Central Calender May 17th, 1639

18 km from New Mariposa Naval Base.

The Lourian troops were definitely not in good shape.

Sure, they still have most of their ground troops alive, but they already lost half of their wyverns. Troop morale is at an all-time low.

General Pandour had no idea how to win this. The enemy is far too advanced and General Pandour is all too aware of that. However, if he even think about retreating or defecting, he would end up dead. Adem would make sure of it.

General Pandour could do nothing but continue marching forward. He could only pray that he gets lucky. But he really doubts it. With the sheer display of power, he knows that his enemies have far superior firepower.

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New Mariposa Naval Base

Through stealth drones, Brigadier General Milton Conrad watches as the enemy march into 15km distance of the Naval Base. He knows his counterparts in the navy would be watching this too.

He knew what the orders are. There will be a coordinated shelling of the Lourian troops between the army and the Navy due to only having two artillery pieces in storage. Either way, against such a primitive army, it should be more than enough.

"Bastards won't even know what hit them," he chuckled.

As the Louriam troops finally marched across the 14km range, the order was given.

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Lourian invasion force

General Pandour thought his next moves carefully. Perhaps he would just rush the base. If he gets lucky, he would be able to swarm them and take them. However, up until this point, they have not seen a single American soldier. Sure, they have seen their flying machines and the defected Naval Wyverns, but never an actual American troops.

That thought alone was enough to scare Pandour. Nobody knew what kind of weapons an american infantryman uses. Or worse, do they have land vehicles, comparable to those of the Superpowers of Mu and the Holy Milishial Empire?

Pandour's thoughts were completely disrupted when the ground around him erupted.

Somehow alive after the first barrage. General Pandour looked around, shellshocked and heavily injured. As far as the eye could see, there was just gore. His troops were literally smashed into the ground like grains in a porridge. Those alive were so heavily mutilated, they wouldn't live past the hour.

"Th-this...was...not...a...battle..." he uttered.

Pandour lost consciousness just before the second barrage came in, killing most of the remaining troops.

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Onboard the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt

Watching the moving pictures broadcast from what the Americans call a "stealth drone", Sharkun almost vomited. He was expecting a proud display of American power, instead, the massacre was...just terrifying. Within second of the shots landing, the explosions completely destroyed the Lourian troops marching ahead. There was no battle, just an absolute slaughter.

Sharkun was glad that he did switch sides, but wondered if that was merely a fraction of America's former power, how much more powerful will the Americans at full power be. Perhaps some questions are best left unanswered, as the answer of which could drive a man insane.

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Kingdom of Louria, royal capital Jin Hark, Castle Hark, royal council

King Hark XXXIV nearly had a heart attack. The Americans had wiped out 10,000 men with ease while suffering a total of zero casualties. Not only that, their numbers had been bolstered from 8,000 to closer to 60,000 thanks to the refugees and defections. It is highly doubtful that his army could march into the American base without suffering so much casualties that even Qua-Toyne and Quila could march into Louria with ease.

King Hark XXXIV has no intentions to continue sending troops into Qua-Toyne if that's the outcome. It would be nothing but an absolute waste of manpower. Right now, an important decision has to be made.

"Pull all other troops back from Qua-Toyne and Quila, if the Americans want to win, they will have to go on the offensive."

King Hark XXXIV hoped that the logisitical issues would wear out the Americans, making them lose men.

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Enclave Oil Rig

"So...within just a few days, the Lourian forces have been sent packing."

""Yes, Mr. President. However, this is actually the worst case scenario.""

President MacPherson knew what he meant. When the US invaded China back in the old world, logistics was an issue. Likewise, overstretched, the American forces were picked off by the locals on a regular basis. Even though it is doubtful that a Lourian Arquebus could punch through power armour, it wasn't really a good idea.

"""We could always nuke the Lourian capital. We have three warheads remaining stockpiled and we could always drop one in their capital,""" suggested someone.

That suggested caused a huge ruckus in the meeting room. Seems like nobody here thought that was a good idea. Not only was that overkill, the United States was trying to annex that land to create a New United States. Nuking it would not be optimal for them.

Ironically, the most interesting solution came out of the Department of state.

""""From what we know from the Qua-Toynians and Quilans, the Kingdom of Louria is a semi-feudal state. Theybare literally propped up by vassals. If we have to make Louria weaker, why not get their vassals to switch allegiance to us?""""

That plan had some potential, but President MacPherson was skeptical.

"And how do you propose we do that?"

""""It's simple actually, we just need to prove that the King of Louria is unable to defend the vassals. Then we just start offering them statehood, asking them to switch to our side and giving them autonomy. When that is done, Louria would be surrounded by enemies.""""

Secretary of Defense John Powell seemed very interested in the idea of this. He knew all to well about the logistics of a full-on invasion.

""Based on the data from the battles so far, I estimate that we could gain air supremacy quickly, perhaps then we could drop pamphlets printed in the native tongue to demoralise the vassals of Louria, pushing them to flip to us.""

The discussions about this went on into the night, but the way ahead was made clear. To take down Louria, they must deal with the vassals first.

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New Mariposa Naval Base Hospital

Pandour slowly regained his consciousness. The area around him was cold. He felt weird, as if something was missing.

My leg! It's not there! Pandour realized. His left leg was gone, but why? Thinking back, he finally recalled the details. The explosions that wiped out the Lourian invading army had took out his leg in the process.

He then looked around, the pain was unbearable. The area was bright, so bright that it was...unnatural.

"Am I dead?" he uttered out loud. It was so bright, he thought he was in paradise for a split second, then he realized it was impossible. Why? The missing leg was a dead giveaway, but it couldn't be hell either.

A woman dressed in white walked up to her.

"Where...where am I?" Pandour asked.

