Reincarnated with the Country System-Chapter 118: Marching to War

The Pentagon

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Alberto calls an emergency meeting within the Pentagon. All the high-ranking people have gathered here.

"Your Majesty," General Marcus, the Chief of the Imperial Army, was the first to speak. "It’s an honour to see you recovered. When word spreads of your condition, morale wavered. But now… now, the Empire stands strong once more."

A murmur of agreement rippled through the room.

Alberto acknowledged their sentiments with a curt nod. "Spare me the pleasantries, gentlemen. I was unconscious for three days—far too long for an emperor. By the way, Carl, did that lion man survive the explosion?

"He survived, Your Majesty. And we extracted information from him. The attack was orchestrated by Duke Barco’s son, Strom. He personally sent the assassin to eliminate you."

Alberto was surprised {I thought it was probably Latvia’s work}

"Strom has now declared himself Duke and openly waged war against Britannia. We strongly suspect he has kidnapped Princess Elina and He may also be involved in the events of that night."

Alberto steepled his fingers, deep in thought. "Interesting." He turned his gaze toward Elizabeth. "You’ve been acting in my stead. Brief me."

Elizabeth met his gaze without hesitation. "I assumed executive authority per Article VII of the Imperial Charter. The cabinet approved all major decisions with a 75% vote, as required under Article IX. During my tenure, we initiated war mobilization:

She flipped open the dossier and handed a report to Alberto.

- The 5th Infantry division and 9th Armored Division were sent to the northern frontline of Britannia.

- The 2nd Fleet, under Admiral Akari, has begun preparations to break the Latvian blockade.

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- Munitions factories have doubled production; all non-military manufacturing has been suspended.

- We’ve reestablished contact with Britannia’s leadership. Queen Maria is… desperate. If we offer military support, she’ll have no choice but to bind Britannia’s fate to ours."

She paused, letting the weight of her words settle. "The war machine is already in motion, Your Majesty. The only question is… how far do we push?"

Alberto nodded approvingly. "Good. Now, what do we know about Latvia’s forces?"

Zero, the Director of Intelligence, stood up and wheeled a projector cart forward. He clicked it on, and a grainy black-and-white film flickered onto the screen. Aerial reconnaissance footage showed Latvian positions—camps, moving convoys, and plumes of dark smoke rising from various sites. Intelligence officers passed around printed satellite images and classified dossiers.

"Latvia is a hybrid force," Zero began, pointing at a still image of a battlefield. "They rely on both conventional military power and dark magic. Their primary frontline consists of orc legions, supported by necrotic shamans who can reanimate fallen soldiers into draugr—undead warriors immune to pain and exhaustion."

The film shifted to naval footage of massive shadows moving beneath the ocean. Zero tapped a photograph of a sunken Britannian warship.

"They’ve deployed sea monsters to enforce their naval blockade," he continued. "Britannia’s fleet is being torn apart ship by ship."

General Marcus frowned. "And their numbers?"

Zero read from a report. "We estimate 120,000 frontline troops, with an unknown number of undead reinforcements. Their navy is weaker than ours, but their ability to control sea monsters makes them a severe maritime threat."

Admiral Tanaka sighed. "Damn shamans. They don’t fight fair."

Alberto smirked. "We don’t need them to fight fair. We need them to lose."

He turned toward Prince Eric, the former prince of Latvia. "Eric, you’re here for a reason. Tell us what you know."

Eric, who had been silent until now, exhaled sharply. "Your Majesty, the forces attacking Britannia aren’t actually Latvian real soldiers."

A stunned silence filled the room.

"What do you mean?" General Marcus asked.

"The army attacking Britannia is mostly composed of demihumans from Ranga Mountain. During the war for the throne, many of Latvia’s generals sided with me. That left my brother without an army. Instead of relying on what remained, he travelled to Ranga Mountain and recruited the savage demihuman tribes there. But I don’t know how he did it. Because as far as we know, the demihumans of Ranga Mountain were very barbarian and were busy fighting each other. How he brought them under his control is still unknown. But it is true that this force played a very important role in my brother’s victory."

General Marcus scribbled notes. "That changes everything. If the core of their forces comes from Ranga Mountain, they aren’t loyal to Latvia—they’re loyal to your brother."

Eric nodded. "That’s right. This is his personal army. Also, he relied heavily on forbidden magic to win the war. He had a magician—someone incredibly skilled. Always masked. No one knows his identity. We called him the Shadow Weave."

He looked down at the table. "My brother also raided the Royal Mage Tower and the palace treasury. He stole ancient magic and artefacts. By using this black magic, he defeated our Court magician and other powerful magicians. And I myself also encountered this forbidden magic. It was mind-control magic. Through this, they controlled the minds of many of our soldiers and made them fight against each other. We lost many soldiers. "

"If they can use this magic on our soldiers, it will be very bad,"

Circe, the Empire’s chief magician and head of the Arcane Research Institute, spoke up. "We can create some items to protect our soldiers from mind control. However, I cannot guarantee that we can produce enough for the entire army. The process is time-consuming and resource-intensive. However, the super soldiers we have recently created are already resistant to this kind of magic. Their enhanced neural pathways make them immune to external manipulation."

Alberto felt some relief at this. "We have to be very careful so that they can’t use black magic on our soldiers. We need to deploy our own magicians to counter theirs. Circe, I want you to participate in the war directly. Since we don’t have many magicians, your presence on the battlefield will be crucial."

Circe nodded. "Understood, Your Majesty."

"So Prince Eric, if we attack the Latvian capital and kill your brother, then this will all end here"

Eric shook his head. "It’s not that easy. First, the capital is inhabited by many people. Attacking it directly will result in massive civilian casualties, which will turn public opinion against us. Second, it’s very difficult to determine my brother’s location. I tried to assassinate him many times during the War of the Thrones, but I never succeeded. There’s no guarantee we’ll be able to kill him, and failure will only make him more cautious."

Alberto leaned back, considering this. "So there’s merit in what he says. If we attack the capital with bombs or missiles, many innocent people will die, which will damage our reputation. It’s not a good plan."

"So what is the plan?"

Admiral Tanaka said. "Your Majesty, we should first destroy the Latvian navy. This will severely weaken their supply lines and isolate their forces in Britannia. Without naval support, their army would be much easier to defeat. We can also bombard their ports to cripple their logistics."

Eric added, "Your Majesty, I propose that we capture the largest port in Latvia, Kuro. That is where the Latvian naval headquarters are located. If we capture Kuro, it will be a significant victory. The loss of their command centre will throw the rest of their navy into chaos."

Alberto and the others think about this.

"That’s a very good plan. Also, we can’t let Strom go either. Form a force to invade the Elysian Archipelago. Strom is now a criminal for attempting to assassinate me. Add charges of treason, kidnapping, and unlawful declaration of independence. Since the Elysian Archipelago has declared itself independent, if we take it over now, we can claim the entire region for ourselves."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "But will Queen Maria agree to this?"

Alberto smirked. "Don’t worry. We can take this much in return for helping them. She’s in no position to negotiate."