Free Web NovelWhile the forward base for developing the <Demon Forest> was being built up at breakneck speed, the reorganization of the Prava Divine Kingdom’s Eastern Front began as well.
To get the worry off the table as quickly as possible, <Paraiso> took responsibility for transporting the Chimiya Family. The Chimiya Family possessed the physical ability to keep running overland at eighty kilometers per hour, but that still could not compete with a tiltrotor aircraft capable of moving through the air at over six hundred kilometers per hour.
If multiple teams were deployed, they should be able to bring all the cleric-soldiers under control within a matter of days.
The Chimiya Family had no objection either, so long as this nuisance could be disposed of quickly. freeweɓnovel.cøm
And so, the hastily committed tiltrotor aircraft <Sea Hawk> began taking off one after another toward the Eastern Front.
<Sea Hawk> operated unmanned, but what left the strongest impression was how the members of the Chimiya Family boarded without a word of complaint, simply acting as ordered and never even seeming to question it.
“So this should keep the Eastern Front from falling apart, more or less.”
“Yes yes, Commander Ma’am. We will also establish supply bases. Fortunately, there is a port city in the Grand Duchy of Cati Andal Litin, in the southwestern sector of the front. If we develop it into a landing port, we should be able to supply the front from there.”
At present, the units on the Eastern Front were being maintained by consuming local supplies. Since the formations themselves were relatively small, that posed no immediate problem in the short term. But if they were left as they were, all sorts of goods would start running short once the seasons turned.
That meant military resupply needed to begin without delay.
“For now, air transport. Long term, rail. Midterm, ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) maybe heavy trucks. Up north, extending the rail lines is going to be a pain.”
“The front runs nearly one thousand kilometers north to south. The terrain is uneven, and there are untouched forests in between, so linking it all together will not be easy. There are highways, but they will probably only support small motor vehicles. It may be better to build an airport somewhere.”
The river running from the <Demon Forest> was another critical piece of infrastructure. In fact, inland countries tended to spread their cities along rivers. The river was not wide enough to support much large-vessel traffic, but it could still be considered as a transport option for the time being.
“I want to search for mineral veins too, and I want a proper main artery. The territory’s already pacified, so we can push ahead with exploration on a large scale, right?”
“Yes yes, Commander Ma’am. However, if we do that, then the issue that needs urgent attention is...”
“<Fenrir>, right, Big Sister!”
That was exactly it.
In the end, they had left the <Fenrir> family alone the whole time, but frankly, that had become a major nuisance.
<Froze>, <Yarn>, and <Hati> had apparently turned part of the Kingdom of Reidia completely into their territory. With no outside enemies to trouble them, they were roaming through the kingdom at their leisure.
“Fortunately, they do not seem to have any intention of expanding their territory any further, so that much is reassuring. Even so, roughly one-sixth of the Kingdom of Reidia’s vast land area has become unusable! We still have plenty of land left, of course, but there is no reason we should be happy about outsiders occupying it!”
“As long as those threat organisms remain an unknown factor, we cannot draw up land-use plans for nearly half the Kingdom of Reidia. Worse, if we leave them alone, the forest keeps encroaching farther and farther. That will only make future use even more difficult.”
The land territorialized by <Fenrir> was currently being swallowed by greenery at a startling rate.
Something seemed to be overflowing from several mana hotspots, and vegetation was visibly spreading before their eyes.
If they left it unchecked, it would not be long before the area was absorbed into the <Demon Forest>.
“I see... So if we don’t deal with it soon, it’ll only become more troublesome. And if it turns into <Demon Forest>, then other threat organisms and monsters might start multiplying too.”
“That in itself would make it a vital research subject! However, that is not research to be done right now! The Kingdom of Reidia lies between the Eastern Front and the Prava Divine Kingdom, and part of it is effectively blocked off! We should pacify it quickly and establish a supply route!”
From Asahi’s point of view, that probably meant she wanted an environment where she could conduct her research in peace.
<Fenrir>’s territory would undoubtedly make a valuable subject of study, but it was simply too vast. Observing the whole thing would be extremely difficult, and the more time passed, the harder it would become.
And above all else, the land of the Kingdom of Reidia had now been incorporated into <The Tree>.
Asahi probably wanted it cleared out as quickly as possible so it could be put to practical use.
“So then we either drive those <Fenrir> away or exterminate them?”
“Yes yes, Commander Ma’am. Originally, <Fenrir>’s territory was confined to the forest alone. The fact that they did not advance into the kingdom before now may mean they had prior experience fighting humanity. Something they had recognized as a threat, they came to regard as conquerable after some trigger. That is likely the situation.”
“They appeared all of a sudden, after all! Judging from external observation, the <Demon Forest> itself did not appear to have undergone any major upheaval! It is possible there was a territorial struggle we simply could not see, but as far as tracking <Fenrir> suggests, they still seem to maintain a large territory inside the <Demon Forest> as well, so that possibility is probably low!”
Because of their enormous size, <Fenrir> and the others could be tracked even inside the forest if one set out to follow them. That said, unless they were being actively watched, they seemed to possess enough stealth to evade even <The Tree>’s excellent analysis programs.
“They are also in the middle of raising young. If we demonstrate enough threat, they may retreat to their original territory, so I was thinking we should proceed with the operation on the assumption that we hit them once and observe how they react.”
“Right. Hmm... maybe we send the land battleship Jotun at them... But if I remember right, that thing was breathing some ridiculous kind of fire, wasn’t it?”
The basic policy was to answer large threat organisms with large weapons. But based on past recorded footage, this threat organism species called <Fenrir> was believed to possess enough power to burn an entire city to the ground. The capital of the Kingdom of Reidia had been burned and destroyed to a degree that could never be explained as mere accidental fire.
Without question, the monster species responsible had to be this <Fenrir>.
“Based on our experience so far, threat organisms of abnormally great size should be assumed to possess correspondingly strong magic barriers.”
“Against magic barriers, multi-legged tanks are not powerful enough! What we want is the striking power of the Jotun class! We could deploy Gigantia or Titan as well, but their defensive durability is lacking! At best, they would serve as missile platforms!”
“We have also finished preparing mass-projectile hypersonic missiles for anti-magic-barrier use.”
In the end, the conclusion on dealing with magic barriers had been simple: the most effective answer was impact produced by sheer mass and muzzle velocity. Either bombard them with large multi-stage electromagnetic projection cannons, or keep slamming hypersonic missiles into them.
<Fenrir> was assumed to possess the mobility to race freely across the ground in any direction. That made predicting its movement difficult, and bombardment from ultra-long range would be hard to pull off.
For that reason, autonomous flight-type missiles were expected to be effective.
“At a range of only a few kilometers, I would be uneasy! If we want to keep dozens of kilometers of distance, then even a shell traveling at eight thousand meters per second still takes several seconds to hit. And unless it lands a direct strike, it won’t mean much. So yes, hypersonic missiles are the better answer.”
“A four-ton warhead, fifteen tons total... Isn’t that too heavy?”
“Yes, it is far too heavy, Big Sister! The number we can load onto Gigantia is limited! Basically, it is intended for ground launch, but without a catapult it cannot accelerate to top speed, which is the drawback!”
The anti-magic-barrier missile was meant to be launched either from a subsonic aircraft in midair, or from the ground after being accelerated to supersonic speed by an electromagnetic catapult.
Otherwise, its built-in rocket engine alone could not accelerate it enough to produce an effective strike.
Which meant they needed a launch system of some size. Even if they made it mobile, it would still require an extremely large vehicle.
