They continued their way towards the JSDF headquarters in the special region, the scenery changed bit by bit. Signing they arrived at the territory controlled by the JSDF.
The scenery there was no longer familiar to Piña and Bozes. What had once been a bare hill was now a fortress.
A flight of four helicopters on a training mission greeted Piña, as they turned overhead while flying a nap-of-earth course. Their powerful engines created a mighty downwash that seemed like it was going to sweep the surface clean.
3rd Recon drove down the newly built road among the flying sand and dust.
After passing the OPL (Outpost Picket Line), they entered the territory controlled by the JSDF.
The large space they had just entered was called the FEBA (Forward Edge of the Battle Area), which was used as a training and practice area. At the same time, it was a boneyard for numerous wyvern corpses, as well as where the children of Coda Village's refugees went to work.
The first thing Piña saw was JSDF troops formed up into squads with a flagbearer at their head holding their unit flag high above himself. They were chanting some mysterious magic spell that she couldn't understand while running in the opposite direction of the convoy and swiftly passing by.
"Model A Ford and a tank full of gas!"
"Hand full of pussy and a mouth full of ass!
"Sound off!" "One, two!"
"Sound off!" "Three, four!"
"Sound off!" "One, two" (Two and a half-beat pause) "THREE-FOUR!"
...at least, that was what the arcane incantation sounded like to Piña's ears when the men ran past the convoy.
'Is that some kind of incantation.?' Murmured the princess of the Empire.
The speed of the vehicles left them far behind, but before Piña could turn to watch them, the skeletons of several buildings came up by the side of the road.
The JSDF had considered the possibility of street-to-street fighting during a theoretical invasion of the Imperial capital, so they had asked Master Kato to supply blueprints of an average residential building in the city.
They had turned these blueprints into mockups of Imperial buildings, which the soldiers used to practice their urban combat tactics.
Initially, Piña had no idea what these troopers were up to.
In the Special Region, the most common form of attack was having infantry or cavalry charge into close quarters with the enemy while shouting "Waaaaagh!" or some other bloodcurdling battle cry.
Once contact was made, it was every man for himself. They would strike down the enemy before them with blades, spears, or shield bashes. Unlike the barbarian tribes on the frontier, the Imperial Army did not allow their legionaries to fight by themselves. Instead, their centurions would maintain order and rotate out the men on the front line of the formation to the rear as they got tired. Their enemy would fight until they got tired and then they would be cut down, but the Imperial Army would always have their freshest troops in the frontline, while their tired and wounded would recuperate in the rear.
This basic combat tactic remained the same whether they fought on open plains or dense city streets. The commander's job was to raise the men's fighting spirit, train their fighting skills, and lead them to victory over the enemy.
However, the JSDF was different. They did not use shields, nor did they form a dense testudo formation. They would spread out to sprint, halt, and drop prone, all the while communicating with hand gestures. They were a closely-knit, well-oiled machine that switched between stillness and motion with a fluid grace.
At the same time, they were raising metal staves in all directions. They looked like hedgehogs.
"What on earth are they doing?" Piña tilted her head as she thought, but could not find an answer.
"They're all holding staves like Itami. Could it be that all the soldiers in the Jayesdeef are mages? If that's the case, is that the secret of their power?"
Bozes answered Piña's question with a question of her own, "But mages are rare since magic is a special ability. Then, does that mean the Jayesdeef can produce mages in large quantities?"
Piña could imagine how those staves could strike down the enemy with beams of searing light. After that, she understood what the Jayesdeef were training for; their movements were calculated to conceal themselves and respond to the enemies' own movements, in order to find their foe and kill them in any environment or surroundings.
Even if they were ambushed from dark corners, even if they were fired on from high windows by snipers, even if they were flanked from both sides by Imperial cavalry, before enemy troops could close the distance to the Jayesdeef, they would be turned into Swiss cheese by their fire-staves.
"No, these metal staves are not magic. In their language, they are weapons which are called 'guns,' or "small arms.'"
From the side, Lelei denied Bozes' answer.
