Ch.243Meridia’s End. Cape Falcata (1)

“Woohoo!!! Armored vehicles! Tanks! APCs!!”

“Hey, hey, look at that sleek gun barrel and machine gun mount!”

A week later. The armaments I ordered arrived from Centrum along with large quantities of ammunition, spare parts, training equipment, and manuals.

As you can see above, the dwarves were drooling like perverts now that these rolling hunks of metal were in their hands, while the newly recruited soldiers were gulping as they gazed at the endless columns of war machines.

“What are you all doing? Quickly load the weapons onto the airship!”

“Ah… yes! Move quickly! Our master commands it!”

“Yes, sir!”

When the brigade commander… no, now division commander gave the order, the soldiers began towing the weapons and loading them onto the shuttle one by one.

Among the newly recruited soldiers, those who pass the training will earn the right to operate these human-made war machines. They will become the cutting edge of our holy war against the sun.

“Captain! This is quite something! A 155mm main gun on a 73-ton chassis! 15mm heavy machine gun with crosswind detector and fire control system! Laser target designator, hydraulic suspension, and composite armor!”

“A 40mm autocannon with enough space for 13 people! A 35-ton chassis that can ford rivers up to 30 meters deep without any external equipment!”

As the weapons gradually disappeared, the dwarves began unleashing their uncontrollable excitement on me.

Geez… if you keep gushing like that, you’ll make me drool too…

*slurp*

“After training, it would be good to have our first real battle on the Yenisei continent. There are always factions looking for military power.”

“That works for us! The new recruits can gain experience, and with our capabilities, we shouldn’t suffer too many casualties!”

“Right. We’re starting to run short on funds now… we need to take on some mercenary work. Adventure work is good, but… no matter how exceptional I am, a single party can’t sustain the maintenance costs of an army of 50,000.”

“Ugh… that’s a bit disappointing. But it can’t be helped. We have to pay what needs to be paid.”

“Exactly. If we just hold onto everything, it becomes cumbersome. Just because we’re not doing adventurer work doesn’t mean we’re not having adventures, right?”

“True. You’re both right. There’s value in adventures that don’t pay.”

The food costs and medical support for 50,000 people. Plus ammunition and personal equipment. Fuel and repair costs for armored vehicles. And the ongoing maintenance costs for shells and other equipment meant there was truly nothing left over.

I still have 200,000 gold coins remaining, but with continued battles and losses to make up for, they’ll disappear in an instant.

That’s why we absolutely needed to wage a holy war as the Sun’s Army, scraping together the gold, silver, and copper coins glittering under the sun.

No matter how brightly the sunlight shines, I knew better than anyone that without the resources to enjoy it, it’s nothing but a deception.

“Hey! You men! Stop snickering and get up here! Are we leaving without you?”

As we were chuckling, I could see Lucia in the distance, fluttering and waving her hand.

Oh my. Has it gotten this late already?

*

Back aboard the Sky Warden, I began discussing the recruitment of new soldiers and the loading of supplies with my staff officers.

“How is the loading of supplies going?”

“It’s mostly complete, but… it seems the medical supplies will take a bit more time. The pharmaceutical companies insist they need to maintain stock for the market…”

Naturally, we’re not the only ones who need medical supplies. They need to match the quantities that should go to hospitals and clinics here in Cape Falcata, so the pharmaceutical companies have unavoidably requested an extension.

I had no intention of arguing about this.

“Well… we can’t force purchases that would harm the nation. How long will it take?”

“We’ll need to wait at least two weeks.”

“Two weeks… No problems with the other supplies?”

“Yes. We were concerned about shells, but since they’re suitable for mass production, we purchased a combination of warehouse stock and newly manufactured products.”

I nodded.

Despite the complex processes involved in making shells, they could be mass-produced much faster than medical supplies as long as minimum quality could be guaranteed, so it wasn’t surprising.

“Good. What about food?”

