★136
ASTERI'S POV
In less than sixty seconds, the Star Commander and his Generals arrived in the first hall. I also invited Atlas and Elaine over.
We're all seated on a round table at the centre of the hall. Asteri, Atlas, Elaine, Star Supreme Commander Tokito, Star Field Marshal/General Raiden, Star Admiral Fleet Sailor, Star General Majo, Scarlet King and Shinn.
(Use Field Marshal to avoid confusion.)
"There's no time to waste, so we'll skip the greetings and all. I just got word from the Demon Lord Rimuru. The Great Tenma War has begun."
At the mention of a war, their expression changed. They weren't afraid, but happy. Almost glad there's a war to take part in. They've been training for years, so this is the right time to make use of our military forces.
I went on and told them what Rimuru told me with some minor filters, of course.
"So, Star Island isn't a contact point for the enemy?"
Raiden asked.
"Yes. But that doesn't mean we won't participate. This is a war between heaven and earth. Nobody is safe. What do you think we should do, Star Commander?"
I decided to give Tokito this burden to bear. L
This is a war. His skills are needed. If I call all the shots, there'd be no point in giving him that post.
"According to Demon Lord Rimuru, he'll bring a child who bears one of these Angelic Skills. If the enemy doesn't have all the skills, their plan may fail or be prolonged at the least. So we need to protect this child at all costs."
"That's to be expected. We need strategies, Star Supreme Commander."
The Fleet Admiral spoke up.
"Calm down, Fleet Admiral Sailor. Allow me to divide our forces into three, perhaps four groups."
"We're listening."
"The current census for the Star Military is 12,578."
(I'll have to use numbers from here onward out.)
"What? So we have more soldiers than citizens?"
I asked.
"No, Young Master."
Elaine replied calmly.
"Our total population has grown. Substantially, in fact. It's more than tripled since the last time you checked."
"It was around 21,000."
I said, trying to recall when things had spiralled this far out of date.
She gave a small, almost nostalgic smile.
"The good old days. Our latest census stands at 60,269."
She paused, eyes shifting slightly as if listening to something far away.
"…No. Make that 60,270. A baby was just born."
For a moment, I just stared at her. The number settled in my chest with unexpected weight. That wasn't just a statistic anymore. That was a nation breathing, expanding, living on its own.
"That's new. Please continue, Star Supreme Commander."
"Ok. Now, the Great One is married to the Queen, Raja is our responsibility. With Lady Fourth being related to Lady Elmesia, we're obliged to lend them Sarion Dynasty a hand.
Tempestians are our old friends, it's necessary to send at least a few troops there. According to Shinn, we have a treaty for mutual assistance, so if Demon Lord Rimuru doesn't want to bother us, we have a pact to prove him otherwise."
'I guess I did the right to dump various roles to different people.'
"Care to tell me how many there are per faction?"
(Not necessarily but why not?)
"Sure."
The Logistics and Support Team consists of those who manage the Wyverns, field medics, supply crew, and enchanters. They're crucial for keeping the forces running, especially with the complexity regarding the air force and navy.
The field army has 289, the navy = 312, and the air force has 370, making a total of 980 personnel.
Next, we have the Magical Intelligence Division, MID, for short. They focus on monitoring foreign spell networks, unravelling cursed items, or tracking forbidden magic.
There's a total of 469 personnel, 199 for the land army, 220 for the navy, and 50 for the air force.
Due to Star General Majo's soldiers, the Demons specifically, they don't need much of a hand.
The army has 5,258 soldiers, the navy has 2150, and the air force has 3570. Due to the numbers, it'll take at least a year or more for a specific air force soldier to take another shift. Right, Star General Majo?"
"Exactly. We have two riders on the northern, eastern, western, and southern parts of the Island. Every four hours, two new riders are deployed. That's six riders in a single day. Multiply that by the total number of days in a year, and we'll still have extra hands.
I'd figured they'd get rusty, so I adjusted it. Two riders for two hours. But it still wasn't enough. Right now, it's two riders per hour. With the new adjustments, they get 25 days of rest before getting back into the air.
As for the Wyverns, we have approximately 148 of them. Due to the presence of the Demons, we can go against them for a day or two without using the beasts, letting them rest. The Demons, let's say my top 5 are busy recruiting more. We have about 540 Demons in total. Including those from Raja."
Majo explained.
"If I may, I'd like to discuss how we patrol the Island too."
Sailor requested, and Raiden nodded.
(Again, not necessary but why not?)
"Why not. I'd like to know how you guys contribute to the Island."
The two paused, looking at each other. I'm wondering who's going to talk first.
"Fleet Admiral, you made the first call. Please don't keep us waiting."
