CHAPTER 815

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***

Zipfel, Drakka.

"The Empire's Bird Dragon Fortress has been attacked by the Red Plutonian Tribe, so our propaganda efforts will lose their effectiveness."

Veradin examined the report and spoke. Although Zipfel's intelligence agents hadn't witnessed the battle directly, they confirmed the ruins of the Bird Dragon Fortress.

Beside the report were newspapers. All the newspapers from the Lutero Magic Federation incited the public, claiming that the Jin and Vamel alliance were awakening the Red Plutonian Tribe to threaten the human world. Meanwhile, Huphester's newspapers detailed the great victory at the Bird Dragon Fortress.

It was a stark contrast. Just comparing the damages, Zipfel lost a 2nd-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 killed Drek and destroyed his fleet.

"Huphester has failed to provide a proper rebuttal against the claim that the Red Plutonian Tribe awakened due to the Jin Runcandel. We should focus on attacking that particular point."

"Proceed accordingly, elder brother Ronil. Since we'll eventually be directly manipulating history, the most crucial aspect is that point. 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."

Veradin nodded at Satrin's words.

"If only the former patriarch had dealt with Valeria Hister and protected Tingen Bauer in 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 Plutonian Tribe. The Chaos Control technology we invested so much in is almost useless now."

The problem was that they had no idea where the Red Plutonian Tribe's main base was.

"...It's frustrating. Since the Red Plutonian Tribe has 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 the Red Plutonian Tribesmen alive, that would be slightly better."

"But even then, we'll be too late compared to the Vamel alliance. Jin probably already obtained a considerable amount of the Red Plutonian Tribe's items and remnants through the Kinzelo 3rd branch and the Bird Dragon Fortress battles. Valeria Hister and Tingen Bauer are most likely analyzing them diligently. And after this defeat, the Red Plutonian tribe will fear Jin even more. Everyone, do you understand what that means?"

Veradin looked around at his executives with narrowed eyes.

"From now on, the Red Plutonian Tribe is most likely only targeting 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 grew heavy.

"Lord patriarch, have you heard anything from the shrine maiden?"

"No, Captain of Spectres. She's praying, and she believes she'll soon have a revelation. Finding out both the former patriarch's whereabouts and the Red Plutonian Tribe's base is her responsibility."

Unsurprisingly, Zipfel was still tracking Kelliark Zipfel to deal with Kelliark and Sheenu flawlessly, accelerating the completion of the Demon's God's Orb.

"If the shrine maiden can accomplish such a feat... what we need is time. Until the shrine maiden obtains the results."

As Octavia said that, a commotion could be heard coming from the corridor.

"What's the commotion about!"

As a seated executive shouted, a scholar mage entered the room.

"Lord patriarch! The Red Plutonian Tribe's battleships are currently bombarding the Federation with these kinds of papers...!"

"What? You mean their battleships are flying over the Federation's airspace!?"

"Come here."

As the mage urgently handed a note to Veradin, it contained the following content:

(To the humans of the Lutero Magic Federation,

As of this moment, our Red Plutonian Tribe declares war on the Lutero Magic Federation.

The Federation cannot withstand us.

However, when the war ends in our victory, there will be more than just bloodshed and war scars left in the Federation.

Before officially commencing the war, we, the Red Plutonian Tribe, promise two things to civilians, not part of the 'Federation Army.'

Firstly, we will engage in the war without causing harm to civilians. We are conquerors, not butchers. If soldiers surrender, we will treat them as civilians and provide fair treatment. The only ones to die by our swords and bombardment will be soldiers. There will never be any massacres of civilians.

Secondly, after the war, we will dramatically advance the civilization of the Lutero Magic Federation using our superior technology and resources. The entire Federation will be redesigned with the benefits available to all civilians equally.

Our next goal is one of Zipfel's 1st-class Magic towers. You will lose one within a week.

Prepare yourself to the fullest.

The Red Plutonian Tribe, once again, will make this world complete. - Red Plutonian Tribe's Great Battle King, Bakarun Jung.)

The executives looked at the paper for a while, momentarily speechless. From the message alone, it seemed that the Red Plutonian Tribe was already confident of their complete victory.

"How considerate. They even informed us of their next target."

