Chapter 58 – Preparing for Future Battles

RonTheBlackCat

I think I have run out of chapter title ideas XD. I'm still quite proud of coming up with "Blunderwaffe"

0215 April 14th, 2020 CE

West Coast of the United States

USS John C. Stennis 

Rear Admiral Charlie Kirkland looked sternly over the horizon. The sun had yet to rise for the new day. He shook his head.

“This will be one hell of a fight.”

In addition to the ships in the carrier strike group of the USS John C. Stennis, 13 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, 7 Los Angeles-class submarines, 5 Ticonderoga-class cruisers, 4 Virginia-class submarines, and even both Zumwalt-class destroyers were at or sailing towards Hawaii. 

Tucson Air National Guard Base, Arizona

Lights lit up the base. Pilots ran onto the runway and towards their planes. The alarms of the base seemed like they were going haywire. They quickly climbed into their F-16A/Bs and F-16C/Ds. Although designed for air superiority, the F-16 Fighting Falcon was considered a multi-role aircraft. They were capable of carrying and were currently equipped with anti-ship missiles. One by one, they taxied onto the runway. 

The 162nd Fighter Wing, which was based at the Tucson Air National Guard Base. was flying to the Hickman Air Force Base. The Hawaii Air National Guard that was based at the Hickam Air Force Base had the 154th Wing which was only equipped with F-22s. Those would be useful against the naval aircraft that the elves have brought but useless against any of the elven ships.

On the west coast, squadrons of jets were taking off from Air Force and Air National Guard Bases.

0724 April 14th, 2020 CE

Washington D.C.

“We have also detected a large number of submarines. However, the exact number is unknown.”

The President was visibly irritated at the news. 

“How bad is the situation? Will they be able to reach Hawaii?”

“Our current analysis of the situation still deems it highly unlikely that they will be able to reach Hawaii. Even with Guam closer to the United States than our original world, we still have time.” 

The President started drumming his fingers on the desk.

“What to do… what to do…”

“It’s clear that we have to crush them.”

“Yes, Cralson, I understand that. I’m worried about the civilians. If we fail, Hawaii would be in danger. A million people live there. Should we call for an evacuation… I need to assure the people that we can handle the situation. Should we keep it a secret to prevent mass panic...”

It has been more than 80 years since an enemy nation has ever attacked American soil. And it would be at the same location. During his presidency. He took a deep breath and his drumming turned louder. 

0811 April 14th, 2020 CE

0705 Sun 14th, 195 AE

Beaches of the Magus Imperium 

Issac and one of his squadmates wandered down the beach. Although under the pretense of looking for more elves, they were just having a leisurely walk. Issac watched as his squadmate kicked at one of the charred remains of an elf. 

“How many prisoners is this?”

Issac looked up at the question.

“From what I have heard, nearly fifty thousand.”

His squadmate whistled at the number.

“Have we ever gotten this large amount of POWs?”

“Probably back in World War Two or something. Still, it's surprising that that many are still alive.”

Issac glanced around at the elven bodies lying on the beaches.

“I’m pretty sure this is going to be a headache to handle for whoever is handling this. Poor guy.”

Issac chuckled. 

“Good thing we are just grunts.” 

Captain Rose looked out at the ocean from the cratered beach. He knew that they would be sailing across very soon.  

Elven weapons were strewn all over the blackened sand. The burnt-out husk of an elven tank was just a few yards away. 

Around him, the infantry was guiding the surviving elves off the beach.

Afvalin, Elven Nation 

The headquarters was bustling with elves. The situation has been turning worse and worse by the day. High-ranking officers talked amongst themselves. 

“We have lost contact with multiple of the other convoys.”

“We have also received absolutely no reports of the sinking of any of their submarines.”

“How bad is it?”

“We are expecting a 60% survival rate.”

All the officers went quiet. That was a couple hundred thousand casualties. The Leader would not be happy with that. 

The ocean between The Elven Nation and Magus Imperium

The journey has so far been extraordinarily smooth. It was surprising in comparison to the hell she had experienced from the Americans during her retreat. Ara placed a hand on her Knight. Its metal armor glinted in the sun. She thought back to her mother. She quietly sprouted out her thoughts as if she wanted to confirm them. 

“Maybe I really should try settling down. Finding someone nice to marry doesn’t seem too bad right now.”

If it was a month ago, she would have scoffed at the idea. Distinguishing herself was all she could think about in the past. 

Somewhere in the Elven Nation

The two Green Beret split-teams have rejoined each other after scouting their areas out. They had been on the move all night and morning. Finding a comfortable and secure place, the two weapon sergeants started conversing. 

