Volume 4 - CH 5

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Crowned as the second largest city right after the Capital of the Alsation Empire, the Port-city Gloria connected the Kairos and Tael seas via a channel ―― located just beyond the city’s doorstep the Marlon Strait played a vital role, serving as Gloria’s access way and expanding the empires reach, making it the largest trading hub for ships.

Due to the arid climate of the area, the sun baked bricks which had constructed their buildings, were white due to lime sediment and the quick cement.  Majestic white walls and roofs adorned the cities streets inviting travelers and seafarers alike.

The place was full of energy and vitality, it was so lively one wouldn’t even think that they would be in the middle of war. Glancing at its people in their fine clothes, hustling and bustling in their daily activities, going about their day as usual.

But within the back alleys of the city, the opposite atmosphere flowed as the stagnant air permeated the place. Hidden from the public’s eye were vagrants and souls seeking for an opportunity only to be trampled by reality.  A man who couldn’t walk due to an injury on his shin or the body of a collapse adventurer as bugs frolicked around him. The poverty of the weak and infirm showed on the bodies of those laying within these areas. These were the two kinds of people which lived within Gloria’s City.

At the heart of this port city, a grand palace shone gallantly like a jewel amidst this fortress by the sea, its robust walls and majestic high towers were built to show the Alsace Empire’s absolute authority.

The walls which spanned the entire city extended out to the north and into the sea. Bridging to form a monumental grandiose gate, the only thoroughfare for trading ships and fishing boats to enter and leave by.

And outside the grand gates lay a natural barrier of coral reefs, which barred invaders from the sea. As the north was laid with strict defensive measures, it wasn’t the only place to receive reinforcement.

Being strategically and geographically important, Gloria wasn’t just considered the 2nd Capital of the Empire for naught, its entirety was highly fortified with ironclad measures and the amount of forces for defense wasn’t a laughing matter either.

「Enemy don’t appear….. Enemy don’t appear……」

Roughly 30 kilometers away from Gloria, several dozens of flying machina patrolled the skies in formation.

『Unit 3 this is Unit 1, just shut up and get back to work』

「………Unit 3, complies」

The pilot inside Machina Unit 3 was reprimanded by his patrol leader who was in Unit 1 for blabbering nonsense, while watching his screen which projected the blue sea below.

『…..Ahhh~ we have a lot of free time. Do you think the enemy will really come here?』

About ten minutes after the pilot in Unit 3 had been told to shut up, another pilot who had some free time spoke up.

『Unit 10….. Just shut up』

『Ah its not that, I’m just talking out loud.  It’s not like we’re busy anyway……』

『*Sigh*…….. Hey knucklehead, listen here. About one week ago, the enemy decimated our coastal defense fleet along the Zeuro sea and they’ve already crossed the Kunai strait. If they enemy is heading straight towards us, we could be attacked at any second now!』

『Ahahaha, geez Captain…. How can the enemy be that stupid? They shouldn’t have any reason to come and attack us here. Heading to Gloria? Psshhhft』

『Captain that’s right, There are hundreds of thousands of soldiers in Gloria right now, we have thousands of Machina, Automata and about 500 warships with the latest artillery. What’s more we have 300 of our hybrid warships, with a defensive force of that size, would they really attack?』

『Oh and wasn’t there a rumor or something that there’s an otherwolder staying in Gloria’s Palace. I heard that a single otherworlder is so strong they can defeat more than a thousand people alone』

『You guys are too lax….. Did you ever wonder why Gloria has that many soldiers, or why all of our airships are out on patrol? The enemy will definitely come』

『This again….. The enemy’s main force is approaching by land, right? Then at most, the force they’d send over here would just be a decoy, so we wouldn’t have to get serious. We’ll be able to handle anything of that size.』

Due to the strict management of information within the Empires upper echelons, the Soldiers on the lower end had been left in the dark, and never realized the true extent of how frantic became after receiving a devastating blow to their military forces.

「Huh? What is that?」

While listening to the rest of the pilots banter, the pilot within Unit 3 continued to look through his magical scanner, when a black shadow speed past his screen only for a moment.

『Unit 3 what’s wrong?』

「Um, its probably nothing, but something just flashed on my scree――」

But during the moment the pilot of Unit 3 tried to respond to his leader, he was never heard from again.

『Shit!! Unit 3 was destroyed!!』

Within the blink of an eye, Machina Unit 3 received a direct hit from a missile which had been flying at Mach 5, the smolders of his debris fell to the Kairos Sea.

