Swordmaster's Youngest Son Novel - Chapter 815
Chapter 815
***
Zipple, Drakka.
“The Bird Dragon Fortress of the Empire has been attacked by the Red Legend Tribe, so our propaganda efforts will lose effectiveness.”
Beradin examined the report and spoke.
Although Zipple’s intelligence agents hadn’t witnessed the battle directly, they confirmed the ruins of the Bird Dragon Fortress.
Along with the report were newspapers. All the newspapers of the Lutero Magical Federation were inciting the public, claiming that Jin and the Vamel Alliance were awakening the Red Legend Tribe to threaten the human world.
Meanwhile, the newspapers of Huphester detailed the great victory at the Bird Dragon Fortress.
It was a stark contrast. Just comparing the damages, Zipple lost a second-class Magic Tower, while the Vamel Alliance lost the Bird Dragon Fortress but managed to rescue most of their reserve knights, save the Bird Dragon, and kill Drek and destroy his fleet.
“Hufester has failed to provide an adequate rebuttal against the claim that the Red Legend Tribe awakened due to Jin Runcandel. We should focus on attacking that particular point.”
“Proceed accordingly, Elder Brother Ronil. Since we will eventually be manipulating the history directly, that point is the most crucial. However, this incident will undoubtedly make the public perceive us as even less capable than the Vamel Alliance. That fact will be even more painful.”
“…The problem lies in our technological capabilities. The Vamel Alliance seems to have acquired long-distance communication methods in addition to their teleportation ability. Our spies within the Empire have confirmed this.”
Beradin nodded at Satrin’s words.
“If only the Elder Patriarch had dealt with Valeria Histor and protected Tingen Bauer on time, we wouldn’t have such a technological gap. The only possibility for us to make a significant technological leap like the Vamel Alliance is to capture technology from the Red Legend Tribe. The Chaos control technology we’ve been investing so much in now is almost useless.”
The problem was that they had no idea where the Red Legend Tribe’s main base was.
“…It’s frustrating. Since the Red Legend Tribe has the complete initiative, the only option for us is to wait for their invasion if we want to analyze their technology. After the battle, all we can do is examine the remains. Of course, if we somehow manage to capture living Red Legend Tribe members, that would be slightly better.”
“But even then, we will be too late compared to the Vamel Alliance. Jin probably already obtained a considerable amount of the Red Legend Tribe’s items and remains through the battles of the third branch of Kinzelo and the Bird Dragon Fortress. Valeria Histor and Tingen Bauer are probably diligently analyzing them. And after this defeat, the Red Legend Tribe will fear Jin even more. Everyone, do you understand what that means?”
Beradin looked at his executives with narrowed eyes.
“From now on, it’s highly likely that the Red Legend Tribe will only attack us and Kinzelo. However, they invaded Kinzelo and unexpectedly faced Jin, so they must have judged that it’s safer to attack us.”
The atmosphere in the conference room became heavy.
“Patriarch-nim, have you heard anything from the Priestess?”
“No, Spectre Captain. She is praying, and she believes she will soon have a revelation. Discovering the whereabouts of the Elder Patriarch and the Red Legend Tribe’s base is her responsibility.”
As expected, Zipple was still tracking Kelliark Zipple to deal with Kelliark and Sheenu smoothly, accelerating the completion of the Demon God Orb.
“If the Priestess can achieve such a feat… what we need is time. Until the Priestess obtains the results.”
While Octavia said that, a commotion could be heard coming from the hallway.
“What’s all this commotion about?!”
As a seated executive shouted, a scholar Magician entered the room.
“Patriarch-nim! The Red Legend Tribe’s warships are currently bombing the Federation with these kinds of papers…!”
“What? You mean their warships are flying over the Federation’s airspace?”
“Come here.”
As the Magician urgently handed Beradin a note, it contained the following content:
(To the humans of the Lutero Magical Federation,
From this moment on, our Red Legend Tribe declares war on the Lutero Magical Federation.
The Federation cannot resist us.
However, when the war ends with our victory, there will be more than blood and war scars in the Federation.
Before officially starting the war, we, the Red Legend Tribe, promise two things to the civilians, who are not part of the ‘Federation Army’.
First, we will wage war without causing harm to civilians. We are conquerors, not butchers. If the soldiers surrender, we will treat them as civilians and provide them with fair treatment. The only ones who will die by our swords and bombardments will be the soldiers. There will never be any civilian massacres.
Second, after the war, we will drastically advance the civilization of the Lutero Magical Federation using our superior technology and resources. The entire Federation will be redesigned with the benefits available to all civilians equally.
Our next target is one of Zipple’s first-class Magic Towers. You will lose one within a week.
Prepare yourselves to the fullest.
The Red Legend Tribe, once again, will make this world whole. – Great King of Battle of the Red Legend Tribe, Bakarun Jung.)
The executives looked at the paper for a while, momentarily speechless.
