Chapter 80: Nuclear Fire Chicken Noodles (4)

The decision for the Empire to drop Nuclear Fire Chicken Noodles on the Cornel Kingdom was made during a military meeting held two weeks ago.

"Your Excellency, everyone has gathered."

"...."

A blonde beauty with blue eyes like a frozen lake is looking down at the map of the continent spread out on the table.

Christina Julius Offenbach von Terraz.

The woman, with her curves accentuated by the tight military uniform, was the newly appointed commander of the Southern Army as the Duke of Hughes moved to the center.

"I have the honor of meeting Her Highness the Second Princess."

She was the Second Princess of this country.

Prince Leon, the Third Prince, evaluated Christina like this.

─ Christina is a war fanatic.

War fanatic.

─ If we let that woman become the empress, the continent will be plunged into chaos.

Tyrant.

The Third Prince was indeed obsessed with conspiracy theories, but he was objective when evaluating others.

─ She has good qualities, but those qualities are skewed towards war, making her a terrifying woman.

The evaluation of the Third Prince was accurate once again.

Swish, swish.

Moving the chess pieces scattered haphazardly on the map of the continent, the Second Princess was waging a solitary imaginary war.

It seemed that the war was not going well, as the Second Princess's brow was slightly furrowed.

'You must be good at Civilization game series then.'

The person who seemed like she could easily pass the time alone with just a map of the continent and chess pieces was none other than the Second Princess.

In simple terms, she was a 'war game addict.'

However, she also knew how to listen to those around her when it came to unresolved issues.

The fact that she even listens carefully to the words of children for the sake of victory was what made the Second Princess so terrifying.

The reason why the mages of the Twelve Towers, including myself, were summoned to the meeting.

"Today, I have called upon the monks to seek their wisdom regarding the 'Monster Territory'."

The Second Princess, who had taken her eyes off the map, looked around at those seated at the table and spoke.

"If you have any suggestions on how to subdue the Southern Monster Territory, please feel free to share them."

The Empire was suffering every year from the hordes of monsters invading its borders.

Among them resolving the 'Monster Territory' located in the southwest was the task assigned to the Second Princess who had just been appointed as the commander of the Southern Army.

It seemed like simply subduing the territory of monsters would be enough, but it was not as easy as it sounded.

"To subdue the Monster Territory, we must first deal with the Cornel Kingdom."

The Cornel Kingdom.

If you want to conquer the territory of the monsters, you need to deal with that country first.

If we leave the border undefended to subdue the Monster Territory, the Cornel Kingdom wouldn't just sit idly by.

You couldn't move the army while having an enemy behind you.

In solving the magic barrier problem, the Cornel Kingdom has always been an obstacle.

The reason the Second Princess convened the meeting was also to discuss the measures for handling the Cornel Kingdom.

"Regrettably, we cannot handle both the Cornel kingdom and the Monster Territory with just the Southern Army."

"We need to seek cooperation from the central government to pressure the Cornel Kingdom."

In the meeting room, there were strong opinions advocating for sanctions against the Cornel Kingdom.

The Second Princess also had an expression that agreed with their opinions.

Swoosh.

The Second Princess's hand was already moving the pieces on the map to invade the Cornel Kingdom.

'...They have advanced all the way to the capital.'

Even the hardliners were discussing a treaty, but the Second Princess took it a step further and waged an invasion war.

"What do you all think?"

The Second Princess looked to the left side of the table and asked.

It was the direction where the wizards of the Magic Tower, including myself, were gathered.

"How about collaborating with the Cornel Kingdom to jointly defeat the monsters?"

It was the opinion of the wizard of the Yellow Tower, who was skilled in strategy and tactics.

"What are you talking about! They had already refused our requests several times. We need to make them pay for that."

When the wizard of the Red Tower countered, this time the wizard of the Green Tower offered an opinion.

"How about controlling the beasts and turning them towards the Cornel Kingdom?"

It was said to send the beasts to the Cornel Kingdom using beast manipulation techniques.

However, neither opinion pleased the Second Princess.

The beast control technique claimed by the Green Tower had clear limitations, and cooperation with the Cornel Kingdom was nothing but a joke.

The kingdom folks have always been the ones wishing for the Empire to suffer from the monster's claws.

"Hmm."

The Second Princess moved the piece representing the Empire's central forces towards the southern border.

Swoosh.

Just as she was about to move towards Cornel.

"Swords and magic are not the only things in war."

