Before the Emperor, the imperial conference was about to begin.
Unlike the usual peacetime proceedings, the tension was palpable—felt not only by the attending officers but by the ranks of civil officials lined up as well.
Perhaps sensing the heavy atmosphere, those uninvolved with the conference made no attempt to approach the great hall.
Everyone could feel it: this meeting was different from the ones that came before.
The announcement of the Emperor's arrival echoed through the chamber, and every head bowed in unison.
The apex of the Nasca Namriom Ulmeria Eastern Coalition Unified Empire, the most powerful nation in the world.
His true thoughts were never shared with anyone, and his form, hidden behind a curtain of beads, was seen by none.
Sole and supreme.
Only an exceedingly small number of people had the right to voice their opinions before the Emperor.
Nearly a hundred people filled the conference room.
The commanders of each corps, along with their adjutants.
The elite members of the Imperial Guard standing in formation.
The ministers who governed the state, and the Grand Noble Council at the heart of the empire.
A gathering of the most illustrious names in the realm, all with their heads bowed.
The Emperor glanced at the assembled crowd from behind the curtain and sat down with an air of disinterest.
That was the signal. The Prime Minister gave a nod.
In response, a chorus of greetings thundered through the great hall, making it tremble.
The Emperor raised a single hand to silence them.
"Save me the formalities. I have no use for such things. Begin."
He ordered the conference to commence.
And so it began—the great conference that would decide upon a war that would be etched into history.
First: what would be the stated justification for war?
It was a foolish question.
If the Emperor desired it, they would take it. That was all there was to it.
Was such a thing possible?
That was where opinions sharply divided.
Some advocated caution. Others pushed for a direct, overwhelming assault.
Civil officials argued they should begin with diplomacy—threats and negotiations.
The start of war was the Emperor's will, and there was no room for dissent.
To claim that preparation was insufficient and the odds of victory were low would earn one the label of an incompetent unable to complete even that much preparation.
In truth, among those who possessed absolute confidence in their overwhelming military strength, no one would dare make such an argument.
However...
"Your Majesty, if I may—I must voice my opposition."
One man spoke against the war.
Court Mage Goda.
He was known as the Empire's Grand Magus.
Without any fear of the Emperor's wrath, he declared: "If the goal is merely to strike the western front, there would likely be no issue whatsoever.
However, the Great Forest of Jura is home to the evil dragon Veldora. It is also the territory controlled by a Demon Lord named Rimuru, who has recently gained notoriety.
The evil dragon has been revived and appears to have allied with the Demon Lord.
The established wisdom is to pursue a non-aggression pact with a Demon Lord.
If they had launched an attack against us, that would be one thing—but to strike first of our own accord... I must question whether that is wise."
Goda presented his reasoning to the court.
Several of the civil officials nodded in agreement, but— "Fool! Have you grown cowardly, Master Goda?!
Against the might of our Imperial Magical Beast Corps, what is a mere Demon Lord?!"
"How insolent! Master Goda, do you intend to defy the Emperor's will?!"
"Ha ha ha, Master Goda. You've gone and gotten old, haven't you?
Your knowledge of magic is a treasure of the Empire. You've been assisting our Heavy Armored Corps in the development of new magitech weaponry, and we're grateful for that...
But I cannot accept what you've just said. Has the cold wind of cowardice frozen your spine?"
From both the Noble Council and the military faction, mockery rained down upon Goda.
Among the ministers as well, some shot irritated glances at the dissenting Goda, their minds already occupied with the imaginary profits they stood to gain.
"You people... do you even understand? That evil dragon is the strongest species in this world, commanding storms!"
"Master Goda, you're the one who doesn't understand. The Imperial Army is not what it once was.
We've acquired vast knowledge from Otherworlders—'science,' as they call it—developing an entirely new technological framework we might call magical science.
Through these new technologies, our military power has multiplied dozens of times over compared to a generation ago.
Outdated mages like yourself are being dissolved and reassigned. Can you not see that?!"
It was Caligurio, commander of the Heavy Armored Corps, who retorted.
