This will be this month's post.

This chapter marks the prelude to the attack on the capital. There will also be a bit of a skirmish.

- Kazuhiro Kasami

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After completing the harbor attack, the Japanese military took a brief break, but three hours later, Asahi summoned everyone.

"Gentlemen, the harbor attack this time can be summed up with 'well done.' After all, it was an incredibly joyful situation where we had 'not a single casualty,' which, though unbelievable, was indeed the case."

Despite the technological gap of over a hundred years between the Japanese military and the Kingdom of Olfastar, Asahi had thought that it wouldn't be strange to have several to a dozen casualties once it turned into a complex urban warfare situation.

"And above all, thanks to the panic on the enemy's side, our ammunition consumption was much lower than anticipated. Therefore‼"

Asahi paused, then continued with a determined expression.

"Originally, I had planned to take a day's rest today and then invade the enemy's capital tomorrow. However, the enemy's capital is merely 50 kilometers away!"

The Japanese soldiers had heard about this plan.

"However, after compiling the reports, it was found that the ammunition usage was less than half of what was expected, and tanks and self-propelled guns had only been used a few times."

This was due to the fact that Olfastar's army had severely underestimated the Japanese military, and as a result, they were caught off guard and fell into a state of panic when faced with overwhelming force, resulting in the rapid collapse of the harbor base and even the inland army base (from their perspective). Moreover, amidst the chaos, it seemed that communication was also inadequate, and there was no effective command structure, which was fortunate. According to the mage intercepting magical communications, there was also information that "contact with the capital had stopped at the time of requesting wyvern reinforcements." In other words, there was a high possibility that little information had reached the enemy's capital.

Therefore, it was a very rare situation where tanks and self-propelled guns could advance without the need for much replenishment other than fuel. Although there was some resistance such as gunfire in the urban areas, the need for tanks was minimal. At most, tanks were used a little to break through barricades set up in the city center.

"Therefore, we will shorten our rest until tomorrow and depart after a three-hour break‼ After that, we will deploy to the enemy capital by tomorrow afternoon, taking breaks as needed along the way!"

It was currently just past noon, so even if they were to depart now, not everyone could ride in vehicles, limiting the distance they could travel at the speed of walking. Automation and mechanization for swift movement. This would also be a challenge for the future Japanese military.

As much as possible, the goal was to mechanize movement.

In fact, this has been a challenge since the old world era. Apart from some parts of the engineering corps, the old military was hardly mechanized, and while it might have been the strongest in Asia, compared to the US, UK, Germany, and the Soviet Union, it was undeniably inferior when analyzed objectively. In such a theater focused on infantry, it was doubtful whether they could even advance half the distance by night if they were to start moving now.

"The enemy possesses magical communication devices. We should consider that our presence is already known to the enemy capital. However, we do not want to give the enemy any more time to counterattack than necessary! Remember the words 'soldiers value speed,' and also, the famous warlord Nobunaga Oda, who always aimed for swift tactics once the battle began!!"

Nobunaga, who Asahi quoted regarding the "swift invasion," was known for battles like Nagashino and Shitarahara, where defense through shooting from entrenched positions was the main strategy, so it's not quite fitting as Takeda's army fell apart before leaving their positions, rendering this quote irrelevant. Moreover, it's not like Nobunaga was always about swift invasions, but it's true that he was quick to make decisions and act upon them, so let's stick with that for now. In a sense, Asahi thought that this mindset was somewhat similar to that of the United States as a nation.

"We must end this war as soon as possible, whether it's a day, an hour, or even a minute sooner, and bring peace and tranquility to our homeland!! I know it's tough, but I need everyone's cooperation!!"

The Japanese soldiers tightened their faces and simultaneously shouted loudly.

Then Fusou whispered to Asahi's ear. "Sir, isn't this a bit reckless?"

"Reckless, huh? Maybe. But 'nothing ventured, nothing gained,' as they say. This is a race against time."

Indeed, if they could storm the enemy's capital with this unstoppable momentum, they might be able to start the attack before the enemy could fully organize their defenses. But from Fusou's perspective, this recklessness didn't seem like something Asahi, who had been cautious up to now, would do.