Tokito addressed, and Sailor cleared his throat before speaking.
"We're on an Island we're surrounded by water. With Mini Star Island being an extra base and port for the military and a main port located on the eastern side of the Island.
Two armed ships leave each port at 6 AM. Let's assume ships 1 & 2 are from the main Island and 3 and 4 are from small Island. Ships 1 & 2 will move in opposite directions, which is to the north or south to reach the mini port. The same thing happens to ships 3 & 4, in opposite directions, to reach the main port.
If all ships leave at 6 AM, ships 1 & 2 will reach the mini port at approximately 7:30 PM, whereas ships 3 & 4 will arrive at approximately 10 AM. By the time they arrive, new ships will be waiting to make the same turn.
Each ship has personnel. Twenty four soldiers, eighteen L&S, and eight MID. Making a total of fifty men in one ship. Multiply that by four, we have two hundred men. With ships 3 & 4, we are able to make 3 to 4 turns before ships 1 & 2 make a single turn, six hundred to eight hundred people per day. Not to mention, we have a total of six hundred and fifty eight swimmers in the Navy."
"Swimmers?"
"Just like riders, but they move in the water. We have eyes on and below the sea. That's pretty much what the Star Navy does."
'This is crazy. I never thought these guys would be this good.'
"Sorry to disappoint you, but the land army isn't doing much."
He began.
"Each bridge has a small base consisting of one hundred soldiers, twenty two MID and thirty seven L&S. They have towers, and all are observing each angle of the gate.
Seventy soldiers, eleven MID and thirty two L&S are pushing into the forest, training to map out the full island from the east. The same squad numbers are doing so in the south and west. A mid-base, a bit bigger than the one on the mini island, is placed near civilisation, while our main base is at the heart of the Island. The rest of them are masked within the island. That's pretty much all."
"No matter how you see it, you and your men are doing a great job. The same goes for all of you. With this tight security, no nation on the continent can stop us."
"Yes."
"So how about weapons and all? I'd like to know more. I'll start with you, Field Marshal."
"O—ok. In each base, we have a heavy automated magical turret. Though we don't keep it on all the time so we change it to a manual setup and have our soldiers work on them. The range is pretty as it can cover the end-to-end distance for the bridge.
We have similar magical cannons too, but we haven't brought them out yet. The surprising idea about these weapons is that they're portable. The MID can compress the whole system to 15 to 20 grams of metallic plates and have the L&S install it in a different location.
70% of our soldiers are earth & fire mages who can use their weapons, be it archery, sword, spear and all. Those who use long-range weapons are given a translucent ring."
He pulled out the same ring on his finger and showed me. If I can remember, I see a lot of people in the force wearing these.
"These rings are compressed magical hand pistols and for short-range soldiers, they're given similar rings but for a rifle. That's pretty much it."
"So all of them are good in both long and mid range?"
"Not exactly. But we're training them to adapt to all ranges. Because there are times when we can't control the situation."
"That's good. How about the administration?"
"The ring feeds on one's magicule to produce the bullets or cannon balls. And yes, it doesn't take much. The easiest way to do it is to give it your elemental magic rather than your unconcentrated magical energy."
"Now, what if the enemy uses an anti-magic barrier? I just need your opinion on this 'what-if scenario'."
"The magical weapons will vanish, but we still have our concrete weapons. It's not much, but we won't be entirely helpless in the field."
"That's manageable..."
"No need to worry about that."
Elaine spoke up.
"Excuse me."
"I wanted to keep it a secret, but now that Raiden has brought it up, I have no choice but to spill out my secrets."
"Which is?"
"I'm in the midst of creating a distinct magical system, basically ours, which operates beyond the confines of this world."
"Hey—"
"Just listen till the end. I'm trying to mutate the rings, floating them with bits of our energy so that even if an anti-magic barrier is active, this is an otherworldly magic system. In short, the one with the strongest origin will take the lead."
"That's good. You've found a weak point in Grand Lord's system. See, this anti-magic is general for all within this world regardless of race and origin.
So, a human and a True Dragon will both succumb to this barrier. Had it been the strongest can rip free of this system, then it's no longer a general system. That's smart, Elaine."
"It'll be ready in three days."
"Ok. Anything else, Field Marshal?"
"No."
Sailor knows he's next, so he begins explaining.
"Ok... I'll start with the elemental mages in the navy, which consists of many water and ice users. Just like the army, we, too, have these rings.
Each ship has thirteen cannons in total, six magical and six ordinary. On each side, we have two of the said cannons, making eight and one each on the front and back sides of the ship. That's for long and mid-range.
At close range, our soldiers can engage in close combat with their elements, magical and regular weapons. The swimmers are all water mages."
