(A/N: Well, that sucks. Maybe next time. And I'm totally not going to go back to the last chapter and edit it.
On to the World Cup, I guess. Not like it'll be any better, though. Watch USA get placed with Spain and France or something in the group stages. It might as well be over if that happens.
Song of the day: Clarity by Zedd)
/\\//\\//\
It happened again. It's okay. Diablo and his team should already be in the Eastern Empire, starting their instigating. Oh, and Masayuki is also there with them, but mostly as a figurehead. It may be a bit fast, but with Diablo and Testarossa working together, combined with the skills they have, it'll be a trivial case of starting a revolution. Actually winning it is another story, but only if they were on their own. And they aren't.
The Eastern Empire is going to be forced to divert its attention to us and commit massive amounts of resources to fighting us, the main threat. Which is good, because the more they underestimate them, the better it'll be for those revolting. And it'll be even better with no other countries supporting them.
And I also have full confidence that Diablo and Testarossa, mainly Diablo, will go above and beyond and cause a full-scale civil war in the Eastern Empire.
The Eastern Empire will basically be Russia, and Diablo, along with people revolting, will be the Bolsheviks. Except they won't be filthy, bastard communists.
I guess in another way or a similar comparison, from the perspective of the people in the revolution, once we start our counter-invasion, we'll be Japan, and they'll be the CCP going against the Kuomintang. Again, without the plague and scourge of communism, or other stuff from Japan's invasion, like hyper-nationalism, killing competitions, massacres of cities and innocent civilians, mass rape, and other things I could get into, but it would be quite the depressing list that really makes you think about humanity as a whole and wonder how things get to such a scale.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, you can. Just look at history and you'll see it's all connected, with a simple line to each different cause and effect.
For example, without the War of the Austrian Succession, there's no Seven Years War, and without that, there's no American Revolution. And without that, no French Revolution, and without that, there's no Napoleonic Wars, and without that, there's no Congress of Vienna, which led to the Concert of Europe, which led to World War 1 and the creation of the USSR, and then led to World War 2 and the rise of the CCP, which then led to the Cold War. And the Cold War led to so many other things, which also led to their own specific things.
Things like Operation Condor in South America, which led to many US-backed dictators in South American countries like Guatemala, Chile, and Brazil. There's the Vietnam War in Asia, which led to the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. There was the overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in the Middle East, which led to the Islamic revolution.
And to focus specifically on the last part, the Islamic revolution led to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which led to US support of the mujahideen, which led to indirect support of other militants and figures in the region, like a little someone called Osama bin Laden, and that culminates into a 20-year long, 2 trillion dollar involvement in Afghanistan.
And that's not to mention the other numerous smaller events that all branch off everything I just mentioned, and things that I didn't mention. And a bunch of other smaller details that aren't worth mentioning because at that point, it becomes something you have to specifically focus on, and you go away from the "main" timeline of world history. Not like I covered much, since I picked a start and end point that only covers close to 300 years. And it's not like all these events are the sole reason that led to each other thing. They are catalysts, inspirations, things that set up the conditions and context necessary for the causes and effects of other events.
Anyway, as you can see, from the 1740s all the way to the early 2020s, there's a clear line of events that caused everything and led to a better understanding of what makes the world what it is. Well, I am also biased in all of this.
That's why history is so cool and awesome to learn about. Well, if you can stomach and get past the more morbid and horrible events. That part isn't cool.
Damn, what a tangent I went on. I have to control myself. I'm not on Earth anymore, I'm in this world. I should put more focus on the history of this world, since it's more relevant.
So, where was I?
Right. Another Eastern Empire team was killed by landmines and boobytraps, and one managed to escape. I don't need to worry much, since they'll most likely explain that random explosions happened. They'll assume it's some kind of magic, and nothing physical.
I also don't have to worry about the otherworlders in the Eastern Empire finding out it's landmines. Why? Simple, American entertainment. How many movies or TV shows have you seen that show landmines making a "click" sound before exploding? Or a landmine only exploding when you take pressure off of it after it makes that same click sound?
All of that is a misconception. Landmines explode immediately as soon as pressure is applied. There are exceptions, of course, like landmines that go in the air before exploding. Those have a delayed fuse. You can also just make a landmine that does have that clicking sound, but that's just dumb.
I'm willing to bet a stellar coin they'll ask if there was a clicking sound before the explosions.
And they also haven't discovered the other booby traps, besides just the rigged corpse set to explode. Just wait until they fall into the other traps.