Having been directly struck, the explosion caused the flying machina to spin like a dead leaf, spiraling before crashing to pieces, like fine dust blown into the wind.

『All units evasive maneuvers!! Spread out now―― uaaugh aaahhh!!』

『Ah, come on, come on,come ooonー!!』

『Uwaaaauuugggghhh!!!』

『I’M HIT!! I got hit!! Falling!! I’m falling!! Someone, somebody heeelp meee!! It’s hot!! there’s fire in the cockpit, there’s fire, burning aaauuuughhhh AAAAAAAHHH!!』

Caught by surprise, the flying machina patrol tried to evade the oncoming attack, but they were unable to escape the countless missiles which streaked across the sky one after another.

「Ugh, at  our 3’oclock, roughly 8000 meters!! One of our flying machina patrols is under attack!!」

「We’re under attack!? Get on the helm, lower our altitude down to 100 meters!!」

「I’m pulling on the controls, but―!! It’s no good, we won’t make it!! We can’t evade it!!」

「Incoming enemy fire!!」

「……Damn. To die in a place like this!!」

One of the airships which had been monitoring the machina patrols couldn’t evade in time and became riddled with holes as missiles tore through, black smoke rose from it, as it fell below.

It became one of many other airships and flying machina patrols that would be felled while defending Gloria’s airspace, they all would be taken out by a swarm of missiles which blotted the sky.

This Chapter was translated by Kuro_0ni

―~――~―――~―――~――~―

Dear Readers using aggregator sites, If you like my work, you can show your support by leaving a comment/ constructive feedback at Hiscension.com .

Meanwhile, Parabellum’s large naval fleet of close to 4000 warships sail onwards to the City of Gloria.

「This is the 31st Attack Squadron, all aircraft are black on ammo. We will be returning back to the ship shortly」

Within the Combat Information Center of the Blue Ridge-Class Command ship, the Blue Ridge was the flagship for Parabellum’s Expeditionary fleet, her servicemen worked more than ever with serious faces as the battle for Gloria was in progress.

「The first wave, will reach Gloria in 10 minutes, sir」

Tasked with creating the first blow to the Empires aerial forces, hundreds of AIM-54 Phoenix long range air-to-air missiles soared from the 31st Attack Squadron (constructed purely of F-14 Tomcats). Signaling the start of Parabellum’s full scale attack, they managed on crippling the Empire’s Aerial defenses.

「Sir, we have an incoming message from our stealth fighters.  We got greenlight to fire our long-range ground weapons, cruise missiles and rockets」

Following the annihilation of the enemy’s air force, 10 Spruance-Class Destroyers and 3 Zumwalt-Class Destroyers served as the expeditionary fleets vanguard, along with several large scale modifications they were equipped with an Otobreda 127mm/64 caliber gun along with a multiple launch rocket system ――

For ground forces (and landing support) they were forcibly equipped with 3-5 rocket launchers with each system prepared to fire rockets with its own internal navigation system and GPS. Also 30 battleships part of the vanguard fleet launched their arsenal of Tomahawk missiles, MGM-140 ATACMS surface to surface missiles, Harpoon Block II’s, and 13 autonomous glider-type stealth missiles (TSSAM).

「Weapons free, weapons free!!」

「Strike at everything in sight!! Don’t worry about what happens after!!」

「「「Sir, yes sir!!」」」

An unconventional fleet of ships encroached upon Gloria, all the while, air strikes from their air force exhaust all the munitions within their repertoire.

Guided artillery rounds and a shower of Tomahawk missiles strike Gloria’s military facilities with pinpoint accuracy, strong flames and black smoke rose from these locations dying Gloria’s sky black.

Also in the sky above Gloria, surface-to-surface missiles (ATACMS) scan the ground below using its internal sensors, deploying its wings as it glides towards its target.

Locking on to its target utilizing its infrared sensors, defending Machina units began to receive attacks from the skies.

As if in tandem with each other, multiple missiles lock on the Empires Machina and targeted these units in series. These guided bombs completely took out any machina within its path.

But it didn’t end with just a single explosion, like a domino effect, the Machina which had exploded also affected the buildings surrounding Gloria’s harbor.

「「「……」」」

In a helpless situation, with flames raging from buildings and units alike, the Empires Soldiers were unable to put out the fires which had sprung about, all they could do was watch as these things burned down.

