Codegease: Air and Land Warfare 1946

It was at this moment that Caronville suddenly noticed that a bunch of previously inconspicuous devices in the airport area had started to glow. Based on his intuition and experience as the former commander of the vanguard army, he sensed that it was connected to the teleportation portal in Tokyo City Hall.

As he expected, something was amiss with the two groups of night bats. The "transformers" hanging in each group lit up with dazzling green indicator lights, and then the six Tesla coils forming a hexagon became as bright as burning Christmas trees. Serpentine arcs of electricity flowed between the coils, emitting an ominous sound like the breath of a snake.

What happened next astonished the spectators in the stands: suddenly, the six Tesla coils in each group shot out golden lightning bolts forward, streaks of lightning crisscrossing and arranging in the air like rolling rivers or collapsing forests. But quickly, the chaotic arcs began to align, forming a hexagonal portal framed by electric arcs right in front of the Nightbats and their suspended Tesla coils, right before the eyes of the spectators—yes, an arc-hexagonal portal in the air! And not just one! The two groups of Nightbats were manipulating the lightning storms in the sky, creating two sky portals!

Caronville was completely stunned by the scene before him, like a child who had never seen anything like it before. He forgot about His Excellency the Duke, and even the walkie-talkie on his body almost brought him back to his senses.

"Calling the observation group! Repeat! Calling the observation group!"

"Observation, observation, observation group received!" The lieutenant colonel shuddered. "The first test can begin!"

"Roger! Test begins!"

The lieutenant colonel walked over to the duke and looked at a report in his hand with him.

……

"Test 1: A single fully loaded transport aircraft passes through the portal at its maximum cruising speed and altitude of two thousand meters."

The Duke and the lieutenant colonel looked up and saw an armed transport plane slowly correcting its course, flying towards the aerial portal not far away, and then plunging into it at full speed.

"Whoa!" A few seconds later, the soldier next to him exclaimed in surprise. He saw a transport plane flying out smoothly from another portal!

"Ha, that's impressive." The Duke couldn't help but nod, watching the transport plane slowly turn around and fly back into the exit gate. Then, another bright spot appeared in the sky as the transport plane entered one end of the portal and flew out the other end, steadily and without revealing any abnormal signals.

"Calling the observation team! Test one has concluded perfectly! May we proceed to the next test?"

"continue!--"

……

"Test 2: Four fully loaded transport aircraft form a formation and pass through the portal at maximum cruising speed and an altitude of two thousand meters."

Soon, the four planes lined up in the air, just like the one that had been traveling alone earlier. They flew smoothly into the portal at roughly the same level, and then quickly emerged from another portal, maintaining the same formation of four planes at the same altitude. After flying smoothly for a while, they formed up again, turned around, and went through the portal once more.

"Calling the observation team! Test 2 is complete! We can proceed to the next step at any time!"

"No problem, Doctor."

After saying that, the portal suddenly disappeared, and the two VTOL groups and the armed transport planes began to fly to higher places simultaneously.

……

"Test 3: Four fully loaded transport aircraft form a formation and pass through the portal at maximum cruising speed and an altitude of 4,000 meters."

Just like the previous one, only the altitude has changed. In the eyes of the Duke and the Lieutenant Colonel, both the portal and the plane have become smaller.

The entire process proceeded without incident. The four transport planes, fully loaded with KMF cargo, moved back and forth through the portal mirror with practiced ease, like shuttles on a spinning wheel. Everything was so normal that it suddenly felt as carefree and joyful as children playing in an amusement park.

"Observation team, test three completed successfully! May we begin the last item?"

"Well, we can't wait for lunch at noon, Doctor."

"Ok!"

Just as the radio stopped, Caronville suddenly noticed something unusual about the transport plane formation in the sky.

Ah, of course, it wasn't a problem with the flight attitude, but rather that the tail doors of three of the four planes seemed to be open.

The lieutenant colonel raised his binoculars and looked carefully. It seemed that there was some big thing standing in the hatch.