"What about the last cannon? You said they were thirteen right?"
Tokito asked and Sailor began counting with his fingers.
"Oh, the last one is fixed at the base of the ship. It's bigger than the ones we have on the ship and can cover 180°. It's mainly used to hit underwater targets."
"Good. You may."
I instructed Majo.
"The wyverns breathe fire, and most if not all of the air force consists of wind mages, especially the demons. They don't need wyverns and are good in aerial combat.
During patrols, we have one rider on a wyvern but in case of combat, we have two. A rider and an attacker. As mentioned earlier, all the forces have this ring and personal weapons. We are all good."
"I never thought this was all happening without my knowledge. This is great news."
"I'm confident about that too, but we have a war to take part in."
Atlas demanded a change of topic.
"Someone's impatient. So, Star Supreme Commander, how are you going to distribute the soldiers to these four nations?"
I wanted to listen to his strategy. Tokito nodded before dropping the device, projecting the map of the continent.
"First, I'd like to take care of Tempest. It's a strong nation on its own. Giving it a hand might be a disadvantage if you take a look at the people living there. The same thing can be said about our home.
Tempest is located in the heart of a Jura Forest, with no water bodies nearby that can hold ships or water vehicles. And for that, I'd like to give them 150 soldiers, 62 from the land army and 62 from the air force.
Eighteen L&S and eight MID. I initially planned on sending just tropps, but I doubt anyone there can use our technology.
They have dragonnewts, which means they have something to defend themselves in the air. And for that, I'll send 16 demons and 46 riders and attackers. This means we'll be giving off twenty three wyverns.
We'll be left with 125 wyverns, 962 L&S, 461 MID, 287 winged demons, 3221 Air Force soldiers, and 5196 land army. This should be enough for Tempest. As for the person in charge, I'll drop their name after this is set up.
Next up is Raja, already having 42 demons, with Vasal and Spikey, of course. They have rivers, but it's not enough to hold ships, so smaller ones will be provided.
100 boats, armed with small magical cannons with 6 soldiers, 2 L&S will be available per boat. And 1 MID for 5 boats and 30 swimmers per ten boats.
There'll be a mini base near the river with 70 foot soldiers only. There'll be another base for 2000 foot soldiers, 200 L&S and 100 MID. These L&S and MID are for both the air force and the land army, so take note. As for the air force category, they'll be 1000 soldiers, 150 demons, and 70 wyverns."
"I'll figure out a way to get all of the air force personnel up and working."
Elaine added, already figuring that we're low on Wyverns.
"Ok. Thank you. With this, we will have 892 Navy soldiers, 648 swimmers, 137 demons, 2221 Air Force soldiers, 562 L&S, 331 MID and 3126 land army left. We just have two more places left to protect.
The Sarion Dynasty is mostly surrounded by water, so I'll deploy a lot of maritime forces there, 14 ships. A total of 50 men per ship consisting of 49 soldiers, 5 MID, and 6 L&S. That'll be 686 soldiers, 70 L&S, 84 MID, and, lastly, 20 swimmers per ship. That's it for the naval force.
1500 troops will be deployed along with 250 L&S and 145 MID for the land army and air force. 100 demons will be added, along with 50 wyverns and 2000 airmen. The remaining 1626 land army, 242 L&S, 102 MID, 5 wyverns, 221 air force soldiers, 206 navy soldiers, and the remaining swimmers will remain here and protect the Island."
"This is good. Actually, it's what I have in mind. All of our forces are out to protect the world. Sai is in the Eastern Empire, Ban is in Tempest, posing as the imposter, Scarlet King, and Eto is in Raja. I'll send Yami back with Eren to the Sarion Dynasty. Keep Ban's identity hidden."
He wispher the last part.
"You can count on us."
"When are you going to tell them about them?"
Sailor's whisper was too loud to be a whisper. Tokito glared at him, having revealed the secret.
"Anything we should know?"
I asked.
"I was going to bring them up anyway. The people who'll be in charge of our men in other nations. Among the soldiers left, there are 151 who stand out from the rest of the force.
The special ops corps is known as the Noble Squad. These guys are people who participated in the Star Tournament, and believe me, they're way stronger than they used to be."
'That's to be expected. With the airborne contamination and the selective treatment created by the star, there are several people who've made it to phase 2, excluding Raiden and Tokito. These guys must be them, Natsu and co.'
"So they're like Tempest's Elite Four?"
Atlas asked.
"Yes. But unlike Tempest, these guys aren't working to protect the Great One but the Island as a whole."
"The Fleet Admiral is right. Some of these guys are Lieutenant Generals, Vice Admirals, Major Generals and Rear Admirals. There are 10 people in the Noble Squad...
