In Terra, I Have No Books to Read

The dukes could finally lick their wounds in peace. But a stable environment wasn't enough; they needed to find a way to restore Victoria's Originium supply.

The dukes' gazes immediately focused on Leithanien. It had been in turmoil with independence movements for quite some time. It was time to clean things up properly and remind the Catus of Victoria's might.

However, at this moment, one of the dukes spoke up, "It's not just Leithanien. The Sarkaz have been quite busy this past year as well."

Documents were placed before each of the Grand Nobles by a servant, detailing everything Kazdel had done in the past year.

They had established normal relations with Ursus, Yan, and Siracusa, engaged in trade, signed a peace treaty with Laterano, and even fought a war with Kazimierz, from which they gained considerable funds.

Recently, they had become even more brazen, selling transport ships at bottom prices, which had dealt a severe blow to Victoria's shipbuilding industry.

After not paying attention for a while, the Sarkaz had really become quite formidable!

"It seems we need to put them in their place," Duke Wellington said.

In the Kazdel Palace's council hall, Theresica was holding a military meeting to discuss some of the military issues discovered during the Siracusan War.

"Your Majesty, transporting troops by airship is still very dangerous. Our army severely lacks ground mobility!" Manfred said with great concern. Hundreds of people floating in the sky, and they were well-trained Sarkaz soldiers. If they were hit by Originium Arts, not a single one would survive. It was too risky!

Theresica pondered for a moment. "Didn't we acquire a large batch of transport pack animals? Why don't we use those to transport soldiers for now?"

"Your Majesty, transport pack animals are fine for transporting supplies, but they are not suitable for frontline environments. It's difficult to manage them in unexpected situations, and it will lead to unnecessary losses."

"Then, by what means do Ursus soldiers achieve mobility?" Theresica asked curiously.

"Your Majesty, Ursus transports soldiers via transport ships. Upon reaching the vicinity of the battlefield, they are then transported by small land vehicles until they are close to the enemy, at which point they switch to foot."

This sounded quite good. Theresica nodded in satisfaction, but before he could speak, Manfred interjected.

"These vehicles all use Originium as their power source."

Uh... Kazdel still needed to keep its Originium to exchange for money!

After rejecting the Ursus method, Theresica began to consult with the Military Committee to find a tool that could enhance soldier mobility without using Originium as a power source.

After searching through various options, they finally arrived at an answer that made Theresica smile wryly.

Bicycles.

The Military Committee was given a small objective during this meeting: to achieve the cycling of all infantry combat personnel within the next six months and to completely transition army logistics to transport pack animals.

Just as Theresica was reluctantly signing this order, someone from the Shapeshifter side rushed in.

"Your Majesty! A Victorian fleet has set sail, its general direction is towards Kazdel!"

Theresica froze for a moment, then looked down at the document in his hand...

"Damn it!"

Chapter 97: Victoria, the Scourge of Terra

A single landship was already a colossal entity, but an entire fleet departing from its berths simultaneously was something that could not be concealed.

Shapeshifters lurking in Victoria had tracked the fleet for several days in the desert, taking a complete set of photos, and then sent them to Kazdel at the fastest possible speed.

A thick stack of photos was placed before Theresica. With each photo he looked at, the gloom on his face deepened.

A massive fleet consisting of fast battleships, fire support ships, frigates, long-range supply ships, transport ships, and scout boats—a total of over 100 vessels—was traversing the gap between Ursus and Leithanien, entering the eastern region of Terra.

Such terrifying power was not even Victoria's full strength; it was merely the First Fleet under Duke Wellington's command.

All the Royal Courts of Kazdel had gathered in the palace's council hall. After reviewing the photos, Theresica handed them over to the tribal chiefs for them to examine as well.

After a rustling sound of paper, the King of the Scavengers spoke first.

"Your Majesty, what do you want?"

"If Victoria declares war, can we win?"

"Yes," replied the Bloodfiend Grand Duke. The Banshee standing beside him added calmly, "But in the end, we will lose all our people, everything."

The Bloodfiend Grand Duke did not refute this time.

Victoria's overall national strength was a crushing advantage compared to Kazdel.

While the chiefs of the Royal Courts might be able to achieve an over-level strike with their unreasonable Originium Arts, knocking off an arm of Victoria, Victoria could also deliver a fatal blow to the Sarkaz at that moment.

The fleet sailing towards Kazdel, excluding other warships, contained 10 fast battleships alone. Each was equipped with 12 Originium Great Cannons with an inner diameter of at least 400 millimeters.

