Nihonkoku Shoukan Volume 1 Chapter 1 Part3

Translator Corner

Minasan Oidemasu! This is Yukkuri demasu!

Changing Flying Dragons to Dragoon. I dislike typing too long.

As always,

DISCLAIMER: There is no guarantee that my translation is 100% correct. Please correct me if I was wrong.

Plus, if you want to thank someone go to the guys at Ainus.h.i.+ Translation who give me the RAW for this LN. They’re the real MVPs.

Author:

みのろう (Minorou)

Translator:

Yukkuri Oniisan!

Editor:

So-Chintzy!

Chapter 1

Upheaval

Part 3

Central calendar Year 1639, Month 4, Day 11. Morning.

Near the Louria-Qua-Toyne Border

The Campgrounds of the Vanguard Force of the Louria Kingdom’s Eastern Conquest Army

There were repet.i.tive magic communication messages from the Qua-Toyne Princ.i.p.ality’s Foreign Ministry, to demand that the soldiers be withdrawn from the border.

But they were completely ignored. It was as if they were completely determined to wage a war.

「Tomorrow, Gim will fall.」

Adem, who was appointed to lead the vanguard force, was talking to a communication operator.

From the top of a hill, they were looking at the 30,000 strong army that was spreading underneath their very eyes.

A 30,000 strong army was by no means a large one considering the total amount of soldiers that the Louria Kingdom had, but it was more than enough for waging a single battle. Even if it was just a vanguard force, Adem had been given a command, and so, he eerily smiled.

20,000 infantry,ust  5,000 heavy infantry, 2,000 cavalry, 1,500 specialized soldiers (soldiers that were specialized for siege armaments like catapults or battering rams), 1,000 raiders, 250 monster users, 100 magicians, and then 150 dragoons. Going just by the numbers, the infantry was the largest group, but a squadron of 10 Dragoons could stop the track of 10,000 infantry soldiers. Furthermore, there were 150 dragoons in this force.

He could see how much his country was expecting from this vanguard force. Adem, who was aware of the weight of the mission upon him, rather than feeling nervous, his happiness outweighed it even more.

Wyverns were an expensive weapons. If every wyvern possessed by the Louria Kingdom were gathered at one place, it would only number 200 units.

However, 500 wyverns would partic.i.p.ate in the current war against the Qua-Toyne Princ.i.p.ality.

There was a rumor that the Papardia Empire had given them military support. n.o.body below General Pandor, who supervised the ground troops, knew if this was true. After all, there was no coat of arms in the wyverns’ armor, so there was no way to identify them, other than through speculation.

In any case, 150 wyverns were a.s.signed to the vanguard force. Adem was pleased with this clearly overpowered force.

「What we should do about the booty in Gim?」

Albeit frightened, the communication operator asked Adem, who was still sporting a savage smile.

Adem was a ruthless knight and his cruelty, that he had showed in the occupied territory when the Louria kingdom started the aggressive wars, was also widely-known amongst the soldiers.

「I won’t reprimand any plundering at Gim, they can do what they like. They could have fun with the women, but after they have finished using them, they must dispose of every single one. Don’t let a single one leave the town alive. Notify this to the entire army.」

The operator's face stiffened.

「Yes, Sir……」

He turned his back as if to flee, but Adem stopped him.

「No, wait! As expected…… They could have fun with them, but leave 100 of them alive. They could spread the fear…… Then, if there are any families of the enemy Knights in the city, deal with them as cruelly as possible.」

Adem continued to laugh creepily.

「Now, let the feast of extermination begin!」

「Yes, Sir! I will notify this.」

A frightening order.

Adem didn’t have a human heart. While thinking so, the operator faithfully conveyed Adem’s command.

✦✧✦✧✦

The same day, afternoon. Qua-Toyne Princ.i.p.ality, Western Region, Gim.

The Base Headquarters of the Western Region Knights Order, the 1st and the 2nd Dragoon Squadron of the Qua-Toyne Princ.i.p.ality.

Moizi, the Commander of the Western Knights Order, was succ.u.mbing to the feeling of irritation.

The total forces of the Western Region Army was 2,500 infantry, 200 archers, 500 heavy infantry, 200 cavalry, 100 light cavalry, 24 dragoons, and 30 magicians. Because of the semi-emergency system, it was a considerable force considering Qua-Toyne’s resources, but the enemy force that was sticking alongside the border far exceeded them in the number.