Land Army Lieutenant General, Natsu,
Land Army Major General 1, Ito,
Land Army Major General 2, Nori,
Land Army Major General 3, Arisa,
Air Force Lieutenant General, Masashi,
Air Force Major General 1, Freya,
Air Force Major General 2, Yasu,
Vice Admiral, Daiki,
Rare Admiral Main Port, Lina,
Rare Admiral Mini Port, Toshiro.
Due to having more than 60% of the force, I think three Major Generals are enough for the Land Army."
"That's a hell of a squad. What about the remaining 141 soldiers?"
"They're grouped into two, Team Red and Team Blue.
Team Red
Natsu, Ito, Lina, Masashi, and Freya as the leaders with their special 69 personnel.
Team Blue
Daiki, Nori, Toshiro, Arisa, and Yasu with 72 soldiers.
These Nobel Squad soldiers are drawn from all the branches and are arguably the best within their field. With a total of 151, I'll distribute them to the 4 nations."
"Make it 3, leave Star Island to me."
"Ok. With 3 nations to protect, I'll send Ito and Yasu over to Tempest. Since Tempest has more land army and air force than navy, these two will get the job done. I'll tell them not to take more than 10 people from the Noble Squad.
Next up is Raja. For the tight naval system, the Rare Admiral of the Mini Port, Air Force Lieutenant General, Land Army Major General 3, and Air Force Major General 2 along with 61 personnel from both teams will be enough for Raja.
Last but not least, the Sarion Dynasty. The Vice Admiral, Rear Admiral Main Port, Land Army Lieutenant General, and Land Army Major General 2 will take the remaining 70 soldiers. That's pretty much it."
"What about us? We're not just gonna sit around and do nothing, are we?"
Majo asked.
"Of course not. Star General Majo will be in Raja, Fleet Admiral Sailor will go to Sarion Dynasty, and Star Field Marshal will go to Tempest. I'll stay here on the Island."
"Now you're talking."
"That's a smart setup, Star Supreme Commander. Well done. Additionally, I'll send Atlas to the Sarion Dynasty. You can go with her if you want, but I need you to take Lady Fourth and have her explain why foreign militaries are teleporting into their land."
"That'll be reassuring. Because an army of such strength is enough to take over their nations. We'll leave the day after tomorrow if that's fine with you."
"Sure. Elaine will go to Raja. Lady Second won't be a problem, but Elaine will be a kinda backup for you guys. I've spoken with Rimuru, and I'll send the force as soon as possible. Elaine, how much longer do we have to wait?"
"Seven days tops."
"Make it three."
"I don't like to wait either. Actually, it's ready. But we haven't tested it yet. And since it's not easy to use, that's why they need more time."
"We can't afford that luxury called time. But if it'll be worth it then we can wait. Do what you gotta do and make it three in two days. I want them up and running by the fourth day."
"Your call."
"Does anyone have a thing or two to say?"
I asked, but they all shook their heads.
"If I may ask, what about me, Supreme Monarch?"
Ah, yes. I knew he would ask such a question eventually.
"You're staying here too. You're my Guardian, remember?"
He nodded.
"Ok. In the absence of any other information, I wish you good luck. Give it your all. If we lose to the heavenly brats, the world will end."
"Not on our watch."
"Rest assured, we'll win. For the safety of the IslIslandd the safety of the world."
Everyone stood up and went their separate ways. The table and chairs disappeared, and I found myself on my throne, sighing.
"Let's see if I'll benefit from this war."
The next day, the army worked in silence as they prepared the portal to their destination. Runes hummed, pillars of light stabilised, and the air around Star Island felt tighter than usual, like the world itself was holding its breath.
I was in the palace when a message tore through my mind.
'Master, Velzard is—'
It cut off.
Nothing followed just absence.
"Sai."
I recognised the voice instantly.
There was no time to question it. No time to react properly. Instinct moved before thought could catch up. I reached into his mind, forcing a link open to see through his eyes—
—and the world on the other side froze.
Frost bloomed across his vision in an instant. Absolute, merciless cold, the kind that didn't just freeze matter, but halted motion and even the idea of resistance.
His sight crystallised mid-frame as ice crept over everything. Sai didn't even get to scream.
His last view locked in place: a vast field of white, and at its centre, her. Velzard.
A presence that didn't advance or attack, yet erased everything simply by existing. The connection between us snapped.
I pulled back into myself, jaw tight, fingers already curling into a fist before I realised it. Sai's final image lingered behind my eyes.
"She moved first."
The war began without warning, from the north, a chill swept across the land, a cold so deep it devoured the sun.
To be continued...