Reich Marshal of the Belkan Reich

RM Vol 4: War – Interlude: Japan still exist this far in?

Laputa, Japan. As rolling clouds cover the peak of Mount Fuji, and with it most of the Castle in the Sky, tension is high in the great hall of the Japanese Pantheon as worldly news comes in droves.

"Nearly two weeks!" A disgruntled deity raises his voice. "Nearly two, full weeks for us to receive these reports!?"

The deity, sitting in the lower rungs of the Heavenly Court, throws the stack of documents and pictures down at the kneeling Yokai woman. The woman, not reacting to the papers hitting her military coat, calmly replies.

"Milord, we have long since failed to get meaningful intelligence reports whenever it concerns the Belkans. The intel we have in this chamber right now is compiled by the sacrifices of our remaining agents in Erusea and Ustio Loyalist territories. Nevertheless, it painted a picture that-"

"The Intelligence Bureau is fucking competent!" The same male deity rages. "You're paid good money to replace the Tengus that cost us ten years of funding! Yet, the best thing you could offer us after our years of patience was something that could be dismissed as newspapers peddled by children!? WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?"

They've lost it. The war hawks in the Heavenly Court have truly lost it after years of being passive against the Belkans' expansion in Europe. The Belkans have been unfettered in their ambition, yet their very own is being stifled at every step. There was a time when the war hawks admired the Belkans, but nowadays, they're downright jealous and irritated that Belkan superiority is crushing them in the rounds of cloak and dagger. They know better than to target the Belkans either directly or indirectly though, so they direct their negative emotions on their fledgling Intelligence Bureau instead. Susanoo makes no attempt to stop his hawkish faction, composed of both Divines and mortals, from airing their frustration at the recently reformed spy agency of Japan. The God of Sea and Storm is content with sipping his bowl of finest sake while the brainchild of the moderate faction receives a dressing down. The head of the Intelligence Bureau, the very same Yokai woman who is still kneeling on the floor, accepts the harsh criticism with unmovable grace.

It takes Amaterasu, one of the primary sponsors of the Intelligence Bureau, voicing her annoyance that the cacophony of lashing stops.

"Enough! We have better uses for our time than making things harder than it already is for our field operatives! Without them, we would have faced numerous insurgencies already! Insurgencies that shouldn't have been an issue in the first place if some of you have been bothered with managing your territories properly instead of gaining more worshippers and influence!"

Amaterasu's admonishment halts further attempts at berating the semi-ineffectiveness of the Intelligence Bureau. However, her words strike the sore spots of some people, a few of them even have clear displeasure written on their faces. Regardless, the Heavenly Court settles down with the mortals bowing in respect for Amaterasu. Another day, another draw in the relentless skirmish between the Moderates and Hawks, which is to be expected these days. It still doesn't help Amaterasu feel any better though. It's moments like this that make the Sun Goddess miss the antics of Vill-V and the correspondence she has with Yuki. But no, she has to deal with ruling a Court that loves to bite each other in the ass instead.

It seems to Amaterasu that she must bear these small sacrifices in her quest for a Greater Japan. Yggdrasil knows just how bad Yuki's workload is with a war right in her backyard... Though from what the Intelligence Bureau did give the Court to work with, the Belkans are racking up one victory after another. There's no telling how quickly the Belkan-Reformist Coalition has advanced, but...Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"We need to react. Now." Amaterasu says after allowing the Intelligence Bureau's leader to move back to her seat. Also, has Amaterasu mentioned how the hall has been weirdly modernized these days? It looks freakishly futuristic with technologies that shouldn't have existed for at least another ten years, yet somehow still comply with feudal Japan's aesthetic.

Amaterasu shakes the strayed thought away from her mind before continuing. "The situation has made it so the whole world is paying attention to Europe. Let's use that notion to our advantage and have the intelligence operatives cast their feelers in the neutral countries. It's miles better than having our agents keep butting their heads against an iron wall. Other than that, we must seek an official audience with the Empresses of Belka. Even if all we're trading is a formality, we can at least gauge their reactions for a guess on how well the war is going for them. They also seem to have an issue with their Darscen neighbor, right? Try to drive that angle through, and see how they will respond. The clearer the picture we can get, the easier it will be for us to plan our next moves."

Amaterasu then stops for a bit to take a breath to add.

"While we're waiting for the results, I propose for an immediate mobilization of our military. I demand full readiness from all of our armed forces. Though..." I direct a cold gaze at the war hawks. "I trust that you all can keep your fingers off the trigger. We don't have a just cause for anything, yet."

To this, Susanoo himself grunts in acceptance. Indeed, while the Moderates and the Hawks seek to expand Japan's influence, one with harsher means than the other, both factions can agree that they need proper justification for their force deployments. Sardegna is a prime example of why things shouldn't be done without a solid enough explanation... Or not, that nation was just unlucky enough to be a convene butt for every superpower to build up their resumes.

While Amaterasu is still busying herself with hosting the Heavenly Court, down in the lower levels of Laputa, a certain Mad and Miraculous Magician is throwing herself into another heap of wonderous experimentations. Vill-V has achieved her proudest works in these few years... Well, maybe nuclear radiation isn't the most sacred of things to be proud of but still, it's something big she crafts for Japan's repertoire. The Magician's next goal is to build Japan a series of nuclear power plants to solve their constant power shortages. Though it's a big goal, Vill-V is confident that it can be achieved in the span of a few years. However, the process may be hastened if she can get a new influx of radioactive materials, preferably from where that's close to Japan.

Then Vill-V remembers that Japan is not yet at war with China. Great.

Now that kinda put a bummer on her Mad Magician spree, but Vill-V can't just go about launching a war for resources. That particular job, well, she will leave it to the war hawks. Vill-V, with her big brain, can see at least ten possible ways that the Hawks will be able to dig up a just cause. Some are stupid, some are direct, while others require some massive research, patience, and eloquence... Though knowing the Hawks, they will no doubt go for the most direct approach.

Military exercises at the borders. A shit ton of them, in fact.

And then Vill-V shrugs. Meh, it's not Vill-V's job to think about such things, unless Amaterasu requires Vill-V to do so, which she isn't right now. Vill-V should focus on fine-tuning more of Japan's arsenal. She also needs to check another pet project of hers and Yamamoto Isoroku later. It will be a long flight then, ah. Vill-V truly wishes she had the resources and facility required to draft up a teleporter or something That way, she can save more time to cook up even more things. Unfortunately, Vill-V and Amaterasu find themselves on the wrong side of the map. It won't be until the future that they both bemoan how lopsided the game truly is. The future them will one day hear the infamous quote.

Truth is... The game was rigged from the start.