"Are you worried?"

"...I don't think we'll lose, but still..."

"Yeah, I know. Maybe we've been too cautious until now. We should have accurately assessed the enemy's capabilities and fought accordingly. That's what we should have done."

At the very least, through the battles so far, they had gained some understanding not only of Olfastar's military tactics and technology but also of the disposition of their soldiers. Of course, battles couldn't be won with just enthusiasm and momentum alone. But if they hesitated because of that, it would indeed be a disastrous mistake, with no gain at all. Above all, if the enemy's ruler took advantage of that to flee, they would be forced to maintain public order in this country almost by default. Japan simply didn't have the resources for that.

If that were to happen, it would be a repeat of the old-world Sino-Japanese War, inevitably resulting in significant losses in both military and national power. That was a failure that absolutely must be avoided.

Realizing that Asahi had made this decision after considering all of this, Fusou merely replied, "Understood."

After three hours of rest, Asahi and the others would head towards the capital, Incala.

. . .

Meanwhile, the scant few Olfastar soldiers fleeing from Sasante were in a pitiful state. To their astonishment, they had been running for nearly two hours, panting heavily as they continued to move at a brisk pace along the road through the slightly dense forest, already over 10 kilometers away from the city.

"Fuck! What the fuck are those beings!?"

"They're too strong... Their strength is on par with the major powers... no, even greater!"

"I don't know if Japan is this strong!! What was the intelligence doing!?"

The hands of the runners were gripping swords and spears. None of them carried guns because, according to their standards, it took about 30 seconds to a minute to reload after firing a shot, which everyone collectively deemed unsuitable for such an escape. In addition, the firearms in this country did not have bayonets. Therefore, they couldn't even be used as makeshift spears. While firing collectively might have served as a temporary measure, the fact that even such thoughts didn't occur to them showed the educational level of this country. Or perhaps, they simply believed firearms were mostly useless by instinct.

Amidst this, one of the soldiers asked his companions. "Hey, what about magical communication!? We need to contact headquarters somehow..."

"Well... it seems like it broke while we were fleeing the town just now!"

The radio-like object attached to the soldier's waist had numerous holes in it, presumably hit by gunfire from the Japanese.

Upon hurriedly checking during their escape, they found that the magic stones and crystals used for conducting magic had been damaged, rendering them unable to transmit magic. It was completely useless now, beyond repair.

"What!? So, we can't report until we... until we reach Incala!?"

"That... seems to be the case..."

While they could still use magic by imbuing magic essence into their bodies, specialized tools were needed for magical communication. The inability to use such tools meant they would have to resort to primitive methods like using fast horses or messengers.

"Then ditch it‼ We have to hurry and inform the capital about this!! Every minute counts!!"

"Y-yes, sir! Understood, sir!!"

Therefore, in order to convey the information as quickly as possible, they had no choice but to keep running as long as their stamina allowed. To do so, they had to lighten their loads as much as possible and cover as much ground as they could. But it seemed that fate had another trial in store for them here.

Sssrrk!!

As they readied their spears in response to the rustling in the bushes, a huge creature-like shadow emerged, moving with a heavy rumble.

"N-no way..."

There, standing before them, was a gigantic magical creature—a Rock Golem with a body made of crystals.

Well, whether it could truly be called a magical creature was debatable. Because the Rock Golem inexplicably targets only humans (including demi-humans), it relentlessly attacks them until its core is destroyed, regardless of how much damage it takes. Rumored to be a relic of a super ancient civilization, there's even talk that these golems were naturally spawned all over the world by the ancient civilization to "moderate" the human population, though whether this is true or not is unknown to anyone in this world, including the world's strongest Eisengeist Empire. However, it's spread as one of the symbols of awe and fear.

By the way, for some reason, it's also a creature that doesn't approach cities, so basically, as long as you're in a city, you won't be attacked. However, both the magical stones used in the core and the stones that make up its body are extremely rare treasures (crystals). So, if you can defeat it, that is... But for adventurers, defeating it would mean getting gold on the level of "being able to live a carefree life for several years to ten years." Furthermore, if the military succeeds in subjugating it, it would be such a significant achievement that a civilized nation could boast to the world, "Our country has such a powerful army that we can subjugate a golem," but it's understood that the road to subjugation would be difficult.

