The OP Lich is a Returnee, Chapter 202

Chapter 202 – Military

Once my students had eaten breakfast and been set to their tasks for the day, I garbed myself in my Lich Queen armor, but kept my human guise, and summoned the visitors from the military to see what the problem was. When they arrived in my throne room, I saw that all four were wearing the dress uniforms of the Self-Defense Forces, though two were from the Ground forces and two from the Air forces. Even more interesting was that, while I could see that they had all awakened their mana and begun growing their mana pools, they all had military-issue CADs on their wrists. So, they not only were following the Path or Way best suited to them, but also trained in a thaumaturge’s works. Well, given their ages, they likely were thaumaturges that picked up new tricks once I allowed the methods to begin spreading.

I waited patiently as Galeren introduced me. Obviously, they knew who I was, but when I was sitting on my throne, a certain level of ceremony needed to be upheld. Symbols had power because of what they symbolized. If you ignored the ceremonies that upheld them, then the symbols would lose much of their strength.

Ittō Rikusa Hirose Shigekazu was the first of the GSDF group. He was no body builder, but his stance was powerful. Even without the uniform, it would be obvious that he was a trained warrior, though he did not have the look of someone who would be on the front lines anymore. However, I also saw the stirrings of a Pyromancer in him, as well. Considering that a ittō rikusa was the equivalent to a Colonel in other militaries, this was a clear sign that whatever was going on was important.

At Hirose’s right side was Ittō Rikui Tsuga Zenko. The equivalent of a Captain in other armies, which meant that he was likely in Hirose’s chain of command, but not a direct subordinate. Unlike his commander, Tsuga was definitely a combatant, one who would still get in the thick of things.  I noticed that he was also an Earthsoul, which would make him phenomenal at defense.

On Hirose’s left was Ittō Kūsa Kiya Kumi, a colonel-equivalent from the ASDF. She was slighter of build than the two Ground Forces men, but had a predatory, hawkish look about her. As a Radiant One, or Light Witch, I expected that she’d be able to do some interesting things in the cockpit of an aircraft. Though I doubted she was still allowed to fly combat missions. Such was the price of command.

To her left, Ittō Kūi Moriya Kotaro rounded out the group. Like Tsuga, his rank was the equivalent of a Captain in other air forces. He was also a Wind Sorcerer, and was undoubtedly a pilot. His stance, and attitude, reminded me of another ittō kūi I had met, Nagaki Aki, back in Portugal, before we went to the Seal of Air. Hopefully he would fare better than Nagaki had.

I nodded once as the introductions were finished. “Well met, then. We apologize for not seeing you when you first arrived, for we were busy upon the ocean floor, laying the foundations of New Athelas. Of course, creating the slab the city will be built upon, and extending a dome to push back the water in the depths is not something that can easily be left to others, especially for the first effort of its kind. However, we are happy to say that we were successful, and construction will soon begin. Now, what brings you to our halls today?”

That speech was more than just a simple apology for the delay, which, as a sovereign ruler I did not technically owe them, anyways, beyond simple politeness to representatives of an ally. Impressing upon them the scale of the work I was doing beyond simply running my kingdom also set the proper tone. It not only indicated that I had not delayed their meeting for petty reasons, but also encouraged them to carefully consider what they might ask of me, considering the other demands upon my time. And it was a more subtle way of reminding them of my power than pressing down upon them with my aura.

Hirose, as I’d expected, was the first to speak. “Your Majesty, thank you for taking the time to see us. I do not know how closely you have been following the situation with the Alliance countries bordering the Indian Republic, but the Indians have been feeling bolder since your troops began rotating to back-line positions and allowing the local forces to stand forward. There are concerns that they are feeling expansionist, and are not convinced that the Alliance can, or will, come to the aid of their smaller allies.”

“Ah, we see. Someone in their government has convinced themselves that restraint is the equivalent of weakness, hmm? We have heard some rumors of the Republic’s plans, but we hope that you are not asking us to step forward again and take over the defense of the different countries. It would not be good for the long-term health of the countries, or the Alliance as a whole, for everyone to look to Risen Athelia first for their defense, rather than working to improve their own people and their own fortifications. We are happy to have our people work with the locals to design new fortifications, and we remain committed to the mutual defense provisions of the Alliance, but we believe that it is vital that the people of the different countries see to their own defense.”

Hirose nodded. “We understand, your Majesty. And no one is asking you to have your troops resume being the first line of defense for the different countries. However, there are other ways to ‘encourage’ the Republic to look elsewhere for their territorial ambitions, without you sending your troops back to the border.”

“We presume you have a plan already, since you have come to us?”