“As you ordered, we’ve bulk purchased inexpensive items like ugly vegetables, and we should have no problems for the next year.”

“I see. Well done.”

With Simon accompanying us as supervisor and controller, there shouldn’t be any issues with quantity or quality. Cape Falcata is a small city. The fact that we could secure ingredients to feed 50,000 people for a year was already impressive, so the skill of our cooks would be what matters now.

“And now, it’s about time we advance to the fourth continent. Everyone knows our financial situation isn’t great, right?”

As I crossed my arms and brought up this agenda, the staff officers nodded heavily.

The reason our army’s situation is good is only because I’ve been supporting it financially until now.

But now we need to maintain an airborne battleship containing a fully equipped armored division, not just a brigade. Even I can’t sustain this with individual earnings, and the staff officers recognize this.

“On the Yenisei continent, we need to prove our worth as mercenaries in large-scale combat. Chief of Staff, I’m putting you in charge of finding suitable missions from the adventurer’s guild and mercenary guild here in Cape Falcata.”

“Understood.”

The Chief of Staff saluted and left the conference room.

Soon he will select an appropriate mission, and we will leave the third continent and head toward the fourth.

Until someday, we reach Centrum, the final continent.

*

“I’ve selected something suitable.”

“Hmm…”

The Chief of Staff wiped away sweat from the summer heat as he handed me the request.

-Seeking Large-Scale Mercenary Force-

-Location: Lorelai Federation, Northwestern Yenisei Continent

-Purpose: To counter the neighboring city-state of Kairalie

-Compensation: 1.3 million gold coins

-We appeal for support from a powerful and independent mercenary force!

Our Lorelai Federation has long been known for its peace-loving traditions, and our specialty products have caught the eyes of many people, serving as a solid bulwark that allows our people to live without hunger.

However, recently our neighbor Kairalie has formed alliances with other cities and begun artificially producing our specialty, the Yenisei Black Pearl, causing significant negative impact on our national economy. Furthermore, they are deliberately dumping factory wastewater along the coast to reduce natural black pearl production, causing massive environmental damage.

Kairalie has ignored our government’s protests while simultaneously deploying troops at the border to increase military tension. Despite our numerous protests, all we receive in return are closed embassies and threats of severe punishment for allegedly spreading false information.

The Chairman of the Lorelai Federation has concluded that dialogue through weapons is the only solution to this crisis, and after approval from the Senate, we submit this mercenary request.

Please show with your strength that justice still lives in this world, and that beyond profit there are human and heavenly principles!-

It was truly a job posting dripping with emotion.

Since it wasn’t a diplomatic document, I didn’t particularly want to criticize it, but fighting the regular armies of multiple cities for 1.3 million gold coins did seem a bit low.

That’s probably why it had flown all the way from the Yenisei continent to Cape Falcata.

“What would you like to do?”

“Were there no other options?”

“There were no others exceeding 1 million gold coins.”

“Hmm…”

Since I hadn’t specified criteria, the Chief of Staff had apparently used his discretion to cut anything below 1 million gold coins.

Having independent judgment is a very good thing. At least it means the Sun’s Army could survive even if I died.

“Alright. Let’s accept it. Isn’t it the sun’s will to purify injustice and spread goodness? We’ll depart as soon as the supplies are loaded.”

“Yes, sir.”

This request was posted a week ago.

The fact that it reached another continent in just a week suggests that Kairalie might be exerting pressure, knowingly or unknowingly, on the Yenisei continent.

But wars don’t break out so easily, and by now they’re probably also scraping together mercenaries and collecting all sorts of taxes.

“Are black pearls really that valuable…?”

“I looked into it—they’re worth 100 gold coins each.”

“That’s insane.”

Hearing that people spend 100 gold coins on a single pearl suddenly made Kairalie’s decision to dump factory wastewater and cause environmental pollution seem like a very rational choice.

If a pearl the size of a bean is worth 100 gold coins, what’s a little wastewater? They could even toss in radioactive waste at that price.