「CC-Captain, it’s bad!! Gloria is under attack!!」

In a military installation just outside of Gloria’s city, a guard notices the events which just transpired and gets up with a pale face.

「What the!? We’re under attack!? How did you guys miss this!?」

「I, ah, it’s, I don’t know!! Nothing is being reflected on the magical scanners!!」

「That faulty stupid thing!? ―― Look around us!! The enemy is flying over our heads one after another!!」

Having seen the enemy fly through the sky from outside the window, the high ranking Soldier began to berate his own subordinates.

「Uh, but even if you say that….. Nothing is being shown on the magical scanner made by that otherworlder!!」

Are they heading to Gloria’s fortifications or the palace itself?

The Empires Soldiers became frustrated having relied on the magical device the Otherworlder made, more so that it didn’t work in their time of need or prove useful at all.

「Screw that stupid piece of junk!! Where are our enemies coming from!?」

The first wave of aircraft flying over Gloria were primarily F-35C Lightning II’s, a carrier variant which had great stealth capabilities, which made it near undetectable and one of the reasons why it never appeared on the Empire’s Magical Radar system. The Soldiers slanderous comments, towards their equipment was a lack of understanding of their enemy.

「The enemies are getting closer!!」

「Evacuate!! Tell everyone to run awaー!!」

The Empires magical radar system was so large it had to be built outside of Gloria, making it an easy target. Once the F-35C pilots noticed this they easily destroyed the place as it resembled a military radar station.

That was the moment when the otherworlders creation really turned into junk,  when it could have been given the opportunity to truly show its capabilities.

「Sir, incoming message from the 1st wave. The enemies resistance is minor. We’ve taken control over their airspace」

As the first wave consisted of 200 F-35C fighters, they managed to completely clear our Gloria City’s defending Air and Naval forces. Which resulted in Parabellum gaining full control over the seas and skies surrounding Gloria.

「The 2nd wave will reach Gloria in 10 minutes」

While the first wave of fighters were still rampaging within Gloria’s battlespace, the second wave of fighters approached the city, they consisted of 300 aircraft, F-14 Tomcats, F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets, AV-8B Harrier II’s, and the Sukhoi Su-33, each carrying payloads for ground forces.

「The 3rd wave have launched」

Kazuya already summoned an aircraft carrier group which he was fond of, but there wasn’t enough time to remodel and build more, much less train sufficient personnel. And so due to his love for military related things, he summoned more carriers and aircraft to make up the difference. The third wave consisted of 1500 old models like the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, Yokusuka D4Y, Aichi B7A, F6F Hellcat, SB2C Helldivers, TBF Avenger, roaring off the flight decks their carriers in droves carrying their heavy bombs as they rose higher into the sky.

「The fourth wave is ready to sortie」

In addition to the aforementioned waves, the fourth consisted of 80 unmanned combat aerial vehicles jam packed between two Nimitz-class nuclear carriers ―― The X-47B Pegasus flight teams make their final checks before lining them to fly.

「The pilots for the 5th wave are ready to lift off」

The final wave consisted of a Helicopter Attack Wing―― pilots were summoned to fly the AH-1Z Vipers and UN-1Y Venoms with Hydra 70 rockets and GAU-17 Gatling guns.

Before the Parabellum’s Expeditionary Assault Fleet arrived in the City of Gloria’s waters, five waves of air raids took place by the crack of dawn, causing Gloria’s defenses to collapse completely and cease all function.

With their advance strike force as well as first wave of squadrons, they decimated the Empires flying Machina, Airships and hybrid ships from scaling a counterattack.

The second wave of aircraft and their precision guided bombs blew away Gloria’s defensive structures.

Their third wave of planes bombed military facilities creating great clouds of smoke as their fighters swept the ground with machine gun fire.

It was the fourth wave which created large holes in Gloria’s fortified walls which surrounded the city and her palace.

Due to the difference in design the fifth wave lagged behind the previous waves, allowing for the Empires forces to rise from the rubble, only to be swept away by machine gun fire, rockets and AH-1Z helicopters AGM-114 Hellfire rockets.

「Will tomorrow be the end?……. 」

「Hm-hm, it appears things will get busier tomorrow」

By the tail end of their air raids Parabellum’s forces issued a broadcast advisory to all its citizens to evacuate the city and not be involved with landing invasion yet to come. Utilizing a C-2 Greyhound to deliver their message via airdrop of pamphlets, they notified Gloria’s people of their intent, carrying over the battle to the next day.

