Author notes:
I'm back! This chapter is fun, especially if you're a historical buff or you know your military stuff... Or just a damn gamer in general lol. I must say, I'm laying on you a major foreshadowing of how these countries will be fighting their wars from here on out. It may take a while but their wars will hopefully be true and bloody like that of our WW2. Until then, I will be working on getting that overdue Belkan flex out and about lol
As for status update on my mom's health. She is better now, thanks Yggdra. No more fever, no more unable to eat proper meals. But coughing and overall aching of body are still a thing though. I will still need to monitor her but I think I can get my schedule back on track now. Thanks for being patient with me and for wishing my mother well, all of you.
Now have 3 of Yuki's most beautiful picture in an office setting. Gotta say, I think these are the best render of her, period.
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With her breath slightly out of order after their... intimate workout, Yuki is now filing the last of the reports while only wearing an unbuttoned dark navy blue shirt. Suddenly, a pair of arms drapes over her shoulders from behind.
"Why don't you take the rest of the day off?" Lu asked in a bewitching tone. Her fingers trailed Yuki's glistening skin after their lovemaking. "And we can rejoin the others for relaxation or more... passionated activities."
Having said that, Lu leans over and peers down, seeing Yuki's pussy still leaking their love juice from earlier, staining her chair. With a smirk, Lu snakes her draconic tail around the length of Yuki's leg, pointing its tip a mere five centimeters away from the drenched slit.
Chuckling at the fact that she's been held at sexual gunpoint, the Reich Marshal responds. "I am just about to, mama. I just need to read up on the spies' intelligence." Yuki's laughter failed to cover up her anticipating blush and moistening pussy.
Seeing that her daughter is growing more restless and promiscuous, Lu licks her lips in glee. In many ways than one, Lu has made the right choice by adopting Yuki into the family. After all, not many can confidently keep up with the sex drive of a dragon such as her.
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Emperor Cao Long has been invited with little to fanfare to a secret testing ground by his trusted friend, General Liu. After many months of research and development, with the helpful aid from Belkan experts, the Long Dynasty is now ready to unveil its latest, homegrown, armored fighting vehicle for their Emperor to witness in action. Somewhat taller than the Belkan-purchased Panzer III M, the new prototype bares few similarities to its older cousin. Albeit, the prototype does share as many parts it can with the Panzer III M. Time and time again the Belkan officers have hammered their Chinese counterparts on the matter of simplified logistics. As such, while the prototype is developed to be better than the Panzer III M in every way, it shares a noticeable root with the imported predecessor.
"Now tell me, what's the name of the Army's newest steed?" Emperor Cao Long asked General Liu while crossing his arms. The Emperor can be seen directing a gaze of approval at the general aesthetic of the prototype.
General Liu, having been recalled from Belka to oversee the development of this program, answers. "As it stands, the prototypes are called Panzer III/IV. And these prototypes are transitional test platforms that we will use to iron out any faults in the design. After that, the finalized design will receive the designation of Panzer IV according to the Belkan naming convention. This should be the last field trial for the prototypes, your Majesty. The prototypes have performed exceedingly well aside from the few breakdowns due to manufacturing mishaps. "
Emperor Cao Long nods, pleased to hear that the money they poured into this project is finally bearing fruit. The Emperor does note, however. "Make sure that the factories are up to speed with the latest manufacturing process. I do not want to hear that they're cutting corners, thus, hampering the effectiveness of our newest war machine. Japan is expanding its military with new tanks, warships, and aircraft... And since we can't match them in the open sea, we must focus on holding our own in the air and on the land."
General Liu nods. "After Your Majesty's crackdown on the troublesome parties to the Dynasty, we have been able to install a supervision system comprised of both military personnel and Belkan liaisons in our industrial facilities. Any and all corruption has been rooted out and the few mismanagements we encountered were either purely accidental or due to the unfamiliarity with the newest manufacturing process. Nonetheless, the system is working under wartime conditions and will continue to remain vigilant for any unwanted elements."
