Runepolis, Holy Mirishial Empire

Sunlight pierced through the windows of Albion Castle, illuminating the lonely dust particles that floated in the air. These particles bounced around, carried along by the passing movements of bustling servants and government officials. With the Gra Valkans now officially at war with the EDI, the Holy Mirishial Empire’s governmental facilities had become busier than ever.

Naturally, Emperor Mirishial was caught up with these hectic winds. Representing the core of the Elysian Defense Initiative, repelling the Gra Valkan invaders was a monumental task that fell upon his shoulders. Although the Americans were providing aid in the form of supplies, intelligence, and expertise, it was up to the Holy Mirishial Empire to actually handle the fighting at sea while the Muans defended their borders on land.

Emperor Mirishial rubbed his temple while he walked back to his study, escorted by a group of elite imperial guards. Having just concluded a lengthy meeting regarding the recent victories at sea and their strategy moving forward, he found himself graced with true relief. Conflict with the Gra Valkas Empire was something that even his pride wavered against, and it concerned him that their victories were only possible due to the deployment of Pal Chimerae. If it weren’t for these units, they certainly would have been defeated.

Despite their recent victory, there was no shortage of issues to worry about. The Pal Chimerae could only do so much, and they had to be grouped sufficiently, lest they be isolated and destroyed. Today’s close call with Walman’s unit was a stark reminder that the Pal Chimerae were not invincible; they were vulnerable, just like any other weapon in their arsenal. Now, they were short one Pal Chimera unit, which neither their best sages nor the Americans’ best engineers could repair.

Although the Gra Valkans were driven away, the EDI lost their greatest tactical advantage – flexibility. One grounded Pal Chimera meant one less asset to use in proactive search and destroy missions, a setback that would only worsen once the Gra Valkans start spreading their forces more. Logistics in the Artticus Ocean would only become more difficult. Taking advantage of the large EDI defense fleets tied down near the coasts of Mu, the Gra Valkans could likely cut off supply shipments or even threaten the Mirishient continent with their numbers.

As a result of these concerns, he and his highest-ranking officers agreed to opt for a more self-interested defensive strategy – one that removed two fully operational Pal Chimera units from their board. One of them was assigned to guard Otaheit and the other was recalled back to the mainland in anticipation of Gra Valkan raids. This decision left only two for offensive use.

Emperor Mirishial remembered disagreeing with this, but it was Liage’s words that had persuaded him to go along with the decision. After all, it was merely a measure to buy time. As the director of foreign affairs, Liage was keen on small details related to nations’ governments. “Fighting defensively is a terrible strategy against an enemy like the Gra Valkas Empire. They would eventually break through. However, fighting offensively is also a bad idea. Like Schmill said, we would be stretched too thinly,” he said.

It was then that Liage introduced his brilliance to the meeting. Even though the brightest tacticians in the Holy Mirishial Empire were stumped, Liage somehow managed to reignite the flames of hope. “There is only one solution,” he said, “Drag the Americans into the war.”

As long as the EDI could hold out long enough for reinforcements, they would be able to turn the tide and win the war. Having familiarized himself with local politics within the United States, Liage knew that it was only a matter of time before they declared. Only one question remained: how long would they have to wait for?

Emperor Mirishial learned that the United States’ willingness to participate in the war hinged on polls, conducted with as little bias as possible. While he didn’t know the exact threshold, it was clear that President Lee and the American Congress were waiting on favorable numbers before they acted on the Elysian crisis. Currently, the approval rating for intervention was at about 70%.

Harboring these thoughts in mind, he switched on the television in his study. An elf in a red dress popped up on the screen, walking through the streets of an American city as she interviewed citizens. Interested with what the interviewees had to say, Emperor Mirishial directed his attention to the MNN special program.

——

Los Angeles, California

A cool afternoon breeze swept through the streets of downtown, stirring up fallen leaves and dragging them down the road. Alana continued to walk toward the high-rises, making her way toward a street crowded with demonstrators. Along the way, she conducted interviews.

She approached an older gentleman wearing a military uniform. “Pardon me sir, I’m Alana Forlen with the Mirishial News Network. Would you like to participate in a short interview?”

The gray-haired veteran turned around and agreed. His eyes went wide for a brief moment as he took in the shock of seeing Alana’s pointy ears, but he quickly regained composure after realizing he was on camera. “Yes, I’d like to.”

“Great!” Alana smiled, ecstatic at finding her first interviewee. “Would you mind telling us your name and what you’ve come here to demonstrate?”

The veteran answered with vigorous fervor, face laden with anger at a faction halfway across the world. “I’m Jeffrey Strauss. I’m here to demonstrate in favor of going to war against the Gra Valkans. Most of us here want the government to declare war as soon as possible, before those Nazi-wannabes cause more trouble.”

“For those of us who aren’t familiar with American terms, history, or culture, could you explain your description of the Gra Valkans?” Alana asked, hoping to glean more information on the veteran’s words on behalf of Elysian viewers around the world.

