Author notes: Oh boy, last chapter of this year and a Happy New Year to you all! WooHoo!
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*BROOM*
The loud noise coming from the rocket engine reverberates across the testing area as the bluish jet exhaust starts cooking the marshmallow sticks set up near it. After the test, crispily cooked marshmallows are ready to serve as the team behind the project moves to enjoy the treat. Doctor Werner von Braun, the director of the ongoing rocket engine development project, comments as he enjoys the treats.
"I have to be honest with you, Marshal, it's a delectable experience to enjoy marshmallows cooked with our prototype engine."
Yuki chuckles as she is holding up a stick of the aromatic snack. "It's just a spur-of-the-moment thought. Since the prototype engine was ready to be put on trial, may as well use it to make something to commemorate the occasion."
Nodding to her words as he pulls out a piece of marshmallow, Werner says. "I have a guess that sooner or later, cooking marshmallows using rocket engines will be a widespread thing along here. What's with the guys and girls finding it a good way to celebrate success." Using his stick, Wener points it at the team members chatting happily near the engine with marshmallows in their hands.
Yuki laughs having imagined the sight. "So long as they pay attention to safety procedures, I don't see why not. You're the team that is responsible for putting creating the next generation of propulsion, after all, a bit of fun will do great for morale and ingenuity."
"I will make sure the members keep that in mind, Marshal." Werner agreed with a nod. "Having said that, have you had the chance to take a look at my proposals, Marshal?"
Throwing away the empty sticks, Yuki wipes her hand with a wet tissue presented by Erika before answering.
"That I did, Dr. Braun. Your ideas about using liquid mana as an explosive ingredient in both the propulsion and detonation of a projectile were a pleasant surprise. The idea is very feasible on paper and I've already allocated additional funding to your Rocketry Department. The military is very interested in the prospect of rocket artillery, you see, so we will also help you with procuring testbeds for new trials."
With a smile on his face, Werner excitedly says. "Perfect! With the new funding and aid from the military, our department will soon present you with ground-breaking instruments of war. Perhaps in the future, we will soon be able to reach the moon with our new technologies. Though I have a hunch it will even happen in this generation."
Yuki affirmatively nods.
"We will get there soon enough when the world is at peace, right now, we can only take one step at a time. Anyway, let's see to it that the mana jet engine in front of us operates at maximum reliability. Then, we can get around hooking it in a working aircraft for a test flight. It's now January 1936 so the sooner we have a fleet of newer aircraft, the better we can train our pilots."
Werner replies. "Don't worry, Marshal. We will have it done in no time."
With that out of the way, they then move on to exchange more information on the project and its potential. When a member proceeds to report on the data gathered from the test engine, Yuki is pleased to see that the prototype has a greater-than-expected efficiency and life expectancy. With this, she allows them to build more prototypes and have them test under different conditions. Since the first prototype is running on a mana battery, the others will be fitted to run either with liquid mana or a mix of both.
After giving out the last set of instructions, Yuki leaves Dr. Werner von Braun and his team to finish up the last tests for the day. Since the day is still long, Yuki has Erika and Lola escort her back to the Mansion of Wisdom. There, Yuki pays a visit to Einstein, Mobius, Nicolae, and Ningyo.
Yuki's sudden visit causes them a bit of a surprise but it soon turns into excitement as they hurriedly introduce her to a working prototype of a gun data computer. After a couple of gruesome months and with immense help from Ningyo's and Nicolae's computational capability, the first generation of ballistic computers is made. Though still too big for anything short of a tank or an aircraft, the X1-GDC is more than capable to calculate precise fire telemetries for either direct or indirect fire. When hooked up to a director, the X1 can also fulfill anti-aircraft applications. Of course, as it's still a prototype, this ballistic computer requires a lot of additional bug-fixing and programming to get it up to snuff with the newer equipment. Regardless, just this positive success alone has boosted Belka's technological might by a decade. Yuki can't wait until the day that the first combat-capable Phantom jet has a built-in ballistic computer and radar. It will no doubt be a nightmare for the enemy to fight against.
