About a month had passed since the fall of the Holy Capital of the Prava Divine Kingdom.
During that time, using the automated machines and materials being sent in, <Iris> carried out development throughout the Divine Kingdom one project after another. It put two large-scale mineral-vein extraction facilities into operation and completed installation of two large general-purpose fabrication printers.
Naturally, other manufacturing facilities and transport ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) routes were also being put in order.
For <The Tree>, it was a very considerable expansion of domestic development.
Meanwhile, the Prava Divine Kingdom’s campaigns abroad had come to a complete halt.
A considerable number of priests and cleric-soldiers still remained on the front lines, but they were not advancing from there, instead shifting into a defensive posture. Cleric-soldiers moved back and forth among the villages and towns they were using as bases, maintaining them while dealing with intruders.
Naturally, a small number of troops could not break through. But if an army was gathered for a major offensive, cleric-soldiers from the surrounding areas would gather there as well.
And so, the front had fallen into a complete stalemate.
“The north side is the Piata Empire. The south side is the Edea Beastin United Kingdom. In both cases, about half has been taken by the Prava Divine Kingdom.”
Pointing at the map, Amajio Silverhead’s three-dimensional image explained it that way.
“You already know about the Kingdom of Reidia, the Grand Duchy of Tarla Lind, the Grand Duchy of Godaman, and the Grand Duchy of Cati Andal Litin. Almost all of their forces were pulled back to defend the Holy Capital, so they have no military strength left. You people sent units there and are wiping out the remaining cleric-soldiers.”
“That’s right. <The Tree> has already completely taken control of those four countries.”
As for those four states, which had already lost the ability to govern themselves, provisional rule was being carried out through doll-machine communicators. So there was no concern there.
“The problem is the Piata Empire and the Edea Beastin United Kingdom. Both of them have shifted their political centers eastward. The Piata Empire has a government-in-exile set up in the neighboring state of Belerforesti, and in the Edea region, the nobles have all gathered in the former royal capital.”
“So they’re still not in a position to surrender, and they may even be planning counteroffensives.”
“That’s right. According to information from our operatives, it seems a large-scale counteroffensive is actually being planned.”
As far as <The Tree> was concerned, reconnaissance against those countries amounted to little more than aerial imaging by satellite. Bots had an operational range limit, and without relay bases, no matter how cleverly they were used, a hundred kilometers was about the farthest they could advance.
To gather information inland, there was no choice but to rely on the intelligence network of the Kingdom of Lepuitari.
“Well, you don’t need to worry too much about those people for a while. I’ve had them looking into supply stockpiles and the like, and apparently seventy percent of the goods we’re sending never make it.”
“Seventy percent disappears?”
“Some of it gets damaged on the way, sure, but most of it’s probably getting embezzled. From the porters to the warehouse managers, the gate guards, and the local magnates. Every time it moves, it shrinks.”
“So there’s no public order worth speaking of.”
Because there were so many countries and towns along the route, it seemed that in the end only about thirty percent of the supplies sent from the Kingdom of Lepuitari actually reached the front.
Well, if they were being consumed along the way, then that still gave some meaning to providing the supplies, so it could not be called wholly bad. Besides, if the front remained deadlocked, that would be preferable.
“So that’s the situation. Even if they want to counterattack, they can’t really gather supplies. For now, it’s fine to leave it like that. Let them keep thinking they’re the ones holding the front line.”
Then Amajio continued.
“The real problem is that the weapons and ammunition are disappearing too. At this rate, there might even be a civil war. We still don’t have enough information, but apparently there are people buying up firearms.”
“Hm... should we send in an envoy? I want a little more information.”
If they could build an intelligence network using bots, it would even be possible to monitor the entire flow of logistics. But at present, they were only being landed along the coastline. The highways were barely under observation at all.
That said, there was no way they could dispatch the doll-machine communicators prepared by <Ringo>. They were far too conspicuous.
