Chapter Index





    Ch.210Failure Means War, Success Means…(4)

    # Chapter 210: Failure Means War, Success Means… (4)

    “Excuse me, but Ambassador Halabi’dus, what are you doing there?”

    Naturally, from Commander Mesh’s perspective, hearing the ambassador’s communication from the middle of the enemy Holy Sebelli Empire’s fleet was alarming.

    His vigilance immediately peaked to maximum levels, and he began preparing for any potential situation, but…

    -Whoosh…

    Seeing their reaction, Ambassador Samiya’s personal vessel, along with the marine escort ships, emerged from between the Sebelli fleet formation.

    She moved forward directly and began explaining the situation to Commander Mesh.

    -“Please don’t worry too much, Commander Mesh of the Border Defense.”

    “…”

    -“These ships are merely a gesture of goodwill from the Sebelli Empire, intended to escort me.”

    “What do you mean…?”

    To Commander Mesh’s puzzled expression, Ambassador Samiya responded with an exasperated face through the communication screen.

    -“Have you forgotten what happened recently? Or has the news not reached you yet?”

    Since it was the Supreme Commander’s daughter directly questioning him…

    “I apologize, Ambassador Halabi’dus.”

    The poor bald commander’s head and shoulders drooped, and it was evident that he was suddenly giving Ambassador Samiya his full, desperate attention.

    Ambassador Samiya had no desire to see the communication screen glowing white with his intensity, so she told the commander to raise his head and began explaining the situation.

    -“First of all, regarding this fleet, to be precise, they were dispatched to deal with the large-scale pirate activity triggered by the recent rebellion.”

    “Rebellion… and pirate suppression, you say?”

    -“That’s right. Commander, do you not have information about the recent rebellion in the Avar planetary system?”

    Hearing Ambassador Samiya’s words, Commander Mesh barely managed to recall the Sebelli rebellion incident from a few months ago.

    “Ah… I see! That’s what you’re referring to.”

    -“Yes.”

    “But is that rebellion still having effects? I heard so many forces were mobilized at the time.”

    -“Of course, that’s because Sebelli doesn’t have an excellent citizen management system like ours.”

    “You are absolutely right.”

    To Ambassador Samiya’s nonchalant remark, Commander Mesh nodded in agreement.

    Nevertheless, Commander Mesh’s suspicions still remained.

    “Then why is a fleet meant to suppress pirates accompanying you, Ambassador…?”

    -“Didn’t I tell you? It’s an expression of goodwill from the Sebelli Empire toward me and our homeland, the Prosnack Federation.”

    “…”

    -“To be precise… when I tried to travel with only marine escort ships, they expressed shock.”

    As Ambassador Samiya spoke with an annoyed attitude, the commander found himself nodding involuntarily.

    ‘Trying to pass through an area swarming with pirates with only four escort ships.’

    While thinking that this was truly befitting of the Supreme Commander’s bloodline…

    Commander Mesh felt a strange sympathy for the fleet commander he had never met.

    How much that fleet commander must have suffered due to the reckless actions of the young, hot-blooded ambassador.

    From the Sebelli Empire’s perspective, she wasn’t just any diplomat but a plenipotentiary ambassador—they couldn’t possibly allow her to be captured or killed by mere pirates.

    Despite the ambassador herself refusing the protection, they resorted to such roundabout methods.

    As expected of a country with Minister Arto, Commander Mesh’s aging eyes showed a hint of interest in their political savvy.

    ————————————

    Of course, regardless of that interest, having a fleet of over 3,000 ships stationed near the border was quite burdensome.

    While the Prosnack border defense conveyed their gratitude to the Sebelli fleet through Ambassador Samiya…

    “Yes, yes, thank you for bringing our ambassador, so why don’t you return to your positions now?”

    They earnestly hoped that the intimidating Sebelli Empire fleet would disappear from their sight, but…

    “Oh my, we’ve come non-stop from our capital, so we need some rest.”

