Rally the Troops

For a long time, Taiwan has been under threat from the mainland.

Under the banner of a united China, the island was constantly threatened with invasion, so it fortified the entire island, built an army, and maintained tensions.

But China was broken.

Not broken, but shattered.

As they watched the Chinese continent torn into 53 pieces, some of them lamented the horrors of dying by the hundreds of millions but Taiwan celebrated.

-Good!

There are economic issues, export markets, and refugees, but the country has been saved from the brink.

I don't think it's necessarily inhumane for the whole country to pop champagne and celebrate.

-The mainland failed because it was too big. Look at the rest of the world. Even the most advanced nations can't defend their large territories.

-Unless you're going to have a hunter air force like the U.S., it's better to have a smaller land mass.

-Let's just defend our own land and leave the restoration of the mainland for later.

In practice, the smaller the land area, the faster the response to the gate, and the less likely it is that the gate will go undiscovered and be left to dungeon break, let alone the number of Hunter Awakenings relative to the population.

The only problem was food self-sufficiency, which was solved by the economic cooperation of the fragmented mainland tributary states.

After all, Taiwan's national strategy in the second millennium was to fortify the entire country.

Watching out for the Dragon Palace Gate and quickly dispatching a raiding force to capture it if it occurs within the narrow territory.

With only a few thousand state-owned hunters, most of the gate problems were solved, and in the 30 years since the Cataclysm, Taiwan's gate defense rate has been over 98%.

In fact, it was the best defense rate in the world and was the envy of mainlanders as a safe land.

But then——

"What do you mean, the Sixth Army was annihilated?"

"Demons? Demons, a demon gate in the middle of the capital?"

Terrorism, the appearance of demons, the attack on the Taiwanese army by the Temple Ten Thousand Gods, the blocking of communications and the appearance of the Demon Gate.

Thanks to air strikes from the mainland and a Morse code communication network prepared for cyber-terrorist warfare, the main force had heard of the tragedy, but——

"What, what's going on?"

Everything is a mess.

The gas attacks across the island are enough to warrant martial law, but demons are popping up everywhere, and the TTG Temple has raided military units.

Demon gates have even been set up in the middle of Taipei for some reason.

With the General Command neutralized, there wasn't much they could do. In the midst of everyone's panic, the communications were unblocked and a mechanical sound began to be heard.

-Yakt Spinner, Holy Knight of the Iron and Blacksmiths of TTG Temple.

The one-way communication brought shocking news.

The corruption of Taiwan's highest echelons and the appearance of demons throughout the city along with the images of their slaughter forced a choice.

-Foe or ally, make your choice.

It was a choice that could only be made in this moment, with the corrupted upper echelons removed to enforce obedience, communications cut off, and judgment left to them alone.

The isolated troops had to judge with the information they had.

"We are now entering Taipei!"

"Brigadier General!"

Sending troops into the capital without permission from the General Headquarters was a matter of treason if done wrong but the brigade commander wasn't ordering the march because Yappy forced him to.

Subjective judgment is not a virtue for a soldier, but he had seen the TTG Temple's actions over the years.

"Whatever the legitimacy of those demon-haters, the fact remains that the demons are their enemy."

Demons are the common enemy of mankind. That much is too clear. So why not——

"Only TTG Temple can deal with demons and without their power, there is no way to close the Demon Gate in Taipei."

The proof is in the puddle, as the Great Demons swarm like bees in a hive.

The brigadier was convinced he was right.

* * * *

Off the coast of the Taiwan Strait.

There was a time when both sides had deployed fleets and naval bases in the face of mainland threats and invasions.

After the collapse and partition of the mainland, these had become obsolete, but warships still kept watch over the waters on sentry duty, and so it was even now.

The 'ship' was quietly slicing through the water, especially as sonar was actively searching for submarines.

-Boom!

(The order to scramble was given.)

-BEEP!

(Exiting submerged mode. Rising. Be careful not to be seen by the surrounding fleet.)

-BEEP!

