Aus's Great Counterattack had failed utterly, but it had not been entirely without gains.
"At least we confirmed that these Otherworld Invaders are serious. They committed massive forces. Around the planar gateways, there were not only regular troops, but also a great number of top-tier combatants—what they called overlords, King-level lifeforms, and even masters of planes."
Aus's homeland had fallen far too quickly. After all, in any timeline, the military strength of that region and country was renowned for being excessively pathetic and brutal.
Just look at what had happened on the Green Planet. No matter which worldline it was, their weaponry and overall combat strength could only be considered third-rate.
After all, among the island nations in that region, aside from the even less intimidating island-country navies that could only play with marine animals, were they really supposed to build fleets and packs of warships to circle around the islands?
Or was it going to be the classic joke: spending enormous sums to build a navy, then protecting the shipping lanes of their own country and their greatest hypothetical enemy under the threat of that very enemy?
Of course, they had another option: baring their fangs at the Eastern Kingdom, or trying to stop it from reclaiming its overseas islands. But even the Aus were not stupid enough to bleed themselves dry for allies so far away, while suffering through the periodic disruption of their economic routes and shipping lanes.
The lack of external enemies had created an environment with no pressure to grow. Their natural resources had allowed them to get rich while lying down for quite a long time—on the condition, of course, that they had slaughtered most of the indigenous people as they always had. Naive and foolish was probably not enough to describe their military's