""You are in a hospital sir, a hospital in New Mariposa Naval Base""

An elf translated what the woman to Pandour. It became clear to him what had happened: he was captured by the Americans after his troops were blown to Kingdom come. But that begs the question:

"Why? Why not leave me to die?"

""That's not something a civilised people would do now, is it? Likewise, we as medical personnel have to uphold a certain level of medical ethics.""

Pandour was surprised at this, a powerful nation that isn't also very sadistic towards weaker people is very rare. If it was Louria, he would've been tortured till death if he were caught alive. Whatever form of cruelty he could receive here, it would be far better than what the other nations would inflict.

"Is all this...magic?" Pandour asked. He wanted to know what kind of civilization America is.

The American woman laughed and the elf explained: """The Americans don't use magic. Their civilization is completely mechanical."""

Completely mechanical, so something like Mu but far more advanced, Pandour thought. And yet, their medical technology was able to save him from such heavy wounds. Pandour feared for the future of Louria. If this is the type of enemy they were up against, they are in deep trouble.

The woman left for a bit, and then returned.

"Looks like you have a visitor,"

Pandour turned his head over to see a man dressed in Naval attire. It is obvious who he is.

"Vice-Admiral Sharkun?"

""""It's just Sharkun now, you must be General Pandour, the one who led his troops into a massacre,"""" Sharkun said.

"You traitor! You could've do-" Pandour screamed at Sharkun, but was abruptly cut off.

""""Done what? Led my men into a deathtrap? They would all have died like your men."""""

"I had no choice. If I tried to defect, Adem would personally execute me."

Sharkun was not impressed by this excuse. He left the hospital, not giving a damn about it.

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Third Civilization, Papaldian Empire, Imperial Throne Room

In the fairly well lit room, the top officials of the Parpaldian government discuss the runnings of the empire. Many things are discussed. It was mostly normal things such as colonial administration, military budgets, social issues and what not. It would've been just another normal meeting if not for the report of the Lourian conquest of Qua-Toyne.

Literally every official believed that the Louria would win the war with ease. However, the reports were the exact opposite.

"How is this possible? Louria was supposed to be more advanced and more prepared for war," an official said.

""It seems like all of these are linked to a nation that calls itself the "United States of America""". Indeed rumours have been circulating that their weapons ans vehicles are super strong.

"""What do we know about this nation? I haven't really heard of it before.""" said Emperor Ludius.

""Yes, your majesty. From what we know, the United States of America that is present now is merely a remnant of a nation. It is said that they were transferred here in some weird event, kind of like the creation myths of Mu. What they were transfered in is an offshore facility near Rodenius, which could house 1000 people. They transfered here with a small fleet. In summation, there are only about 8000 Americans present in this world. However, after the defection of the Lourian fleet, that number is closer to 60000.""

"""So it's some small Barbarian nation, barely even a city state. How are they beating Louria?"""

""Based on the reports by our observers on both the Navy and the Army, the Americans possess highly advanced aircraft, so fast that they make our wyverns look like they're standing still. Of how much of it is exaggetation we are unsure, but it is not something I believe we should take lightly.""

Emperor Ludius thinks a little. He knows what this could mean. He didn't like the implications, but on the off-chance it was true...

"""Send more observers there, we need to verify the claims. If this is true, they could be a huge threat,"""  ordered Emperor Ludius.

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Central Calender May 24th, 1639.

New Mariposa Naval Base

The Vertibird carrying President MacPherson and a few other government officials lands at the Naval Base.

President MacPherson, surrounded by some bodyguards, watched as the construction robots marched back and forth. After the Lourians retreated what remains of their armies back into their vassal countries, a more permanent settlement for the refugees needed to be built.

But it wasn't just a temporary settlement for refugees, these are housing people who hold a grudge against the Qua-Toynian government. They hate the Qua-Toynian government because they failed to provide protection. As a result, they will be staying here long-term.

The government of Qua-Toyne didn't mind the people leaving as these people are just potential rebels in the eyes of the Qua-Toynian government.

The town will be called "New Washington." Not the most creative name, sure, but the layout has already been planned out.

"Beautiful ain't it, the rise of a new city." MacPherson said to himself, pride growing in his head.

MacPherson was envisioning a city similar to Washington, D.C. in scale one day. However, for now, that is a far-fetched dream. But of course, one could only wonder how the city would grow from this point.

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Kestrington Castle, Duchy of Kestrington

Duke Marlbrough of Kestrington looks at the letter from the King of Louria again. The King was demanding for more manpower amd taxes from him. While it was normal for a liege to ask his subjects to give things like this, they literally just raised it last month, and now they're asking for more?

The amount of unjust demands from the king of Louria was preposterous. Where do they think their taxes come from? At this rate, there will be a peasants revolt. If it was any other king, the vassals would have revolted instead to break free.

However, the Lourian army was far too advanced for the vassal duchies. The King of Louria had worse attitude than that of Parpaldians: they absolutely refused to share technology, and they couldn't really create a lock mechanism that is important for effective firearms. Likewise, the Lourian army was far-more disciplined for this.

There was also the issue of the distrust between fellow duchies. No duke could be sure that the other dukes could really be trusted to help them in a war for independence. There's always the chance of snitching or out right betrayal. This fear alone kept Malbrough and most likely every other duke in Louria in line.

The idea of defecting to the other side was also deemed unfeasible. While it seems good, some of the duchies do have the prejudice against Qua-Toyne and Quila. There is no way they would defect to those two, making them allies of Louria. The group known as the "Americans" seemed strong enough. However, unless they could neutralize superior numbers, it's not a good idea to align themselves with such a small group.

Duke Malbrough sat down, dejected. There was not much he could do to alleviate this burden.