(Their barbaric sonar systems will not be able to detect our stealthy submarine capabilities!)

The world's most advanced nuclear-powered submarine, measuring a whopping two kilometers in length, slipped into the Tamsui River leading to the city of Taipei.

The Dominator-class submarine, a maritime armament platform built for TTG Temple global military operations and one of the decisive weapons created to defend the undersea city from the Demon Legion in the world of Yappy.

In its original form, it could single-handedly defeat the most powerful navy on Earth, the United States Navy.

That is, of course, when the Dominator is equipped with the Mobius-class plasma ballistic missiles or the GK8 Gauss cannon.

Earth's materials technology would have made such a thing impossible to manufacture, and the demons would have been fiercely resistant to such advanced weaponry.

Instead, this Dominator-class submarine had something even more terrifying aboard.

-Kiruruk!

(This is commanded by my captain, Rudolph Cygraiman Pardo Nilpas!)

-Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle, gurgle, gurgle, gurgle!

(First Assault Landing Team, Second Assault Landing Team, and Third Amphibious Support Squadron!)

-Crackle──!

(1st Assault Landing Battalion, Graemeon Andrew Maxiphers Clygent!)

-Kiruuk──!

(2nd Assault Landing Team Afkirah Naras Rosewide Freymion departs!)

The Kikiruks were descendants of proud resisters.

After crossing over to Earth from the Eastern Dragon Palace Gate, they seemed to have adapted to life on Earth, conducting only small-scale land operations but their true calling is naval warfare.

A naturally maritime race, they were blessed by Poma, the God of the Sea and Waves, and had the technical support of Yappy.

They've trained to be thoroughly armed, and now the time has come for an all-out war.

Hundreds of small, 500-ton submersibles emerged in unison, followed by a landing support aircraft battalion rising from the sea.

The targets were armored vehicles of the Taiwanese Navy's Army Ground Force, en route to Taipei City under the direction of the Fallen Archduke Quai.

It was confirmed by President Zhao that all of them were demonic followers raised by demons.

-Boom! Fire support from outer space.

Yappy, who had a perfect view of the entire Taiwanese territory, began attacking the land forces with charged particle artillery. The first to be exposed to the attack from space was the Army's commander, Hsieh Ak-mada.

-This, this—!

Yappy wondered if the High Demons could withstand a charged particle cannon.

Dozens were blown away in the raid, but a few demons dismounted and used magic to block the attack from space.

And the moment they were distracted by space──

-Kiruuuuuuuk!

(We will open fire on the demons disguised as naval landing craft at the enemy landing zone!)

The first to arrive was the Landing Support Air Squadron. They flew through the sky in their jet engine booster suits, firing rocket cannons at the Naval Landing Force.

-Kiruuuuk!

(The gods will it!)

Hundreds of guided rockets rained down from the armored suits of the Kikiruks.

The army was on the move with tanks and armored vehicles, but they lost most of their armor to the hail of rockets.

"Shit, fire, fire, fire!"

The armored vehicles and infantry that had survived the initial assault poured fire on the targets in the sky. But——.

-Gods!

(Gods protect us!)

A protective holy law that nullified ranged weapons was used and the warriors who used it were knight-errant Kikiruk warriors who had even been sworn in by Leon.

"A strange force has landed by the river, how many are there!"

While the airborne battalion was mowing down the landing party, another landing party washed ashore.

But unlike the other landings, they didn't get out of the submersibles, because the submersibles made a change on the spot.

-Clunk, clunk, clunk!

Like in a famous Hollywood robot movie, the landed submersibles transformed. Finally, they were equipped with wheeled wheels, making them excellent high-speed vehicles.

-Chirp!

-Chirp!

Hundreds of armored troops sprang up in an instant. The Kikiruks aimed their cannons through the open ceiling.

-Kiruk! (Fire!)

Thousands of shells flew through the air.

The naval landing force quickly crumbled before the massive firepower of the landing force.

But it wasn't just the Naval Landing Force that was headed to support the Archdemons of Taipei City.