The answer was then revealed: the three planes dropped varying numbers of mechs. The first plane dropped three, the second five, and the third all eight, leaving the belly of the plane completely empty. A total of 16 mechs landed from the sky, deployed their gliders, flew back to the airport, opened their parachutes, and smoothly returned to their starting point.

……

"Test 4: Four transport aircraft with different payloads form a formation and pass through the portal at maximum cruising speed and an altitude of 4,000 meters."

Caronville and the Duke watched as this final, grand test proceeded perfectly—they still moved in formation at the same height, still obediently entered one side of the portal, and still smoothly maintained their original height as they emerged from the other side. All the tests were now complete, and all passed with a perfect score!

Everything was progressing very smoothly. Not only did the Duke smile instead of keeping a straight face while watching these unfamiliar scenes, but even the radio in the lieutenant colonel's hand was filled with jubilation.

"Phew! Calling the observation team! Haha! Test four complete!"

"Congratulations, Doctor. Do you plan to repeat the test one or more times?"

"Ah, of course, if Your Excellency wishes to dine later, then we shall see!"

At this moment, the Duke took the radio and spoke in person.

"I would like to ask, gentlemen, your tests are only conducted within the same world, not between two worlds, so I would like to understand, what is the point of doing this? Is it just for an aerial performance or show?"

"Of course not, Your Grace, you are overthinking it. Our test today isn't as complicated as you think. In fact, we've been trying to upgrade the way the portal's energy flow is transmitted. Now it seems we have a new method besides pipes—this method of transmitting energy flow via radio waves. As for transmitting it to the main portal at the City Hall, there's absolutely no need to worry about that! Of course, this device will be more expensive, and the Nightbats will need to return to the ground after a while, both to recharge the vehicles themselves and the coils. Although it will be inconvenient, all of this will definitely cover His Highness's needs!"

How can you guarantee that?

"His Highness the Prince has consistently requested that we develop a teleportation portal that can be opened in the air, in order to prepare for the possible teleportation of large-scale aerial clusters or even skyships in the future. However, due to the current limitations of teleportation portals and the terrible situation at the landing site in Sector 45, this task has become a much higher priority."

"So please rest assured, Your Excellency." The doctor paused. "We are one of the research departments that His Highness the Prince pays the most attention to, and also the most effective and reputable department, without exception! We will not gamble with a sky full of fighter jets and steel knights, much less risk the lives of millions of Britannian warriors! Corrupt flies and bedbugs swarm everywhere, but they will never be able to enter the gates of our 'Eternal Agreement'!"

“Very good, gentlemen. His Highness Schneizel will be proud of you.”

Section 134 Chapter Eighty-Four: Another Stars and Stripes

The transport planes that had crossed the sky returned to the ground. Several hours had passed, and as evening fell, the Tokyo Concession City Hall was once again draped in the golden veil of the setting sun.

I don't know where Prince Schneizel is, but he's not the person we need to focus on right now.

In a large office, the First Prince Odysseus had just stamped a document and handed it to his old attendant.

"Alright, this is the last one." The prince took a breath. "These matters are finally settled."

“Your Highness, it is your decision.” The attendant replied, holding the documents. “Now, we shall…”

"Let's go to the main conference room. Hopefully, the historians of Pendragon in the capital can find something of value."

……

The prince sat in the main seat of the conference hall, and as the large screen was lowered, he gave the documents he had brought one last check to make sure nothing was missing.

The signal is connected.

“Your Highness Odysseus.” A scholar-like figure appeared on the large screen.

“Yes, that’s perfect.” The prince smiled. “Mr. Zinor, have you made any progress on the information I sent to your Imperial Library a few days ago?”

"The three flags you gave us, the ones from another world, right? We've made some discoveries, but... well..."

"It's alright, it's alright." The prince's words and actions were very tolerant. "Tell me whatever you've found out."

“Very well, Your Highness. Let me first report to you about the flag of the United States of America that you gave us.”

Odysseus first picked up a document with the American flag printed on it, and waited for the scholar's reply.

"Regarding this flag, we have found a very similar one, Your Highness." The scholar held up a book and turned to a page to show him.