However, destroying this weakness, the core, is extremely difficult, and neither casual attacks nor magical attacks are very effective. By Olfastar's standards, it's considered an entity that can be subdued only by hitting it with several direct hits from a magic cannon and breaking its legs. If you want to defeat it, you'll need to hit it with at least two or three shots from the latest Eisengeist Empire's breech-loading magic cannons. For armies equipped with swords and spears, it's an unimaginably formidable opponent, and nobody knows how difficult it would be to fight against it.

Hey, if its body is made of crystals, wouldn't it crack and shatter if hit by "iron cannonballs"?

Not quite. Crystals in this world are excellent as conduits for magic, and when magic flows through them, they become harder than most alloys. This can be inferred from stories such as the Eisengeist Empire incorporating this mineral into the bodies and armor of tanks, which demonstrates their robustness.

Moreover, the "disaster" that befell the remnants of the Olfastar soldiers this time was not just that.

"H-hey, it's... shining gold... could it be... a mythical Orichalcum Golem!?"

Even dealing with a regular golem is extraordinarily difficult, but this one is a rare species of golem covered in an even harder magical mineral—Orichalcum. Despite being lightweight due to its low density compared to crystals, Orichalcum is extremely tough. In other words, when it comes to an Orichalcum Golem, it's almost impossible for an individual to defeat it, making it an incredibly dangerous entity. The Adventurers' Guild treats it as a special-grade target, and if the guild were to attempt subjugation, it would require the mobilization of the strongest Orichalcum-class adventurers.

Moreover, even if dealt with on a national level, it's a monster so formidable that even the improved magic cannons of the Vermont Empire are ineffective. In other words, it's a monster that's difficult to defeat even with the capabilities of lower-ranking powers. If defeated, it's said that the country would possess abilities equivalent to major powers, and even those of the upper-middle tier among the major powers. And like other golems, this Orichalcum Golem also targets only humans.

Moreover, because it's significantly lighter than the Rock Golem, its movement speed reaches an astonishing 30 kilometers per hour. In other words, if a human encounters it, their "death flag is unavoidable."

"AAAAAAAAAAGH!!"

One of the soldiers screamed as he swung his halberd, but the Orichalcum Golem didn't evade. Instead, it took the blow head-on with its thick chest armor covering the core. Then, without hesitation, it brought down its fist on the soldier who had attacked, who was already gasping for air in despair.

Crunch!!

The Orichalcum Golem's fist struck down the soldier holding the halberd without a moment's delay. With a slight depression in the ground and a splatter of blood flying, nearby soldiers were soaked in the aftermath. Since the human body is composed of nearly 70% water, a large amount of bodily fluids splatter when such things happen. It's like bursting a water-filled bag with a bit of meat inside. Consequently, some ended up being showered not only with blood but also with various other bodily fluids.

"Gah..."

As mentioned before, encountering an Orichalcum Golem almost certainly means death for humans. Though their survival instinct screams "run away quickly," they realize that escaping is not even allowed against such a formidable foe.

"Fuck... I don't wanna die..."

In such dire circumstances, the soldiers could only sit down and slowly retreat, inch by inch.

However, the Orichalcum Golem moved without care.

THUD! ...CRUNCH!! ... SQUELCH!! ...CRUNCH!!

With each merciless blow from the Orichalcum fist, the remaining soldiers were turned into pitiful mincemeat, one after another. The last man left, already unable to move out of fear or perhaps because all his muscles had relaxed, was drenched in blood and bodily fluids, large and small.

"No... nooooo..."

But the Orichalcum Golem paid absolutely no heed to such words. Its shining golden fist was smeared with crimson blood, with various chunks of flesh adhering to it in abundance. Realizing that its final opponent was motionless, the Golem slowly raised both its arms high.

"Ah... aah... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—"

CRUNCH!!

The last person was reduced to mincemeat.

