Summoning Japan × The New Order: Last Days of Europe

Chapter 36

July 1, 1963 / Year 1639 Central Calendar, 08:10

Jin-Hark, Kingdom of Louria

Patagene was taking command from inside the castle with his hand covering one ear. Debris and shrapnel had ruptured his left eardrum, causing it to bleed. Still, compared to those who had taken direct hits from cruise missiles in the city, he was far luckier. In the royal castle where the headquarters were located, chaos akin to a disrupted hornet's nest had already erupted.

"The cathedral has collapsed... everyone inside is buried under rubble... we're rushing for rescue from nearby."

"Many soldiers and civilians distributing weapons in the central square have been killed... there are too many wounded for us to handle."

"Even in the city's buildings, major structures were hit hard... apart from the royal castle, there are no safe buildings left..."

The Japanese military had detected that the Kingdom of Louria was mobilizing even civilians for the decisive battle in the capital and responded by firing cruise missiles at buildings that seemed to serve as strongholds: the cathedral, central square, Royal College of Magic, granaries...

Buildings capable of accommodating hundreds of people had been targeted, and except for the royal castle, there were no safe buildings left in Jin-Hark. While it could be considered a harsh method, it was believed to be the responsibility of King Louria XXXIV, who continued to call for continued combat despite surrender calls.

The war is being painted in a more gruesome crimson than tales of heroism or victory banquets. And yet, there was still not enough crimson paint in Jin-Hark.

"To think they'd target the College of Magic... Was the attack precise?"

"Not just the college where weapons were stored, but those guided magic bombs also hit the student dormitories... The dorms were completely obliterated..."

"Unbelievable... attacks resembling guided magic bombs also destroyed the vaults at the central bank... the capital's source of funds is lost..."

"The bank too...? Was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs unharmed?"

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is barely maintaining functionality in the south wing... all staff in the north wing were wiped out."

Maos and Yamirei reported the damage to facilities they were respectively in charge of.

As the Chief Royal Mage and also an honorary professor at the College of Magic, Yamirei was devastated to learn that the college had already been reduced to ruins. Similarly, Maos, who also served as the Foreign Minister, was terrified to find that the bank and the north wing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which were crucial for the economy, had been destroyed, already bringing about serious damage. Nevertheless, there was still a determination in the King to defend the besieged royal castle against the approaching Japanese army, hastily organizing units to continue the resistance.

"The catapult units are wiped out, the watchtowers are gone too. We can barely muster about five hundred strong archers."

"All magic-capable individuals have been gathered... out of those who can fight, including students, there are only about 1.500."

"We should set up combustible magic stones throughout the royal castle."

"If enemies breach the capital, we can expect skirmishes by the Defense Knight Cavalry and Heavy Infantry Battalion."

"But... we've barely mustered less than fifty thousand..."

"...I apologize, we've called for new recruits, volunteers, and even retired soldiers, but this is all we've gathered so far."

The situation was far from favorable. Among the 570.000 defending the capital, weapons had only been distributed to less than a tenth of them. Even after deducting the Eastern Conquest Army, the Kingdom of Louria still had about 400.000 troops. However, these forces had either defected or been rendered inactive due to attacks by the Japanese army or the coalition forces of Qua-Toyne and the Lourian defectors.

Furthermore, regarding the sons of influential figures in the southern fiefdoms who had betrayed them, they had already been smuggled out of the capital by traitors. Now, they couldn't even make an example of the traitors by killing their sons. The only ones who had achieved any success were the Royal Capital Dragon Riders, whose battle report had been directly conveyed by a lookout.

"The Royal Capital Dragon Riders conducted a daring attack against the Japanese army, destroying five iron insects and one iron land dragon."

"...Are you sure!?"

"This... gives us hope. Even those who control iron dragons are not invincible!"

"That's right... we lost the wyverns, but we've proven that they can be beaten..."

For Patagene, the attack by the Royal Capital Dragon Riders was the most significant achievement. No matter the means, they would confront the Japanese army in the capital and the royal castle.

As they were devising a plan to launch a more effective operation based on this basic policy, a major tremor hit the royal castle. The main gate of Jin-Hark Castle had been destroyed by the gunfire of the Japanese tank battalion.

The beginning of the end.