Indeed, the Magic Corps—once one of the Empire's three great divisions—had been dissolved. Those with ability were reassigned to the Technical Bureau, and the rest were scattered to various departments.
This military restructuring, the root cause of the Empire's relative inactivity over the past several decades, had given rise to the new three great corps.
First: the Armored Modification Division. Soldiers enhanced through Otherworlder technology and magic, undergoing magitech modifications.
Individual capabilities were amplified, granting B- to A-rank equivalent power.
Minimum entry requirement: C+ rank or above. Total strength: 700,000.
The flagship force of the Empire's main army—the corps that took center stage.
The Magi-Tank Division. Four thousand magi-tanks. Total strength: 200,000.
Each tank required a crew of five. These were classified as imperial secret weapons, their main armament a magi-cannon.
Otherworlder technology had been used to amplify and project magical energy with unprecedented efficiency.
The Aerial Combat Division. Four hundred airships. Total strength: 100,000.
Each vessel could carry up to four hundred passengers.
Operation required only about fifty crew members. The rest handled gunnery and bombardment. These airships also served as excellent transport.
In this era, the concept of air superiority essentially did not exist.
The ability to move large-scale forces without warning was a threat unto itself.
Numerous magic-enhanced cannons were installed aboard, and members of the former Magic Corps served within its ranks.
These represented the operational fighting strength of the Heavy Armored Corps.
The Corps subjected its members to mandatory magitech modifications to varying degrees based on aptitude assessments. Regardless of the extent, every soldier's capabilities were dramatically enhanced.
The same held true for reserve forces stationed throughout the Empire—all possessed power well above the standard.
For perspective, an ordinary knight serving in a typical order in this world was roughly C-rank. The Heavy Armored Corps boasted capabilities at least one tier above that.
In both quality and quantity, they overwhelmed even the coalition of rival nations.
This was the corps that embodied the Empire's might.
The Magical Beast Corps—creatures captured, bred, strengthened, and trained.
DNA analysis and cultivation of magical beasts, made possible through Otherworlder technology.
And the powerful warriors of the Empire who rode them.
Heroes said to carry the blood of ancient champions, naturally gifted fighters born with extraordinary strength.
If magitech enhancement was the technology that turned the talentless into heroes, then these riders were heroes from birth.
Overwhelmingly talented, born champions.
A small elite corps of merely 30,000—their rarity described as one in ten thousand.
Yet every magical beast they rode was A-rank or above.
This corps, with only thirty thousand members, dared to call itself a corps—the Empire's proudest and most formidable elite force.
Finally, there was the Composite Corps.
This unit was, in a word, a hodgepodge.
A gathering of misfits and castoffs—that was how the public perceived it.
But being leftover did not mean being powerless.
Various experiments and new initiatives were carried out within this unit.
With its own independent technology development division and a magical research department, its potential was limitless.
It also housed the largest number of Otherworlder combatants of any corps.
Total strength: 200,000.
However, many were intelligence officers or administrative personnel, so the actual fighting force numbered around 100,000.
The Corps served as a catch-all for those who refused magitech modification, those unable to ride magical beasts, and the displaced members of the former Magic Corps.
Yet despite being a ragtag assembly, it was already recognized as a force exceeding the old Magic Corps.
Although newly formed, and under equal numerical conditions, it had fought the Armored Modification Division to a draw in a mock battle.
Its potential was considered immense.
Flexible, distilling the best qualities of various units and reorganizing them—that was the purpose for which this corps had been created.
These were the Empire's new three great corps.
A massive military force.
Even if ordered to mobilize immediately, the 1.13 million soldiers could deploy without any issues.
Judging by the total western forces and estimated military power held by the Intelligence Bureau, the disparity was overwhelmingly in the Empire's favor.
It was this confidence—the pride of commanding the largest force among the strongest corps in the world—that made Caligurio so eloquent.
Many feared Veldora, but Caligurio was not among them.
After all, it was just a dragon, wasn't it?
The dragons inhabiting the Canaat Mountain Range were certainly powerful magical creatures.
