The war had begun.
And it happened far more abruptly than expected.
The Imperial army crossed Tessterossa's final warning line without a moment's hesitation.
In that instant, the Eastern Empire and the Monster Country fell into a state of war.
The forces of Tempest moved out in unison.
As long as the power of the tank cannons remained uncertain, staying in one place was nothing short of suicide.
The two armies were still separated by considerable distance, but without knowing the enemy's effective range, there could be no letting one's guard down.
The most notable difference between the tanks of his original world and these was probably the shorter barrel length — or so he assumed.
Several trade routes ran through the Great Forest of Jura, with its dense canopy of trees. The armored column that had advanced from the east, crossing the great river after passing through the pasturelands, operated with barrels short enough that traversing the turret posed no issue even within the thick forest.
He doubted such short barrels wouldn't affect accuracy and range, but given the performance of the handheld weapons like the rifle they'd seen earlier, that was apparently a solved problem.
That rifle had seemed both recoilless and silent.
Of course, what the large screen displayed was only the live visual feed — sound reproduction was impossible.
There was a commentator, and the monitor on their end that received the image crystal transmission did have audio, but the surveillance magic itself could not reproduce sound.
Well, since the imaging waveform was being processed from light captured at high altitude, transmitting sound information would inevitably introduce lag.
That was beyond even Raphael's ability to correct.
Perhaps an analogy with thunder would make it clear?
The information from sound would lag several seconds behind the light, and transmitting it would impose a heavy processing burden, so it simply wasn't done.
Given all that, while the screen footage alone couldn't tell him whether the rifle was truly silent, Tessterossa's thought report had confirmed it was.
If that was the case, then that rifle too fell under the category of magical engineering.
A substitute for gunpowder-based systems, replaced with magic.
The tanks surely operated on the same principle — recoilless, with reasonably high accuracy.
The remaining questions were range and power.
Watching his comrades fight instead of fighting himself was harder than he'd imagined.
But right now, all he could do was assess the situation.
He resolved to simply watch over the battle.
Before things had started, he'd voiced his opinion that they should deploy the modified Physical Magic — "God's Wrath" — at the outset.
But Benimaru had stopped the proposal — presumably after consulting with Raphael.
There were several reasons.
First, now that they had begun walking the path as a nation, they could not forever rely on their Demon Lord master — in other words, him.
If they didn't develop a sense of ownership over their country and a resolve to defend it themselves, then they had no right to call this nation home.
That was one reason.
Second, the weaknesses of "God's Wrath."
The ability to activate it from the control room was formidable.
However, once the mechanism was exposed, multiple countermeasures became viable.
Last time, they'd wiped everyone out, so no intelligence about "God's Wrath" had leaked.
But in a war like this, if it were used carelessly and even a single survivor escaped, the enemy would respond immediately — that was Benimaru's assessment.
Its true nature was a concentrated beam of superheated solar energy, and visual avoidance was virtually impossible.
However, applying heat-resistant shielding could provide a meaningful degree of defense.
Once the tank corps had appeared, they'd concluded that destroying them with "God's Wrath" wouldn't be easy.
The beam would need to be intensified to around ten thousand degrees to penetrate the tanks.
Moreover, since they didn't appear to run on oil, there would be no explosions or fire.
Simply penetrating the hull might not even stop a tank from moving.
Against personnel it was devastatingly powerful, but once modern weaponry entered the picture, the calculus changed entirely.
In fact, it would be simpler to just blast them away with standard nuclear-strike magic.
But that would require eliminating any barrier-casting mages first, which would inevitably devolve into a messy ground engagement…
None of the options were clean.
Could he target only the soldiers? He considered it, then realized even that was beyond him.
His one-sided domination of the Farmus Kingdom had only been possible because he'd been there in person.
Precision strikes would require multiple relay points and the use of light reflection.
He'd need to target the gaps in their armor.
Doing it all through the large screen was impossible.
After all, "Magic Sense" couldn't provide precise spatial awareness across a distant battlefield.