"Your Highness must know about the 'North American Rebellion' that took place in the 1770s, right?"

"Ah, of course I know, that rebellion started by George Washington and that we suppressed."

[Author's note: In the CG world history, Britain won the American Revolutionary War and killed Washington, but lost the Battle of Trafalgar and the British Isles (and ironically, the British Isles were never reclaimed even after the establishment of the United States in the original storyline)]

“That’s right, Your Highness. We have consulted many books and made many comparisons, and we have finally found the flags that these North American rebels used. Please take a look, Your Highness.”

The scholar held a piece of paper in his left hand, on which was a picture of an American flag that the prince had given him earlier, while his right hand gripped the book and pointed his index finger to an illustration on the page.

"The flag that was captured from the rebels looks quite similar to the American flag. It has alternating white and red square stripes, and a dark blue square in the upper left corner with many stars inside."

"This...this is terrifying!" The prince frowned. "Could these people be the descendants of the rebels, who also traveled to that world a long time ago?"

“Please calm down, Your Highness, because we have discovered something very different.” The scholar brought the book closer. “Look, the flags used by the rebels back then, the stars in the blue square are six-pointed stars, and there are only 13 of them, symbolizing the number of states that rebelled at the time.”

"But take another look at your hand, at the flag of this country called the United States." The scholar put down his book. "The stars on their flag are regular five-pointed stars, and not just 13, but a full 48!"

“I understand that, but…” the prince’s face fell. “Do these rebels really have 48 states?”

"Well, I can only say that anything is possible, Your Highness." The scholar thought for a moment and said, "When we were suppressing the North American rebellion, we deployed a lot of troops. It was basically impossible for a large number of them to escape. It would be difficult for them to survive and reproduce in another world, let alone rebuild a glorious civilization in a country with 48 states, unless it's one person per state and one house per state."

“But that would be even more outrageous, wouldn’t it?” The prince forced a smile. “Five people in one family, 48 families with 240 people, a country of 240 people sharing the capital of an enemy country with a country that may have an army of over a million, called the Soviet Union. It sounds like a grandson being favored by his grandfather.”

"So Your Highness, my opinion is that you'd better not dwell too much on this issue of the Stars and Stripes and the stars, because if you do, the other two flags will become unclear."

"That's true. So, let's talk about the other two... first, Russia, which can be called the 'Soviet Union'."

"Regarding Russia, which was once a member of the EU, our research results are truly disappointing. Your Highness, the country you mentioned, the Soviet Union, may indeed use Russian as its language, but the colors of their flag are vastly different from those of the Russian flag. The only similarity might be that the red on their flag is of the same type as the red stripe on the Russian tricolor flag, and there is nothing else in common."

"What about the symbol in the upper left corner of their flag?"

"That symbol that looks like a sickle and nail together, with a five-pointed star on top? I'm sorry, Your Highness, we've examined all the original Russian national emblems, departmental insignias, and all the family crests ever used by their royal family and nobility, and not a single one matches that sickle and nail, not even in terms of general shape! You must understand, Your Highness, such symbols are generally roughly symmetrical, but this... we have to admit, the existence of this thing is simply an outlandish monstrosity!"

Odysseus didn't say anything, but he did think about it in his mind.

"Just a coincidence that they spoke the same Russian? That's all? How strange, Mr. Zinor. And the last one, that country called the Third Reich, their flag?"

The prince glanced at the national flag printed on the third document on the table in front of him—to be honest, this flag was not something they had captured or obtained from captured German civilians, but rather something drawn by a draftsman based on the descriptions of those American soldiers, a red background with a white center and a swastika symbol inside.

"I still managed to find out a lot about the German provinces of the EU, but I still got very unsatisfactory results, Your Highness." The scholar shook his head. "As you know, the German flag has horizontal stripes of black, red and yellow from top to bottom, but this Germany, oh, you said this is also called Nazi Germany, its basic composition doesn't match, and the three colors don't match either."