“They have done immense amounts of preparation in these areas. They are throwing whatever they have together. They seem to be using some of their outdated arsenals. I spotted some clearly older, WW1-era-style artillery pieces and tanks. They look extremely strange but by technological comparison, they are definitely WW1.”

“Well, from what we have learned about the elves from the information we gathered from the natives, those strange-looking WW1 era tanks and artillery are probably about 150 years old. I’m surprised they are even in working condition.”

“We didn’t find any outdated 150-year-old weird equipment from our investigation. In this area over here, they are much less prepared but they are all definitely German-style WW2 era equipment. They are currently still in the process of fortifying. I’m not sure how our satellites haven’t been able to spot any of the movement for this.”

The Assistant Operations and Intelligence Sergeant commented on that. 

“This continent is extremely rich in temperate forests. They could have just decided to move them through the forests instead of the roads.”

“Why would they do that though? They should have no understanding of our reconnaissance technology.”

“Maybe they do suspect that we have the capability to view them using satellites.”

“Do they even know what satellites are?”

“Doubtful. They have been underwater all this time. However, it’s likely that they felt it extremely fishy that we were able to strike their forces at any time and anywhere.”

Pablo nodded at the conversation and turned towards one of the communications sergeants. 

“Start sending this information back. Inform HQ that we will go back to our main objective.”

They had brought along radios for communication with headquarters. It was ascertained that the Elves could not intercept their radios. The elves relied on mana waves for communications so it was doubtful if the elves had any technology capable of listening in on radio waves.

0933 April 14th, 2020 CE

Washington D.C.

President Hayes was in another deep discussion of the current situation. 

“Although the elves in the Pacific are clearly an issue, we still can’t neglect the invasion of the elve’s homeland.”

Cralson nodded his head. 

“The fanaticism of the elves is a worrisome factor.”

“They do seem more similar to Imperial Japan than Nazi Germany. Is there a way we can exploit this fact?”

“We can do some things similarly but not everything. Keeping the current leader of the elves is not possible. He’s the source of this fanaticism. According to the elves we have captured, he also isn’t viewed as a god. A large portion of elves themselves have a hatred of humans.”

“What are our choices then?”

“Our most feasible option right now and the one we are currently preparing for is to launch an invasion. There are a few problems with this. We will most certainly meet stiff resistance from their military and the civilian population. In addition, we will have to worry about resistance fighters. This won’t be like Iraq in the Gulf War. We faced a total of 900,000 then, the elves here have more than a couple million. It will be a hard fight. Our second option that may solve those issues and may seem like an easier option is to launch a nuclear missile or two and hope that their leader surrenders. If their leader surrenders, then the elves themselves might lose some of their fanaticism. Similar to what happened with Imperial Japan. What’s different is that we can just dispose of the elven leader afterward. I highly doubt we can use him as we did with Emperor Hirohito.”

The President pondered about Cralson’s suggestions. 

“What would happen if we launch our missiles and destroy a few of their cities but they don’t surrender?”

“Well, we would either have to actually invade them or completely annihilate them using our nuclear weapons.”

“Well, the first one leads back to our first feasible option and the second will certainly cause an outcry from the people.”

“That’s why I believe an invasion, however hard it is, is our most feasible option here.”

1148 April 14th, 2020 CE

0854 Sun 14th, 2020 CE

Elven Nation

The Green Berets were continuing towards their objective at a quick pace. They had already passed a few towns and cities and were able to gather the current circumstances of the civilians. From what more they had observed, the entire elven civilian population was barely informed of their current predicament but they did seem to have an inkling that something was going wrong. However, they had immense trust in their leader and brushed it off. The elven newspapers were clearly filled with propaganda and falsehoods. Articles ranged from saying that they were winning and that the human Empire has already fallen to advertisements for human slaves. There were many pictures in the newspapers of their past victorious battles against the Magus. 

1148 April 14th, 2020 CE

0554 Sun 14th, 2020 CE

Kingdom of Albea, Soane Continent 

Miller got out of the Humvee to stretch. He looked back at Wolfred who was sitting in the driver’s seat.

“That was a long trip.”

“We are a few miles from the frontline. Seems like these Nazi elves haven’t made much progress.”

“Well, we are here to push them back. Anyways, I’m exhausted. Let’s get some rest.”

Behind them, other Diamond Wolves got off of their vehicles. In addition, the Cat Kingdom’s Fifth Division was further behind. The Diamond Wolves had purchased trucks in order to accompany them.