“It might make a big difference if we just gave communication devices to our people. But pushing that much technology into the place...”
“So you’re against circulating electronic products?”
“The technology base can’t keep up. In the long run, if you don’t build up the fundamentals properly, it won’t turn into national strength. If you mean to develop them to some extent, then instead of exporting products, you should be putting effort into education. Though, well... this is a kind of emergency. So what do we do?”
Whatever the case, they needed to keep a firm grip on the reins so that the cluster of states would not run wild.
Or else they needed to prioritize intelligence gathering and prepare themselves to respond even if things exploded.
“I wonder if the Kingdom of Lepuitari can interfere politically.”
“That would be difficult. We’ve got embassies there, and our voice carries weight, sure. But as states, both the Piata Empire and the Edea Beastin United Kingdom are half-collapsed already. Even if you make them promise something, it’d probably get broken immediately.”
Eve thought it over. Since this was a political problem, it was probably an area <Ringo> was not good at. They needed Amajio’s help.
“Well, this is a good chance to deepen relations. Maybe we make a dedicated department for transporting supplies... I don’t think the northern states were considered all that important before.”
It seemed Amajio intended to make recommendations to the upper ranks of the Kingdom of Lepuitari. He himself had apparently thought of it as retirement, but through his involvement with <The Tree>, he was trying to step back onto center stage.
His ability was extremely high, and the members of the current executive government were eager to have him return by all means necessary. If he showed the will, they would probably seat him at the top immediately.
“Thanks to the expanded Argument Brain structure you prepared for me, both thought acceleration and memory storage are up by several hundred times... so steering a country is something I can do on the side now. But honestly, I’d rather not spend all day giving orders without end.”
“Oh? You don’t have any pride as the head of a state?”
“If possible, I’d love to dump it all on a superior AI. When there’s a successful example right beside you, don’t you think it’s stupid not to learn from it?”
“...Hm?”
Amajio was extremely capable. He seemed to have excellent raw intelligence, and his bodily functions had already been augmented. And now, by connecting to the A Argument B Brain structure, his processing ability had risen dramatically.
But when placed in front of the superintelligence that was <Ringo>, even those abilities would probably amount to dust. With such an example right beside him, feeling that it was idiotic for him to suffer through it himself was only natural.
“Well, whatever. I’ve got no choice but to build trust. For now, both the Empire and the United Kingdom are too rotten inside to control from the outside. Whether it’s food aid or weapons supplies, we need to wedge a certain amount of influence in from our side.”
“The Piata Empire... if I remember right, the damage from the northern <Demon Forest> is getting worse there.”
“That too. The Empire’s head has fled overseas, so the people on the ground aren’t coordinated. From the satellite photos, quite a lot of villages are getting swallowed by the forest.”
According to Amajio’s estimate, the chaos would continue for at least six months to a year. If during that time they could maintain the invasion fronts in one form or another, there was a high chance that both countries would collapse through internal conflict and the like.
If they could take it that far, then securing the territory would be almost as good as done.
The collapsed states would likely be slowly absorbed and merged by the surrounding countries, including the Kingdom of Lepuitari, while human lives were protected through support.
“That said, weapons and ammunition made by <Paraiso>... this could turn into an age of warring states.”
“Ammunition has a service life. If we tighten supply, shouldn’t it be controllable?”
“Probably. Well, we won’t know till we try. Guns are precision machinery. If they can’t maintain them, I’d expect them to be unusable in a few months.”
“That’s true. ...If we advance, I think we could annex everything. You understand that, don’t you, Mr. Amajio? If we do that, it becomes a tremendous nuisance.”
“You could just leave governing AIs in place and walk away.”
“That depends on how one defines AI happiness, but honestly, I cannot sympathize. So I cannot recommend it.”
They had no intention of actively protecting or guiding the human species they had no interest in.
That, apparently, was the shared view of the AI species of <The Tree>.