Anyway, things are practically set into place. Not 100%, but enough at a level that I find satisfactory that if the Eastern Empire invaded right now, we can fight and defend until we can start our counter-invasion.
It's a shame that I couldn't knight some more people, but it is what it is. I can't hold an impromptu ceremony, as it would disrupt the preparations, and not to mention, they won't have the time to train whatever weird Fate skill they get. And learning in the middle of combat isn't the best idea. Could you make extreme progress? Yes, but it's very high risk. Now is not the time for high risk. We're already doing enough of that as is, in my opinion. I mean, if trying to commit a counter-invasion against the Eastern Empire as well as sparking a revolution in the middle isn't high risk, I don't know what is.
One problem I foresee is difficulty fighting on their land since they'll have the advantage there, but with help from the people revolting, it'll be no problem.
I've already planned the logistics out for our counter-invasion as well, which is the most important part of all of this. Logistics are what wins wars. Good logistics can make a mediocre general win against a superior general. And another thing, I don't care about tactical victories or losses; I care about strategic victories and losses.
But first, we have to focus on the defense.
Which is what I will be working on right now.
Looking down from the ship, it was mostly an empty piece of land relative to the dense trees and forest.
I jumped down and landed. No superhero entrance or anything like that. I looked at the field and quickly noted where to place the wall. I was going to make this quick. I held out my hand and summoned Rhongomyniad. I quickly activated its creation ability and saw tree-like branches come from its outer shell and expand in a line as it formed a crenellated wall structure. Perfect, it's just like last time.
"Woah! Lady Pendragon, what is that?"
I heard a loud voice after creating the wall. I turned, and it was Shion. I was wondering why they asked that, but then I remembered that the only ones who saw me do this last time were Gabiru and his dragonewts.
"It's a wall, Shion. But I think what you mean what that the ability I just used was. It's a creation ability, nothing too special about it," I responded to Shion. Yeah, right. "Nothing too special."
"Lady Pendragon, will this hold up?"
It could hold up to Milim using it as a punching bag, but she doesn't know that.
"How about you try it out, Shion? Use your sword or other magic on it. Didn't it get an upgrade?"
"Really? Is that okay?"
"Yeah, go for it."
Shion took out her sword, and to my slight surprise, purple lightning struck from above on her sword despite it being clear skies. It turned into something like a purple lightning bolt, and she threw it at the wall. There was only a purple line that showed its movement.
When it crashed, it caused spiderweb-like cracks filled with residual purple lightning to form on the ground. And the purple lightning bolt fell to the ground as it turned back into the large sword Shion loved os much.
The only things that took damage were the ground and grass. The wall didn't have the slightest scratch or scorch mark on it. It looked completely pristine and clean.
"What? How?" Shion questioned, unable to properly comprehend what she saw.
"It's a little strong, Shion."
"What the heck was that?" This time, it was Rimuru who came in. He was flying down, most definitely attracted by my creation of the wall and Shion's lighting.
"That was just me making a wall, and Shion attacking it." I responded to Rimuru.
"What? Okay, I understand Shion's part, but how is that wall still standing?"
"It's a little strong."
"A little strong? That thing survived an attack by Shion! Shion! She's like a berserker when it comes to fighting!"
"Thank you for the compliment, Lord Rimuru!" Shion excitedly responded to the "praise" from Rimuru. I think only she could see that as praise. And I still don't know how or why Rimuru hasn't at the very least gotten into a relationship with Shion. She's all over him. Literally. The things people would do to be carried around by Shion.
"Uh, you're welcome, Shion?"
Wow, he's really questioning it. Rimuur, she's making it so easy for you! You're airballing a dunk!
"Uh, Artoria, is it even possible to destroy it?"
"Good question, Rimuru, and yes, it is."
"Oh, we should be prepared for when it breaks, then."
"No, we don't."
"But you said it can break."
"Yes, I did."
"Okay, so, uh, how can it be destroyed?"
"Very simple, Rimuru. One way I know how is if you are able to summon the hand of Buddha, and hit it, along with also needing to meet very specific requirements and circumstances, as well as having a true and unwavering belief in what you're purpose in attacking is. So, yeah, all that, and a bit more."
Or at least, that's what I remember if I'm right. I don't know if I'm missing other details, but he doesn't need to know that.
"Simple? That doesn't sound simple."
"If you're a Buddhist monk from the 7th century CE named Xuanzang Sanzang, it is."
"You know what? I'll just, uh, leave it alone."