Stroking his beard, Emperor Cao Long nods. "Good, it will be unwise to let down our guard. It's not just internal misfits we have to worry about but also foreign spies, especially the Japanese ones."
And while the two men-in-power are discussing matters of the state, the crew of the Panzer III/IV prototype in front of them mounts up on the vehicle. A rumbling of the tank engine can be heard as the Chinese crew performs their step-by-step appraising of the tank's condition.
The Panzer III/IV, soon to be Panzer IV, is a well-rounded tank for the era it's in. If not for the Belkan's Leopard, it would have become the world's first MBT, built with nothing but contemporary technologies albeit with an advanced doctrine in mind. The vehicle is designed to be equipped with 50mm armor all-round, with 60mm thick armor plates on the front part of the body having a 60-degree vertical inclination on the top and 45 degrees vertical inclination at the bottom. Additional side skirts are presented alongside the length of the tank. Driving wheels of the PzKpfw III are used with the addition of reinforced output shafts, along with 540mm wide symmetrical tracks with a central ridge. The chassis has six semi-detached rollers 660mm in diameter on the leaf springs. The turret installed is basically an enlarged Panzer III M turret with spaced turret armor and used flexible electrical cables instead of using rotary electrical contacts at the base.
Powered by a 600-horsepower engine, it's fast, agile, and properly armored with a mean punch to boot. Armed with a 75mm L/48 cannon and three MG-34 machine guns, one mounted in the hull, one coaxially mounted, and the last as an anti-aircraft mounted for the tank commander, the Panzer III/IV embodies the Chinese's respectable craftsmanship and the Belkan's refined intellectual thought process. Currently, it's the most advanced tank of the Asia mainland and is expected to be outfitted for elite and spearhead divisions of the Long Dynasty.
But in a country surrounded by ocean, a rival of the Panzer III/IV is being given proper shape and form.
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Vill-V is taking a walk along the shabbily lit construction line of one of her creations, the Type 4 Chi-To medium tank. It has taken her some time to push forward the production of this vehicle. A major part of the delay was due to the arrogance of the Imperial Family. Vill-V thinks that it would have taken another year of lobbying if not for Susanoo stepping in and personally approved of the new tank design. Surprising, she knows.
After disparaging her good intellectual friend, Yuki, on a public basis, Susanoo has been quick to form a new, and more militarist faction in the court of the Japanese Empire. With Vill-V being the best person to develop newer and better weaponry for the aging Imperial military, Susanoo and his cohorts approve of her every need, albeit begrudgingly and only for the military side of things. Other matters like constructing powerplants and improving the quality of civilian life have taken a backseat, despite Amaterasu's best efforts to help her. After all, those things need resources and capital, the things that Japan is severely lacking after angering the Belkan Reich. As such, many see it fit to divert most of their budget into military expansion, in the hope of seizing richer lands instead. And as much as Vill-V and Amaterasu hate to admit it, the warmongers are right for the time being.
Japan needs a bigger stick to coerce more resources into them.
Stopping at one of the few Chi-to tanks that have made it out of the production line, Vill-V is honestly not sure whether this is enough to fulfill Amaterasu's ambition. After all, her dream had been dealt a crushing blow when Belka publicly rescinded their alliance. It's literally Japan against the world and if they don't play their cards right, everything will go down in flame.
Shaking away the unnecessary thoughts about the future, Vill-V lays a palm on the front armor plate of a Chi-to, recalling its specification.
The Type 4 Chi-To is a thirty-ton medium tank of all-welded construction and had a maximum armor thickness of 75 mm on the frontal plates. The main armament is a turret-mounted long-barreled Type 5 75 mm tank gun. And it has a Type 97 heavy tank machine gun mounted in the hull and a ball mount on the side of the turret for a second machine gun. The Type 4's 400 hp diesel engine is significantly more powerful than the engine of the Chi-ha, an infantry support tank that also recently entered production, giving it a top speed of 45 km/h on tracks supported by seven road wheels on each side. The tank has a range of 250 km and has adequate cross-country performance.
