory."

The answer was that although I didn't feel like it, there was nothing I could do.

Count Friedrich quickly intervened, but… … .

"What if we return the remaining supplies to the Croesen Empire?"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that suggestion."

However, the emperor simply dismissed that opinion.

Feeling embarrassed, Count Friedrich looked at his teacher, Duke Raphael, but all he got in return was a small sigh.

"Shall we see whether that spirit is real or just a bluff? "The intelligence department should record this war in detail and convey it to you."

"I take orders."

Count Elfrid bowed his head deeply.

The Brigham Empire's plan to enter the war failed, and an unusual situation continued in the southern part of Rondel's Defteron continent.

* * *

As Vanguard and Sky Fortress became the mainstay of the war, many things changed in Rondel's battlefield landscape.

First of all, unlike in the past when the blood of soldiers was a river, meaningless sacrifices have been greatly reduced, and the difference in power between weapons is not large, so the number of Sky Fortresses and Vanguards has become the military power of the country.

In addition, as the cost of weapons, the basic unit of war, rose significantly, the burden of defense expenses became more severe, leading to an era where military power was equal to economic power.

However, one thing that did not change much compared to before was that the number of people mobilized for war was still large.

It is still the soldiers' role to manage the occupied territory.

In addition, since the Vanguards, who were the mainstay of the battlefield, were knights of high status, they were accompanied by quite a few attendants.

Therefore, war still required a long preparation time and required a lot of supplies and transport units.

[His Excellency Commander-in-Chief Lawrence, it is almost time.]"All right. Then, listen carefully to each unit."

[yes!]"We will leave the management of the occupied territories to later units and focus only on destroying the enemy forces. "We are taking full advantage of preemptive attacks and surprise attacks."

However, if you interpret this differently, it means that rapid mobilization of troops is possible if you give up the convenience of the Vanguards and the management of the occupied territory.

And this was the key strategy that our Kingdom of Reinharts would take in this war.

"Once you clear the 1st stage objective, you will immediately move to the scheduled 2nd stage objective and attack. If you clear the 3rd stage objective, you will stand by waiting for the Sky Fortress to arrive. "Everyone understands, right?"

[yes!]In a dense forest.

Sitting at the top of a huge tree that seemed to be well over 100 years old, as if performing a trick, I gave an order into the communicator while looking at Patel, the border fortress in the central east of the Croesian Empire.

"Then prepare all units for battle."

[The Vanguard unit towards Patel Fortress has been prepared.] [The Vanguard Unit towards Carinth Fortress has been prepared.]… … .

… … .

[The Vanguard unit in the direction of Perintz Margin has been completed.]Then, about a dozen answers came in order, and I checked the time on my wrist terminal.

[23:59]And after a while.

[24:00]As I was waiting with my neck relaxed, I saw that the time was 24 o'clock sharp.

"Start attack."

Having been entrusted with command of the entire army by the king, I flew high into the air, announcing the start of the battle.

-Quaaaang!

Then, in the distance, an explosion and a huge flame could be seen rising from Patel, the border fortress of the Croisen Empire.

[The Sky Fortress, belonging to the Duchy of Lawrence, begins to move.] [The Sky Fortress, belonging to the Duchy of Klein, begins to move.]… … .

… … .

[Royal Army, border army sky fortress in the direction of Paulo Kingdom begins to move.]Next, the Sky Fortresses scattered throughout the kingdom began to advance towards the Croesen Empire at once, and the war between the Kingdom of Reinharts and the Croesen Empire began.

* * *

-bang! bang!

"your majesty! your majesty!"

The Emperor of the Creusen Empire, who was lying on the same pillow with his concubine, suddenly looked irritated at the shouts of the palace minister who was banging loudly on the door.

"Something!?"

However, the emperor had to burst into laughter at the palace minister's next words.

"There has been a surprise invasion from the Kingdom of Reinharts!"

There was no way the Minister of the Palace would have reacted that way unless it was an unusual situation, but rather than being angry, the Emperor reacted with bewilderment at the news of the surprise invasion of the Kingdom of Reinharts.

"Please come in."

And the emperor sighed and put on his gown without any sense of crisis.

At the same time, the door opened and the Minister of Military Affairs and the head of the 1st Guards Knights along with the Minister of the Interior came in.

"Why are you making such a fuss?"

Because of his confidence that they had a military superiority, the Emperor's attitude was relaxed even in the face of a surprise invasion.

This is because I judged that even if I suffered immediate damage from Reinharts, recovery would not take long.

So the emperor listened to the story while following the concubine's figure as she slowly left the place.

However, the Minister of Military Affairs' subsequent report was beyond his common sense.

"All 17 border forts in the Rheinharts direction have been destroyed, 12 territories, including the Margrave of Perinz and the County of Paulo, have fallen, and 15 territories, including the Marquis of Airen, are under attack."

"what?"

Thanks to this, the emperor's expression hardened.

"The enemy did not move the Sky Fortress and launched a surprise attack using only the Vanguard. "Failure to recognize the approach in advance contributed to the damage."

"No, what on earth did you do? So helpless against the Vanguard unit... … ."

"The size of the Vanguard unit is unusual. I have a suspicion that the entire kingdom's power was poured into it... … ."

"Does that make sense?"

The emperor's doubts were natural.

As if the Defteron Continent contained only the Croisen Empire and the Reinharts Kingdom, the two countries bordered many countries.

Therefore, excluding the power to defend each border and the power to protect major bases such as the capital, the palace, and each lord's castle, at least half of the total power is lost.

"I think we need to hear from the head of the intelligence department for more details."

The emperor, whose expression was distorted, quickly got up from his seat and quickly walked towards his office.

In front of his office, the emperor met the head of the intelligence department who entered the palace at the right time, and was briefed on the exact situation through him.

"It has been confirmed that the number of Vanguards mobilized by the Reinharts Kingdom is well over 25,000."

"Wow, this is crazy."

And when his story exactly matched the guess of the Minister of Military Affairs, the emperor was greatly embarrassed, and the story that followed was even more shocking.

"In addition, as soon as the enemy began a surprise attack using the Vanguard, the sky fortresses of the Kingdom of Reinharts began moving towards the empire. But the number is almost 400."

25,000 Vanguard units and nearly 400 Sky Fortress units.

This was a figure equivalent to the entire power of Reinharts Kingdom.

"Are we going to die together?"

For the first time, a sense of crisis appeared on the emperor's face.