War Declaration 

One month after Kou and the others discussed the possibility of a large-scale Stones attack, the situation finally changed.

The people of Fortress Area P336 were overcome with shock.

The Stones conducted a worldwide broadcast and called out to Metal Iris.

「I’ll be the one responding to them later. They didn’t call themselves as Stones huh.」

「They called themselves the Argonauts. The same name as the legendary demigod sailors of ancient Greek myths huh.」

Jenny sat on the commander’s seat inside the combat command center of the Aristides and opened the transmission line.

Live footage was displayed on the main screen. A young Caucasian male was in the center of the screen.

There was also a person in a gray cloak sitting beside him. The cloak didn’t just obscure the person’s face but their entire body. Even their gender couldn’t be identified.

There was another person with the first two. It was an elderly Caucasian man. It was the man known as the Bombardment Lord, the B-Class Development Engineer Alberto. He was seated one level lower than the younger man.

「Greetings, Argonauts. I’m Jenny, the main representative of Metal Iris.」

「No need for pleasantries. I am Vasily Igolevna Yakshev. You can simply call me Vasa.」

Vasa responded bluntly.

「Sure, Vasa. Have you called to persuade us to surrender?」

「It’s good that you’re quick on the uptake. That is exactly right.」

「We refuse. Did you broadcast this throughout Asia because you wish to make us into an example?」

「Smart. It’s a pity to just kill you. Surrender immediately. If you hand back all the Asia’s you’ve taken from us thus far, we will at least guarantee your lives. Once we take custody of the Asias, we will guarantee the lives and basic treatment of civilians who meet our standards.」

「You’re just going to tie them up with quantum chains, right? You sure like your pretenses. Asia isn’t anyone’s property in the first place. Treating her like some doll is just abhorrent. Well, I suppose spouting unreasonable demands is customary for the side declaring a war.」

「And here I thought there was still some room for negotiation. How unfortunate. Your end will be witnessed by the entirety of Planet Asia.」

The young man’s expression did not seem regretful in the slightest. He had declared to the entire Planet Asia. He shall make an example of Metal Iris and completely eliminate it.

The image displayed on the screen changed.

One of Jenny’s brows slightly went up, and the surrounding people gasped in astonishment.

The footage displayed a gigantic weapon shaped like a shrimp with large eyes. It was more akin to a mantis shrimp than a regular shrimp. However, it was far larger than an Enyo.

「Behold the A-Carbuncle-powered Giant Murder, Ate. It seems to be the goddess of destruction that broke through all of Asia’s defense nets in the past. Now then, can you really go up against something like this?」

「Go up against it? We’ll destroy it.」

Jenny declared with a cold gaze.

「We will send all Murders available in the Scheelite continent against you. They will all come for your lives.」

The continents of Planet Asia were named after important minerals that can be mined in them. The continent where Fortress Area P336 and the Silhouette Base were located was called the Scheelite continent. Scheelite was an important ore of Tungsten.

「It looks like you really find us unpleasant huh.」

「On the contrary, this is just an indication of how highly we regard you. I shall be looking forward to this war. It is ill-advised to reveal your cards to an opponent, but this is merely the opening performance.」

The corners of Vasa’s lips slightly curled up.

It was a wisp of a smile.

「Well then, let us begin the war, shall we? An all-out war between you and us.」

「Of course. We will gladly take you on.」

The two glared at each other from across their respective screens. Both parties were enemies that could never reconcile.

「With this, the Stones combat organization Argonauts formally declares war upon Metal Iris. We will now commence the attack on Fortress Area P336 will the full might of the Stones.」

「A formal declaration of war is an old practice from the Earth era. We acknowledge your proclamation. From now on, Metal Iris will engage the Argonauts in an all-out war. Transmission over.」

Jenny cut off the transmission.

A declaration of war. It was an official notice of open hostilities that seemed out of place in an era with a highly developed information network. That’s because combat often starts immediately after a declaration is handed down.