Thus, the Orichalcum Golem achieved its goal.

As if to say "this is the end," the Orichalcum Golem turned on its heel and disappeared into the depths of the grassy area it emerged from.

Thus, the few survivors of the Kingdom of Olfastar's port city defense force in Sasante were completely wiped out without being able to report the grave situation to Incala.

. . .

At that time, Asahi and his men had finished preparing for departure.

"All personnel, prepare for departure!!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!!"

Out of the 30.000 Japanese troops, predominantly consisting of a vehicular unit, 25.000 began to move. However, unfortunately, there weren't enough vehicles and cargo beds for everyone to ride, so the march included infantrymen, resulting in a slow march of about 5 kilometers per hour.

Asahi had ordered research not only on tanks and armored vehicles but also on automobiles at the vehicle factory he had established on the mainland, hoping to produce vehicles of a similar caliber to the Kurogane Shiki soon. However, for some reason, among the reincarnated individuals, there was a technician who had apprenticed under Ferdinand Porsche of Germany, so now they were also beginning research on Volkswagen. Thanks to this, Asahi speculated that in some cases, this might lead to the creation of German tanks, or even vehicles similar to them.

Well, the headache was that they would need to train people who could operate and maintain these vehicles.

"Moreover, the fleet commander himself has to take command of land battles... Our manpower shortage is severe."

Since he had brought Akitsu Maru as his deputy commander, he intended to delegate the basic command of land-based combat to her. With that, they departed from the port city of Sasante, heading straight for the capital city of the kingdom.

. . .

They had been walking for about two hours when they noticed something unusual on the road, prompting them to halt their march.

"Fleet Commander, I am here to bring you a report!!"

A soldier who had been at the front came to report to Asahi.

"Is there a problem?"

"Sir! There were numerous pools of blood on the road and in the vicinity. Additionally, we found armor and spears that seemed to have been crushed by overwhelming 'force' within those pools of blood!!"

"Did something happen...? If you say they were crushed, it doesn't seem like bandits. It might be some kind of magical creature with overwhelming power. Inform the tanks to be on high alert."

"Yes, sir!"

After the soldier ran off, Asahi called out to Hiyou, who was sitting in the front seat.

"Hiyou, any opinions?"

"I cannot say for certain since we don't know much about this world... But if what the Commander says is true and there's some creature with immense power, then we might need the tanks."

Just a minute after Asahi and his companions passed by, the Orichalcum Golem that had attacked the remnants of the Olfastar soldiers appeared once again.

"W-what the fuck!?"

"It's a giant! A shining stone giant!!"

Asahi heard the commotion from behind and quickly got out of the car, rushing to the scene where he saw the golem, which was shining in gold but translucent. Following encounters with wyverns and fantasy races, Asahi, the otaku, couldn't help but feel his heart race at another encounter with an "impossible" entity if he were to look at it through Earth's lenses.

"Is that... a golem!? Then... the red core in its chest must be its weak point! Inform the tanks! Aim for the chest with armor-piercing shells!!"

"Yessir!!"

Impressed that Asahi remained completely unfazed by the sudden appearance of the monster, the infantry quickly relayed the information to the Type 4 medium tanks. Of course, Asahi's knowledge came from the otaku knowledge he had devoured from light novels in his previous life, something the Japanese military had no way of knowing.

Sergeant Shinzo Munakata, who was riding in one of the tanks, carefully examined the chest area as instructed.

"That ball-like thing... that must be the core."

"Haha, my balls are more impressive, Sergeant."

"Don't talk nonsense. Alright... load armor-piercing shells!"

"Shell loaded!"

"Take aim carefully... and fire!!"

BOOM!! ...CRASH!!

The shell that hit the area where the core was located exploded, albeit on a small scale compared to a high-explosive shell. Because the Orichalcum Golem was originally lighter than rock golems, it was blown backward by the 75 mm shell fired from such a close range of just 50 meters.

"It's working!!"

However, upon closer inspection, although the surface armor of the golem had shattered, exposing the core, it was not completely destroyed. Moreover, it seemed to already be regenerating, perhaps absorbing the surrounding magical energy. The tank crew members were amazed at its regeneration ability, which was far faster than any Earth organism could achieve.