    “Let’s just rest a bit before we go, shall we?”

    “…”

    The Sebelli Empire fleet made strange excuses and even set up temporary stations in the airspace near the border to enjoy their “rest time.”

    “Ambassador, wouldn’t it be better for you to return now?”

    “Yes, if you don’t come back soon, our commander might lose all his remaining hair.”

    The pitiful Prosnack Border Defense and the unfortunate Commander Mesh, suffering from hair loss and gastritis, tried to rescue Ambassador Samiya, who had essentially become a hostage.

    -“As the plenipotentiary ambassador of our great homeland, the Prosnack Federation, shouldn’t I at least express my gratitude for such an escort?”

    “Grrrr…”

    When the person in question dragged out the time by saying, “Well, I received such a proper escort as a diplomat, so I should at least say my thanks before leaving,”

    ‘Supreme Commander… why do you subject me to such trials?’

    The hearts of the pitiful Prosnack Border Defense were withering away as steadily as their commander’s hair follicles.

    ———————————————–

    But making them suffer through this unfortunate situation was all part of our plan.

    -“-Communication terminated.”

    -“Phew… what a tense situation.”

    After ending the communication with the Prosnack Border Defense,

    Ambassador Samiya let out a long sigh, to which I nodded and replied.

    “Well done, Ambassador Samiya.”

    -“It was nothing. But creating a ‘fake’ fleet… you’re truly remarkable.”

    To the ambassador’s words, I waved my hand dismissively and said.

    “That’s all thanks to the efforts of our staff.”

    But even as I said this, I was trying to calm my thoughts, having repeatedly paused and unpaused in panic throughout the exchange.

    As Ambassador Samiya had just mentioned, the 3,154 allied ships currently deployed near the Prosnack border…

    -“Minister, we’ve received a message from the commander of the 443rd Squadron.”

    “What does he say?”

    -“He says it’s impossible to face a Prosnack fleet five times their size and asks if they can proceed with the original pirate suppression plan instead.”

    As the whining communication confirmed,

    In reality, only about 500 ships were actual vessels.

    The rest were “fake” ships that only looked convincing from the outside.

    Because of this, I began to reconsider the risks of the operation.

    But I couldn’t bring a genuinely massive fleet of thousands of ships either.

    Mobilizing such a large force would exponentially increase the chances of this operation leaking to the outside.

    Moreover, even those 500 ships were extracted under the pretext of pirate suppression.

    To maintain the confidentiality of the operation, the squadron knew they were participating in an operation led by the Diplomatic Enforcement Agency.

    To be precise, they believed their mission was to provoke the Prosnack at the border under the pretext of pirate suppression…

    To relieve pressure on the fleet and refugees conducting guerrilla warfare in the Kerzin Federation, but…

    -“Minister, ‘Mother’ has just jumped up.”

    “Hmm.”

    After receiving the code phrase indicating the operation plan had begun through another communication channel,

    “Tell the squadron commander to stand by until further orders.”

    -“Understood.”

    After dismissing the whining 443rd Squadron commander’s opinion, I checked the event message that appeared before me.

    [Event: Master of Two-Faced Tactics]

    [You have successfully deceived the Prosnack Border Defense while simultaneously infiltrating a massive Leviathan-class Super Dreadnought across the border!]

    [+5% success rate for Holy Sebelli Empire’s intelligence operations for 5 years]

    ‘Sweet.’

    I felt a deep satisfaction as the “real operation” proceeded step by step.

    “How is the operation progressing?”

    “Currently, the Leviathan-class serving as the mothership for the infiltration unit has arrived at the destination and is about to proceed to Phase 2.”

    “Hmm.”

    It was truly remarkable how well everything was going according to plan.

    Of course, this was just the beginning of the real operation.

    I decided to once again pray to the great heavens (?) that the operation would continue to proceed as planned.


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