"Moreover, the symbol in the middle can actually be seen as the Buddhist swastika, a symbol of good luck that has been mirrored and flipped. I have never seen the swastika on the emblem of any EU country, let alone its national flag. Buddhism conquering Europe? I think that is even more outrageous than the EU defeating our Holy Britannian Empire."

“Alright then, that’s settled.” Odysseus finished making his notes and put down his pen. “If I need anything similar again in the future, I’ll come to you for help. Thank you, you’ve worked hard.”

"I am at your service, Your Highness."

Section 135, Chapter Eighty-Five: Hitting a Wall

Seven days have passed since the Soviet Red Army began its formal offensive on Berlin.

Whether it was the footsteps of the soldiers or the tracks of the tanks, the road forward was becoming increasingly difficult.

It wasn't that the enemy's resistance had become more brutal, but rather that the space left for tens of thousands of torrents to advance smoothly was becoming increasingly dire, Lieutenant Lemilia felt deeply.

He and his comrades are still struggling through subway tunnels leading in other directions, but this time they have more companions—both allies and enemies.

There were comrades from another company carrying anti-tank rifles and bazookas. Of course, the most eye-catching were the combat engineers who followed along, carrying flamethrowers and setting fire to the subway every now and then to provide light.

Bright flames flickered on both sides of the tunnel, their intense light reflecting off the collapsed humanoid weapons.

That's right! Lemilia and his comrades had no idea what was going on. Starting last night, these four- or five-meter-tall things somehow managed to squeeze into the subway entrance, a place where even motorcycles couldn't get in, and squatted upright in front of the Soviet soldiers. Together with the black-clad dogs, they used their machine guns to retaliate.

That's why all those heavy weapons mentioned above were brought into the subway by the comrades, just to blow the heads off these iron dolls.

"Be alert, comrades," Lemilia called out to the crowd. "Keep an eye out for bandits hiding in any nooks and crannies."

They held their guns to their chests, the muzzles following their turning heads as they probed the unknown ahead—the ground beneath their feet and all around them was another subway platform; they had emerged from this tunnel, and the next one was yet to come.

"Hmm?" Just then, everyone noticed some movement at the tunnel entrance on the other side.

"Fire!"

The lieutenant shouted orders and led his comrades to fire bullets toward the tunnel entrance. Immediately afterward, several young men in black clothes scrambled out from behind a broken section of pipe. They ran toward the tunnel entrance with their backs to the Soviet troops, raising their guns behind their backs to offer a token resistance of a few shots.

"Damn it!—"

They ran fast, and not all of their comrades were sharpshooters. They took down almost all of them, but one person still slipped through their fingers and disappeared into the darkness of the subway.

"Hmm..." The lieutenant pondered for a moment and began assigning tasks to everyone.

"Everyone move to the sides and find cover. Captain Antonovich, have your Bazooka squad get ready."

"Okay, comrade."

As soon as he finished speaking, amidst the footsteps of the soldiers, Lemilia heard a mechanical sound with an electric current coming from the tunnel ahead—after several days of fighting, he had become so familiar with the movements of the steel doll's joints that he could almost imitate them.

He held his breath and watched the puppet complete a series of actions he could recite from memory—a door opening sound, then a green light appearing on its head, then a second door opening sound, the green light disappearing, and then the puppet would perform actions consistent with the intelligence of the person in the cockpit.

"Pick up your guns, comrades!" The lieutenant didn't care about anything else and immediately ordered his men to open fire on the tunnel entrance.

Of course, due to the limited field of vision, many comrades could not hit the puppet with their guns. As long as the entrance to the hole was blocked with a certain amount of firepower, the puppet would be more hesitant about whether to advance or not. This was a plan of the lieutenant that could both persuade the puppet to retreat and lure it out of its hole.

However, since many soldiers were positioned quite far back, their bullets easily struck the doll's metal outer shell, producing a piercing metallic clanging sound...

?

The lieutenant was still lying down to look when he suddenly heard the sound of the puppet's joints moving. Then, a large, transparent, glass-like object appeared out of thin air in front of it, glowing green, and knelt firmly in place like a mountain.

"This, this is...?"