A lesser dragon was one thing, but a mid-tier dragon—an adult specimen—commanded A-rank strength or higher.
Even so, a single individual would require a squadron-level force from the Armored Modification Division to deal with.
Caligurio had participated in several dragon-hunting military exercises and was thoroughly familiar with the relevant intelligence.
But here was the thing: the more knowledgeable one became about dragons, the more one could see the countermeasures against such creatures.
What was there to fear about a single dragon? That was the mindset he had reached.
A magical creature's strength was determined by the quantity of its energy.
No matter how powerful an individual was, this principle held true.
Dragons were formidable because their immense mass did not hinder their speed of movement.
Then there was the high-hardness dragon scale armor covering their surface.
Their breath attacks were dangerous, yes, but their essence lay in their sheer energy output.
If that was the case, there was no need to fight head-on.
Magical weakening techniques existed, as did a new technology called Magicule Disruption Radiation.
It could inhibit a mage's chanting and, in anti-monster combat, was a revolutionary technique capable of weakening targets.
Even with just the four thousand magi-tanks firing their main cannons in unison, victory would be all but certain—but one could never be too careful, and countermeasures had been devised.
Experiments conducted on captured dragons had confirmed that even an A-rank adult dragon could be killed by a single shot from a magi-cannon.
When Magicule Disruption Radiation was fired, the target's magicule levels—the very foundation of a magical creature's existence—were thrown into chaos, making normal activity nearly impossible.
In short, the target was weakened.
Against a weakened target, a coordinated volley from four thousand magi-tanks would certainly destroy even an ancient evil dragon.
Caligurio's strategy against Veldora was as follows: • Encirclement using three hundred airships.
• Veldora's activities suppressed via Magicule Disruption Radiation.
• Two hundred thousand modified soldiers held in reserve to pin Veldora in place.
• A coordinated volley from four thousand magi-tank main cannons.
That was the entirety of the plan.
Airships were secret weapons—the crystallization of magical technology.
Their top speed exceeded the speed of sound. No living creature could escape from that velocity without relying on magic.
In the end, warfare was a matter of information stacking, each piece increasing the probability of victory.
Having hunted numerous dragons, the data they had accumulated was more than sufficient.
Caligurio was utterly convinced of victory, filled with absolute confidence.
Court Mage Goda—once called a hero—had grown old.
A handful of soldiers equipped with Magicule Disruption Radiation could threaten him into submission without resistance.
Still, he was a former hero, and Caligurio felt some obligation to maintain a modicum of respect...
(Heh. He's a relic of the past. An old fossil, at this point.)
A man left behind by the march of progress. A pitiful elder.
"Your Majesty, Master Goda appears to be terrified of Veldora, but I am not.
I humbly request that you commission this Caligurio to slay the evil dragon!"
Caligurio rose to his feet, bowed toward the curtain, and made his appeal.
Goda fixed him with a piercing glare, but then, as though resigning himself, he let out a deep sigh and sank back into his seat.
Yuuki watched the exchange with amusement.
The "fools" were moving exactly as he wanted them to.
After all, the greatest obstacle to a coup d'état was the Heavy Armored Corps.
He wanted that corps weakened as quickly as possible.
Caligurio was less a warrior than a military man. He was competent enough in battle, but he was the type to fixate on strategy and certain victory, never taking risks.
However, he was also greedy, and when given a reason worth moving for, he would not shy away from losses.
All one had to do was provide the right motivation.
The nation of monsters had gold. And it also had new technologies that had likely developed from perspectives entirely different from anything the Empire had seen.
If Yuuki subtly let that knowledge reach Caligurio, the man would surely take action.
Gold would attract the nobles who sponsored Caligurio.
But Caligurio might not move on the nobles' request alone—hidden new technologies, however, were a different matter.
Not just the nation of monsters, but its satellite cities, its dungeon itself—all would feel the bite of his avarice.
Just as Yuuki had planned, Caligurio was putting on quite the performance.
"Caligurio, are you trying to steal the glory for yourself?
Your Majesty, my Magical Beast Corps is ready to deploy at any time.
