Chapter 308 - Locusts (Patreon)

Note :

Today is my birthday ! So, no new chapter added in as I'm taking the day to celebrate. Though I'll probably add some shorts to continue the streak (especially since the response to them and the bonus chapter was very positive). Have fun !

Chapter 308

Red Sands Desert, Archduchy of Rebirth

Dungeon Factory, Command Center

"Ma'am, we have completed the analysis." Said Glitch, before the small assembly in the command center.

Everyone who could attend was here. The AIs, the bosses, the maids, Emilia and Alexandra obviously, plus Allya, Pyn and Trira.

"Then let us begin." Said the dungeon core, and the AI nodded.

"Very well." She snapped her fingers, well the golem's, and the holographic projector came to life, showing a veritable sea of information, chief among them the images of the ships. "Lady Alexandra's original assumption appears correct. The vast majority of the enemy vessels appear to be biological in nature. How this was achieved is unknown, but after delving into archive material, not necessarily exceptional for dungeon cores."

Emilia interjected.

"At least back then."

The AI nodded.

"Affirmative. According to the data we have been given, the UDC stopped deploying such biological warships as despite being far easier to construct for dungeon cores who did not possess the technology for more normal vessels, they were both less cost effective and more maintenance heavy. Thus, they were decommissioned."

"But not destroyed." Said Alexandra. It wasn't a hard leap to make.

"Indeed. Our analysis indicates that this allowed the vessels massively decreased scrutiny. Considered obsolete, their movements were not watched closely by our allies, and they could have been shipped to Tivaro with minimum oversight."

"You can't move something like that that undetected."

The AI tilted her head.

"Yet they have made it this far. Data indicates the only reason why they were detected now was that they no longer avoided settlements, and the free trader was at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Crap." Alexandra closed her eyes. "They're throwing caution to the winds because of the UDC's collapse."

"Affirmative. Had it not happened, it is very likely they would have intercepted the army with minimal, if any, warning."

"Our enemy's haste is our ally then. What are we looking at in terms of strength?"

Glitch hesitated, and then simply gestured for Subtlety to come forward.

"Analysis of such alien vessels was difficult, but not impossible." Began the other AI. "However, the margin of error has considerable increased because of the inexperience with these vessels."

"Duly noted."

"Thank you. My results show that the enemy fleet is composed of six capital ships, and one hundred and thirty eight other vessels." There was a ringing silence at that. Coledar had actually brought more vessels with him, but those were ships that had come out of nowhere, almost sneaking up on them across half of an entire continent. "However, only one of these capital ships is a combat vessel, and I estimate only a third, forty six units, of the escorts are combat capable."

"What?" Said Allya, and Alexandra sighed, loudly enough for everyone to turn to her.

"It's an invasion fleet."

The AI nodded.

"All data points to it being the case."

Alexandra winced.

"Ninety two escorts, five capital ships...that's a lot of lift capacity. How many are we facing here?"

"Impossible to estimate. Enemies may use monsters of vastly varying sizes and capabilities. However, if we follow the capacity of the Republic's transport vessels in terms of tonnage, this fleet could house...somewhere from fifteen thousand to seventy five thousand troops, depending on the amount of heavy equipment brought along."

"But most probably somewhere in between?"

"Affirmative. It is worth noting that dungeon monsters require far less space than human soldiers, as well as mass. They do not require entertainment or many other amenities."

"And my golems even less. All the same, that's...a lot of guys. How the hell do they even plan to keep them supplied? Coledar had five times that airlift capacity and only three hundred thousand men." At least before she'd started shooting down the transports, but still.

"Many dungeon monsters were designed during the United Dungeon Wars to not require any supplies." Said Emilia. "And why would they? They don't have gear to maintain or guns to rearm, they're living weapons. All they need...all they need is food and mana. Grass, trees, the bodies of the fallen...doesn't matter. They could draw nutrition and mana from them all."

Alexandra's face went white. Rampaging locust swarms...fuck.

