Until now, the merchants of the South had always lived paying unjust tolls to the Sarsen Territory.
No matter how much technology advanced and sea transport became convenient, they could not completely give up transport by land.
Even so, the reason the merchants of the South could not protest was simple.
Because their military power was weak.
In the South, a city of humans with few mages, there was no power to protest against the West.
So, when they first heard that Sarsen Fortress had collapsed, none of the merchants of the South could believe it.
Because for the past 3 years, they had passed by that fortress and seen its majesty with their own eyes.
"Don't talk nonsense. Are you saying a natural disaster suddenly occurred and the fortress collapsed?"
"No, I saw it clearly with my own two eyes, I tell you? The place where the fortress had been, it just evaporated along with the ground, I tell you?"
"That's right. Merchants belonging to our trading company saw the fortress collapse themselves. We heard a sound like heaven and earth collapsing, and then divine punishment fell."
However, as rumors gradually increased, the merchants who had not believed at first also began to harbor a what-if feeling.
The South is a city of humans who do not believe in gods.
Southerners, who build factories instead of temples and worship money instead of gods, do not believe in the existence of miracles.
Since those Southerners said a 'miracle' had occurred, they could not help but feel a what-if.
"Come to think of it, they said the road heading to the Sarsen region was cut off."
Two days after the fortress collapsed.
When people were talking about the rumors, the official position of the Southern Grand Duke's Residence was posted.
1.The new weapon invented by Lord Kyle Leopold destroyed Sarsen Fortress. The fortress collapsed along with its foundation, leaving not even a trace.
2.From now on, those who interfere with free trade will never be left alone.
3.We extracted such and such rights and interests from the County of Sarsen.
No fancy modifiers were necessary.
They no longer had to have money unjustly taken from them.
Now the South was not powerless.
That fact alone was enough to make the people of the South enthusiastic.
When the Dreadnought entered the Southern Naval Port, thousands of people had gathered in front of it.
People were astonished by the majesty of the huge warship, incomparable to ordinary sailboats, but only for a moment.
When the man responsible for ending a 3-year conflict in just 5 minutes, the Grand Duke of the South, Kyle Leopold, appeared on top of it, everyone cheered.
Waaaah!!!
It was an unexpected triumphal ceremony.
Those who cheered because of this incident were not only the citizens.
"Indeed, this Grand Duke of the South is quite a remarkable figure."
Factory owners. Capitalists with banks. Merchant leaders with large trading companies, and so on.
The perspective of the privileged class, who until now had held unfavorable views of Kyle Leopold because of the 'Labor Standards Act', also changed.
Resisting unjust things with military force was something unimaginable in the South of 10 years ago.
Until now, there had been no center in the South's development.
In the ceaseless competitive market, capitalists only tried to devour each other.
In a zero-sum game where everyone killed everyone else, no one could think of integration.
That was why, despite having enormous industrial power, the world's largest financial market, and excellent infrastructure, they could not properly make their voices heard.
"But the South of the past 10 years was different."
Under the command of a capable leader, the South began to unify as one.
With the appearance of the Labor Standards Act, society stabilized.
Workers guaranteed a minimally human life had no reason to commit crimes for survival as before.
As society stabilized, public order improved, and as public order improved, work motivation and productivity naturally rose.
Kyle Leopold did not stop there.
Taking advantage of the weakened companies due to the appearance of the Labor Standards Act, he personally overhauled the companies' octopus-like operations.
Companies that cleaned up excessively spread affiliates and reduced useless competition were able to focus on their specialties.
Under Kyle Leopold's command, the South was able to be reborn in a form that could fully display its potential.
And the result was the Dreadnought.
It was the essence of this era's technology, containing everything possessed by the South's magical engineering, steel, chemical, optical, and shipbuilding companies.
And the privileged class, who saw the essence of that technology smash a fortress in just 5 minutes, finally acknowledged that Kyle Leopold had been right.
"A leader like this is worth following."
"Yes. If it's Lord Kyle Leopold, he can surely raise the South to a place one level higher than now."
"Heh heh, before I die, I want to see the new era that person will open with these eyes."
It was the moment when the relationship between the privileged class and the Grand Duke of the South, which had been awkward since the appearance of the Labor Standards Act, was reestablished.
The influence of Kyle Leopold, a leader supported by both workers and the privileged class, had already grown greater than that of the emperor of the declining Empire.
***
The end of Taggapdoe is destruction.
Even I, who deeply engrave in my heart the lesson taught by a certain German dictator who burned Europe, nearly lost my composure for a moment.
That was how much I had gained through this battle.