Just from the message, it seemed that the Red Legend Tribe already trusted in their complete victory.
“How considerate. They even informed us of their next target.”
Although Beradin spoke calmly, the executives barely suppressed their anger.
In the past thousand years, Zipple had never experienced such provocation.
“What happened to the Red Legend Tribe warships that distributed the papers?”
“I only saw them appear in Palin. The Federation fleet immediately attempted to intercept them, but they managed to escape without any significant damage. The large allied battleships couldn’t catch up due to the significant speed difference, and the small high-speed ships couldn’t break through the blockade, so they couldn’t continue the pursuit.”
“The difference in battleship technology made it inevitable, I suppose. Palin currently doesn’t have any superhumans either.”
“That’s right, Patriarch-nim.”
“Understood.”
As the Magician who brought the note left, a brief silence filled the room. Beradin pondered for a moment before looking at the executives.
“Immediately transfer all first-class Magic Towers throughout the Federation to a war state and recall the main flying ships that are on external missions.”
“What should we do with the civilians near the Magic Towers?”
“Implement a blockade. Prevent them from taking refuge. Let’s see if the Red Legend Tribe truly fights without causing harm to civilians, as they emphasized in their declaration.”
In saying that, Beradin was considering using the civilians as hostages.
He thought he understood the reason why the Red Legend Tribe emphasized not harming civilians in their propaganda.
“So far, the results have spoken for themselves. We have very few areas where we have an advantage over the Red Legend Tribe in this war. Our fleet performance, as well as communication and mobility, are severely deficient. Therefore, we need to buy time to use the preparations we have made. We can use the civilians as a shield.”
“…Do you think even if the Red Legend Tribe doesn’t stick to their declaration and indiscriminately kills civilians, we can buy enough time? Our Zipple.”
“That will depend on the Red Legend Tribe’s true capabilities, Spectre Captain. However, even if they massacred the civilians, it wouldn’t be that bad for us.”
“Why?”
“If they do such a thing, Jin won’t stand idly by and let the war between us and the Red Legend Tribe unfold without interference.”
Beradin replied with a cold smile.
***
[This propaganda letter from the Red Legend Tribe shows how much they fear you.]
Ameris said while holding the Red Legend Tribe’s propaganda letter.
They were holding a meeting immediately after obtaining the Red Legend Tribe’s propaganda letter.
[They are convinced that if they massacre the civilians, even if they are part of the Federation, you won’t stand still. That’s why they emphasized that content, to prevent your involvement in this war.]
The Red Legend Tribe had been gathering information from the surface ever since Shimat and his group were released from the seal.
Naturally, they had investigated the records published for the public, including the content broadcast from the Vermont Imperial Family, urging them not to provoke Jin.
The main principle was to avoid touching civilians under any circumstances.
In reality, if the Red Legend Tribe massacred the civilians, Jin would offer support immediately.
It was a proper duty for someone who held the position of a Regressor, dominating one of the axes of the current world.
Even though it was a head-on battle between the largest force of the underworld and the oldest conqueror of the surface.
Due to Jin Runcandel’s influence, civilians were guaranteed a level of safety that seemed impossible during war. However, it was still a war.
The ordinary citizens of the Lutero Magical Federation would inevitably suffer in some way. They might lose family members who were in the army, their livelihoods, or their homes.
But the important thing was that large-scale massacres were strictly prohibited.
Therefore, as long as the Red Legend Tribe kept to their self-declared content, it was a pretty good situation for the Vamel Alliance.
It was purely a battle between “enemies.”
“In the last meeting, I mentioned that time was what we needed most. Time to produce the fleet, distribute communication devices throughout the region, complete the mass-produced Iello and magical knight units, time to identify the means the Red Legend Tribe possesses, time until Murakan returns, and time to complete the path for my brothers to come out. Now, it seems an opportunity to buy time has presented itself.”
As Jin spoke, his companions looked at him.
“If both the Red Legend Tribe and Zipple stick to their declarations, the war between the two forces will inevitably be mediocre. The Red Legend Tribe cannot conduct indiscriminate bombings due to the civilians, and Zipple lacks the initiative since they don’t know the Red Legend Tribe’s stronghold. The crucial moment will come when one of the parties discovers a clue.”
From the Red Legend Tribe’s perspective, it would create a situation where they no longer needed to be cautious about Jin.
From Zipple’s perspective, it would create a situation where they could locate the Red Legend Tribe’s stronghold and engage in battle, which could lead to victory.
These two factors were the core of this war.
Until one of them came true, the Vamel Alliance needed to prepare for the inevitable expansion of the war in the future.
“We must issue a statement immediately. We will not participate in this war unless civilians are massacred. Also, we will spare no effort in providing material support to isolated civilians in the Federation. We must also be prepared to form teams and prepare to infiltrate each first-class Magic Tower in the first battle for direct verification.”
As Jin laid out his plan, his companions nodded in agreement and began making preparations for their response.