And this was the first time something like this happened on Planet Asia. It was merely a notice broadcasted to all Fortress Areas and Defense Domes on the planet.

「I’m sorry, Commander. Negotiations have broken down.」

「It’s fine. The other party didn’t have the intention to negotiate in the first place. All hands to battle stations. Currently, no enemy presence has been detected. It will probably take a few days for our forces to engage one another in open combat. In land battles, at least.」

Barry, who sat on the commander’s seat of the Cimon-class, started giving out orders.

「Send out recon planes. There is a high chance of a large number of enemy fighter aircraft coming our way.」

「Roger!」

A bird-form Familiar responded.

The shelter of the Fortress Area opened up, and a patrol aircraft and escort fighter launched from within.

「That Ate is just an opening act huh? It would be good if that’s just a bluff, but it doesn’t seem to be the case.」

It seemed that a far larger force than what they initially expected would be coming for them.

Barry sat silently on the commander’s seat of the Cimon-class and stared in the distance.

Kou and the others decided to conduct an emergency meeting on Astraea.

「I’ll leave the Quattro corps to you, Nyanta. Aki will stay in the Cimon-class and act as my support.」

「Roger nyaa!」

「Please leave it to me!」

The girls already understood their respective roles.

They didn’t have any objections.

「Voy, you’ll act as part of the special ops unit under me and adapt to the situation.」

「Got it.」

It was possible that Voy might need to leave the maintenance team and sortie in an experimental machine.

「Please take care of Aimer, Pon-neesan.」

「Understood.」

Ponko firmly grasped Aimer’s shoulder.

「Aimer……」

「I will stay inside Astraea.」

「Thank you. With that, I’ll be able to fight without worrying. I’ll leave her to you, Astraea.」

『Acknowledged.』

As expected, Aimer was obedient this time around.

Normally, she would have tried to force her way and insist on boarding the Cimon-class. She can be surprisingly stubborn at times.

「We’ll prioritize the evacuation of the Fortress Area from now onward. But that’s not a concern for all of us here. That’s why I won’t ask you to evacuate.」

Everyone nodded in response. Kou knew that they’d just be saddened if he still tried to persuade them.

「Its total war. Honestly, I’m quite scared myself. That’s why, everyone, let’s survive. I won’t allow anyone to turn into a casualty of this war. Although I’m the one who caused this situation in the first place.」

「It’s not your fault, Kou. Even if you didn’t act, the Murders will still come for us.」

「Thank you, Aimer.」

They’ve already anticipated and prepared for this day.

Astraea’s production lines have been operating non-stop. Kou concentrated on the production schedule of Fortress Area P336.

Mercenaries basically just attach themselves to whichever side was winning in a war. They were still actively recruiting, but there were very few Underground Forces that applied. Most were individual mercenaries.

The fact that they would be provided Silhouettes depending on their skills was a big draw. Also, they were still able to purchase one even if they haven’t joined Metal Iris.

There were some mercenaries who mixed in with the evacuees escaping from the Fortress Area. It was a clear breach of contract, but Metal Iris was unable to stop them and didn’t plan on trying in the first place.

That’s because it was dangerous to field fighters with low morale along with the rest of the forces.

Some of them tried to escape while piloting the Silhouettes Metal Iris provided them, but the Silhouettes automatically deactivated themselves in response. That’s because the owner of the Silhouettes was still Metal Iris and not the mercenaries. Recruiting scoundrels like those was ultimately unavoidable no matter how strict the recruitment process was. That’s just reality.

Currently, Metal Iris was also conducting discussions with various transferee companies. However, they were private commercial organizations after all. Whether or not they’ll extend help toward Metal Iris will still depend on their evaluation of the situation and the projected profits.

They had to take control of the flow. In order to get the people who were just waiting on the side for the situation to unfold into their allies, Metal Iris had to win the opening battle.

Can they gain air superiority over Fortress Area P336? Will the ground forces be able to deploy safely?

It all depends on those factors.