“Sure,” Jeffrey obliged, “About 80 years ago, the United States fought in a global war known as World War Two. It was a war my father fought in, and the horrors he bore witness to were uncountable…” he shook his head. “Well, our enemies were Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, both of whom committed slews of war crimes. Now, I don’t know what kind of crazy coincidence this is, but the Gra Valkans share a lot of things in common with these enemies. For one, the Grade Atlaster looks almost exactly like the Japanese Yamato and their culture has a lot of German characteristics.”

“Thank you for the context, Mister Strauss. So, you mentioned that the United States should intervene before the Gra Valkans cause more trouble. Could you elaborate on that?”

Jeffrey rubbed his gray beard, humming while he thought of a response. “Personally, I invested a lot of money in companies like General Motors, which recently received approval to sell vehicles to Elysian countries. Mu is one of their biggest potential customers, and business is already looking bad due to the lack of secure shipping lanes. In general though, I’ve heard that the Gra Valkans have been treating the conquered pretty badly. I heard that they’re forcing them into hard labor – borderline slavery,” he said with plain disappointment.

“Thanks for your time, Mister Strauss. Back to you, Aldoore,” Alana said, facing the camera.

—-

Runepolis, Holy Mirishial Empire

“Thank you, Alana,” a well-groomed elf in a Western suit announced. “There you have it, right from our American correspondent. It seems like the general public is rallying together to convince their government to join the war. A lot of Americans have strong feelings about the conflict, and there’s no wonder why. Here are some clips submitted by Muan civilians and Mu’s Ministry of Defense.”

—-

Washington, D.C.

A video played on a screen in the Oval Office, carefully taken by operatives working with local resistance forces. Decrepit structures lined the streets of the Sonalan capital, most of them riddled with bullet holes and ravaged by explosives. A slow camera pan showed the state of the royal castle, its once-glorious marble exterior crumbling away and its garden completely trampled upon. Tents and Gra Valkan soldiers were sprawled around the castle grounds; they were clearly using the captured location as a base of operations.

Although a majority of Gra Valkan troops were sent to the front lines, a significant number remained in the conquered territories as a peacekeeping force. The camera panned once more. The videographer adjusted his positioning to record a commotion that had just occurred on the streets directly below his hideout.

The sight that befell Lee and his cabinet’s eyes was one they were all too familiar with; it was a tragedy that once plagued the streets of Europe during the Second World War. Faint whispers came from the men behind the videographer, their soft words made loud by bold captioning near the bottom of the video.

“We need to help them!” a man spoke with a slight Mediterranean accent.

“No,” a voice belonging to the videographer replied. “I know how you feel, but trust us, it’s not worth it.”

“We can’t just let those animals have their way with one of our citizens, especially not a girl as young as her!” a local resistance leader hissed.

Down below, a girl screamed as she was dragged away by two Gra Valkan soldiers. She kicked and punched, crying out to nearby bystanders for help. One man attempted to help, stepping forward to call out the barbarism of the two soldiers. He was easily stopped in his tracks by the pointing of a gun, which made him raise his hands and back up.

The videographer’s tone changed ever so slightly, revealing his true emotions. “I know how you feel,” he said through gritted teeth, “But the mission comes first. If we’re caught by the Gra Valkans, this suffering will continue for far longer.”

The resistance leader sighed. “How long until we’re done scouting?”

The video promptly cut out as the men in the room discussed their objectives, leaving Lee and his cabinet alone to take in what just happened. It was a sad sight indeed, but a welcome one to the scheming leaders. With a frown, Lee voiced his opinion on the clip, “It’s tragic we couldn’t stop this atrocity, but at least now we have what we need to boost war approval rates even higher.”

Gordon Heiden nodded in agreement, “On top of the videos provided by Director Klein, I’ve also received 57 videos from the Muan and Mirishial governments. Some of the lighter ones have already aired on the Mirishial News Network, so we should be able to reuse them without worrying about the severity of content.”

“Good. Work with our media correspondents to produce propaganda pieces against the Gra Valkans. Documentaries, edits, articles, you name it. Robert,” Lee said, turning to the Secretary of Defense, “Have the DOD analyze the combat abilities of the Gra Valkans. I’m told some of the videos captured footage of experimental Gra Valkan weapons, like the lightning gun. I need you to determine if these weapons are a threat to our forces.”

“Got it, sir,” Hill replied.

A devilish aura suddenly emanated from Lee as he thought of another idea. “And… while we focus on propaganda at home, I’d like you to provoke the Gra Valkans as much as possible. Continue establishing supply bases further west and provoke them by conducting maritime exercises.”

Hill nodded.

However, Lee wasn’t done with his diabolical plan. He turned to Klein, “For the cherry on top, I’m thinking of a false-flag event. Any suggestions, Director?”

“Actually, we might not need to get our hands dirty this time. The Gra Valkans are planning to strike Otaheit with a weapon similar to the V-2 rocket. Since our embassy is located in Otaheit, this strike could be considered an act of war.”

“When will this happen?” Lee asked.

Klein answered, “It is likely to occur within 4 weeks.”

Lee turned to face the window, “Then we have 4 weeks to prepare for war.”