This Chapter was translated by Kuro_0ni

―~――~―――~―――~――~―

Dear Readers using aggregator sites, If you like my work, you can show your support by leaving a comment/ constructive feedback at Hiscension.com .

「…….W-what the is that!?」

「It’s a lie……it can’t be real….」

「Oh dear god…….」

「What’re…..those can’t be ships…..」

Soldiers of the empire which managed to survive a day of reckoning, receiving an onslaught of attacks from weapons they knew nothing of, roused themselves from the morning light and became dazed after gazing towards the sea.

Hundreds of steel castles clad in black, line the seas horizon, leaving onlookers stupefied

「Perfect weather to fight a war」

Illuminated by the morning sun, Gloria shined with its white structures as the commander of the Yamato Captain Aruga observed the city from her bridge.

「Agreed, the winds have calmed and not a single cloud in the sky. We’ve truly been blessed with such great weather」

「Hm-hm, and what is the status of our enemy?」

Nodding towards his second in command, Captain Aruga looked towards Gloria while asking for a report from one of his staff members, holding one of their information terminals.

「Reporting, according to our agents which have infiltrated Gloria, the enemies forces are currently incapacitated, they aren’t fit to battle」

「I see…… Would that mean they’ll surrender to us easily? …..Anyway continue」

「Understood sir…. We’ve broadcast evacuation warnings and airdropped pamphlets, but intel suggests that the Empire is holding its citizens back, preventing anyone from escaping Gloria」

「What? So there are still some civilians still within the city?」

「That is correct. Due to the unforeseen circumstance, by regulation we are prohibited from bombarding areas which will cause civilian casualties」

「……Is the empire planning on using their citizens as meat shields?」

Hmmm… Our landing troops will need to directly pass through Gloria’s residential area in order to take over the cities fortifications and the palace, a few of our key objectives.

During that time, they could receive attacks from the Empires forces while traversing through the city, due to the possibility of civilians in the area we can’t support them with naval fire, even if they were to request for close air support, our men will be hard-pressed to receive it.

……..I pray that nothing happens.

「…..Captain, its about time to begin the operation」

As his second in command had checked the time, he notified Captain Aruga who had been frowning over their intelligence officers report.

「Oh? Is it that time already?…… Should we head to the War Room then?」

「「「Yes, Sir」」」

After taking a final glance at Gloria’s Beautiful City, Captain Aruga lead his staff members to the ships War room.

「All ships are in position, sir」

「5 minutes until we commence firing」

「Warning, all deck hands clear the weather deck and take cover inside. I repeat, all deck hands clear the weather deck and take cover inside」

Approximately 15 kilometers of the shores of Gloria, roughly 70 battleships, including the Yamato formed a line for a large scale bombardment.

「Something like this…… it really is breathtaking」

「Hm-hm, I’ve never seen this many battleships gathered in formation like this. This truly is impressive……..」

Expressing their inner thoughts to each other, Captain Aruga and his executive officer watched video telemetry of their forces on the LCD screen in the War room.

And while these two were conversing, the countdown for the operation kept running, 2 minutes before it would begin, all ships participating in the formation began aligning their main guns and secondary turrets 90- degrees. Aiming with high arcs and posturing themselves towards their target.

If anyone saw the amount and types of battleships gathered for the operation against Gloria’s forces,  they would probably shed tears at such a scene, as these ships came from all nationalities from various timelines, gathered for a single goal.

「5…4…3…2..1…0. Commence fire」

As the operator’s countdown came to a close, the clock turned 0700.

And a massive line of fire from the formation of battleships against Gloria’s city began.

「ALL SHIPS COMMENCE FIRE!!」

The the three, triple 46cm 45 caliber main gun turrets of the Yamato aimed starboard, roared thunderously as dazzling flames flashed all at once from her guns mouths.

And in that moment, a tremendous shock wave permeated her surroundings, bowing the oceans surface. As smoke rose from her guns barrels, the ship swayed from the rocking of the waters surface.

And much like the Yamato herself, many other battleships in the line which had fired their main guns experienced the same event, swaying as smoke rose from their guns barrels.

「Impact in……..3…2…1… direct hit!!」

Hundreds of shells soar through the sky all at once and like a symphony of death the hymn of explosions resound in rhythmic fashion.