The optimistic estimate was that with just three volleys, in a little over a minute, Kazdel would be completely reduced to ruins, and the entire nation would become desert bandits.

Although Victoria had just ended a civil war, the country could still be considered robust. Even if the Sarkaz managed to destroy this fleet, Victoria could organize a second, or even a third, fleet.

In addition to ships, Victoria also possessed a vast infantry combat force. While they might not be as battle-hardened as the Sarkaz, Theresica, who had been consistently using Shapeshifters to steal their military experience, knew very well that Victoria's soldier training system was extremely thorough.

They had complete military and non-commissioned officer schools, specialized training schools for technical branches, and most of the regular conscripted soldiers had junior high school education. Victoria had been operating this system for nearly a century, while Kazdel had only recently begun to re-establish its own.

At the same time, the industrial strength capable of supporting such a massive fleet was also formidable. Moreover, they placed equal importance on Originium Arts and industry, with dedicated research groups.

Facing such a serious group of Terra's hooligans, Kazdel, with its current resources, has the power to fight, but a single mistake would spell ruin. Even if they won, it would likely be a pyrrhic victory with mutual destruction, offering no benefit other than making the surrounding nations wake up laughing.

Thinking this, Theresica was also puzzled. Why would Victoria mobilize such a large force to Kazdel? Was there something worth fighting over in this desolate place?

As Theresica pondered, an Absolver asked, "Your Majesty, how should we respond? Should we begin a national mobilization?"

"No rush... no rush... they are still far from here."

Theresica muttered to himself, as if speaking to the Absolver and to himself.

"Continue monitoring the movements of the Victoria fleet... such a large fleet is enough to disrupt the regional power balance here. Let's see how others react first..."

In Ursus's Saint Petersburg, it was a quiet night, ideal for rest. However, a summons from Emperor Feodor had all the high-ranking generals leaving their homes and rushing to the Imperial Palace for a military conference.

The intelligence department had already prepared the documents and distributed them to the generals at the palace gates. By the time they stood before Feodor, they all understood what had happened.

"Tell me, what could be Victoria's objective?"

Upon hearing Emperor's question, a general responsible for the naval forces stepped forward, pointing at the map with his baton.

"Your Majesty, the strength of Victoria's fleet is such that the only places in eastern Terra where they could achieve results are by attacking Kazdel or Leithanien. The optimal route to Leithanien would be to pass between Siracusa and Laterano, striking directly into Leithanien."

"However, Victoria is now passing through the gap between our country and Leithanien, with Kazdel as their undoubted target."

Hearing this, the surrounding generals became animated, urging, "Your Majesty! Kazdel has an extraordinary relationship with our country!"

"We must prepare for war!"

"Support our allies!"

The cheers from the surroundings were loud, and the slogans were grand. However, Feodor knew that these old men simply wanted war.

Vitt, standing at the periphery of the crowd, understood why the Emperor remained silent.

In this situation, it was easy for Ursus to be drawn into a war, and not just any war. It would cause His Majesty's reforms to fail. Furthermore, if Kazdel, threatened by Victoria, were to lean towards Victoria's stance, it would be a loss for Ursus.

Pondering for a moment, Vitt stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, the situation is still unclear. If we make a rash decision, it might cause unnecessary changes. Kazdel has not yet communicated with us, and once friction occurs, Victoria will not be able to resolve the issue within days. We have ample time to react, and it will be sufficient to decide how to proceed then."

"...Let's do that."

Feodor approved Vitt's suggestion, and for a time, all of eastern Terra quietly watched the course of the Victoria fleet.

It sailed along the borders of Leithanien and Siracusa, with both countries saying nothing, only watching.

Finally, on November 7th, Victoria's fleet arrived between Siracusa and Kazdel and stopped.

But just as everyone was preparing to hear some news, a Feline, dressed in opulent attire and claiming to be a diplomatic envoy from the Victoria Parliament, entered Kazdel and delivered a diplomatic letter to Theresica.

It stated that on November 9th, the Minister of Foreign Affairs would pay a friendly visit to Kazdel.

On the same day, Victoria's fleet broadcast a message on all channels via wireless communication:

'This fleet will conduct military exercises in the nearby unclaimed territory between November 8th and 14th.'

Chapter 98: Victoria: Why Am I a Hooligan?

They claimed a friendly visit while also announcing military exercises. What were these Victorians planning?

Theresica couldn't quite figure out their intentions, but the initiative was not in his hands, and he couldn't come up with any countermeasures.