“Yes, your Majesty. Alliance command believes that some joint exercises in Bangladesh and Nepal would be helpful in not only getting the local forces better prepared, but also giving India something more to consider. At the very least, even if the exercises don’t convince India to give up its territorial ambitions, it should give time for tensions to settle down.”

I nodded slowly. “And what shape would these exercises take? We notice that you brought contingents from both the Ground and Air forces, but not representatives from the other countries. Was this because you were the closest, or something more?”

“We were nearby, it is true, your Majesty, which is part of why we were picked for this. The reason no other country’s military is represented is because there is some concern that the key commanders are under some form of surveillance. The key commanders suddenly leaving the country could spur someone foolish into action, thinking they need to act first, before the situation changes. As for the reason both the Ground and Air forces are here? The two exercises planned have different objectives planned.”

“Very well,” I smiled. “Let us hear about the ground exercise first, since it is likely to be simpler to explain, though we are curious about what kind of exercise with the ASDF and our own forces could be done. After all, we do not exactly have much in the way of an air force for Risen Athelia. But we will wait for that treat until after the ground exercise is explained.”

“For the ground exercise, brigade-size elements from the Bangladesh Army, the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force, and the Korean Royal Army will face off in mock combat against one of your legions.”

“Three brigades, which are typically somewhere between three and five thousand soldiers, no? Against one of my legions with five thousand legionaries, three hundred horse, and what siege weapons are available? Hardly sporting. Perhaps I could bring a single cohort instead?”

Hirose grimaced slightly, but none of the representatives rose to the bait. It was not even truly a boast, either, and they knew it. One thousand of my undead legionaries against ten to fifteen times their number would still not be a fair fight, but, with the new weapons the Alliance was making, and the way they’d started learning to use magic as the other world did, they would actually be able to make that victory hurt somewhat. If it was a straight fight, and no one on either side got ‘creative’, of course. But that just meant that victory would be within the realm of possibility for the mortals opposing my troops.

“Far be it for me to disagree with you on that, your Majesty, especially when I’m fairly certain everyone here knows you are correct. However, I would ask you to consider the psychological impact on the troops. The difference between losing a fight against a foe so strong that they defeated you even with the odds ten- or fifteen-to-one against? That is far more devastating, even if they came close to pulling out a win, or at least a stalemate, than the overwhelming loss despite having a three-to-one advantage in numbers. “

“So, putting a mixed-nation force against a foe they know they’re likely to get defeated by, and see what they can do? What kind of exercise will it be?”

“Citadel defense, with each side taking a turn as both attacker and defender.”

“Static structure, not mobile defense, or even trench lines? Back to the age of castles?”

“It is not as far-fetched as it sounds, your Majesty. According to the experts, who have been consulting with your own engineers on the subject, armor and shield enchantments, as well as wards and other such things change the calculus in a big way. Logistics for fuel also comes into play. Reduced fuel reserves means that, until alternatives that can work at the same energy output are discovered, fuel needs to be heavily rationed, which curtails the effectiveness of not only jet fighters and bombers, but also tank battalions and mechanized infantry units.”

“So, older methods coming back, not because they suddenly got better, but because conditions changed to no longer allow free use of them? We see. We are reminded of the Dune books, from the last century. The invention of shield technology, including personal shields, made melee weapons not just viable, but preferred, due to shields blocking any projectile that moved too quickly, and, if a laser hit it, the resulting explosion was akin to a nuclear detonation.”

“The example was used more than once by the researchers, your Majesty,” Hirose confirmed. “Of course, this is when dealing with an organized, regular military, not guerrillas or special forces. Unfortunately, this region is very familiar with guerrillas after the events of the twentieth century, but the only way to actually defeat a guerrilla group is to make it so that the people no longer support them. Win the people, to cut off the flow of supplies and recruits, and the guerrillas eventually succumb to attrition.”

“True, though such things are easier said than done, in our experience. Guerillas only naturally arise when there is a portion of the people that feel disenfranchised by the system enough to spark resistance, or when an invader does not act swiftly enough to convince the people that they are there to help. Fixing those conditions without the system collapsing can be troublesome. The few times we had to deal with them, during the Long War, we resolved the situation by removing the population and raising them as undead, and then using Death magic to ensure there was nothing left behind but barren lands. The guerrillas ceased being a problem soon after.”

Hirose’s face twitched so hard I was almost concerned he was suffering a seizure. “Your Majesty, with respect, please don’t say such things anywhere a reporter might hear it.”

“Sure, sure,” I chuckled, before turning to look at Kiya. “And what of the Air exercise? What ideas do you have for us?”

Kiya’s smile was distinctly predatory. “Your Majesty, we would like to test the logistics of air-dropping a force of your Death Knights on, or behind, enemy lines. Since their steeds can fly, if we used transport planes to keep them off magical sensors until it was time to deploy…”

“Oh, I like you.”