And she could take one guess as to whom had taught the dungeon cores how to draw magic from bodies. The vampires weren't so fucking tight on the spells and knowledge when the God of Fire was giving a push, apparently.

"And I assume those designs were mothballed?"

The vampire nodded.

"And the monsters repurposed, usually sent as adventurer fodder in various dungeon floors for a few decades."

"Efficient. I assume they're simply not as effective, like the ships?"

"No, they were too hated. Armies of them stripped the land bare to a level that regular armies never came to close to."

"And I assume bystanders and civilians made a handy protein and mana source."

Emilia looked down.

"There's a reason entire nations and their people were wiped out during those wars." She said softly.

"Fuck me." Said Alexandra, sighing. "So, without the need for supply lines, they could just gather everything they had into their available lift capacity, onboard hastily recommissioned vessels, and throw it our way."

Subtletly grimaced.

"In short? Yes ma'am. Absolutely."

"Great. Just...great. Still, their numbers are nothing compared to what we've faced yet."

Subtlety opened her mouth, then closed it, trying to choose her words with exquisite care.

Glitch...didn't.

"I would advise caution. Arrogance is a poor shield. Previous combat encounters were with unprepared opponents on home ground with a massive advantage in having a secure, heavily fortified and hidden position, or against equally unprepared enemies with extremely poor quality troops and low morale. Our forces will face troops that have functionally infinite morale, unorthodox combat abilities and whose useage on the field of battle against opponents who are our technological peers, such as the Eris Empire during the United Dungeon Wars, has been done numerous times and have been both well documented and analyzed by the enemy."

"So you're saying that we may be the unprepared ones this time?"

"Affirmative. The enemy's capabilities are unknowns, and the previous combat engagement against the manticore note that our forces required massive numerical superiority while suffering catastrophic losses to ensure victory."

Alexandra winced. That...was true. Killing the manticore, whose absorbed flesh had been brought back in the form of CQ's puppy, had not been a pleasant affair.

"So you're saying they might send such heavy hitters after us?"

"Their limitation is in lift capacity. Under those conditions, more combat potential per mass trumps cost efficiency. Depending on the enemy's strategic situation, of course."

"Of course." Alexandra closed her eyes. "This is going to be a mess."

"Affirmative."

The dungeon core opened her eyes again.

"Alright then. Let's get started. Emilia? I want to know everything there is to know about these monsters. Subtlety, Seraph, design me fortifications our troops will be able to build to engage a hybrid ground and air assault. And for the rest of you?" She smiled. "You're going to help me with whatever dirty tricks you can come up with to put into place with the resources we have there. Let's get this done people, and sent these bastards back in bodybags!"

*****

Alexandra patted the smooth, almost featureless cylinder, before looking up at her other self.

"Yield?"

"One hundred kilotons."

"Good. Delivery method?"

"Same as previous. Medium range ballistic. Working on an ICBM prototype, but that's still a ways off."

Alexandra nodded as she stroked the smooth metal of the nuke.

"Alright. Will it reach?"

The apparition grimaced.

"Barely. At least where they are right now."

"We'll have to move a launch site closer, aren't we?"

"I was thinking of putting a silo in both of our branch offices eventually." Ghost shrugged at Alexandra's questionning gaze. "I mean, it's not like we can hide that kind of launch anyway. People in Rebirth would see it. As long as it's in a highly secure area, covered by our influence to prevent divination magic, what do we care?"

"Point taken, but what about the transit? We don't have the resources to make one with the dungeon powers."

"We have stealth shuttles. They worked once."

"Yeah, in the middle of a battle with interference everywhere. This ain't like the railguns, we can't chalk it up to gear we recovered from Seraph's little welcoming committee."

Ghost frowned.

"No one has seen our stealth golems either."

"There's a lot more ways to see a large vehicle than a small infiltrator."

There was a pause.

"You fear eyes in the sky."

"If the God of Fire didn't set up a satellite network, he's an idiot. Besides, there's no telling what else is up there. You still haven't worked out what the Flickerlight is talking to, haven't you?"

