Even though all the details were finalized, preparing for war was no easy task.
After half a month of exhaustive preparations, a massive fleet slowly sailed out of Yokosuka's port amidst deafening cheers. When the other factions in Japan caught wind of this, they watched the fleet with extreme caution.
Especially the Shogun, who feared that Ryou had assembled this fleet to retaliate for the previous invasion. The last time he deployed Japan's most elite main fleet, it was utterly defeated by a single ship and a single woman. Now, apart from Yokosuka, there were hardly any main battleships left in all of Japan. Naturally timid and cautious, the Shogun prepared for the worst.
He ordered massive fortifications of Kongoukaku, especially on the seaward side. Under his command, over a hundred coastal defense guns of various calibers were installed, and the entire Kongoukaku was put on high alert.
But Ryou's fleet sailed directly south, completely ignoring Kongoukaku and rendering all the coastal defense guns that had been installed at great cost entirely useless. In his mind, as long as his plan was carried out, the Shogun, his son, and even the Emperor were nothing more than little hindrance.
...
While Ryou led the fleet southward, far to the north of Honshu Island, in Hokkaido...
Even though it was already April, when cherry blossoms were in bloom, Hokkaido, being at a higher latitude, still felt very cold. Fortunately, due to Princess Sakura's earlier preparations, heavy defenses were set up in the area closest to Honshu Island, and every refugee fleeing from Honshu was thoroughly inspected. As a result, the terrifying Kabane hordes did not spread to Hokkaido, allowing this large island to become Japan's only paradise away from the chaos.
Of course, the official narrative attributed all of this to the wise and heroic Emperor. Thus, even though the Emperor had fled the city, he was seen by the people of Hokkaido as a farsighted and wise ruler, and his prestige surged.
In the Imperial Palace in Sapporo, a secret discussion was taking place. The Emperor, dressed in elaborate purple robes, sat at the head of the room, while Princess Sakura, clad in cherry blossom-colored twelve-layer robes, spoke softly.
"Do I still need to endure at this point?"
The Emperor impatiently interrupted Princess Sakura's advice.
"Your Majesty, although the rebel fleet has gone south, now is not the best time to attack the Shogun. According to intelligence gathered by the ninjas, the Shogun has heavily fortified his city defenses to guard against the Yomogawa rebels. Attacking rashly now would be like smashing an egg against a rock."
After finishing her words, Princess Sakura bowed deeply, waiting quietly for the Emperor's decision. The Emperor frowned, tapping the small wooden table beside him with his fingers, making a steady tok-tok sound.
"Alright. We will proceed as you advised. Launch a southern offensive against Mutsu Province and Hachinohe. You may go and prepare."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Princess Sakura bowed and took her leave. Just as she reached the door of the sleeping quarters, the Emperor suddenly spoke, seemingly offhandedly.
"There's one more thing I forgot to tell you. A few days ago, the Fujito family sent a marriage proposal, asking for your hand in marriage for their eldest son..."
Princess Sakura paused for a moment, then replied in a calm tone, "I leave everything to Your Majesty's discretion."
"Hahaha! Don't worry, my dear sister. You are the brains of our royal family; how could I bear to let you marry someone else?"
The Emperor laughed as he spoke.
On the surface, this seemed like a harmless conversation, but in truth, the Emperor was subtly warning Princess Sakura: Don't think that just because you're smart, I have no way to deal with you. I can take away all your power at any time. This was the message the Emperor wanted to convey.
Princess Sakura's submissiveness made the Emperor feel quite pleased with himself. Even after she had left the palace, Princess Sakura could still hear the laughter of the Emperor.
"Foolish man, you have no idea what I want."
A smile briefly flashed across her unparalleled face, but in the next instant, Princess Sakura once again became the untouchable, lofty flower.
...
As Yokosuka's massive fleet sailed out of the port, the entire situation in Japan became increasingly complex.