I must insist—commission me to slay the evil dragon!"
Beast King Gladium, who had been silent until now, roared to life.
Just by rising to his feet, he exuded an overwhelming aura of Intimidation.
Truly, the bearing of a king.
A general who dominated even magical beasts through sheer force, one of the Empire's most formidable combatants.
He was said to be the second strongest man in the Empire.
Caligurio and Gladium exchanged sharp glances, each trying to pressure the other.
Behind his calm expression, Yuuki sighed.
The Magical Beast Corps was certainly powerful, but it was poorly suited for a distant expedition.
He hadn't expected Gladium to volunteer.
He wouldn't deny their offensive capability, but against Veldora? They weren't suited for that at all.
The casualties would be severe, and more importantly, victory itself was far from certain.
Yuuki knew that the Heavy Armored Corps had been developing anti-Veldora countermeasures and could even deduce the likely strategy—but the Magical Beast Corps being effective against Veldora? That seemed highly improbable.
Based on what he'd heard from Chloe, he had a reasonable estimate of Veldora's combat capabilities.
The Heavy Armored Corps might stand a chance, but for the Magical Beast Corps to defeat Veldora would be extremely difficult.
Furthermore, in this scenario, a joint operation held little value.
War, at its core, was decided by numbers.
Adding a mere thirty thousand to an army of hundreds of thousands would be a drop in the bucket.
No matter how strong that small force was, once pinned down, they would struggle to deliver a meaningful blow to the enemy.
Dividing their already limited numbers would risk encirclement and annihilation piece by piece...
Most importantly, the ideal scenario was a clash between the Heavy Armored Corps and Veldora.
For that, Veldora needed to appear on the front lines—but Yuuki wasn't particularly worried about that.
Even if Veldora didn't show up, as long as Rimuru's subordinates and military forces were crushed, that would serve his purpose.
Between Rimuru's forces and the Heavy Armored Corps, the latter would hold the advantage.
Rimuru's executives included several powerful individuals, but the same was true on the Empire's side.
Caligurio was greedy but far from weak.
His personal special operations officers were formidable fighters, and if Veldora didn't appear, victory was all but assured.
Losing the Magical Beast Corps here would be a waste.
Yuuki decided he needed to manage this carefully.
"I believe it would be best to leave this matter to Lord Caligurio."
At Yuuki's words, Caligurio flashed a thin smile while Gladium's expression soured.
And it was then that the Emperor finally spoke.
"Speak. Tell me what you're thinking."
Granted permission, Yuuki concealed his inner thoughts and presented his strategy with a solemn expression.
First, the main force from the Heavy Armored Corps would advance through the Great Forest of Jura on the southern front.
The enemy would undoubtedly detect the massive army's approach and concentrate their defenses along that route.
Therefore, as a simultaneous offensive—to catch the western nations completely off guard—they would also launch an invasion from the north.
"From the north? You're suggesting we cross the Canaat Mountain Range?"
At Gladium's question, Yuuki smiled and shook his head.
Then, with a perfectly nonchalant tone, he declared: "By sea route, we can avoid engagement with the dragons."
Indeed, in terms of dragon flight range, the sea routes fell outside their territory.
However, the ocean was home to massive sea beasts, and even a convoy fleet would struggle to avoid all losses.
Even if they reached the northern ports after grueling naval battles, their depleted forces would struggle to maintain superiority.
Moreover, the Empire possessed only a handful of naval warships, built solely for anti-sea-beast operations.
Transporting an army corps would require assembling a transport fleet, but that was far beyond what could be prepared in time.
Members of the Noble Council and the ministers raised skeptical voices at Yuuki's proposal.
But— "It's possible, isn't it? Lord Caligurio?"
With a smile, Yuuki deflected the conversation to Caligurio.
By that point, Caligurio had already caught on to Yuuki's intentions.
(Damn it! This brat... he knows about our prized airships?
We went to such lengths to keep them classified and build them in secret...)
But then Caligurio considered.
The strategy wasn't bad.
He had actually already considered a northern approach himself.
However, splitting his forces significantly would create problems with troop numbers and composition, so he had shelved the idea.
