Munitions Empire

There's no choice, the world will surely progress, and the seeds one sows will eventually sprout, grow, bloom, and bear fruit. Now that the fruit is ripe, one will inevitably taste some of the bitter fruit they planted.

"Well, this makes things interesting." Hearing the response from his subordinates, the head of intelligence of the Ice Cold Empire's face darkened even further.

All signs indicate that the Great Tang Empire is preparing for war, and the preparation process is incredibly swift. About two months ago, the Tang Army was still displaying a peaceful and unarmed demeanor, but now they're sharpening their swords for battle.

The problem is, who exactly is their target, who is the next objective, who is the lamb to be slaughtered...

The ambassador of the Ice Cold Empire sat beside, saying with a mix of laughter and tears, "They haven't reinforced the Shu Territory, which likely means they won't attack southwards, so the target is either us or the Laines Empire... There's a higher chance we'll be attacked."

He had just taken office for a little over a year, and it seemed like his good days were coming to an end. Should the Great Tang Empire turn hostile toward the dwarves, he'd likely end up locked up on the spot.

Although everyone is more civilized now, and generally won't trouble enemy ambassadors, surveillance and house arrest still happen, and he won't be as free as he is now.

After all, this is the Great Tang Empire. During his year or so here, he enjoyed countless privileges that wouldn't be available in other countries, respected wherever he went... Well now, he's left with just one task: to seek an audience with the Great Tang Empire's Ministry of Foreign Affairs every day, submitting a peace proposal on behalf of the Dwarf Empire.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh, "It's truly regrettable."

"Indeed, they're really gearing up." The intelligence department head was well aware that this was inevitably going to happen. The intense maneuvers of the Tang Army weren't just for celebrating, they definitely had a target, and that target was very likely the Ice Cold Empire.

"Activate one-time cipher communication with the homeland." Several subordinates looked at their superior, awaiting his decision.

These one-time ciphers are a tactic devised by each country to counter the encryption deciphering strategies of the Great Tang Empire; they are such encrypted messages that can never be deciphered.

Usually, these ciphers are prearranged to convey specific meanings which, at crucial moments, are directly activated by sending a string of incomprehensible text.

If the text matches the prearranged meaning, the intelligence is sent. Theoretically, these ciphers will never be deciphered, so the Tang Army has no means of truly understanding the secrets hidden within these dispatches.

Supervising personally, the Ice Cold Empire intelligence manager sighed and issued an order: "Go ahead, transmit the cipher communication to the homeland, alert Your Majesty to start preparations early."

Upon hearing the order, the officer responsible for communications immediately began preparing the message. Once the door was closed again, the room remained silent. No one spoke again because they had already done everything they could.

Now, what remains is just waiting.

...

The central command of the Steel Rampart is set up inside the Eternal Winter Port, where General Moss is reviewing documents. Recently, he established a new airport and added 25 advanced, latest-model Super J6 fighter jets.

This is the latest modification of the Q5, termed Super J6 by the dwarves, equipped with radar, warning devices, and advanced ejection seats imported from the Tang Country.

The pilots are very fond of these improvements that increase their survival rate, and are even more pleased with the Sidewinder air-to-air missiles imported from the Tang Army.

This is actually the first generation of air-to-air missiles that might mistakenly target the sun once launched. These limited missiles were Great Tang Empire's stock items, repackaged by the Tang Army and sold in batches to the dwarves and elves.

With this brand-new "magical weapon," the Great Tang Group earned billions of gold coins, using which the Tang Army nearly updated their missile repository.

Having new weapons, feeling armed with more trump cards, Moss's confidence in holding the steel line of defense naturally grew.

Moreover, judging by Tang Country's willingness to sell anything and everything, it seems they've no intention of targeting the Ice Cold Empire next, thereby significantly reducing pressure on the Ice Cold side.

Everyone, up and down, was optimistic, thinking Tang Country likely wouldn't incite war short-term. If there was any conflict, it would probably outbreak southwards, toward Dorne.

This basically matched Ice Cold Empire's expectations: Conflict breaking out in southern Dorne, which they would support as an ally, thus avoiding confronting the Great Tang Empire's wrath directly while ensuring the Tang Army got mired in Dorne's war bog.

If everything follows this script, the Ice Cold Empire can continue its stability for ten to twenty more years, during which they can advance their industrial capacities to start contending with the Great Tang Empire.

No need to overpower the Great Tang Empire, just to make sure the Tang Empire feels attacking the dwarves in the northern Eastern Continent isn't worth it, then wouldn't they have won?

Just as Moss was pondering these matters, his face wore a relaxed expression when his adjutant charged in urgently, exclaiming nervously as he entered, "General! A telegram from the Great Tang Empire Embassy… it's using the top-level cipher."

"Is that so? Let me see!" Upon hearing the adjutant's shout, Moss didn't bother reprimanding him because he knew all too well what the so-called top-level cipher implied.

It implies that front-line intelligence personnel have confirmed the Tang Army has begun action: In the past year, the Tang Army had no large-scale maneuvers, but now... they are on the move.

The small bit of optimism accumulated over so many months instantly vanished, Moss lowered his gaze to the telegram in his hand, speaking gravely, "The Tang Army has moved, and it's targeting us."

"The question is, how long have they prepared, how strong are their forces, where are they attacking?" Cipher can't fully disclose the situation, it merely proves the Tang Army has started movements. Moss mumbled as he approached the map in the office.

Will they crash right into the dwarves' painstakingly built "Rampart Zone," or find a weak point to strike... Does the Tang Country have new technology, new equipment, or tactics... all of this remains uncertain.

"Put the camp troops on level two alert…" In the end, Moss decided to activate all forces, waiting for new information to come through.