All of the communication from Qua-Toyne’s side had been completely ignored by the Louria Kingdom.

Some of the citizens had already started evacuating from Gim and the Qua-Toyne government had also called for the citizens to evacuate.

「Are there any replies from Louria?」

Moizi asked the communication magician.

「At the moment. there are no replies. Although we are certain that the messages had been received by the other side, but they are still being ignored.」

If there was a difference in the amount of military forces, then depending on the strategies, they could fight without losing the battle. However, this time, that difference was too overwhelming.

「What is the answer for the reinforcement request from the Central Headquarters?」

「There aren’t any definite answer, only…… 『In the middle of an emergency a.s.sembly session』.」

「b.l.o.o.d.y rats!! Even though we have no moments to spare...... If we don’t receive any reinforcement, with only our current military forces, we will have to give up Gim! d.a.m.n it!!」

Their impatience didn’t change any of the situation, which led to a more cruel reality than they had imagined──

✦✧✦✧✦

Central Calendar Year 1639, Month 4, Day 12. Early in the morning. Gim

Suddenly, red smoke rose from the border. At the same time, there was a tense communication sounding from the Magic Communicator at the Headquarters.

『A huge force of Louria’s wyverns is invading towards Gim! Simultaneously, infantry...... tens of thousands of them crossed the border and began to invade! We repeat, a huge force of Louria’s wy-…… Guaa! Run a──*bzzzt*──』

The magic communication ended.

The red smoke was a sign of Louria 's invasion. Moizi, the commander of the Western Knights Order, who witnessed it, bellowed his order.

Inside the town of Gim, the emergency bells tolled. People, who had still remained in the city, realized the fact that they had been too late to escape from the flames of war and their faces were stricken with fear.

「Sortie every Knight from the 1st Dragoon Squadron and the 2nd Dragoon Squadron, and engage the enemy wyverns!! Disturb them as much as possible! Arrange the Heavy Infantry to stand at the front row and regular infantry behind them, do not let the lines break! Archers will be at the rear and support from maximum range! Light cavalry will at times a.s.sault from the right flank! The 200 cavalry will perform a raid! Wait until you receive instruction! Magicians don’t have to attack, but everyone needs to manipulate the wind so it will blow upwind at Gim! 」

All 24 dragoons soared to the sky and increased their alt.i.tude. The squadrons divided into two; one squadron flew at a cruising alt.i.tude, while the other squadron flew at the ceiling alt.i.tude. To perform air-to-air bombing while intercepting from the front, it was a textbook ambush formation.

After they had flew for 5 kilometers, they could see a large amount of black points appearing in the western sky ahead. That number surprised the Qua-Toynese Dragoon Squadron. It was the First Dragoon Attack Wing of the Louria Kingdom’s Eastern Conquest Army’s Vanguard Force. Their number was 75 units ──

The Qua-Toynese Dragoon Squadron didn’t falter and with dauntless courage, they thrust into that flock of black points.

All of the 75 Lourian Dragoons caught sight of the Qua-Toynese dragoons.

「Perform air-to-air flame ball attack.」

Aldebaran, the Commander of the Dragon Knights who led the units, calmly ordered. He intended to finish the battle with one hit. The whole 75 wyverns opened their mouths in lines like a wall from the top, the sides and diagonally.

Fireb.a.l.l.s were gradually forming in their mouths.

「5 seconds before shooting, 4, 3, 2, 1 ── Shoot!!」

The 75 wyverns shot their flameb.a.l.l.s at the same time. The rotating flameb.a.l.l.s generated airflow around them. The fireb.a.l.l.s located in the inner gained thrust, and so their range were extended far beyond that of the fireball located on the exterior. By using this phenomena, they successfully performed a fusillade before the Qua-Toynese dragoons could even begin their attack.

The 75 concentrated flame b.a.l.l.s released from the 75 wyverns, aligned with each other and mutually ignited to fuse into a huge arrowhead shape and created a wall of flame. Without decelerating, that wall of flame flew towards the Qua-Toyne Princ.i.p.ality’s dragoons.

The twelve Qua-Toynese dragoons took evasive maneuvers when the wall of flame covered their entire field of view, but it was too late by several moments. The entire unit was engulfed by the fire and crashed down.