Although Veradin spoke calmly, the executives barely suppressed their anger. In the past thousand years, Zipfel had never experienced such provocation.

"What happened to the Red Plutonian Tribe's battleships that distributed the papers?"

"I only saw them appear in Palin. The Federation fleet attempted to intercept them immediately, but they successfully escaped without any significant damage. The allied large 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 has no superhumans either."

"That's correct, Lord patriarch."

"Understood."

As the mage who brought the note left, a brief silence filled the room. Veradin pondered for a moment before looking at the executives.

"Immediately transition all 1st-class Magic towers in the entire Federation to a state of war and recall the major flying ships on external assignments."

"What should we do with the civilians near the Magic towers?"

"Implement a blockade. Prevent them from taking refuge. Let's observe whether the Red Plutonian Tribe truly fights without causing harm to civilians, as they emphasized in their declaration."

In saying so, Veradin was considering using civilians as hostages. He thought he understood the reason why the Red Plutonian Tribe emphasized not harming civilians in their propaganda.

"So far, the results have spoken for themselves. We have very few areas where we hold an advantage over the Red Plutonian Tribe in this war. Our fleet's performance, as well as communication and mobility, are severely lacking. Therefore, we need to buy time to use the preparations we have made. We can use civilians as a shield."

"...Do you think that even if the Red Plutonian Tribe doesn't adhere to their declaration and indiscriminately kills civilians, we can buy enough time? Our Zipfel."

"That will depend on the true capabilities of the Red Plutonian Tribe, Captain of Spectres. However, even if they were to massacre civilians, it wouldn't be too bad for us."

"Why is that?"

"If they do such a thing, Jin won't stand idly by and let the war between us and the Red Plutonian Tribe unfold without interference."

Veradin replied with a cold smile.

***

[This propaganda letter from the Red Plutonian Tribe shows how much they fear you.]

Ameris said as she held the propaganda letter from the Red Plutonian Tribe.

They were conducting a meeting immediately after obtaining the Red Plutonian Tribe's propaganda letter.

[They are convinced that if they slaughter civilians, even if they are part of the Federation, you won't stand still. That's why they emphasized such content, to avoid your involvement in this war.]

The Red Plutonian Tribe had been gathering information from the surface since Shimat and his group was released from the seal. Naturally, they had looked into the records published for the public, including the contents passed down from the Vermont Imperial Family, which urged them not to provoke Jin.

The primary principle was to avoid touching civilians under any circumstances.

In reality, if civilians were massacred by the Red Plutonian Tribe, Jin would immediately offer support. 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 full-frontal battle between the nether's largest force and the surface's oldest conqueror.

By 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 Magic Federation would inevitably suffer in some way. They might lose family members who were in the military, their livelihoods, or their homes. But the important thing was that large-scale massacres were strictly prohibited.

Therefore, as long as the Red Plutonian Tribe kept to their self-declared content, it was a rather good situation for the Vamel alliance. It was purely a battle between "enemies."

"At 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 magic knight units, time to identify the means the Red Plutonian tribe possesses, time until Murakan returns, and time to complete the way for my brethren to come out. Now, it seems like an opportunity to buy time has presented itself."

As Jin spoke, his comrades looked at him.

"If both the Red Plutonian Tribe and Zipfel adhere to their declarations, the war between the two forces will inevitably be lackluster. The Red Plutonian Tribe cannot conduct indiscriminate bombardments due to civilians, and Zipfel lacks the initiative as they don't know the Red Plutonian tribe's stronghold. The crucial moment will come when either side discovers a clue."

From the Red Plutonian Tribe's perspective, it would create a situation where they no longer needed to be cautious of Jin.

From Zipfel's perspective, it would create a situation where they could locate the Red Plutonian tribe's stronghold and engage in battle, potentially leading to victory.

These two factors were the core of this war. Until one of them was realized, the Vamel alliance needed to prepare for the inevitable expansion of the war in the future.

"We must immediately issue a declaration. We will not participate in this war unless civilians are massacred. Furthermore, we will spare no effort to provide material support to the civilians isolated in the Federation. We should also be prepared to form teams and get ready to infiltrate each 1st-class Magic tower in the first battle for direct verification."

As Jin laid out his plan, his comrades nodded in agreement and began making preparations for their response.

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