Summoning Our Country - NHS Kai

Chapter 16.5: Yoha no Naka

Note: This is rose. Sorry for the delay. First, the title means In the Aftermath. Second, the rewrite of Chapter 1 is finished, so that's 1 out of 8 chapters rewritten (Reminding you that Chapters 1 to 4.5 will be rewritten). Third, expect the next chapter next Monday, February 7. That would be all. Have a rose ✿

Discord: https://discord.gg/p7NJppEjza (We are releasing extra art for Chapter 16.5 there)

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April 19, 2022 NOTE: This is to serve as a notice that this chapter is due for minor revisions. Any information mentioned here will soon be obsolete and I highly encourage rereading this chapter again in the future once the rewrite has been released.

Cent. Calendar 11/06/1639, Ragna, Gra Valkas Empire, 10:30

"Disappointing."

In unison with a heart-stinging remark from a middle-aged man was the sound of papers and documents hitting the hardwood surface of the table at breakneck speed. The utter disappointment of the man reflected not only in the pruny creases of his unimpressed face but also on the similarly dismayed faces of four other men sitting next to him. Their formal suits were as sharp as their displeased gazes and were a testament to their positions in power. These men were part of the Imperial Council, the highest body of power in the Gra Valkas Empire. Not only did they occupy the most coveted seats in the government, but they were also the heads of the titanic corporations that made up the egregiously massive military-industrial complex of Gra Valkas. Further still than either of these intimidating positions, they were part of the masterminds of the reignition of militarization in the empire–the pro-martial conspirators.

Standing before them were the chiefs of staff, also part of the conspiracy. Just months prior, they were tasked with one simple objective: a display of national power by means of subjugating a nearby recognized power. This culminated in the mobilization of tens of thousands of men and resources, which were to be the main dish that followed the appetizer that was the Pagandan diplomatic crisis. Dubbed Donnerschlag, the chiefs of staff envisioned it to be the grandiose spectacle that showed Asherah what the pinnacle of Gra Valkan power looks like by crushing and conquering Leifor in one day. With the blessing of the rest of the conspirators came high expectations, and when Donnerschlag under-delivered...

"You Spasti! You promised Leifor would fall in a single day!"

"But it did–"

"No! The federal government in Leiforia did! The other regions didn't heed the federal government's surrender!"

There was little breathing room. The chiefs of staff looked at one another as they sweated bullets in front of their enraged co-conspirators. They, too, understood the horrible position that their forces were currently in. With only a single mechanized division entrenched in the capital, the bulk of Leifor's armed forces scattered across the massive country, a force in the hundreds of thousands which, while temporarily paralyzed due to the loss of their chain of command, was still mostly intact. Given the opportunity, they can easily push the meager 14,150-strong force of the 47. Panzergrenadier-Division back into the ocean. Due to the relatively small amount of manpower that they could muster in the months leading to yesterday, the primary objective of Donnerschlag was to force a nationwide capitulation by means of deception–giving the Leiforians the impression that an overwhelmingly powerful Gra Valkan invasion was underway and that there was no point in resistance. Unfortunately, while the operation succeeded in forcing the federal government to capitulate, the planners have failed to take into account that Leifor is a federal state, wherein the regions possess a strong sense of individuality and enjoy a high degree of autonomy. As such, it was reasonable for them to refuse to recognize the surrender when they were hardly touched by the Gra Valkan war machine. Everyone in the room knows what that entails for their comparatively weak hold on the Leiforian occupation.