"Damn!! It's tougher than I thought!!"

"This is Tank No. 2, we're going to open fire!"

Tank No. 2, positioned behind Tank No. 1, which had just fired, had already adjusted its barrel and was aiming.

"Distance is good... Fire!!"

BOOM!! ...CRASH!!

Once again, a close-range shot hit its mark, causing the spherical, basketball-sized object inside the golem's chest to shatter into pieces. With its core destroyed, the Orichalcum Golem came to a halt and crumbled into a heap of rubble.

"Nailed it!!"

As the soldiers rejoiced, Fusou, who had been watching from the front, put her hand to her chin.

"We managed to defeat it... But it was a formidable display of defense. It took two 75-millimeter armor-piercing shells to silence it... and at such a close range of around 50 meters."

If the tanks had been Type 97 medium tanks (including those with the old and new turrets) or Type 95 light tanks, they probably wouldn't have been able to penetrate even with armor-piercing shells at such a close range, considering the technological level of Japan at that time (the author has heard stories that the armor-piercing shells used at the time were brittle). In that sense, it was extremely fortunate that they were equipped with Type 4 medium tanks, which had 75 mm guns capable of delivering the standard firepower of that era. This was thanks to the AA guns made by Bofors, which were captured and used as a reference.

"We actually managed to break through the armor with one shot, so if this were an anti-tank engagement, it would have dealt significant damage to the crew inside. In that sense, one shot was enough for destruction. It just feels like a tough battle because our opponent isn't acting with human or human-like common sense."

Fusou, feeling somewhat uncertain, responded to Asahi's words with, "Is that so..."

For Fusou, there was an underlying anxiety about whether conventional tactics would suffice when encountering such unforeseen entities in the future. Despite being in a hurry, Asahi decided to analyze the Orichalcum Golem after encountering this unknown entity.

"This... doesn't seem like any Earth mineral."

Listening to the analysis from the army soldier who was knowledgeable about mineral resources and Asahi, who had some knowledge himself, Hiyou raised a question.

"That's true... It's a substance I've never seen before... Commander, have you seen anything like this?"

"Yeah. Considering this is a world with magic... maybe Mithril or Orichalcum...? Unlike crystals or other minerals on Earth, there shouldn't be substances that appear golden while being translucent."

Unlike materials like crystals containing sealed-in gold or substances like pyrite with golden structures, this substance was something that couldn't be easily understood by Earth standards. Additionally, in this world, there were similar substances like Mithril mentioned earlier by Asahi, as well as Adamantine.

"Well, if we bring it back to the mainland and have a mage analyze it, we might understand something. Unfortunately, we're in a hurry, so we'll have to postpone that until later."

"What should we do with this?"

"We can't take it with us this time since we're in a hurry... but leaving it behind doesn't seem like a good idea either... It smells like trouble if someone else were to take it... but oh well. Bury this wreckage and core in the ground."

"In the ground?"

"Yeah. That way, it won't be easily stolen. We'll retrieve it on our way back. This thing feels like a rare find."

"I see, that makes sense."

The engineers quickly dug a hole about 5 meters deep and tossed the Orichalcum Golem's remains into it. Later, when this wreckage was recovered and reported to the Adventurers' Guild in Japan, it was met with astonishment and reverence from guild branches worldwide, and for a while, it remained a closely guarded secret.

"Alright, now that it's buried, let's continue our journey. We've wasted enough time."

"Yes, sir!"

With the task completed in about 30 minutes, the Japanese military resumed their march towards the royal capital, Incala.

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I plan to post the next chapter on March 23.

By the way, starting next week, "Operation Typhoon" will begin in KanColle. From what I've researched, it seems to be an operation aimed at ambushing the American task force using submarines and special Type 4 Launches... I'm looking forward to seeing which characters will be implemented and what bosses will appear.

This time, I'd like to clear Operation Nan if possible.

I've been writing the continuation bit by bit, so please continue to support this work.

- Kazuhiro Kasami