He could only order all of Kazdel's troops to be secretly deployed in the direction of the Victoria fleet. To increase their special combat power, he also wrote a letter to Mudrock, who was out exploring.

'Sister, brother is in danger, save me quickly!'

A peaceful night passed, and the sun rose as usual, marking a new day. But today, this barren corner of Terra, Kazdel, was unusually lively.

[Boom—]

[Boom—]

Victoria's fleet formed ranks in the desert, setting up stationary and moving targets 30 kilometers away, and then bombarding them with ship cannons.

The roar of cannons of various calibers was continuous, with intense explosions erupting one after another. When they conducted a salvo fire simulation for a fire coverage with cannons of 400mm caliber and above, the residents in the border areas of Kazdel could feel the ground trembling slightly.

Kazdel dispatched a large number of drones with stealth capabilities, silently recording every detail of the exercise in the sky and transmitting it back to Kazdel.

After the smoke cleared, Theresica saw that the bombardment area resembled the surface of the moon he had witnessed before. Facing this scene, the Bloodfiend Grand Duke showed a solemn expression for the first time in front of him. Especially when Victoria's battleships began their second salvo fire after more than 20 seconds, the Bloodfiend Grand Duke's expression became even more serious.

He was confident that he could unleash destruction comparable to this firepower coverage with his Originium Arts. However, this level of Originium Arts could be considered a super-large formation Originium Art. After using it once, it would be difficult to activate it a second time within 20 seconds.

Even with the assistance of a Banshee and an Absolutionist, if the second round was forcibly prepared, the caster would suffer significant losses, possibly losing their reaction time for several hours. However, industrial products like artillery shells likely did not have such problems...

[Boom—]

The sound from the drone's playback interrupted the Bloodfiend Grand Duke's thoughts. His guess had come true; Victoria's battleships had begun their third salvo fire.

In the council hall where the Royal Courts of Kazdel were gathered, a peculiar silence permeated the air.

After a full day of artillery fire in the desert, on November 9th, a man wearing noble attire and a strange white wig, led a group of people in suits and ties, escorted by Victoria soldiers, into Kazdel.

These individuals were under the guise of a friendly visit, but in response to Kazdel's diplomatic reception, they displayed an extremely arrogant demeanor.

Every word was filled with mockery towards the Sarkaz, and they covered their noses with handkerchiefs throughout, wiping anything they touched beforehand. This affected behavior even surprised Gladiia, who had come specifically to witness the power of a Terra superpower out of curiosity.

"What is the point of this?"

"They feel like they can achieve a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction this way, and in short, they'll be very happy."

"You like that too?"

"I don't know, but I really want to replicate this scene on them right now."

Theresica chuckled helplessly. Victoria's fleet was right beside them, so no matter how uncomfortable he felt, he had to endure it.

This was because Kazdel could not go to war with them at this time.

The ones responsible for accompanying Victoria's diplomatic personnel were the Banshee and the Absolutionist. Theresica had sent these two because he was afraid the other chieftains might lose control and resort to violence. However, even these two looked grim facing such a group of people.

During the formal talks with Theresica, although this group of people managed to meet the basic requirements for etiquette and demeanor, the content of their speech was entirely in the tone of delivering a notification.

"Kazdel should dismantle its shipbuilding facilities and then conduct import and export trade with us according to this table."

Theresica glanced at the slip of paper handed over by the other side and almost laughed out of anger. The large table was practically equivalent to outright robbery.

Let alone that, he couldn't even accept the first demand to dismantle the shipyard.

"I'm sorry, your demands are a bit beyond our capabilities, and we cannot accept them."

Theresica's face was stern as he tried his best to reject their proposal in a normal tone. Upon hearing this, the group immediately packed up their things and left.

Subsequently, during the day's exercises, Victoria's fleet added infantry to their naval artillery.

A large number of infantry emerged from the transport ships, and the naval artillery worked in conjunction with them, covering the infantry as they advanced towards a simulated enemy city.

Theresica saw all of this clearly through the drones. Although the powerful force of the naval artillery meant that Victoria's infantry didn't display much of their strength, Zeppelin and the other old Sarkaz craftsmen were greatly astonished.

"Your Majesty! Please take a closer look at Victoria's soldiers!"

Zeppelin pointed at the orderly formation of Victoria's infantry advancing amidst the artillery fire. "Your Majesty, these soldiers are not wearing armor!"

Theresica leaned closer to take a look. It was indeed as Zeppelin had said. Moreover, judging from the body movements of Victoria's soldiers, the material they were wearing was a flexible material that could bend to some extent!