On April 1st, the Yokosuka fleet set sail directly toward Taiwan. On April 5th, the Emperor suddenly ordered an invasion, sending 30,000 Army troops across the strait between Hokkaido and Honshu, advancing toward Mutsu Province and Hachinohe.
At that time, the Mutsu and Hachinohe domains were preoccupied with defending against the Kabane hordes and never expected the Emperor's army to attack them from behind. In no time, the situation turned into an avalanche. Numerous castles and stations fell, and the Army even reached the walls of Mutsu and Hachinohe.
In this campaign, the Army showcased several new technologies. The most crucial among them was the poison bullet. The bullets used by the Army were coated with a thin membrane taken from the surface of the Kabane's hearts. These special bullets could easily pierce the Kabane's hearts. When hitting humans, even if they weren't immediately killed, they would soon be infected by the virus on the bullets and turn into Kabane, attacking their comrades.
Faced with these vicious and deadly bullets, the Mutsu and Hachinohe domains were unable to withstand the Army's advance. In just two weeks, over half of the combined twenty-plus castles and stations were lost. With the Army at their gates, the lord of Hachinohe chose to surrender to the Emperor and was demoted and relocated to Hokkaido.
The lord of Mutsu, however, publicly declared that the Emperor had lost virtue, and the gods had sent the Kabane plague as punishment. He refused to be ruled by an unworthy Emperor who turned his sword against his subjects and vowed to resist the Emperor's tyranny. Mutsu held out for five days before a traitor opened the city gates. Seeing that all was lost, the lord of Mutsu committed seppuku in the keep.
In a furious rage, the Emperor ordered the Army to massacre the city and brutally executed the lord's family.
As if to vent the humiliation of being suppressed and imprisoned by the Shogun, the Emperor fully revealed his cruel and murderous nature.
Shortly after the Emperor's army began its campaign, Amatori Biba seized the opportunity created by his father's focus on coastal defenses and the weakened land defenses to launch a sudden and overwhelming offensive. Although Amatori Biba did not have the poison bullets of the Emperor's Army, his forces were mostly composed of survivors from the Kyushu campaign—veterans with rich combat experience, fearless and ready to die. The Kabane hordes along the way posed no obstacle to Biba's forces.
In just three days, Biba captured four stations in quick succession. The Shogun was so enraged that he cursed his son as a treacherous scoundrel.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean, after three days of non-stop sailing, Ryou's fleet reached the waters off the coast of Taiwan.
Today's weather was rather poor. Dark clouds covered the sky like a thick layer of lead powder, and turbulent winds swept in from all directions, causing smaller vessels to rock and sway.
Ryou stood on the observation platform beside the bridge of the Yamato, gathering magical energy into his eyes as he carefully observed the shore.
The fleet had just arrived at the three major ports of Taiwan, positioned outside ChiLung Harbor.
Ryou ordered several destroyers to scout along Taiwan's flanks, only to discover that the coastline stretched for hundreds of miles without any ports other than ChiLung Harbor. There were just a few small fishing villages, overrun by Kabane.
Despite years of development, and even with the McRucky Engine, a super black technology, the ChiLung Harbor before him was nothing more than a medium-sized port, barely able to dock a heavy cruiser. As for battleships, they were out of the question, especially the Yamato, which had a modernized displacement of 70,000 tons.
"Yamato, fire a decoy shell, but make sure to avoid the port," Ryou ordered after a moment's thought.
"Yes, Admiral," Yamato replied softly.
The main turret of the Yamato immediately began to rotate, and a strange shell was fired, heading toward a large barren area near the port.
While still in mid-air, the shell began to emit a strange whistling sound.
Upon closer inspection, one could see that the decoy shell had many small holes. The whistling sound came from the air passing through these holes.
As air circulated, a mechanism inside the shell was triggered, releasing a foul-smelling liquid through the holes.
As soon as the liquid made contact with the shell's surface, it was instantly vaporized by high temperatures, leaving behind a mist of blood in the air.
The shell flew across the sky, leaving a distinct blood trail in its wake as the heavy stench of blood slowly permeated the air.