So for attacks on distant targets, he was limited to striking from directly overhead.
It was a convincing explanation. Using it too early would tip the enemy off, so he'd need to pick the right moment.
If that was the case, then having delegated command to Benimaru, his only job was to watch.
And so, he watched the battlefield.
The Imperial forces would likely be using detection magic to track their position.
From here, it would come down to training and speed.
Gobta, true to Benimaru's intent, intended to use that speed to slam into the side of the tank column at the speed of thunder.
The goal was to slip inside their defensive perimeter before the turret could traverse.
Striking the infantry stationed to cover the turret's blind spots, then withdrawing.
That movement, with its refined elegance, was displayed across the large screen.
Even from the footage relayed by
They swept across the battlefield like a single enormous monster.
Simultaneously, combat had erupted overhead.
The Third Legion, led by
The enemy was clearly caught off guard, unable to respond immediately. In the result, three vessels were sent crashing down in an instant.
It was the fruit of disciplined tactics — every unit executing a single strike and pulling back without greed.
Gabiru too had clearly put his subordinates through rigorous training, achieving remarkable air-combat capability.
The fireballs exhaled by the Dragon Newts weren't individually that powerful.
But with concentrated fire from all units on a single point, several blasts penetrated the magic barriers.
That said, the true tactical purpose of the Dragon Newts was striking from the sky down to the ground.
Given that neither side had expected an aerial engagement, this was an outstanding result.
Gobta and Gabiru.
The two of them had maximized the fruits of their training, achieving tangible results in their first real battle.
But not everything could go smoothly.
That truth would prove itself all too soon.
—————
Lieutenant General
(Bastards think they've got the upper hand!!)
The rage churning within him would be vented on the monsters bearing down on him — along with the fear that the crimson-haired Tessterossa had planted in his heart.
Monsters capable only of hit-and-run attacks, no matter how fast, couldn't so much as scratch a tank.
He quickly issued orders, having his tank crews prepare their cannons.
There were two types: shell-based rounds packed with magicules for destructive power, and wave-based rounds that converged magicules from the air.
Shells could be fired in rapid succession, but their supply was limited.
Wave rounds required a little over three minutes to recharge, but had no ammo limit.
They could alternate — fire a wave round first, then shells during the recharge interval.
Following Lieutenant General Gaster's orders, the tank cannons were made ready.
(What the hell is command even doing? Ground sweeps could be handled by picking them off from above!)
Fuming at his colleagues' negligence, he ordered the outer-ring tanks to fire on the surrounding trees.
Relieving each other in rotation, the tank units mowed down the trees, progressively expanding the battlefield.
In truth, no matter how wide the trade route was, three tanks side by side made it cramped.
Against attackers darting through the gaps in dense forest at speeds exceeding wild animals, they were at a disadvantage.
So they began by clearing the terrain to create favorable conditions.
The subordinates who received the order carried out their task without panic, efficiently and methodically. Before long, the surrounding trees had been felled, opening up a spacious area sufficient for tank operations.
This stripped Gobta's First Legion of the advantage they'd enjoyed — the obstacles that had let them evade and hide.
Fierce fighting had broken out overhead as well.
Although they'd been caught off guard initially, Brigadier General Faraga — who commanded one hundred airships in the aerial combat squadron — was a capable man.
This mission was the linchpin of the anti-Veldora containment operation: an airship equipped with the largest-scale Magicule Disruption Emitter ever deployed — an aerial fortress in every sense.
Its crew consisted of elite "Sorcerer-class" mages leading squads of magic users.
The magical amplification cannons were fully calibrated, and a magic barrier perpetually shielded the airship.
On top of that, a "Barrier Shield" — a defensive spell countering physical attacks — had been amplified to intercept anything aimed at the vessel.
Half-hearted attacks were useless. Indeed, after the first wave assault, the Dragon Newts' fireballs hadn't even scratched them.
Faraga gradually allowed himself a smile, his composure restored.
Now that he'd calmed down, he felt genuine fury at having been startled by mere Dragon Newts — and having lost three ships.