The number of fallen troops had been taken over by the demons and were gradually encroaching on the Taiwanese army was more than one could imagine.

-Bam!

(More enemy troops, even air force!)

Additional ground troops and a Taiwanese attack helicopter unit. The armored and aviation units, the mainstays of the war, were well under control.

-Kiruk (Can you support the ship?)

The landing party commander calls for backup. It was received by a minimalist mechanical robot watching their battlefield.

-Yes.

At the same time, Yappy, who had been hacking into Taiwan's communications network, drawing in Taiwanese troops and Hunters untainted by the demons to provide combat support and direction across the country, activated a stealthy strategic satellite in space.

-Thump! Thump! Thump!

They shot out of space and entered the atmosphere with their heat-treated armor.

Despite the blistering heat, the descent equipment didn't burn at all. The special alloy made of stellar iron had successfully protected the equipment inside and dropped dozens of objects as it separated.

At this moment, a radar station observing the skies above Taiwan saw something so large that it could have been mistaken for a small asteroid.

"What is that?"

"A star?"

"Not another Meteor!"

It's no secret that the Lionheart King of the TTG Temple can call upon the stars. It's no wonder he's having a seizure, since they're the kind of crazies who don't mind dropping comets that could destroy the Earth.

"Huh?"

"Crack?"

Like an asteroid splitting as it burns its way into the atmosphere, they slowly dispersed, then fired up their own propulsion boosters and rushed toward a point.

There was no drop sequence, no slowing down for landing. It's not like they'd be damaged by a mere 'atmospheric descent'.

-Bang! Bam! Boom!

They shattered the highway leading to Taipei City with their sheer destructive force. But there's more.

-Combined Third Battle Weapon for Yakt Spinner.

Clinging to the Yakt Spinner like a magnet, it looked like a cockpit, and one by one, the pieces of equipment began to join together.

At first they were about the size of a container, but soon they began to transform into something massive.

The Yakt Spinners, or more precisely, a hundred Yakt Spinner bodies that had been protecting the city for a thousand years, had merged into a massive battlecruiser——.

-The Marquis class of Main Battle Program land combat vehicles is now operational.

Massive weapons are pointed at the Fallen.

The Fallen lost their footing in the face of the massive weaponry, but the artificially intelligent muzzle didn't take that into account.

-No one can stop me.

After completing their respective missions, the troops gathered in one place and the rallying point goes without saying.

Taipei City, the realm of malevolence where the three Old Archdemons and the Demon Legion gathered.

The Demon Legion and the Knights face off in the center of the battlefield as they begin to gather one by one.

[Hail, our nemesis]

[This is our territory. Our fortress.]

[This is the first battle in two hundred years]

Archdemons and the legions of evil they've summoned, plus the corrupted Taiwanese army.

"Grrr—! Evil servants— damned evil servants marching in front of me!"

"It's terrible, it's the end of the world, how dare those scum—!"

"I, Laihar Dever, will slaughter them before this night is over!"

The Knights of the Blazing Flame and the Kikiruks landing force rallying behind them along with the Taiwanese soldiers who had risked treason to enter the city.

"GRARARARARA──!!"

Vulcanus, who arrived like a blazing meteor from somewhere, and──

-Bam!

The Yakt Spinner watching the city aboard the Marquis class of a giant battlecruiser.

With the exception of the Lionheart King, the Magician Queen, and the Demon Archduke, the strongest forces on the island are gathered together.

"Burn them until their souls are consumed."

[Stop them. This is a bridgehead for the invasion of Earth. We can't afford to be left behind]

On a small island in modern Earth in the 21st century the most unlikely of battlefields is materializing.

"Forward with swords and spears. The knights lead the way."

[Form up, enchant, and prepare for the knights' shock]

Sword and spear, holy law and magic. Old-fashioned cold weapons and non-existent holy and magical powers.

"Rage! Rage without end! For the glory of Lionheart!"

[Damned knights, the ghosts of the dead still haunt us!]

In your hatred and rage against each other.

Kill the enemy.