"The Jayesdeef use these guns as the basis of their fighting ability. In order to make full use of their guns in combat, they have trained and developed their skills to this level."
"They're weapons? That is to say; they're like our swords or bows?"
"Yes. The principle is simple too. They enchant a piece of lead with explosive magic, seal it within a metal tube, and then they let the lead fly free." explained the blue-haired small mage.
Pina:"And they give that to all their soldiers?"
"Yes"
"The JSDF created this weapon and mastered the art of 'fighting with guns' which is what gives them their strength. They fight in a completely different way. That's why the Imperial army lost."
Itami just shook his head hearing Lelei still thinks their weapons are magic-based. But said nothing.
Piña sighed in desperation and looked out of the window with a dissatisfied expression searching for some kind of hope.
While inspecting the piles of wyvern corpses on the battlefield, she had found many huge holes in the bodies.
Lelei explanation strengthened what she heard and completed the puzzle in her head.
Completed what she already knew. Either Piña convinces her father to surrender immediately, or the Empire will be annihilated from the ground. Either by the war machine of the JSDF.
'If that's the case, then obviously the way they wage war would be different. No matter how many men with spears or swords we raised, their numbers would be useless in the face of an enemy who fought like this.'
As these thoughts ran through her mind out of the blue, a Type 96 armored personnel carrier roared up beside them. The rear hatch opened, disgorging a number of fully armed and equipped men.
The soldiers who rushed out of the vehicle swiftly formed a neat firing line; their weapons pointed at imaginary opponents.
At this moment, Piña could vividly imagine cavalry and infantry being gunned down in their ranks, and she furrowed her brows in anxiety.
"Too slow! Move your asses faster! Again!"
In response to their commander's rebuke, the JSDF troopers got back onto the APC. After watching them train like this, Piña could not help but think "So there's a huge difference even from their basic fighting styles." Unlike the fear which had been deeply engraved into her soul in Italica, she was afraid because she could now understand her opponent, and it frightened her.
"That would be pointless."
Lelei pointed outside, through another of the vehicle's windows.
On the open ground opposite them, something that looked like a cross between a crazed elephant and a block of metal was thundering toward them. It was a Type 74 Main Battle Tank.
"When they say 'small arms,' they mean that these weapons are small guns. So that means that there should be 'big guns' as well."
They looked at Type 74 as it turned its turret, their eyes going to its 105mm rifled cannon.
"Does, does that spit fire too?"
Piña's thoughts were the same as Bozes' murmured words. She realized that this cannon was the so-called "rod of iron" which the refugees of Coda Village told her about.
"I have not seen it fire myself, but I do not doubt that it can do so."
No blacksmith in the Empire could make such a thing. And it was not just the Empire, but nobody on the continent could build stuff like that. It probably would not make a difference whether she searched the underground world of the elves or among the master craftsmen of the dwarves. It was a monster from another world, and she could fully believe that it could defeat a Flame Dragon.
Iron pegasi. Iron elephants. What was this JSDF, this force that could produce these things in such great numbers?
"Why did we even attack them in the first place?"
In response to Piña's quiet mutterings, Lelei replied:
"The Empire has trod on the griffin's and the dragon's tail."
"You, you... don't talk like it doesn't concern you! The Empire is in a crisis for survival, how can you speak so easily about it?"
Bozes angrily grabbed Lelei's shoulder, and in return, she received an even more hateful answer.
"I am of the Rurudo Clan. The Empire's well-being has nothing to do with me."
The Rurudo were a nomadic people. Although Lelei had settled down near Coda Village, she and her people had never had any particular opinion about the Empire.
Tuka, who had been listening but did not have a chance to cut in, rushed to raise her hand and say, "Yes, I'm an Elf!"
"..."
Rory remained silent. She did not need to say anything and simply smiled.
The Empire had made the Allied Kingdoms bend their knees and ruled over its citizens with force.
The Emperor did not expect his subjects to love, respect, or do anything but fear him.
The Empire's policy of conquest, suppression, and rulership through violence had led to the present situation - despite its dominance over them; it did not have the loyalty of its subjects.
It was only now that Piña realized the consequences of the Empire's actions