When the shell hit the ground, it shattered immediately, and the stored blood inside erupted, forming a thick cloud of blood mist that quickly spread with the sea breeze.
Because the Kabane was extremely sensitive to blood, especially human blood, Ryou had his followers voluntarily donate blood to create this special decoy shell.
To ensure the decoy wouldn't fail, they even reserved a freezer to store it.
Fortunately, the Yamato was nicknamed the Yamato Hotel, fully equipped with all necessary living facilities.
As the scent of blood spread, the once calm port suddenly turned to chaos.
Countless Kabane rushed out from the corners, like starving wild dogs, heading straight for the decoy shell's impact site.
In less than half an hour, that area had gathered over ten thousand Kabane.
"Signal all heavy cruisers and above to fire their main guns with high-explosive shells at the Kabane gathering area."
"Yes, Admiral!"
Under Yamato's mental control, the communications equipment aboard the Yamato automatically began transmitting orders to all ships.
The warships immediately sprang into action, their cold, murderous gun barrels aiming directly at the Kabane gathering area.
The Kabane, like oblivious beasts, were unaware of the doom approaching them as more continued to converge on the area.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions echoed, and some Kabane instinctively turned their heads toward the direction of the warships.
Countless blazing orange-red shells rained down, and explosions followed one after another. Many Kabane were instantly torn to pieces.
In just three short minutes, over ten thousand Kabane were wiped out, leaving the barren land littered with charred remains.
But the gruesome scene did not scare the Kabane away. On the contrary, the loud explosions attracted even more Kabane.
Ryou, of course, showed no mercy and ordered their complete extermination.
After three rounds of this, even when another decoy shell was fired, no more Kabane appeared.
The Kabane in the vicinity had been almost completely slaughtered.
"Commence landing!"
At his command, landing ships immediately rushed to the beach, and a large number of soldiers armed with steam rifles flooded out, charging ashore.
Any remaining kabane were quickly found and had their hearts destroyed by the soldiers.
The beach landing resulted in no casualties other than one unlucky soldier who sprained his ankle.
However, once they entered the dock area, especially the complex terrain of the warehouses, casualties began to occur.
From time to time, Kabane hidden in the corners would launch surprise attacks.
Although the Kabane were swiftly dealt with, some soldiers were scratched or bitten by the Kabane.
But strangely, these soldiers didn't seem afraid at all. They remained calm, holding their guns steady, and even as the telltale purple-gray of Kabane infection spread from their wounds, their eyes remained resolute and unwavering.
A military force with faith is truly terrifying, even when facing death.
Ryou, of course, wouldn't allow his elite soldiers to die like this.
Soon, young girls dressed in white nun habits, embroidered with gold thread, appeared on the battlefield.
These were the most outstanding students from St. Raphael Academy, sent to the battlefield as trainees [Battlefield Angels] for their practical training.
"Who's been bitten?"
A pink-haired girl asked softly.
The bitten soldiers immediately stepped forward.
Several of the white-clad girls approached and skillfully began to bandage the soldiers with rolls of bandages faintly glowing with white light.
"Hey! Everyone, look! Inutaro is blushing!"
Someone shouted, and an eighteen-year-old youth who was being bandaged by one of the [Battlefield Angels] immediately turned bright red.
"Shut up! I'm just feeling a little hot. Ah!!"
The girl bandaging him, as if in warning, deliberately applied a bit more pressure, causing Inutaro to cry out in pain.
The observing soldiers burst into lewd laughter.
It wasn't just this young man; nearly all the bandaged soldiers had the same reaction.
To be selected as [Battlefield Angels], these girls had to pass an interview, meaning their beauty was at least an 8 out of 10. Coupled with their holy aura, their appeal to the soldiers was simply irresistible.
As the holy shroud covered the wounds, the infection's purple-gray color visibly receded.
This miraculous scene instantly changed the soldiers' eyes. Where before their gazes were mixed with admiration, now they were filled with fervent reverence.