I was not talking about the rights and interests obtained from the County of Sarsen. In fact, the rights and interests extracted from the County of Sarsen were just a nice bonus.
The most precious thing I obtained this time was approval ratings.
"According to the opinion poll results, Your Grace's approval rating is estimated at close to 85%. The privileged class, including entrepreneurs, also supports Your Grace."
One week after the fall of Sarsen Fortress.
When the land route between Sarsen and Lutetia reopened and the toll disappeared, my approval rating soared sky-high.
"With this much, I can begin preparing for the next step in earnest."
Even in a democratic system where leaders change every few years, an approval rating of 85% without manipulation makes almost dictatorship possible.
Moreover, this place is a royalist world where an emperor still exists.
It means I can do whatever I want.
At last, I could spend military funds with less caution.
"Lucilla."
"Yes?"
"Prepare a cabinet meeting."
The area I wanted to improve first was, of course, the air defense network.
It goes without saying, but I could not install Anti-Air guns at every strategic point in a short time. There was too little time for that.
It was because I had started work while preparations were slightly lacking.
It could not be helped. Building a huge ship like the Dreadnought required a great number of workers.
No matter how thoroughly I made them control their mouths, secrets would eventually leak. Before being discovered and hit first, I had to strike first.
"I will improve the insufficient air defense network."
What we had to face with insufficient air defense capability was the Western
Wyvern Knight Order, which used the mobility of wyverns to launch surprise attacks from unexpected places.
Since we could not install Anti-Air guns everywhere, we needed eyes for an efficient response.
Eyes that could detect enemies in the sky even from tens of kilometers away.
***
Radar is a reconnaissance device that emits electromagnetic waves and locates metal aircraft that reflect them.
Naturally, it cannot be made with the technology level of the South, which has only just produced warships.
This was because radar required far more advanced technology than the early Dreadnought.
It was also uncertain whether it would even work properly, since this world's air force rode wyverns rather than steel fighter planes.
Why did I mention radar, then?
Because there is a way.
"We just need to catch sound, not radio waves."
Wyverns are noisy. The sound of them flapping their wings or crying while flying is on the level of biplanes.
And magic that detects such sounds, like sound wave detection magic, has existed for hundreds of years in the form of eavesdropping magic for spies.
In short, it was like this.
1. Build large curved walls at regular intervals.
2. Then, the sound waves made by wyvern knights coming from afar hit the curve of the wall and gather in one place.
3.Use sound wave detection magic to find where the waves gather. Check the direction from which the sound was detected.
4.Record the direction from which the sound was detected at a second wall placed nearby.
Find where the two direction lines intersect. By calculating with triangulation, you can determine the opponent's distance and position.
Gathering sound waves and using triangulation to calculate the opponent's position is a method often used even in the 21st century, so its effectiveness is guaranteed.
The distance that can be detected with this method is up to 3 to 40 km.
Since a wyvern unit with cavalry-level speed takes at least 30 minutes to traverse this distance, we can prepare a response for 30 minutes.
If we place several such radars along the enemies' infiltration routes, covert infiltration into the South becomes impossible.
"Therefore, the General Staff should compile and submit a list of routes by which the Wyvern Knight Order could invade major areas of the South within one week."
"Understood, Your Grace!"
As the General Staff commander withdrew after receiving the order, the Minister of Land, who had been waiting behind him, stepped forward.
Handing the blueprint of the 'radar' to the Minister of Land, I gave instructions.
"Keep in mind that this 'radar' must be top secret. Whether it's new housing construction or coastal fortress construction, you may use any excuse, but do not let anyone know what we are building."
"I will keep it in mind, Your Grace!"
"Construction will begin one week later, based on the General Staff's analysis data."
After sending out the two ministers like that, I felt somewhat reassured.
In the end, the attack means possessed by the Wyvern Knight Order were limited to bows and wyvern Breath.
Wyvern Breath is a bit longer than the range of a flamethrower, and no matter how well one shoots a bow, it cannot possibly outrange an Anti-Air gun.
We knew where they were coming from with radar, and we gained a superior range through Anti-Air guns.
Now, only one thing remained.
Improving the accuracy of the Anti-Air gunners.
The ones I summoned for that were the presidents of military supply companies.
I thought that if they were companies producing naval guns used by our warships, they would be able to understand my shell blueprint to some extent.
In front of them, I unfolded the blueprint of the new Anti-Air shell.
"By any chance, have you heard of something called a Proximity Fuse Shell?"
Proximity Fuse.
It was the name of an Anti-Air mixer that exploded in the air and scattered fragments around, literally grinding aerial targets to pieces.