Giving the armor plating a few pats, Vill-V then vacates the factory with an entourage of protection that's vetted by Amaterasu herself. She then makes way for an aircraft factory on the other side of the city, all the while hypothesizing about how her Chi-to will fare against the Panzer III M with its 57mm long-barreled cannon.
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In a land colder than that of China and Japan, a party for only the most influential of the Rusviet Union is being held in the city of Moscow. A meet and greet of sorts for one to expand their connection, and to boast about their latest achievements. It's at such a party that an undercovered Quellec is paying a visit, alongside his trusted aide of the night, Rusk.
When asked for an invitation, Quellec pulls one out from the inner pocket of his vest, showing it to the armed guard with two fingers. After checking it, the guard salutes the pair with the utmost respect while slinging his M37 semi-automatic rifle, a guard designed by Quellec as per his long-lasting undercover identity.
"Sir Quellec Gagarin, Lady Ruskiya Sovetska, this way please!" The pair were then led inside a large ballroom. Quellec's company for the day, the similarly undercovered dark elf Rusk, politely thanks the guard with a charming smile. It doesn't take a genius to see that the guard is smitten by Rusk, but it's commendable that he manages to retain his professionalism.
A matter that Rusk soon comments on while they walk to mingle with the important guests of the Union. "As expected of the famed Red Guard, very hard to imprint an impression on them." Rusk said in a small tone while scanning the proceeding discussions and gatherings. "Remind me of why we're here again? After what, two, three years?"
Quellec lets out a smile of exasperation at that. "Not long enough. What, you're tired of putting our infamous or famous, depending on how you look at it, spy skill to good use? The Rusk hates dusting off her rust or something?"
Rusk rolls her eyes at the bad jab. "Please tell me you didn't just make that pun."
Quellec shrugs. "Apparently, I did."
"That pun is so bad that I am dead due to collateral." Rusk massaged the bridge of her nose at the unrepentance Quellec. "Even our Elders will soon kill themselves before listening to your stale attempts at making a joke."
"I will take that as a compliment." Quellec nonchalantly said before nudging his companion. "There, our person of interest."
Rusk subtly glances in the direction Quellec gestured his chin at. "Mikhail Koshkin, the man has seen better days." Rusk commented. "Sleep deprivation and now needing to deal with these hyenas? I sure not envying his position."
Quellec nods before leading Rusk to an unoccupied table. A server then comes to serve them their chosen drinks, vodka, and wine. When the server leaves, Quellec twirls wine in his glass while saying. "Koshkin started out as a confectioner before finding his true calling in engineering. In 1937, the Red Army assigned him to lead Design Bureau KB-190 to design a replacement for the BT tanks at the Kharkiv Komintern Locomotive Plant in Kharkiv. He is responsible for improving the BT series of tanks and is one of the few persons to be ordered with finding a replacement for them."
Rusk nods, drinking her vodka with practiced ease. "And apparently, you're one of them too."
"Correct. And I must win this contract. We are slowly dominating the small arms industry of the Union, it's high time we step into the big league. Of the five producers to be contracted, Mikhail Koshkin is a threat to us as he has the best design to offer the Red Army." Quellec added while keeping half a mind occupied with raising an obfuscation ward, cloaking their clandestine discussion.
"Red pill, or the blue pill?" Rusk asked while motioning to the server for another glass of vodka.
"Blue pill. The motherland already has a plan, one that doesn't necessarily involve his death. He will be taken out of the competition before things develop too far. By then, our designs for the T-28 and T-35 will have the greatest chance of victory. If not us, then lackluster designs will still be handed over to the Red Army."
When the server comes and refills the vodka for Rusk, she only smiles, waiting for him to leave. She then raises a toast to Quellec. "Well then, to an unwinnable scenario for the Rusviet Union."
"Cheers." The two spies clink their glasses together before downing them all. Quellec and Rusk then both stand up, linking their arms again. "Now then, let's make a favorable impression on this Mikhail Koshkin."