Artillery shells started exploding inside the castle. It was enough to force the defenders to take their positions. The scouting group reported that the enemy positioned a large group of soldiers near the gate. They prepare to engage us when we breach the gate and while we fight in melee, shoot us from above.

BOOM BOOM BOOM

The torpedo bombers dropped their payload, most of the soldiers were killed immediately. My dive bombers hit their towers and fortifications. After all of my bombers were done, I ordered all of the planes to land and then l began reloading and refueling them.

The siege quickly turned into one-sided slaughter. I decided to keep firing until I will be sure that they all are dead.

I was about to fire my last rounds when I decided that it will be enough firing. I casually walked towards the crumbled remnants of walls. I was already expecting to enter the castle without any resistance when I heard a sound.

‘Ping’

I wondered what happened but then I was under a rain of arrows. A small drop is the omen of a coming rain. Like that, an arrow was an omen of them shooting at me. I can only imagine their faces when they expected to kill me with their first salvo only to find out that I am armored enough to ignore their best attempts.

To their greatest regret they underestimated my fighting abilities. As well as my ammo stowage.

I was indeed low on main gun ammo, though I had a full ammo for the rifles. With not so precise shots I started firing rifles at them. Even behind the battlements they were not safe from piercing shots.

I brute forced my way into the castle. The remaining defenders raised a battle cry and ran at me.

Bang Bang Bang

Not a single one of them reached me. The survivors raised a white flag.

I let them escape the castle and soon we made our camp inside the moon landscape and broken stone.

The morning we met at the walls. The duke’s forces were quick to react. Their parliamentary walked towards the remnants of the gatehouse.

“Surrender yourselves, you scumbags! You are surrounded!” Oh my, what a civilized way to start the conversation.

“Fuji, they have ships… We have no way to escape…” Elina was panicking.

“Indeed, you are well prepared for this. At least that’s what you are thinking.” I decided to keep them busy while I execute my plan.

“You have no way to escape, beast! If you surrender now, His Grace might be merciful enough to sell you into slavery instead of killing!”

I wonder if that chatterbox understands that I destroyed this place over the night…

My ammunition is still not replenished so my only way to fight is to use the rifles.

They have around 500 men, and their fleet consists of 20 ships. Even I might be overwhelmed.

I closed my eyes and shouted.

“WHATEVER YOU HAVE, COME AND TEST IF YOU ARE REALLY CAPABLE OF DEFEATING THE PRIDE OF SAKURA EMPIRE!”

‘AH-OO-GAH’

A ship's horn thundered in a distance. Here is my trump card.

“All planes, sortie at once.” The last of japanese carriers, the mighty IJN Fuji shows herself at last. I had to steam at 'Full ahead' to reach this place by the morning.

4 flights of dive bombers flew over us and dropped their bombs right on top of the enemy formations.

Pairs of torpedo bombers begun their attack runs and dropped torpedoes. No wooden ship can survive two torpedoes hitting it.

The fighters and dive bombers started to rain down machine gun fire on the infantry.

The enemy soon surrendered, the enemy parliamentary was the first one to do that. He already insulted me so I hanged him.

To the enemy commander everything was clear, they lost without any chance to retaliate. When I was going to interrogate him, Elina approached me. When I turned towards her I heard a shout from behind.

“Sister? WHY ARE YOU HERE?!” The commander shouted at her.

“Fuji, let him go. This idiot is mine.” (E)

“You are a damned disgrace to our family! You sided with this criminal scum!” (C)

“And who said that to you? Father? The one who sends people to their death like it’s none of his concern?!”

Their talk was becoming more and more intense.

“Elina, how many children does he have?”

“The duke? We are both standing in front of you. No legitimate children aside from us.”

“You just told that to this mongrel!”

“So, if we kill him and the duke, we will have an actual duchess…”

“No objections!” Elina was happy to accept my words.

No need to tell the commander’s fate.

Because we are already enemies of the state, why don’t we just do whatever we please?

I gained myself a nice piece of land, I have my carrier on the roadstead and I have my opportunity to gain political influence. Everything is going way too good for me.

The next day another person has arrived to my gatehouse. The horseman said only one phrase.

“The king offers you to come to the negotiation with both the kingdom and the dukedom.”