「Did they divide their force into two? …… All units, watch the sky.」

Forty seconds after Aldaveran gave his order, 12 wyvern units plunged in a single line from the sky with the sun behind their backs. It seemed that they had decided that air-to-air bombing would be not effective and instead they would perform a close-range aerial attack (dogfight).

When the Qua-Toynese 2nd Dragoon Squadron fired their flame b.a.l.l.s when they pa.s.sed the Lourians, three units of the Lourian dragoon received a direct hit and fell down.

The wyverns gliding from the high sky were aided by gravity and they were further accelerated by an angled oblique approach and slipped through the Lourians. Several Lourian units were pursuing them.

The Qua-Toynese dragoons saw that the battle turned to melee and they would be crushed, and so they scattered. However, the Lourians were pursuing them. Excluding the 15 Units under Aldebaran, the other 48 units were rus.h.i.+ng towards the 12 Qua-Toynese dragoons with a 4 to 1 ratio. In just a dozen minutes, both the 1st and the 2nd Dragoon Squadrons of Qua-Toyne had been obliterated.

「Let’s support the ground force. All units, perform supportive attacks.」

The wyverns then began to attack the Qua-Toynese ground force.

✦✧✦✧✦

「Da-…… d.a.m.n it! Not only the enemy's dragoons were high in numbers, their skills are also good!」

Moizi finished watching the battle in the western sky from the command room and slammed his fist on the wall.

「To think that it will end this early…… For the Dragon Knights Squadron to be annihilated, then that means……!」

The enemy dragoons narrowed down their attack target, the ground force, and rained down flame b.a.l.l.s from the sky. The flame ball falling from the sky expanded the moment they hit the ground and spread out flames everywhere. It was a viscous flame that didn’t disappear once it was ignited, so the damage to the ground force was increasing.

There was only one counterattack method available from the ground. To launch an arrow from a ballista enchanted with wind magic.

However, the magic arts needed to retain the magic power were difficult to use, and they couldn’t be prepared in such large numbers. At most, ten arrows was the limit, and furthermore they weren’t guided (didn’t have any homing capabilities). It was better than doing nothing, but the arrows drawn on the string of the anti-air ballista would only hit the empty air.

Anti-air attacks of this world rarely hit. There were slightly more effective weapons in the Three Great Civilized Lands, but even so, they had more significance as a diversion.

Due to the ground support from the huge Wyvern squadrons, the Qua-Toynese ground force suffered extensive damages.

The large amount of flame b.a.l.l.s, which continuously rained down from the sky, were sufficient enough to disturb the formation of the ground force.

They already lost one fifth of their strength and their formation had become scattered in order to avoid the flame b.a.l.l.s, which the ground soldiers could only flee from. That was where the 25,000 infantry and heavy infantry of the Lourian Eastern Conquest Army rushed in.

The Qua-Toyne Western Region Knight Order, without being able to exercise their power, was annihilated in less than 30 minutes. There was no longer any person that could move.

The border city of Gim fell into the hands of the Louria Kingdom.

Moizi was tied up with a rope on his wrists and became a prisoner.

Gim was already besieged by the Louria Vanguard Force.

「Even that fierce Moizi had lost his fangs like this. Weak…… We hadn’t even put the monsters on the field yet.」

Moizi stared daggers at Adem.

「Humph, whether to boil me or to grill me, do as you like.」

Moizi snorted.

The Lourian Advance Force General Second-in-command Adem was elated and showed an unpleasant smile.

「That reminds me ── aren’t your wife and daughter still remaining in Gim?」

「W-Wait…… what are you going to do to them!?」

「Hey! Capture Mozi’s wife and daughter and bring them here. Let them be completely ravished with and then let them be eaten alive by the monsters in front of him.」

「Stop it …… Stop it! We are prisoners of wars, you sc.u.m, son of a───」

Moizi tried to rushed towards Adem, but he was quickly restrained.

「Don’t worry. After you have watched everything, you will also become the meal for the monsters…… Hihihi.」

「Curse you, curse youuuuu──────」

The frightening order of Adem was executed on that day. Plunder, rape, murder, all kinds of acts of violence were carried out everywhere inside the city, and the entire Moizi family also followed a miserable path of destiny.

The surviving one hundred people were released and conveyed that devastating event to every city.

However, this action was also received by j.a.pan, and it gave them the justification of 「Saving the people of Qua-Toyne from the unilateral genocide」.

☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽

CASUS BELLI OBTAINED!

Next chapter. Qua-Toyne preparation for the incoming war…