It was a Hymn for reaping―― A song of death, as screams of shells came in closer towards the Imperial forces, as if a Grim Reaper wielded its sickle and finally bursting within Gloria.

Scorched earth remained as the sediment of dirt and sand rained down upon Gloria. Mushroom clouds and pillars of fire sprouted out from the ground as shockwaves from the explosions blew everything away, swallowing the earth only to spew her out.

「Urgghhhh….. gaugh….. please….. aaauugghh…. I….. want to……. live……」

Without a chance for reprieve, Imperial Soldiers who managed to survive the torrent of shells after tens of seconds, stood up from the ground only to become buried under soil once more.

「…..*Cough*….Something like this….. what’re they saying….. there….」

Hidden behind the veil of smoke which had engulfed the city, it was swept away by a breeze. It revealed the greatest disaster to befall Gloria’s City right before the eyes of Soldiers who had just picked themselves up.

For hundreds of years the great gates of Gloria and her barrier reef which had fended of enemy invaders countless times, was gone, its entirety disappeared as if it had never been there in the first place.

Gloria’s defensive coastal artillery, its fortress and palace walls, even the fortified areas which had been constructed by shaping rocks and stones from the nearby mountain turned to rubble. Only the urban areas were spared from Parabellum’s air raid from the day before. Large pot-shaped craters lined the city as many structures had been leveled to the ground.

「…..everyone’s…….already……where is everyone?――」

Without any notable landmarks as the landscape changed entirely, Soldiers who arose from the dirt due to the first wave of shelling were lost as they tried to look for their compatriots. But as they took a few more steps to search, the line of battleships which had finished reloading their guns unleashed another barrage, screams of shells would be the last thing they heard. 

As another Soldier would rise from the ruins trying to look for his fellow man, he would only be consumed in a grand flash. This cycle would be repeated many times before the bombardment came to an end.

This Chapter was translated by Kuro_0ni

―~――~―――~―――~――~―

Dear Readers using aggregator sites, If you like my work, you can show your support by leaving a comment/ constructive feedback at Hiscension.com .

With their entire battleship firing line consuming about a third of their artillery shells in Gloria’s operation so far ―― It wouldn’t be surprising for the Empire’s Soldiers to become shell shocked, suffering under post-traumatic stress by the ordeal.

「――Incoming emergency message from the Blue Ridge!! Ceasefire, stop the bombardment!! I say again, stop the bombardment」

All of a sudden the voice of a radio operator echoes within the Yamato’s command center.

「Stop the bombardment? Ceasefire?…… What’s going on!?」

「Reporting, sir….. We are still acquiring the details, but our operatives which have infiltrated Gloria’s palace report the presence of an otherworlder in exile…… It also seems that this person was summoned from Japan」

「The otherworlder was exiled….?」

Hearing the report from one of his radio operators, Captain Aruga made an expression as if he was a pigeon struck by pellet gun.

「That is correct. …..With the ceasefire in effect, we’ll need to move fast and send in the landing forces in order to gain control of Gloria’s city」

「That’s such a foolhardy decision!! There are still some areas that have not been bombarded!! Our landing forces aren’t scheduled to embark until noon, they aren’t even prepared to storm the shores yet!!」

「That should be the case….. but if we only use a select group initially, we can send the rest later….

With that in mind, our Delta forces and the 75th Ranger regiment can be sent out at any time, we’ll have them move immediately. Delta teams will advance by helicopter, and the 75th Rangers will cover the path towards the palace.

Once Delta has secured Gloria’s palace, we’ll have the otherworlder escorted via helicopter back here. If it become impossible to do so, then in turn the 75th Ranger Regiment will secure an escape route back to our side via land. 

In addition to all this the 1st, 2nd & 3rd Marine Corp Division will land on Gloria’s shores. And with that we’ll proceed in taking full control over the City of Gloria」

「A sequential insertion of our forces!?…. Then what was the point of all those lessons back at the war academy!?  In the worst case scenario, each unit will be defeated individually!!」

「Urk!!……….」

Captain Aruga retorted back towards his radio operator, but they could only shake their heads in dismay.

「Damn it, I’m going to file a complaint directly to Naval Command about this!」

Taking hold of communications himself Captain Aruga directly protested toward Naval Command within the Blue Ridge and cursing while doing so, but even after all that the order in which the Operation changed could not be overturned.

This change in plans became a great turning point in the battle for Gloria.

And just like Captain Aruga’s worries, soon became reality.