Chapter 139: Aftermath (2)
Josh grimaced as he shifted in his chair. He looked out the window, tapping his fingers together. He pictured an offensive attack against Dresken, then rembered a lesson from OCS.
Josh was taking notes while staring blankly at the PowerPoint. The NCO slamd a book against the desk, waking the sleeping cadet who was in front of him. "Listen up. This is one of the most important lessons you will learn." The NCO said. In front of him, a map with blue and red dots was projected onto the wall. The NCO used a laser pointer to outline two areas on a map. "You will notice that the enemy is spread out in buildings and the surrounding terrain. They are trying to hold ground. What do you think happens in this scenario?"
A cadet raised her hand. "Sergeant, wouldn’t the friendly unit overtake the defending unit? They have a far superior number."
The Sergeant smiled. "That is a good guess, but you are wrong. The map you see shows the three-to-one rule. On defense, you have the advantage because the enemy has to co to you." Josh idly took notes. The entire lesson thus far had made no sense to him. He raised his hand. "Sergeant Hinden? What if the defending unit had force multipliers? Wouldn’t that make the attacking forces look stupid?"
The class laughed, but Sergeant Hinden held his hand up to silence them. "That was actually a good question, Cadet Llurkle." Sergeant Hinden turned back to the board. "Yes, attacking a force that is not only defending, but has force multipliers is incredibly stupid. In this example, we have two evenly comparable forces. If we were to add tanks or equivalent technologies, the attacking force would need to supplent its forces to match that. You can’t just throw bodies at a tank and expect to win."
Josh shook his head, focusing on Mithrael as the God stared him down. "Sire, I think it would be wise to hold back and not push toward Dresken any further."
Mithrael narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t used to Josh taking so long to answer. "Why?"
Josh looked to Susan, then back to Mithrael. "The otherworld unit has likely fortified Dresken by now. In my world, I learned of the so-called ’three-to-one rule’. This rule states that if two enemies are evenly matched, the attacking force must have at least three tis the defending force’s strength to take land the opposition controls." Josh said before pausing. He noticed that Mithrael wasn’t taking notes, and the God was frowning. "Milord?" He asked, his hand trembling under the desk.
Mithrael shifted in his chair and crossed his legs. "Continue."
Josh looked to his side, and Susan squeezed his hand. He sighed. "Pardon my blunt estimation, my lord, but we are not evenly matched with the otherworlders yet. They have what are called ’force multipliers’. Their tanks are better than our Llrathels, their artillery is better than our Mumat, and our air defense can’t touch their strongest assets."
Mithrael sighed and murmured. "The black dot."
Josh nodded. "That black dot is an aircraft called the B-2 Stealth Bomber, milord. It flies higher than dragons. It is a weapon used for strategic missions and to destroy enemy capabilities that the otherworlders deem as threats to their objectives. Even in my old world, there were relatively few countries that had a chance of taking one down."
Mithrael’s eyes widened. "There are more of those?"
"Yes, my lord. I am unsure of the exact number, but my old country has at least a few of them. To my knowledge, they are also the only country in the world to have access to such a system."
Mithrael scratched his chin and looked to the side. "Very well. What does that an for us?"
Josh looked out the window. Down below, Cartharic citizens were going about their daily activities. He saw a mother bringing her daughter to a toy shop. "We fortify other areas, my lord. When the Mumat production begins again, we build them underground. They can track us from the atmosphere, so we have to conceal the production with ground cover."
Mithrael nodded. "You will be promoted to General, Hero. You will be in charge of the operations against the otherworlders. Not only did you protect my beloved daughter from certain death, but you also know how the enemy plans and how they operate. I trust that you will lead the empire well, and finally crush these interposers before the rest of your world crosses into ours."
Josh bowed his head. "Thank you, sire. I feel that I am unworthy of your praise. My plans thus far have only led to our continued defeats."
Mithrael smirked. "Hero, we have yet to release our full strength. Thus far, our losses have barely scraped the top of what our empire can do. We have been testing them to see how far the technology of your world can carry them."
Josh knit his eyebrows. "Milord?"
"When you are rested, I will show you the project that allowed us to start our quest for dominion on this planet. The power that allowed us to quell rebellion and end the dragons’ reign on this world."