"?"

At the sudden sound, the Second Princess's hand stopped.

"Rather, it could be called secondary in terms of level of strategy."

"Secondary?"

The Second Princess tilted her head.

In war, if swords and magic are the last resorts, what is the best strategy?

"Are you suggesting we resolve this with trivial conversation?"

"No. The conversation has already been rejected by Cornel, so it's over."

The Second Princess looked at the person who had spoken.

"There are two kinds of wars, Your Majesty."

It was Yuri Grail, the wizard of the White Tower.

"The first is a war fought with swords and magic. It is about making the opponent submit through force."

The Second Princess nodded.

Subduing and making the opponent submit with swords and magic was what the Second Princess knew as 'war.'

However, the Second Princess had never heard of any other types of wars existing.

She thought persuading someone with words was called the other type of war, but Yuri shook his head.

"Then what is the second type of war?"

"It's cultural invasion."

"Cultural...invasion?"

"Yes, the highest form of war is cultural invasion."

*

In the modern warfare of the past life, war was not fought only physically.

Hard power, represented by military or economic strength, was not common, and rather, the opposite concept was mainly used.

Soft power.

The power to gain the support and favor of a foreign nation's citizens by spreading one's own culture there.

In the previous world, soft power was considered a form of national strength beyond culture, and through this, they encroached on other countries and exercised political influence or hegemony.

"...Is that what you call cultural invasion?"

"Yes, a war where you can achieve what you want without shedding blood, that's cultural invasion."

"...Hmm, I can't believe there was a war like this."

The astute Second Princess seemed to understand my words immediately, her mouth agape in astonishment.

"It means to conquer culturally."

"That's right. In that sense, our Empire is well-equipped with excellent weapons to invade the Kingdom of Cornel."

The Second Princess's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Nuclear Fire Chicken Noodles...!"

"That's correct."

I said with a slight smile.

"Making it so that one cannot live without the Empire's processed foods."

"You are truly a terrifying person."

The Second Princess looked at me with an expression that said she was at a loss for words.

But only for a moment.

"I will accept your words."

The Second Princess stood up, clearing the pieces of the war game.

Then, she brought the Nuclear Fire Chicken Noodles and placed them on top of the Cornel Kingdom, laughing.

"Let's try something called cultural invasion."

It was the moment the Empire decided to drop Nuclear Fire Chicken Noodles on the Cornel Kingdom.

*

"Here it comes! It's the Nuclear Fire Chicken Noodles cart!"

"Wow!"

The soldiers of the Cornel Kingdom, who were on guard duty at the border, welcomed the approaching imperial carriage with open arms.

"What are you doing, open the gate quickly!"

As the winch rises, the castle gate opens.

In the meantime, soldiers rush out in droves.

It was a fervent welcoming procession as if welcoming royalty.

If it were just one or two bags, it would be one thing, but the cart was piled high with at least thousands of spicy chicken-flavored noodles.

"Lilith's milk has arrived too!"

"Ugh, there's even cheese in it? Do the citizens of the Empire eat stuff like this every day?"

The soldiers were delighted with cheese and milk, yet harbored a vague longing for the Empire.

This phenomenon occurred not only among soldiers but also among civilians.

"I know someone who lives in the Empire, and they say you can eat Nuclear Fire Chicken Noodles every day there."

"What?! You can eat this every day?"

"I guess they're spreading it from the magic tower."

"Hey, what are our mages doing?"

"Apparently, you can see the Cola Bear too?"

"...What? Is it true that Cola Bear really exists!?"

As they encountered the processed foods distributed by the Empire, the kingdom's citizens engaged in lively discussions about the Empire and the White Mage Tower every day.

And.

"I'm going to the Empire. Those who want to come with me can follow."

"I'll go with you too!"

People began to defect and seek asylum in the Empire.

There were even incidents where soldiers stationed at the border raised white flags and surrendered to the Empire.

The trend of crossing from the kingdom to the Empire spread like wildfire.

Then, the kingdom, which belatedly became aware of the dangers of processed foods, began to regulate them.

"Stop the trade! What the hell are you doing right now!"

"Are you blocking the trade between merchants?! Is this what you call a country!"

"The military, open the door immediately!"

Which then actually backfired.

[The kingdom must reflect!]

[The incompetent Prime Minister, should step down!]

[We must embrace the Empire's culture immediately!]

A tremendous backlash swept through the kingdom.

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