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Stepping away from Belka's secretive developments, we come to see General Liu sitting next to a communication terminal, trading information with his liege, Emperor Cao Long. Instead of a radiotelegraph, this Belkan-made radio uses expensive runic formations to maintain uninterrupted, instantaneous, and encrypted long-range communication. Kindly provided to them by the Belkan government, this machine has allowed General Liu and Emperor Cao Long to discreetly communicate each side's development with each other without fear of espionage activity.
"Your Majesty, I presume that the training progress for our standing army has been going well?" General Liu asked. He has been supervising the material transfer from Belka to China so he is out of touch with the current military standing of his home nation.
"It has been going very well, much more than I have anticipated. Apparently, the presents of the Belkan liaisons and the prospect of being a local superpower prove to be very enticing for the entire military to usher in a period of positive changes. Of course, there are oppositions, mainly from the Republicans and our own heads of the industry yet they amount to nothing under the combined might of the other Generals. A few of them have been petitioning me to use this modernization period to flush out those corrupted factory owners and put someone more capable in charge. As a matter of fact, I will do that if we want to produce the licensed Belkan equipment. That aside, we have subjected a few of our divisions to the new training regime and equipment, under the supervision of the Belkan liaisons, they will soon adapt to the modern era of warfare. As for the matter of our Air Force, things have been proceeding well and our pilots are constantly being trained on the newer aircraft. I am still waiting for the report on the navy, though. Since they're being instructed by the Reichsmarine over in Europe, you will be the one to receive the first news, after all."
Heaving an audible sigh of relief, General Liu comments. "You have no idea how badly I wanted to hear the good words coming from you, Emperor. I used to fear that even though we received the goods, we will fail at implementing them due to some old cougars. Heaven above knows just how much trouble we had to face doing the deeds behind the back of those hyenas."
Letting out a bellowing laugh on the other side, Emperor Cao Long says. "That goes to say that our preparations have proven their worth! By forging a close-knit bond with the militarist through the promise of wealth, power, and the threat of Imperial Japan, we've managed to force the tumors of our dynasty to submit. In a couple of years, the Long Dynasty will need not worry about the Republicans or Manchukuo. The only threat we will have to face will be the Japanese themselves."
General Liu adds. "Yet, even then they will not be an issue so long as we Chinese unite under one common cause." Hearing the acknowledging harrumphs from the other end, General Liu continues. "Fortunately to us, the windfall from excavating the Tomb of Emperor Wu of Wei has provided us with untold riches. I just hope that Lord Cao Cao deems our transgression a necessity to ensure the perpetuity of China."
Though General Liu worded it with a touch of wariness, Emperor Cao Long laughs in response, causing the General to shake his head.
"I assure you, old Liu, we will never have to worry about divine retribution. For it's we that are in the right, after all." Emperor Cao reassured his trusted General.
After all, Lord Cao Cao won't be throwing any charges at them for one reason and one reason only. This Cao Long here IS Cao Mengde's reincarnation. Hahaha!
"I will take your word for it, Your Majesty." General Liu said with a sigh. "Have there any response from the Japanese?"
"None that we can't handle. So far, they've been lobbying along with Manchukuo about the reason why we're arming ourselves. They even got in touch with the Belkan ambassador here but are failing to get anything of note. We are banking on the facts that due to the Months of Demons, we need to improve our national defense. While Belka is stating that they have secured a trade agreement with us to profit from the lull in the war against Ustio. So far, the Japanese have been begrudgingly buying the excuses but we both know the true reason behind the matter." The Emperor said with a mocking tone when he mentioned the Japanese. "It's about time we give the Japanese a taste of their own medicine. We will not let another Manchukuo happens ever again."
Having said that, the discussion between the Emperor and the General moves onto something else mainly's it is about the Emperor's family. When General Liu reports that little Mei is doing well and even managed to befriend the Belkan Princess Marshal's sister, Emperor Cao Long is very pleased.
"That's my girl! Climbing up the social ladder already!" He soon turned into an overly doting father and General Liu was forced to tell the Emperor every little thing Princess Mei has done, much to his exhaustion.
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Madrid, Spain. In the Lord Inquisitor's chamber in the Spanish Inquisition Headquarters.
Lord Inquisitor Ricardo Camati is taking another look at the reports in his hand. The content is disturbing news to him and if all of these are proven true, then it's safe to say that the Catholic world will be thrown into turmoil. Worst, the entire world will be put at risk for the sake of one deranged Pope.