Focus everything on Veldora and the
But now— Interesting. Use airships to transport the Magical Beast Corps, then have them provide support and handle logistics.
He could potentially seize all the profits for himself.
In any case, deploying a major force from the north—the direction the Western Coalition wasn't watching—would catch the enemy completely off-guard.
The results would be significant. Naturally, the credit would go to the Aerial Combat Division.
Caligurio's mind raced through the calculations.
The scales of profit tilted decisively toward agreement.
"My, my, Lord Yuuki, one truly cannot let their guard down around you.
Wherever did you obtain such information...
I must say, I'm genuinely impressed."
"Oh, I have my connections. I know quite a few people from the same world, you see."
"I see... that makes sense.
Since the secret is already out, I'll confess—we possess a new weapon: the 'airship,' developed by our Corps.
The Aerial Combat Division, which operates these latest weapons—this is the ace up our sleeve for this campaign!
Using the Aerial Combat Division, we can transport the Magical Beast Corps!"
With Caligurio's declaration, the conference hall erupted.
The possibility of invading the western nations without passing through the Great Forest of Jura—their excitement was entirely justified.
"However, the maximum transport capacity is approximately 100,000 troops.
That alone won't be enough to bring down the West.
Therefore, I advocate for a simultaneous operation!"
Caligurio refined his strategy on the fly and announced the plan he had assembled in his mind.
One hundred airships would be deployed to deal with Veldora, while the remaining three hundred would provide support for the Magical Beast Corps.
Dispatch mages as elites against Veldora, and the operation would succeed—so he claimed.
Gladium groaned but considered.
Fighting Veldora, the strongest of dragons, would bring glory to any warrior.
But the strategy was sound.
More importantly, on the western side existed the Holy Knights—a group renowned for both individual combat prowess and collective strength, said to be among the most elite fighting forces in the world.
Though they numbered only around two hundred, Gladium had long wanted to cross blades with them.
And there was also the Holy Papal State of Lubelius—a nation that served as the spiritual heart of the West.
That nation reportedly maintained a papal guard force rivaling the Holy Knights in strength.
To crush that guard force and lay waste to their sacred capital— Gladium felt the beast blood flowing through his veins begin to burn hot.
"I'll do it! Let's go with this plan!"
Beast King Gladium's roaring agreement sent the temperature in the great hall soaring.
"We can win! Without a doubt, we can win!"
"Victory belongs to us—the Empire!"
"Long live His Majesty the Emperor!"
People were already drunk on visions of triumph.
After that, strategy was drafted smoothly, and the plan came together without issue.
With the Emperor's final approval, the operation was officially sanctioned.
The Empire would launch a two-pronged simultaneous invasion.
Yuuki laughed inwardly.
Everything was proceeding exactly according to plan. It took every ounce of willpower to keep from laughing aloud.
With this, the troublesome Magical Beast Corps would be sent far away, and the Heavy Armored Corps would undoubtedly be weakened.
Even without Veldora appearing, reducing Rimuru's pieces on the board would make the operation a success.
Having both sides exhaust each other—that was the best possible outcome.
And once the Empire was weakened, he would consume it from within, bringing all his remaining forces to bear and plunging into the greater conflict.
He would create chaos throughout the world, and in that turmoil, seize the opportunity to eliminate Rimuru.
He would have Chloe, the strongest hero, eliminate one of them. While the other was locked in single combat, he would take them out along with Chloe.
That would lift the limitations on his ultimate ability and bring Milim under his control.
But...
There was a reason Yuuki hadn't executed this plan yet.
Guy Crimson had remained motionless for an impossibly long time, and the reason was unknown.
Why would that arrogant Demon Lord stay still?
Was it because there was some target he was wary of?
Caution was warranted.
That was precisely why Yuuki had hesitated to use his trump card, Chloe.
(Well, once this war escalates and the world descends into chaos, something will surely happen.
And when it does, whatever's been hiding in the shadows might finally reveal itself!)
Yuuki smiled with anticipation, his mind turning to the events yet to come.