Even if the Barrier Shield deployment had been delayed, allowing the magic barrier to be breached was proof they'd grown complacent.
Channeling that rage toward the approaching Dragon Newts, he shouted:
"Counterattack! Mages on the amplification cannon platforms — begin chanting your spells!"
The magical amplification cannons could amplify a mage's normal spells to twenty times their power.
They were cannons in name only — in practice, they were pedestals with the ability to amplify whatever spell was used upon them.
Giant spell-control orbs crafted from high-purity Magic Stones — essentially the fingertip-sized orbs normally found at the tip of a wand — provided spell amplification effects that unleashed a dazzling variety of large-scale magic.
The aerial battlefield exploded with crackling lightning, swirling ice and fire, and blinding flashes of magical light.
Gabiru's forces would obviously not emerge unscathed.
—————
Watching the state of the battle, I rose from my chair.
Tank shell explosions sent several of Gobta's subordinates flying.
Massive magical barrages struck down Gabiru's Dragon Newt-mounted Lizardmen, sending them plummeting.
Casualties had begun the moment our initial advantage slipped away.
He'd expected casualties.
No — he'd expected them, but he'd been half-optimistic.
He'd believed they could win without serious losses.
As long as Wise King Raphael didn't flag anything, there was no problem — that was the naive thought he'd harbored.
But reality was different.
Of course it was. This was war, after all.
There was no way they could win without taking any damage whatsoever.
He felt a nameless irritation and anxiety at his own naivety.
"Please remain seated, Lord Rimuru. This is within projections. There are no problems."
Benimaru said to me with a cool expression.
Something inside me detonated at those words.
"There are casualties, aren't there?! That's exactly why I need to go out with God's Wrath and—"
But my words were cut short.
"That is not acceptable. As supreme commander, exposing the King to danger is out of the question.
Moreover, the enemy has a dangerous individual named Yuuki.
I hear the Emperor's personal guard are powerful as well.
There may be other strong individuals in the Empire we don't know about.
Deploying the King to the front lines while the enemy's full strength remains unconfirmed is unthinkable.
Please trust us."
At those words, I slumped back into my chair.
That uncomfortable emotion — neither quite irritation nor frustration — hadn't disappeared.
It hadn't, but Benimaru's words were simply too correct.
Behind me stood
Needless to say,
And it wasn't just the people in this room—
The soldiers fighting on the front lines surely felt the same.
They had taken the field prepared to serve as bait to draw out the strong.
The only one who hadn't been prepared was me.
And in that moment—
— *That is precisely why I must be perfect* —
I thought I heard a voice from somewhere.
Had I caused you worry too, Raphael?
But it was fine now.
To grieve would be disrespectful to them.
"Sorry… I wasn't thinking straight…"
When I apologized to Benimaru, he nodded and said:
"Rest assured. Victory will be yours, Lord Rimuru."
He didn't have his usual easygoing expression. Instead, his face bore the grave solemnity of a general entrusted with the lives of his soldiers.
At his words, I felt my irritation, my conflict — those uncomfortable feelings — fading away.
He'd long since steeled himself to his own death and to killing enemies.
But he hadn't allowed himself to truly consider dying on his behalf.
He needed to understand that their actions weren't done for him alone — they represented their families, the nation that protected them, everything that made up their world.
And precisely because of that, as repayment for their actions, defeat was something he could never permit.
"Of course. Pass my words on to everyone. Got it?"
"Yes! Absolutely."
Receiving Benimaru's confirmation, I maximized the power of "Thought Communication" and issued an order to every subordinate connected to my soul's lineage:
*"Listen! Crush the enemy with everything you've got.*
*No quarter. No restraint.*
*Use every ounce of the power you possess — and eliminate them swiftly!!"*
Pouring every fiber of his resolve into those words.
Benimaru nodded at my command.
Smiles appeared on the faces of the executive officers.
That order carried a single meaning.
The release of power that had been held in check.
Understanding the true weight of my words, the monsters resumed their activity.
And then…
My words would dramatically change the course of the battle.