"No. Not yet."

"My point exactly. Who knows what can be hidden around here, still reporting in? With people like the Order wiping their ass with the edicts of the God of Fire, they could have taken a command or communications center. Once you have the codes and encryption, you just have to ping the platforms."

"Alright. I get it. That means upgrading the shuttles?"

"And building a little observatory. It's high time we got a good look at that so called 'Citadel of the Flames'. See what we're up against. I have enough of lacking information about our enemies."

"Roger that."

"Now, if we were to use the warheads, would they be able to intercept them? The fleet, I mean."

The apparition frowned slightly in concentration.

"That's...unclear. We don't really know their point defence capabilities. They are clearly expecting a ballistic missile attack, but not a nuclear one. They're too close."

"Right. They're expecting conventional weapons." The High Guard defensive position was perfect for denying reconnaissance and taking out missiles, but in this case, the area of effect was such that they could detonate the warhead far outside their perimeter and still hit the fleet. "I think it's significant that they're not using a skirmisher screen either. Just a high guard."

"Yeah. I think they expect a ballistic missile attack, but not a head on assault. Which means they know our capabilities, and are confident enough on their intel to base their advancing formation based on that. Though they might have reformed. But unless they've made an entire missile defense dome formation, we can hit them. I think. If they have laser or long range point defence...It is a ballistic missile. It'll be in their sights for a bit before it hits."

"Just like our regular missiles. We'll need to come up with something."

"Way ahead of you. Remember our decoys?"

"The Ewar emitters we used on the kill-team? What about-oh."

"Yeah. Managed to pack one with the warhead. If someone has sensors, they'll be able to pin the source and shoot it down, and I don't trust our current MIRV prototypes to try and use them, so it has to be a single warhead emitter combo, but against regular mages? It'll seem like the MIRV from hell. With flashbangs, interference and holographic warheads all over."

"That's a fantastic idea. Could you get that for our regular missiles?"

"It is high tech."

"Perhaps. But I'm sure we can come up with some lesser, arcane alternative."

"I'll be pricy. And heavy."

"We don't need a combo. We can just replace a missile with a dedicated EWAR model. One per volley should be plenty."

Ghost suddenly looked pensive.

"It should...I'll take a look. Enlist Emilia and the new enchanters to take a look."

"Speaking of, will we have any of the new ammo?"

"Nope. One last ride for the good old runic hardware, it seems."

Alexandra snorted.

"Yeah right. You know the New Republic gobbles up all of our obsolete stuff like it's candy. Besides, the enchanters are a bottleneck."

"Which we're already planning to expand."

"Fair enough."

"...You don't expect we'll need the nukes for this, right?"

"If they take out this army, we lose Asaria, we lose the North, and the legitimacy of their majesties." It was simultaneously everything she needed to say, and a complete non answer. Both of them knew that.

It just unpleasantly reminded them both of a discussion above a world named Europa...

"And we lose all the people with us." Finally said Ghost, after a short but oppressive silence.

"...If we let them fight by our side."

Ghost opened her mouth, then closed it.

"You can't be serious?"

"I am. If they form up as a separate force, the UDC will hesitate. Their vaunted isolationism and doctrine will hold them in check."

"And what? Have Manson, Philia and Rim fight off Sunrise on their own if we lose?"

"No, but it might buy us some time. And it's not like they'll be of much use during this fight, will they?"

"Yeah. Good luck convincing them of that."

"I know. But I can try. Moreover...there may be a tactical advantage to that."

"Like what?"

"As I said, the UDC would hesitate. If we have them form up in reserve."

Ghost laughed.

"You want to hold the threat of them moving in? Forcing the UDC to divert some troops in case they attack, but with no risk of them doing a first strike? That's...risky."

"Is it any more than having them engage with us."

"No. No I suppose not."

"Then let's do it. We're facing one hell of an unknown here. Let's make sure we've stacked the deck in our favor."

"And push comes to shove, we'll flip the table?"

"Exactly."