Heaving a heavy disappointed sigh, the Lord Inquisitor stands up and proceeds to throw the classified documents into the fireplace. As he watches the folders being burned to nothing more than ashes, Lord Ricardo mutters darkly. "Mussolini, you will doom us all! It seems like the Spanish Inquisition and Sargednian Papacy will no longer see eye to eye."
Once he confirms that the papers are all burned up, Lord Ricardo moves back to his office chair before slumping heavily onto it. A swirl of thoughts runs about in his mind as he struggles to find a solution to the predicament the people of Spain have found themselves in.
Ever since the beginning of the Months of Demon, Spain has been hit the hardest by the Demon spawns from all directions. This has caused widespread disruption on a major scale, plunging the country into a whirlpool of chaos as the Inquisition struggles to keep the nation intact via any means necessary. Yet, they're being stretched thin as it is. Thankfully, the previous Lord Inquisitor turns out to be the key to restoring some semblance of stability to Spain. Back when the Belkan Reich was formed, Lord Camati's predecessor has taken a tolerant standing with the up-and-coming Reich, unlike the Papacy that's hellbent on its aggression against Belka. Granted, the predecessor's standing was primarily the result of Spain still rearing from the aftermath of Ragnarok, much like all other countries at that time. Regardless, because of his tolerant standing, when Spain is down on luck right now, Belka offers them the olive branch and sends over numerous supplies. Just that gesture of goodwill alone has lifted a whole lot of pressure from the Inquisition. This allowed Lord Ricardo a chance to investigate the cause of why Spain is hit the hardest in this period. The answer truly frustrated him to no end, as you have seen.
To explain it much more clearly, you will have to know that Spain is a subsidiary Catholic state to Sardegna, one that is being overseen by Lord Ricardo and his Spanish Inquisition. Yet, unlike the Sargdegnians, the Spanish people have a much more open-minded view than Catholics. Many Spanish lends their ears to the teacher of Belkan's Yggdrasil Pantheon for, in their opinions, the Pantheon provides a clear answer to Catholic belief, unlike the Sardegnian Papacy where it requires blind faith. This has caused friction between the two countries' believers and was further exacerbated by the previous Lord Inquisitor's action. The tension between the two sides is now at its highest when Spain is ravaged by Demons while Sardegna is still calm and prosperous. The latter even propagated that Spain is receiving God's retribution for not taking a harder stance against the Belkan's heresy and that if they repent, Sardegna will send aid.
"Repent my holy ass!" Lord Ricardo cursed for the reason why Spain is the hot spot for Demons right now is that Sardegna has been sending the Demons their way!
When faced with the lacking trust the Spanish have been showing to the Papacy, the Sardegnian Pope Mussolini, in a stroke of distasteful genius, ordered his army to secretly reinforce the Demons in Spain. This is achieved by fostering man-made Demon spawn zones, made possible by the lacking presence of the Spanish Inquisition. And when Spain is on its last leg, Sardegna will swoop in to save the day and reaffirm its holding in this subsidiary state. It's such a stupid plan on so many levels that Lord Ricardo can't believe that this Pope is the leader of the Catholic world. But that's not the world-ending news, no. this is but the tip of the iceberg.
Lord Ricardo's agents have caught a lead on a possible Sardegnian project that, according to their words, is 'no different than opening Pandora's box". Now it's still unconfirmed for the traces have gone cold but they've gathered that possible human experimentations have taken place some time ago. Experimentations that involved creating a superhuman that has the strength capable of contending with Demons. While it sounded wonderful on paper, his agents have already come across countless human corpses and a, temporarily dubbed 'failed experiment that has the power to wipe out two squads of veteran Inquisitors'. This is not good news for if words get out about this, the Catholic world will lose substantial standing if the words of the Yggdrasil Pantheon are to go by. It's hell on Earth if we are to experiment on the power we don't understand nor are allowed to for, quite literally, the world will not stop at anything to eradicate us.
Hence Lord Ricardo is seriously contemplating throwing this hot potato to someone else. The Spanish Inquisition doesn't have enough power to contend against Sardegna and its possible supersoldiers. Having figured it out up to here, Lord Ricardo sighs for he knows only one party will be interested in putting a foot into this mess between two religious parties.
"It would seem like I have to pay a visit to Belka."