After being dismissed from Mithrael’s office, Susan helped Josh walk back to their quarters. He was still struggling to walk, even with the cane, so she had her arms around him. Josh gasped in pain once their door was finally shut and he was in bed. Susan’s eyes narrowed with concern. "Are you okay? Do you need more dicine?"
Josh smiled, his hand reaching up to cup her cheek. "I am lucky to have you, my love. You always support . I am okay for now. That walk took a lot of my strength."
Susan sighed as she got into bed with him. She wrapped her arms softly around him, gently tracing his side. "You are so stubborn, you know that, right? In here, you don’t have to be the hero or strong. You may be powerful enough to protect
from a city-ending blast, but you are still human. So..."
She kissed him, pushing her tongue into his. His eyes widened as he tasted the bitter taste of his dicine coating his mouth. He groaned as he swallowed, wrapping his arms around her.
"Deviant." He groaned after they broke the kiss.
He laid back in bed while she stroked his hair. "I know I am. Being a deviant is one of my best attributes." She said while laughing.
Josh ran his hand along her thigh. "Do you know what your father will show us tomorrow?"
She frowned and sighed. "No. My brother, Heith, and Father never let
know all the big secrets. They used to claim that, since I was the princess, I should know only state politics and how to run intelligence operations. After we first started summoning heroes again, I beca the Hero’s assistant."
Josh sighed. "That’s... kinda shitty if you ask . You are the goddamn princess after all. I never understood that about dieval societies when we learned about them in school. Treating won like they are simply just decorations to be shown off never sat right with ."
Susan laughed as she laid back down. She kissed his head. "Ignore it, sweetheart. This is just how things are always going to be. Besides..." She ran her fingers along his bicep, pecking his cheek.
"I don’t need to do a man’s job. I have my big, strong hero to protect and care for ." She whispered into his ear with a mock smile.
Josh rolled his eyes. "Did you forget that I saw you singlehandedly take out those mutated bears a few days ago?"
She smirked and made her eyes go wide, touching a finger to her lips. "UwU."
Josh smacked his face. "No more ani for you!"
The couple shared a laugh and cuddled together until they both fell asleep around midnight. As Josh drifted off to sleep, he smiled at her sleeping form. "I am so happy to have t you, Susan." He whispered.
Heque sat at his desk, filling out new forms to approve the funding for more Mumat tests. The hero suggested they start their tests underground or in places with good cover. Heque grumbled as he worked, his eyes glazing over. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "General? Lord Mithrael sent an urgent report for your eyes only."
Heque sighed and leaned back in his chair. "You may enter and bring the report to , Opal." He grumbled, resigning himself for more paperwork.
Opal walked in, her black hair gracefully swaying against her maid dress as she slid the report in front of Heque. "Will that be all, my lord?"
Heque nodded. "Yes. Thank you, Opal."
The maid nodded before walking out of the room. She sighed and looked out the window at the castle. "Lord Heque, please don’t have the sa fate as Hoaz." She mumbled, almost tearing up as she walked away.
As she turned the corner toward the servant quarters, she heard objects being slamd around. "What the fuck! Why is it always other people!" She heard the General’s voice shout. A resounding clang of tal slamming against glass followed the shout. Wood splintering was followed by the thud of many large objects being slamd against the ground. She turned around, running back to Heque’s office. She opened the door without permission and saw the General seething with rage. The report she had handed him was in tatters, the mirror he kept in the corner was shattered, and his bookshelf was in pieces. Books were strewn around the floor. For the first ti since working for the general, Opal was scared of him.
"Milord?" She whispered ekly.
The General looked up at her. Apart from the anger in his eyes, she could see a deep sorrow. Heque collapsed against his desk.
"Milord!" She shouted, running to support him.
Opal held General Heque as he lay his head on her lap. "Opal, you have been my maid for many years. You have supported
since my father passed, and have been my most staunch supporter. Yet again, I failed. That otherworld hero has been promoted again." The General growled. "A boy rely twenty-one years old is now the Emperor’s right-hand man. What else can I do, Opal?"
Opal smiled down at Heque and stroked his hair. "You are a loyal general to the king, milord. I promise that he will reward you one day. The emperor rarely sings people’s praises, but he did to you for the Esponia conquest, did he not? I assure you, milord, one day your ti to get the promotion will co as well."
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